Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 9 DECEMBER 2018

::NATIONAL::

Know India programby external affairs ministry concludes

A group of 40 Indian Diaspora youth called on the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, ShriKirenRijiju here today. The participants from eight countries are in India as part of the 25-day visit under the 49th 'Know India Programme' (KIP), being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with Andhra Pradesh Government.
Interacting with the participants, ShriRijiju said the Indian Diaspora should act as ambassadors of India's growth story and spread the good word about their experience in India upon their return.
“Government recognizes the importance of the Indian Diaspora and has a well laid down policy for engaging with the Diaspora community.Our Diaspora community has been an important partner in India's development. Over the course of your visit across India, you must have seen the development happening across the country,” he said.
The KIP is an important initiative of Government of India with an aim to engage and make the young Indian Diaspora in the age group of 18 to 30 years feel a sense of connect with their motherland, to be motivated and inspired by transformational changes taking place in India and to give them an exposure to various aspects of contemporary India and its varied forms of art, heritage and culture.
ShriRijiju said the government has instituted many revolutionary reforms for accelerating the development of the country that offer tremendous gainful opportunities to Diaspora. “Government of India has over the last four-and-a-half years launched several measures / programmes with scope of foreign/ NRI investment like Start-up India scheme, Make in India project along with significant reforms to improve Ease of Doing Business, Liberalization of FDI norms etc.

PM reiterates commitment to regional cooperation amongst SAARC members

Prime Minister NarendraModi has expressed India's commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and integration as a founding member of SAARC.
In his message on the occasion of the 34th SAARC Charter Day which was observed yesterday, MrModi said SAARC has made progress in its journey of over three decades but it has been below the region's full potential.
MrModi pointed out that terrorism remains the single largest threat to peace and stability in the region and said it is necessary to eliminate terrorism in all its forms.
He stressed that an environment of peace and security is essential for regional cooperation to flourish and achieve economic development and prosperity.
The Prime Minister said NDA government's initiatives are geared towards promoting people to people contact and connectivity in the region.
He cited launch of South Asia Satellite, extension of India's National Knowledge Network to South Asian countries as some of the initiatives.

::ECONOMY::

Canadian authorities claim Indian talc causing health hazards

The debate over whether talcum powder poses serious health risks is in the spotlight again.
A risk assessment draft on talc published by Health Canada, the country’s public health department, states that talcum powder is harmful to the lungs when inhaled during breathing and could possibly cause ovarian cancer when used by women in the genital area.
The draft, which was opened for public comments on Saturday, would be confirmed in a final assessment that would entail Canada adding talc to a list of toxic substances if the proposed conclusions are confirmed at the end of a 60-day feedback period.
At that point in time the Canadian government would also decide on the measures it would take to prohibit or restrict the use of the clay mineral, which finds wide use including in cosmetics, paints, ceramics.
According to SnehaLimaye of Pune’s Chest Research Foundation, the fine particles of talcum powder posed the same health risks as particulate matter (PM) in polluted air as they could get lodged deep in the lungs.
Observing that the health concerns surrounding the use of talcum powder were not new, BelaVerma, president of the Mumbai chapter of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics said: “Yet, its usage and popularity has never gone down. Most Indians use talcum powder to get rid of sweat and the odour that it generates. But talcum powder clogs the pores, which are supposed to remain open. This is the main cause of local infections like folliculitis, boils, skin eruptions.”

RBI moots new floating rates for MSME loans

In a bid to ensure greater transparency, Reserve Bank has proposed that floating interest rates on personal, home, auto and MSMEs loans be linked to external benchmarks like repo rate or treasury yields.
In a statement issued from Mumbai yesterday, RBI said that the final guidelines to link the interest rate to external benchmarks will be issued by the end of this month.
Currently, banks follow system of internal benchmarks, including Prime Lending Rate, Benchmark Prime Lending Rate, Base rate and Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate. The new system is likely to become operational by 1st April 2019.
RBI has said that the banks should decide the benchmark rate system to be followed right at the inception of the loan and it should remain unchanged through the life of the loan. It added that adoption of multiple benchmarks by the same bank will not be allowed within a loan category.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

34th SAARC charter day observed

Prime Minister of Nepal K.P.SharmaOli has greeted member states of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and people of South Asia on the occasion of 34th SAARC Charter Day. In a tweet, Mr. Olisaid, it is pleasing to note that SAARC has made progress in various sectors of regional cooperation since its inception.
SAARC was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. SAARC comprises of eight Member States- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The objectives of the Association as outlined in the SAARC Charter are: to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials;
It also has the objective to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;
And to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries; to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests; and to cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.

UAE women gets 50% representation in National council

In a landmark decision, UAE has increased the representation of Emirati women in the Federal National Council to 50 per cent from the coming Parliamentary term.
A decree passed by the UAE President has directed the doubling of the current percentage of women's representation in the Federal National Council from 22.5 per cent to 50 per cent in the coming parliamentary term.
The Emirati News Agency reported that the decision aims to rank the UAE in the top positions worldwide in terms of representation of women in parliament. This will enable the UAE women to achieve in a record time, what has been achieved by their counterparts globally in decades.
Last week the UAE Cabinet had adopted a new package of national legislative policies and initiatives to empower the Emirati women and make them partners in the country’s progress.
In a tweet ,Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said that “the Presidential decree allocating 50% of the seats in the Federal National Council to women is a great leap forward in cementing the legislative and parliamentary role of women in our nation's development . Women are half of our society; they should be represented as such.”
The Federal National Council (FNC) is the consultative council, the parliamentary body of the UAE. It has 40 members. The current FNC is the result of the latest elections in 2015. Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi is the Chairperson and the Speaker of the Federal National Council.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

India water summit concludes

The three days India Water Summit concluded in New Delhi today. Key issues including afforestation, biodiversity, urban river management, innovation in sewage and sewerage management were discussed during the event.
During the valedictory session, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, U.P Singh emphasized on the creation of a working group which will help in converting technology to working models.
According to an official release, the Summit introduced the Ganga Finance Forum, which brought together a number of national and international financial sector experts.
They highlighted the gaps but equally provided a plethora of innovative financial instruments to support the Ganga Rejuvenation programme.
The India Water Impact Summit is an annual event to provide a platform to start a discourse towards understanding water as a natural resource.

::SPORTS::

India enters last eight of hockey world cup

India have entered the quarterfinals of the Men's Hockey World Cup. In Bhubaneswar this evening, the hosts thrashed Canada 5-1 in their last Pool-C match.
With this win, India and Belgium have seven points each. India is at the number one spot due to goal difference. Canada is in the third position and South Africa in the fourth position.
Earlier in the evening, Olympic silver medallist Belgium thrashed South Africa 5-1 to remain in the hunt for a direct quarterfinal berth.