Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 June 2020

::NATIONAL::

Cabinet amends essential commodities act, allows farmers to sell produce outside states

• The Union Cabinet today approved a historic amendment to Essential Commodities Act. This is a visionary step towards transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’ income.

• Briefing media after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar said, with the amendment to Essential Commodities Act, commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes have been removed from list of essential commodities.

• He said, the decision will ensure better price for farmers' produce and also remove fears of private investors of excessive regulatory interference.

• Mr Javadekar said, while India has become surplus in most agri-commodities and farmers are unable to get better prices due to lack of investment in cold storage, processing and export as the entrepreneurial spirit gets dampened due to hanging sword of Essential Commodities Act.

• He said, now the amendment will give freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing of economies of scale and attract investment into agriculture sector.

Government considering infrastructure development along China border

• To ramp up infrastructure along the China border, the ...............................................................................................

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::ECONOMY::

RBI claims forced waiving of interests may risk banks viabilities

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it considers neither prudent nor appropriate to go for a “forced waiver of interest” on loans by risking the financial viability of banks it is mandated to regulate and putting the interests of the depositors in jeopardy.”

• The RBI was responding to a petition challenging the charging of interest rate on loans even during the three-month moratorium period declared amid the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown. The RBI had recently extended the moratorium till August 31.

• The central bank said its regulatory package introduced amid the pandemic lockdown was “in its essence in the nature of a moratorium deferment and cannot be construed to be a waiver.”

• “Banks are commercial entities that intermediate between depositors and borrowers. They are expected to run on viable commercial considerations,” the affidavit said.

• A Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan had earlier issued a formal notice to the central bank and the Centre on a petition by Gajendra Sharma, who said though there was a moratorium on loans, there was also accrual of interest, which had to be paid in bulk or monthly after the lifting of the embargo.

Cabinet approves setting up of EGoS for attracting investments

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of an empowered group of secretaries (EGoS) and project development cells (PDCs) in Ministries and departments for attracting investments to India, said Information and Broadcasting ..............................................................................

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Britain offers resident visas for citizens from hongkong

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he would offer millions of Hong Kong residents visas and a possible route to U.K. citizenship if China persists with its national security law.

• About 3,50,000 people in Hong Kong currently hold British National (Overseas) passports, which allow visa-free access to Britain for up to six months, Mr. Johnson wrote.

• The new law was brought in after a wave of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and approved by China’s Parliament as necessary to tackling “terrorism” and “separatism”.

• Opponents fear it will lead to political oppression in the financial hub, eroding freedoms and autonomy supposedly guaranteed in the 1997 handover from Britain to China.

• Mr. Johnson said the Hong Kong law would “curtail its freedoms and dramatically erode its autonomy”. If implemented, “Britain would then have no choice but to uphold our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong”, he wrote.

India-Bhutan to expand cooperation in environment sectors

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bhutan for cooperation in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources.

• The MoU, signed at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi, “will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation in environment protection and management of natural resources on the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits” the government said.

• It will cover air, waste, chemical management, climate change and other areas and will remain in force for 10 years from the date of signing.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Large scale data of Indians available for sale in darkweb,finds study

• A fresh instance of Indians’ data being leaked on the dark net has come to light, with a massive data packet — nearly 100 gigabytes in size — being put up for sale in the dark web market.

• The data comprises scanned identity documents of over 1 lakh Indians, including passports, PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs and driver’s licenses.

• The data was found by Cyble, a ....................................................................................................

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::SPORTS::

Vikrammalhotra nominated as player of the year in Squash

• VikramMalhotra has been nominated for the PSA squash Challenger Tour men’s player of the year award.

• The 30-year-old, ranked 47th in the world, clinched three titles last season — the HCL SRFI Indian Tour Delhi leg, Florida Open and Oregon Open and was a runner-up in the Nash Cup.

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