Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 01 April 2017

:: National ::

SC clarified its verdict on making National and State Highways liquor-free zones

• Supreme Court clarified that its prohibition on the sale of liquor within a distance of 500 metres from the outer edge of these main thoroughfares is not restricted to liquor shops alone but also includes other larger establishments.

• The court said exempting establishments other than shops involved in sale of liquor, which include bar-attached hotels and beer parlours dotting highways, would amount to dilution of the objective of its December 15 judgment.

• “The pernicious nature of the sale of liquor along the National and State Highways cannot be ignored. Drunken driving is a potent source of fatalities and injuries in road accidents.

• The Constitution preserves and protects the right to life as an over-arching constitutional value,” the 32-page clarification order observed.

• The court said its duty to protect public health and safety clearly overrides the interests of liquor traders.

• The December verdict had directed the States and Union Territories to stop the grant of licences to establishments located within 500 metres of National and State Highways. April 1, 2017 was fixed as the date for phasing out existing liquor licences.

Anti-Romeo squad in UP asked to use only lawfull means

• The Uttar Pradesh police were directed by the State government to ensure that its anti-Romeo squads do not resort to blackening of the face or “murga” position type punishments in the name of protecting women.

• The move by the government comes amid outrage over the way the squads have punished loitering men on the streets and a day after the Allahabad High Court directed it to ensure that guidelines were followed by the police teams.

• There should be no shaving of heads, blackening of faces or “murga pose” (a stress position used as a corporal punishment where sit-ups are done holding the ears), said a senior official while listing out the dos and don’ts.

• The fresh guidelines were issued after the intervention of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amid reports of alleged harassment by anti-Romeo squads.

• The Chief Minister has also directed administrative and police officials in districts to regularly review the steps being taken for women security and inform senior officials on a regular basis, the official said.

• Stressing that his government was firm on upholding the security and dignity of women, the CM said a State-wide drive has been launched to free public places of anti-social elements and check incidents of eve-teasing and indecent behaviour.

SC ordered to declare children affected by HIV as a ‘disadvantaged group’ (Register and Login to read Full News)

Scientists found an unusual approach of removing antibodies from the blood (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: International ::

India is among the 16 target countries in a review of trade ties by US

• India is among the 16 target countries in a review of trade ties that President Donald Trump was scheduled to order.

• The President would also sign a second order to strictly enforce anti-dumping and countervailing duties, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

• A “country-by-country, product-by-product” report will be prepared in 90 days that would form the basis of further measures that the Trump administration would take to reduce the country’s trade deficit.

• The report will identify “every form of trade abuse and every non-reciprocal practice that now contributes to the U.S. trade deficit,” Mr. Ross said.

• India is the ninth biggest trading partner of the U.S. and had a trade surplus of around $26 billion with the U.S in goods trade alone last year. Of its top 20 trading partners, the U.S. has a surplus with only five.

• With China, the U.S. had a deficit of $347 billion in 2016. The review will be to assess whether deficit is being caused by cheating, specific trade agreements, lax enforcement or World Trade Organization rules.

• Mr. Navarro has been a long time critic of China, but on Thursday, he insisted the presidential executive orders were not exclusive to China and was not linked to the scheduled visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.

• The 20-page long chapter on India lists a range of trade restrictions by India such as an existing ban on animal-tested cosmetics and restrictions on dairy products and alcohol.

• It also accuses India of being opaque in its non-tariff regulations, and lists export subsidy programmes in several sectors as a matter of concern.

Brexit will present opportunities as well as challenges for India (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: India and World ::

China again warned India against visit of Dalai Lama

• China again warned India that the proposed visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh would cause “deep damage” to Sino-Indian ties, and stressed that New Delhi would have to make “a choice” in its dealings with the Tibetan leader.

• “China and India are two major developing countries and we are close neighbours. It is very important for the two peoples to maintain sound and steady China-India relations.

• But such relationship has to be built on (a) certain foundation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

• The spokesperson’s remarks are part of a sustained effort by the Chinese officialdom and academia to discourage India from green-lighting the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh in early April.

• China has been particularly emphatic about its claims over Tawang, which houses the famous Tawang Monastery — India’s largest monastery. It is also the second largest monastery in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

• During his briefing Mr. Lu said that China was “seriously concerned about the news” about the Dalai Lama’s visit.

:: Science and Technology ::

SpaceX successfully launched and then retrieved its first recycled rocket

• SpaceX successfully launched and then retrieved its first recycled rocket, a historic feat and the biggest leap yet in its bid to drive down costs and speed up flights.

• It was the first time SpaceX founder Elon Musk tried to fly a booster that soared before an orbital mission.

• He was at a loss for words after the Falcon 9 core landed on the bull’s-eye of the ocean platform following lift-off with a broadcasting satellite.

• Mr. Musk foresees dozens, if not hundreds of repeat flights, for a booster and rocket turnarounds of as little as 24 hours, perhaps by next year.

• Land, refuel and then back up again, with everything leading to one day putting humanity “out there among the stars.”

• This particular first stage landed on an ocean platform almost exactly a year ago after a space station launch for NASA.

• SpaceX refurbished and tested the 15-story booster, still sporting its nine original engines. It nailed another vertical landing at sea once it was finished boosting the satellite for the SES company of Luxembourg.

• SpaceX employees outside jammed Mission Control at the Hawthorne, California, company headquarters cheered loudly every step of the way and again when the satellite reached its proper orbit.

:: Business and Economy ::

India strongly goes against the protectionism

• Despite a formal statement by the world’s largest economies being silent on concerns over protectionist measures, India said Friday that it strongly supported ‘resistance’ to all forms of protectionism.

• Head of G20 Presidency team, German Federal Ministry of Finance, said the failure to incorporate the sentence — “we will resist all forms of protectionism” — in the meeting communique was a “major setback for Germany and India.”

• A communique issued at an earlier meeting in 2016 had included that phrase. Reports had said the phrase was dropped from the March communique as it did not receive U.S. support.

• On expansion of the G20, he said there were no such plans currently, adding, however, that the G20 had been conducting a lot of outreach activities in countries, especially in Africa.

• Issues of interest to India included ensuring ease of mobility of skilled professionals across the world. India is also keen on ensuring energy access.

Growth of eight core sectors slipped to a more than one-year low

• The growth of eight core sectors slipped to a more than one-year low of 1% in February mainly due to decline in output of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers and cement.

• The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity was 9.4% in February 2016.

• The previous low of 0.9% was recorded in December 2015. In January 2017, these sectors grew by 3.4%.

• The core sectors, which contribute 38% to the total industrial production, expanded 4.4% in April-February this fiscal compared to 3.5% growth in the same period previous financial year.

• However, coal and steel recorded positive growth during the month. The output of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers and cement contracted by 3.4%, 1.7%, 2.3%, 5.3% and 15.8%, respectively during the month under review.

• Coal output widened by 7.1 %, while steel output increased by 8.7 % and electricity by 1.5 %.

Fiscal deficit target exceeded to 113% (Register and Login to read Full News)

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