Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 21 December 2016

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 21 December 2016

:: National ::

Manipur faces tension after violence

  • The Centre has rushed around 4,000 para-military personnel to Manipur in the wake of violence following the economic blockade of the National Highways connecting the State.

  • While around 1,500 para-military personnel were moved to Manipur in the last two days, around 2,500 were dispatched last week.

  • The decision was taken in the wake of violence following the economic blockade imposed by the United Naga Council since November 1 on two National Highways — NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) and NH 37 (Imphal-Jiribam).

  • These highways serve as lifelines for the landlocked Manipur .

  • Nagaland CM claimed that they were being prevented from proceeding to their villages in the hills. Some valley-based organisa-tions were threatening them, he alleged.

  • Earlier, the Cabinet approved the payment of Rs 20 lakh to the families of the three policemen killed during an ambush by hill-based militants on December 15.

  • The Cabinet also approved to bear the cost of treatment of 14 policemen who were injured in attacks in Lokchao and Bongyang in the newly created Tengnoupal and Noney districts.

  • The Naga Students Federation, meanwhile, has decided to impose a “total blockade” on all Manipur-bound vehicles, including passenger and goods carriers, in the Naga-inhabited areas till the Manipur government gave an assurance to the Nagas about their safety in the State.

Maharashtra is going all out to become cashless (Register and Login to read Full News)

IT raids since demonetisation have found large amounts (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: International ::

Germany’s refugee policy under attack after Berlin attack

  • The bloody carnage at a Berlin Christmas market immediately emboldened right-wing populist critics of Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal refugee policy.

  • Ms. Merkel has been under fire over her decision in September last year to let in tens of thousands fleeing war and poverty from mostly Arab and Muslim nations.

  • The arrival of around a million people over the past two years has deeply polarised society, and the German leader has said next year's election would be “more difficult” than any other she has contested.

  • The Islamophobic and anti-immigration populist party AfD wasted no time in laying the blame on Merkel.

  • “The milieu in which such acts can flourish has been negligently and systematic-ally imported over the past year and a half,” the group's co-leader FraukePetry saidin a statement.

  • Ms. Merkel's popularity has waned over the refugee influx, although her decision to seek a fourth term in next year's elections was greeted with approval from 64 per cent of the population as measures to curb the refugee influx began to show results.

  • In a worldupended by Brexit and the surprise election of Donald Trump, questions are flying on how she plans to counter rising populism. For now, most mainstream politicians have been adopt-ing a cautious stance.

:: Science and Technology ::

Nirbhaya and canister mounted Agni V to be launched

  • If weather permits, two important missile launches are to take place this month. India's long-range, sub-sonic cruise missile, Nirbhay, will lift of from the Launch Complex-III of the IntegratedTest Range, Balasore, Odisha.

  • The redoubtable Agni-V, which can carry nuclear war-heads over a distance of about 5,000 km, will be fired from a canister mounted on a massive truck from Wheeler Island, of the Odisha coast, on December 26.

  • Nirbhay, which has a range of about 1,000 km, has blen-ded missile and aeronautical technologies into a single contraption. It will take of vertically like a missile.

  • Amechanism in its first stage will tilt it horizontally and the first stage with its booster engine will then fall of. The second stage with a turbo-jet engine will cruise horizontally like an aircraftat a subsonic speed of 0.7 Mach.

  • The missiles will be fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which has conceived, de-signed and developed them.

:: India and World ::

India and Kyrgyzstan plans to act against terror

  • India and Kyrgyzstan finalised plans for joint military exercises in the New Y ear, and re-iterated the need for a global convention against terrorism.

  • Visiting President AlmazbekAtambaev high-lighted the common historical heritage, and sought cooperation to deal with current global challenges like terrorism.

  • Following a bilateral summit, the delegations finalised plans to hold the annual joint military exercises named “Khanjar-IV”. The “Khanjar-II” exercises were held in March 2015 in Kyrgyzstan and “Khanjar-III” in March-April 2016 in Gwalior.

  • A joint statement which marked the end of the visit took note of the IT sup-port that India had provided to the Kyrgyz military institutions, including building three IT centres in the past two years.

  • It also noted the high-altitude Kyrgyz-Indian Mountain Training Centre being built in the city of Balykchi, which will be used to train Indian military personnel.

  • The visiting delegation also welcomed India's proposal for training Kyrgyz forces for U.N. peacekeeping assignments.

  • Both sides reiterated the demand for global counter-terror norms to fight terror-ism in Asia, and called for the adoption by the United Nations of the draft Comprehensive Convention on Combating International Terrorism.

:: Business and Economy ::

Rural sector faces challenges post demonetisation

  • Rural sectors such as vegetable growers, brick kiln labourers, transport industry and plantations need special attention even though there is a perception about a positive impact of demonetisation.

  • Mr. Jaitley hinted at some more “out of the box” steps that the government would take to ease the adverse impact of demonetisation.

  • The bankers, during a pre-Budget consultative meeting with Mr. Jaitley, suggested special efforts for digitisation of primary agriculture cooperative societies, RRBs and co-operative banks to promote digital transactions and e-payments.

  • A team of economists also met Mr. Jaitley and said that Budget 2017 should include a statement by the govt detailing the costs incurred due to the demonetisation of high-value currency notes, such as the printing cost of new notes etc.

  • On the issue of cash that needed to be brought back into the economy in lieu of withdrawn currencies, they said that the market should be allowed to decide the quantum.

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