India-Myanmar (Pg 1 and 10) PM s visit to Myanmar concludes Mr. Modi also visited different religious and historic monuments in Yangon.

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1 , Friday Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management for University of Surrey (U.K.). Above all he is a passionate teacher.

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3 India-Myanmar (Pg 1 and 10) PM s visit to Myanmar concludes Mr. Modi also visited different religious and historic monuments in Yangon. Note: Myanmar is a Buddhist-majority country. Mazar of the Last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah Zafar, also a prolific Urdu poet and calligrapher, died aged 87 in the then Rangoon, where he was exiled by the British after the 1857 revolt Shwedagon Pagoda, an ancient,2,500-year-old religious monument It has Buddha s hair and other holy relics. Planted a Bodhi tree sapling in the complex Performed puja at the Kalibari Temple Bogyoke Aung San Museum

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5 It is sad that the Supreme Court has to remind those in power that they cannot remain silent while vigilantes take the law into their own hands in the name of cow protection. Take it as a stern message of Supreme Court to the Centre and States. It ordered States and Union Territories to appoint nodal police officers in each district to crack down on such mobs. For more than a year the country has seen instances of groups beating up and even killing persons allegedly suspected of transporting cattle or bovine meat. Since April 2017 when SC issued notice to Centre and some States to take action 1 incident in Bihar, 2 incidents West Bengal In more than one State, cow protectors have legal recognition as local laws provide immunity to them if they were acting in good faith. Validity of such provisions in laws will be decided in the course of these proceedings.

6 Reactive + non-active Police and Administration In most cases, they register cases against the victims. Prevention is core of policing but they are always late at the scene of crime Administration seems eager to determine if they were engaged in cow slaughter or transportation of bovine meat than in arresting the culprits involved in murder and violence. Article 256 of the Constitution of India A) State/s should ensure compliance with law/s passed by the Parliament B) When necessary Centre can issue direction to the State/s Prime Minister did warned people indulging in violence name of Cow protection. PM Modi is very influential, then why his warning is ignored? Lack of political will or political strategy? It is core duty of Government in a democracy to ensure that the minorities are provided with a safe environment.

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8 In a post on Facebook made on the third anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) last week, the Finance Minister reportedly said: Just as GST (goods and services tax) created one tax, one market, one India, the PMJDY and the JAM revolution can link all Indians into one common financial, economic, and digital space. No Indian will be outside the mainstream. JAM: Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile Combines bank accounts for the poor, who barely had the money to deposit in them, direct transfer of benefits into these accounts. Aadhaar allows the government to ensure that benefits reach the poor Facility of making financial payments through mobile phones. It is sad to find that, so far, a largely nationalised banking sector had done very little to extend banking services to the poor. Difference between Financial Inclusion and Economical Inclusion A financial inclusion, in the sense of everyone having a bank account and access to reliable and free electronic payments system, is not the same as economic inclusion.

9 At its most basic level, inclusion from the economic point of view would entail equal access to opportunities for earning a livelihood: employment opportunities The demand for labour is a derived demand that means Next, even when the demand for labour exists, potential workers must be endowed with the capabilities to take advantage of the opportunity offered.

10 The potential of the JAM trinity for bringing about either of these conditions for economic inclusion is limited. This is so because JAM functions in the digital space while much of our life is lived in the brick and mortar world. In the brick and mortar world we have seen very little improvement, since economic reforms of The 1991 reforms were largely in the nature of liberalisation of the policy regime: To make it easier for firms to produce At the same time exposing them to international competition with a view to increasing efficiency in the economy. Defect in 1991 reform: An ecosystem of production is constituted not only by the laws and regulations determining the ease of doing business. But also the access that firms have to producer services ranging from water supply to waste management.

11 Producers services Require large capital outlay High capital deters private firms from making it as their business Even when private entities do provide these producers services they tend to be expensive, deterring their off-take. This is the reason that globally these services are generally provided by governments. In India maximum employment is in the form of self-employment. Lack of capital for producers services Thus the public provision of producer services should be an essential part of public policy. Empowerment in the brick and mortar space would require public infrastructure on a gigantic scale compared to what we have now. Focus on capabilities As per Amartya Sen, the metric to be used to gauge equality should be human capabilities. Human capabilities means qualities that allow individuals to undertake functionings they value.

12 Social revolution happens when a society has, at a minimum, universal health and education infrastructure accessible to all. Where do we stand? Gorakhpur incident (Special video available on Study IQ) Gazhipur: Garbage incident Bengaluru: toxic lakes Our social revolution will arrive when all Indians are empowered through an equality of capabilities. This would require committing resources to building the requisite social and physical infrastructure and investing time to govern its functioning. Slip-sliding economy In a market economy one of the markers of what the public think of the government s policies is the response of private investors. Private investment in India has declined steadily over the past few years. Overall growth had however been maintained, partly through the demand generating impact of public investment. But now even growth appears to be stalling. The latest GDP figures from the Central Statistics Office show growth in the first quarter of the current financial year to be lower than the average for

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14 Negative Carried out by thinking that black money means cash. If cash was squeezed out, the black economy would be eliminated Large amount of cash in the system is held A. Tens of millions of businesses as working capital B. By the more than 25 crore households for day-to-day use 98.8% of demonetised currency is back, Rs. 16,000 crore that is still out that means only 0.01% of black money has been extinguished. Black money is a result of black income generation. This is produced by various means which are not affected by the one-shot squeezing out of cash. Any black cash squeezed out by demonetisation would then quickly get regenerated. So, there is little impact of demonetisation on the black economy, on either wealth or on incomes. Government keeps changing goal posts Not it argues that it is good that black money has been deposited in the banks because those depositing it can now be caught.

