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Trump consistently oversimplifies the complexities of policy issues to the detriment of those who elected him as well as the rest of America.As an international senior executive of a major Fortune 500 company, I have seen it up close while visiting markets where America had a solid lock on goods and services, and I can vouch for the fact that global trade is not about tariffs. It’s about a complex, interconnected network of suppliers, regulators, inspectors, shipping routes, and value chains. It’s built on relationships and trust, fair prices and reliability. Unfortunately, Trump only determines policies and makes decisions on one thing, gut instinct. After all, why worry, he, the great businessman and world-class deal maker reassures us that “ he is like a really smart person” and only “ He can get it done.”Trade relationships can take decades to achieve and markets can be lost never to return, this is what’s really at stake here!Unfortunately Trump, who is looking for an easy win, either doesn’t get it or doesn’t care. Either way, the USA is the loser for Trump’s lack of intelligence, understanding, leadership, interest, or care.The turbulence and uncertainty caused by Trump’s trade wars have created a geo-economic feeding frenzy. U.S. competitors from Argentina to Ukraine are aggressively working to eat into markets once dominated by American farmers. But according to Trump “Only he can get it done”, “ only he alone can fix it” and fix it he has!!!, Perhaps without repair or at the very best, chances are that it will take years of hard slogging and lower selling prices resulting in lost profits to win back what had been exclusively America’s to lose.This is a guy who is becoming more and more isolated and convinced that he doesn’t need counsel or advice as he has supreme confidence in his own ability. This means certain disaster for the country, a definite certainty if there is an emergency whether domestic or international in nature. And the proof is more than apparent with the results already in from his disastrous trade and tariff policies.Trump is fixated on the mistaken notion that trading partners are responsible for screwing America by holding fast to the notion that both allies and foes are accountable for America’s economic decline because of America’s imbalance of trade. He drives the point home by singling out the so-called failures of past presidents, especially Obama’s. Trump bases this false notion on his take that America is losing economic advantage and by extension, respect for him as president. This is manifested in his rants about reciprocal trade. In turn, he has gone ahead with fights with virtually the world and put in place self-defeating tariffs in order to address the deficit, specifically caused, according to him, by an” imbalance of trade.”And he has failed miserably:WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit reached its highest sum ever last year, defying President Donald Trump's efforts and promises to shrink it through his economic policies. ... The government said Wednesday that the U.S. trade gap in goods and services reached $621 billion last year, its highest total since 2008. Source: Associated PressTrump fails to understand that an American trade deficit with another country doesn’t mean that that country is taking advantage of the USA, it means that Americans want and purchase goods and services equal to the amount of that deficit. in other words, they are getting goods that they want and for which they pay, choosing Chinese over American produced goods. It is called free trade, a position that Republicans held as sacrosanct and inviolable down through the last 70 years.This is not to suggest in any way that China isn’t cheating the system, they are, but here is the kicker, tariffs are not the answer.Instead of alienating, and slapping tariffs on allies while imposing a false restriction on Canada as a “security” risk, ( Canada our best neighbor, friend, and steadfast ally), it would make more sense to work with Canada, our Allies and the WTO ( World Trade Organization ) of which China is a member, in order to hit them with combined sanctions so as to force them to clean up their act.Remember the promise that Trump made, stating he would eliminate the national debt in 8 years, well in just his first 16 months he increased the national debt by $8.3 trillion, raising it to an all-time high of $22 trillion and growing, and here is the kicker, spoiler alert,…. he is borrowing from CHINA to pay for servicing the debt! You know, the same CHINA that he has entered into a tariff war with, and has claimed that it would be easy peasy, and a no brainer. Well, he got the no brainer part right, it took no brains to destroy the farming industry and add costs that are averaging about $500 to $800 to your family’s expenses in reciprocal tariff add ons, what I am calling the “ Trump dumb tax”.TRUMP’S TRADE WAR JUST WENT FROM “EASY TO WIN” TO “5,000 YEARS” OF HELL “The president’s decision last year to slap tariffs on goods from countries around the world and drag the U.S. into a trade war with China hasn’t gone super well for America. The farmers whose profits have been destroyed as a result know this.The manufacturers who have had to lay off employees and move production overseas