Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 1 April 2015

:: National ::

RSBY to be implemented by Health Ministry from April 1

Starting April 1, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) of the Labour and Employment Ministry will now be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The RSBY, the health insurance scheme for BPL (below poverty line) families provides for IT-enabled and smart-card-based cashless health insurance, including maternity benefit cover up to Rs. 30,000 per annum on a family floater basis.
Ministry of Labour said in a statement that the scheme had benefited 3,85,15,411 families up to March 31, 2014 and as many as 10,311 hospitals are rendering services to the insured persons which include 6,093 private hospitals and 4,218 Government hospitals.
In India, of the estimated workforce of 47 crore, only eight crore are organised workers and thirty nine crore are workers in the unorganised sector.
RSBY provides for IT-enabled and smart-card-based cashless health insurance.

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:: International :

China ready to work on trilateral cooperation

China would like to address the issue of trade imbalance and is willing to provide greater opportunities to India for exports, its Ambassador in New Delhi Le Yucheng said.
“China takes the Indian concern of trade imbalance very seriously,” he said in a written interview, which was followed by an interaction.
Asserting that Beijing was willing to work with India to conduct trilateral cooperation involving other South Asian nations, Mr. Le said there was no basis to the fear that India would be “encircled” by China.

Japan could join AIIB by June

Bowing to pressure from its powerful business groups, Japan could join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in the next few months, deserting the United States — Tokyo’s foremost post-war ally, says a media report.
The Financial Times , quoting Japan’s Ambassador to China, Masato Kitera, reported that Tokyo would sign up to the AIIB by June, missing the March 31 deadline for applying as a founder-member of the lender.
“The business community woke up late, but now they have mounted a big campaign for the AIIB which appears to be very effective,” Mr. Kitera was quoted as saying.
But in Tokyo, the FT report evoked an ambivalent response. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday that the Ambassador had not made any such comment and Japan’s position on the AIIB was unchanged.
“I have been informed that it is not true that Ambassador Kitera made such remarks forecasting [Japan’s] participation,” Mr. Suga told a news conference. But he added that, “I think it’s impossible for Japan to take part today,” not ruling out a reversal of position later.
Reuters quoted an unnamed Japanese government source as saying, “We have not ruled out the possibility of either joining or staying out.”
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, said that Japan was welcome to join the bank, but Tokyo would have to take the call.
“As for whether or not Japan is willing to participate, we have previously said that we welcome all countries to proactively participate,” she observed.
She added China would respect the wishes of any country “whether or not they join or when they decide to join”.
According to FT , a group of Mitsubishi Group executives based in China have offered support during their meeting this month with Jin Liqun, who has been designated to run the infrastructure bank.
The Japanese find Mr. Jin a familiar face because of his position as a senior official at the U.S. and Japan-backed Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Japanese industrial houses see participation as beneficial, as the AIIB will be at the heart of building infrastructure in the region, offering substantial business opportunities. Besides, collaboration with the Chinese could help mend frayed ties between Beijing and Tokyo, highlighted by a dispute on a group of islands in the East China Sea.
Analysts say that over time, the U.S. could change its position towards the new bank. However, visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, said in Beijing that Washington still had its concerns about the standards that the AIIB would maintain.
“We very much welcome China’s increased participation in infrastructure investment, and the concerns we’ve raised about the needs for standards continue,” Mr. Lew said. He added: “The initial decisions of what kinds of projects are invested in will obviously be a very important signal as to how they’ll proceed.”

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:: Business and Economy:

Probe into 628 HSBC accounts completed

Keeping up with the March 31 deadline, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has completed assessment of the HSBC Bank (Geneva) account-holders whose details were shared by the French government in 2011.
While the Income-Tax Department had earlier launched prosecution proceedings in 60 cases, is learnt that the agency has sought legal opinion to ascertain whether it can initiate prosecution in other cases. Penalty proceedings were also initiated against 350 account-holders.
Over 250 of the 628 account-holders have admitted to having accounts abroad. “However, legal action will not be taken against those who enjoyed NRI status when the accounts were opened, unless any criminality is involved,” said an official.
The Income-Tax Department also plans to open investigations in cases pertaining to the accounts opened before 2005-06, taking recourse to assessment/reassessment provisions under the Income-Tax Act.

GoAir CEO quits

The Chief Executive Officer of Wadia group-promoted budget carrier GoAir, Giorgio De Roni, has quit the carrier, citing health reasons, sources said.
Mr. De Roni, an Italian national, had joined GoAir in 2011.
“De Roni has quit GoAir. He had requested the management to relieve him on health grounds. Today was his last day at the airline,” sources close to the development told.
When contacted, a GoAir spokesperson did not comment on the issue.
De Roni had taken over the post from Kaushik Khona, who was instrumental in getting back the no-frills airline on its feet.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Microsoft unveils low-cost Surface 3 tablet

Microsoft unveiled a low-cost version of its Surface tablet computer, cutting the screen size of the device which starts at $499. The new Surface 3 will cost less than the $799 starting price for the Surface Pro 3 introduced last year, but will also have a less powerful processor and lack some other features.
The new device comes with a screen of 10.8 inches, making it smaller than the earlier 12-inch screen versions of Surface, and gives Microsoft a new tablet that aims to compete with Apple's iPad Air.
"Surface 3 brings what customers love about Surface Pro 3 to more people, delivering the premium design and productivity of Surface in a more affordable device," said Panos Panay, who heads the Surface division.

:: Sports ::

Gill to lead Team MRF’s charge

Six-time Asia Pacific Rally Championship winner Team MRF will, for the first time, have three cars competing in the series this season.
Leading Team MRF’s charge will be Gaurav Gill, the 2013 champion, while Swedish young gun Pontus Tidemand will make his debut for the team.
The pair will be joined by New Caledonian driver, Jean-Louis Leyraud, in a third Team MRF Skoda Fabia 2000 in the Pacific Cup section of the championship.
Team MRF has won the championship three times in a row, with Australian Chris Atkinson winning in 2012, Gill in 2013, and Czech Jan Kopecky in 2014.