Left-Wing Extremism in India

In the review meeting on LWE, the Union Home Minister has termed Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) as one of the major internal security threats faced by the nation.

• However, events of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence came down from 2258 in 2009 to 833 in 2018.

Left-Wing Extremism

• LWE organizations are the groups that try to bring change through violent revolution. They are against democratic institutions and use violence to subvert the democratic processes at ground level.
• These groups prevent the developmental processes in the least developed regions of the country & try to misguide the people by keeping them ignorant of current happenings.

Declining Numbers

• It was because of the never-ending successful efforts of our security forces that the number of related incidents, deaths & their geographical spread came down in the past decade.

Sr. No.	Parameters	2009	2018
1	No. of incidents	2258	833
2	Deaths (Civilians & Security Forces)	1005	240
3	Number of affected districts	96 (in 2010)	60

Government Strategy to Curb LWE

• SAMADHAN doctrine is the one-stop solution for the LWE problem. It encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels. SAMADHAN stands for-
  
  • S- Smart Leadership,
  • A- Aggressive Strategy,
  • M- Motivation and Training,
  • A- Actionable Intelligence,
  • D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas),
  • H- Harnessing Technology,
  • A- Action plan for each Theatre,
  • N- No access to Financing.
• The national strategy to counter LWE was formed in 2015 as a multipronged approach to combat LWE. Its main aim was to ensure participatory governance and protection of the rights of local tribals, inter alia.
• Intelligence sharing and raising of a separate 66 Indian Reserved Battalion (IRBs) was done by the government to curb the menace of LWE organizations.

Development of LWE Affected Areas

• Few schemes being implemented by the government for LWE affected areas are:
  
  • Special Central Assistance (SCA)- for filling critical gaps in public infrastructure and services of emergent nature.
  • Road Connectivity Project- for construction of 5,412 km roads.
  • Skill Development- for construction of 47 ITIs (01 ITI per district) and 68 Skill Development Centers (02 SDCs per district) by 2018-19.
  • Education Initiatives- for building new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) & Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) where they are not present. It is also planned to open more schools under the Eklavya model.
  • Installation of Mobile Towers- for endless telecom connectivity.
  • Financial inclusion- for ensuring the presence of banking facilities within 5 km to all citizens residing in LWE affected areas.

Way Forward

• Though the number of incidents of LWE violence has come down in the recent past, continued efforts and focus are needed in eliminating such groups.
• Innovative measures are required to be employed in preventing IED (Improvised Explosive Device) related incidents which have caused significant casualties in recent years.
• States play a vital role in maintaining law and order. So, emphasis should be laid on the capacity-building and modernization of the local police forces. Local forces can efficiently and effectively neutralize the LWE organizations.
• States should rationalize their surrender policy in order to bring innocent individuals caught in the trap of LWE in the mainstream.
• States also need to adopt a focused time-bound approach to completely eliminate LWE groups and ensure all-round development of the affected regions.
• For the holistic last-mile development of “New India”, it is necessary to get rid of the menace of such radicalized groups, & the synergized efforts of the Centre and the States are crucial in achieving the same.

Source: PIB

Transfer of Surplus from RBI

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to transfer Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the Central government, which may help the government in dealing with the economic slowdown.

• The Rs 1.76 lakh crore includes the central bank’s 2018-19 surplus of ₹1.23 lakh crore and Rs 52,637 crore of excess provisions identified as per the revised Economic Capital Framework (recommended by Bimal Jalan Committee).
• The government already had revised downward the fiscal deficit target to 3.4% from 3.3% and initiated a slew of measures that are being dubbed as mini-budget.
• Economic Capital Framework
  
  • The RBI had formed a committee chaired by former Governor Bimal Jalan to review its economic capital framework and suggest the quantum of excess provision to be transferred to the government.
  • The panel recommended a clear distinction between the two components of the economic capital of RBI i.e. Realized equity and Revaluation balances.
    
    • Revaluation reserves comprise of periodic marked-to-market unrealized/notional gains/losses in values of foreign currencies and gold, foreign securities and rupee securities, and a contingency fund.
    • Realized equity, which is a form of a contingency fund for meeting all risks/losses primarily built up from retained earnings. It is also called the Contingent Risk Buffer (CBR).
  • The Surplus Distribution Policy of RBI that was finalized is in line with the recommendations of the Bimal Jalan committee.
    
    • The Jalan committee has given a range of 5.5-6.5% of RBI's balance sheet for Contingent Risk Buffer.
    • Adhering to the recommendations, the RBI has decided to set the CBR level at 5.5% of the balance sheet, while transferring the remaining excess reserves worth ₹52,637 crore to the government.
    • If CBR is below the lower bound of requirement, risk provisioning will be made to the extent necessary and only the residual net income (if any) transferred to the Government.
    • However keeping CBR at a lower range of 5.5%, will reduce RBI's space to manoeuvre monetary policy.

Source: TH

HIV/AIDS Outreach

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) for enhanced HIV/AIDS outreach.

• The MoU signing ceremony took place between the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE).
• Objective: To reduce the incidence of social stigma and discrimination against victims of drug abuse and Children and People Living with HIV/AIDS.
• Expected Outcome: The MoU will help in developing specific strategies and action plans for HIV and AIDS prevention and mechanisms for drug addiction treatment and extending social protection schemes to the vulnerable populations.

Situation in India

• The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is a division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies.
• NACO has played a very big role in significantly reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country and that too faster than the global rates.
  
