Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 11 November 2016

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 11 November 2016

:: National ::

IT department conducted raids across country

  • The Income Tax Department conducted searches in Mumbai and Delhi on hawala operators and bullion traders found accepting demonetised currency.

  • The IT searches followed “specific and definite information” against at least a dozen hawala operators and jewellers suspected to be dealing in demonetised currency in return for gold, sources said.

  • The monitoring in the cooperative banks is loose, and chances of manipulation and back-dated entries is high. But mainly, the searches were restricted to hawala operators in the Mumbai region.

SC made Punjab law regarding Ravi, Beas illegal

  • Supreme Court declared that Punjab reneged on its promise to share the waters of rivers Ravi and Beas with neighbouring States like Haryana by unilaterally enacting the controversial Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act of 2004.

  • A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave gave its opinion on a Presidential Reference made to it 12 years ago, on July 22, 2004, questioning the constitutional validity of the Act.

  • The apex court concluded that the Act was illegally designed to terminate a 1981, agreement entered into among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to re-allocate the waters of Ravi and Beas. The SYL Canal was a product of this 1981 agreement.

  • By introducing the 2004 Act, the State defied two back-to-back apex court verdicts, pronounced in 2002 and 2004, it said.

  • The first one had directed Punjab to complete the SYL Canal in a year. The second judgment had ordered the formation of a central agency to “take control” of Punjab’s work on the canal.

  • In short, the Supreme Court said Punjab acted as “a judge in its own cause”. The State exceeded its legislative power in proceeding to nullify the decree of this court and therefore, the Punjab Act of 2004 cannot be said to be a valid legislation.

SC asks Central and State govt to work in removing pollution (Register and Login to read Full News)

All Govt transactions to be made cashless (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: International ::

Country stay divided after US elections

  • A day after Republican Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the U.S., it dawned on America that divisions are easy to create but difficult to heal.

  • The three protagonists of this election season — President Barack Obama, President-elect Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton — appealed for unity and calm, but protests broke out in many parts of the country.

  • In at least 25 cities across the country, protesters chanted ‘not my President’ and lit candles while numerous social media initiatives sought support to ensure that Mr. Trump is a one-term President.

  • The protesters marched on Trump buildings in several cities. College campuses in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also witnessed students protests.

  • Muslims, Hispanics and Blacks, three communities that felt particularly at the receiving end of Mr. Trump’s campaign, are more anxious.

  • The most unsettling prospect for minority communities is the potential repealing of Obamacare, which Mr. Trump has promised to do. The programme ensured health insurance for 20 million people who were not previously covered.

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:: India and World ::

Prime Minister Modi on Japan visit

  • As PMModi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe prepare to discuss the conclusion of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement after their talks, all eyes will be on whether India will accept a “nullification” or “termination” clause.

  • The deal, which will open up access for India to cutting edge nuclear energy technology, reactors and critical parts, has been held up for years over the clause, which stipulates that it would be cancelled if India were to conduct a nuclear test.

  • Along with the $1.5-billion deal for U-2 amphibious aircraft, the civil nuclear agreement will be the highlight of the talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe, which will follow business meetings and a call on Emperor Akihito.

  • India maintains a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, but has thus far refused to sign on to the NPT, the CTBT or given any other undertaking outside of its commitments at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

  • However, analysts concede that Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, has special sensitivities that India may need to make an exception for, despite India’s insistence on nuclear sovereignty.

  • MEA officials refused to comment on the report, saying only that the “text will speak for itself.”

India lashed out World Bank on Indus water treaty (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: Business and Economy ::

GST regime to start from April 1

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that major issues on the GST have been resolved and the new regime will be implemented from April 1, 2017.

  • “A lot of distance has been covered as far as GST is concerned,” Mr. Jaitley said at the Economics Editors’ Conference.

  • “It is the consensus approach that we have been following. And one of the objects has been that since the GST Council is a federal decision-making process, the manner in which it functions in the initial years will lay down a precedent for the future.”

  • “Rather than resorting to voting and divisions on every issue, we have been trying to discuss, re-discuss and then reach a consensus and so far we have been able to resolve most of the major issues through a consensus,” he said.

  • “If you look at some of the important directional decisions, I think one of the most obvious ones pending for a long time was that the different sectors of the economy needed to be opened up,” Mr. Jaitley said.

India hopes for fair resolution on U.S. work visa issue (Register and Login to read Full News)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB