Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 9 July 2017

::National::

Centre begun first ever assessment of Chinese FDI in India’s neighbouring countries

• In the backdrop of the tense border stand-off in Sikkim with China, the Centre has begun its first ever in-depth assessment of Chinese investments in India’s neighbouring countries.
• The exercise — being conducted mainly from India’s national security perspective — has been initiated by the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Security Adviser.
• Informal discussions have already been held with the concerned Ministries, including the Commerce and Industry Ministry — the nodal body for foreign trade and foreign investment.
• Given the increasing influence of China in the Indian sub-continent and South Asia, the study will be dynamic and is, among other things, expected to look into various trends, tracking a surge, if any, in Chinese FDI in the region. 
• For instance, Pakistan government data shows that FDI from China jumped from $256.8 million in 2014-15 to $878.8 million in 2016-17 (July-May). Pakistan’s financial year follows a July to June calendar.
• The study will also analyse the impact of these Chinese investments — including those being made as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — on India’s national security. 
• India’s reservations regarding the BRI/OBOR include strategic concerns on the BRI’s flagship project, the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as it is expected to cover regions including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
• In addition to assessing the nature and impact of Chinese FDI in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the study will track Chinese investments in Afghanistan and Maldives too.
• However, the major challenge in the study will be the lack of detailed, country-wise data on overall FDI (year-wise) and Chinese FDI, in particular.
• The CPEC/OBOR projects can also better link Pakistan with the Central Asian Republics (CAR) and help the country establish a footprint in those markets, Prof. Dhar said.

PM urged British PM to ensure the U.K.’s cooperation for economic offenders

• Prime Minister urged his British counterpart Theresa May to ensure the U.K.’s cooperation to bring back economic offenders, as India works hard for the return of liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former IPL chief Lalit Modi.
• Mallya has been in the U.K. for months, escaping arrest warrants. A London court is hearing a case on his extradition.
• Mr. Modi met Ms. May at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Both leaders also discussed the whole range of bilateral ties. 
• Asked whether the request was limited to Mallya or it covered Lalit Modi, Mr. Baglay told reporters: “I don’t want to get into the specifics but the phrase used in the tweet is ‘escaped economic offenders’ and it is plural.” 

A citizens group is demanding a central law for restricting the number of children

• A citizens group, Taxpayers Association of Bharat (TAXAB) endorsed by personalities such as agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, is demanding a central law for restricting the number of children a couple can have.
• The TAXAB, headed by agriculturist and social worker Manu Gaur will launch a petition on July 10 asking for the same from the government.
• “We occupy 2.5% of the land mass and have over 17% of the world’s population, how is that not an issue that needs to be addressed on an urgent basis,” said Mr. Gaur.
• Several State governments, most recently Assam, have linked access to government jobs, facilities and even eligibility to contest local body polls to following the two-child norm. 

Aerosols and particulate matter's polluting air to dangerous levels

• It is now a part of record that several cities in India are among the most polluted in the world. The villain, in most cases, is aerosols and particulate matter. 
• It is a catch-all term for particles of a certain size that are suspended in the lower reaches of the atmosphere. 
• Aerosols emerge from a range of sources including dust, half-burnt carbon particles from vehicle exhaust and crop residues. Natural sources of aerosol include fog and haze. 
• Studies, most of them in Europe, have drawn a link between particulate matter-levels and increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems. 
• Now, it turns out, aerosols may be a grave threat to the Indian monsoon and maybe a bigger worry than greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide.
• There’s an ongoing debate on the relative role of greenhouse gases, such as water vapour and carbon dioxide, and aerosols in their influence over the South Asian monsoon. 
• To step back a bit, monsoon clouds gust into the mainland due to a pronounced difference in temperature between the land and the sea. Greenhouse gases trap heat and, over time, cause temperatures to rise over the land and the sea. 
• This affects the temperature gradient between them and, over the decades, leads to a rise in the frequency of extreme rainfall or long, rainless spells. 
• The IMD last year recorded 2016 to be the hottest year in India for over a century, and India has seen at least five drought years since 2002.
• Aerosols, while responsible for air pollution, smog and asthma, are known to shield the land from solar radiation. Though short-lived in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide, their absence would have made the earth hotter.
• However, the enormity of these dust clouds means that they depress land and sea temperatures. Consequently, this reduces the strength of the monsoon circulation. 
• More than the quantity, it makes rain spells more erratic and because much of agriculture in India is still dependent on monsoon rains between June-September, they pose an additional threat to farmer livelihoods.
• The relative role of these climate-meddlers has consequences for India’s plans to mitigate the effects of climate change. Measures to reduce aerosol emissions without curbing greenhouse gas emissions could mean a hotter land mass and more instances of untimely, extreme rainfall events. 
• Persistent aerosol emissions might lead to more instances of moderate rainfall but could mean anomalous weather and health hazards over large parts of north India. 
• The aerosol-greenhouse gas relationship in exacerbating climate change is an old area of research but teasing out the relative contribution of each is challenging and influences the costs countries must incur to address them.
• India has generally maintained that man-made carbon dioxide pollution is largely due to the years of pollution by the developed West. 
• However, such an argument might weaken if aerosols were brought into the picture because this is a largely South Asian concern. 
• Were carbon dioxide and aerosol interactions proven to be strongly linked, India could be under pressure to adopt more stringent climate-proofing policies.

