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Current Affairs - 11 November 2018

General Affairs 

Panel Set Up To Probe Tigress Avni's Killing "A Farce": Uddhav Thackeray
  • The committee constituted by the Maharashtra government to probe the killing of man-eater tigress Avni is a "farce", Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said today.
    In a statement issued, he demanded that a panel be formed under a retired judge to probe the tigress' killing.

    The state government has come under fire over the death of the tigress, who was believed to have turned a man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal district.

    The big cat was shot dead in an operation in a forest in Yavatmal district last Friday. The killing of T1, as the tigress was officially known, led to an outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations.

    "Those who had given the 'supari' (contract) to kill the tigress have been made members of the (probe) committee. The committee set up is a farce," Mr Thackeray alleged.

    Taking a dig at senior ally BJP, Mr Thackeray said if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis backed state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar saying he could not be held responsible for the killing, why did Prime Minister Narendra Modi take credit for the surgical strike, when he had not himself conducted it.

    However, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said if Mr Thackeray feels the committee is a "farce", then the state government is willing to form another panel under the Sena chief's leadership, if he so desires.

    "Uddhavji is an important figure in the alliance between the BJP and the Sena. If he does not want to head a committee under him, he should realise I have already asked the chief minister to appoint a committee under retired Supreme Court judges. Lowest level of politics is unnecessarily being played over the issue," he said.

    The state government had on Friday constituted a four-member committee, comprising wildlife experts and officials, to conduct an "in-depth" probe into the tigress' killing.

    It is headed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forest S H Patil. It will include Wildlife Institute of India member Habib Bilal, Wildlife Conservation Trust chairman Anish Andheriya and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Nitin Kakodkar, an official statement from the forest department said earlier.

    The committee will probe if established protocols and standard operating practices were followed in the case and submit a report to the government.

    Union minister Maneka Gandhi had lashed out at the state government over Avni's killing and dubbed it a "ghastly murder". Avni was the mother of two 10-month-old cubs.

    The Maharashtra government, however, defended itself calling the incident "sad" but necessary after the tigress attacked forest staff trying to tranquilise it.

    Opposition NCP dubbed the inquiry as an "eyewash".

    Earlier, when asked about the criticism by the opposition, Mr Mungantiwar had said he has written a letter to Maneka Gandhi, asking for an independent probe by Supreme Court judges into the killing of Avni.

    "This inquiry (by SC judges) will happen when it has to happen, but the state government has to probe the issue at the earliest," he had said.

Focus On Loan Waivers, Agriculture On Congress Madhya Pradesh Manifesto
  • The Congress today promised to write off farm loans of up to Rs. 2 lakh and provide a "salary grant" for five years to industries offering jobs to the youth if elected to power in Madhya Pradesh.
    Releasing its manifesto for the November 28 Assembly polls, the main opposition party also promised a slew of benefits for other sections of the society in the state where it is making a renewed bid to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power.

    Aggressively wooing farmers, who had launched a statewide protest last year, the party promised a social security pension to them and a rebate in the registration fee of land documents, besides a financial help of Rs. 51,000 for the marriage of daughters of small cultivators.

    In its manifesto titled "Vachan Patra" (document of promises), the Rahul Gandhi-led party, out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, also promised a minimum support price (MSP) for crops in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations.

    Releasing the 112-page manifesto at a press meet, state Congress chief Kamal Nath described it as the "voice of the people of Madhya Pradesh", saying the document was prepared after consultations with every section of the society.

    The manifesto offers sops to every section of the society, including government employees, homemakers, the common people, women and journalists, but the focus is largely on farmers and young people.

    Among the plethora of measures for farmers mentioned in the document, the Congress has promised a social security pension of Rs. 1,000 per month to farmers who attain the age of 60 and whose land holding is below 2.5 acres, besides writing off farm loans of up to Rs. 2 lakh.

    Other sops promised to farmers include a 50-per cent subsidy on loans for agriculture equipment, halving the power bill rates for them, a bonus on the MSP of some crops and a subsidy of Rs. 5 per litre on milk procurement among others.

    The opposition party also promised a re-investigation into the Mandsaur police firing incident, in which six farmers were killed in June, 2017.

