There are over 1.36 crore Indian nationals living abroad, according to data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs in Lok Sabha.
Indians abroad
The highest number of Indians abroad are living in the United Arab Emirates, where the 34,20,000 Indians comprise about one-fourth of all Indians abroad.
The UAE is followed by Saudi Arabia (25,94,947), the US (12,80,000), Kuwait (10,29,861), Oman (7,79,351), Qatar (7,56,062), Nepal (5,00,000), UK (3,51,000), Singapore (3,50,000) and Bahrain (3,23,292).
The CPV (Consular, Passport and Visa) division of the ministry is the nodal division that coordinates with all missions / posts abroad regarding transportation of the mortal remains of Indians from abroad to their hometowns in India.
Total remittances recieved
Citing RBI data, the ministry said that during 2018-2019, $76.4 billion was received as remittances from Indians abroad.
During 2019-2020 (April-September), $41.9 billion was received.
The Union Govt. has given clearance to an ambitious gene-mapping project, estimated to be worth Rs 238 crore.
Genome India Project
The Genome India Project has been described by those involved as the “first scratching of the surface of the vast genetic diversity of India”.
It involves over 20 scientists from institutions including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and a few IITs.
One of the most comprehensive genome mapping projects in the world is the Human Genome Project (HGP), which began in 1990 and reached completion in 2003.
The international project, which was coordinated by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Energy, was undertaken with the aim of sequencing the human genome and identifying the genes that contain it.
The project was able to identify the locations of many human genes and provide information about their structure and organisation.
What is Genome Mapping?
According to the Human Genome Project, there are estimated to be over 20,500 human genes.
Genome refers to an organism’s complete set of DNA, which includes all its genes and mapping these genes simply means finding out the location of these genes in a chromosome.
In humans, each cell consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes for a total of 46 chromosomes, which means that for 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell, there are roughly 20,500 genes located on them.
Some of the genes are lined up in a row on each chromosome, while others are lined up quite close to one another and this arrangement might affect the way they are inherited.
For example, if the genes are placed sufficiently close together, there is a probability that they get inherited as a pair.
Genome mapping, therefore, essentially means figuring out the location of a specific gene on a particular region of the chromosome and also determining the location of and relative distances between other genes on that chromosome.
Applications
Significantly, genome mapping enables scientists to gather evidence if a disease transmitted from the parent to the child is linked to one or more genes.
Furthermore, mapping also helps in determining the particular chromosome which contains that gene and the location of that gene in the chromosome.
Genome maps have been used to find out genes that are responsible for relatively rare, single-gene inherited disorders such as cystic fibrosis and Duchene muscular dystrophy.
Genetic maps may also point out scientists to the genes that play a role in more common disorders and diseases such as asthma, cancer and heart disease among others.
Researchers from several international institutions mapped the handful of genes whose mutation causes several different kinds of cancers.
In the Antarctic floats a massive glacier, roughly the size of Britain, whose melting has been a cause of alarm for scientists over the years. Now, a new study has pinned the cause of the melting to the presence of warm water at a vital point beneath the glacier.
Thwaites Glacier
The Thwaites Glacier is 120 km wide at its broadest, fast-moving and melting fast over the years.
Because of its size (1.9 lakh square km), it contains enough water to raise the world sea level by more than half a metre.
Studies have found the amount of ice flowing out of it has nearly doubled over the past 30 years. Today, Thwaites’s melting already contributes 4% to global sea level rise each year.
It is estimated that it would collapse into the sea in 200-900 years. Thwaites is important for Antarctica as it slows the ice behind it from freely flowing into the ocean.
Because of the risk it faces — and poses — Thwaites is often called the Doomsday Glacier.
What has the new study found?
A 2019 study had discovered a fast-growing cavity in the glacier.
More recently researchers detected warm water at a vital point below the glacier.
Scientists dug a 600-m-deep and 35-cm-wide access hole, and deployed an ocean-sensing device called Icefin to measure the waters moving below the glacier’s surface.