know this.The consumers who paid $3 billion a month last year to finance the tariffs know it, too.One person who doesn’t? Donald Trump, who lives in his own alternative reality and still thinks this whole thing is going great. China responded to the latest round of tariffs with fresh punitive measures of its own, the president claimed that “Tariffs have rebuilt our Steel Industry” (fact-check: false); that “Our great Patriot Farmers will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of what is happening now” (fact-check: false, and weirdly Soviet); and that we will be “moving jobs back to the USA” (fact-check: false again!).Alarmingly, while Trump previously appeared to view tariffs as a negotiating tactic, he now seems to believe they should be permanent economic policy, despite his own advisers admitting they’re hurting not just China but the U.S.:“While Trump previously appeared to view tariffs as a negotiating tactic, he now seems to believe they should be permanent. The Chinese say “bring it on.”Source: Trump’s Trade War Just Went from “Easy to Win” to “5,000 Years” of Hell“Tariffs are costing taxpayers an additional $12 billion that Trump had to dole out to soybean farmers alone for lost crops, and he is now promising the same farmers $16 billion as they face even greater losses than estimated.” To cover for his stupidity and wrong-headed Tariffs, “Tariff man” Trump, as he likes to call himself, lies to the American public by telling them that the tariffs are making America richer as they are filling the American treasury, when in fact they are an added tax on consumers, “now estimated to cost an American family between $500 and $800″ Source: Farmers are losing patience with Trump’s trade warFarmers blow up over Trump’s double hit of China and Mexico tariffs:“Dairy and pork producers are likely to be hit especially hard by Mexican tariffs, Mexico is also America’s largest market for corn and wheat exports, and its second-largest market for soybeans after China, which is already turning away ships full of U.S. agricultural products.“American pork producers cannot afford retaliatory tariffs from its largest export market, tariffs which Mexico will surely implement,” said David Herring, a hog farmer from Lillington, North Carolina and the president of the National Pork Producers Council.”Check out the size exports to Mexico by States that in turn, will be hit by reciprocal Mexican tariffs:Source: New York TimesAnd then there is the car industry. In a period of 9 months, Ford had to pass along a billion dollars in price increases and savings by firing workers, and GM had to fire 14,000 workers because of aluminum and steel tariffs. And then there is the closing of the GM plant in Lordstown Ohio and the lost of the Harley Davison plant that moved to Europe as a direct result of the tariffs on steel and aluminum. And the promise for rebuilding American’ steel industry and bringing back manufacturing jobs to America… not so much.Trump believes that tariffs are generating billions in additional revenues filling the country’s treasury. In spite of Business leaders and Republican economists trying to explain to him that the tariffs are actually an added tax that is being passed through to consumers, Trump has no doubt that tariffs are the answer.Even yesterday morning he was tweeting that he is passing tariffs on Mexico because of the increased incursion of immigrants coming across the southern border. On the face of it, this is pure stupidity:1. Most of these people are not Mexicans but refugees from Central America countries who are crossing a thousand miles of hostile going, on foot, and with young kids just to escape murderous gangs and unliveable conditions back home. Mexicans, not so much.2. Although, the tariffs will result in lost Mexican jobs which in turn will incentify unemployed Mexicans to cross into the US in search of jobs. LOL Forrest Gump got it right and might have been talking about Trump when he said. “ Stupid is that Stupid does”Hey, this just in:“Trump's Mexico tariffs could 'cripple' US auto industry, raise the average price of cars by $1,300“it (Mexican tariffs) would "cripple" U.S. automakers, and raise the average price of cars sold in America by $1,300, according to an analysis by Deutsche Bank.What is ironic, considering Trump's "America first" rhetoric, is that the tariffs would have less impact on Japanese and Korean cars, thus making them more attractive to American consumers.”Source: Trump's Mexico tariffs could 'cripple' US auto industry, raise average price of cars by $1,300Trump has no clue or he would know that more car parts for “American” made cars come in from Mexico than finished cars come from Asian producers. For a man who would rather tweet a major trade policy based on the spur of the moment whim, rather than check the facts, this is normal, but for any thinking American, it’s pure stupidity!And by the way, as I write this at 12:15 pm May 31, Trump’s stupid tweet promising tariffs on Mexican imports will have two immediate and costly consequences:1. It is undermining his own version of the NAFTA agreement he foisted on Mexico and Canada that has yet to be approved by Congress. Trump had no clue as to what is in the agreement, but here’s a hint, IT IS ABOUT FREE TRADE between Mexico and the USA as well as Canada, Trump’s latest stupidity blows holes in his own Trade agreement and represents a real problem for getting it passed.