Enforcing a ban will not end the menace of stubble burning, say researchers                                   

Worldwide Cost of Living Report                                                                                                              

NEET score now valid for three years for undergraduate foreign medical degree                             

Rupee-dollar swap could boost foreign fund flows under voluntary retention route                        

Golan Heights [ Editorial / Opinion ]                                                                                                         

Enforcing a ban will not end the menace of stubble burning, say researchers

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

     ★ According to a team of researchers,stubble burning problem can be addressed by only educating farmers about the monetary costs of burning stubble.This can be done with the help of farmer cooperative groups who can play a more active role in educating farmers.

Key Observations:

     ★ Government efforts such as earmarking funds for specialised farming equipment (for straw management) and enforcing the state-led ban on the practice are unlikely to solve the problem.

     ★ Further,researchers has said that farmers should not to be blamed for the pollution crisis.

Stubble Burning :

     ★ Stubble burning is a common practice followed by farmers in the neighboring states Haryana and Punjab to prepare fields for sowing of wheat in November as there is little time left between the harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat.

     ★ Stubble burning results in emission of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide,sulphur dioxide,nitrogen dioxide along with particulate matter.

Why Farmers prefer Stubble Burning ?

     ★ Farmers generally do not have time to let the previous crops residue (stubble) to decompose in the field to turn into compost.

     ★ The high labour cost makes harvesting the stubble to clear the fields undesirable.

     ★ Burning them in the field itself is the quickest and the cheapest way to get rid of them.

     ★ Most farmers,therefore,prefer to defy the ban on burning and pay the penalty for it – which is usually less than the removal cost.

Steps Taken  :

     ★ In 2013,the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued a directive to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to take immediate steps to curb stubble burning.

     ★ The Centre and states of Punjab,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have declared “zero tolerance policy” on stubble burning.

     ★ The Centre has spent about ₹600 crore in subsidising farm equipment via village cooperatives to enable farmers to access them and avoid stubble burning.

     ★ Further,in 2018,the Punjab government drafted an action plan to deal with stubble burning.

     ★ Under the plan,the state has decided to provide straw management machinery at 80% subsidy to the cooperative societies and other groups and at 50% subsidy to individual farmers.

     ★ The state has also signed MoUs with major companies to set up Bio-CNG, ethanol and biogas plants using crop residue.

Way forward :

     ★ The states can purchase the residues from the farmers and handle it for their benefits in a cost-effective way.

     ★ Focus should also be on year-long awareness programmes on the benefits of managing crop residues.

     ★ The farmers need to be made aware that it is not just an urban problem, but, smog and its related dangers kills their own people, and deteriorates the soil quality.

    ★ The State’s activism should be focused on generating resources by seeking assistance from the global agencies created under the Paris agreement on climate change, such as the Global Climate Fund, or by involving corporate houses through CSR.

     ★ Media can also play a role in creating awareness among farmers about the long-term benefits of becoming willing partners in putting an end to this harmful practice.

    ★ Rather than trying to enforce a ban on stubble burning, the state governments’ efforts should be to spread awareness and ways to incentivise productive use of the stubble.

     ★ There needs to be greater participation by village cooperatives in being able to impose social norms that would dissuade burners.

                                                                                                                                                      Source :- The Hindu

Worldwide Cost of Living Report

GS PAPER - 01 SOCIETY - Population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Context :

     ★ The Economist Intelligence Unit has released the report of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2019.

About the Report :

     ★ The Worldwide Cost of Living Survey compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services in cities around the world.

       ★ The Report provides a ranking of the world’s major cities.

       ★ The survey is designed to help companies calculate cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travelers.

Key Findings :

     ★ For the first time three cities share the title of the world's most expensive city – Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris.

     ★ This year's top ten is largely split between Asia and Europe, with Singapore representing the only city that has maintained its ranking from the previous year. Singapore marks its sixth straight year at the top of the rankings.

     ★ Caracas in Venezuela was ranked the cheapest city in the world.This position was previously occupied by Damascus in Syria.The survey attributed to the deteriorating economic conditions in Venezuela and hyperinflation as the root cause of its position down the list.

     ★ Meanwhile in India,Delhi,Chennai and Bengaluru are also among the cheapest places to live in.The survey further said that most South Asian cities were among the 30 cheapest in the world.

