The total funds disbursed under Rythu Bandhu, Telangana government’s direct benefit transfer scheme for farmers, will soon touch Rs 50,000 crore in the coming days.
What is Rythu Bandhu?
Rythu Bandhu is a scheme under which the state government extends financial support to land-owning farmers at the beginning of the crop season through direct benefit transfer.
The scheme aims to take care of the initial investment needs and do not fall into a debt trap.
This in turn instills confidence in farmers, enhances productivity and income, and breaks the cycle of rural indebtedness.
DBT under the Scheme
Each farmer gets Rs 5,000 per acre per crop season without any ceiling on the number of acres held.
So, a farmer who owns two acres of land would receive Rs 20,000 a year, whereas a farmer who owns 10 acres would receive Rs 1 lakh a year from the government.
The grant helps them cover the expenses on input requirements such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and labour.
How much does it cost the state exchequer?
Since the Kharif season of 2018, the state government has been crediting Rythu Bandhu assistance to farmers.
As of date, it has credited Rs 43,036.64 crore into the bank accounts of beneficiaries.
This season, the state government will disburse another Rs 7638.99 crore, taking the total sum disbursed so far to over Rs 50,000 crore.
Comparing with the PM-KISAN scheme
The state government has often said that the Centre’s PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme is a “copy” of Rythu Bandhu.
Under PM-KISAN, a land-holding family receives an income support of 6,000 per year in three equal installments.
Rythu Bandhu is based on anticipated input expenditure for each acre of land and there is no restriction on the number of acres owned by a farmer.
PM-KISAN only provides support to the family and not to the farm units.
Criticisms of the Rythu Bandhu Scheme
The scheme does not cover the landless or tenant farmers.
Farmer bodies have been demanding that the state government should extend the agriculture assistance to tenant farmers as well.
They have pointed out that those who work on lands taken on lease from landowners also need government assistance at the beginning of a crop season.
It is difficult to bring tenant farmers under the ambit of the scheme because of the informal nature of the agreements they enter into.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ruled that Indian mutual funds (MFs) cannot invest in crypto-related products until government regulations on are clear.
What are Blockchain Funds?
Blockchain is a digital ledger system that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a network.
It is possible to have blockchain without crypto, but in practice the two are highly interlinked.
Cryptocurrency tends to power the resources needed for a public blockchain network.
Unlike specific crypto-based investments, blockchain funds invest in multiple companies that are driving sustainable earnings from blockchain businesses.
Some key companies in this ecosystem are US-based Coinbase Global Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, and Japan’s GMO internet Inc.
Why has SEBI blocked Blockchain funds?
Absence of regulations: SEBI concerns stem from unclear regulations around cryptocurrencies in India.
Unclear future: While investing, trading and holding crypto assets are allowed in India as of now, the laws are still not clear as to how they are regulated and taxed.
Possible ban: There is a possibility that the government may ban trading in crypto altogether or come up with stringent thresholds for investors to delve into this new asset.
Taxing the gains: For taxation purposes, short-term capital gains from individual crypto investing are taxed at personal taxation rates, however, there are no clear guidelines for fund investing.
Are blockchain funds good investments?
The technology is creating value by revolutionizing the way assets and digital records are managed and transferred.
Many companies, particularly in financial services, are investing millions of dollars in researching and building Blockchain infrastructure.
Although the technology is still in the nascent phase in India, its potential across the board is huge.
Back2Basics: Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in securities such as stocks, bonds, and short-term debt.
The combined holdings of the mutual fund are known as its portfolio. Investors buy shares in mutual funds.
Each share represents an investor’s part ownership in the fund and the income it generates.
Mutual funds are a popular choice among investors because they generally offer the following features:
Professional Management. The fund managers do the research for you. They select the securities and monitor the performance.
Diversification or “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Mutual funds typically invest in a range of companies and industries. This helps to lower your risk if one company fails.
Affordability. Most mutual funds set a relatively low dollar amount for initial investment and subsequent purchases.
Liquidity. Mutual fund investors can easily redeem their shares at any time, for the current net asset value (NAV) plus any redemption fees.
Risks with MFs
With mutual funds, one may lose some or all of the money invested because the securities held by a fund can go down in value.
Dividends or interest payments may also change as market conditions change.
The more volatile the fund, the higher the investment risk.
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the TH e-paper edition.
Regression Theorem
The regression theorem refers to a theory of the origin of money.
It states that money must have originated as a commodity with intrinsic value in the marketplace.
