 Greetings dear aspirants, welcome to today's current affairs session on civil speedy up. Today we will be discussing about Indian birdfare, about Uyghurs, about open acreage licensing policy and generalized system of preference status under a prelim shopping and regarding the state statistics of SEs at the special economic zones in India and an editorial. The solution is universal that strengthening Mandrega is better than implementing PM Kizan. So let's move on to a first film's topic of the day, Indian birding fair. So recently the 22nd version of the Indian birding fair was held at Jaipur. So you need to know the location where it was held and who organizes this particular birding fair and about something about the Mansagar lake. So this particular birding fair is held every year at on the banks of Mansagar lake near the city of Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan. So this is dedicated to the conservation of the vader type of birds this year. So you need to know what is vaders, vaders are those tiny birds which are mostly confined to the edges of the water and are observed feeding across the moite surfaces in search of their own food. So some of the examples of the vaders are your green sandpipers, little stents, etc. And something about the Mansagar lake, so it's a very picturesque lake. So it is an artificial lake constructed by Mansingh who was the then ruler around 1600s and he also happened to be one of the generals of King Akbar. So this particular lake is built by damming the Dravya Vati river and there's also a palace located amidst this particular lake it is called the Jal Mahal. So all those rulers of the amber used to stay in this Jal Mahal during the summer because it was very hot during the summer and people used to stay in this particular Mahal. So there used to be rooms which are under below the surface surrounded by water so it used to give chillness to those people residing there. And this particular birding fair is organized by the tourism and the wildlife society of India. So this is a registered charity which was founded by the Estwell ruler of Jaipur the princess Gayatri Devi. So she found this particular wildlife society and this aims at conserving all those wildlife surrounding this Mansagar lake which is Prasenya Jaipur Rajasthan. So this is the particular Mahal and this is the dam in the Dravya Vati river. Let's move on to our next problem-stopping Uighurs. So with regards to Uighurs you just need to know about their location and about their ethnicity. So this is all you need from Prelem's point of view. So the recent news is that Turkey has urged China to respect the Uighur rights and close those concentration camps which has been closed open by China in order to persecute them on religious and ethnic basis. So who are these particular Uighurs? So they are a Turkic ethnic group who are living in Eastern Central Asia and in China if you see they are largely located in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China and they have been officially recognized as an ethnic minority so they are a Muslim ethnic minority. So heavy security crackdown was started by the Chinese government post the 2009 riots by these Uighur population in the Xinjiang province. So it is said that China's habitually detained more than a million Uighurs which means around 10 lakh Uighurs in the concentration camps and China did not accept initially they told them that they have been put up in vocational training centers. Very recently China has accepted that they have been placed in camps and now Turkey has urged them in order to release them from those camps and relieve a very live a very human life. So with this context try to know some other recent ethnic conflicts that are happening around the world. So here are some of the examples Rohingya ethnic conflict in the country of Myanmar, your Oromia conflicts in the country of Ethiopia and regarding Quds where they aiming for a separate nation and they are spread across four countries namely Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. So try to know about different ethnic conflicts around the world and also some of the civil wars that is currently happening in the world with respect to the problems point of view. Let's move on to our next topic open acreage licensing policy. So now the news the current affairs is that 14 oil and gas blocks are to be auctioned by the directorate general of hydrocarbons. So with respect to this particular policy you need to know something about the policy and what kind of a policy it is. This policy pertains either to upstream or downstream or the midstream level of your petroleum processing and under which ministry it comes from. So this particular policy comes under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. So it is basically aiming with respect to the exploration and production of hydrocarbon. So it is basically an upstream processing. So there are three processing upstream, midstream and downstream. So this pertains to production exploration and production exploration and production. And midstream pertains to processing of those hydrocarbons and their storage in crude form and downstream would be refining of those petroleum products into your petroleum and natural gas and they'll be supplied to the retail and the wholesale markets across the country. So this particular open acreage licensing policy was introduced in the year 2016 along with one more policy the national data