Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 29 August 2016

:: National ::

PM touches imp. issues in Mann ki baat program

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked of the tense situation in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that any loss of life, whether of any youth or security personnel, is “our loss, a loss of our own people and our country.”

• He warned those pushing youngsters towards violence that they would be held accountable some day.

• Unity and compassion in dealing with the situation in the State were the two things that the Prime Minister said he took away from his recent interactions with various political groups on the Kashmir policy.

• “It’s a view of 125 crore people of this country ... from a pradhan of a village to the Prime Minister, that if any life is lost in Kashmir it is our loss, a loss of our people and our country.”

• The Prime Minister said the country had always made sincere efforts to strengthen its relationship with its neighbours.

• President Pranab Mukherjee launched Akashvani Maitri channel, which will connect us with Bangladesh in a deeper way.

• Mr. Modi also touched upon a variety of subjects, among them GST. He credited all parties with unanimously approving the GST Bill which, he said, displayed the strength of unity.

India became only the fourth nation to flight-test a scramjet engine

• India became only the fourth nation to flight-test a scramjet engine, a technology that scientists claim could change the way space travel is undertaken.

• Though the full development of the engine, for an “air breathing” propulsion system that significantly reduces the amount of fuel needed to fire up engines on a rocket, is “decades away”.

• ISRO conducted its first trial of the engine, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It used an Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a sounding rocket, for the test.

• The ATV with the scramjet engines weighed 3,277 kg at lift-off.

India is planning a major diplomatic outreach ahead of the UNGA (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

The U.S. will push for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

:: International ::

UN urged African nations to close a gender gap that also has economic cost

• The UN on Sunday urged African nations to close a gender gap that is costing an estimated $95 billion a year in lost economic potential.

• “Where there are high levels of gender inequality, societies are missing out,” UN Development Fund (UNDP) director Helen Clark told AFP.

• “They are not harnessing the full potential of women, and that costs economically, at the family level, community level and the national level.”

• In many African nations, women are banned from owning or inheriting land, making it hard for them to borrow money.

DCNS will go to court against publishing leaked documents on the Scorpenes (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

:: Business and Economy ::

Trade ministers from WTO member nations to meet in Oslo

• Trade ministers from various World Trade Organisation (WTO) member nations are slated to gather at the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in October to discuss the need for further liberalisation of global trade amid growing protectionism.

• The ‘special’ meet will also deliberate upon the WTO’s future role in the context of ‘new’ challenges for the global trading system and some ‘troubling’ international political developments.

• The high-level political convergence comes against the backdrop of WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo’s statement last month in his ‘Mid-year Report on Trade-related Developments’.

• The report showed “a worrying rise in the rate of new trade-restrictive measures put in place each month (by WTO member countries) — hitting the highest monthly average since 2011.”

• It is also being planned at a time when the progress in the WTO’s nearly 15-year-old Doha Round negotiations — to further open up international trade — is seen to be “very slow” especially due to the perceived ‘disengagement’ of the U.S.

• The Oslo meet is also likely to discuss the so-called ‘new issues’ considered important by the rich nations in today’s global trade.

• These include efforts to reach an agreement at the WTO-level to eliminate tariffs on environmental & sustainable goods produced using clean & green energy.

• India is preparing to take the lead in WTO-level talks to open up global services trade, especially to ensure easier movement of skilled professionals for short-term projects overseas.

• India — with a strong services sector and a huge pool of skilled professionals — had informally pitched for a WTO-level ‘TFA in Services’ at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ministerial council meeting in Paris.

• The ‘TFA in Services’ proposal, similar to the WTO’s TFA for Goods (aimed at easing customs norms & boosting global merchandise trade), was then welcomed by Azevêdo and several trade ministers.

• India had also objected to Britain tightening norms for foreign skilled workers.

The journey ahead for introducing the GST may not be easy (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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