Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 October 2017

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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 October 2017

::NATIONAL::

Changes required in GST rate structure

  • Some rejig in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate structure is required to reduce the burden on small and medium businesses, Revenue Secretary HasmukhAdhia.
  • The GST, which amalgamates more than a dozen Central and State levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT, will take a year to stabilise, Mr Adhia told
  • Nearly four months since its introduction, the new indirect tax has faced teething troubles and compliance issues, which the GST Council — the highest decision-making body of the new regime — has addressed through several changes, the Revenue Secretary said. To remove the hassles being faced by medium and small businesses in tax payment and filing of GST returns, it has tweaked various aspects of the new regime.
  • The GST Council has also rationalised rates on over 100 commodities and made the refund process easier for exporters.
  • Mr. Adhia, however, said the rejig would require some calculations by the fitment committee, which will decide which items need rationalisation of rates under the GST regime that came into force on July 1.
  • The GST Council has cleared an approach paper for items to be considered for rationalisation, but it is not binding and the Council can always make deviations from the approach paper, Mr. Adhia said.
  • The 23rd meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising representatives of all the States, will be held in Guwahati on November 10. The GST Council has reworked various provisions to make it more industry friendly.
  • The turnover threshold for composition scheme, under which businesses can pay taxes at a nominal rate, has been increased to Rs. 1 crore from Rs. 75 lakh. Small businesses with up to Rs. 1.50 crore in turnover have been allowed to file returns and pay taxes quarterly, as against monthly payments.

Simplified rules for Tibetan refugees

  • India is all set to simplify travel rules for Tibetan refugees who want to visit foreign countries.
  • Currently they have to secure an “exit permit” from the Home Ministry before applying for a visa with any foreign mission. The Centre wants to do away with the “redundant” procedure.
  • The official said the refugees would be provided with a no-objection certificate at the time of issuance of identity certificates and that would be enough for them to travel to any foreign country.
  • “The present rules are such that a Tibetan refugee has to apply for an exit permit every time he or she has to travel abroad. Since identity certificates are issued after carrying out due diligence and background check, the exit permit is an unnecessary requirement,” said the official.
  • He said the Home Ministry would soon get approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The Ministry of External Affairs will then issue a notification informing all foreign missions of the exit permit clause being removed.
  • As per the latest Home Ministry data, more than one lakh Tibetan refugees are settled in India. Major concentrations of the Tibetan refugees are in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and J&K.
  • Tibetan refugees began pouring into India in the wake of the flight of the Dalai Lama from Tibet in 1959.
  • India is all set to simplify travel rules for Tibetan refugees who want to visit foreign countries. Currently they have to secure an “exit permit” from the Home Ministry before applying for a visa with any foreign mission.
  • The official said the refugees would be provided with a no-objection certificate at the time of issuance of identity certificates and that would be enough for them to travel to any foreign country.
  • Home Ministry would soon get approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security. The Ministry of External Affairs will then issue a notification informing all foreign missions of the exit permit clause being removed.
  • As per the latest Home Ministry data, more than one lakh Tibetan refugees are settled in India. Major concentrations of the Tibetan refugees are in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and J&K.
  • The government decided to give them asylum as well as assistance towards temporary settlement.

Andhra Pradesh govt grants Panchayat status to all tribal hamlets

  • The Andhra Pradesh State Government has resolved to bring out a legislation aimed at according village panchayat status to all tribal hamlets in the State so that residents of these hamlets, including those in far-flung areas, would receive the benefits of the spree of welfare and development programmes.
  • A bill to this effect is under preparation and the State Cabinet will discuss the provisions threadbare before introducing it in the forthcoming session of the State Legislature. Once the bill was passed, each village would be allotted Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh, said the Chief Minister.