repository. So this comes under the hydrocarbon exploration and licensing policy. Before this there was a national exploration and licensing policy but that policy was not really proactive because out of the 26 sedimentary basins that is present in India, much amount of basins were not really located by the country and the companies in order to overcome the shortage in the oil in India. So this particular policy enables a faster survey and coverage of the available geographical area which has the potential for oil and gas discovery. And the director general of hydrocarbon and natural gas is the authority to manage this open acreage licensing policy. So there is some process under this open acreage licensing policy. First one is the selection of the exploration blocks on its own by the oil exploration companies. So initially government used to select the blocks and release it for bidding, competitive bidding. But now it has given the selection process to these oil companies where they'll go and select by themselves whatever exploration blocks that they're able to find. And next they will submit that particular findings to the government and the government will examine the expression of interest and the justification. And if the government thinks that can be released for competitive bidding then it will call for the competitive bidding. And after obtaining necessary and environmental and other clearances that project will be given to those companies who have bid. This particular blocks in the country. So if you see the blocks, the sedimentary basins, we have our underground sedimentary basins and we have shallow water basins and also we have deep water basins. So just have an idea regarding this. And next topic is the generalized system of preferences. So this particular generalized system of preferences status is being given by USA with respect to our current affairs context. Because the recent current affairs is that USA is now thinking to remove India from its generalized system of preferences status list. So this particular generalized system of preferences is a global concession by the USA or any other developing nations, which is being attended towards the developing and the very poor economies in order to build their economies. So they will get or import all those products from these economies at zero tariffs. So thereby even those small companies that are working in USA will be benefitted because of this move. So there is a two way benefit, economic benefit to those exporting countries and also to the small players inside USA. And this particular generalized system of preferences list is being managed by the office of the US trade representative. So this particular office is an executive office under the president's office. So this office is responsible for developing and coordinating the international trade of the country of USA and its commodity and direct investment policy. And it also oversees negotiations with other countries. So it will go for bilateral trade relations with the countries of its choice. And you need to know something about the exports data that happened in the year 2017-18, where India's exported around goods and services worth 47.9 billion dollars. At the same time, USA has exported only 26.7 billion worth goods and services to India. So that is a clear trade deficit between USA and India. So trade deficit is on the USA side. Now the USA government wants to balance this trade deficit. So it has come up with a slew of measures. And this trade deficit is also a common phenomena that is seen between USA and China and hence the USA, China are very high escalated level as of now. And this is also in a kind of escalation level also with India, but not really open. And if you see there were some pushes by the USA president and also by the USA side in general. So if you see the USA president Mr. Donald Trump wanted for a tariff cut in the Harley-Davidson cycles that are being exported to India by the USA. So they want to have the price at equivalent to Indian motorcycle price levels. And if you see in the March 2018 USA started imposing tariffs on several Indian products. And in April 2018, this United States State Representative began the review of this India's GSP, the generalized system of preferences status. And in November 2018 USA has withdrew GSP status on at least 50 Indian products. Now the status of India as such is on review. But there are benefits that are given to products. So it will be product wise. Now US has withdrew at least for 50 Indian products. So India has also taken some retaliatory measures, but they're not very concrete. So if you see in the year 2018 India proposed tariffs of around $235 million for at least 29 American goods, but it has been put off at least five times. So now India again announced that it will go for this imposing tariffs which is said to be over by March. We do not know what is the status as of now. And India's also attempted to address the trade deficit with the purchase of American oil, energy and aircraft where we are the major importers of American oil, energy and aircraft. So there is no breakthrough that has happened even after the talks between those trade representatives of USA and India. So already India's taken a very strict decision on data localization for all the companies operating in India. So even if they're based out of US or Europe, it wants the Indian data to be localized and stored only in India. And the more recent tightening norms