“A Congressman for a conservative, rural district, warns that the tariffs are “really going to throw a wrench into” the effort to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the president’s updated version of NAFTA. These areas are now facing financial turmoil due to his trade policies.”Source: Farmers blow up over Trump’s double hit of China and Mexico tariffs: ‘Struggling to survive a flood’2. His tweet is costing billions as it drives the stock market into a tailspin. Trump’s rabble may not care about it, and may even see it as “taking it” to the elites, but even they are losing money if they are fortunate enough to have a 401K. Fact update, Trump supporters, your 401K is invested in stocks and bonds and is dependent on a vibrant market.Here is an interesting fact, the people hurt most by Trump’s policies are Trump’s supporters, but Trump knows that it doesn’t matter, why you ask? Simply because:1. His supporters don’t get their news from credible sources, and2. He lays his screw ups off on Obama and/or Hillary or immigrants, Mexicans, China, the Treasury, or Micky Mouse and3. He just claims it’s Fake news because he knows most American’s don’t read, never check the facts and his supporters always believe his lies each every time.As far as Trump’s fake claim that he is responsible for the low unemployment rate, well, and a great economy, not so fast, the May 25th issue of the Economist Magazine reported this week that this is a result of a pent up resurgence in production and job demand following the great recession that affected not only America but the entire Western World as well as most of industrialized Asia.“The May 25th Economist Magazine reported that it is not only America that has been blessed with falling unemployment rates; it’s the case across the entire richest countries around the world. 2/3 of the OECD counties, mostly the rich ones, are enjoying record employment. Canada, the UK, Germany Australia, and even France and suffering Spain and Italy have had a resurgence in employment. Japan report that 77% of those in the age group 15-64 have jobs. The size of the labor force has even grown in Germany.” Source. The Economist Magazine May 25th issue.Consider as well, the following additional factors:1. It is part cyclical, the result of economic stimulus and a resurgence resulting in recovery following the great recession.2. It also points up the fact that workers, especially younger workers entering the market for the first time are better educated and better equipped to fill that many jobs that had been going empty for the lack of qualified people.3. There more women entering the workforce, which in turn has goosed the numbers4. Job sites are doing a much better job of matching candidates with openings.5. Because of the internet and the advent of multiple job web sites, candidates are now able to search for positions across the country instead of what used to be only in their own communities. The result, greater opportunities and fewer positions going empty both locally and nationally.6. The sad fact, and one that you will never hear Trump mention is many of these jobs that are being filled are low-end service jobs paying minimum wage or lower.7. The job numbers are also helped by the fact that many low-end wage earners are working two and even three jobs just to survive, thus adding to the size of the working poor, albeit employed and part of the Trump’s count.8. The small uptick in wages for which trump takes credit is primarily the result of a tighter market in need of more skilled workers. These are workers that earn higher wages and therefore have a greater influence in skewing the overall aggregate increase in total incomes.9. Also, the sad truth is that employment rates are only tracked for those working or actively looking for employment. Those that have dropped out are not included in the numbers.10. The simple fact is that there are more people in the labor force as the county increases in population than when Bush or Obama were presidents, therefore, there is a greater number employed.Trump is taking credit for a larger population when he talks about the total numbers of employed being greater than ever in the history of the country. Rather more telling would be using a fairer approach that would compare figures on a per capita basis or by referencing the numbered employed of those of employment age on a comparable per 1000 basis over the years.U.S. posts a record trade deficit in goods despite ‘America First’ policies The 2018 figure shows that President Trump’s tariffs and tough policies have failed to shrink a trade gap that he argues represents a massive transfer of wealth from Americans to foreigners. Source Washington PostTrump promised he would get rid of the national debt in 8 years but now it’s at an all-time high with Trump actually adding $8.3 trillion in additional debt. Source: Trump and the National Debt Trump Pledged to Eliminate the Debt. Instead He Will Add $8.3 Trillion“Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports hurt American businesses; “Over the past year, the US has placed about $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, in part to make Chinese products more expensive so