Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 1 March 2018

::NATIONAL::

NGT on Bengaluru lakes

The Karnataka government submitted an action plan before the National Green Tribunal on ways to achieve a “holistic rejuvenation” of the three lakes in Bengaluru.
This includes the Bellandur lake, in which there had been recurrent cases of fire. This was in pursuance of a previous order of the NGT.
A bench headed by judicial member Jawad Rahim further directed the State government to file a report on the physical removal of macrophytes (aquatic plants) from the lakes to prevent the fires.
The authorities have been asked to file the report within a week.
“The Karnataka government submits that all directions have been complied with. We permit the applicant to file response to the action plan” said the bench, after it was alleged that the action plan was not proper.
On January 29, the green panel had directed the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru to carry out a pilot study on the visible aquatic plants.
“Considering the role of macrophytes in rendering the quality of water in lakes below acceptable levels, it is necessary that the macrophytes menace is terminated once and for all,” the NGT had said.
It further directed that a pilot study be carried out on the life cycle of these plants.
At the same time, physical removal of this vegetation from the lakes should be carried out at regular intervals and compliance report placed before the Tribunal every month.
Earlier, the green panel came down heavily on the Karnataka government for not taking active measures to prevent the recurring incidents of fires at the severely polluted Bellandur lake.

No Tax for Pharma Promotions: Tribunal

A recent decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s Pune bench allowing pharmaceutical companies to account for their spending on doctors as a deductible expenditure has sparked off a fresh debate on ethics.
Since the companies are out of the purview of the Medical Council of India (MCI), money spent on promotions, which in some cases could be gifts, travel, hospitality and so on for doctors, besides medical conferences and samples, can be claimed as deductible expenditure.
Doctors accepting such promotions may be violating the code of ethics of the MCI.
The tribunal’s order came in a case involving Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which filed returns in which expenses of Rs. 2.07 crore were claimed as ‘advertisement sales promotions’.
Of this, about Rs. 50 lakh was for ‘print and promotion’ and the remaining Rs. 1.57 crore was for ‘sales promotions’.
The pharma company’s claim was disallowed by the IT department on the ground that it violated the MCI code of ethics.
A Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) circular disallows deductions that violate MCI regulations. However, the IT Appellate Tribunal reversed the decision by the assessing officer and ruled in favour of the company.
Citing observations made in other cases, the bench noted that pharma companies organised seminars and discussions to upgrade the knowledge of doctors, and such activities were undertaken to make doctors aware of products.
The order noted that only when the companies made doctors or medical practitioners aware of such products and medicines could they be “launched successfully”.
“This kind of expenditure is definitely in the nature of sales and business promotion, which has to be allowed,” the order said.
Health activist Dr. Abhijit More of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said technically, the tribunal was correct.
The MCI code may not govern pharma companies.
But there are ethical problems as it directly affects patients.
The companies should also have a code of ethics.
Freebies and favours taken by doctors pushed up the cost of healthcare.

GDP 7.2% in 3rd quarter

GDP growth in the third quarter of financial year 2017-18 was 7.2%, the fastest in the year so far, according to official data released.
The government also marginally increased its estimate for the full year’s growth to 6.6% from its earlier estimate of 6.5%.
Growth in GDP was at 6.5% in the second quarter of this financial year.
Growth in the gross value added (GVA) in the third quarter stood at 6.7%, up from the 6.2% seen in the second quarter and the 5.6% in the first quarter of this financial year.
In the third quarter, the manufacturing sector exhibited a strong recovery, growing at 8.1%, following up on a 6.9% growth in the second quarter.
The agriculture sector also saw relatively robust growth in the third quarter, growing at 4.1%, up from 2.7% in the first and second quarters.
“The GDP trends are consistent with the robust growth of the manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and consumer demand,” Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council said in a statement .
“The fast recovery in the economic indicators like IIP, PMI and consumer demand reflects a positive economic sentiment and that India is on the right path to become one of the fastest major economy in the world surpassing China.”
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), a measure of overall investment activity in the economy, grew at a robust 12% in the third quarter, up from the 6.92% growth seen in the previous quarter.

