Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 02 APRIL 2019

::NATIONAL::

SC quizzes Assam govt.over illegal immigrants issue

• The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Assam government’s efforts to trace over 70,000 illegal immigrants, who have already mixed with the local population in the State.
• A Ministry of Home Affairs affidavit shows that 91,609 persons were declared ‘illegal foreigners’ by the Foreigners Tribunals in Assam till March 2018. Of these, 72,486 are absconding. “This is quite a large number,” a worried Home Ministry told the court.
• The Home Ministry explained that persons declared ‘illegal foreigners’ by the tribunals either abscond immediately or are already untraceable. Now, 829 persons declared ‘foreigners’ by the tribunals and 115 foreigners, who have completed their jail term, are lodged in the six jail-cum-detention centres in the State.
• “They provide wrong information. Details of the country of origin depend completely upon information provided by the persons,” the affidavit said. Though as a sovereign nation, India has the absolute right to deport illegal immigrants, it cannot do so randomly, the affidavit said, agreeing with the court’s point of view.
• The Ministry’s affidavit said the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh visits detention centres to talk to detainees. If their information is proved correct, they are expeditiously issued travel documents.
• “You have been pushing them back without knowing their country of origin. Now, suddenly you have grown wise and are resorting to diplomatic channels,” the CJI said.

IMD warns of warmer months ahead

• Citizens heading out to vote during the LokSabha election will have to brace for hotter weather. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the average maximum temperatures from April to June are likely to be warmer by half a degree in several places in central and northwest India.
• “The season averaged maximum temperatures are likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5C-1C over Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, west & east Uttar Pradesh, west & east Rajasthan, west & east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathawada, coastal Karnataka, north interior Karnataka, Rayalaseema and Telangana.
• Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura are likely to be warmer than normal by more than 1C,” the IMD said in a statement on Tuesday.
• The forecast is in line with the IMD’s position in March, when it said March-May would be “warmer” than normal. ‘Normal’ temperatures refer to the mean temperatures during these months between 1981 and 2010.
• The El Niño, an anomalous heating of the Central Pacific that occurs once in three-five years and linked to droughts in India, may be playing a role. “Current observations suggest weak El Niño conditions. The latest forecast indicates that these conditions are likely to persist during April-June,” the statement added.

::ECONOMY::

GST collections reach record mark in March

• Goods and Services Tax collections in March 2019 hit Rs. 1.06 lakh crore, the highest in the history of the tax in India, and the fourth time monthly collections have crossed Rs. 1 lakh crore this year, according to an official data release on Monday.
• Average collections in the year stand at Rs. 98,114 crore, up 9.2% from the average in 2017-18. GST collections had previously crossed the Rs. 1 lakh croremark in April, October, and January this fiscal.
• “The steep increase in GST collections is quite welcome for the economy,” Abhishek Jain, tax partner, EY India, said. “Major reasons for the growth could be reconciliations by businesses of outward and inward supplies, intelligent data analytics-related tax leakage detections and consequent GST payment by businesses.
• The government said the March 2019 revenue was 15.6% higher than a year earlier. “The revenue for the last quarter in 2018-19 is 14.3% higher than a year earlier,” it added.
• “The monthly average of GST revenue during 2018-19 is Rs. 98,114 crore which is 9.2% higher than [the average for] FY 2017-18. These figures indicate that the revenue growth has been picking up in recent months, despite various rate rationalisation measures.”

Self regulatory organisations mooted for advertisers

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a self regulatory organisation (SRO) for the growing number of investment advisers to address issues related to the quality of advice given to investors by such entities.
• The capital markets regulator released a consultation paper on Monday, which, among other things, proposed the strengthening of the existing regulatory framework for SROs by introducing features such as a governing board with public interest directors and a clear policy for arbitration and dispute resolution.
• “SEBI is in receipt of a large number of complaints alleging charging of exorbitant fees, assurance of returns, misconduct etc. by investment advisers... Given the growth in this segment of the market, it is felt that the time is appropriate to initiate the formation of an SRO [for the sector],” stated the SEBI statement.
• The regulator has proposed a governing board with at least 50% public interest directors along with 25% representation each of shareholder directors and elected representatives.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Algerian President to resign before mandate ends