Americans don’t buy them. The administration has also placed steep tariffs on all imported steel, angering other major US trade partners.Source: Farmers are losing patience with Trump’s trade warFarm bankruptcies are on the rise. “A total of 84 farms in the upper Midwest filed for bankruptcy between July 2017 and June 2018, according to the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis. That’s more than double the number of Chapter 12 filings during the same period in 2013 and 2014 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.” Source: Farmers are losing patience with Trump’s trade war “ farmers are freaking out. Some are facing financial ruin now that millions of Chinese consumers, who once bought about 60 percent of American agriculture exports, have stopped buying their products. Exports to China from Minnesota dropped about 25 percent after the first round of tariffs went into effect last year” Trump created a $12 billion bailout program for farmers, and on May 17th, he outlined another plan to give them an additional $15 billion. Farmers are far from happy with this approach “it’s not clear if those bailouts will be enough to keep farmers happy. “We don’t want another check from the government,” Isane said. “People don’t realize that once you lose a market, it’s hard to get it back.” Source: Farmers are losing patience with Trump’s trade war“Net farm income has fallen by 50% since 2013 and the trade war has pushed commodity prices down even further. Many farmers and ranchers are on the verge of financial collapse.”…the resolving the trade war with China should be the administration’s “top priority” the Agriculture Department was told…farmers were disappointed to see tensions between the two countries escalate in recent days….the Agriculture Department was told that the president’s proposed bailout package for American farmers would not do nearly enough to stop the bleeding — it “will not make up for lost export markets and long term implications of trade disputes.” “Farmers are hurting,” he said. “It is critical the upcoming trade assistance be structured in a manner that does maximum good for our farmers and ranchers.” Source: Kansas GOP senator writes desperate letter to end Trump’s trade war: Farmers ‘on the verge of financial collapse’… “Trump’s Trade Grade- We get a look at his transcript on trade policy. It’s not pretty. President Trump’s economic policy: He picks a yardstick to measure the American economy — the trade deficit — that’s mostly meaningless. He spends years criticizing it as too high and promising to reduce it. And under his administration, it surges.” “By just about any measure you pick,” Slate’s Jordan Weissmann writes, “his effort appears to have been an absolute flop.”“He set out to fix a non-problem (a trade deficit) and created real ones including international conflict, higher consumer prices and gross inefficiency in our economy,” The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin writes.The vice president of the National Farmers Union, appeared May 16th, 2019 on Fox News to discuss President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with China.“It has been insane,” Edelburg said. “We’ve had a lot of farmers — a lot more bankruptcies going on, a lot more farmer suicides.”“We have more commodities, more grain sitting on the ground now because we lost huge export markets. We’ve lost export markets that we’ve had for 30 years that we’ll never get a chance to get back again. Farmers are hopeful to get their crops in the ground this year but really hope we have a place to sell it come fall.” Source: FOX NEWS May 16th, 2019Edelburg said the Trump administration’s plan to provide up to $20 billion in federal aid to farmers would help, but wouldn’t be a solution to the problem.“We don’t need band-aids. We need long-term fixes to make sure farmers are able to survive. …the way (Trump ) is going about it may not be the right fix.”“Trump's trade wars may be something he believes in, but it doesn't seem to be a political winner. Unlike many issues on which Trump has seesawed on over the years, Trump has been generally consistent in his protectionist stance on trade. He seemed to use that to his advantage in the 2016 election, during which he went after Democrat Hillary Clinton, who tended to have more of a free trade record.The rich world is enjoying an unprecedented jobs boom“Most of the rich world is enjoying a jobs boom of unprecedented scope. Not only is work plentiful, but it is also, on average, getting better. Capitalism is improving workers’ lot faster than it has in years, as tight labor markets enhance their bargaining power. The zeitgeist has lost touch with the data.Polling during his presidency suggests, however, that most Americans don't really care about trade policy and have turned against Trump's argument for protectionist trade policy.Trump, of course, is hoping to get his job approval rating up. It's generally been stuck in the high 30s to low 40s. The problem for Trump is that Americans typically regard trade as one of the least important issues. Just 31% of Americans told Gallup late last year that it was an extremely important issue for the President and Congress to take up in 2019. That was tied for the lowest of any issue. The Pew Research Center found that only 39% said global trade was