Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 February 2017

:: National :

Amnesty expressed concerns over a range of human rights violations in India

• Amnesty International’s annual report, the State of the World’s Human Rights Report 2016-17, has expressed concerns over a range of human rights violations in India.

• The report slammed the use of legislation such as the Foreign Currency (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and the sedition law to silence government critics and crack down on civil society organisations.

• Amnesty International said, “Human rights activists and journalists faced intimidation and attacks from both state and non-state actors.”

• The report pointed to deaths of journalists Karun Mishra and Rajdeo Ranjan, who were allegedly killed for their reporting, in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Siwan, Bihar, respectively.

• The report also drew attention to India’s amendment to the child labour law, which allows children under 14 to work in “family enterprises”, and children between 14 and 18 years to work in occupations not classified as “hazardous.”

RBI unaware of number of bank accounts where 2.5 lakh were deposited

• The RBI is not aware of the number of bank accounts in which more than Rs. 2.5 lakh in the scrapped currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 were deposited between November 8 and December 30 last year.

• The Department of Currency Management of the RBI on February 17 said it did not have the figure of bank accounts in which more than Rs. 2.5 lakh were deposited.

India to strengthen surveillance of over 7,500-km coastline of the country

• To strengthen surveillance of over 7,500-km coastline of the country, the Defence Ministry gave the go-ahead to expand the coastal radar surveillance network.

• The decision was taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The council reviewed the status of other procurements.

• The DAC gave approval for issuing the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Phase II of the static sensor chain and also an intermediate aircraft engine repair facility for the Navy.

• Phase II involves setting up 38 additional radars and four mobile surveillance stations as well as two vessel traffic management systems (VTMS) in Kutch and Khambat in Gujarat at a cost of approximately Rs. 800 crore.

• In the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the government decided to set up a chain of static sensors to fill gaps in coastal surveillance and keep track of boats entering Indian territorial waters.

• Under Phase I, a chain of 46 coastal surveillance radar and electro-optic sensors were set up, including 36 in the mainland, six in the Lakshadweep islands and four in the Andaman & Nicobar islands.

• India is also setting up similar radar stations in friendly Indian Ocean littoral nations, which are integrated into India’s own radar network.

• The DAC also gave approval for the setting up of a shore-based intermediate engine repair facility for the Navy’s MiG-29K fighter aircraft at the Naval aircraft yard in Goa.

• The Navy currently operates as many as 45 MiG-29K carrier aircraft procured from Russia. Some of them operate from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya .

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:: International ::

U.S. hardens rules for deportation

• The Trump administration is greatly expanding the number of people living in the U.S. illegally who are considered a priority for deportation, including people arrested for traffic violations.

• The documents represent a sweeping rewrite of the nation’s immigration enforcement priorities.

• The Homeland Security Department memos, lay out that any immigrant living in the United States illegally who has been charged or convicted of any crime and even those suspected of a crime will now be an enforcement priority.

• That could include people arrested for shop lifting or minor traffic offences.

• The memos eliminate far more narrow guidance issued under the Obama administration that focussed resources strictly on immigrants who had been convicted of serious crimes, threats to national security and recent border crossers.

• One of the memos says that foreigners sent back to Mexico would wait for their U.S. deportation proceedings to be complete. This would be used for people who aren’t considered a threat to cross the border illegally again.

• It’s unclear whether the United States has the authority to force Mexico to accept foreigners. That provision is almost certain to face opposition from civil libertarians and officials in Mexico.

• The pair of directives do not have any impact on President Barack Obama’s program that has protected more than 750,000 young immigrants from deportation.

:: India and World ::

India and Rwanda have concluded a bilateral air services agreement

• India and Rwanda have concluded a bilateral air services agreement enabling direct flights between the two countries.

• This is among the three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) concluded between the two countries during Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s visit to Rwanda.

• Rwandan Airways is to begin direct flights between Kigali and Mumbai in April.

• The other two MoUs pertained to the setting up of an entrepreneurial development centre in Rwanda and exemption of visa for entry of diplomatic and official passports.

• The agreements were signed in the presence of a large business delegation from India at the newly constituted India-Rwanda Business Forum organised by FICCI and the Rwandan government.

• He said Mr. Ansari had many questions about President Paul Kagame’s governance model that had helped Rwanda to become one of the cleanest, most well-run states in the region.

:: Business and Economy ::

PM Modi asks US to take farsighted aproach

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the U.S. to develop a “reflective, balanced and farsighted perspective on movement of skilled professionals.”

• Mr.Modi’s comments come in the backdrop of proposals in the U.S. for restrictions on short-term work visas for foreign skilled professionals.

• “It augurs a good start to bilateral exchanges following the new U.S. Administration and Congress,” Mr. Modi was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the PM’s office.

• Modi also shared his perspective on areas where both countries can work even more closely, including in facilitating greater people-to-people linkages that have over the years helped contribute to each other’s prosperity.

• The PM referred to the role of skilled Indian talent in enriching the American economy and society, the statement added.

• Changes could impact the $110 billion Indian IT sector as well as issues concerning intellectual property rights (IPRs) and market access for certain farm products.

• While India took up its IT sector's concerns on the proposed restrictions on the U.S. non-immigrant visas for foreign skilled workers, the American lawmakers led by Bob Goodlatte, raised concerns on IPR issues.

Reserve Bank deputy governor called for some urgent steps to resolve NPAs

• Reserve Bank deputy governor Viral V Acharya called for some urgent steps to resolve NPAs, saying none of the “piece-by-piece approach” offered so far has worked, including the AQR, simply because of “the many discretions given to banks” as also their “skewed incentive system.”

• He also said even the December 2015 asset quality review (AQR) by the RBI has not helped resolve the issue, except in turning public attentions to the same.

• Stating that timely resolution of NPAs is of essence if we were to restore corporate investment and create jobs, Mr. Acharya asked bankers to take NPA resolution “with a certain sense of urgency.”

• The noted economist who joined the central bank only last month from New York University, noted that since asset quality review of December 2015, up to a sixth of public sector banks gross advances are stressed.

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