    It also promised a rebate in diesel and petrol prices.

    Professionals like tourist guides and lawyers would be provided an "encouragement fee" of Rs. 4,000 per month for five years for settling down in their respective professions.

    The Congress also promised a "salary grant" of Rs. 10,000 per job to the industries offering employment to the youth of the state.

    It promised the constitution of a Yuva Aayog (Commission for the Youth) to look into the problems of young men and women.

    The Congress also promised several sops, including a rebate in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and subsidised loans for setting up industries with an investment of at least Rs. 100 crore.

    Those covered under the existing social security pension scheme would get Rs. 1,000 per month, instead of Rs. 300 now, if the Congress was elected to power in the state, according to the document.

    A subsidy of Rs. 100 on gas cylinders to poor families and free education to girls up to the post-graduation level were also promised by the party.

    In a bid to appease the agitating general category people, the opposition party promised the constitution of a Samanya Varg Ayog (General Category Commission) to look into their issues.

    The state recently saw a series of protests by people from the unreserved (general) category communities.

    Besides, the Congress promised regularisation of daily wagers, 30 per cent government contracts to tribals, setting up of a Senior Citizen Board, a law to protect journalists and lawyers, honorarium to journalists above 60 years of age, tele-medicine facility in rural areas and four new medical colleges.

    Mr Nath said a Jan Aayog (People's Commission) would be constituted for investigations into scams like Vyapam.

    A "jan jababdeh kanoon (public accountability law) would be enacted to hold the government departments responsible for providing public amenities, he added.

    The manifesto has 973 points on 50 subjects.

    State Congress Campaign Committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijay Singh were also present at the press meet.

    Taking potshots at the BJP, Mr Scindia said the Congress's manifesto was not like the saffron outfit's "jumla patra" (document of rhetoric) as the party would honour every promise made in the document.

    "We are bringing a vachan patra and not a jumla patra like the BJP. Our document of promises has something for everybody," the former Union minister said.

    The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will go to the polls on November 28 and the results will be announced on December 11. 

At UN, India Makes Climate Change Case For Nuclear Power
  • India has declared that nuclear energy is vital for meeting the challenge of climate change and suggested supporting efforts to promote its public acceptance amid growing opposition to nuclear power and plans by some countries to phase out their atomic generation plants.
    "Nuclear power remains an important option to meet the challenges of increased energy demand, address concerns about climate change, redress volatile fossil fuel prices and ensure security of the energy supply," Sandeep Kumar Bayyapu, a first secretary in India's UN Mission told the General Assembly on Friday.

    Therefore, he said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should support efforts by countries to build public acceptance of nuclear energy and continue to help them start or expand nuclear energy programmes.

    Nuclear reactors do not produce greenhouse gases like power plants using coal and, therefore, can increase electricity generation without contributing to climate change.

    They can provide a steady supply of electricity because unlike solar and wind power sources, nuclear plants can operate when there is no sun or wind and are not affected by fluctuations in water availability like hydroelectric plants.

    To meet one of the points of opposition to nuclear power plants, Mr Bayyapu advocated building advanced fission reactors, including fast reactors, that use nuclear fuel more efficiently and reduce radioactive waste.

    While speaking during the debate on the IAEA's annual report, he presented thorium-based technologies as solutions to other objections to nuclear plants.

    Mr Bayyapu said that thorium-based fuel cycles and technologies are inherently less susceptible to be used for weapons production and can also provide enhanced passive safety features.

    According to the Department of Atomic Energy, India is planning to more than treble its nuclear electricity generation from the current 6,780 megawatts to 22,480 megawatts by 2031.


    Of the nine reactors under construction, one is an advanced fast breeder reactor with 500 megawatt capcity being built at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.

    The fast breeder reactor uses thorium to create uranium 233 for power generation.

    A test reactor of the fast breeder type is already operating in Kalpakkam.

    Thorium is more abundantly found in India compared to uranium, for which the country has to rely on imports.

    India has seen opposition to nuclear power plants, especially the one at Kudankulam in southern Tamil Nadu.

    Many countries in Europe are moving away from nuclear energy citing its risks.

