There is no proposal to privatise the operation of Railways. However, there is a proposal to outsource the commercial and on board services of a few trains and to permit private players to induct modern rakes to run trains on select routes with an objective to provide improved service delivery to passengers. The responsibility of train operations and safety certification rests with Indian Railways. Outsourcing of certain services like station cleaning, pay and use toilets, retiring rooms, parking and platforms maintenance etc. is being done on need based manner to improve cleanliness and other services.

‘Adarsh’ Station Scheme has been started since 2009-10 and presently, upgradation of Railway stations are taken under ‘Adarsh Station Scheme’. Since then, 1253 stations have been identified for development under ‘Adarsh Station Scheme’ out of which 1149 stations so far have been developed under ‘Adarsh Station Scheme’ and remaining stations are targeted to be developed by 2019-20.

Various passenger amenities which, inter-alia, include improvement to façade of the station building, retiring room, waiting room (with bathing facilities), separate waiting room for ladies, landscaping of circulating area, earmarked parking, signages, Pay & Use toilets, Foot Over Bridge, ramps at entry to station etc. are proposed to be provided at Railway stations which are identified for development under this scheme as per the respective category of the station and the works for which are funded under Plan Head ‘Passenger Amenities’.

Upgradation / modernization of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and on-going process. Works for improvement of passenger amenities are undertaken depending upon need, volume of passenger traffic and inter-se priority, subject to availability of funds.

What’s the issue? Ramesh, who had been living in Germany since 1993, applied for Indian citizenship on March 31, 2008 and was granted the same on February 4, 2009.

When the MLA applied for Indian Citizenship, he was holding Germany’s citizenship and never stayed in India for more than 12 months as required for a foreign national in the Foreigners Act.

What does the Citizenship Act of 1955 say on this? Sections 5(1)(f) and 10(2) of the act deal with grant of citizenship and the authority of the government to cancel the same.

According to Section 5(1)(f), “the Central Government may, on an application made in this behalf, register as a citizen of India any person if a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and has been residing in India for one year immediately before making an application for registration.”

Section 10(2) says: “Subject to the provisions of this section, the Central Government may, by order, deprive any such citizen of Indian citizenship, if it is satisfied that the registration or certificate of naturalisation was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact.”

Protection against arbitrary action: Section 10(3) of the Act says, “The Central Government shall not deprive a person of citizenship under this section unless it is satisfied that it is not conducive to the public good that person should continue to be a citizen of India.”

Key features of the framework: The Framework provides a holistic framework to facilitate a comprehensive digital transformation of schools.

The framework is a flexible platform based on the latest research and input from hundreds of academics, experts, and policymakers.

It comprises four pillars — leadership and policy, modern teaching and learning, intelligent environments and technology blueprint.

Background: Education leaders in more than 50 countries have already adopted the Microsoft K-12 Education Transformation Framework to help plan their learning strategies in partnership with Microsoft.

Key features of the scheme: Under the scheme, the state government will offer 10 grams of gold as a gift to every adult bride who has completed at least 10th standard and has registered her marriage. Note: The government will not give the gold directly but Rs. 30,000 to purchase 10 gms of gold.

Eligibility: The annual income of the bride’s family must be less than five lakh rupees to avail the scheme. Minimum age should be 18 years and 21 years for the bride and bridegroom respectively. The family has to register their marriage under the Special Marriage (Assam) Rules, 1954.

Minimum education should be 10th standard. However, minimum educational qualification criteria have been relaxed for the tribes and workers of tea gardens. The eligible bride and bridegroom must apply for the scheme before the date of their wedding.

What is Mission Indradhanush? To strengthen and re-energize the programme and achieve full immunization coverage for all children and pregnant women at a rapid pace, the Government of India launched “Mission Indradhanush” in December 2014.

Goal of Mission Indradhanush: The ultimate goal of Mission Indradhanush is to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines for children up to two years of age and pregnant women.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI): To further intensify the immunization programme, the government launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) on October 8, 2017.

Aim: To reach each and every child up to two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme/UIP. Coverage: Low performing areas in the selected districts (high priority districts) and urban areas. Special attention will be given to unserved/low coverage pockets in sub-centre and urban slums with migratory population.

IMI 2.0: To ensure that not a single child in the country misses out on vaccination, the government has launched the ‘Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0‘ with a special focus on improving coverage in areas with “low” immunisation.

