Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07 March 2020

::NATIONAL::

Supreme court uphold land acquisition proceedings under 1894act

• A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday held that land acquisition proceedings under the 1894 Act will not be deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, if the authorities have tendered the compensation by deposit in the Treasury.
• A five-judge Bench, led by Justice Arun Mishra, held that landowners, who had refused to accept compensation or who sought reference for higher compensation, cannot claim that the acquisition proceedings had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act.
• With this, the Constitution Bench has affirmed the February 2018 ruling on Section 24 by a three-judge Bench, led by Justice Mishra himself, in the Indore Development Authority case. The Bench has overruled an earlier co-ordinate Bench ruling in the Pune Municipal Corporation case of 2014.
• The new Act, which came into existence on January 1, 2014 replaced the colonial 1894 law. The provision said that in such cases, if the physical possession has not been taken “or” the compensation is not paid, the acquisition proceeding is “deemed to have lapsed”.
• The government, if it so wishes, would have to initiate “fresh acquisition proceedings” under the new Act of 2013, which provides for “fair compensation”.
• Further, the court held that a land acquisition proceeding under Section 24(2) would only lapse if the authorities have neither taken physical possession nor paid the compensation due to the landowner for five or more years prior to January 1, 2014.

India joins as observer in Indian ocean commission

• India has been approved as an observer state for a five-nation grouping in the Western Indian Ocean, which includes Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius and French Reunion.
• The members of the Indian .....................................

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::ECONOMY::

RBI claims enough stock of forex reserves against shocks from epidemic

• Amid the volatility of the Indian currency due to fear of COVID-19 spreading, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said the country had enough foreign exchange reserves and assured that the central bank would take all measures needed to secure the economy against the challenges arising from the deadly epidemic.
• The deadly virus that originated from China has spread to nearly 80 countries and has taken the lives of more than 3,300 people.
• The rupee weakened by 54 paisa on Friday to end the day at 73.87 against the dollar as fears of the virus spreading continue to make investors nervous.
• Asserting that the country had enough resources to fight the crisis with a robust level of foreign exchange reserves, Mr. Das called upon the IMF to launch non-stigmatised currency swap lines to ease liquidity pressures globally.
• Mr. Das said all central banks were resolved to work in close coordination to fight the global slowdown due to the spread of the virus. The impact on India would be limited as the economy was not significantly integrated with the global value chain. “To that extent we will be insulated,” he added.

Generic medicines market share moves up 6% in last 5 years

• Generic medicines have gained momentum in the country with its share shooting to eight per cent from two per cent in the last five years.
• Talking exclusively to AIR News,.......................

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Pakistan opposes India’s security role in Afghanistan

• Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Pakistan does not want any security role for India in Afghanistan as he accused New Delhi of playing the role of a “spoiler” in the war-torn country, according to a media report.
• Addressing the Senate on Wednesday, Mr. Qureshi said that Pakistan neither desires any security role for India in Afghanistan nor wants the presence of militant organisations — al-Qaeda and the ISIS — in the landlocked country, The Nation reported.
• The Foreign Minister ............................

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

International conference on Nano science and Nano technology held in India

• On March 5, 2020, the Department of Science of Technology operating under Ministry of Science and Technology organized an International Conference on Nano-Science and Nano Technology (ICONSAT) at Kolkata.
• The Conference highlighted the current need of India in the field of Nano-Science. It includes 5Ms namely Material, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Manpower and Machines. The Conference was attended by more than 450 scientists from all over the world.
• India started its journey of nanotechnology with the launch of “Nano Science and Technology Initiative” (NSTI) in 2001 for a span of 5 years. In 2007, it was renamed as “Nano Mission”. Nano Mission had wider objectives and larger funding of 250 million USD.
• This effort paid off well with Indian researchers publishing more than 23,000 papers in the field in next 5 years. In 2013, India ranked third in research paper publication in the field after China and USA.
• Also, the contribution of private firms on Nano Technology has also been minimal. India currently works towards producing 10,000 researchers in the field in the next 10 years as of 2017.

::SPORTS::

SAI announces first edition of U-21 Khelo India women’s hockey league

• Sports Authority of India, in association with Hockey India today announced the first edition of the Khelo India Women's Hockey League Under-21.It will be organized by Hockey India at three different venues in three phases between March to November.
• While phase one will be held from 23rd to 29th of this month at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, the second phase will be held from 13th to 19th at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, followed by the final one from 22nd to 29th November at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

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