15 Large deposits by businesses do not automatically become black. The Income Tax department has to prove that the sums deposited resulted from generation of black income. But it does not have the resources for dealing with lakhs of tax payers. Demonetisation caused big losses to the unorganised: farmers, traders. Positive For prosperity for all India needs 1. Transparent and effective government 2. Flourishing competitive markets 3. Huge investment in the poor Short term costs Shortage of currency Disruption in business Fall in consumption GDP growth would take hit etc

16 PM Garib Kalyan Yojana: Black money holder would rather keep some white wealth than burning down everything. Scrutiny will take place. Even if 1/3 of deposited demonetised money is found black, then it eventually means that tax net has widened. Holders of suspicious accounts will be under tax net from now on. Moving towards cashless economy is a big outcome. Neutral/Central PM s intention was to fight kala dhan (black wealth) Black money is usually held in form of gold, real estate, stock market or stashed abroad. Very little is in cash. Counterfeit currency which was believed to be around Rs 400 crore is just Rs 40 crore.

17 Goalpost shifting Cashless Less cash Formalisation The main question is what is I-T department doing since last 8 months.

18 India-USA (Pg 1 and 10) Trump administration to US Congress Strongly Supports sale of F-16 and F/A-18 to India F-16 is made by Lockheed Martin and F/A-18 by Boeing (Lockheed Martin + Tata) and (SAAB + Adani) are in joint venture Both companies are ready to assemble in India, if we want to buy them. Trump is in principle against companies relocating facilities abroad. Why India? Reduce trade deficit with India Create jobs in USA, for e.g. exports of these items supports 2,60,000 jobs in USA. India as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific

19 India has some questions A. What is the depth of the technology transfer that these companies will offer to India? B. How will they help India s aspirations for the domestic defence manufacturing capabilities? C. When they say they will make in India, what exactly will they make in India as components are manufactured the world over, and mostly in America?

20 Nirmala Sitharaman sets sights on Make in India (Pg 10) Took charge as the Defence Minister First full-time woman Defence Minister of the country. Priorities: a) military preparedness, b) Make in India and c) welfare of soldiers and their families. Why Make in India? Because we are a very big defence equipment procurer. Job creation Satisfy our scientists and engineer Brain drain and brain gain No country can win a war if it is heavily dependent on some other country for its defence necessities.

21 Death for two in Mumbai blasts case (Pg 1 and 11) Twenty-four years ago 12 bombs exploded across various locations in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring 713 others. Long running trial concludes: Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act aka TADA court awarded Extradition Treaty India-Portugal: No death, no jail for more than 25 years. Court has not took extradition treaty into consideration.

22 Where Kerala s birds go for higher studies (Pg 1) A 4 survey conducted on the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) campus has found that it is home to a 3 rd of the State s 509 bird species. It is a state with highest bird biodiversity Western Ghats: Gujarat Maharashtra Goa Karnataka Kerala Tamil Nadu Refugium is an area where species can survive through a period of unfavourable conditions.

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24 A presence of 172 bird species on the campus which includes A. The secretive Watercock B. The threatened Oriental darter C. The migratory Common sandpiper. D. The Malabar grey hornbill (endemic) E. The Crimson-backed sunbird (endemic) F. The Hill myna ((listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act) G. The Indian peafowl (listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act) Reasons why these many species are found here are 1) The KAU is only about five km from the Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary. 2) The presence of several habitat types such as gardens, orchards, and plantations could also be a factor.

25 Must restore banks health in months, if not weeks: RBI (Pg 13) Reserve Bank of India s deputy governor Viral Acharya said a feasible plan was quickly needed to address the massive recapitalisation requirements of public sector banks. The central bank has been pushing to restore the health of these banks in order to facilitate loan offtake seen as essential in reviving economic growth. Capital with Bank Production up Loans Spending Business Jobs Invest

26 Indradhanush was a good plan In 2014, the government announced the Indradhanush plan a blueprint to revive public sector banks, which included capital infusion in these banks over a four-year period. Also view to make sure they remain solvent and fully comply with the global capital adequacy norms, Basel-III. RBI has twice directed banks to start insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings against defaulting firms. Commenting on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code under the new resolution framework, he said banks should not wait for directions to pursue bankruptcy proceedings in the case of defaulting clients. We need a much more powerful plan a Sudarshan Chakra aimed at swiftly, within months if not weeks, restoring public sector bank health, with the current ownership structure or otherwise, he said

27 Hurricane Irma turns Caribbean islands into rubble (12) One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, the rare Category 5 hurricane

28 St. Martin, a pristine island resort which is divided between France and the Netherlands, suffered the full fury of the storm, with rescuers on the French side saying eight people had died and 21 were injured. With Irma raging for more than 33 hours, packing winds of up to 295 km per hour, French weather experts said it was longest-lasting superstorm on record. Irma was hitting the Caribbean even as two other tropical storms, Jose in the Atlantic Ocean and Katia in the Gulf of Mexico, were upgraded to the status of a hurricane.

29 NASA captures images of strong solar flares (Pg 18) Two high-intensity solar flares were emitted on Wednesday, the second of which was the most intense recorded since the start of this sun cycle in December 2008, NASA said.

30 Solar cycles last on average eleven years. The amount of magnetic flux that rises up to the Sun's surface varies with time in a cycle called the solar cycle. Solar storms result from an accumulation of magnetic energy in some places. These radiation flares, which can disrupt communications satellites, GPS and power grids by reaching the upper earth atmosphere

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