The Hindu: 3rd May 2012, Thursday

1. Equipping teachers: Pg10

Relevance: Know about the E-9 group and its agenda.

2. High level meetings: Pg11

Relevance: A good read, nothing much to note down.

3. NCTC will not: Pg11

Relevance: A good read.

4. India- Myanmar: Pg14

Relevance: Know in general about the various dimensions of India Myanmar relations like cooperation in Hydrocarbon sector, Kaladan multi modal project, Agricultural cooperation, companies like TATA(Magway plant),$500 million line of credit, power projects like Chimtuipui, lungleng etc.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-24/news/30659196_1_kaladan-myanmar-minister-aung-san-suu-kyi

5. Government keeps: Pg14

Relevance: A lot many times I have given reference to the Ashok Chawla Committee on natural resources.

The crux of the report was that it strongly recommended market based pricing for allocation of all natural resources. Its major recommendations for major sectors can be summarised as:

i. Petroleum

–>Open acreage licensing for oil and gas blocks, creation of National Data repository for sharing of exploration data, a separate upstream regulator etc

ii. Coal

–>set up a platform where block owners can sell their excess coal at market price, need for an independent coal regulator etc

iii. Water

–>bring it to concurrent list, a model water law should be enacted,rationalise water prices etc.

iv. Telecom

–> all fresh allocations through competitive auctions, no FCFP, single unified telecom licensing, allow spectrum trading etc.

v. Forest

–> Classify forests according to ecological values to remove delays in giving environment clearances, land users have to pay Net Present Value of forest land, reassessment of valuation of land etc.

6. Regional cinema: Pg14

Clue: Know this year’s National Award winners and Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner( Saumitra Chatterjee). Following is the link for this year’s performers:

http://entertainment.in.msn.com/bollywood/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5906670

7. RBI to implement: Pg16

Relevance: Know specifically the changes proposed in Basel III norms.

First, the quality, consistency, and transparency of the capital base will be raised.(Tier I capital of atleast 7%)

Second, the risk coverage of the capital framework will be strengthened.

Third, the Committee will introduce a leverage ratio as a supplementary measure to the Basel II risk-based framework.

Fourth, the Committee is introducing a series of measures to promote the build up of capital buffers in good times that can be drawn upon in periods of stress (“Reducing procyclicality and promoting countercyclical buffers”).

Fifth, the Committee is introducing a global minimum liquidity standard for internationally active banks that includes a 30-day liquidity coverage ratio requirement underpinned by a longer-term structural liquidity ratio called theNet stable funding ratio.

8. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Leela Samson, Kalashetra, Rukmani Devi Arundale(Pg9), Jimmy Wales(Pg18), Shoorveer exercise(Pg22).

I found only these items useful in Thursday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

10,000 !!!

“Death comes to all. But great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold” -George Fabricius

Kudos to everyone!!!

Without any real publicity Fake Journalist has achieved a milestone of above 10,000 views. 🙂

I’m sharing some of the interesting statistics:

–>Total posts: 96

–>Total comments: 113

–>Busiest day: April 1 2012 with 215 views

–>Top Views by Country for all days ending 2012-05-03 (Summarized)

• Since February 25, 2012

Country	Views
India	6,295
United States	895
Syrian Arab Republic	40
Germany	10
New Zealand	8
United Arab Emirates	8
Bangladesh	6
Pakistan	5
Singapore	5
Australia	4
Nigeria	3
Bahrain	3
United Kingdom	3
Canada	2
Japan	2
Oman	2
Georgia	1
Saudi Arabia	1
Thailand	1
Nepal	1
Israel	1
South Africa	1
Argentina	1
Malaysia	1
Netherlands	1
Norway	1

I don’t know for how long I would be able to write daily blogs but so far it has been a great learning experience with all you guyz.

Keep reading!

Regards,

FJ

The Hindu: 2nd May 2012, Wednesday

1. Nationwide protests: Pg7

Relevance: At present there are about 10 million urban street vendors in the country. The national policy for urban street vendors was framed in 2004 but right now there is no law to effectively deal and safeguard their interests. It is in this context the Urban Street Vendors Livelihood(Protection and regulation) bill 2012 was floated by the Ministry of Urban Poverty Alleviation. Know in general about the draft legislation.

2. A programme to cover: Pg8

Relevance: Know about the National Programme for prevention and control of cancer, diabities, cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Clue: Prepare your general literature on Non Communicable diseases(NCDs). Last year an important resolution supported by India was passed by the UN relating to NCDs, know about it.

Also, if you happen to come across any good literature on ‘NCDs and India’, do share it.