::International::

G20 summit came up with compromise language on trade

• The Group of 20 summit came up with compromise language on trade, although officials struggled to find common ground on another contentious issue, fighting climate change.
• In the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, the group agreed in a draft statement to “take note” of the U.S. withdrawal while the other 19 reaffirmed support of the Paris deal.
• The draft could still change before its final release. The talks at the two-day summit in Hamburg competed for attention, with violent clashes between anti-globalisation activists and police.
• Climate and trade were two of the most contentious issues, in part due to the assertive stance taken on both by Mr. Trump. He has said trade must be fair as well as open and must benefit American companies and workers. 
• He has focussed on trade relationships where other countries run large surpluses with the U.S., meaning they sell more to U.S. consumers than they buy from American companies.

::Business and Economy::

Mali is looking at direct exports of cotton to the Indian textile industry

• Mali, which produces eight lakh tonnes of cotton a year, is looking at direct exports of cotton to the Indian textile industry.
• Niankoro Yeah Samake, Mali’s Ambassador in India, told that about 20% of Mali’s cotton is consumed by India. However, most of the trade is through foreign companies. 
• “So, there are opportunities to trade directly.” Currently, Europe and China are the biggest buyers of the West African nation’s cotton.
• Mali produces long staple cotton and only 5% of it is processed in that country and the rest is exported. Mali’s government is offering incentives for investments in the textile sector and there are opportunities for joint ventures too.
• Mali’s government agency buys cotton from all the farmers. Annual cotton production in Mali in the last two years increased from five lakh tonnes to eight lakh tonnes.
• Currently, there are no investments from the Indian textile sector in that country. 
• Price of Indian cotton goes up during the second half of the season and hence, importing cotton could be viable. On an average, about 10 lakh bales of cotton is imported from African countries annually.

Technology shares surrendered their leadership in the U.S. stock market

• Technology shares surrendered their leadership in the U.S. stock market over the past month, but the fast-growing group may soon resume its outperformance and manoeuvre back into pole position.
• Upcoming earnings reports for the technology sector, whose profits are expected to outpace the overall S&P 500 for the 11th consecutive quarter, could lure back investors who have been concerned about expensive valuations and that too many people may have piled into the big names.
• The sector has slumped 4% since the first week of June, while financials have climbed more than 5% and healthcare has gained 3%. This has prompted speculation that investors may have been cashing out their tech profits to move into those groups. 
• For the first five months of 2017, tech was the talk of the stock market, far outperforming the other 10 major S&P 500 sectors and sparking the Nasdaq Composite to its strongest first half since 2009.
• Given tech’s outsized position — 22% of the market value of the S&P 500 — the sector’s growth is critical to overall U.S. corporate profit gains.
• For the second quarter, tech profit growth alone is expected to account for nearly 28% of the S&P 500’s overall increase in earnings, or nearly half if energy were excluded.
• Another factor in tech’s favor: The dollar’s 6.1% decline this year against a basket of major currencies.
• Despite these positive factors, other sectors may end up besting tech. A pick-up in the economy and inflation could favour groups like industrials, energy and financials.

::Science and Tech::

The marine ecosystems of eastern Arabian Sea to be studied

• The marine ecosystems of eastern Arabian Sea would soon become the stage for a series of biogeochemical and biological studies, which are expected to throw light into the ocean dynamics and economy.
• The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, and the Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management – Project Directorate, Chennai, both functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, have drawn up a three-year-programme to study the coastal seas of western India. 
• The researchers have primarily identified health of sea, carbon credit, biological productivity, trawl ban effects and oceanography as the thrust areas for the research.
• Under the category health of sea, the researchers would assess ecosystem status of western coastal India for biological resources which are influenced either by natural processes or man-made effects.
• The green house gas emissions from the ecosystems would be assessed for redefining marine carbon credit, as part of India’s commitment to the 2016 Paris Climate Change Summit.
• Preliminary studies carried out at the south-western coast of India, have indicated that monsoon trawl ban had a positive impact on benthic production. Similar studies are essential for entire west coast to assess the overall impact of monsoon trawl ban on fishery resources.

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