Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 5 July 2017

::National::

SC said the Centre cannot close all options for person depositing old notes

• Cautioning the government against depriving genuine persons of their hard-earned money and property, the Supreme Court said the Centre cannot close all options for such persons.
• It should open a window for them to approach the authorities to prove that it is their money, the court said.
• “It is harsh if you close all options for genuine persons who were unable to deposit their [demonetised] notes within the stipulated period,” a Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and D.Y. Chandrachud told the government.
• Mr. Kumar said the government had already filed an affidavit explaining why the period to deposit demonetised notes was restricted.
• The Centre restricted the grace period till March 31, 2017 only to Indian citizens who were abroad during the period between November 9 and December 30, 2016.

Centre is considering partial removal of the AFSPA 

• The AFSPA gives powers to the Army and Central forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of law, arrest and search any premises without a warrant and provides cover to forces from prosecution and legal suits without the Centre’s sanction.
• It is effective in the whole of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding the seven Assembly constituencies of Imphal). 
• In Arunachal Pradesh, it is in force in 16 police stations and in Tirap, Longding and Changlang districts bordering Assam. Tripura withdrew AFSPA in 2015.
• It is not in force in Meghalaya (except a 20-kilometre area along the Assam border) and Mizoram.
• The notification extending AFSPA in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh is issued for six months after a review twice a year. Govt has reduced this duration to three months and see if it could be withdrawn completely from certain areas. 
• The Home Ministry issued fresh notification to continue Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Arunachal Pradesh on May 4 for three months; it would expire on August 8.
• Ministry had said in its notification that “the security situation in Assam remained vitiated due to the belligerent attitude of the underground groups including ULFA (I), NDFB (S), KLO and KPLT.”
• It said that in 2016, 33 persons including four security personnel were killed in Assam, 14 were abducted for ransom and 75 incidents of violence were reported.

Vietnam asked India to play a greater role in ASEAN

• Opening new possibilities in Southeast Asia, Vietnam asked India to play a greater role in ASEAN’s strategic and security affairs. 
• Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said that India should support freedom of navigation in the South China Sea on the basis of international law and conventions.
• The Vietnamese leader who is on a two-day visit to Delhi, is also the Foreign Minister of his country and held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. 
• His comments in support of greater role for India in Southeast Asia came even as tension is building up between India and China across the Sikkim sector.
• “India and Vietnam share political and economic interests. As the future unfolds we have reason to be optimistic. ASEAN will benefit from India’s experience of resolving maritime issues in a peaceful manner,” he said.
• In her speech, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that ties with ASEAN is at the centre of India’s Act East Policy. “

India wants more effort from U.K. post Brexit

• India has been speaking with greater candour in recent weeks about obstacles in its relationship with Britain, highlighting how efforts by the British government to take forward the relationship, particularly via a post-Brexit trade deal, could struggle.
• High Commission has expressed its concerns about plans for a rally to be held in the city of Birmingham to commemorate the first death anniversary of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander, on July 8.
• The office of the Deputy High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik sent a “note verbale” on the matter to the British Foreign Office.
• The move, seen as an unusually candid one by India, highlights the country’s increasing willingness to highlight issues of tension between the two countries, as debate in Britain focuses almost solely on the untapped potential to enhance the trade deal between the two countries.
• These are things that India has been saying quite explicitly but no one seems to have listened to it on the British side. It hasn’t had the recognition India wants. We are back where we were in the 1980s where the issue of Sikh militants was one of the biggest impediments to stronger relations.
• Other issues on terrorism, security and beyond also had to be confronted, he said, highlighting the issue of terrorism.
• He also raised the issue of Vijay Mallya, stating that Britain had become a “haven for fugitives from justice” as well as Britain’s willingness to tolerate “anti-India activity.”

::International::

China said there was no scope for a “compromise”

• China said there was no scope for a “compromise” in the military standoff with India in the Sikkim area, and placed the onus on New Delhi to resolve the “grave” situation.
• China’s Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui said, “the ball is in India’s court” and it was for the Indian government to decide on options to resolve the standoff.
• Asked about remarks in official Chinese media and from think- tanks that the conflict could lead to a “war” if not handled properly.
• There has been talk about this option, that option. It is up to your government policy (whether to exercise military option). However, he made it clear that there was no scope for a “compromise” on the issue.
• “The first priority is that Indian troops unconditionally pull back to the Indian side of the boundary. That is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue between China and India,” he said.
• Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for past 19 days after the Chinese army’s attempts to construction party came to build a road in the area.
• He also asserted that India has no right to interfere with the China-Bhutan boundary talks, nor is it entitled to make territorial claims on behalf of Bhutan.