The idea was first proposed by Austrian economist Carl Menger in his 1892 work “On the Origins of Money.”
This theory is offered as an alternative to the state theory of money which states that money (fiat money) can come into existence only when it is backed by the government.
Evolution of Money
The regression theory argues that money comes into existence through a gradual process of evolution in the marketplace, without the need for any government sanction.
Economists who try to explain the regression theory generally start with the question of why money, particularly fiat money which is simply just a piece of paper, has any value at all in the marketplace.
The most common answer to this question is that fiat money can be used to buy other useful goods such as houses, cars etc.
But this answer is insufficient —it tries to tackle the question of why fiat money can buy other useful goods by simply saying that it can buy other useful goods.
Why is fiat money, which has little intrinsic value, considered valuable?
In real life, people accept money in exchange for goods in the present because they are aware that money was accepted as a medium in exchange for other goods in the past.
For example, people accept wages in the US dollar today because they are aware that the dollar was used to buy cars, groceries and other goods in the market yesterday.
This gives them confidence in the value of their money.
What made people accept money in exchange for other useful goods in the past?
Ans.Intrinsic Value
Economists who advocate the regression theory of money argue that money must have originated as a useful commodity like gold or silver or the barter system.
This is the only way, they argue, it could have possibly been accepted by people in exchange for other useful goods at some point in the past.
If a thing did not possess any intrinsic value, it is unlikely that people in the marketplace would have accepted it in exchange for other goods and services.
So, commodities like gold and silver must have been traded in exchange for other goods and services at some point in history purely because they offered some kind of personal utility to people.
For example, these precious metals could have been used to make ornaments, to fill teeth, etc., which gives them intrinsic value.
They maintain value over time because their supply cannot be easily ramped up as mining gold involves significant production costs.
The 2022 calendar of the IIT, Kharagpur on the theme of “evidence” for “rebutting the Aryan invasion myth” has caused controversy.
What is the Aryan Invasion Theory?
It has always been understood that the Aryans migration from the Steppe happened after 2000 BCE.
In 1953 Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia, the “Aryans”, caused the decline of the Indus Civilization.
As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts of Mohenjo-daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles and forts.
However, scholars soon started to reject Wheeler’s theory, since the skeletons belonged to a period after the city’s abandonment and none were found near the citadel.
Basis of this theory
This was first propounded when linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and the major European languages were discovered by European scholars during the colonial era.
This tool was used by the colonizers to legitimize their rule in India.
The theory hypothesizes that during 2000BC Aryans from Europe invaded or migrated into the Asian subcontinent.
It states these ‘invaders’ killed the original Dravidians and set up the Aryan race in the South-Asian subcontinent.
The Aryan Invasion Theory claimed that these ‘invaders’ were the root of modern Indian civilization, not the Harappan civilization.
Its rebuttal
Recent studies have debunked the theory after DNA samples from 5000-year old Harappan remains were proven to be similar to modern Indians’ DNA as part of the Rakhigarhi Project.
Who were the Harappans then?
The Harappans who created the agricultural revolution in northwestern India and then built the Harappan civilization were a mix of First Indians and Iranians who spoke a pre-Arya language.
The Arya were central Asian Steppe pastoralists who arrived in India between roughly 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE, and brought Indo-European languages to the subcontinent.
The new study says the Iranians arrived in India before agriculture or even herding had begun anywhere in the world.
In other words, these migrants were likely to have been hunter-gatherers, which means they did not bring a knowledge of agriculture.
Try this PYQ:
Q With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements correct?
Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) Only 1
(c) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”piz6vf17w7″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 has been recently released.
About ARIIA
ARIIA is an initiative of erstwhile Ministry of HRD, implemented by AICTE and Ministry’s Innovation Cell.
It systematically ranks all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.
ARIIA 2020 will have six categories which also includes special category for women only higher educational institutions to encourage women and bringing gender parity in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.
The other five categories are 1) Centrally Funded Institutions 2) State-funded universities 3) State-funded autonomous institutions 4) Private/Deemed Universities and 5) Private Institutions.
Major Indicators for consideration
Budget & Funding Support.
Infrastructure & Facilities.
Awareness, Promotions & support for Idea Generation & Innovation.
Promotion & Support for Entrepreneurship Development.
Innovative Learning Methods & Courses.
Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization.
Innovation in Governance of the Institution.
Key highlights of 2021 report
Seven IITs and the IISc, Bengaluru, are among the top 10 central institutions in promotion and support of innovation and entrepreneurship development.