• Algerian President AbdelazizBouteflika, the target of intense and prolonged protests, will step down before April 28, state media report, citing a message sent from the president's office.
• The 82-year-old leader had said he planned to run for a fifth term — angering thousands of people who churned in Algeria's streets — before reversing that decision. But when he announced he had changed his mind, Bouteflika also delayed an election that had been set for this month, stoking fears that he indeed would cling to power.
• Now, Bouteflika's office says, the government will enter a new "transition" phase, the Algeria Press Service reports. News of Bouteflika's plan to leave office comes a day after he appointed a new government of 27 ministers, headed by Prime Minister NoureddineBedoui.
• "The appointment of the new government on March 31st 2019 by his Excellency AbdelazizBouteflika, President of the Republic will be followed by important decisions he would take in accordance with the Constitutional Provisions, in order to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the State institutions during the transition period which will start on the date of the announcement of the resignation.
• Last month, as the elderly leader laid his plans to exit the presidency, he also announced a national conference that would review possible reforms for Algeria's political system. That conference will produce a draft constitution subject to a popular referendum, he said, adding that the body should "strive" to complete its work by the end of the year.

TayyipErdogan loses ground in major cities

• Turkey’s Opposition dealt President RecepTayyipErdoğan a symbolic blow by gaining ground in key cities in the country’s local elections.
• The Opposition won the capital, Ankara, a ruling party stronghold for decades, and was leading a tight race for Mayor in Istanbul, according to unofficial figures on Monday. The leader, who has dominated Turkish politics for 16 years, declared victory despite the Opposition gains.
• Sunday’s local elections were widely seen as a gauge of support for Mr.Erdoğan as the nation of 81 million faces a daunting economic recession with double-digit inflation, rising food prices and high unemployment. It was also a first test for Mr.Erdoğan, who has been accused of increasingly authoritarian tendencies since stepping last year into a new presidential role with widely expanded powers.
• Unofficial results reported by the state-run Anadolu news agency showed the Opposition at 48.8% support to the ruling party’s 48.5% support. Ekremİmamoğlu, the Opposition candidate in an alliance led by the secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, declared that he won Istanbul but his rival, former Prime Minister BinaliYıldırım of the ruling party, said it was still too early to call.
• Both Ankara and Istanbul have been held by Mr.Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party and its Islamic-oriented predecessor for 25 years. Mr.Erdoğan’s own ascent to power began as Istanbul Mayor in 1994.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Indian space debris could cause damage to ISS : NASA

• The head of NASA has branded India’s destruction of one of its satellites a “terrible thing” that had created 400 pieces of orbital debris and led to new dangers for astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
• Jim Bridenstine was addressing employees five days after India shot down a low-orbiting satellite in a missile test to prove it was among the world’s advanced space powers.
• Not all of the pieces were big enough to track, Bridenstine explained. “What we are tracking right now, objects big enough to track – we’re talking about 10 centimetres (six inches) or bigger – about 60 pieces have been tracked.”
• The US military tracks objects in space to predict the collision risk for the ISS and for satellites. They are currently tracking 23,000 objects larger than 10cm.
• That includes about 10,000 pieces of space debris, of which nearly 3,000 were created by a single event: a Chinese anti-satellite test in 2007, 530 miles above the surface.
• As a result of the Indian test, the risk of collision with the ISS has increased by 44% over 10 days, Bridenstine said. But the risk will dissipate over time as much of the debris will burn up as it enters the atmosphere.

::SPORTS::

India finishes with 16 Gold in Asian Airgun championships

• Indian shooters continued their dominance claiming five gold medals on the final day of the Asian Airgun Championships to sign off with a total of 25 medals in Taoyuan, Taipei.
• India finished with 16 gold, five silver and four bronze medals.
• The next assignment for Indian shooters is scheduled at Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates where the International Shooting Sport Federation Shotgun World Cup stage two commences on Friday.

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