Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 18 June 2016

:: National ::

Gulbarga society case verdict delivered

• Terming the Gulbarg Society killing the “darkest day” in the history of civil society, the special SIT trial court awarded life imprisonment to 11 persons found guilty of murder.
• one has received a 10-year jail term and 12 others have been sentenced to seven years in prison in the case of the brutal killing of 69 people including a former lawmaker Ehsan Jafri and arson during the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
• Twenty-four persons were convicted and 36 acquitted in the case on June 2.
• Ruling out the capital punishment for the 11 convicts guilty of murdering 69 persons as demanded by the prosecution lawyer, special SIT court judge P.B. Desai held the “convicts are not a menace to the society and they can be reformed.”
• However, at the same time, the judge held that life imprisonment to the 11 convicts meant life till death, if the State government does not exercise its power of remission after 14 years.
• CrPC provisions give power to the State to remit the sentence after 14 years jail; Section 433-A imposes some restriction on that power.
• In case the State does not exercise power to remit the sentence, life imprisonment will mean that it is till death.

Basic trainer aircraft HTT-40 successfully flies

• It was a thumbs-up for local design and make of military aircraft as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar watched HTT-40, the basic trainer aircraft for Air Force pilots, ceremonially touch the skies.
• It has to be certified over the next two years.
• It was victory for the design team of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., as its baby soared and turned.
• Mr. Parikkar had a special word of praise for Project Manager Prashant Singh Bhadoria for seeing it through its hurdles.
• The IAF, which will follow a two-aircraft, three-phase training, may need about 210 trainers against the earlier 181.
• It may top up its June 2015 plan to buy 70 HTT-40s with another 30 or 40, Mr. Parrikar said.
• The trainer could be up to 25 per cent cheaper than the imported trainer and may also generate business of Rs. 3,000-4,000 crore for vendors from Bengaluru and Hyderabad in future.
• The final decision on acquiring Rafale medium multi-role fighter aircraft for the IAF could be taken after six weeks, Mr. Parrikar said.

IIT-B moved from 46 to 35 in the Quacquarelli Symonds university rankings (Register and Login to read Full News..)

First official transit to India’s north-east via the inland waterways of Bangladesh (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

Strategically important Fallujah taken back from IS

• After weeks of fighting, Iraqi forces entered central areas of Fallujah, facing little resistance by the Islamic State (IS), as thousands of civilians fled in a new wave of displacement that has overwhelmed the ability of aid agencies to care for them.

• Counterterrorism forces raised the Iraqi flag over the main government building in central Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, which was the first target of U.S. forces when they invaded the city in 2004.

• The rapid, and unexpected, gains suggested a shift in tactics by the Sunni extremists, or perhaps a sign of their weakness, as they abandoned their dug-in positions and regrouped in western neighbourhoods.

• That allowed thousands of civilians, which aid groups had said were being held as human shields, to flee across two bridges over the Euphrates river beginning.

• The U.S., which has led a coalition targeting the IS with airstrikes for almost two years in Iraq, has supported the battle for Fallujah with air power, even as it has raised concerns about the role of Shia militias backed by Iran in the fight.

• Fallujah has been in the hands of the IS since the end of 2013.

• Tthe UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said she was receiving reports that perhaps 10,000 families, or 60,000 people, were on the move toward government-held areas of western Anbar province, where camps for the displaced are already overwhelmed and lack basic supplies.

U.S. diplomats demand action against Assad (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business and Economy ::

Portfolio managers and REITs to be made more attractive

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) plans to relax norms for portfolio managers to enable more offshore fund managers to relocate to India.
• The regulator is also looking to change the norms for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to attract more real estate companies in the sector.
• The board of SEBI decided to release consultation papers on regulations for portfolio managers and REITs so that the current norms could be amended based on public feedback.
• Earlier, there have been issues related to the manner in which such entities would be taxed. In the Union Budget 2015-16, the Income Tax Act, 1961 was amended by inserting Section 9A - popularly known as ‘Safe Harbour Norms.”
• The clause laid down that such fund management activities would not constitute as business in India subject to certain criteria, including the Eligible Fund Manager getting registered with SEBI.
• The capital market regulator intends to review the procedure for registration of overseas fund managers who want to relocate to India and also there obligations and responsibilities.
• Such fund managers would not be required to comply with certain provisions related to audit of overseas fund, minimum investment requirement of Rs.25 lakh and reporting requirements with respect to the overseas fund.
• For REITs, the regulator is of the view that restriction on special purpose vehicles (SPVs) on investing in other SPVs should be removed and REITs should be allowed to invest up to 20 per cent in under-construction assets.
• The regulator will also review the norms related to the number of sponsors in each REITs and align the minimum public holding requirement with SCRR - (Securities Contract (Regulation) Rules. SEBI will also clarify on the roles and responsibilities of trustee and its associates of REITs.

India and South Korea will look to boost trade and investment ties

• India and South Korea will jointly review their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost trade and investment ties.
• The FTA, officially called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), had come into effect in 2010.
• The FTA review will involve, among other things, fresh negotiations on elimination/reduction of duties on various products.
• Indian steel makers want steel products to be excluded from the scope of FTA as a surge in cheaper steel imports was hurting them.

Fall in export is getting arrested says Govt (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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