The top rank has been bagged by the IIT, Madras followed by the IITs in Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur and Roorkee.
The IISc has bagged the sixth position in the ranking followed by the IITs in Hyderabad and Kharagpur, the NIT, Calicut.
Thousands of Tribals fear displacement following the implementation of the project to mine coals and basalts from the Deucha-Pachami coal block in West Bengal’s Birbhoom district.
Deucha-Pachami Mines
Deucha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsinga coal block is the second-largest coal block in the world; it is the largest in India.
It is located in Deucha and Panchamati area under Mohamad bazar community Development Block of Birbhum district, West Bengal.
The block has a thick coal seam trapped between equally thick layers of rocks, mostly basalt. It has a great economic value.
The existence of these thick basalt layers, however, makes mining of coal difficult; foreign investment and technology will be hence needed for mining.
Are you finding Current Affairs for UPSC-CSE to be a time-consuming affair? Do you either spend the entire day reading only current affairs or skip reading it for many days? Is there a lack of clarity while answering current affairs questions? Do you want to know the right approach to prepare for UPSC-CSE Current affairs without wasting time on trial and error? Then it’s time you filled the Samanvaya form for free 1-on-1 counselling session with an experienced faculty from Civilsdaily!
Current Affairs for UPSC-CSE doesn’t only test an aspirant’s basic understanding, but their ability to critically analyze and remember certain very important details. It requires you to do match the following — you need to match the topic in your UPSC syllabus with the current affairs as you read. For example, India has placed an anti-dumping duty recently on China to protect it’s local manufacturers from cheap imports. This news is related to GS 3 Economics and comes under Foreign Trade topic.
But that’s not all. Current Affairs is the key component that you cannot do without in all the 3 stages of your UPSC-CSE preparation — Prelims, Mains and Interview. And the way you are supposed to prepare for current affairs under each stage varies. You have to remember facts for Prelims, understand the background, challenges and the solutions of current events for Mains and for Interview you should be able to drive meaningful discussions with your current affairs knowledge. Hence, simply reading a newspaper cannot help you ace current affairs for UPSC-CSE.
Unlike popular notion, importance of current affairs isn’t decreasing in UPSC-CSE papers. Rather, it’s become a part and parcel of every topic in the Core Subjects like Economy, Polity, Science and Environment. Let’s understand this with a question asked in UPSC-CSE Mains 2020 —
Which steps are required for constitutionalization of a commission? Do you think imparting constitutionality to the National Commission for Women would ensure greater gender justice and empowerment in India? Give reasons.
This question needs you to have current knowledge on government policies/interventions, constitutional and non-constitutional bodies, constitutional provisions and issues related to developmental and management of social sectors. That’s totally 4 topics for one answer!
Remembering current affairs indices for Prelims MCQs & using them to substantiate answers in Mains is crucial to get marks above cut-off.
Why Samanvaya for UPSC-CSE Current Affairs Preparation?
In UPSC 2020, Civilsdaily helped 80+ students secure ranks in their exams. In the top 100, every 3rd ranker was a Civilsdaily student.
A very recent success story would be Vishwa Shah, student of Civilsdaily Mentor, Sukanya Ma’am. Vishwa has cleared the GPSC exam to become the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Gujarat. He has penned a thank-you note yesterday. Heartiest Congratulations to Vishwa!
One of our other Civilsdaily Student, Shubham Nagargojecleared the exams in 2020 to become an IPS Officer. Shubham was gracious enough to let us know how he felt about Civilsdaily Samanvaya Guidance under Parth sir.
To know how all of them cleared the exam with our mentorship, visit the UnherdPodcast.
Now that results are announced for UPSC 2021 Prelims, out of 15 out of 25 students of Santhosh Gupta sir have been recommended to Mains. One such student, Rahul expresses his gratitude and extends his appreciation.
Most of our Mentors like Sudhanshu sir, Sajal sir, Santhosh sir, Pravin sir, Parth Verma sir and Sukanya Ma’am were UPSC aspirants themselves and have attended UPSC Mains more than five times and UPSC Interview more than twice. Hence their mentorship is always a blend of the best test series, comprehensive notes and current affairs knowledge.
All of them dedicate their time weekly to give 1-on-1 mentorship to every student where they discuss last week’s performance and next week’s approach.
Be it Telegram, Whatsapp or Habitiat channels, they are always available and clear student’s doubts in a turnaround time of 24 Hours.