9.87 lakh tonnes of minerals illegally mined in Rajasthan: CAG

About 98.87 lakh tonnes of minerals worth Rs. 204.5 crore were illegally excavated in five districts of Rajasthan between 2011-12 and 2016-17.
The mining not only violated rules and regulations but also flouted the Supreme Court's direction to stop degradation of environment in the State’s Aravalli hills.
In its report on the economic sector for the financial year ended March 31, 2017, tabled in the Rajasthan Assembly, the Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the State government for the illegal mining.
While pointing out that the Mines Department could recover only Rs. 25.57 crore against the total recoverable amount of Rs. 204.50 crore.
There were inadequacies in preventive measures as well as in the follow-up of the illegal mining cases detected, while the delay in issuing notices for recovery of penal amount removed the scope for deterrence, said the CAG.
Besides, the policy measures framed in 2011 for curbing illegal mining were not implemented.
“We noticed serious violations of the Supreme Court’s orders, as mining leases falling in the Aravalli mountain range were granted, renewed and extended”, report said.
“Besides, the Ministry of Environment and Forests also granted environment clearance for mining lease despite the area falling in Aravalli hills,” said the CAG report.
The districts where illegal mining took place during the five years are Alwar, Jaipur, Sikar, Rajsamand and Udaipur, according to the report.
The CAG said though nine mining engineers’ offices in these districts had registered 4,072 cases of illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals, they could make negligible recovery.

Welfare Schemes not reaching Tribal People: Kerala HC

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court orally observed that it was unfortunate that welfare schemes meant for tribal people did not reach them.
The Bench, headed by Chief Justice Antony Dominic, made the oral observation while directing the State government to file in 15 days an affidavit in suo motu proceedings initiated in connection with the the lynching of Madhu, a tribal youth at Attappady.
When the case came up for hearing, the court pointed out that the tribal youth was allegedly killed on charges of theft of food.
The State Attorney then said that the problem was not lack of food and the death was caused not due to scarcity of food.
In fact, the tribal youth was allegedly beaten to death by an irate mob charging him with stealing food from a shop.
The real problem was the status of tribal land and their housing. The takeover of land and shelters given to tribespeople by private parties was the real problem.
The State government had already taken steps to address these issues.
The court, meanwhile, appointed lawyer P. Deepak as amicus curiae to assist the court in the case.
The court on Tuesday initiated the suo motu proceedings on the basis of a letter written by Justice K. Surendra Mohan, a High Court Judge, seeking the intervention of the court.
The letter said that Madhu was beaten to death by a mob at Agali, Attappady, allegedly for stealing a small quantity of rice.
The judge pointed out that there were lots of schemes for the welfare of tribal people, besides various poverty alleviation programmes.
If the victim was forced to steal rice because he had nothing to eat, it revealed that the schemes were not reaching the needy.
This calls for a revamp of the implementation procedures to ensure that they reached the intended beneficiaries, the letter stated.
The letter further said the fact that the tribal youth was attacked and lynched by a mob showed that they had scant respect for the law.
The judge felt that one could not dispute the fact that there had been a serious lapse on the part of the law enforcement machinery.
• The letter, while seeking positive directions, to prevent the recurrence of such incidents said that an effective investigation and wholehearted prosecution of the offenders were the need of the hour.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Pakistan in Grey list of FATF