Safe return of Myanmar nationals is priority

  • External Affairs Minister SushmaSwarajexpressed deep concern at the spate of violence in Rakhine State of Myanmar and said
    India wanted the safe return of Rohingya to their homeland.
  • We have urged that the situation be handled with restraint, keeping in mind the welfare of the population. It is clear that normalcy will only be restored with the return of displaced persons,” she said.
  • The Minister, however, did not use the word “Rohingya” and only referred to to name those tens of thousands of ethnic minorities who faced ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their homeland and took shelter in Bangladesh. Instead, she termed them as “displaced persons from the Rakhine State.”
  • She said India also supports the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, headed by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.
  • The Commission has suggested a number of measures for a “peaceful, fair and prosperous future for the people of Rakhine.”
  • Ms Swaraj said the only long-term solution to the situation in Rakhine is rapid socio-economic and infrastructure development that would have a positive impact on all the communities living in the state.
  • India, for its part has committed to providing financial and technical assistance for specific projects to be undertaken in Rakhine in conjunction with the local authorities, she added.
  • Mr. Mahmud Ali said Dhaka has urged India “to contribute towards exerting sustained pressure on Myanmar to find a peaceful solution to the crisis including the sustainable return of all Rohingya to their homeland.”
  • Though the Minister was in Dhaka for the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission meeting, the Rohingya issue dominated talks as the crisis took a new turn, with more than half a million of them entering Bangladesh since August 25, fleeing ethnic cleansing. Bangladesh has been seeking international support, including from India, for their safe return.
  • The India-Bangladesh meeting, which was co-chaired by Sushma Swaraj and her Bangladesh counterpart , reviewed cooperation in countering terrorism and extremism with both side vowing to maintain zero tolerance to terrorism and extremism.
  • The pending Teesta water sharing issue was also discussed, with Mr. Ali recalling the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April during Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India that the Teesta agreement would be signed during the current tenure of the two Prime Ministers.
  • Both ministers also witnessed the signing of three bilateral documents which include capacity building in SMEs, sale-purchase agreement between Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and Numaligarh Refinery of India.

Bhitarakanika sees increase in number of tourists

  • Forest authorities are excited over a slight increase in the number of tourists coming to see crocodiles basking on mudflats of the Bhitarakanika National Park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district during the month of September, considered an off-season.
  • An interesting aspects of this year’s tourist inflow is the arrival of foreign tourists in August and September.
  • Apart from crocodiles, meandering water courses flanked by green mangrove forests and migratory birds flocking in search of prey in the swampy fields of Bhitarakanika are some of the major attractions.
  • In September, 2,681 tourists, including nine foreigners, visited Bhitarakanika compared with 1,968 tourists in August during which 44 foreigners came for sightseeing.
  • In 2016, only one foreigner visited the national park, whereas tourist inflow during September and August was recorded at 1,756 and 2,281 respectively.
  • November to January is considered the peak season. Authorities believe things would now turn for the better.
  • Bhitarakanika continues to be one of the best natural abode for the estuarine crocodile.
  • The forest department has come across 80 crocodile nests in their wild habitats in 2017 compared to 75 in 2016 and 70 in 2015.
  • According to the National Park authorities, mammals found in the place include leopards, wild boars, fishing cats, hyenas, sambar deer and Gangetic dolphins. Reptiles include olive ridley sea turtles, crocodiles, water monitors, pythons and king cobras. Around 166 species of birds have been spotted in the park.
  • Bhitarakanika is one of the richest storehouses of mangrove genes. Researchers have come across 11 of the 70 mangrove species in Bhitarakanika which were at an elevated threat of extinction around the world.

Supreme Court asks to set up State panels for women

  • The Supreme Court has asked the Centre if state commissions for women (SCW) actually exist.
  • The top court raised the question as it dealt with the issue of precarious conditions faced by destitute widows living in Vrindavan and other places across the country.
  • The court, which is hearing a matter pertaining to the condition of such widows, told the Centre that if SCWs did not exist in the States, then the State governments concerned should be asked to ensure setting up of such panels.
  • “The Solicitor General should also inform us whether the SCW is actually existing in all the States and if not, then a communication to the State governments must be sent to ensure that these SCWs are in place in accordance with the statute,” a Bench headed by Justice M.B. Lokur said.
  • The Centre told the Bench, which also comprised Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta, that it would furnish an affidavit on the agreed action plan, which contains several steps required to be taken to improve the situation of the destitute widows.
  • The court asked the Centre to do the needful within six weeks and fixed the matter for hearing on December 6.
  • In August, the top court had said that the ostracised destitute widows belong to the “socially disadvantaged class” of society and were not treated with the dignity they deserve in the shelter homes in Vrindavan and elsewhere. It had equated them with socially underprivileged groups who have no real access to justice, are voiceless and needed to be empowered.

Checking original documents by Banks became mandatory

  • The Government has made it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to check the original identification documents of individuals dealing in cash above the prescribed threshold, to weed out the use of forged or fake copies.
  • The Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry has issued a gazette notification making an amendment to the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules.
  • The new rule now requires the reporting entity to compare “the copy of officially valid (identification) document so produced by the client with the original and recording the same on the copy”.
  • The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) imposes obligation on reporting entities like banks, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information to the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU—IND).
  • Intermediaries like stock broker, chit fund company, cooperative bank, housing finance institution and non-banking finance companies are also classified as reporting entities.
  • Aadhaar number and other official documents are required to be obtained from anyone opening a bank account, as well as for any financial transaction of Rs. 50,000 and above.

