Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 13 July 2019

::NATIONAL::

President Calls for easy access to legal assistance for the poor

President RamnathKovind has asked the legal professionals to enable the poor to get justice on par with the rich in the society.
Addressing the Special Convocation of the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University in Chennai this morning, he said, it would be a travesty of the republican ethic if a poor person did not get the same access to the law as a rich person.
He called upon all those in the legal profession including judges, lawyers and court officers to ensure the primacy of the rule of law.
President Kovind observed that as the nation keeps evolving, the legal profession is also undergoing drastic changes and said the legal students now find many avenues open to them than any time in the past.
President RamnathKovind has insisted that the judgments of higher judiciary should be made available in the language of the litigants so that the legal system could be made simpler for the people.
He appreciated the Chattisgarh High Court for paying heed to his suggestion to translate all judgments into Hindi and said High Courts like Madras and Kerala could emulate the practice. He underscored that legal professionals should maintain the highest standards of public ethics.

India abstains at UN against issue of discrimination towards sexual minorities

India on Friday abstained at the vote for extending the mandate of an important UN official who reports on violence and discrimination against sexual minorities.
India’s abstention at the resolution for term-renewal of the independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva drew criticism from activists, especially since it came after the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 and decriminalised the LGBTQ community.
The resolution received support from most member countries at the Human Rights Council but India, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameron, Congo, Hungary, Togo and Senegal abstained during the final voting.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Qatar and Somalia opposed the resolution. Earlier, India had abstained during the 2016 vote on the appointment of the Independent Expert. The current Independent Expert is Victor Madrigal Borlioz of Costa Rica.
Activists pointed out that though India abstained, they were surprised to see that the Indian delegation had supported some amendments brought by countries that opposed the work of the Independent Expert. They chose Nepal and Philippines for supporting the resolution which was about opposing violence against the LGBTQ persons, which is essentially a form of gender violence.
The Resolution numbered L10 Rev 1 granted an extension of three years to the Independent Expert to carry on reporting on incidents of violence against the LGBTQ community all over the world.

::ECONOMY::

Decision to bring down fiscal deficit would free up additional resources for private sector

Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday defended the government’s decision to bring the fiscal deficit down to 3.3% this year, saying this would free up additional resources for the private sector to borrow and invest.
He also acknowledged the industry’s concerns that payments by the government for services were delayed, creating a liquidity crunch in the system.
Mr.Garg explained that a 1% relaxation in the fiscal deficit means an additional Rs. 2 lakh crore that can be used as investment.
The Finance Secretary also said that one of the reasons that the Reserve Bank of India’s rate cuts were not being transmitted by the banks was because they didn’t have enough liquidity left to adequately lend to the private sector after accommodating government borrowing.
Therefore, he said that the decision for the government to start borrowing overseas was a good one because it would mean there would be more resources available for the domestic private sector to utilise.
Members from CII raised the issue of government bodies delaying payments to service providers, leading to a liquidity block in the private sector. Mr.Garg acknowledged this and said that the government was setting up a payments portal.

CEA bats for balanced use of domestic and foreign savings

Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian on Friday sought to caution against a more-thannecessary reliance on foreign savings as a trigger for accelerating economic growth through more investments.
Dependence on foreign savings, on the other hand, can create macro vulnerability, he said, adding that letting all or a large part of investment coming from foreign savings would mean exposing to vulnerability as it happened in the case of East Asian economies.
Underscoring the need for hitting the ‘sweet spot’ in meeting the investment requirement, Mr. Subramanian, who spoke at The Global ISB Forum on ‘$5 Trillion in Five Years: Can we do It?’, said that exports were important in the context of driving demand.
His observations follow the Union Budget speech in which Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said it was high time India not only got integrated into the global value chain of production of goods and services, but also became part of the global financial system to mobilise global savings, mostly institutionalised in pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds.
She also said the government would start raising a part of its gross borrowing programme in foreign markets in external currencies.
Mr. Subramanian strongly advocated labour law reforms for more growth, citing the case of Rajasthan. On the system of extending assistance to small units, he said it was necessary to support those units that grew large as opposed to those that remained “dwarves.”

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India – Pakistan to meet at Wagah to discuss Kartarpur issue

Indian and Pakistani officials will meet at the Attari-Wagah border on Sunday to discuss issues, including ways to bridge gaps related to the Kartarpur Corridor that is to be made operational by November, ahead of the commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
The delegations will meet at Wagah in Pakistan to discuss issues of connectivity at the Zero Point, number of pilgrims and kind of travel documents to be allowed, government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday.
New Delhi had earlier conveyed to Pakistan its serious concern over the presence of a leading Khalistani separatist in a committee appointed by Islamabad for the project.
The project is aimed at easing access for Sikh pilgrims from India to visit GurdwaraDarbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan, the final resting place of Guru Nanak. Work on a four-lane highway on the Indian side was in full swing, the officials said. The four-lane highway connecting the Zero Point of the Kartarpur Corridor to National Highway 354 is being constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
India is constructing a bridge at the Zero Point and has urged Pakistan to build a similar bridge on its side to ensure safe and secure movement of pilgrims and to address concerns regarding flooding, the officials said. The bridge is over a creek, of which a major part falls in Pakistan.

Taiwan defends U.S arms deal citing self defence

Taiwan has defended the proposed purchase of arms worth 2.2 billion dollars from the US, following a Chinese announcement that it would impose sanction on any American companies involved in the deal.
The Defence Ministry of Taiwan, in a statement, said yesterday that US weapons help strengthen Taiwan's self-defence in the face of a growing military threat from China.
China said that the arms sales would undermine its sovereignty and national security and that it would impose sanctions on any US enterprises involved in the deal.
The Trump administration announced the proposed sale earlier in the week. It would include 108 Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger surface-to-air missiles.China considers Taiwan a part of its territory. The self-governing island split from the mainland during a civil war in 1949.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Environment ministry brings in project to save Great Indian Bustard

With just 130 great Indian bustards left in the country, the Centre has initiated a project worth ₹33.85 crore for their conservation and protection, the Environment Ministry told LokSabha on Friday.
Responding to a query on measures being taken to protect the Indian bustard, one of the heaviest birds listed under critically endangered species, Union Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo said the ministry was providing funds to states and Union Territories for conservation and protection of 21 critically endangered species, including the great Indian bustard.
“The important objective of this programme is to build up captive population of great Indian bustard and to release the chicks in the wild for increasing the population. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra are the important range states involved in this programme,” said the Minister.
In the last four years, the government has released over Rs 7.9 crore to Maharashtra and Rajasthan for conservation of great Indian bustard under the CSS-IDWH.
A senior official of the WII, an organisation working on the Indian bustard breeding project, said power lines are killing these birds and in order to increase their population, their breeding has started.

::SPORTS::

Ajay singh wins gold at commonwealth

Indian weightlifter Ajay Singh has won Gold in 81 kg category at the Commonwealth Championships in Apia, city of Samoa today.
22 year old also created a new Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk category by lifting more than double his body weight (190kg) to score vital points at the Olympic qualifying event. He also smashed the national record in the same category.
The Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships bronze medallist had earlier pulled off a clean lift of 148kgs in the snatch event, taking his total to 338kg. This is also Ajay's personal best.