3. Media cannot: Pg12

Relevance: A good read on the issue of media regulation, also remember the media regulatory bodies like PCI, News Broadcasters Associations, Broadcast Editors Association etc.

4. India will host: Pg14

Relevance: A good read though nothing much to write except some facts like Hajigak mines, India Afghan Partnership Council etc.

5. No deadline: Pg22

Relevance: Know about the prospectus of India Australia Nuclear cooperation, huge uranium reserves(largest) in Australia, export clearance given by the Labor govt last year, India’s aspiration of joining NSG etc.

Do you where is Tummalapalle situated and how it is related to the issue?

6. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: INS Dweeprakshak(Pg8), Bura Buri-Dhubri-Medartari Disaster(Pg11), Huge trade deficit of over 180billion$(Pg16), Hedge Funds, UK Sinha(Pg19), Noam Chomsky(Pg22), Indo China Trade through Nathula(Pg22).

I found only these items useful in Wednesday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 1st May 2012, Tuesday

1. 1,18,474 too many: Pg10

Relevance: The continuance of this inhuman practice of Manual Scavenging even after 60yrs of independence is a matter of national shame.

Clue: Know about the various initiatives being taken by the GOI in curbing this practice like Employment of Manual Scavengers and construction of dry laterines( prohibition) act 1993, National scheme for liberation and rehabilitation of scavengers, Art 42,38 and other DPSPs etc.

Other major hurdles are the continuance of “Open discharge system” of Railways, lack of alternate livelihood opportunities available, lack of holistic urban planning, non implementation of laws ( till 2006 not a single prosecution was done under the 1993 Act), lack of initiatives by states( since sanitation is a state subject) etc.

Safai Karamchari Andolan is the single largest movement launched under the leadership of Bezwada Wilson with the aim of total eradication of manual scavenging, know more about its activities and achievements. But one thing is sure, if we really want to get rid of this inhuman practice and ensure a life of dignity for all, we need to generate the alternate livelihood opportunities through NRLM, MNREGA etc. and focus on their effective implementation, let alone the proposed amendments in the 1993 act.

2. Not an ordinary first: Pg11

Relevance: A nice sum up of the contemporary labor issues by none other than the ILO chief himself Juan Somavia.

Clue: Also read Ch 21 Labor from IYB to know about the legislations and regulatory framework for the labour sector in India like Factories act 1948, Industrial Disputes act 1947, Minimum wages act 1948 etc. Another issue which is of prime concern is decreasing work participation rate of women labors. Following is the link to the PM’s inaugural speech of Indian Labour Conference held in Delhi recently which covers the major issues concerning the working classes in India.

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=80297

How is the incident known as ‘Haymarket Massacre'(125 years) anything to do with the May Day?

3. Sign nuclear: Pg12

Relevance: India Japan nuclear cooperation.

4. Switzerland agrees: Pg12

Relevance: whole black money issue.

Clue: Know about the five pronged strategy adopted by GOI in tackling Black money and the recent steps taken in that direction.

http://finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_revenue/measures_taken_by_govt_Black_Money.pdf 

5. India reaches: Pg20

Relevance: India Seychelles relations. Some of the major reflections of the President’s visit are:

–>$ 50 million line of credit

–>offer to set up a mono rail project and a solar cluster

–>an under sea optical fibre network

–>scholarships for Seychellois students

–>a coastal surveillance radar system to be delpoyed

Most importantly our efforts to build a healthy relationship with countries like Seychelles must be seen as the part of our broader policy of creating a strategic leverage in Africa vis a vis China and other major powers.

6. E-waste management: Pg20

Relevance: A landmark legislation in context of e waste management. The key points of 2011 rules are:

–>Concept of Extended Producer Responsibility(EPR)wherein the producer of electrical and electronics equipments are made responsible for managing e waste generated after the consumer discards them

–>Specifying threshold for the use of hazardous substance

Clue: Prepare your general literature on e waste like definition of e waste, compounds like poly chlorinated biphenyl( PCB), PVC etc, traditional methods of dealing with e waste like Acid bath, Land filling, burning etc, steps taken like e waste( management and handling) rules 2011, ROHS, WEEE by EU, e parisara project, Environment Protection Act 2006, Basel Convention etc.

7. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Geeta Chandran(Pg2), RK Sinha and his contributions for AHWR(Pg9), G Vahanvati and Art76, CEDAW,CERD(Pg9), Washington Consensus(Pg11), Contributions of YB Chavan(centenary year), Prati Sarkar(Pg16).

I found only these items useful in Tuesday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 30th April 2012, Monday

1. National strategy: Pg8

Clue: Do you know that a total of 7 types of IPRs are recognized by WTO under the TRIPS agreement which includes Patent, Copyright, Trademark, Industrial design, Industrial layout, Geographical indicators and Trade secrets. Know the exact differences between them.