Key facts: Through ‘IMI 2.0’, the health ministry aims to reach each and every child below the age of two years and all pregnant women still uncovered/partially covered in 271 districts of the country and 652 blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

IMI 2.0 will include four rounds of vaccination, with each round involving a seven-day immunisation drive to be conducted each month from December 2 onwards. The IMI programme is supported by 12 ministries and departments and is being monitored by the cabinet secretary at the national level.

Existing gaps: The current national full immunisation coverage rate stands at 87 per cent. According to government data, 260 lakh children are born every year and an estimated 31 lakh out of them would not receive complete rounds of vaccination in the first year of their life due to various reasons.

What happened at Sambhar? As per the report, the avian botulism in Sambhar was caused by the climate. Fluctuating Water levels: Fluctuated throughout the year. Due to a good monsoon this year, the water level reached the lake bed after a gap of 20 years.

Favourable environment for bacteria: The good monsoon provided a favorable environment for the bacteria to spread. The bacteria needs anaerobic (absence of oxygen) conditions and does not grow in acidic conditions.

Nutrient-rich substrate: The lake also provided a nutrient-rich substrate, like areas with large amounts of decaying plant or animal materials. The monsoon brought with it a large population of crustaceans (like shrimps, crabs, and prawns), invertebrates (snails) and plankton (like algae), which are capable of hosting the bacteria for a long period of time.

What happened now? There are two theories: The bacteria is also found in the gills and digestive tracts of healthy fish. It reproduces through spores and these spores remain dormant for years. They are resistant to temperature changes and drying. Under favourable conditions, the spores are activated. After the monsoon, when the water levels receded, there might have been an increase in salinity levels which could have led to the death of these living organisms. At this point in time, the spores could have been activated.

‘A bird-to-bird cycle’ could also have led to the tragedy. In such an event, maggots feeding on dead birds can concentrate the toxin. Birds feeding on dead birds can get affected. This was observed in Sambhar too as researchers found only insectivorous and omnivorous birds affected and not herbivores.

What need to be done? The government should pass legislation in the Assembly to create a Sambhar Lake Development and Conservation Authority. This authority should be handed A to Z responsibility of Sambhar Lake.

A fresh document should study why the water from four rivers, which flows into the lake, has decreased over the years. It should study the hydrology, sedimentation, the increase or decrease in depth of the lake, as well as birds, animals, their food sources, etc.

The resolution was sponsored by China, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Syria, among others, and will up an “Open Ended Working Group” to examine cybercrime. The proposed treaty has been framed to serve as an alternative to the US-led Budapest Convention.

What is Budapest convention? The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or the Budapest Convention, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations.

It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, with the active participation of the Council of Europe’s observer states Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States.

It is open for ratification even to states that are not members of the Council of Europe. As of September 2019, 64 states have ratified the convention.

What it does? The Budapest Convention provides for the criminalisation of conduct, ranging from illegal access, data and systems interference to computer-related fraud and child pornography, procedural law tools to make investigation of cybercrime and securing of e-evidence in relation to any crime more effective, and international police and judicial cooperation on cybercrime and e-evidence.

India’s concerns over signing of this agreement: India did not participate in the negotiation of the Convention and thus is worried about it. The Convention — through its Article 32b — allows for transborder access to data and thus infringes on national sovereignty. The regime of the Convention is not effective, “the promise of cooperation not firm enough,” or that there are grounds for refusal to cooperate.

Why India should join? The challenges currently being addressed by the parties to the Convention through the Cybercrime Convention Committee are highly relevant also for India;

The Convention offers a legal basis and practical framework for police-to-police and judicial cooperation on cybercrime and e-evidence with an increasing number of other parties. This framework is constantly under review to make it more effective;

As the Convention evolves, India would be able to contribute to shaping future solutions if it were a party; India would become a priority country for capacity-building.

It is a surface-to-surface tactical missile with a strike range of 350 km. It is India’s first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).

It is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads, both conventional as well as nuclear. The state-of-the-art missile is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines.

It uses an advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering orbit to hit its target. It was inducted into armour of the defence forces in 2003.

They are the viruses that can kill the bacteria.

They are comprised of a protein capsule around an RNA or DNA genome.

They are ubiquitous viruses, found wherever bacteria exist.

They are seen as a possible therapy against multi-drug-resistant strains of many bacteria.