    Germany is committed to phasing out all nuclear power plants by 2022 and Belgium, Italy and Switzerland also plan to shut theirs down.

Army Soldier Killed In Pakistani Firing In Jammu And Kashmir
  •  An Army soldier was killed today in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said. This was the second sniper attack along the LoC in as many days. An Army porter was killed in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector of Jammu region on Friday.
    "At about 9:45 am, unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistan in which one Army soldier was shot by a sniper. He succumbed to injuries," the spokesman said.

    Sources said troops guarding the LoC retaliated to the Pakistani firing effectively.

    On November 6, a soldier was injured when he was hit by a sniper from across the border at Rajour. A BSF jawan was injured in a separate incident of firing by Pakistan along the LoC in Rajouri-Poonch sector on Friday.

    The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years, sources said.

    The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the Home Ministry.

Japan Committed To Make Bullet Train In India A Reality Soon: Shinzo Abe
  • Japan is committed to making the ambitious bullet train project in India a reality as soon as possible, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday as he lauded his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's "deep desire" and efforts to bring high speed railway network to India.
    Japan is funding 80 per cent of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project through a soft loan of Rs. 79,000 crore at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent, with a tenure stretching over 50 years and a moratorium period of 15 years.

    "In September last year, I took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new high speed rail service in India. I was struck by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's deep desire to provide inspiration to the people of India and by the Indian people's high hopes for high speed rail services," PM Abe said in a video message to a high speed rail association conference being held here.

    "The Shinkansen has played an important role in supporting the development of our nation's economy and the quality of life of our people, and in the near future, we look forward to the Shinkansen crossing the seas and also beginning to speed across the Indian continent. Our government and the related companies are dedicated to making the Indian Shinkansen a reality as soon as possible," he said.

    PM Modi who visited Japan last month reviewed the progress made in the project and the two leaders also signed the Exchange of Notes for yen loan, on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project.


    The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor has been plagued by land acquisition issues, but the National High Speed Rail Corporation which is implementing the project is sticking to the deadline for a 2022 launch of the project in time for India's 75th Independence Day.

    The bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will run a total length of 508 kilometres, of which 21 kilometres will be covered in the tunnel under sea.

    The day when Japanese Shinkansen bullet trains start running between Mumbai and Ahmedabad through cooperation will mark a shining symbol of Japan-india friendship in the future, PM Abe said on October 28, on the day of the two leaders' summit meeting.

    PM Modi visited Japan to attend the 13th India-Japan annual summit. 

Business Affairs

Gold slips from 6-year high on weak global cues, end of festive demand
  • Breaking its six-straight weeks of gains, gold slipped from near six-year highs with prices falling by Rs 580 to end at Rs 32,070 per 10 grams at the bullion market during the week owing to fall in demand from jewellers and retailers amid a weak trend overseas.

    Marketmen said apart from absence of festive season demand from domestic jewellers and retailers, a weak trend in gold markets as the dollar firmed after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady with a fourth hike for this year expected next month, diminishing the appeal of gold as safe haven, mainly dampened the sentiment.

    Market was shut on Thursday on account of 'Goverdhan Pooja'.

    Globally, gold slipped to $1,210.40, lowest in a week and silver at $14.25 an ounce as against previous week's closing of $1,233.20 and $14.82 an ounce.

    In the national capital gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent puruty commenced the week on a higher note at Rs 32,690 and Rs 32,540 per 10 grams, respectively on increased buying by jewellers and retailers on the auspicious occasion of 'Dhanteras' and 'Diwali' festival.

    Later, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity slipped gradually to end the week lower by Rs 580 each to Rs 32,070 and Rs 31,920 per 10 grams, respectively.

    In line with gold, sovereign too fell by Rs 200 to Rs 24,700 piece of 8 grams.

    Tracking gold, silver ready and weekly-based delivery remained under pressure for the better part of the week and ended lower by Rs 1,530 and Rs 1,940 to Rs 38,000 and Rs 36,880 per kg respectively.

