Current Affairs for IAS Exams -9 November 2017

::NATIONAL::

NGT order in Kaleshwaram project was set aside by Hyderabad HC

• A division bench of Hyderabad High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Uma Devi set aside the order of National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, which stayed work of Kaleshwaram project.
• The bench remanded the case back to the tribunal, but imposed stringent conditions upon the Telangana government, even in taking up drinking water component.
• The bench was allowing a writ petition filed by the Telangana government challenging the order of the NGT Principal Bench, New Delhi, which stayed all the work pertaining to Kaleshwaram project.
• The Telangana government filed a writ petition in the High Court here complaining that the Delhi bench did not have territorial jurisdiction and the issue of limitation was not properly considered by the tribunal. It was also argued that there was no necessity for clearances for drinking water component of the project.
• The bench passed a 45-page order and felt that the NGT bench failed to properly adjudicate the issues of limitation and territorial jurisdiction.
• The bench remanded the matter back to NGT and permitted Hayatuddin and others to ask for interim orders afresh.
• The bench made it clear that till the NGT passes fresh orders, drinking water component work can go on but a single tree shall not be cut for the project in forest area.
• The drinking water component work also shall abide by Forest Conservation Act etc. The bench said that construction of distributaries, channels and other ancillary work for the irrigation component shall not commence till the final environmental clearance is obtained. Violations are to be brought to the notice of the NGT and the court.
• The National Green Tribunal will then be free to stop all the work of the project

‘white’ tiger spotted in Nilgiris

• The rare, pale-skinned ‘white’ tiger was spotted for the first time in the Nilgiris earlier this year by a wildlife photographer. It now turns out that this animal is not the only one of its kind. It has a family, and its brother is also ‘white’, though its mother and sister have normal yellow coats.
• The family of four was sighted spending some quality time together in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.
• “The presence of one white tiger had been reported earlier by a wildlife photographer. Now we have sighted two white tigers, and they are part of the same litter,” he said, adding that such ‘white’ tigers in the wild are a rare phenomenon. Neither of these animals are 100% white. They are pale, with coats much lighter than the usual orangey yellow.
• “It may be due to genetic aberration,”said H. Basavaraju, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the head of the forest force in Tamil Nadu.
• “The two tigers are pale probably because of inbreeding.
• The recessive genes may not have been fully expressed. That is the reason these tigers are not fully white but pale,” said a wildlife official.
• The duo who spotted the ‘white’ cubs also noticed that they had better camouflage in the landscape compared to their orange sibling, which runs contrary to the common belief that ‘white’ tigers don’t blend in well in the wilderness.
• It is believed by wildlife experts that the tigers’ coats are pale due to reduced levels of the pigment melanin in a phenomenon called ‘leucism’

Delhi smogs reflects the Great Smog of London’

• As air pollution hit alarming levels in Delhi, major city hospitals on November 8 experienced a surge in the number of patients complaining of respiratory problems with AIIMS Director RandeepGuleria comparing the situation to the killer Great Smog of London in 1952.
• There was a spurt in fresh cases in hospitals and conditions of patients with history of asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and cardiovascular diseases deteriorated.
• Patients have started coming to the OPDs with complaints of breathlessness, coughing, sneezing, tightness in chest, allergy and asthma complications.
• “There is about 20 per cent rise in patients seeking treatment due to respiratory and cardiac issues,” said Dr. Guleria, who is also a renowned pulmonologist.
• The situation in the national capital is compared with the Great Smog of 1952 in London and said pollution is at such a severe level that patients with respiratory and cardiac problems may develop life-threatening conditions.
• On December 5, 1952, a thick yellow smog brought London to a standstill for four days and is estimated to have killed more than 4,000 people