a top policy for them in 2019. That was the lowest of any issue polled. A miniscule 1% said trade was their most important issue for 2020 in a CNN open-ended question taken in March.But while Trump's trade wars haven't really moved his overall numbers, they do seem to have shifted views about him on trade and the larger conversation about trade policy in the United States.After the 2016 election, Americans had a lot of hope about what Trump could do for trade policy. According to a December 2016 Fox News poll, 62% said Trump would "truly revise trade deals" with other countries to make them better for America. A minority (31%) disagreed. By December 2018, after renegotiating NAFTA, withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and adding a number of tariffs, only 40% said Trump had negotiated better trade deals. A plurality (47%) said he had not. In other words, Americans don't trust like they once did on trade.Americans are also far less likely to view Trump favorably in Quinnipiac University polling released last week when it comes to how he's handling relations with China. That may have to do with his recent ramping up of a trade war with China. His net approval (approval - disapproval) on how he deals with China has dropped from +8 points in April 2017 to -10 points now. Notably, this is still a better net approval than Quinnipiac University has generally shown for the President overall. Indeed, Trump's approval ratings on trade continue to somewhat better than his overall approval rating. Still, his ratings on trade-related issues have turned clearly negative.Elections, though, are won and lost in the electoral college. Trump won in 2016 thanks to strength in the Midwest, where his protectionist tone seemed to provide him an electoral boost. But now, we see Trump's ratings on trade are not any better in the Midwest.In concert with this movement on American opinions of Trump and trade related policy, far more Americans now view free trade as a good thing than a bad thing. A Monmouth University polltaken this month found that 51% of Americans (and 53% of voters) say that free trade agreements are generally a good thing; just 14% say they are generally bad. Pew Research Center polling from 2018 generally showed the same thing with 56% saying free trade agreements with other countries have generally been a good thing, while only 30% say they have generally been a bad thing. (Monmouth has a higher percentage of "not sure" because it specifically offers that option.)This recent polling is a dramatic turnaround from polling on the same questions taken during the 2016 campaign. Back in November 2015, 24% of Americans told Monmouth that free trade agreements were a good thing. A slightly larger 26% said it was a bad thing. Just before the 2016 election, Pew pegged the breakdown at 45% good thing and 43% bad thing. In other words, both pollsters indicate that positive opinion of free trade has jumped recently and negative opinion has fallen.For those not convinced that Trump is moving these numbers, let's take a closer look at the trendlines. Trump only started ramping up the trade wars in 2018. That lines up with Pew's polling showing that the percentage of Americans thinking free trade was bad dropping a little during 2017 with the majority of movement coming in 2018. Monmouth, which didn't poll on free trade in 2017, showed that opinion on free trade moved dramatically from 2016 to 2018, but hasn't moved greatly since then.The bottom line is this: This isn't 2016 or even 2017 anymore. Americans don't believe Trump has the magic touch on trade and have moved against his worldview on trade. His trade policies don't look like they're going to pull him to re-election.”Source: Raw Story polling analyst Harry EntenThe bottom line, tariffs will run their course coming to an inevitable end having done great damage to America as well as our trading partners. Trump is counting on the fact that we can go backing to trading with China, Mexico, allies and foes alike, under the misguided belief that these recently chasten trading partners will have learned their lesson and will resume trading with America in a more fairer and (trade) balanced manner. That’s a lot to hope for.I for one hope the tariffs come to the end sooner than later and as for Trump, I also hope his ‘rein” as lizard king will come to an end sooner than later!

Below I my am sharing my own plan of action, for Prelims only.Current AffairsIdeally you should cover relevant information from one major newspaper like The Hindu plus Press Information Bureau and Yojana of about one and half years before the date of your exam to increase your chances of attempting more questions from current affairs.Below I am giving my own analysis of how to cover the above things.I don’t know why one should learn the CURRENT AFFAIRS after a gap of one and half months of their being in the news from the so called Current Affairs magazines!!One should prepare the current affairs on daily basis so that you can keep them in memory as well. If you learn a few daily then it will more possibility that you would retain them easily.Besides it is not how detailed notes are available in the market but in how easy language they have been covered and more importantly only that part has been covered which is relevant for the exam only.And