Why Civilsdaily Mentors are the GPS for Your UPSC-CSE Preparation
Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel and if you want to get out of the tunnel you have to follow the direction of the light! Our mentors’ give you direction which is divided into daily modules. All you have to do is study and complete them on time.
As every year passes by, we don’t get confident by the previous years’ performance and become laidback. Instead, we become more hungry to convert all our students into toppers.
How are Current Civilsdaily Students Gearing up for UPSC-CSE 2022?
Initially, our Civilsdaily student Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE back in 2019. At that time, Smriti had enrolled in multiple institutes. Though, most of these institutes had promised a personal mentor, she was unable to get in touch with them on a daily basis. Also those mentors never scheduled test-series on a weekly basis. Hence, despite preparing for a year, Smriti had scored only 35 marks out of 200 in her first test series by Civilsdaily.
She then started writing 20-25 test series over the course of UAP 2021 and in her last test, her scores have drastically improved. She now scores in the range of 130-135 marks in prelims’ and 110+ in mains’ papers.
In Smriti’s own words she describes her Samanvaya Mentorship Experience to be —
“Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support for UPSC. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants. That’s when my mentor, Ravi sir reminded me of my improvement and encouraged me that I can crack it with the same consistency. We need someone, who tells us we are performing well especially when we cannot see that ourselves. The mentorship at Civilsdaily helped me become mentally stronger as a person. In other institutes, mentors are allotted only for doubt resolution. But at Civilsdaily, I am getting end-to-end mentorship via value added notes, classes, test series and detailed evaluation.”
Similarly our another Civilsdaily student, Ashishsums up his Samanvaya experience with Civilsdaily mentor,Pravin Sir, “Because of Pravin sir’s support, I am able to understand a topic in lesser time.”
This is how Pravin sir evaluates Ashish’s Mains Test Series every week. After every test series evaluation, Pravin sir schedules a 1 hour call to discuss how Ashish can improve his marks and the sources he can refer for key topics.
It’s Your Turn Get the Free 40 Min Counselling Session By a CD Mentor
At the core of Samanvaya lies the fact that each one of you will have a unique journey while preparing for the exam. Some will get through on the first attempt without much effort while others will take both more time and more effort.
We want to understand you better to help you optimize your journey so you can focus on the right things and not waste time on the wrong ones. We are asking you to tap into the valuable experiences of mentors who underwent the same grind and realize the pitfalls and understand the shortcuts to make it.
In the first counselling session, we will understand your weaknesses. Over 80% of students who claimed to have revised NCERTs twice were unable to answer basic questions. Many were not comfortable with at least 1 GS subject and Optional. Many struggled with ‘What went wrong’ after 2-3 years of hard work. Our mentors will provide free preliminary assignments so that we can assess your preparedness and suggest accurate strategies. We then help you to stick to one plan or strategy throughout your preparation.
All Mains Recommended Aspirants, here is the good news! Civilsdaily is providing a free compilation of the topic-wise data and statistics that will help you write better answers for Mains 2022 examination. If you have difficulty remembering facts, you can use this handbook as a revision material.
We all know how an aspirant can create a good impression and get the extra 2-4 marks in their papers when they write an introduction and conclusion with solid data. The statistics, reports & indices complied by Civilsdaily is based on the past 1-2 year survey and committee reports.
The topics range from Education, Employment, Labour & MSME’s , Infrastructure, Population and Security.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on ICT has observed that Internet today is an indispensable part of everyday lives of citizens.
Hence, the government should explore the possibility of banning particular internet services, such as messengers like WhatsApp and social media websites, instead of putting in place blanket internet bans.
Internet shutdowns in India
Nowadays, India is widely considered to be a world leader in cutting off access to the Net.
Yet, there are no detailed official data on Internet shutdowns in India.
Taking a serious note of the situation, the Supreme Court has for the first time set the stage for challenging such suspension orders before courts.
It has directed the government to mandatorily publish all orders permitting Internet shutdowns. It has opened such decisions amenable to judicial review.
Recent statistics
India leads the global tally in suspension of internet services.
An internet tracker internetshudowns.in points out there have been 550 internet shutdowns in India since 2012, more than 50 per cent of which were imposed since 2019.
The longest shutdown, lasting for 552 days, was imposed in J&K from August 4, 2019 to February 6, 2020.
Mechanisms allowing Internet Shut-downs
[1] Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services Rule, 2017
Home Departments in the states are mostly the authorities that enforce shutdowns, drawing powers from The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017.
The decisions are reviewed by a state government review committee. The central government also has powers under this law, but has not used it.