After days of ambiguity, Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed that it will be on the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June but disputed claims of being put on a ‘black list’.
“Pakistan will be assigned to the ‘grey list’ in June, once an action plan has been mutually negotiated. The statement that Pakistan will be transferred from the ‘grey’ to the ‘black’ list in June is therefore not true. The FATF website clearly demarcates the countries in the ‘black’ list as those who are non-cooperative,” said Mohammed Faisal, spokesman at the Foreign Ministry.
He added that the FATF has highlighted certain deficiencies in the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Terrorist Financing framework of Pakistan.
“The government of Pakistan, over the last few years, has taken a number of measures to address these issues, including through enactment of legislation, issuance of regulations... to the financial sector, establishment of the Financial Monitoring Unit and implementation of the UNSC 1267 sanctions on the entities of concern (Jamaat-ud-Dawa/Falah-e-Insaniat
Foundation, both linked to Hafiz Saeed). We will take further actions for addressing any remaining deficiencies.”
The Ministry also criticised the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association’s decision to uphold its ban on Pakistani artists.
“It is unfortunate art and cinema, which bring people together by acting as cultural bridges are being held hostage to hate and xenophobia...,” said Mr. Faisal.

Ready for talks with Taliban: Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday unveiled a plan to open peace talks with the Taliban, including eventually recognising them as a political party, days after the militants called for direct negotiations with the U.S.
The apparent openness by both sides to some form of negotiations came as civilian casualties have soared in recent months.
With the Taliban increasingly targeting towns and cities in response to a new and more aggressive U.S. military policy ordered by President Donald Trump.
Mr. Ghani disclosed the framework at the Kabul Process, a regional conference focussed on bringing peace to the country.
He called for a truce, after which the Taliban could become a political party and contest elections.
“A ceasefire should be held, the Taliban should be recognised as a political party and trust-building process should be initiated,” said Mr. Ghani, in remarks similar to past offers.
“Now the decision is in your hands, accept peace... and let’s bring stability to this country.”
In return, Mr. Ghani said the militants should officially recognise the Afghan government and Constitution, a perennial sticking point in past attempts to open talks.
There was no immediate response to Mr. Ghani’s offer from the Taliban.
• However, the group’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid maligned the Kabul Process, tweeting that the conference sought the Taliban’s “surrender” at a time when it is “without a doubt a force that has defeated an international arrogant power like America with all its allies and tools at disposal”.
• The Taliban said it was prepared to enter direct talks with the U.S. to find a “peaceful solution”.
• That statement, however, made no mention of negotiating with the Afghan government.

::ECONOMY::

Fiscal Deficit overshoot for Jan

India’s fiscal deficit touched Rs. 6.77 lakh crore at the end of January, 113.7% of the target for the entire fiscal, on account of higher expenditure.
The fiscal deficit, a reflection of government borrowings to meet revenue-expenditure gap, was 113.7 % in the 10-month period of 2017-18 as compared to 105.7% in the year earlier period.
Fiscal deficit had been pegged at Rs. 5.33 lakh crore or 3.5% of the GDP, for the current fiscal ending March 31.
The figure was revised to Rs. 5.95 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2018-19.
As per data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the revenue deficit during the April-January period of 2017-18, at Rs. 4.80 lakh crore works out to 109.2% of the revised budget estimate.
It was 129.9% in the corresponding period of the last financial year. Net tax receipts in the first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal were Rs. 9.7 lakh crore.
Total receipts from revenue and non-debt capital of the government during the period amount to Rs. 11.63 lakh crore or 71.7% of revised estimate.