one more thing, if there is a neat division of current affairs for Prelims and Mains as both require different sets of mindset at the time of reading it would be a boon!!Below I am giving my own version as to how one can/should prepare current affairs for prelims on the basis of my own experience of clearing the exam again and again.Current Affairs for Prelims:For prelims, the hindu would be suffice.For mains, depending on the time one has, one can go through as many editorials of other newspapers as possible but always remember the motto: Read Less; Think More; Write Even More!As far as the UPSC IAS pre exam is concerned, we at our telegram channel are covering both the hindu and PIB, strictly from the prelims point of view so that aspirants can spend more time on reading articles (not through crap magazines that come in the market after 40–50 days and many are written by those who don’t even have cleared pre in their life), preparing your optionals, GS papers, essays and above all doing writing practice.You can search our telegram channel with the name Prelims Specific Notes For IAS.Here we update the summaries of the Hindu and PIB daily on the following pattern.We cover daily on the following pattern:The Hindu Notes 22 May 2019NATIONAL GREEN HIGHWAYS MISSIONContext: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Tuesday informed the National Green Tribunal that around 1 crore trees have been planted across the country along highways in the past three years to maintain ecology and environmental balance.EssentialsNational Green Highways MissionUnder the Green Highways Project, the government has made it mandatory to set aside 1 per cent of the total project cost of any NH contract to a Green Fund corpus that will be used for plantation purposes.The afforestation is expected to help in sequestering approximately 12 lakh mt carbon annually.Adopt a Green Highway’ Program: The National Green Highway Mission initiated the program’ to engage corporates, Public Sector units, Government organizations and other institutions for developing green corridor along National Highways through plantation and allied activity on avenue, median and other available nearby land patches.Kisan Harit Rajmarg Yojana: The Yojana is a pilot scheme to extend green belt beyond the existing ‘Right of Way’ of highways by engaging farmers and providing alternative livelihood option to the nearby communities.CHILIKA LAKEContext: The Centre and Odisha government have decided to restore the ecology of the Chilika Lake ravaged by Cyclone Fani recently.EssentialsChilika LakeChilika is a shallow lagoon with estuarine character in Odisha.Lagoons are areas of relatively shallow, quiet water situated in a coastal environment and having access to the sea but separated from the open marine conditions by a barrier.An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments.The Daya and Bhargavi rivers feed the lake.Seawater is Chilika's lifeblood. Without a regular inflow, the lake ecosystem would decline.It is the largest wintering ground for migratory waterfowl found anywhere on the Indian sub-continent.Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish water lake or lagoon in India, after Chilika Lake.The endangered Irrawaddy dolphins are also found in the lake, which is the single largest habitat of this species in the world.On account of its rich bio-diversity and ecological significance, Chilika was designated as the 1st "Ramsar Site" of India.The Nalaban Island within the lagoon is notified as a Bird Sanctuary under Wildlife (Protection) Act.The lake was included in the Montreux Record (threatened list) in 1993 due to change in its ecological character by Ramsar Convention but was later removed from it due to the successful restoration of the site.Montreux Record under the Ramsar ConventionIt is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.The Montreux Record was established by Recommendations of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (1990).Sites may be added to and removed from the Record only with the approval of the Contracting Parties in which they lie.Currently, two wetlands of India are in Montreux record viz. Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan and Loktak Lake, Manipur.WEST NILE VIRUSContext: The presence of the West Nile virus was identified from the mosquito samples collected from a few districts of kerala.EssentialsWest Nile virus is mainly transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes of the Culex genus.Birds are the natural hosts of West Nile virus. