India moves up 30 spots in World Bank’s ease of business ranking

India climbed 30 positions in the latest ease of doing business ranking released by the World Bank, in its ‘Ease of doing Business’ 2018 report.The report ranks India at 100 among 190 countries.Last year, India was ranked 130.New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark retained their first, second and third spots.India’s upward jump in ranking is based on the improvement in the distance to frontier (DTF) score which measures absolute progress towards the best practice.Ease of Doing Business report measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business, and India made eight reforms across these areas last year which is the highest number for the country in a single year.India used to be the last among the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa - countries in the ranking, but now it has overtaken Brazil in the list.

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital programs.The World Bank was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, along with three other institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).It’s headquarter is in Washington, D.C., United States.It comprises two institutions- the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA).The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group.

World Bank Group

The World Bank is different from the World Bank Group, an extended family of five international organizations:
(a) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
(b) International Development Association (IDA)
(c) International Finance Corporation (IFC)
(d) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
(e) International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Important reports published by World Bank

Ease of doing BusinessWorld Development ReportGlobal Economic ProspectGlobal Financial Development ReportCommodity Markets Outlook

Topic- GS-3- Economic Development

Source- The Hindu

India, Kazakhstan armies’ joint exercise 'Prabal Dostyk 2017'

Indo-Kazakhstan joint army exercise 'Prabal Dostyk 2017' will be conducted between November 2 to 15 this year in Bakloh belt of Himachal Pradesh.This is second joint military exercise between the two countries.The first edition of ‘Prabal Dostyk’ was held in Kazakhstan in 2016.The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral army-to-army relations and exchange skills and experiences between Kazakhstan Army and the Indian Army.

Topic- GS-3- Defence

Source- Indian Express

 Concentration of CO2 in atmosphere hits record high: UN

The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has hit a new high, the UN said recently, warning that drastic action is needed to achieve targets set by the Paris climate agreement.Globally averaged concentrations of CO2 reached 403.3 parts per million in 2016, up from 400.00 ppm in 2015 because of a combination of human activities and a strong El Nino event.The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, the UN weather agency's annual flagship report, tracks the continent of dangerous gasses in atmosphere in the post-industrial era (since 1750).The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin tracks concentrations of gasses in the atmosphere, rather than emissions with data compiled from a monitoring station in Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

Paris Climate Accord-

The Paris climate accord or Paris climate agreement, is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.The agreement was adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015.The contributions that each individual country should make in order to achieve the worldwide goal are determined by all countries individually and called "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs).US President Donald Trump in June 2017 announced the start of a three-year process to pull out of the agreement, signed by 195 countries, on the grounds that it would put the US at an economic disadvantage.

Aims of Paris Climate Accord

To contain global temperature rises this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.And to pursue efforts to limit the temperature upsurge even further to 5 degrees Celsius.Strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

Topic- GS-3- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Source- The Hindu

Government sets up Arun Jaitley led panel on PSU bank mergers

The government has constituted a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to oversee merger proposals of state-owned banks.The other members of the panel include Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.The move is to create large banks which could then aim at meeting the credit needs of the growing Indian economy. And building capacity in the PSB space to raise resources without dependence on the state exchequer.The mechanism will oversee the proposals coming from boards of PSBs for consolidation.

Topic- GS-3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Source- AIR

Govt clears mega project to acquire 111 helicopters for Navy

In a major move, the defence ministry approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 21,738 crore, in the first acquisition to be cleared under the strategic partnership model.The defence ministry also approved a Rs 450-crore proposal to procure nine active towed array sonar systems for frontline warships of the Navy.The two long-pending proposals were passed at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.On helicopters, they said 16 of them will be procured at a fly away condition while 95 will be manufactured in India.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

The DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest decision-making body for capital acquisition for Indian armed forces.It was set up in 2001 as part of the post-Kargil reforms in defence sector.It is headed by defence minister.It approves the long-term integrated perspective plan for the forces, accords acceptance to begin acquisition proposals, and grant’s its approval to all major deals.

Topic- GS-3- Internal Security

Source- DD News

Indian Air force contingent leaves for Israel to Participate in ‘Ex Blue Flag-17’

Blue Flag is a bi-annual multilateral exercise which aims to strengthen military cooperation amongst participating nations.Indian Air Force is participating with the C-130J special operations aircraft along with Garud commandos.This is the first time the Indian Air Force is operating with Israeli Air Force in a multilateral exercise setting.

Topic- GS-3- Defence

Source- PIB

Issues over ‘therapeutic food’

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) issued a notification to states and Union Territories, clarifying that “use of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for management of malnutrition is not an accepted policy of the Government of India”, and asked that this advice “be strictly complied with”.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF)

Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), also referred to as energy dense nutritious food (EDNF), is a medical intervention to improve the nutrition intake of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).RUTF is a packaged paste of peanuts, oil, sugar, vitamins, milk powder and mineral supplements, which contains 520-550 kilocalories of energy per 100 gThe paste is given to children aged between six months and six years, usually after a doctor’s prescription.RUTF use is common in Africa, where the incidence of malnutrition among children is high.In India, the global collaborative Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement has tied up with Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand to promote therapeutic food as a solution to malnourishment.In 2013, a UNICEF report observed that if properly used, “RUTF is safe, cost-effective, and has saved hundreds of thousands of children’s lives.”

Issues

SAM (Severe Acute Malnutrition) Alliance formed under the Department of Biotechnology, Indian Council of Medical Research and the Health Ministry to assess the benefits of RUTF had found that therapeutic food was only “temporarily helpful in nutritional rehabilitation.Cost concern- RUTF is a medical intervention, and at Rs 25 per packet, a single child’s treatment with three RUTF doses a day will cost Rs 2,250 a month. 

Topic- GS-2- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Source- Indian Express

Child adoption process in India

After the death of three-year-old Sherin Mathews in Texas, government is thinking to review its child adoption policy.The child’s adoptive father said she had choked on milk that he had tried to “physically assist” her in drinking.

Who can adopt an Indian chiAccording to adoption guidelines, prospective adoptive parents have to be physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially capable and should not have a life-threatening medical condition.

Singles are eligible, but a single male cannot adopt a girl child.Preference shall be given to place the child in adoption with Indian citizens and with due regard to the principle of placement of the child in his own socio-cultural environment.

Procedure followed by parent’s resident outside India

All prospective parents irrespective of nationality have to register with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).After registration, children are assigned by turn, and foreign couples are treated at par with Indian ones.Any Non-Resident Indian, Overseas Citizen of India or foreign prospective adoptive parents, living in a country which is a signatory to The Hague Adoption Convention and wishing to adopt an Indian child, can approach the authorised foreign adoption agency.Alternatively, they can approach the government department or Indian diplomatic mission concerned in that country.

Topic- GS-2- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Source- Indian Express