for FDA and e-commerce has also aggravated this trade situation. So now they have to sit for talks and arrive at a very amicable solution. So this is all you need to know about generalized system of preferences. So this context is very much exclusive between USA and India as of now. So this is what you require to need to know about the current affairs. And all these contentions on both the USA side and India side will be helpful for you in the mains perspective. So let's move on to our main topic, the editorial topic. The solution is universal where the authors have stressed that strengthening Manrega is better than implementing your PM Kisan. So they have discussed things about under these subheads. So they have discussed about the PM Kisan scheme and the monetary benefits of PM Kisan versus Mandrega. And scheme wise, they have differentiated both PM Kisan and Mandrega. And they have given the field realities of Mandrega and some statistics related to Mandrega. And they have given their suggestions for the need for strengthening Mandrega rather than implementing the PM Kisan scheme. So as we all know, the government in its interim budget has come up with the income support scheme also called as the PM Kisan scheme. So it aims to provide an income support of at least Rs. 6000 per year and three installments to all those land holding farmers. Under two acres or two egg tests. So they will have a direct income support. So with this context, the Ministry of Agriculture has written to the state governments to have their database to prepare a database of all the eligible beneficiaries along with their other numbers and to have their land records properly. And the government in its directive has also told that the changes in land records after February 1st of 2019 shall not be considered for this income support scheme. So the authors have compared the monetary benefit comparison between Mandrega and the PM Kisan scheme. So even if two members of the household get work under your Mandrega scheme for at least 30 days, then a person or a family residing in Jharkhand is likely to get around Rs. 10,080 in India. So this is the lowest paid state. And the highest paid state is Haryana where they get at least Rs. 16,860 per month. So this is just a per month statistic versus the income support scheme under the PM Kisan scheme where farmers will be getting only Rs. 6000 per year. So here itself we can have the comparison where Mandrega clearly stands out. So this was one comparison made by the authors. And they have made some generalistic comparisons between Mandrega and PM Kisan scheme. They have told that Mandrega is a very universal scheme whereas this is a targeted cash transfer scheme. So under Mandrega, so any rural household willing to do manual work is eligible under the Act. But for PM Kisan scheme, since it is targeted to the only those land holding farmers. And under Mandrega, even the landless laborers are eligible for employment. So as per the 2011 socioeconomic census, around 40% of the rural households were known to be landless. So these landless laborers are not covered under this PM Kisan scheme. And also it is unclear about the tenant farmers and women farmers. So tenant farmers are those who rent the agricultural land in order to do agriculture. So they're not covered under the scheme. Even if you see this income support scheme is equivalent to this retube on the scheme introduced by the state of Telangana and also your Kaliya scheme introduced by the state of Odisha. Even they have left out the tenant farmers. So this is a very controversial thing. And if you see Mandrega, since it is a universal scheme, it is less prone to corruption because it includes all these people who are eligible for manual employment. But here this targeted scheme is more prone to corruption because even the dates are so quick that one would not be able to streamline the database of these farmers having land. So that is corruption possible in this particular implementation of PM Kisan scheme. And also if you see errors of exclusion is less common since it is again a universal scheme, Mandrega. And in PM Kisan scheme, the errors of exclusion is more common and it would be a continuous phenomena. So if one farmer's left out during one particular financial year is more likely to be left out even in the next year, unless and until the records are not updated. So this will also go unrecorded. So these were the comparisons made by the author between Mandrega and PM Kisan scheme. And the authors have also given some field realities with regards to implementing the Mandrega scheme. So Mandrega scheme is already being implemented since the previous government and also by the present government. But the authors have taken a dig at the present government telling that the present government is not really focused about giving importance to this Mandrega scheme. So this has also brought the contempt of Supreme Court where the court has told that center alone has caused a delay of more than 50 days with regards to disbusing the wages with regards to your wage payments. And there is also a repeated change in processes which results in a hurried bureaucratic reorientation on the ground. So people are not really clear about whatever changes made by the government. And here the field functionaries are pushed to meet stiff targets because without having proper set targets they are working and they are not able to work in a very continuous and a smooth