Current Affairs SSC

FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA   Key Points: What it is

• Definition
• Essential for a robust nation
• Component
• Role of FCI

  Challenges

• Leakages
• Cereal centric
• Corruption and black marketing

  Measures taken

• Integrated child development scheme
• Mid-day meal scheme
• National food security act

  Way ahead

• Direct benefit transfer
• Incentivizing fair price shops
• Technology
• Decentralized production

  THE ESSAY BEGINS… Food security is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as the availability of physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs. Necessary to ensure a robust nation, this comprises of availability, access, and absorption of food, which in India is done through the FCI by the union government, thereafter distributing it to the states. India's rank of 78 in the Global hunger index doesn't present a bright picture. Food grains distribution in India is limited to cereals, which creates a lopsided policy discouraging crop diversification, which can be solved by decentralized production. Corruption and black marketing can be cured by the Chattisgarh model of GPS tagging. High leakages in the system, as mentioned by the Santakumar commission, can be solved by Direct Benefit Transfer, There is also a need of using technology to improve the quality of crops, and make it climate-resilient. Measures taken by the government including ICDS, MOMS with the last being National Food Security Act, have helped in solving the problem to a great extent. DBT is often cited as a panacea for all the problems related to food security, since it brings in transparency and accountability, but it can also be misused. Incentivizing the FPS owners to keep them open is another possible step. Food security is the need of the hour and the government should take all possible measures to make sure that the nation of tomorrow isn't famished.

GENDER INEQUALTY   Key Points:   Introduction

• Definition
• Examples of inequality

  Causes

• Historical reason
• Socio culture reason
• Patriarchal
• Illiteracy
• Poverty
• Religious dogmas

  Ways to remove

• Reservation
• Political
• Economic
• Education
• For girl chide
• Gender sensitive
• Awareness

  THE ESSAY BEGINS… Gender inequality as a topic has been in debates since long, and that we are still discussing it implies we haven/t really marched into the 21" century in many aspects. Gender inequality in literal sense, is to differentiate and have a biased view for one person on the basis of one's gender. The female half has always been subjected to silence till the dawn of globalization which made it necessary for the female to participate in the economic and political activities along with the male. This trend was visible in India too, and it only strengthened in later years. Women participation in labor force is still a meager 27% and political participation even worse.                                                                 Patriarchal mindset, poverty and illiteracy are often cited as the reasons for gender inequality, and this is sometimes fuelled by religious dogmas too, Though the constitution tried to ensure gender equality through articles 15(3) and 39, the lack of women in corridors of power makes it subject to wills and fancies. Legislations on the part of government have failed to address the practice of dowry and declining child sex ratio. To start with, we should focus on ensuring that the girl child gets education, and mat reservation is made for women in political and economic spheres. Reservation at local government level has helped much in strengthening Indian women. Gender-sensitive education and awareness has to be focused on to ensure that the future generation doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past.

CO-OPERATIVE VS COMPETITIVE FEDERALISM   Key Points: Federal polity in India

• Quasi-federal
• Strong centralizing tendency

  Co-operative federalism

• One size fits all policy

  Competitive federalism

• Survival of the fittest
• Responsibility
• Autonomy
• Policy making
• Optimal usage of resources
• Investment growth
• Inclusive growth
• Ease of doing business
• NITTO Aayog

  THE ESSAY BEGINS.. The constitution-makers of India, keeping in mind the political, social and economic structure of India, framed India as a federal polity. In a true federal polity, powers should be divided equally between centre and states, which is not the case with India. Foreseeing the possible threats to sovereignty and integrity of the country, the centre was given more powers than the states, making it a quasi-federal state, one with a strong centralizing tendency. Though this was how it was envisioned by the constitution-makers, the constitution has evolved along with the development of the country. Co-operative federalism implies a mutual co-operation between states among themselves and with the union for the common growth as contrasted with competitive federalism in which states compete with the union for funds for their respective growth. The present administrative and economic setup in the country is more leaning towards the latter. The present world is one of competition and it is the fittest that survive. Decades of co- operative federalism have taken us to a point beyond which it can't help us. The need of today is competitive federalism. In competitive federalism, the states are given more responsibilities and autonomy in the matters of policy-making which ensure optimal usage of resources and inclusive growth of states as well as the nation. States compete with each other to bring investments for the resources they have. Their competence in doing so is measured by the union in the Ease of doing business ranking. One-size-fits-all policy which was followed in the past has been revamped into growth-from-below policy, symbolized by the creation of NITI Aayog. Growing together and growing as a whole is what our country needs and the states competing among each other to make the best of their resources is the effective way to achieve it.