Also read about the Uruguay Round of GATT, Marrakesh Agreement, recent GIs given in India( Sanganeri block painting, Kutch Shawl etc), dispute settlement mechanism of WTO, USA’s Super 301 and Special 301 etc

2. India will continue: Pg12

Relevance: India Seychelles relations. Just remember 2-3 dimensions of our relationship with the island nation like huge ethnic Indian community, maritime security etc . Locate Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros, Gallapogas, Zanzibar, Sao Tome and Principle, Cape Verde etc. on the map.

What do you mean by the term Girmitian Countries?

Also please note, the capital of Seychelles is Mahe( Isn’t it the part of Pondicherry :)) while that of Maldives is Male!

3. Thai- Cambodia: Pg13

Relevance: Know about the old but yet unresolved issue between the two ASEAN countries, ICJ 1959 ruling, Preah Vihar Temple(11th century Hindu temple), Dangrek Mountains, Ta Moan complex etc.

4. Rater for raters, Getting growth back: Pg14

Relevance: Nothing new but your daily dose on economy.

5. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Girija Devi, K Sivaraman(Pg18).

I found only these items useful in Monday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 29th April 2012, Sunday

1. Chief Ministers without: Pg4

Relevance: An important observation made by the Delhi Lokayukta, can be quoted in the mains answer.

2. Sea, sand and survival: Pg8

Relevance: A good read; focus on the factual content like Gahirmatha, Rushulia, Arribada, Bhitarkanika etc.

3. Earthy wisdom: Pg8

Clue: Prepare a general literature on Organic Farming, green manure, green compost, prospectus of Second green revolution, nutrition advantage, cost effectiveness, National Project on Organic farming etc.

http://www.gktoday.in/national-project-on-organic-farming/

4. Breaking the sanitation: Pg15

Relevance: Prepare your general literature on sanitation including the Total Sanitation Campaign, Community led total sanitation approach, Nirmal Gram Puraskar, concerned MDG, Biotoilets, Sulabh International, e tiolets and project delight,’no tiolet no bride’ campaign in Haryana etc

5. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Governors like M Alwa, B Wanchoo, S.Narsimhan(Frontpage), NAK Browne(Pg10), New Safe Confinement project and Chernobyl Disaster 1986(Pg13), Anatolian Plateau(Pg13, also see Sea of Marmara, Bosporous Strait, Aegean Sea etc).

I found only these items to be useful in Sunday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 28th April 2012, Saturday

1. Cabinet Secretary’s: Pg5

Relevance: The previous BSP govt made a mockery of the post of Cab Secy by appointing a non IAS therein. A pointer to write in pub ad answers.

2. Monsoon reading: Pg10

Clue: Take out a moment and read about the phenomenon of monsoon formation, its trajectory etc. from the XIIth class NCERT Geography book. I’m sure everyone has read it before but how many of us actually remember it?

Focus on the role played by jet streams, ITCZ, trade winds and corollis force, El nino, La nina, Southern Oscillations, ENSO, Indian Ocean dipole, El nino ‘Modoki’ etc.

3. The Sudan challenge: Pg10

Relevance: A good read on the issue.

4. UN maintains sanctions: Pg11

Relevance: Know about the last year’s political crisis in the former French colony. Some of the keywords to begin with are Laurent Gbagbo, Allasane Quattera, Abidjan, Slave coast, international intervention to resolve the crisis etc.

Do you know the famous Chelsea star Drogba plays for Cote’de Ivory?

5. Cabinet approves: Pg16

Relevance: India Pak trade relations. Some of the recent initiatives can be summarized as:

–> Allowing FDI from Pak

–> Integrated Check Post at Attari

–> Reducing items in SAFTA sensitive lists

–> New visa regime

–> Proposal to set up a Joint Business Council

6. Space shuttle enterprise: Pg9

Clue: Prepare a general literature on the USA’s Space Shuttle programme like it was started way back in 1981, space shuttles like Columbia(STS 1), Challenger(1986 disaster’s 25th anniversary), Discovery, Columbia disaster and Kalpana Chawla, Endeavor, Atlantis( STS 135, the last mission) etc.

7. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Justice Bhandari(Frontpage), Leela Samson(Frontpage), Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, Bathinda(Pg5), Orhan Pamuk and his works like My name is red, The white Castle(Pg11), Achievement of Shivnarayan Chanderpaul(Pg17, know the other 9 batsmen to achieve this feet including 3 Indians 🙂 ), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw(Pg17), INS Teg(Pg20).