manner. And these field functionaries are short staffed and inadequately trained. So this results in many technical and enforcing errors. So if you see in the last four years around 1,300 crores of wage payments were unpaid because of technical errors that has been unexplained by the government. And if you see in a survey conducted in the state of Jharkhand, at least 42% failure of biometric authentication at the first instance that noticed. So this is also one kind of technical error. So Mandrega further needs to be strengthened is what the claim made by the authors. And the authors have also told that the success of PM Kisan lies in identifying the reliable digital land record. So identify and properly maintain those digital land records. Not even in physical form but should be in digital form. And the rural banking infrastructure should be reliable. So as of now we cannot think on both these points or components for the success of PM Kisan because time is very short. And they have given some status about Mandrega on fund allocation and with regards to wage payments. So let's first see the state statistics on fund allocation. So giving precedence to PM Kisan will push the Mandrega towards severe crisis is what the claim made by the author. If you've seen the revised estimate of 2018-19 around 61,084 crores have been allocated by the central government. But in this interim budget they have allocated only 60,000 crores. Whereas they have allocated rupees 75,000 crores for the PM Kisan scheme. And in the last four years on an average around 20% of the budget allocation has been unpaid pending payments from the previous years. So for 100% budget allocation of rupees 60,000 crores, say at least 20% of this is being utilized for the unpaid pending payments for the previous year. So this 100% does not go fresh for those people for that particular financial year. So this is again kind of lessening the importance of Mandrega scheme. And so subtracting the pending liabilities in real terms the budget allocation is slower than the 2011-12 levels is what the claim made by the author. And there is also some statistics given by the authors with regards to wage payments in Mandrega. So the Mandrega wage rates in 18 states have been kept lower than the state's minimum agricultural wage rates. Where we have seen in Jharkhand, the lowest rate in the countries around only 10,000 for two people in a family for 30 days. So this acts as a deterrent for the landless laborers because landless laborers are the major chunk of the population who get benefited from this Mandrega scheme. And even though this particular importance is being made less by the government, but there is a demand for employment. So at least the work demand is 33% more than the previous year compared to this year. And underscoring the desperation to work. So it simply means that there is a necessity or requirement for employment, but it is not being made by the government. So by routinely underfunding this act, the present government continues to undermine the constitutional guarantee is what the point given by the authors. And they have stress for the need for strengthening Mandrega rather than implementing this PM Kizan scheme. So while the country stares at an impending drought, workers languish in unemployment. So this particular Mandrega scheme is neither an income supports program nor an asset creation program. So it is a very general labor program aimed at strengthening the participatory democracy through community works. Because in Mandrega, people do community works by developing the community assets like ponds, lakes, rivers, et cetera. And the authors have also told that Mandrega is a legislative mechanism to strengthen the constitutional principle of the right to life. And Mandrega works have demonstrably strong multiplier effects. Hence it should be strengthened because this has proven to be beneficial for a large section of a population across the country be it the developed states or developing states or the underdeveloped states. So the authors have told that finally they have concluded that in an employment program, adequacy of fund allocation and respectable wage payments is the primary requisite. And this present government is making a meaningless claims of highest ever budget allocation and giving dubious claims. So this is all just a game played by the government is what the comments made by the author. So they have told that we already have a universal program called Mandrega rather than implementing this targeted program of PM Kizm, the government should work towards the universal program implementation of Mandrega. So this is what the point ultimately by the author and they have stressed on two things, fund allocation and wage payments. So you can also approach the questions under these sets. So with this, we'll move on to our main topic, statistics in the SEZ sector in India. You need to know something about the special economic zones in India. So they are a specifically delineated duty-free enclave and they shall be deemed to be a foreign territory. It is nothing but special economic zones in a particular state will be treated to have their own financial laws, their own economical laws, instead of having the laws that is prevailing throughout the country. But the administrative laws in SEZs will be same as the ones which are out of SEZs. So this particular SEZs will be treated as a foreign territory only with related to purposes of trade