Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 18 September 2019

::NATIONAL::

Govt. claims more than 10crore people received e-cards under Ayushman Bharat scheme

Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that 22 thousand health and wellness centres have been made functional and 10 crore beneficiaries have received e-cards under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
The Ayushman Bharat - PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service.
It provides a health assurance cover of 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care for serious and catastrophic illnesses.
Addressing media in New Delhi today, Dr Harsh Vardhan said since the launch of the scheme, over 45 lakh patients have been admitted to hospitals to receive treatment under the programme.
The Minister said, PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana is completing its first year of launch on 23rd of this month and is being celebrated as AyushmanPakhawada since last Sunday.
Giving credit to cooperative federalism approach in implementing the scheme, he informed that 32 States and Union Territories have already implemented it, except Delhi, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal.

Home ministry notification wants NGO’s not to be guilty of conversion

Office-bearers, key functionaries and members of NGOs, receiving foreign funds, will have to declare before the government that they were not prosecuted or convicted for converting anyone from one faith to another, a Home Ministry notification said on Monday.
It has been made mandatory for NGO “office-bearers and key functionaries and members” to certify that they have not been “prosecuted or convicted” for “conversion” from one faith to another and for creating “communal tension and disharmony”, according to the notification.
Earlier, as per the FCRA 2010, only the applicants such as directors who were seeking permission to receive foreign contributions were required to make such a declaration.
In addition, every member of an NGO must also now, under oath, through an affidavit, certify that they have never been involved in “diverting” foreign funds or propagating “sedition” or “advocating violent means.”
This declaration, too, needs to be given by all members of an NGO, unlike earlier, when it had to be only given by the applicant.

::ECONOMY::

RBI intervenes to reduce losses due to rupee fall

Rise in crude oil prices spooked all the emerging market currencies with rupee being hit worst, despite the central bank’s intervention that helped the currency to reduce losses.
The rupee opened weaker at 71.75 against the dollar compared with the previous close of 70.93. It hit the day’s low of 71.68 before closing at 71.60, down 68 paisa, or 0.96%.
This was the first season of weakening of the domestic unit after eight days of gain. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.13% to 98.38.
Crude oil prices surged following drone attacks at the site of the largest oil processing plant run by the Saudi state oil company, Aramco.Surge in oil prices will impact the country’s macroeconomic parameters as it imports over 80% of its oil requirement.
“Impact is to be felt in terms of trade deficit, on the markets, Indian basket of crude oil prices and exchange rate,” it added.Yield on 10-year benchmark sovereign bond rose 7 bps to close to day at 6.71% on fears that rising fuel prices will stoke inflation.

NITI Aayog moots more asset monetisation this year

For India to become a $5 trillion economy, the wealth will have to be created by the private sector and hence the government will privatise a lot of its assets across sectors in the coming months, said Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer, NitiAayog.
The 1980 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer further said that the government would privatise assets like roads, airports, power transmission and shipping terminals.
It is necessary to do that so that the private sector can come in and along with that credit flow can start, he said. On a different note, he said that structural reforms for the agricultural sector would soon be announced as the Committee of Chief Ministers headed by DevendraFadnavis to suggest such reforms is on the verge of finalising its report.
“I’m sure that this would lead to some major structural reforms in the agriculture sector as well,” Mr. Kant said, adding that agriculture, along with gender parity and exports, were the key elements for India to grow significantly over a long period of time.
“India has a very vibrant private sector and a government which has the political will and the determination to take India to a $5 trillion economy. No doubt that will be achieved by 2024,” he concluded.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

External affairs ministry claims PoK as part of India

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is part of India and added that India expects to have physical jurisdiction over it one day.
Replying to a query on KulbhushanJadhav issue, Dr Jaishankar said, India's objective was to seek access to him in order to ascertain his well-being.
He said, seeking access to Jadhav was one step in eventually providing that remedy which International Court of Justice has mandated.
The External Affairs Minister said, whether Pakistan carried out in letter and spirit what the International Court of Justice wanted them to do is obvious to all.
On face-off between Indian and Chinese troops near Pangong Lake in Ladakh, Dr Jaishankar said, there was a face-off and it was resolved.
He added that it happened because there are differing perceptions of Line of Actual Control, and sometimes that kind of situations happen.
He said, there are mechanisms to address such situations and in this particular case, the mechanism kicked into play and the situation was addressed.
The Minister said, US President Donald Trump attending Prime Minister NarendraModi's upcoming Houston event in US is a matter of honour and a big achievement of Indian-American community.

UAE agrees to cooperate with Saudi on possible oil disruption

United Arab Emirates Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail bin Mohammed FarajFaris Al Mazrouei has affirmed the UAE's readiness to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in facing any possible disruption to oil supplies.
He said, they have reached out to Saudi Arabia following the terrorist attack against two Saudi Aramco oil facilities to provide technical and logistical support and their cooperation is continuing.
The Emirates News agency reported that Al Mazrouei stressed his confidence in the ability of Saudi Arabia to overcome the consequences of this incident.
Saudi Arabia has a significant influence on the global energy sector because it produces about 10 per cent of the world's oil, he said, noting that the incident will affect the global oil market and could increase oil prices by over 10 per cent, as Aramco is the world's largest refinery and petrochemical complex.
Al Mazrouei further said that it is premature to call an emergency meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, without the request of Saudi Arabia, stressing the UAE's commitment to OPEC’s decisions and affirming that it will not take any related action without the organization’s approval.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

India test fires air-air Astra missile

Indigenously designed air-to-air missile Astra was successfully test-fired from the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha on September 17.
The beyond-visual-range missile was launched from a Sukhoi-30 MKI as a part of user trials.
A defence official said that as part of the trial, a live aerial target was engaged, accurately demonstrating the capability of the missile.
Radars, the electro-optical tracking system and sensors tracked the missile and confirmed its engagement with the target.
Astra, designed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), is capable of engaging targets of different ranges and altitudes, including long-range as well as short-range targets.

::SPORTS::

India beats Bangladesh to win U-19 Asia cup

India clinched the Under-19 Asia Cup title, with a thrilling five-run win over Bangladesh in a low-scoring final at Colombo today.
Defending a paltry total of 106, India dismissed Bangladesh for 101 in 33 overs.
Left-arm spinner 18-year-old AtharvaAnkolekar, emerged as the star of the Indian team, with figures of 5 for 28 from 8 overs.