Delhi LG is an agent of President-Chidambaram

• The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is not a “Viceroy” but simply an agent of the President whose powers depend on the pleasure of the President, senior advocate P. Chidambaram submitted on behalf of the Delhi AAP government in the Supreme Court.
• While the court agreed that the LG cannot intervene in the day-to-day functioning of the democratically elected government, Mr. Chidambaram said the decision to have an elected government in the National Capital was made because the people had found it necessary.
• The 69th Constitutional Amendment, introducing an elected government to the National Capital, was passed by a “very, very special majority of the people’s representatives because they felt that there was something deficient in the Constitution.”
• The Delhi High Court turned democracy on its head by ruling that the LG was the sole administrator of the national capital. Any interpretation of the provisions which limits democracy and concentrated power in one man should have been rejected.
• “He (LG) is not like the Viceroy of the British Crown. He is only an agent of the President. A representative of the President, to act only to the extent the President has thought fit,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
• The senior advocate referred to Section 44 of the Government of National Capital Territory Act of 1991 to show that the President himself, in this parliamentary law, has said the LG is “required to act on the aid and advice” of Delhi's Council of Ministers.
• To show that very little remains in the hands of the LG, Mr. Chidambaram referred to Section 44 to show that the President has provided rules for the convenient transaction of business between the LG, his agent, and the Delhi government.
• The President has also provided the procedure to be adopted in the case of a difference of opinion between the LG and the Council of Ministers or a Minister

The National Institutional Ranking Framework to become more comprehensive

• The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) will become more comprehensive in its third edition in 2018, with top colleges of the country set to compete with one another to make it to the top of the NIRF list.
• The NIRF — a comprehensive, official ranking of higher educational institutions, be they universities, engineering colleges or business schools — had brought out its first ranking of colleges in 2017, but many reputed colleges did not take part in it.
• This time, however, sources say, colleges like St Stephen’s, Hindu, and Kirori Mal College in Delhi are set to take part in it. While 535 colleges competed for the honours in 2017, this time 2,771 colleges are in the fray.
• Miranda House of Delhi emerged as India’s top college in 2017. Sri Ram College of Commerce and Lady Sri Ram College in Delhi, and St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, were in the top 10, and St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, figured in the top 40.
• Started two years back, the NIRF was an attempt to provide credible official rankings of India’s higher educational institutions on a set of parameters such as teaching, learning and resources; research and professional practice; graduation outcomes; and outreach and inclusivity.
• The parameter of perception was also added in the second round of NIRF rankings released in 2017. It also, for the first time, released combined rankings of all higher educational institutions across disciplines.
• While the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru topped the list, top IITs, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and Banaras Hindu University figured in the top 10 and IIM, Ahmedabad, Delhi University and Jadavpur University appeared in the top 20 institutions.
• In order to ensure that the rankings are truly reflective of the quality of institutions in the next round, the Ministry of Human Resource Development decided to pre-register institutions making use of the data available on the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) portal this time.

Rs. 3,653 crore MGNREGS payments pending

• Payments of Rs. 3,652.58 crore are pending towards wages, material and administrative costs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)as per the latest information on the Rural Development Ministry website. Of this, Rs. 923 crore is due towards wages for MGNREGS workers across the country.
• In 10 States, MGNREGS accounts show a negative balance, indicating that more work was done under the rural employment guarantee scheme than what was paid for by the Centre.
• The negative balance was the highest for Rajasthan at Rs. 240.65 crore. It was reported earlier in some sections of the media that wage payments under MGNREGS had been frozen in 20 States, including Tamil Nadu, as of October 31, 2017.
• “Every year, State governments send an audit report to the Centre but this year the report was not submitted by many. This caused the delay. Also the newly introduced National Electronic Fund Management System for the electronic transfer of funds introduced by the Centre led to delays.
• It also kept the States from using their own revolving funds, until the Central funds were credited. In 20 States, the Fund Transfer Order (FTO) had not been approved by the Centre but the matter was being addressed now.

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::INDIA AND WORLD::

China wants India to join Belt and Road Initiative

• China counselled India to shed its objections to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which had already drawn wide international support.
• Ms. Hua was responding to a question on remarks by the Russian ambassador to India backing a dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing on the BRI.
• India was among a handful of countries that had skipped attendance in Beijing of the Belt and Road Forum in May, objecting to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passed through Kashmir.
• Referring specifically to CPEC, Ms. Hua, in a veiled reference to India, said the project did not target “third countries” or prejudice China’s position on territorial disputes. “We also said many times that the CPEC corridor is an economic cooperation. It is not targeted at any third country and does not involve territorial disputes”.
• “We hope that countries and parties with shared vision will work with us to allow practical cooperation to bring more benefits to our peoples.” Signalling China’s openness to India’s participation, Ms. Hua said: “We remain quite open and inclusive to cooperation involving the BRI.”