Petition challenging CBI exemption from RTI

  • A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court for an early hearing of a petition challenging a 2011 government notification, which includes the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the list of “intelligence and security organisations” exempted from disclosing information to the public under the Right to Information Act.
  • Counsel Ajay Agrawal, in his petition, said the June 9, 2011 notification including the CBI in the Second Schedule of the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 was arbitrary, especially when the organisation was only an investigating agency and not a security or intelligence organisation.
  • The fresh application, filed earlier this month, for an advanced hearing in the case alleged that the notification was “solely to scuttle the RTI appeal pending before the Chief Information Commissioner, New Delhi, in regard to the Bofors-Quattrocchi case in which order was passed by the Central Information Commission directing the CBI to provide the requisite papers to the petitioner [Mr. Agrawal]”.
  • Mr. Agrawal, who has been pursuing the Bofors payoff case for years, contended that “by issuing the notification and placing the CBI in the Second Schedule, the government appears to be claiming absolute secrecy for the CBI without the sanction of the law.”
  • “The RTI Act was a promise to the citizens by Parliament for transparency and accountability ... It is incumbent on the government to provide the reasons for constricting the citizen’s fundamental right to information,” the petition contended.
  • “Such an administrative decision has a profound impact on the citizens of India inasmuch as it restricts their fundamental right to information ... By this method the government could keep adding organisations to the Second Schedule, which do not meet the express criteria laid down in Section 24(2) of the RTI Act and ultimately render the RTI Act ineffective,” the application said.
    This case had been transferred from the Delhi High Court to the apex court following the government’s claim of multiplicity of such petitions in several High Courts.

War memorabilia gifted to Bangladesh by India

  • India gifted to Bangladesh Prime Minister the memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 when an estimated 10 million Bangladesh people took refuge in India and the two neighbours fought together to drive out the Pakistani occupation army.
  • The memorabilia,handed over to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by visiting Indian External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj, includes military equipment utilised by the joint forces of India and Bangladesh during the Liberation War as well as large number of artefacts and documents including historical photographs, archival audio and video clippings, maps, battle records, newspaper clippings, documentary films.
  • The collection is proposed to be displayed at the Bangladesh National Museum in Shahbagh and the Museum of Independence in SuhrawardyUdyan in Dhaka.
  • On the ongoing Rohingya crisis, the Minister reaffirmed India’s continued support. Under ‘Operation Insaniyat’, India provided 1000 tonnes of relief material for about 5,00,000 displaced persons, she said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

WHO reverses Mugabe’s appointment

  • The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) reversed his decision to name Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador, following widespread uproar.
  • “Over the last few days, I have reflected on my appointment of H.E. President Robert Mugabe as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for (Non-communicable diseases) in Africa. As a result I have decided to rescind the appointment” the head of the UN agency, TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus, said in a statement.
  • Mr. Tedros had announced the appointment earlier this week during a speech in Uruguay, where he praised Zimbabwe as “a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide health care to all”.
  • But activists, public health experts and key WHO donors like Britain, Canada and the United States swiftly denounced any prospective role for Mr. Mugabe, saying Zimbabwe’s health care system has collapsed under his 37 years of authoritarian rule. Mr. Tedros had faced mounting pressure to reverse the decision, including from some of the leading voices in global public health.

Landmark meeting between Saudi-Iraq attended by Tillerson

  • U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attended a landmark meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iraq aimed at upgrading strategic ties between the two countries and countering Iran’s regional influence.
  • Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Saudi King Salman held the first meeting of the joint Saudi-Iraqi coordination council that aims to boost cooperation after years of tensions.
  • Mr. Abadi hailed the meeting as an “important step toward enhancing relations”, echoing similar comments from King Salman.
    Iraq is seeking economic benefits from closer ties with Riyadh as both countries suffer from a protracted oil slump. Saudi Arabia is also seeking to counter Iranian influence in Iraq. “This event highlights the strength and breadth as well as the great potential of the relations between your countries,” said Mr. Tillerson.
  • After years of tense relations, ties between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iraq have begun looking up in recent months. After Saddam Hussein’s August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Riyadh severed relations with Baghdad and closed its border posts with its northern neighbour.
  • Ties remained strained even after Saddam’s ouster in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, since when successive Shia-dominated governments in Baghdad have stayed close to Tehran.
  • Mr. Abadi’s tour coincides with Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh’s visit to Baghdad on Saturday where he called for the strengthening of economic relations to boost oil prices.

::SPORTS::

India wins Asia Cup Hockey

  • India ended its 10-year wait for continental triumph when it defeated a gutsy Malaysia 2-1 in a close final to clinch its third Asia Cup hockey title here.
  • India, which won the Asia Cup in 2003 (Kuala Lumpur) and 2007 (Chennai), scored off field goals through Ramandeep Singh (third minute) and Lalit Upadhyay (29th minute).
  • The ever-improving Malaysia, however, fought valiantly. Its efforts bore fruit in the 50th minute when ShahrilSaabah pulled a goal back.
  • India, ranked sixth in the world, was in for a nervous final 10 minutes but the defence did enough to hold on.
  • Pakistan won the bronze after edging out Korea 6-3 in the third-fourth place play-off match earlier in the day.
  • It was a perfect start for India’s new chief coach MarijneSjoerd as this was his maiden tournament in charge of the senior national side.
  • The top-ranked India finished unbeaten in the tournament, having won all its matches except for the 1-1 draw against Korea in the Super 4 stage.