operations, duties and tariffs. So there has been some statistics put by the Hindu newspaper with regards to the SEZs. So in terms of location, the statistics tells that more number of SEZs are located in the state of Tamil Nadu. So Tamil Nadu has around 40 SEZs followed by Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states. And if you see the sector-wise breakup, so the major sector is the IT, ITES sector. So the other sector, so it is basically the services sector. So when the SEZ policy came into being, it came with an aim to improve the manufacturing base in the country. But as of now largely, it is only aiding the service sector development in the country. So all these tax benefits and the economic benefits are given only to those IT or the IT related companies. And if you see the statistics with related to the groups and services exporter in terms of value and growth rate. So both have improved on year on year basis. Only with respect to growth rate, there was a dip in the year 2014-15, but now the growth rate is also improving in terms of exports. And there is also a growth seen in terms of value and also the growth rate in terms of investments. So in terms of value, there is an improvement. In terms of growth rate, it is not really, it is increasing year on year, but the increase in the growth rate is not really very healthy is what the statistics are tells. So there are also some other statistics like all these SEZs are concentrated, around 80% of these SEZs are concentrated one in four metros, namely New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad where your majority of IT services companies and some of the manufacturing companies are located. So they are mostly concentrated in South and West India. And as the statistic tells, the more exports are only from the IT and the IT ES sector. And with regards to improving the SEZ sector, the Ministry of Commerce and industries posted a committee under Baba Kalyani. So he has come up with some recommendations in December 2018. So some of the major recommendations of Baba Kalyani committee with respect to improving the SEZs to have a uniform like review policy of the SEZ. So the first one is the recommendation is that the framework shift from the export growth to a broad-based economical growth should be envisaged by the government with respect. And that should be formulation of separate rules and procedures for manufacturing and the service SEZs. Because whatever policies that are in place now is common for both your manufacturing and your service sector. Now, there should be separate rules as recommended by the committee. And the committee has also recommended for the extension of the Sunset Cross, which is likely to end by the March 31st of the year 2020. Sunset Cross is nothing but all those tax benefits given by the government for these companies setting up their companies in SEZs would end by March 31st of 2020. So these tax benefits and duty benefit should be retained by the government by extending the Sunset Cross. And one of the recommendation was to have a shift from the supply-driven model to a demand-driven model. So we do not have a really proactive approach in this. We just keep on supplying without having any idea how much the requirement is for the exports. But once we start to have a demand-driven approach by having proper bilateral treaties with our foreign nations, we'll be able to have a very strong SEZs in place. And the recommendations have also called for enhancing the competitiveness in the SEZs by enabling the ecosystem development. So how they have to do is by funding the high-speed multimodal connectivity, business services, utility infrastructure, et cetera. If you've seen the recent years logistic sector was given infrastructure status. Similarly, on these lines, Baba Kalani committees also recommended the infrastructure status should be given to these SEZs in order to improve the access to finance and also to enable long-term borrowing. And the recommendations have also called for promoting the MSMEs, the medium-small macro enterprises participation in the three is nothing but the economic employment and economic enclaves. And it has also called for a unified regulator for the International Financial Service Centers. So this is a new concept where the London and Paris have been declared as the International Financial Service Center. Similarly, in India, we have one IFSE which has come up at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. And the second will most likely come in the Bandra-Kurla complex in the city of Mumbai. So they call for a unified regulator. So this IFSE handles the financial services, your banking services, and also your insurance services. So this financial services, your asset management, wealth management will be handled by the SEBI. And banking will be handled by RBA. And we have IRDA for handling the insurance component. So instead of having different regulators for these IFSEs, there should be a unified regulator for IFSEs. So this is one of the recommendations of the Baba Kalani committee. So all these points will be useful for your mains and please try to have your own analysis with regards to the recommendations of the Baba Kalani committee. So with this, we are winding up our today's topic. Please do like, comment, and share the video. And please subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy channel for latest videos and updates. Stay focused and motivated friends. Thank you.