North Korea claimed it successfully test-launched its first ICBM

• North Korea claimed it successfully test-launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile, a potential game-changing development in what may be the world’s most dangerous nuclear stand-off.
• The launch appeared to be North Korea’s most successful missile test yet. A U.S. scientist examining the height and distance said the missile could potentially be powerful enough to reach Alaska.
• In typically heated rhetoric, North Korea’s Academy of Defence Science said the test of an ICBM the Hwasong-14 marked the “final step” in creating a “confident and powerful nuclear state that can strike anywhere on Earth.”
• It will be difficult to confirm many details about what happened. U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials earlier assessed that the North fired an intermediate-range missile into waters near Japan.
• North Korea has previously launched satellites in what critics said were disguised tests of its long-range missile technology. 
• A test-launch of an ICBM, however, would be a major step in developing nuclear—armed missiles that could reach anywhere in the United States.

::Business and Economy::

About 97% of the total outstanding debt of Discoms covered under UDAY

• About 97% of the total outstanding debt of all state power distribution companies (discoms) has been covered under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), the government announced.
• So far, 86% of the restructurable debt has been revamped under the scheme. As on September 30, 2015, the total debt of all state-owned discoms was Rs. 3.95 lakh crore.
• The 26 states and 1 UT which have joined the UDAY scheme account for total outstanding debt of Rs. 3.82 lakh crore. Hence, about 97% of the total outstanding debt of all State discoms has been covered under UDAY.
• The Ministry also added that the total liability opted for restructuring by the states through the issuance of bonds was Rs. 2.69 lakh crore.
• So far, states have already issued bonds of the entire Rs. 2.09 lakh crore and discoms have issued bonds worth Rs. 0.23 lakh crore. 
• Bonds worth Rs. 0.37 lakh crore are yet to be issued by various discoms. Hence, about 86% of the restructurable debt of states has been restructured so far under UDAY.

FItch says GST will boost government's revenue in long term

• While the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is unlikely to increase Government revenue in the short-term, it will increase revenue in the long-term as tax compliance increases and GDP growth is bolstered, Fitch Ratings said in a report.
• “The unified national system should offer significant opportunities for productivity,” according to the report. 
• The GST is unlikely to increase revenue in the short-term,” the report added. However, it is likely to boost revenue indirectly over the long term, as it supports GDP growth and encourages tax compliance.
• Fitch added that GST will create an ecosystem where supply chains can extend, encouraging specialisation, since there would be less incentive to source goods within state borders.
• Tax filing may also become less time-consuming as a result of the new electronic system. 
• The new electronic filing system is also likely to lead to more tax reporting. Moreover, the tax base will be broadened, as only SMEs with sales of Rs. 2 million will now be exempt from paying GST, down from Rs. 15 million.

Firms registered under GST to be used to capture employment data

• The Centre could use lakhs of firms registered under the new GST as the sample frame to capture employment data through a new Annual Survey of Enterprises, the task force to improve India’s data on jobs set up by PM has recommended.
• The traditional Employment-Unemployment Surveys carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) every five years must be scrapped, the task force led by NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya is learnt to have recommended.
• The last such survey was carried out in 2011-12 and the one due in 2016-17 was skipped.
• Instead, a new periodic labour force survey (the first one has already begun this April) will be conducted annually to provide estimates of labour force, employment, unemployment, nature of employment and industry. 
• To get more frequent employment trends data, an urban module of this survey will be updated every quarter.
• Apart from a new GST-backed Survey approach, the task force — constituted this May amidst criticism about the lack of adequate new jobs in the economy — has called for a fresh definition of formal employment to include any person who gets a Form 16 reflecting income tax deductions at source.
• The task force has reasoned that the GST Network (GSTN) will include enterprises of all sizes in the goods and services sectors with turnover exceeding Rs. 20 lakh.
• A subset of the GSTN database-backed surveys could be used to generate monthly or quarterly enterprise-based employment estimates, the task force pointed out. 
• For firms outside the GST net, the Panagariya-led task force has recommended separate annual surveys and an economic census every three years.

Click Here for Old Current Affairs Archive

This is a Part of Online Coaching Programme for UPSC Exam

Buy Printed Study Material for UPSC PRELIMS EXAM

Join Test Series for IAS (Pre.) Exam