I found only these items useful in Saturday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 27th April 2012, Friday

1. Civil society groups: Pg3

Relevance: Prepare your general literature on Minorities especially in the context of Sacchar and Ranganath Mishra commission reports.

Clue: Do you know about the 5 recognized religious minorities (Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, Sikhs), constitutional safeguards given to the minorities both religious and linguistic (Art 350A, Art 350B, Art 345, Art 347, FR, DPSP etc), mandate of National Commission for minorities 1992, NMDFC , UN declaration on minorities 1992, Ranganath Mishra Commission, Rajinder Sachar Committee, PM’s 15 point programme, Kasturba Balika Vidhyalayas, Multi sectoral development plans etc. Source could be India year book (Ch 28 Welfare) , Internet, Laxmikant.

2. India asked to: Pg7

Relevance: A good read on the issue. Do you know about the HIV Sentinel Surveillance project, NACP III, NACP IV, Anti retro viral therapies like HAART, oral substitution therapies, stem cells therapies , MDG 6, UNAIDS, ELISA test, most effected regions and population groups etc?

Go through the NACO’s website for further details:

http://www.nacoonline.org/National_AIDS_Control_Program/Goals_and_Objective/

By the who is Francoise Barré-Sinoussi?

3. Charles Taylor convicted: Pg15

Relevance: Important 5 marker.

I think everyone must have seen the movie ‘Blood Diamond’…if not go watch it now 🙂

By the way, what is the capital of Sierra Leone?

4. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Art 80, Anu Aga(Frontpage), Youth Parliament(Pg2), Zojila Pass(Pg5, look for other passes too like Shipki la, Nathu la, Jelep la, Bomdila etc), Zohra Segal(Pg5), Ramanuja’s Vishishta Advaita philosophy(Pg9), Buckingam Canal(Pg11), Mrinal Pandey(Pg11), GSLV Mark III, GSAT 10(Pg13), TAPI Pipeline(Pg16)

I found only these items useful in Thursday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 26th April 2012, Thursday

1. S&P lowers: Frontpage

Relevance: An important development which shows the receding business sentiments among the foreign investors.

Clue: Know about the BIG-3 credit rating agencies: Moody, S&P and Fitch.

Do you know who Deven Sharma is? Also look for CRISIL and CIBIL.

2. Mullaperiyar: Pg10

Relevance: An important development for sure.

Know about the issue in general, Justice AS Anand Committee etc

Clue: Mark the dam site, Periyar river,Idukki district etc. on map. Know about the rivers in Kerala (NCERT : XIth) particularly west flowing, major water disputes in India (IYB), Art 262, National Water Council etc.

3. India’s clean: Pg12

Relevance: Know about the first, second and third generations of biofuels and the Indo US Energy summit.

4. ICJ election: Pg20

Relevance: Focus on the composition of ICJ, Hague, its mandate and other factual information like Indians who had hold the office in past like Justice Rau, Justice Nagendra Singh and Justice Pathak. It’s important from the PT point of view.

5. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Komal Kothari(Pg7), Difference between Optical Remote sensing and radar satellites(Pg9), Mau Mau uprising(Pg9), Asteroids, Meteors and Comets(Pg16), Synriam anti malaria drug(Pg20)

I found only these items useful in Thursday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.

The Hindu: 25th April 2012, Wednesday

1. Hands on learning: Pg8

Relevance: One of the major challenge in front of the country is to generate the necessary skilled labour, proffessionals etc to maintain the high economic growth. It is in this context National Skill development policy aiming at providing skills to 500 million people by 2022 was launched by the govt of India.

Know about the concept of ‘Community Colleges Project’ and recently floated National Vocational Education Qualification Framework(NVEQF).

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2520971.ece

2. Amendment to education: Pg9

Relevance: Beyond doubt an important legislation which will help to achieve our long cherished dream of “inclusive education”.

3. Sudan has declared: Pg15

Clue: Know about the newly formed nation. Its geography, demography and natural resources. Search for South Kordofan conflict, Abyei, Nuba Mountains, Tribal conflict, Dinka tribe, Juba, John Garang, Salva Kiir, Nile river pact etc.

4. House panel: Pg16

Relevance: Some important issues raised by the parliamentary committee on finance, make sure you know all of them.

By the way what do you mean by the Institutional Placement Programme(IPP) of the govt initiated recently to achieve its disinvestment target?

5. Other potential 2 markers and tidbits: Comparison between RISAT1 and RISAT2(Frontpage), Garasia community(Pg5), Justice AS Anand Committe(Pg7), Bathani Tola Massacre(Pg10), S Narsing Rao(Pg16).

I found only these items useful in Wednesday’s paper. If you could spot some thing more which is relevant to CSE please feel free to post in comments section.