  • More than 80% decline in estimated new infections from the peak of epidemic in 1995.
  • Estimated AIDS-related deaths declined by 71% since its peak in 2005.
  • As per the UNAIDS 2018 report, the global average for the decline in new infections and AIDS-related deaths from peak has been 47% and 51% respectively.
    • Established in 1996, UNAIDS has been leading and inspiring global, regional, national and local leadership, innovation and partnership to consign HIV to history. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

India’s Role in the Global Fight against AIDS

• There are 2 million new AIDS infections every year, and about 66% of the world population currently on antiretroviral therapy consumes drugs manufactured in India.
• Globally, the ART market is valued at .48 billion (in 2018) and is expected to reach .83 billion by 2025.
• Thus, Indian pharmaceutical companies, with their ability to manufacture high-quality, affordable medicines are very important in the global battle against AIDS.

Antiretroviral Therapy

• With neither a vaccine nor a cure in sight, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is the only option available for people living with HIV-AIDS.
• HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, and the combination of drugs used to treat it is called Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
• According to the World Health Organization, standard ART consists of a combination of at least three antiretroviral drugs to suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of the disease.
• Significant reductions have been seen in rates of death and suffering by the use of potent ART regimen, particularly in the early stages of the disease.

Source: PIB

GramNet to Connect All Villages through Wi-Fi

The Government has reiterated its commitment to provide Wi-Fi in all the villages through GramNet with connectivity between 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps speed.

• During the 36^th Foundation Day celebrations of Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Minister of State for Communications announced that BharatNet also plans to provide 1 GBPS connectivity, which can be expanded up to 10 GBPS.
• C-DOT also launched three latest innovations during Foundation Day Celebration, which are as follows:
  • XGSPON (10 G Symmetrical Passive Optical Network)
    
    • It can fulfil the increasing demands of high network speeds emanating from the new dimensions of user applications like IPTV, HD Video Streaming, Online Gaming.
    • It can also be a host of other cloud-based services that necessitate the seamless availability of high bandwidth.
  • C-Sat-Fi (C-DOT Satellite WiFi)
    
    • It is based on the optimal utilization of wireless and satellite communication to extend connectivity.
    • It offers the ease of deployment, which is ideally suited to addressing disasters and emergencies when no other means of communication are available.
    • It does not require the expensive Satellite Phones and can work on any WiFi-enabled phone.
  • CiSTB (C-DOT’s Interoperable Set-Top Box)
    
    • Based on a portable smart card like a mobile SIM, this solution will revolutionize the experience of the Cable TV operators by offering them a high degree of choice, ease and convenience without having to replace the once installed STB.
• The above innovations seek to address the challenges in the Telecom Sector and empower Indian people especially in rural and remote areas as connectivity will bind people from all corners of the country.

Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT)

• It was established in 1984.
• It is an autonomous Telecom R&D centre of DoT, Government of India.
• It is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act,1860.
• It is a registered public-funded research institution with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India.
• Currently, C-DOT is working towards realising the objective of various flagship programmes of Govt. of India which include Digital India, BharatNet, Smart Cities etc.

GramNet is a part of National Broadband Mission (Rashtriya Broadband Abhiyan) to secure universal broadband access. Apart from this, there are other initiatives being taken under the same. Few being:

• BharatNet– Providing 1 Gbps to Gram Panchayats upgradeable to 10 Gbps
• NagarNet– Establishing 1 Million public Wi-Fi Hotspots in urban areas
• JanWiFi– Establishing 2 Million Wi-Fi Hotspots in rural areas

Source: PIB

Jal Jeevan Mission

Recently, Union Ministry for Jal Shakti, conducted a conference of State Ministers on Jal Jeevan Mission in New Delhi.

• Indian Prime Minister on independence day announced that the government will launch a Jal Jeevan Mission to bring piped water to households and resolved to spend more than ₹3.5 lakh crore in the coming years.
• India has 16% of the world population, but only 4% of freshwater resources.
  
  • Depleting groundwater level, overexploitation and deteriorating water quality, climate change, etc. are major challenges to provide potable drinking water.
• Therefore, ensuring India’s water security and providing access to safe and adequate drinking water to all Indians is a priority of the Government.
• Under Jal Jeevan Mission, the government envisages renewed efforts to provide water supply to every household by 2024.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission is set to be based on various water conservation efforts like point recharge, desilting of minor irrigation tanks, use of greywater for agriculture and source sustainability.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission will converge with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable water supply management across the country.
• The Prime Minister appealed to all states to generate maximum community participation in the form of ‘Jan Andolan’ to achieve the target of functional household tap connection by 2024.

Source:PIB

City Gas Distribution Network

The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel has launched the commencement of work for 10^th City Gas Distribution (CGD) bidding round which will cover 50 Geographical Areas (GAs) in 124 districts.

• After the completion of the 10^th round, over 70% of the country’s population and 52.73% of the area will be covered under the CGD.
• The development of CGD networks will increase the availability of clean cooking fuel or Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and transportation fuel Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for consumers.
  
  • CGD has been granted ‘Public Utility’ status.

India’s Clean Energy Mix

• India is the 3^rd largest energy consumer of the world and is expected to become top consumer in a decade.
• The present share of gas in the energy mix in the country is 6.2% compared to 24% globally.
  
  • The Government aims is to increase the share of natural gas to 15% by 2030.
• Domestic gas production was 32.87 billion cubic metre in 2018-19, and is likely to go up to 39.3 billion cubic metre in 2020-21.
• According to the government, present LNG terminal capacity of 38.8 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) will be augmented to 52.5 MMTPA in next 3-4 years.
• The National Gas Grid presently is 16,788 km, and work is in progress for additional 14,788 km.

Source: PIB