Srikanth wins Denmark Open

  • India’s ace shuttler K. Srikanth clinched his third Superseries title of the year with a huge straight-game victory over Korean veteran Lee Hyun II in a lop-sided final at the $750,000 Denmark Open.
  • The World No. 8 didn’t give any chance to Lee, who looked a pale shadow of the man who had beaten World No. 2 Son Wan Ho in the semifinals.

::ECONOMY AND BUSINESS::

Railways to ask Finance Ministry to share in rail safety fund

  • The Ministry of Railways may ask the Finance Ministry to fund its share of the railway safety fund this year as the public utility is staring at an earnings shortfall of at least Rs. 10,000 crore in 2017-18, sources said.
  • With earnings deficit, the Ministry of Railways may find it difficult to contribute its share towards the newly- constituted Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Rosh (RRSK) – a dedicated fund for critical safety-related works, a Ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.
  • The Indian Railways’ income stood at Rs. 80,519 crore till September compared with Rs. 76,405 crore till September last year. However, the actual income was 8.45% lower than the targeted earnings till September this year. The Railways had set a target of earning Rs. 1.88 lakh crore in 2017-18 against Rs. 1.65 lakh crore in 2016-17.
  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced the setting up a special safety fund with a corpus of more than Rs. 1 lakh crore over a period of five years in Budget 2017-18. According to the plan, while the Finance Ministry would contribute Rs. 15,000 crore annually towards the fund, the Ministry of Railways would fund the balance Rs. 5,000 crore every year.
  • In the first six months of the current financial year, the Indian Railways had utilised a quarter of the safety fund as it had spent Rs. 5,031 crore from the RRSK. Although the Railways’ passenger and goods earnings had increased 4.5% and 8.4% respectively till September this year compared with the last year, its sundry earnings had declined sharply by 35.7% during this period.
  • Income from non-fare revenues, including land lease, advertising, PSU dividends and catering department, form part of the sundry earnings.
  • Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal had said in an interview to The Hindu last month that the utility was willing to spend unlimited funds on safety which would be a top priority for him. “In my working, there is no budget for safety. Whatever (fund) is required we will spend,” Mr. Goyal had said.
  • Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry advised the Ministry of Railways to prioritise deploying RRSK funds on areas that reduce chances of human error and ensure training of safety staff.

Modernisation of ports

Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said a blueprint for 142 expansion projects had been finalised to modernise 12 major ports and develop new harbours at a cost of about Rs. 90,000 crore.

These 12 ports, under the administrative control of the Centre, saw a growth of 3.24% in cargo to 326.4 million tonne (mt) in the April-September period this fiscal as against 316.1 mt in the corresponding period last fiscal. “A master plan for modernisation of the 12 ports, besides development of new ports, has been finalised. These ports are growth catalysts of modern India.”

A total of 142 expansion projects worth more than Rs. 90,000 crore have been identified for these ports and timely delivery of projects will give the much needed boost to the economy, Mr. Gadkari added. “Out of 142 identified expansion projects, 57 projects are under implementation and one has been completed.”

The April-September figures of cargo at 12 major ports show the highest year-on-year growth was registered by Cochin Port (19.62%), followed by Kolkata, New Mangalore and Paradip (12% each). The growth at Cochin Port was mainly due to increase in traffic of petroleum, oil and lubricants (27.8%).

Accretion of Rs. 40,000 cr. bad loans feared

  • The banking sector fears accretion of more than Rs. 40,000 crore of bad loans to its books following recent classification of eight consortium accounts of Axis Bank as non-performing assets (NPA) by the RBI.
  • The central bank has directed certain reclassifications in the private sector lender’s asset classification and provisioning as at March 2017, subsequent to the annual Risk Based Supervision (RBS) exercise conducted for 2016-17.
  • As a result, Axis Bank had to reclassify nine standard accounts into NPAs. Of these, eight accounts are part of consortium lending, according to the bank.
  • As at June 2017, Axis Bank claimed, these nine accounts were classified as standard assets across most consortium banks, with only about 6% of their outstanding classified as NPA.
  • According to estimates, total outstanding loans for these accounts at the end of June 2017 were about Rs. 42,000 crore. “It is going to have an impact on all the consortium lenders. Banks have to reconcile these accounts as NPA sooner or later. Reclassification by others may happen over two quarters,” Suresh Ganapathy of Macquarie Capital Securities said.

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