India says UNSC is facing credibility crisis

• The UN Security Council is facing a crisis of credibility, India told the General Assembly, calling for a negotiating text for its reform.
• Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN pointed out that this year, it was the 25th consecutive time that the UN was discussing the issue of increasing the membership of the Security Council but nothing had moved forward.
• He said “never has a process itself become a punishment, as in this case,” of the UNSC expansion debate.

Search in northeast India for WWII remains

• U.S. investigators from the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) resumed search in India’s northeast for the remains of U.S. personnel missing since World War II.
• “The U.S. works with governments around the world to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation. This is the fifth DPAA mission to India since 2013, demonstrating successful cooperation between the governments of India and the United States,” Mary Kay Carlson, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy, said in a statement.
• This year, the team will conduct a similar mission in northeast India.
• There are approximately 400 U.S. airmen missing in India, most of whose remains are believed to be located near the Himalayas in the northeast.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Trumps visits China

• China rolled out the red carpet for U.S. President Donald Trump, capped by a visit to the famous Forbidden City and the signing of a slew of deals in the evening in the Great Hall of the People.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan personally escorted Mr. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during the visit to the Forbidden City — a world heritage site with a pristine halo of imperial China. An afternoon tea inside the City’s precincts for the foursome was followed by a string of grand opera performances.
• High on optics, the first leg of the visit of the presidential couple in China offered a glimpse of the “state visit-plus” welcome, which the Chinese officialdom had promised. Mr. Xi said Mr. Trump’s visit would yield “positive and important” results, Xinhua reported.
• Mr. Trump’s visit has a prominent business dimension, though striking deals rather than addressing structural impediments to a balanced economic relationship appears to be his immediate focus.
• The CEOs of Boeing, Westinghouse Electric, Goldman Sachs and Qualcomm, among others, are accompanying the President.
• Chinese state-media reported that 19 agreements were signed covering bioscience, aviation and smart manufacturing, in tune with concerns about reducing the massive U.S. trade deficit with China.
• China’s e-commerce giant JD.com also announced that it would purchase $2 billion worth of American goods. According to U.S. media reports, a Chinese company has contracted purchase of the 50 U.S. Bell helicopters.
• China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang, in charge of economic affairs, and Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, oversaw the ceremony. Mr. Wang described the event as a “warm-up” exercise, promising more “good things” for Thursday.
• Focused on developing “personal chemistry” between the two leaders, Chinese officials say the programme for Mr. Trump has been carefully structured so that he can spend maximum time together with his Chinese counterpart.
• Analysts say there is a perception in China that ensuring a good personal rapport between the two leaders would be key to resolving structural impediments.

Riyadh seeks to ease investor concerns

• Saudi Arabia has sought to allay fears among investors after an anti-corruption purge that swept up a host of business and political titans, with concerns mounting that the arrests could trigger political instability.
• Authorities have frozen the bank accounts of the accused and warned that assets related to the corruption cases would be seized as state property, as the government appears set to widen the crackdown.
• The purge triggered uncertainty among businesses that could lead to capital flight or derail reforms, experts say, at a time when the kingdom is seeking to attract badly needed investments.
• The central bank stepped in to soothe those concerns, insisting that the targets were errant individuals and not entire corporations — not even those with ties to the arrested businessmen.
• “Corporate businesses remain unaffected. It is business as usual for both banks and corporates,” the central bank said. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), whose former chief AmrDabbagh was reportedly among those arrested, sought to drum up support for the anti-corruption drive, saying it would create “a fair and level playing field for all investors”.
• Saudi Arabia has posted more than $200 billion in budget deficits over the past three fiscal years. It is headed for a fourth year of shortfalls. To fund those deficits, the kingdom has withdrawn around $250 billion from its reserves since the end of 2014 and has borrowed around $100 billion from domestic and international markets.

