Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 December 2019

::NATIONAL::

Cabinet approves SC/ST reservation in assemblies for another 10 years

The Cabinet approved a proposal to extend reservation for SCs and STs in the LokSabha and the State Assemblies for another 10 years. The reservation for these categories in the LokSabha and State Assemblies was to expire on 25th of January, 2020.
Government also approved The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill to be introduced in the Parliament. The bill has provision for conversion of three Sanskrit Deemed to be Universities into Central Universities.
The Cabinet also approved land monetization at PragatiMaidan to build a five-star hotel. ITPO will undertake the mega project to redevelop PragatiMaidan into a world class International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
It also approved The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill seeks to amend the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act, 2007.

India urges countries to take action against Kashmiri cells operated by Pakistan\

India has asked several countries to take action against so-called Kashmir cells set up by Pakistan at its missions abroad, asserting that they openly incite violence.
This was stated by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in a written reply to a question in the LokSabha yesterday. The Minister said the main objective of these cells/desks is to incite local population and radicalise them through false propaganda.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi had directed establishing Kashmir cells in Pakistan's Foreign Office and Missions abroad.
Mr Muraleedharan said the government has urged other countries to realise the dangers posed by these cells operating from their soil, and take appropriate action.
In response to another question, the Minister said India has categorically and unequivocally rejected Pakistan's blatant misrepresentation of facts and fabricated narratives at international fora, including at the United Nations.
The government has briefed members of the international community on Pakistan's false propaganda, its continued aid and abetment to cross-border terrorism against India, including in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said countries have shown understanding that matters related to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India, are internal to India.

::ECONOMY::

RBI to announce monetary policy for this fiscal

The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, will release its fifth bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2019-20, today. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, of the RBI, led by Governor Shaktikanta Das, will announce the credit policy for the current fiscal, a resolution passed by the ongoing three-day MPC meet in Mumbai.
The RBI has cut interest rates on every single occasion the MPC met since Shaktikanta Das took over as the Governor in last December.
The Reserve Bank is likely to cut the repo rate for the sixth time in a row in this fiscal’s bi-monthly credit policy statement to support the weak economic growth.
In the last bi-monthly monetary policy announced in October, the RBI cut the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) for the fifth time in a row by 25 basis points to 5.15 per cent from 5.40 per cent with immediate effect.
The reverse repo rate under the LAF was reduced to 4.90 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 5.40 per cent.

Communication ministry says no known adverse impacts from mobile towers

Union Minister for Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad today informed the LokSabha that there are no known adverse impacts of the radiation found in the Cell Phone Towers and the birds are not affected by that.
He said this while answering to a question posed by Shivsena member SadashivLokhande of Shirdi constituency during the question hour today.
The Minister said that the birds in India are healthy and they migration of birds takes place as usual. He also said that India’s cellphone towers are 10 times more safer than world norms and the laws are stringent in India.
So far, a sum of 20 crore rupees have been slapped as fine on erring operators and out of which 13 crore rupees have been collected.
Mr Prasad also said that mobile towers are inevitable for the operation of cell phones and government has given permission to share the tower by other operators to prevent proliferation of towers.
The Minister also admitted that in Delhi, it is difficult to get space for mobile towers and the government is trying its best to augment the services.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India,Maldives joint inaugurate developmental projects

Prime Minister NarendraModi and Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih jointly inaugurated four key development projects covering a wide range of sectors through video conferencing this evening.
One of the projects includes the lighting up of Male using LED lights. Another project is the launch of the RuPay card in Maldives.Three fish processing plants were inaugurated and a Fast Interceptor Craft was gifted to the Maldives.
Prime Minister Modi said, it has been a landmark and significant year for India-Maldives relationship. He said, NDA government's 'Neighbourhood First' and the Maldives Government's "India First" policies have strengthened bilateral cooperation in all sectors.
He said, the "Made in India" Fast Interceptor Craft that was officially handed over to Coast Guard of the Maldives has been constructed in his home state. He said, the Fast Interceptor Craft will help enhance Maldive's maritime security, and promote the blue economy and tourism.
Mr Modi said, Indian tourist figures in Maldives have more than doubled and India has moved from 5th to 2nd position. He said, the RuPay Payment mechanism will further ease the travel of Indian to the Maldives. He said, both countries are also working on building a Cancer Hospital and a Cricket Stadium in Hulhulmalé.

Bosnia to get full control of its airspace from today

Bosnia will take full control of its air space from Thursday for the first time ever after its 1990s war of independence led to a period of oversight by international peace forces.
Control over its air space was maintained by NATO-led peace forces from 1995 until 2003 when it was transferred to neighbouring Serbia and Croatia while Bosnia built up and modernized its own system.
Bosnia took control of air space below 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) in 2014 following a 10-year project to establish its own air navigation management system and after the training of some 400 staff.
Serbia and Croatia retained control above 10,000 meters just as they were doing when all three countries were republics in the old Yugoslav federation.
It took considerable time to train flight controllers, rebuild infrastructure and obtain necessary equipment, including radar systems, he said, adding that BHANSA intended to further upgrade its capacities.
After taking over its air control service from Croatia and Serbia, BHANSA’s budget would rise to 72.5 million Bosnian marka ($41 million) in 2020 from 60 million marka this year, he added.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

CSIR’S innovative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Test gets U.S certification

The CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad on December 3, 2019, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) cleared the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Test facility at the centre.
The inspection was conducted between August 21, 2019 and August 22, 2019 with regard to Current Good Manufacturing Practices and was certified “No Action Initiated”.
The Research institute has largest facility of NMR laboratory in the country. It is equipped with nine NMR spectrometers. With the USFDA clearance the research centre will gain further motivation to high quality research.
US is the top export destinations of India’s Pharmaceuticals. In 2018-19, the Indian pharma exports to the US were 5820 million USD. Next to US, UK stands second with Indian pharma exports amounting to 630 million USD (2018-19), which is merely a tenth of exports to the US. Therefore, the USFDA certification is highly important to keep up the exports.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance is an analytical technique to determine the purity of a sample and its molecular structure. It is used to infer basic structure of unknown compounds. It helps to determine phase changes, solubility, conformational exchange and diffusion.

::SPORTS::

India tops medal tally in South Asian games

At the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal, India topped the medals tally on the fourth day with 70 medals comprising 34 gold, 23 silver and 13 bronze. Indian athletes dominated in most of the competitions yesterday.
On the fourth day of games, India clinched 28 medals including 17 gold. Athletics grabbed maximum 10 medals including 5 Gold. In Tennis, Table Tennis, Kho-Kho, Indian men's and women's teams won gold each. In Taekwondo India clinched six medals, including 3 Gold.
Indian women shooters brought double delight in 25 meter sports pistol by winning team and individual events. In Badminton, 8 Indian shuttlers entered the semi-finals in singles and doubles events assuring themselves of as many medals.