INDIAN ECONOMY AFTER DEMONETIZATION   Key Points:   Introduction

• Usage of cash
• Simplified the economic activities
• Represent stability

  Implications

• Short-term difficulties
• Funds crunch in films
• Decreased trade and commerce
• Long-term benefits
• Counterfeit currency
• Tax evasion
• Black money
• Terror financial
• Contraband circulation

  Way ahead

• Blessing in disguised
• Transparent cashless society
• Parallel economy

  THE ESSAY BEGINS… The leap of humanity from barer system to currency, with the latest being be-coms, has simplified the economic activities of humans Currencies at present represent stability of a nation and not just simplicity. Government of India on 8th November 2016 demonetized its currency by cancelling the legal tender of higher denomination notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500. This drastic measure was undertaken, keeping in mind the short-term difficulties and the long-term benefits for the country. The menace of growing counterfeit currency in the economy, multiple eases of tax evasion on large scale, accumulation of black money, terror financing, contraband circulation can be curbed effectively through this initiative. Higher dependence on cash in India resulted in long queues at banks, post offices and ATMs due to the shortage of currency otter demonetization. Fund crunch in firms, decreased trade and commerce activities and inconvenience to general public are some of the implications of this initiative. In long run, demonetization can be a 'blessing in disguise' for India, reducing the over- dependency on cash, thereby leading to a transparent cashless economy. Curbing the menace of black money and counterfeit currency will result in the end of parallel economy leading to higher growth in real terms.

ALCOHOL PROHIBITION   MYTH AND REALITY   Key Points:   INTRODUCTION

• Quote by Abraham Lincoln
• In multiple states
• Fundamentally right or not

  WHY PROHIBITION

• Against public interest
• Harm to the individual
• Violence against women

  AGAINST PROHIBITTION

• Revenue
• Employment
• Underground business
• Hooch liquor
• Illegally available
• Individual liberty
• Victims of addiction

  THE ESSAY BEGINS... "Prohibition is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason .n that it attempts ro control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes."   This quote by Abraham Lincoln summarizes how a legislation of prohibition stands in a democratic society. Alcohol ban has been attempted in multiple states with the latest being in Uttarakhand where the state government was ordered by the High Court to impose alcohol ban in three districts citing religious reasons. Other states are also pondering to move in the same line, but the wider question still exists whether the ban is fundamentally right or not.   All sorts of prohibitions happen when the state feels the citizens are doing something that is against public interest. Alcohol ban is justified saying they cause harm to the individual and make him behave against public order. 70% of accidents in India are attributed to drunken driving and so are many cases of violence against women. Health being a state subject, state government is empowered to impose these bans.   Alcohol and related products contributes more than 20% of the revenue in most states, and the sector provides employment to thousands. More than a fifth of the world's alcohol is consumed by India, and of this two-third is recorded. With alcohol ban in place, this business will only go underground since those who are addicted will search for alternate options, thus leading to entry of hooch liquor.   Any sort of prohibition put a limitation on individual liberty and thus, it should always be taken as a last resort. Alcohol bans in other countries haven't proved much successful since it's illegally available albeit at higher prices. Criminalizing it also makes criminals out of people who are just victims of addiction.   It being a social issue that affects all sections of society, this menace can be cured by social sanctions and increased awareness more effectively. De-addiction and rehabilitation centers should also be opened by the states so that those who are addicted can be cured of it. Rather than an immediate and blanket ban, the focus should be on gradual change, since such a change will be sure and steady.

Report Writing   REPORT WRITING   Generally dealing with reporting of events or incidents for a newspaper, reports are highly structured documents written in formal style. Simple and crisp sentences molded in a lucid format is what makes a good report, There- fore the writer should take care that facts are not suppressed or highlighted excessively, since doing so might mislead the readers. The writer shouldn't present his own prejudices and presuppositions in the report. A good report should be objective, unbiased and concise. TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD REPORT  

Read newspaper reports.