    Silver coins too plunged by Rs 1,000 to Rs 75,000 for buying and Rs 76,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Demonetisation, GST weighed down India's economic growth last year: Raghuram Rajan
  • Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two major headwinds that held back India's economic growth last year, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, asserting that the current seven per cent growth rate is not enough to meet the country's needs.

    Addressing an audience at the University of California in Berkley on Friday, Rajan said for four years -- 2012 to 2016 -- India was growing at a faster pace before it was hit by two major headwinds.

    "The two successive shocks of demonetisation and the GST had a serious impact on growth in India. Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up," he said delivering the second Bhattacharya Lectureship on the Future of India.

    On the second anniversary of demonetisation on November 8, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley staunchly defended the demonetisation drive, saying 'prophets of doom' have been proven wrong as hard data of two years shows an increase in tax base, greater formalisation of the economy and India retaining the fastest growing economy tag for the fifth year in a row.

    "By the time the first five years of this government are over, we will be close to doubling the assessee base," he said in a Facebook blog 'Impact of Demonetisation'.

    Jaitley said India clocking the fastest growth rate has proved "prophets of doom", who had predicted that demonetisation will shave off 2 per cent of growth rate, conclusively wrong.

    Rajan, in his address, said a growth rate of seven per cent per year for 25 years is "very very strong" growth, but in some sense this has become the new Hindu rate of growth, which earlier used to be three-and-a-half per cent, Rajan said.

    "The reality is that seven is not enough for the kind of people coming into the labour market and we need jobs for them, So, we need more and cannot be satisfied at this level," he said.

    Observing that India is sensitive to global growth, he said India has become a much more open economy, and if the world grows, it also grows more.

    "What happened in 2017 is that even as the world picked up, India went down. That reflects the fact that these blows (demonetisation and GST) have really really been hard blows...Because of these headwinds we have been held back, he said.

    While India's growth is picking up again, there is the issue of oil prices, the economist noted referring to the huge reliance of India on import of oil for its energy needs.

    With the oil prices going up, Rajan said things are going to be little tougher for the Indian economy, even though the country is recovering from the headwinds of demonetisation and initial hurdles in the implementation of the GST.

    Commenting on the rising Non-Performing Assets (NPA), he said the best thing to do in such a situation is to "clean up".

    It is essential to "deal up with the bad stuff", so that with clean balance sheets, banks can be put back on the track. "It has taken India far long to clean up the banks, partly because the system did not had instruments to deal with bad debts," Rajan said.

    The bankruptcy code, he asserted, cannot be the only way to clean up the banks. It is the only one element of the larger cleanup plan, he said and called for a multi-prong approach to address the challenge of NPAs in India.

    India, he asserted, is capable of a strong growth. As such the seven per cent growth is now being taken granted.

    "If we go below seven per cent, then we must be doing something wrong," he said adding that that is the base on which India has to grow at least for next 10-15 years.

    India, he said, needs to create one million jobs a month for the people joining the labour force.

    The country today is facing three major bottlenecks. One is the torn infrastructure, he said, observing that construction is the one industry that drives the economy in early stages. Infrastructure creates growth, he said.

    Second, short term target should be to clean up the power sector and to make sure that the electricity produced actually goes to the people who want the power, he said.

    Cleaning up the banks is the third major bottleneck in India's growth, he said.

    Part of the problem in India is that there is an excessive centralisation of power in the political decision making, he said.

    "India can't work from the centre. India works when you have many people taking up the burden. And today the central government is excessively centralised," Rajan said.

    An example of this is the quantum of decisions that requires the ascent of the Prime Minister's Office, Rajan said as he highlighted the recent unveiling of the 'Statue of Unity' of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as an example of a massive project that required the approval of the PMO.

    On the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat's Narmada district.

    Touted to be the tallest statue in the world, the 182-metre tall statue was built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore. The concrete and brass-clad statue is the quickest to be completed in 33 months.

This company enables the 59-minute loan to MSMEs
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2 announced that MSMEs can get loans up to Rs 1 crore in 59 minutes through a dedicated portal (psbloansin59minutes.com),  giving a boost to the sector that employs the most Indians after agriculture. The process took up to 30 days earlier as banks had a lengthy process of approval and documentation and while applicants would invariably end up making rounds of multiple banks to procure loans.