[2] CrPC
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has enabled many of the shutdowns in the recent past, especially until the time the telecom suspension Rules came into force in 2017.
[3] Telegraph Act, 1885
Less frequently used is The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, whose Section 5(2) allows central and state governments to prevent the transmission of messaging during a public emergency or in the interest of public safety or in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India etc.
This act stipulates that only the Home Secretary of the Union or a state can pass an order, and that the order must include the reasons for the decision.
Under this the government has the power to block the transmission of messages during a public emergency or for public safety.
Need for Internet Shutdowns
Civil unrest: Internet serves as a medium for the transmission of information through pictures, videos and text that have the potential to cause civil unrest and exacerbate the law and order.
Fake news: Shutdowns in order to block the flow of information about government actions or to end communication among activists and prevent the spread of rumors and fake news.
Rumors: Shutdown helps prevent the “spreading of rumors and misinformation using social media platforms which can hinder peace and law and order”.
Preventive Response: Cutting off the Internet is both an early and preventive response to block restive groups to organize riots against the Government.
National Interest: The Internet cannot be independent of national sovereignty. Therefore, the necessary regulation of the internet is a reasonable choice of sovereign countries based on national interests.
Issues with the Kashmir Shutdown
Arbitrary: The Internet shutdown in Kashmir was is often alleged to be non-compliant with the Rules.
Unnecessary: The Rules require the suspension to be temporary; also, the orders did not provide reasons for the restrictions.
Discriminatory: Shutdowns in Kashmir often led to obstruction for essential services such as e-banking and hospitals.
Supreme Court Judgment on Internet Shutdowns
The court ordered the government to review its order, ruling that the freedom of speech and trade on the Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19.
Non-recognition of technology within the sphere of law is only a disservice to the inevitable.
The court said that because the Rules require the order to be in accordance with Section 5(2) of The Telegraph Act, the order must be during a “public emergency” or in the “interest of public safety”.
Also, the suspension must be “necessary” and “unavoidable”.
In furtherance of the same, the State must assess the existence of an alternate less intrusive remedy,” the court said.
Legal basis for Right to Internet
The access to the Internet is a right very similar to what the Supreme Court held with respect to the right to privacy in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy.
The Human Rights Council of the United Nations Resolution dated July 2, 2018, on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, made important declarations.
It noted with concern the various forms of undue restriction on freedom of opinion and expression online, including where countries have manipulated or suppressed online expression in violation of international law.
Why is the Internet a necessity?
Information: While the Internet is certainly the main source of information and communication and access to social media, it is so much more than that.
Education: It is a mode of access to education for students who do courses and take exams online. Access to the Internet is important to facilitate the promotion and enjoyment of the right to education.
Livelihood: People working in the technology-based gig economy — like the thousands of delivery workers for depend on the Internet for their livelihoods.
Healthcare: It is also a mode to access to health care for those who avail of health services online.
Dysfunctions created by shutdowns
[1]Economic impact
While there is no proven benefit of closing down the internet, there are serious economic repercussions.
A report by the Brookings Institute adjudged India to have topped the list by incurring losses to the tune of $968 million in 2016 itself.
Over the past five years, some 16,000 hours of Internet shutdowns cost the economy a little over $3 billion, according to estimates in a report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
[2] Governance hurdles
In Sept. 2018, the Dept. of Telecommunication had acknowledged the adverse impact of a rising number of internet shutdowns that State governments are ordering.
The Govt. has embarked upon a programme to deliver services through mobile and internet apart from promoting a cashless economy.
Neither banking transactions using credit and debit cards nor internet banking can be done, which leads to hardships to common citizens.
Way Forward
Internet shutdowns should be used as the option of the last resort.
There exists no qualitative or quantitative evidence to show that internet shutdowns are effective tools to restore normalcy.
In fact, the internet itself can be used to resolve the problem.
For example, the Government can have verified sources to spread legitimate information across various mediums stating areas that are safe/affected the updated status of the situation, etc.
State interests like security are important because they are the prerequisites for us to exercise our freedoms. However, in pursuing this, the freedoms themselves cannot be suspended.
Therefore, the government needs to clearly lay down a comprehensive framework, stating the conditions behind such Internet shutdowns.
Conclusion
It is time that we recognize that the right to access to the Internet is indeed a fundamental right within our constitutional guarantees.
The Internet is pretty much a basic human right, even if not legally defined as such, for most parts of the world — without access to the virtual world, a very large number of vital human activities simply stops.