                                                                                                                                        Source :- Business Standard

NEET score now valid for three years for undergraduate foreign medical degree

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

     ★ Government has cleared a proposal to extend validity of NEET(National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) score by three years.

     ★ At present,the validity of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is one year.

     ★ This move will help students who are planning to pursue medical courses abroad.

Background:

       ★ Earlier,Government had made the entrance exam NEET mandatory for students wishing to pursue MBBS from abroad.

     ★ The decision was taken to ensure that students of some academic standard study medicine in foreign universities.

        ★ Earlier, students scoring a minimum of 50 per cent marks in Class XII had to procure an Eligibility Certificate from the MCI before they can move offshore to become doctors.

NEET :

     ★ NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-UnderGraduate) is an entrance examination which is to be conducted by the National Testing Agency once a year for admission in MBBS/BDS course in all medical colleges across the country whether government and private except certain institutions including AIIMS and JIPMER.

                                                                                                                              Source :- Indian Express

Rupee-dollar swap could boost foreign fund flows under voluntary retention route

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

Context :

     ★ The central bank will conduct dollar-rupee buy/sell swap action of $5 billion for a three-year tenor. Such a swap route has been explored by various emerging market economies as an effective tool to manage liquidity.

More about the news:

     ★ The RBI’s decision to infuse rupee liquidity through long term foreign exchange swap, a first of its kind in liquidity management policy, is likely to boost investments by foreign portfolio investors under the voluntary retention route (VRR).

     ★ Apart from liquidity infusion, the move will boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves and is likely to support the exchange rate.

                                                                                                Source :- The Hindu; Economic Times

Golan Heights [ Editorial / Opinion ]

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.

Context :

     ★ United States President has declared that US will recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights.This move will be a major shift in US policy towards the Israeli-occupied territory.

Background :

     ★ Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war.

     ★ Syria tried to regain the Heights in the 1973 Middle East war,but was defeated.In 1981,Israel’s parliament passed a law which effectively annexed the territory.But the international community did not recognise the move and maintained that the Golan was occupied Syrian territory.

     ★ Since 2000,Israel and Syria held talks over a possible return of the Golan and a peace agreement.

     ★ But the negotiations collapsed and subsequent talks also failed after the 2011 conflict in Syria.

     ★ Last year the U.S had moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and backed Israel’s assertion that the city is its capital.After U.S had moved the embassy,Palestinian leaders had put off the the talks with the US administration.

Golan Heights :

     ★ Golan Heights is located in the southwest tip of Syria.

     ★ It shares a border with Lebanon,Jordan and Israel.

     ★ The area is not densely populated.Today more than 40,000 people live in the Golan.

     ★ Majority of the members are from Druze faith who are mostly citizens of Syria.

     ★ The other half are Jewish settlers who have moved in since Israel captured the territory.

Why does Israel want the Golan?

     ★ Security. Israel says that the civil war in Syria demonstrates the need to keep the plateau as a buffer zone between Israeli towns and the instability of its neighbour.

     ★ Israel’s government says it also fears that Iran, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is seeking to establish itself permanently on the Syrian side of the border in order to launch attacks on Israel.

     ★ Both sides covet the Golan’s water resources and naturally fertile soil.

What separates the two sides on the Golan?

     ★ A United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is stationed in camps and observation posts along the Golan, supported by military observers of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

     ★ Between the Israeli and Syrian armies is a 400-square-km “Area of Separation” – often called a demilitarized zone – in which the two countries’ military forces are not permitted under the ceasefire arrangement.

     ★ The Separation of Forces Agreement of May 31, 1974 created an Alpha Line to the west of the area of separation, behind which Israeli military forces must remain, and a Bravo Line to the east behind which Syrian military forces must remain.

     ★ Extending 25 km beyond the “Area of Separation” on both sides is an “Area of Limitation” in which there are restrictions on the number of troops and number and kinds of weapons that both sides can have there.

     ★ There is one crossing point between the Israeli and Syrian sides, which until the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011 was used mainly by United Nations forces, a limited number of Druze civilians and for the transportation of agricultural produce.

                                                                                    Source :- The Indian Express

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