::SPORTS::

Mary Kom clinches her historic fifth gold

• Indian sporting legend M.C. Mary Kom (48kg) clinched an unprecedented fifth gold medal but Sonia Lather (57kg) settled for silver at the ASBC Asian Confederation women’s boxing championships.
• Up against North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi, the five-time World champion and Olympic bronze-medallist prevailed in a unanimous 5-0 verdict to add another medal to her already crowded cabinet.
• However, World Championship silver-medallist Sonia, had to be content with a runner-up finish for the second time at this event after she went down in a split verdict to China’s Yin Junhua.
• India signed off with a gold, a silver and five bronze medals at the continental showpiece.
• This was Mary Kom’s first international gold medal since the 2014 Asian Games and her first medal in over a year.

::BUSINESS AND ECONOMY::

Telangana at top in ease of doing business ranking

• Telangana is currently atop the yearly state-wise ranking on assessment of implementation of the ‘Business Reforms Action Plan’ (BRAP) in 2017. The final ranking is likely to be released in January, 2018.
• Telangana (with an implementation score of 61.83%) is followed by Haryana (54.03%), Odisha (45.70%), Chhattisgarh (45.43%), and West Bengal (44.35%) — completing the top five. However, the ranking is dynamic and till they are frozen, these positions could change due to intense competition between States.
• The last date for uploading evidence of reforms implemented was recently extended from October 31 to November 7, 2017, according to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, which is the nodal body at the Centre for the exercise. This year’s assessment includes 372 reforms, up from 340 last year.
• Observing that many States/Union Territories (UT) had not started uploading the evidence of implementation of these reforms on the BRAP portal, the Ministry recently asked the States/UTs to start uploading them before the deadline.
• The broad areas of assessment this year include paper-less courts, online single window system, online tax payment, contract enforcement, land availability and allotment, obtaining electricity and water connection, enablers for transparency, tax, labour regulation, construction permits, environmental registration as well as commercial dispute resolution.
• Telangana was the joint topper with Andhra Pradesh, in the ranking last year. However, Andhra Pradesh (score of 18.01%) is currently ranked 14th. Gujarat, ranked third last year, is now number eight with a score of 41.94% while Madhya Pradesh, which was fifth last year, is now 22nd with a score of 10.22%.
• In the recently released World Bank Group’s Doing Business report that assessed reforms implemented in 190 countries from June 2, 2016 to June 1, 2017, India was ranked 100th among 190 countries, up from 130th last year.

India giving all possible assistance to Sri Lanka

• Following Sri Lanka’s request for emergency shipment of fuel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured President MaithripalaSirisena of “all possible assistance.”

• A 21,000 kilolitre-shipment left Paradip Refinery in Odisha .

• Lanka IOC, the Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary in Sri Lanka, has made 3,500 kilolitres from its stock available to the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), with which it controls retail distribution of fuel in Sri Lanka.

• A sudden fuel shortage gripped the country after CPC rejected a recent 35,000 metric tonne-shipment procured by LIOC, on grounds of contamination. Reports of the shortage sparked panic-buying across the island, intensifying the problem over the last few days. Motorists formed long queues outside gas stations, waiting several hours for fuel.

• While the Petroleum Ministry and CPC unions accused the LIOC of forcing them to accept the rejected shipment after filtration, LIOC denied the allegations which, it said, were “factually incorrect.”

• In an official statement, LIOC said that while it catered to 16% of the market, CPC had a majority 84% share, and was hence responsible for the shortage.

• Some parliamentarians, including those from former President MahindaRajapaksa’s faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, blamed the LIOC, and by extension, India, for the crisis.

• Responding to lawmakers who criticised LIOC’s presence in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe said the causes would be probed, but that he disagreed with the allegation. “Fuel supply was maintained to some extent during the recent strike action launched by petroleum workers, thanks to the LIOC,” he said.

• Meanwhile, a 40,000-metric tonne shipment of petrol, for CPC’s supply, is expected to reach Colombo. India has assured Sri Lanka of additional petrol from the Kochi Refinery, should a need arise, officials said.

Aadhaar-insurance link is must

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said linking Aadhaar with insurance policies was mandatory.
• Citing the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017, IRDAI said the Centre had, on June 1, notified the same making Aaadhar and PAN/Form 60 mandatory for availing financial services, including insurance.

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