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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 July 2021

::NATIONAL::

After four years Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Indian Railways and RailTel for the installation of surveillance cameras at 983 stations across the country, the project envisaged under the “Nirbhaya Fund” to enhance safety of women passengers, has derailed.

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The Ministry of Railways has now asked its General Managers to go ahead and install Video Surveillance System (VSS) at the railway stations earmarked for the purpose in their respective zones.
The Nirbhaya Fund was created by the Union government after the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi in 2012.
The dedicated fund was meant for projects specifically designed for the safety and security of women.
As part of the scheme, RailTel was allotted the execution of VSS at 983 railway stations across the country at an estimated cost of ₹500 crore.
It was described as one of the largest projects of its kind, involving integration Indian Railway and RailTel systems, with the collaboration of multiple agencies within and outside the railways.

Pushkar Singh Dhami took oath as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He replaced Tirath Singh Rawat.
Tirath Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, needs to be elected as an MLA in the next two months to continue in the post.

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But as per Section 151A of RPA, a by-poll is not held in a state if less than a year is left for the member's term to end, which in the case of Uttarakhand is March 23, 2022.
RPA, 1951 mandates the Election Commission to fill vacancies in Parliament and the state legislatures through bypolls within six months from the date of their occurrence.

Key constitutional provisions for CMs:

Article 163(1): There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under the Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
Article 164(1): The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed on the advice of the Chief Minister.
Article 164(2): The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.

India has joined OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of economy.
BEPS refers to tax planning strategies used by multinational enterprises that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to avoid paying tax.

Proposed solution consists of two components:

Reallocation of additional share of profit to the market jurisdictions: to ensure that multinational enterprises, including digital companies, pay tax where they operate and earn profits.
Global minimum corporate tax rate, currently proposed at 15%.

After the India-Italy summit in New Delhi at the end of October 2018, bilateral relations are on the rise. The recent visit of the Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in Matera, Italy for the meeting of Foreign Ministers, Affairs and Development of the G20 group., has raised the flag of bilateral relations even higher.

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Italy is the eighth largest economy in the world. In addition to NATO and OECD, Italy is also a member of the European Union, 27 countries, the influential G20 and the powerful G7.
Italy selected India among the five priority countries to strengthen general ties.
In addition to business and trade, the two countries have also decided to strengthen defense cooperation through increased defense exchanges through increased mutual and technological cooperation, joint development and co-production. Both countries have already set up a joint advocacy committee to encourage this.
Indeed, the November 2020 virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resulted in a joint statement and action plan to prioritize areas of cooperation and strategic goals for the five-year period up to 2025 partners in the EU, India is home to more than 600 Italian companies. Italy is also home to more than 1,80,000 foreign Indians.

India’s first AEFC was launched in Pune by Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries andAgriculture (MCCIA) in association with the National Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD).

Key features:

It acts as one-stop destination to export agri-food products.
Boost the agricultural and food exports of Maharashtra by disseminating need-based information.
Cater to the needs of farmers, Farmer Producing Organisations (FPOs), MSMEs in agri-food processing.
Support capacity building by providing expert guidance on topics like OrchardManagement, Minimum Residue Level (MRL) etc.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) gave its nod to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to provide technical assistance for satellite TV classrooms in the country to bridge the learning gap due to COVID-induced lockdown.

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Vinay Sahastrabuddhe-led parliamentary panel had earlier sought help from ISRO scientists to provide technical assistants to start satellite TV classrooms for students who reported a learning gap in the school syllabus due to the COVID pandemic.
The Committee explored satellite TV classrooms that will broadcast school-based educational programs and students can take advantage of it in cluster classrooms and the issue of smartphone and data connectivity can be resolved, especially in the rural areas.