Manufacturing Growth Falls

India’s manufacturing sector activity fell to a four-month low in February, as factory output and new business orders rose at a slower pace, according to a monthly survey.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 52.1 in February from 52.4 in January, indicating a modest improvement in operating conditions.
This is for the seventh consecutive month that the index remained above the 50-point-mark, that separates expansion from contraction.
According to Japanese financial services major Nomura, India’s manufacturing PMI remained in the expansion zone, but suggested some consolidation after the rapid ramp up of activity in December.
In December 2017, the index had touched a 60-month high of 54.7.
“It was promising to see that India’s manufacturing sector remained in growth territory, as the impact of July’s Goods and Services Tax continues to dissipate,” said Aashna Dodhia, economist at IHS Markit and author of the report.
In response to greater production requirements, firms raised their staffing levels during February. Although modest, the pace of job creation was slightly faster than January.
On the prices front, the survey said that cost inflation accelerated to the sharpest since February 2017, adding to expectations that inflationary risks will continue over the coming months.
IHS Markit upgraded its CPI forecast to 5.2% for financial year 2017-2018 amid a stronger oil price forecast and growing fiscal risks.
The survey further noted that Indian manufacturers remained optimistic towards the 12-month outlook for output during February.
Rupee weakens
A marked increase in demand for dollars has been pushing the rupee lower in recent sessions.
As banks exercise increased caution over issuing buyer’s credit, letter of credit (LC) and similar instruments for trade finance in the wake of the fraud uncovered at Punjab National Bank (PNB).
The rupee, which closed at 64.89 to a dollar, slid to as low as 65.31 intraday before state-run banks stepped in and sold some dollars helping the Indian currency pare its losses.
The rupee closed at 65.17 to a dollar, down Rs. 0.28 when compared to the previous close.
Curbing volatility
The Reserve Bank of India maintains that it never targets a particular value for the rupee and only intervenes to curb volatility.
Since the PNB scam broke on February 14, the rupee has depreciated 1.3% against the dollar.
It has weakened about 2% this year making it the worst performing currency in Asia in 2018 after the Philippine peso, which has depreciated about 4.2%.
The country’s second-largest lender, which had initially reported that it may suffered about Rs. 11,500 crore worth of fraudulent transactions in one of its branches in Mumbai, recently said that figure could increase by another Rs. 1,300 crore.
The fraud related to the unauthorised issuance of letters of understanding (LoUs) for securing buyer’s credit.
Other factors that could impact the rupee’s fortunes adversely include the recent trend of the dollar strengthening internationally.
There has been an increase in dollar demand in the wake of the U.S. administration’s recent measures to incentivise the nation’s companies to repatriate earnings from overseas.
This is also causing a dollar shortage in the offshore markets.
Also, any continuation of a sell-off in domestic equity markets would hurt the Indian currency, dealers said.
Till Tuesday, foreign institutional investors had pulled out almost $900 million from equity markets since the scam came to light on February 14.
On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex fell 162.35 points, or 0.47% , to close at 34,184.04.

SPORTS

Tennis legend Roger Federer became the most decorated winner in the history of Laureus World Sports Awards, with six statuettes, after he won the Sportsman and Comeback titles at the 18th edition of the prestigious awards ceremony.
In the Sportsman of the Year category, Federer waved off tough competition from the likes of Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo to bag the honours.
“Everyone knows how highly I value my Laureus Awards, so to win another would have been wonderful, but to win two is a truly unique honour.
“It was an unforgettable year for me, to come back after a very difficult 2016 and these Awards just make it even more memorable,” said Federer.
While Federer bagged the title in the men’s category, Serena Williams won the Sportswoman of the Year Award following her Australian Open success, her 23rd Grand Slam title.
Serena, who gave birth to her first child last year, is now the most decorated female Laureus Award winner with five statuettes.
Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia received the Breakthrough of the Year award for winning the 2017 Masters, his second Laureus Award, 18 years after winning the Laureus

Newcomer accolade at the 2000 Awards.

Among other winners, Mercedes AMG Petronas beat the likes of Real Madrid and the Golden State Warriors to win the Team of the Year Award, after securing its fourth successive Constructors World Championship title.
Brazilian football team Chapecoense, whose comeback from a devastating plane crash inspired the sporting world, was honoured with the Laureus Best Sporting Moment of the Year award.
Italian football legend Francesco Totti received the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award for his 22-year contribution to Roma.
He also joined Wales manager Ryan Giggs as the newest members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
American Olympic legend and Laureus Academy member Edwin Moses received the Lifetime Achievement Award.