    So, how did the government accomplish the task of providing the in-principle approval within an hour?

    The solution is a single form that consists of all the data points that can be entered by the applicant through a simple, user-friendly interface. The data points so collected can be re-arranged as per the requirement of different banks. For the loan officer, the decision-making is simpler and quicker as the solution provides a summary of credit, valuation and verification on a dashboard.

    The algorithm that enables this is a proprietary software of Ahmedabad-based CapitaWorld and it came into the limelight in 2017 when its software engine-powered app called 'Artificial Intelligence Enabled Fund Raising' won the second prize at a contest organised by the Reserve Bank Of India's research institution, the Institute for Development and Research into Banking Technology, to encourage the development of banking apps. It integrates information from GST, IT returns, bank statement, fraud checking, credit bureau information to approve the loan.

    CapitaWorld's platform maps and matches the loan seekers with loan providers using artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning, creating a complete recommendation system. CapitaWorld Platform, incorporated in 2015, was founded by Jinand Shah, Vinod Modha, and Aviruk Chakraborty.

    Jinand Shah, 34, holds a CA and CFA certification, and has worked in finance, manufacturing, ports and infrastructure, as well as the service sector. Sixty-year-old Vinod Modha's experience spans venture funding, NBFCs, incubation, funds, and infrastructure. He has served on the board of several corporates, and has been a strategic advisor for promoters of corporates like Nirma, Mudra Communications, and Intellecap. Aviruk Chakraborty, 34, is a techie who has worked at SAIL's Bokaro steel plant, Volvo's manufacturing unit in Bengaluru, and ICICI Bank. He has also worked as a financial advisor to Stein and Partners in Dusseldorf, and has been a lecturer in engineering and economics at the Ruhr/Government University in Germany. However Chakraborty is not listed in the leadership team of CapitaWorld.

    In July, the company's ownership saw a major change when nine public sector banks, including SIDBI, bought 54 per cent stake in CapitaWorld Platform for Rs 22.5 crore. Putting the controlling power in the hands of SIDBI and 5 other PSBs which together hold the majority stake. Four out of 7 directors are public sector shareholders nominee namely Mohammad Mustafa (SIDBI nominee), Narayanan Sadanandan (SBI nominee) Akhil Handa (Bank of Baroda nominee) and Manoj Mittal (SIDBI trustee co. nominee).

    The company now sits on a gold mine as it would have access to the data of millions of MSMEs. Besides, CapitaWorld charges Rs 1,180 (including taxes) against the online 'in-principle' approval in case the borrower's proposal matches the lender requirements. If the loan gets approved, the company earns another 0.35 per cent of the loan amount as commission. With over 70,000 loans sanctioned, the company has already earned over Rs 8 crore from 'in principle' approval. That is over and above the 0.35 pc it will earn for the loan amount disbursed.

DGCA directs IndiGo, GoAir to address issues with 15 P&W engines
  • Aviation watchdog DGCA has directed IndiGo and GoAir to address issues regarding 15 of the Pratt & Whitney engines powering their A320 neo planes, a senior official said Friday.

    The two budget carriers have been grappling with P&W engine problems, which has even led to grounding of some A320 neo aircraft. Together, they have around 82 such planes in their respective fleet.

    The latest move by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which had earlier asked the two airlines to take various corrective measures to address the engine woes, comes after certain issues flagged by US counterpart Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

    In a late evening statement, P&W said the recent Airworthiness Directives (ADs) would not cause any operational disruption for the operators.

    The DGCA official said the requirement for replacement of High Pressure Compressor (HPC) front hub corrosion as mentioned by the FAA would also impact 15 engines powering IndiGo and GoAir's neo planes.

    As many as 13 engines of IndiGo and 2 engines of GoAir would be impacted by the FAA's ADs. The Indian operators have sufficient time to become compliant with the requirement, the official added.

    The AD requires replacement of HPC front hub corrosion and "action has to be taken within 120 days after effective date or before exceeding 6,180 cycles since new or within five years since the ship date as indicated the AD, whichever occurs first", he said.

    The operators have to comply with the directive coming into effect from December 12.

