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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 JANUARY 2018

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 JANUARY 2019

::NATIONAL::

PM claims passage of reservation bill ‘historic’

The Prime Minister has said that the constitutional amendment bill providing 10% reservation for general category poor is a historic step for the uplift of the poor and a reflection of the Government’s commitment to SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas.
Passage of The Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019 in both Houses of Parliament is a victory for social justice.It ensures a wider canvas for our Yuva Shakti to showcase their prowess and contribute towards India’s transformation.
By passing The Constitution (One Hundred And Twenty-Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2019, we pay tributes to the makers of our Constitution and the great freedom fighters, who envisioned an India that is strong and inclusive", the Prime Minister said.
Addressing a public rally in Solapur, Maharashtra today, he said that the passage of the bill by Loksabha is a strong answer to those who were spreading falsehood in this regard and expressed hope that the bill will be passed by Rajya Sabha.
On the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the Prime Minister assured the people of Assam and North East that their rights and opportunities will be protected.
The Prime Minister said that his Government’s drive against corruption and middlemen will continue unabated despite the diatribes against him. He said that he was performing his duty courageously in the fight against corruption and middlemen backed by the support and the blessings of the people.
The Prime Minister was addressing a public rally at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Solapur after launching and laying down foundation stones of several development projects for the region.Prime Minister laid the foundation Stone of 30,000 houses under Pradhan MantriAwasYojana.

Supreme court orders justice Bedi report be made public

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that a confidential report filed by the Justice H.S. Bedi (retired)Monitoring Committee into 21 police encounters in Gujarat, which had occurred during the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the State’s Chief Minister, be shared with petitioners, lyricist Javed Akhtar and those representing the late journalist B.G. Verghese.
The decision of the Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, was a setback for the Gujarat government, which urged the court to keep the final report filed by the Supreme Court-appointed committee under wraps.
The court also did not accept the State’s plea to bar the petitioners from sharing the report with the media. The Gujarat government will also get a copy.
Asserting that the PIL petitioners had no locus standi, Senior advocate Mr. Dwivedi said the case would be prematurely prejudiced against the accused if the Supreme Court puts its seal on the report.
He said the report was based on the merits of the encounter cases and a reflection on the alleged conduct and criminality of certain persons involved. He said only the trial court could take cognisance of the Justice Bedi report.
In the previous hearing, Gujarat had objected to the report itself. It alleged that Justice Bedi had prepared the report without consulting the other members of the monitoring committee. The court responded by asking Justice Bedi to file a written response.
It was on December 3 that a Bench led by Justice Gogoi had expressed the court’s resolve to hear the petitions filed by Mr. Akhtar and Mr. Verghese in 2007. The petitioners had sought a fair probe into the encounters.

::ECONOMY::

RBI governor holds meeting with NBFC’s on liquidity issue

Representatives of the troubled shadow banking sector met Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday and are understood to have discussed a host of issues surrounding liquidity, which they have been struggling with since the IL&FS crisis broke out late August last.
There has also been a suggestion to have a bi-annual meeting between the Governor and the representatives of the sector which is most likely to be implemented, sources said.
Mr. Das, who has been meeting all the key stakeholders, including banks and MSME representatives, after taking charge last month , told the meeting that NBFCs played a significant role in ensuring credit flow to the economy, sources said.
He also sought suggestions on how to improve the credit flow, they said, adding no assurances were offered at the meeting.
Some NBFCs are said to have requested the RBI to allow them to access public deposits, which could give them access to funds.