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.West Nile virus can cause a fatal neurological disease in humans.However, approximately 80% of people who are infected will not show any symptoms.The virus can cause severe disease and death in horses.Vaccines are available for use in horses but not yet available for people.WNV is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.West Nile Virus (WNV) belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.The virus may also be transmitted through contact with other infected animals, their blood, or other tissues.To date, no human-to-human transmission of WNV through casual contact has been documented, and no transmission of WNV to health care workers has been reported when standard infection control precautions have been put in place.NATIONAL TECHNICAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION (NTRO)Context: The Coast Guard received inputs from the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) about a Pakistani ship trying to enter Indian waters.EssentialsThe National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence gathering agency under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office, India.It was set up in 2004.It also includes National Institute of Cryptology Research and Development (NICRD), which is first of its kind in Asia.NTRO has the same “norms of conduct” and similar powers as the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).The Union Home Ministry in May 2018 issued a notification listing NTRO under the Intelligence Organisations (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1985 — a demand of the organisation for over a decade.The act prevents employees of a notified agency from forming unions/associations, bars them from communicating with the press or publishing a book or other document without permission of the head of the intelligence organisation.This would not give the NTRO any powers to intercept.Many security agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) among others have been asking the Home Ministry to include them under the Intelligence Organisations Act.At present, only NTRO, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) have been listed under the Intelligence Organisations (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1985.It acts as a super-feeder agency for providing technical intelligence to other agencies on internal and external security.The agency is under the control of India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, although it remains autonomous to some degree.The organisation does hi-tech surveillance jobs, including satellite monitoring, terrestrial monitoring, internet monitoring, considered vital for the national security apparatus.The NTRO will operate India's sole spy ship, following its completion of sea trials at Vishakhapatnam.COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA (CCI)Context: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is looking into allegations that Maruti forces its dealers to limit the discounts they offer, effectively stifling competition among them, and harming consumers who could have benefited from lower prices if dealers operated freely.EssentialsCompetition Commission of IndiaThe Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007:prohibits anti-competitive agreements;abuse of dominant position by enterprises and;regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A),which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.The objectives of the Act are sought to be achieved through the Competition Commission of India (CCI), a quasi-judicial body.CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.Objective of Competition Commission of India (CCI)Remove negative competitive practicesPromote sustainable market competitionProtect the rights of the consumerProtect the freedom of trade in Indian marketsProtect the rights of small traders from the large traders to ensure their survivalAdvice and give suggestions to Competition Appellate TribunalRun informative campaigns and create public awareness about fair competitive practices.The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.The Competition Appellate Tribunal was formed in 2009 and is a fully empowered body by the Constitution of India. The final appeal after this tribunal can be made in the Supreme Court of India.COMMODITY DERIVATIVES MARKETSContext: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given the go-ahead to mutual funds (MFs) to participate in the commodity derivatives segment.EssentialsIn June 2017, SEBI opened up the commodity derivatives markets to institutional investors for the first time by allowing hedge funds registered as category III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to invest in commodity derivatives as ‘clients’.The category III AIFs raise money from high net worth individuals and corporates with a minimum contribution of Rs.10 million by each investor.AIFs have been allowed to invest in all commodity derivatives products on the conditions that they should not invest more than 10 per cent of the investable funds in one underlying commodity and they should periodically report their market exposure in commodity derivatives.These conditions have been specifically imposed on hedge funds because such players employ leverage on a substantial basis and use complex trading strategies to make short-term returns, thereby posing a systemic risk to the entire market.On September 26, 2017, SEBI allowed Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to participate in commodity derivatives contracts traded in stock exchanges operating in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).Established as a part of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is the first IFSC in India that provides financial services to non-residents and residents in any currency other than the Indian Rupee.FPIs have been permitted to trade in commodity derivatives contracts subject to three conditions:they can only trade in non-agricultural commodities derivatives contracts (such as gold and silver);contracts