    In another AD issued on November 7, the FAA said replacement of some parts of certain P&W engine series installed on A320 neo has to be carried out.

    The AD was for replacement of certain parts on "PW 1100 engines from Sl. No. 450 to 614 installed on A320 neo aircraft" to address failure of knife edge seal issue.

    According to the official, Indigo and GoAir are compliant on the same.

    "The DGCA has declared the ADs 'mandatory' and directed the Indian operators to comply within the period as indicated in the ADs," he said.

    There were no immediate comments from IndiGo and GoAir.

    P&W also said the engine parts would be replaced during planned future shop visit and is therefore predictable for operators.

    "P&W is complying with the directives and working closely with our customers to ensure the process is completed within the required timeline," it added.

    On Thursday, P&W said the ADs formalise guidance and communication shared with all operators.

    Meanwhile, the DGCA on Thursday said it has asked Jet Airways and SpiceJet to take corrective action to address possible issues with their Boeing 737 MAX planes that could lead to "significant altitude loss" of the aircraft.

    The directive came after advisories issued by the FAA and Boeing after the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX plane operated by Indonesia's Lion Air last month.

Petrol, diesel prices continue to fall as crude prices falter
  • Falling international crude oil prices and a stronger rupee saw to yet another decline in petrol and diesel prices in India. Keeping up with the downward trend that has been going on for the past 24 days, oil marketing companies slashes the prices for transportation fuels again on Sunday.

    In Delhi, petrol price is now Rs 77.89, whereas diesel is available at Rs 72.58 per litre. Petrol prices in Mumbai fell to Rs 83.40 per litre, and diesel prices were reduced to Rs 76.05 per litre. In Kolkata, the cost of a litre of petrol is now Rs 79.81, and diesel is being retailed at Rs 74.44 per litre. A litre of petrol is being retailed Rs 80.90 in Chennai, while diesel is now available at Rs 76.72 per litre.

    Returning from a probable $100 a barrel, crude oil prices have been on the decline on the back of an increase in supply. Indian oil marketing companies have not hiked petrol and diesel prices since October 16. During this period, oil prices have either declined or remained unchanged.

    Meanwhile, global crude prices continued to slide as supply increased, raising investor concerns about slump in demand growth. Oil prices declined by one per cent on Friday, while US crude fell for the tenth consecutive day, marking its longest streak of daily declines since 1984, a Reuters report said.

General Awareness

    Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities 2018
    • What to study?

      For Prelims: Objectives, features and organizers of the event.
      For Mains: Significance of the event, role of ICT in the welfare of people with disabilities.

      Context: The Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities, 2018, being organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in association with Rehabilitation International Korea and their associated partner LG Electronics, is being held in New Delhi.

      About the Global ICT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities:

      The Global ICT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities is a capacity building project that helps youth with disabilities to overcome their limitations and challenge themselves for a better future by providing them with access to ICT and related experiences, improving their ability to leverage information and social participation while setting ICT agendas for participant countries related to disabilities and boosting international cooperation and exchange.

      The objective of the event is to leverage IT skills among youth with disabilities and also to spread awareness about the application of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) in enhancing the quality of life of persons with disabilities especially in Asia-Pacific region.

      Participants: This year around 100 youth with disabilities (visual disability, hearing disability, locomotor disability and intellectual disability/developmental disorder) from 18 countries are participating in the event.

      The competition is focused on strategies for strengthening IT skills of youth with disabilities as a critical requirement for enhancing their access to information and communication services on an equal basis with others. It is being held with a total of four events including e-Tool Challenge to evaluate the skills of using the MS Office programme and e-Life Map Challenge to evaluate the online information search ability in specific situations.

      Significance of ICT:

      Today, we have plethora of applications and softwares across the world that can be used for improving the life skills of persons with disabilities to enable them to lead the dignified life such ICT tools can work as communication bridge for the persons with disabilities. The use of ICT can reduce digital divide and expand social integration of persons with disabilities across communities and counties by creating an accessible global information network.

      Way ahead:

      India has always been in the forefront of software development in the world. However, there is a need to create deeper and wider awareness about the application of ICT at the grass root level for empowering the person with disabilities.

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