WEF sees high stake in India’s domestic private consumption

Domestic private consumption, that accounts for a major portion of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), is expected to develop into a $6 trillion growth opportunity that would make India the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, says a latest study by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Currently it is at $1.5 trillion.
The potential, however, offers both challenges and opportunities as India would have to address critical societal issues, including skill development and employment of the future workforce, socio-economic inclusion of rural India and creating a healthy and sustainable future for its citizens, according to the international body that works towards enhancing public-private cooperation.
According to the WEF, the future of consumption in India in 2030 is anchored in rising incomes and a broad-based pattern of growth and benefit sharing.
It believes that the growth of the middle class would lift nearly 25 million households out of poverty and further, India would have 700 million millennials and Gen Z consumers, who have grown up in a more open and confident country.
According to the study, with nearly 10-12 million working-age people expected to emerge in India over the next decade, the country faces a huge challenge in providing the workforce with the right skills.
Second, India will have to manage socio-economic inclusion of rural India as, by 2030, 40% of Indians will be urban residents. Finally, business and policy-makers will have to take the initiative on improving health and liveability for India’s citizens by providing them with access to affordable healthcare, promoting sustainable development, and seeking solutions to urban congestion.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.K to discuss post brexit immigration proposals with India

British officials are set to test India’s reaction to proposals for a new post-Brexit immigration system unveiled in December. Home Office officials are set to meet with counterparts in India next week, as well as others, for discussions on the ‘Immigration White Paper’ unveiled by Home Secretary Sajid Javid last year, a senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) official has said.
The immigration plans aim to create a level-playing field for EU and non-EU workers, basing immigration opportunities on skills levels rather than which part of the world workers have come from.
“It is important to us as we finalise [immigration policy] to get a clear view from the Indian government, and Indian students and others,” said the FCO official, adding that they believed the nature of the discussions that were set to take place were “unique at this stage”, highlighting the huge importance the country placed on getting its relationship with India right.
The meetings in India are also an acknowledgment of the crucial role the migration debate plays in the bilateral relationship between the U.K. and India and the need to strengthen it ahead of Brexit.
Senior figures from India, including former High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha, have raised concerns about Britain’s immigration approach, including the focus given to those overstaying their visa, which India believes is given attention by the U.K. beyond levels it should be.
Last year, the FCO warned in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry, that India accounts for the largest number of individuals staying in the U.K. illegally, and the number of those subjected to forced returns to India has fallen by 50% in three years.
Britain also faced criticism for failing to include India in a relaxation of student documentation requirements that were extended to other countries, including China.

Tehran Proposes a regional dialogue forum in Persian gulf

In a diplomatic initiative to address the lingering conflicts and mistrust in the Gulf region, Iran on Wednesday proposed a new platform for regional peace building.
Delivering a major speech at the Raisina Dialogue here, its Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said such a forum should offer membership to countries based on a set of general principles to address real issues that affect people of the region and the world.
The announcement of Persian Gulf Regional Dialogue Forum is significant as it comes in the wake of continued erosion of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which in the recent years has been divided between the Iranian and the Saudi spheres. Mr. Zarif suggested that the new forum could focus on promotion of peace and prosperity in the region.
Laying out the agenda of the regional forum, Mr. Zarif said that it could connect people of various member countries cutting across all traditional boundaries. He also highlighted the effectiveness of such a forum in dealing with threats like terrorism and extremism that has left the countries of the region in a state of continuous state of insecurity.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists develop a safer way to fight mosquitoes

Scientists in the United States said on Tuesday they had taken a major step toward developing a “mosquito birth control” drug to curb the spread of malaria and other killer diseases blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year.
Researchers at the University of Arizona said they had discovered a protein unique to female mosquitoes which is critical for their young to hatch.
When the scientists blocked the protein, the females laid eggs with defective shells causing the embryos inside to die.
The team said developing drugs which targeted the protein could provide a way to reduce mosquito populations without harming beneficial insects such as bees.
Mosquitoes are one of the world’s deadliest insects, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) which has warned that global progress against malaria is stalling.
The disease infected around 216 million people in 2016, killing 445,000 of them, predominantly babies and young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Other diseases spread by mosquitoes include Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, West Nile virus and dengue, which has risen 30-fold in recent decades, according to the WHO.

::SPORTS::

Khelo India Games starts off in Pune

The second edition of Khelo India Youth Games was officialy inaugurated yesterday evening by union sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
The first day of 12-day sporting extravaganza was action-packed with many records being broken by the young athletes.
Delhi dominated the first day with five gold medals followed by Maharashtra and Haryana with three and two gold medals, respectively. Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal won one gold medal each.
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