The study reported water at just two degrees above freezing point at Thwaites’s “grounding zone” or “grounding line”.
What is the grounding line?
The grounding line is the place below a glacier at which the ice transitions between resting fully on bedrock and floating on the ocean as an ice shelf.
The location of the line is a pointer to the rate of retreat of a glacier.
When glaciers melt and lose weight, they float off the land where they used to be situated. When this happens, the grounding line retreats.
That exposes more of a glacier’s underside to seawater, increasing the likelihood it will melt faster.
This resulted in the glacier speeding up, stretching out, and thinning, causing the grounding line to retreat ever further.
Researchers have developed and commercialized a rice variety that is resistant to arsenic.
Muktoshri
The new rice variety, Muktoshri — also called IET 21845 —, was developed jointly by the Rice Research Station at Chinsurah coming under West Bengal’s Agriculture Department and the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.
A gazette notification for the commercial use of Muktoshri was made by West Bengal last year.
During our multilocational trials, it was found that this variety uptakes very less amount of arsenic from soil and water in comparison to other varieties of rice.
The rice is long and thin, and aromatic. Across the State, thousands of farmers have started cultivation, even in areas where arsenic in groundwater is not an issue, because of the aroma and the yield.
Significance
West Bengal is among the States with the highest concentration of arsenic in groundwater, with as many as 83 blocks across seven districts having higher arsenic levels than permissible limits.
Several studies have shown that arsenic from groundwater and the soil can enter the food chain through paddy.
According to the WHO, long-term exposure to arsenic, mainly through drinking water and food, can lead to poisoning. Skin lesions and skin cancer are the most characteristic effects.
Fermentation, the chemical breakdown of a substance by microorganisms such as bacteria or yeasts, results in some of the most delicious foods and beverages, including cheese, chocolate and wine. Now, research has shown it can result in music, too.
Fermentophone
The chemical processes of fermentation can be used to create spontaneous tunes.
Researchers has built multiple art exhibits called Fermentophone to showcase how fermentation can make music.
First, different fruits and veggies are placed in glass jars and fermented.
As the fermentation kicks off, the yeast — or bacteria — present in the food chows down on the foods’ sugars, which results in the release of carbon dioxide bubbles.
The release of these bubbles creates a tiny sound, which is picked up by underwater microphones.
A computer processes the sounds and, with the help of algorithms plugged in, electronic music is created.
The landmark Agartala-Akhaura railway line to connect the northeastern region with Bangladesh is expected to be ready by the end of 2021.
About Agartala-Akhaura Link
MoU for Indo-Bangla Railway connectivity project viz. Agartala-Akhaura new Broad Gauge line (15.06 Km) was signed on 16.02.2013 between India and Bangladesh.
The link will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to Nischintapur in India and from there to Agartala.
The Project was at standstill because of the sharp increase in the cost of land for the sections in India.
The Railway Ministry would bear the cost of laying the 5.46-km track on the Indian side and the cost of the 10.6-km track on the Bangladesh side was being borne by the Ministry of External Affairs.
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India’s international trade posture appeared to turn protectionist in the past week, with two indicators the government sent out.
What were the two indicators?
The first-Signal sent out in the Budget: The first indicator, which played out live on television was contained in the Union Budget.
Laying out the Budget for the year, the finance minister made several references to the problems with free trade and preferential trade agreements (FTAs and PTAs).
Raise in tariffs, changes in the act: The Budget raised tariffs on the import of more than 50 items and changed the Customs Act provisions substantially to penalise imports suspected to originate from third countries.
The second- India declined negotiations: The other indicator was that India declined to attend a meeting of trade negotiators in Bali that was discussing the next step in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement.
Issues with the Free Trade Agreement
What the FM told Parliament: It has been observed that imports under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are on the rise.
Undue claims of FTA benefits have posed a threat to the domestic industry.
Such imports require stringent checks, adding that the government will ensure that all FTAs are aligned to the conscious direction of our policy.
