Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 14 NOVEMBER 2018

::NATIONAL::

Cyclone GAJA to bring rains in south eastern parts of the country

As the cyclonic storm Gaja is steadily approaching the Tamil Nadu shores, weather officials have forecast rainfall at many places in north coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and its adjoining districts from this evening.
Other places are expected to get rain on the day of the cyclone’s landfall tomorrow, with the possibility of heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places. Some areas in Cuddalore, Nagappattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram would witness extremely heavy rainfall tomorrow. The sea condition would be rough.
The cyclone at present is laying centred at about 580 km from Chennai and 680 km from Nagappattinam. The weather system is moving in the west-southwest direction at a speed of about eight km an hour. It is expected to get intensified into a severe cyclone in the next 24 hours and make a landfall in between Pamban and Cuddalore in a weakened form tomorrow afternoon as a cyclone.
AIR correspondent quoting the state government officials says, vulnerable places on the path of the cyclone have been identified and all out efforts have been taken to mitigate its effects.
Total suspension of fishing operations along & off Tamil Nadu & Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts till 15th November.
The fishermen are advised not to venture into central parts of south & central Bay of Bengal on 13thNovember and into southwest & adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal till 15th November.

Supreme court refuses to stay ruling on sabarimala issue

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear in open court review petitions against its majority judgment which lifted a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 years from undertaking the pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
The Review Bench of five judges, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, however, refused to stay the majority judgment by a Constitution Bench on September 28. The majority judgment had declared the exclusion, solely based on the menstrual status of women, to be a smear on individual dignity. It said the bar amounted to “treating women as the children of a lesser God”.
The refusal to stay the judgment would mean that worshippers, both men and women of all ages, can still undertake the pilgrimage when the temple re-opens on November 16 evening for Mandala Pooja.
Advocate G. Prakash, who represents the Kerala government in the issue, said the Bench has only taken a prima facie decision to hear the review petitions in open court. “It has not issued notice. On January 22, the same Review Bench will hear the petitioners and decide whether their pleas should be admitted or not,” he said.
The September judgment had triggered widespread protests in Kerala. The State Police has arrested thousands of protestors even as Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan staunchly stood by the judgment.
Justice Indu Malhotra held that imposing the court’s morality on a religion would negating the freedom to practise religion according to one’s faith and beliefs. Justice Malhotra's judgment has become a rallying point for petitioners.

ECONOMY

Centre to roll out new Ease of Doing Agri-Business Index

States may soon start receiving extra funding for the Agriculture Ministry’s flagship schemes on the basis of their performance in encouraging agri-business, especially with regard to marketing, land and governance reforms.
The Centre expects to roll out a new Ease of Doing Agri-Business Index early next year, which will rank the States on the basis of such reforms, as well as their investment in agriculture, increased productivity, reduction of input costs, and risk mitigation measures.
“In future, the Ministry may consider rewarding the higher performing States [both in absolute and incremental terms] by linking the performance with allocation from flexi funds made available in various flagship schemes of this Ministry,” says a recent concept note for the Index.
NITI Aayog already brings out a Agricultural Marketing and Farm Friendly Reforms Index, rating States on their implementation of such reforms. In the initial edition of that Index in 2016, Maharashtra stood first in the rankings, followed by Gujarat.
The proposed index has a wider ambit, but the focus is still on reforms, with marketing reforms (25%) and governance and land reforms (20%) carrying almost half of the weight of the parameters in its scoring system.
As agriculture is a State subject, the success of policies and reform initiatives proposed at the Centre is dependent on implementation by the States. “To ensure that reform agenda of the government is implemented at a desired pace by all State governments, there is a need to develop a competitive spirit between the States,” says the note.

RBI unlikely to support NBFC’s to increase liquidity

Amid growing demand for liquidity support for non-banking finance companies, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to provide any special support to the sector, though it will continue to provide funds to the banking system as liquidity deficit in the system is a concern.
According to sources, the RBI is of the view that bigger NBFCs that have high ratings from rating agencies are not facing any liquidity issues.
It is the mid-sized and smaller NBFCs, mostly housing finance firms, that will face some issues. According to market estimates, about ₹1.5 lakh crore of commercial paper face redemption this month, a bulk of which are issued by NBFCs.
NBFCs can avail refinance facility from SIDBI or National Housing Bank and can also sell loans to banks. NHB has recently increased its refinancing limit by ₹6,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore to eligible institutions, including housing finance companies, for the July 2018-June 2019 period.
The liquidity issue for NBFCs, along with other issues like capital requirement for banks and more dividend from RBI to the government, has been a bone of contention between the central bank and the Finance Ministry.
The Centre has cited the never-used provision under section 7 of the RBI Act to initiate consultations with RBI. Under this section, the government can issue directions to RBI.

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INTERNATIONAL

PM arrives in Singapore to attend East Asia Summit & ASEAN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore this morning on a two-day visit to attend the East Asia Summit, ASEAN-India informal meet and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, RCEP Summit.
Mr.Modi will address the Fintech Festival this morning. About Thirty thousand people will attend the keynote address of Mr.Narendra Modi who will be the first head of government to deliver an address at this Festival. This is one of the largest events on financial technology. Later, he will visit the India Pavilion.
Prime Minister Modi will also attend the RCEP Summit to review the progress made on the negotiations to finalise the proposed free trade agreement.
It is being negotiated amongst sixteen countries including ten ASEAN Member States and India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea.
Mr. Modi will also hold several bilateral meetings today. He will hold talks with US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Ministers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand

UN urges Bangladesh to stop Rohingya repatriation plan

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has urged Bangladesh to halt plans for the repatriation of more than 2,200 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
In a statement, the UN Human Rights Office has said that forcibly returning them to their home country would be in violation of international law and put their lives and freedom at serious risk.
Bachelet said, the refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar are the victims of human rights violations committed in the midst of the violence that erupted in August 2017 and are unwilling to return under current conditions.
She appealed to the Government of Bangladesh to ensure scrupulously that any repatriation takes place in line with international standards of voluntariness, safety and dignity, with full transparency, and only when the conditions are right.
Bachelet also called on the Government of Myanmar to show its seriousness in creating the conditions for return by addressing the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine state, in particular, the systematic discrimination against and persecution of Rohingyas.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO to launch communication satellite GSAT-29 today

Indian Space Research Organization will launch the communication satellite GSAT-29 this evening from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikotta.
The ISRO's heaviest ever launch vehicle GSLV Mark-III is set to inject the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit after its lift off at 5:08 PM. The countdown for the launch started at 2:50 PM yesterday and is progressing smoothly.
The satellite GSAT-29 has high throughput communication transponders in the Ka and Ku bands. It can augment high speed data transfer in India’s far flung and remote areas. It weighs 3,423 kg during lift off and has an operational life of over ten years.
The mission assumes significance, as its success would qualify the national space agency’s fifth generation launch vehicle GSLV-Mark Three, for regular launches of four-tonne class payloads. It is also set to provide a further fillip, to the prestigious Chandrayaan-II mission, that is being planned early next year.

SPORTS

Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumra maintains top spots in ICC ODI rankings

India captain Virat Kohli and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah maintained their top positions respectively in the latest ICC ODI rankings published today.
Kohli remained in pole position with 899 poins while limited overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma remained second in the list.
Rohit's opening partner Shikhar Dhawan is the third Indian in the top-10 list at eighth position improving from his ninth place in the previous list.
Similarly in the bowlers' list, there are three Indians with Bumrah on top with 841 points. Kuldeep Yadav maintained his third place in the list. Kuldeep's wrist spin twin Yuzvendra Chahal is placed fifth on the list.