Class Notes 4 You

Intro:India and the African continent have been linked for centuries through trade, commerce and travel across the Indian Ocean cooperation : The spirit of “developing as equals” defines this bilateral. India’s partnership with Africa is based on a model of cooperation which is responsive to the needs of African countries. It is demand driven and free of conditionalities. Cooperation based on 10 guiding principles of India-Africa engagement listed by PM Modi in his speech to Ugandan parliament like- Deepening of engagement Capacity building Digital cooperation Agriculture cooperation India has partnered with African development bank $5.6T of market opportunity- IMF India is Africa's fifth largest investor - $54 B with a bilateral trade of $66B 180 LOC to 44 countries amounting to $11 Billion Under the ‘ Vaccine Maitri ’ initiative, we have supplied 24.7 million doses of Made in India COVID vaccines as grants, and commercial and COVAX supplies to 42 countries in Africa.” these devel...

Intro-  No other relationship of India has as many layers as our relations with China. - PM Modi at Shangrila dialogue Historical context: India was the first non socialist country to establish diplomatic Relations with PRC in 1950 After the 1962 war, Rajiv Gandhi's -1988 visit marked the beginning of improvement in ties. This has been taken forward through the informal summits at Wuhan and Mamallapuram. on border disputes: ( relations b/w both the nations has been termed as “cold peace.”) Kautilya’s mandal siddhant postulates that our neighbour is our natural enemy . 1993- agreement on maintaining peace and tranquility along LAC signed India and china have signed 5 boundary dispute settlement agreements from 1993 to 2013. Special representatives (SR) mechanism for boundary settlement initiated in 2003 In the context of China,  salami slicing  denotes its strategy of territorial expansion in the South China Sea and the Himalayan regions.  As said by SJ at 4th RN...

Multi-level planning opposed to centralised planning is an exercise where local institutions are actively involved not only at the implementation level but involve all hierarchies of administrative, geographical, political, and regional levels in the planning process. It is cost effective and removing implementation blockages in the sense: 1. Freedom to Fix Priorities: Since the specific situation at the local level is quite different from the national scene, a block plan may even give different weightage to national priorities in its scheme of priorities. 2. Target Fixing: A block drawing upon the available resources and its own experiences should have the freedom to fix its own targets, depending upon their feasibility. 3. Tackling Corruption: Through empowerment and involvement of local bodies, various discrepancies in developmental implementation can be solved. 4. Reducing Regional disparities: Decentralised planning will help suitability of the implementation strategies and resour...

Earn while you learn scheme is based on twin pillars of Learning by doing and Earning by Learning. Vocational education is a great combination of work and learning. The scheme needs to be strengthened because: • It provides opportunities for students to earn while learning to meet their expenses. • Exposes the students to the world of work before actual employment. • Gives students hands-on experience and confidence thereby prepares them better for taking up jobs in future.  The government scheme of ‘Earn while you learn’ is turning out to be a major draw for several college students who might have otherwise dropped out due to financial reasons. Challenges of Earn while Earn to make it meaningful for Vocational Education: • The lack of regular staff remains an issue of concern. • Lack of motivation: The government is managing to get its work done at merely Rs 100 per hour where as a government employee earns at least Rs 20,000 per month. • Diversification: Students need to be engag...

Recently, the Delhi High Court has held that the CAT can exercise the same jurisdiction and powers, as a High Court, in respect of its contempt proceedings. Thus, it gave more power to act as an independent judicial authority. Also, CAT has shown that it exercises its power as independent judicial authority in many cases like:  1. In UPSC vs EWS candidate case CAT took swift action to allow EWS candidates to give mains exam and decide matters later. 2. CAT is also giving judgement against the central government. (DGP Jacob Thomas) 3. CAT has also held that government employees on the verge of superannuation should not be disturbed merely because they have stayed for a considerably long period at a particular place. 4. The conditions of service of the chairman and members are the same as applicable to the judge of HC as per Administrative Tribunal (Amendment) Act 2006. However, the Central Administrative Tribunal still cannot be called truly independent judicial body because: 1. Tri...

Recently, some of the sections of RTI like section 13, 16, 27 has been amended, which has the potential to impact the autonomy of the Information commission. Amendments done: 1. Term of Information Commissioners: The amendment states that the central government will notify the term of office for the CIC and the ICs. 2. Determination of salary: The amendment seeks an amendment to state that the salaries, allowances, and other terms and conditions of service of the central and state CIC and ICs will be determined by the central government.  3. Deductions in salary: The Act states that at the time of the appointment of the CIC and ICs (at the central and state level), if they are receiving pension or any other retirement benefits for previous government service, their salaries will be reduced by an amount equal to the pension. Impact of such amendment on Autonomy and Independence of the Information Commission: Dismantling of Transparency architecture. It has been criticised as an RTI ...

The commission is the watchdog of human rights in the country. It works to protect the right to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the international covenants and enforceable by courts in India. Contribution to Protection of Human Rights: Commission took cognizance of many individual cases of displacement on account of mega projects, disasters and conflicts. The Commission took Suo motu cognizance of the reports about suicide by farmers. The NHRC took cognizance of the issue of inadequate access to health care in Adivasi communities of south Orissa. As the Convention against torture has not yet been ratified by India, the Commission has been advocating early ratification of the Convention. The Commission is also concerned about allegations of impunity of State and non-State players for torture, deaths in custody, abductions and unlawful killings. The NHRC role has been significant in combating encounter killings and custo...