What could be the consequences of the Govt. policy?
Discouragement to imports: While the Govt. motive may be to protect Indian markets from dumping-primarily by Chinese goods-
The consequence of the changes will be to put Indian importers on notice and discourage imports in general.
Even as the government reserves the right to modify or cancel preferential tariffs and ban the import or export of any goods that it deems fit.
The rise in the trade deficit and decision to walk out of FTA
The trade deficit with FTA partners: The government’s problem with FTAs was a key theme in its decision to walk out of the RCEP negotiations (of 16 countries) the rise in trade deficits with FTA partners.
Review of all agreements: The government says it will now review all those agreements and wants to “correct asymmetry” in negotiations with new partners. The agreement that would be reviewed includes-
TAs signed with the 10-nation ASEAN grouping (FTA).
Japan (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA).
And South Korea (CEPA).
Why it would not be easy to negotiate bilateral treaties
The bilateral agreement would not be a priority for other countries: If India makes a complete break with RCEP, negotiating the bilateral trade agreements (TAs) will not be a priority for the other countries until RCEP is done.
The process of legal scrubbing is likely to take most of the year, and any talks with India will probably only follow that.
Difficulty in getting better deal: It is also hard to see any of them being able to offer India a better deal bilaterally once they are bound into the multilateral RCEP agreement.
India’s pending talks on bilateral treaties
Negotiations of CECA with Australia: The case of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) being negotiated with Australia, will be a difficult task, not the least due to its history.
India and Australia began CECA talks in 2011.
However, talks hit a dead-end in September 2015. With the focus on RCEP, no progress has been made since then.
Negotiations of FTA with the UK: A similar scenario awaits the announcement of the India-United Kingdom FTA talks.
It is unlikely that the U.K. will actually be able to talk until next year after terms for the K.’s full withdrawal from the European Union (EU) are completed.
Negotiation of BTIA with the EU: Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiation are also unlikely to make headway until the UK’s complete withdrawal from the EU.
Both sides will have to decide how to revive from where they left off in 2013.
Why the negotiations are pending? Making the negotiations harder is the government’s decision to scrap all bilateral investment treaties with 57 countries including EU nations, and bringing in a new Bilateral Investment treaty (BIT) model in 2015.
Only Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and most recently Brazil have agreed to sign a new investment treaty based on that model.
The US-India trade issue: Finally, there is the much-anticipated resolution of U.S.-India trade issues ahead of the visit of U.S. President.
The talks in that visit could also include talks on an FTA.
At present, there have only been some non-paper talks on the issue.
And given that the U.S. has expressed deep misgivings about India’s BIT model, these talks will also take several years to come to fruition.
Why India should rethink its stand on FTA
First-Prospect of no dispute settlement mechanism: The decline of multilateralism, accelerated by the retrenchment of the U.S. and China’s intransigence have all meant the World Trade Organization (WTO) has lost steam as a world arbiter.
This leaves states that are not part of arrangements without a safety net on dispute settlement mechanisms.
The second-trade deficit of other countries with India: The government has invoked the massive $57-billion trade deficit with China to explain protectionist measures, but it forgets its own trade surpluses with smaller economies.
Particularly in the neighbourhood, where Indian exports form more than 80% of total trade with Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, respectively.
Third- The rise of regional agreements: It is clear that most of the world is now divided into regional FTAs, for example-
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for North America.
The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR for its Spanish initials) for South America.
The EU, the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia and neighbours).
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) FTA in West Asia.
And now the biggest of them all, RCEP, which minus India, represents a third of the world’s population and just under a third of its GDP.
Fourth- Finally, the trend across the world does not favour trade in services the way it does in goods.
India’s strength in the services sector and its demand for more mobility for Indian employees, is thus becoming another sticky point in FTA negotiations.
Conclusion
India’s demographic might is certainly attractive for international investors, but only if that vast market has purchasing power and is not riven by social unrest and instability. India’s demographic might is certainly attractive for international investors, but only if that vast market has purchasing power and is not riven by social unrest and instability.
