Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 09 May 2017

:: National ::

CRPF to soon deploy a fresh CoBRA squad to Sukma district

• The CRPF will soon deploy a fresh squad of about 2,000 commandos from its special guerrilla warfare CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) battalions in and around the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh to defang the Maoists and their arsenal.

• Sukma and its adjoining areas have witnessed some of the deadliest ambushes on security forces recently like the one where 25 CRPF men were killed in the Burkapal area of the district on April 24.

• At least 20 to 25 companies of the CoBRA are mobilised from their present locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh to the Bastar region that has some of the worst Maoist violence-hit districts.

Govt accelerated efforts to finalise the ambitious Strategic Partnership model

• The Government has accelerated efforts to finalise the ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model, which would give a major boost to private sector participation in defence manufacturing.

• As part of the stepped up efforts, the Defence Ministry has scheduled consultations with the industry to get their feedback in the next couple of days.

• The policy, which is part of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016, will set out guidelines on how major Indian private sector companies can tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers in critical military systems and platforms.

• An interaction between the defence ministry and industry representatives was scheduled for May 11. It would be attended by Mr. Jaitley and Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar.

• Major industry bodies and Indian private sector companies which would take the lead in the SP model had been invited. The final clearance would be accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) and the meetings had been slotted.

Centre plans to tap MGNREGA to recharge remnants of ancient rivers (Register and Login to read Full News)

China is prepared to consider renaming the CPEC for India (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: International ::

Despite Macron’s win EU still faces challenges

• France’s choice of pro-EU Emmanuel Macron over eurosceptic Marine Le Pen has sparked euphoria in Brussels, but analysts warn his ambitions for profound change in the European Union will prove challenging.

• Praise for Mr. Macron poured in from Brussels, with top EU officials hailing his win as a much needed check to a populist wave that delivered Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in U.S. 

• Despite widespread doubts, analysts agreed that the sheer scale of his victory gave one of the EU’s most powerful member States a small window to change the bloc.

• The first and crucial step will be to get Germany, the bloc's most powerful member, onside. To do that, Macron is banking on delivering to Germany what it has always wanted from France: meaningful pro-market reforms.

• But Mr. Macron's willingness to placate Germany has led critics at home to portray him as the puppet of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

• Mr. Macron will get his first taste of the challenges ahead when the European Commission delivers it economic forecasts for EU states.

:: Business and Economy ::

DIPP and WIPO have inked an agreement to set up TISC

• The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have inked an agreement to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISC).

• The WIPO’s TISC programme provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally-based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential as well as to create, protect, and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights.

• Over 500 TISCs operate worldwide and establishing TISC in India will give the host institutions access to the global network, it said.

India is taking trade barriers with US

• India is planning to take up with the Trump administration the “barriers” imposed by the U.S., which are hurting Indian goods exports to that country in sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industrial products.

• India will raise this issue soon after the new U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) takes charge. They said this issue would also be on the agenda of the next India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum (TPF) — the main bilateral platform for discussing and resolving trade and investment issues.

• According to the Indian Commerce Ministry, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has “arbitrarily” listed 23 items produced in India on the ‘List of Goods Produced by Child Labour or Forced Labour’ — which is in effect a ban on their import.

• The Ministry said Indian industry is worried as the reports that the DOL relies upon are “not always accurate.”

• The Ministry has also referred to the U.S. Government measures envisaged within an initiative to counter potential terrorist threats to the international maritime container trade system.

• This included X-ray scanning of containers exported to U.S., a measure, the ministry said would cause additional costs for Indian exporters across sectors.

• In addition, the Ministry has cited a law (the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 of the U.S.) allowing American manufacturers to petition for curbing imports from third nations on national security grounds without providing proof from industry.

• Indian pharmaceutical exports to the U.S. are hit by the increase in registration fees, approval delays and low approval rates for registrations mandatory for sale of all new drugs in the U.S.

• Also, ayurveda and traditional Indian medicines are hit by the U.S. requirement of clinical trials while the practice of traditional Indian medicine systems such as Siddha and Unani are not allowed by the U.S. Federal Government.

• The Ministry has also opposed the U.S. requirement of irradiation treatment and inspection of mangoes prior to shipping from India.

• The Ministry said this is a time-consuming and costly certification process hurting the competitiveness of Indian mangoes in the U.S. market. Indian grapes, litchis, pomegranates, honey, marine and meat products are also impacted by various U.S. “NTBs”.

• Besides, the U.S. has imposed countervailing duties on Indian exports, including those by steel and paper industries.

Banks are still responsible for NPAs (Register and Login to read Full News) 

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