Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 26 August 2016

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 26 August 2016

:: National ::

Home Minister says future of India and Kashmir is linked

  • The future of India and Kashmir are linked, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, stating that the Centre was willing to talk to all groups, including the separatists.

  • During his visit to Kashmir, the Minister announced reconciliatory measures to douse the 47-day unrest in the State, including replacing pellet guns and sending an all-party delegation.

  • Addressing a joint press conference with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Mr. Singh said, “An expert committee on pellet guns will submit its report soon to find an alternative."

  • "Whether a civilian or a soldier dies, it pains the entire nation. However, nobody will be allowed to play with the future of Kashmir.”

  • He said the forces were “exercising maximum restraint” and more than 4,600 security personnel had been injured so far.

More leaked documents on scorpene submarine published

  • More documents were made public from the 22,400 pages of the data on the combat and stealth capabilities of the Scorpene submarines which were leaked from the French manufacturer, DCNS.

  • The Australian, the newspaper which reported the data leak, posted nine pages on its website, consisting of the technical manual related to the Scorpene’s underwater warfare sub-system and the operating instruction manual.

  • The government claimed that it was taking up the issue with foreign governments through diplomatic channels.

  • “The Indian Navy has taken up the matter with the Director General of Armament of the French Government, expressing concern over this incident, and has requested the French Government to investigate this incident with urgency and share their findings with the Indian side,” the Navy said in a statement.

India hardened its position on talks with Pakistan (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

China urged India to do more to reinforce peace and stability along the border (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

:: International ::

Islamic forces saw decline in Iraq

  • Iraqi forces pushed the Islamic State group from Qayyarah, a northern town considered strategic for any future offensive against the jihadists’ last stronghold of Mosul.

  • Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the victory as a key step in the fight against IS. Special forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes, wrapped up a three-day operation to retake Qayyarah.

  • The bodies of suspected IS fighters were strewn across some of the town's streets, especially around its southern entrance, which saw the worst fighting and significant destruction.

  • Abadi issued a statement hailing what he said was a key step towards reclaiming Mosul .

UN investigation said that President Bashar carried out chemical attacks

  • A UN investigation has established that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out at least two chemical attacks in Syria and that Islamic State jihadists used mustard gas as a weapon, according to a report.

  • The panel was able to identify the perpetrators of three chemical attacks carried out in 2014 and 2015.

  • The panel found that the Islamic State “was the only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulphur mustard” in an attack on the town of Marea in northern Aleppo province on August 21, 2015.

Obama administration wants second term for Jim Yong Kim (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

:: Business and Economy ::

RBI has announced a raft of measures to boost investor participation

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a raft of measures to boost investor participation and market liquidity in both the corporate bond and currency markets.

  • The central bank will allow commercial banks to issue rupee bonds in overseas markets — known as Masala bonds, both for their capital requirement and for financing infrastructure and affordable housing.

  • It has been now been decided by the regulator that the aggregate PCE that will be provided by the financial system for a given bond issue will be increased from the present level of 20 per cent to 50 per cent of the bond issue size.

  • RBI said it has also been decided to seek suitable legal amendments to enable it to accept corporate bonds under the Liquidity adjustment Facility (LAF).

  • In order to ease access to the foreign exchange market for hedging in over the counter (OTC) and exchange-traded currency derivatives, the RBI has allowed entities exposed to exchange rate risk.

  • To enhance participation in the corporate bond market, the RBI has decided that brokers authorised as market makers will be allowed to participate in the corporate bond repo market.

  • With an aim to reduce risk in banking sector, RBI has proposed to limit exposure of a bank to a business group to up to 25 per cent of its capital, down from the existing 55 per cent, the central banks said.

India-U.S. talks to focus on ways to improve the quality of goods and services (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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