Starts 20th February 2020. First lecture on February 20th
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Dear Students,
Before we jump into the finer details of our crash course for IAS Prelims 2020, let’s take you to a quick re-cap on the changing trends of the IAS Prelims from 2015 to date.
There was a time when aspirants were coaxed to prepare for IAS Mains and let Prelims be taken care of as a by-product of that preparation. This is not that time.
There was a time when in-service officers aspiring to improve their ranks and get the coveted IAS, IPS, IFS used to fine-tune their optional and interview strategies and cruise through the IAS Prelims with a month’s worth preparation. This is not that time either.
Here’s how IAS Prelims evolved over the last 4-5 years:
IAS Prelims 2015
Equal emphasis on traditional and current affairs based questions. a combination of logical understanding and factual clarity.
Which one of the following National Parks has a climate that varies from tropical to subtropical, temperate and arctic? a) Khangchendzonga National park b) Nandadevi National Park c) Neora Valley National Park d) Namdapha National park
With reference to art and archaeological history of India, which one among the following was made earliest? a) Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar b) Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli c) Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram d) Varaha Image at Udayagiri
IAS Prelims 2016:
Heavily based on CA and mostly one-liners: a major digressed from the earlier pattern
The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as a) G20 b) ASEAN c) SCO d) SAARC
Recently, for the first time in our country, which of the following States has declared a particular butterfly as ‘State Butterfly’? a) Arunachal Pradesh b) Himachal Pradesh c) Karnataka d) Maharashtra
IAS Prelims 2017:
Paper was difficult in terms of understanding and clarity in concepts. Polity more based on conceptual clarity, questions were little twisted
Which one of the following statements is correct? a) Rights are claims of the State against the citizens. b) Rights are privileges which are incorporated in the Constitution of a State. c) Rights are claims of the citizens against the State. d) Rights are privileges of a few citizens against the many.
Recognition of Prior Learning Scheme’ is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to a) Certifying the skills acquired by construction workers through traditional channels. b) Enrolling the persons in Universities for distance learning programmes. c) Reserving some skilled jobs to rural and urban poor in some public sector undertakings. d) Certifying the skills acquired by trainees under the National Skill Development Programme.
IAS Prelims 2018:
The questions based on the broader perspective of any topic; Current affairs were very indirect; History questions required logic rather than just facts; Polity questions were more analytical
The staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were: a) Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium b) Sugar, salt, zinc and lead. c) Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea d) Cotton, silk, saltpeter and opium
Which one of the following reflects the most appropriate relationship between law and liberty? a) If there are more laws, there is less liberty. b) If there are no laws, there is no liberty. c) If there is liberty, laws have to be made by the people. d) If laws are changed too often, liberty is in danger.
IAS Prelims 2019:
More common sense (Tikdam) based questions in CA and Polity; in-depth analysis to be done in Science and Technology and this is a stark departure from how easy S&T used to be!
In the context of proposals to the use of hydrogen-enriched CNG (H-CNG) as fuel for buses in public transport, consider the following statements:
1) The main advantage of the use of H-CNG is the elimination of carbon monoxide emissions. 2) H-CNG as fuel reduces carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon emissions. 3) Hydrogen up to one-fifth by volume can be blended with CNG as fuel for buses. 4) H-CNG makes the fuel less expensive than CNG.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
44. Why are dewdrops not formed on a cloudy night? (a) Clouds absorb the radiation released from the Earth’s surface. (b) Clouds reflect back the Earth’s radiation. (c) The Earth’s surface would have low temperature on cloudy nights. (d) Clouds deflect the blowing wind to ground level.
We have been following this space very closely and we were among the first ones who called out the pitfall of over reliance on traditional sources for IAS Prelims. We have been advocating smart study and calculated risks via our score boosting techniques (Tikdams/ तिकड़म) right from 2016.