Write only what is relevant to the context,

Use only formal language.

Avoid slangs and unnecessary jargons.

Be neutral while dealing with the topic.

  WRITE A NEWSPAPER REPORT ABOUT DECLINING BOOK SALE IN DELHI   DECLINING BOOK SALES IN DELHI   Hindustan News service Daryaganj, 23rd April   Delhiwallahs seem to be going away from bookshops, as e-book readers and e-commerce retailers are on a rise.   Mr Dhyanchand, owner of Chand book agency at Connaught Place lamented that his sales has declined to half in the past two years. He attributes it to e-book readers Like Kindle and Nook, which he says take people away from books. Other bookshops like Work store and Malik's also have similar stories to tell. A talk with readers elicits a different view. Divya, from JNU, says that e-readers are easy to carry, and also cheap and easily accessible. There are other readers who will buy books with their last penny. Their emotional attachment with printed books is too much to let go. Judging who is right is difficult, but whatever be the case, reading should go on.

 WRITE A NEWSPAPER REPORT ON THE LAUNCHING OF THE SECOND PHASE   ASECOND PHASE OF 'MISSION INDRADHANUSH' LAUNCHED     HMT News service Delhi, 5th October   Second phase of Mission Indradhanush was launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda, announcing its commencement from 7th October. The first phase of the Mission which focuses on immunization was a great success, and this made the government initiate the second phase.   He interacted with the State Health Ministries and Health Secretaries through video- conferencing to check how prepared they were for the second phase. Through the mission the government plans to achieve universal immunization by 2020 for seven vaccine-pre ventable diseases namely diphtheria, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, Tuberculosis Polio Measles and Hepatitis-B, and will cover more than 89 lakh children who are either vaccinated or partially vaccinated.   The second phase will cover 352 districts, including 279 mid-priority districts and 33 from north-eastern states from phase one since many children were missed out Week-Ions immunization drives will be held starting from November 7 for three months   The centre has advised all states to take all possible steps to make sure there is no child left-out.

  WRITE A NEWSPAPER REPORT ON A FIRE INCIDENT IN DELHI METRO.   FIRE IN DELHI METRO   PTQ News   Subhash Nagar, 23rd April   Last week, a fire broke out in the last coach of Delhi metre at Patel Chowk metre station the passenger cited fumes coming out of the 6th coach in metre heading towards Rajendra Nagar on blue line. A spark in the air conditioning system might have caused some fault which led to the incident. A situation of panic prevented passengers from boarding the tram and the authorities were informed immediately. Passengers travelling in that metro were evacuated at Rajendra Nagar station and the train was sent to the maintenance yard tor further investigation. No cases of injuries have been reported by the officials A decade old, metro service has never seen an incident like this before. According to the official four fire control engines were rushed to the spot in a precautionary measure. Delhi metro transports 30 lakh passengers daily and ensures a safe and economical journey for passengers covering almost every part of Delhi.

                 WRITE A REPORT ON A TRIP TO DHARAMSHALA FOR A TRAVEL MAGAZINE. SOJOURN IN DHARAMSHALA   GM Travel Magazine   Kuala Lumpur, 21st December   The first week of winter this year was colder than the previous ones as we spent it in Dharamshala. It is situated 18 kms from Kangra district in the shadow of Dhauladhar hills in Himachal Pradesh. Earlier known as -BHAGSU5, it was ruled by the Katoch dynasty under British rule. Surrounded by dense coniferous forests consisting mainly of Deodar and Cedar trees, the city hosts a number of travelers from across the globe every year. Dharamshala is also a home to His Holiness 'Dalai Lama5 and central Tibetan administration, the Tibetan government in exile. Triund hill, situated at one-day distance on the upper reaches of Mcleodganj is known as The Jewel of Dharamshala5. Dharamshala is a starting point for a number of trekking trails that especially lead trekkers across Dhauladhar into the upper Ravi valley and Chamba district. It is also included as one of the cities in Prime Ministers 100 'Smart City Project'.