Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 March 2017

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 March 2017

:: National ::

The ability to use computers remains low in the country

  • The ability to use computers remains low in the country, in spite of campaigns for digitalisation, an analysis of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data reveals.
  • An estimated 8.8% of the rural population has computing ability. In urban areas, the figure is nearly four times higher, at 30.2%.
  • Computing ability was defined as an user’s ability to operate a desktop, laptop, palmtop, notebook, smartphone and tablets.
  • The study, supported by the Australian Research Council, claimed that ‘computing ability’ is not linked to digital infrastructure or internet penetration. The data was collated from the NSS 71st round of 2014.
  • Among the major States, Kerala has the highest computing ability at 32.3% in rural areas.

Mr. Parrikar’s sudden departure has put the brakes on Defence Ministry initiatives

  • Uncertainty looms over South Block with Manohar Parrikar leaving charge of the Defence Minister.
  • Mr. Parrikar’s sudden departure has put the brakes on several major initiatives to overhaul defence procurement, indigenisation, civil-military relations and so on.
  • Continuity is required in the Defence Ministry, especially when projects have a long gestation period. So unless they are pushed continuously, the time lag will keep increasing and the process of indigenisation will keep getting delayed.
  • Among the top priorities is the policy on the strategic partnership model, which will spell out guidelines for tie-ups between foreign manufacturers and the private sector in high technology areas to build military hardware in India.
  • The other major issue is implementation of the Seventh Pay commission for the services, which was already done for their civilian counterparts.
  • The issue is being looked into by the anomalies committee and there is growing resentment among the services over the delay.
  • Beyond procurements and the implementation of the pay commission proposals, Mr. Parrikar had spent considerable time and effort on issues such as reorganising the military to make it lean and lethal and the appointment of a Chief of the Defence Staff.

The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 passed by Lok Sabha

  • Heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan and China during Partition will have no claim over the properties left behind in India, with Parliament passing a Bill to amend a 49-year-old law.
  • The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, which amends the Enemy Property Act, 1968, was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha, incorporating the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha.
  • The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill earlier but certain amendments were introduced to it in the Rajya Sabha, on the recommendations of a Select Committee. Those amendments had to be approved by the Lower House.
  • A statutory amendment seeking to introduce clarity with regard to those properties which had already been acquired by the heirs of the ‘enemy’ property owners, a reference to nationals of Pakistan and China.
  • According to the Bill, “enemy property” refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm.
  • The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the Central government.
  • After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, which regulates such properties and lists the Custodian’s powers.
  • The government brought the amendment Bill in the wake of a claim laid by the heirs of Raja Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, known as Raja of Mahmudabad, on his properties spread across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
  • The matter is before the Supreme Court. Five ordinances were promulgated on the Bill. The last one expired on March 14.

Indo-Bangladesh border fencing is almost complete (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: International ::

Religious organisations have expressed concerns about religious signs verdict

  • Religious organisations and rights groups have expressed concerns about a “disturbing” European Court of Justice ruling that enables European companies to ban employees from wearing visible religious signs.
  • The court ruled that employers were able to ban the wearing of visible political, philosophical or religious signs, so long as it was already included in company laws, and equally applied.
  • While the cases considered by the ECJ involve the headscarf, the ruling will also apply to other religious symbols such as Sikh turbans, Christian crucifixes, or Jewish Kippahs.
  • The ruling gave employers the leeway to “discriminate against women — and men — on the grounds of religious belief”, said John Dalhuisen of Amnesty International.
  • The Luxembourg-based court’s ruling involves two cases: that of Samira Achbita who was dismissed from her role with Belgian firm G4S Secure Solutions in 2006 after expressing her intent to start wearing a headscarf.
  • The second involved Asma Boughnaoui, who was dismissed by French firm Micropole in 2009, after a client complained about her wearing of the headscarf.
  • In the case of Ms. Achbita, the court noted that there was an internal G4S rule that employees were prohibited from wearing visible signs of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace without distinction.
  • Prohibiting wearing a headscarf, under such circumstances where the rule was applied in a “consistent and systematic manner” did not “constitute direct discrimination based on religion or belief,” it concluded.

U.K. Houses of Parliament passed the Brexit bill (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: Business and Economy ::

BRICS to consider a proposal for investment policymaking to boost investment

  • BRICS nations will soon consider a proposal to frame ‘guiding principles’ for investment policymaking to boost investment flows into BRICS as well as take steps to promote e-commerce among the five leading emerging economies.
  • In addition, the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) meeting – will also discuss measures for closer cooperation among the BRICS countries for developing their respective national single window for trade facilitation.
  • China, the current BRICS chair, wants to push ‘investment facilitation’ and ‘e-commerce’–related issues, the sources said. India was part of that meeting. China has also been at the forefront of a proposal for a global pact on ‘investment facilitation and promotion’ at the World Trade Organisation (WTO)-level.
  • India is also making efforts to ensure that the proposal on a global investment pact gains traction before the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC) meeting. The MC meeting is the WTO’s highest decision-taking body.
  • China, driving this year’s BRICS agenda, now wants the BRICS nations to separately adopt these principles and enter into an ‘investment facilitation’ agreement.
  • India had recently rejected a proposal by the European Union and Canada at the WTO-level for a global investment pact that incorporates the contentious Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism.
  • The ISDS mechanism allows firms to drag governments to international arbitration without waiting to exhaust the available local remedies and seek huge compensation.
  • China has been leading the discussions on e-commerce at the global level. In November 2016, the WTO said China had proposed that discussions at WTO should focus on the promotion and facilitation of cross-border trade in goods enabled by the Internet.
  • Incidentally, there is a proposal for setting up a common payment gateway to promote e-commerce among BRICS.

Retail and wholesale price inflation accelerated in February (Register and Login to read Full News)

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