would be cash settled on the settlement price; andall the transactions shall be denominated in foreign currency only.The Entry of Banks into Broking ServicesIn September 2017, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed banks to provide broking services to the commodity derivatives market through a separate subsidiary set up for the purpose or an existing subsidiary.The RBI has prescribed minimum capital requirements and other conditions on banks to become clearing members of commodity derivatives segments.Further, a bank’s subsidiary cannot undertake trading in commodity derivatives using its own capital (‘proprietary positions’) so as to make a profit for itself.However, it can earn fees and commissions from processing trades done by trading members/clients.This is for the first time that banks have been allowed to participate in the Indian commodity derivatives markets.It is important to emphasize here that all scheduled commercial banks (except regional rural banks) have been allowed to offer broking services for commodity derivatives trading.In other words, a wide range of banks in India, such as State Bank of India (state-owned), ICICI Bank (private sector), Deutsche Bank (foreign bank) and Apna Sahakari Bank (cooperative bank), can now offer broking services for commodity derivatives trading through subsidiaries.In the past one year, SEBI has undertaken other initiatives to introduce new products and removed restrictions on broking services.For instance, commodity exchanges have been allowed to introduce options trading.Besides, SEBI has allowed integrated broking activities in equity and commodity derivatives markets under a single entity.Now, a stock broker can deal in commodity derivatives trading without setting up a separate entity.The Future PlansSEBI plans to allow portfolio management services (PMS) providers to participate in commodity derivatives market.The PMS is used by high net-worth investors and is offered by various entities including banks, brokerages, independent investment managers and asset management companies.Besides, the SEBI may also permit foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest directly in the commodity derivatives markets with new regulatory norms for such entities.BasicsWhat is a Commodity?Commodity is a physical good attributable to a natural resource that is tradable and supplied without substantial differentiation by the general public: energy, grains, industrial (base) metals, livestock, precious metals, and softs (cash crops).Commodities trade in physical (spot) markets and in futures and forward markets.Spot markets involve the physical transfer of goods between buyers and sellers; prices in these markets reflect current (or very near term) supply and demand conditions.Global commodity futures markets constitute financial exchanges of standardized futures contracts in which a price is established in the market today for the sale of some defined quantity and quality of a commodity at a future date of delivery; execution of the contract may be focused on cash settlement or physical delivery.What are Institutional Investors?An institutional investor is a person or organization that trades securities in large enough quantities that it qualifies for preferential treatment and lower fees.A retail investor is a non-professional investor who buys and sells securities through brokerage firms or savings accounts.Most institutional investors invest other people's money on their behalf. They are the pension funds, mutual funds, money managers, insurance companies, investment banks, commercial trusts, endowment funds, hedge funds, and also some private equity investors.What Is a Derivative?A derivative is a financial security with a value that is reliant upon or derived from, an underlying asset or group of assets.The derivative itself is a contract between two or more parties, and the derivative derives its price from fluctuations in the underlying asset.The most common underlying assets for derivatives are stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, and market indexes.These assets are commonly purchased through brokerages.What is options trading?Options are contracts that give the bearer the right, but not the obligation, to either buy or sell an amount of some underlying asset at a pre-determined price at or before the contract expires.Options are instruments that belong to the derivatives family, which means its price is derived from something else.How are Options different from Stocks?The Options contract has an expiration date unlike stocks. Stocks on the other hand do not have an expiration date.Unlike Stocks, Options derive their value from something else and that’s why they fall under the derivatives category.Options are not definite by numbers like StocksYou can profit from a drop in the price of an underlying stock. In fact, you can profit in all directions depending upon the type of position or strategy you are holding unlike stocks where you make a loss when the stock price goes downwards.Options owners have no right (voting or dividend) in a company unlike Stock owners.In briefThe UN World Economic Situation and Prospects Report has lowered its forecast for India’s GDP growth in 2019-20 to 7.1% from its estimate in January of 7.5%, citing an overall slowdown in global growth.Thankyou