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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 14 June 2022

::NATIONAL::

16th Presidential Election

Election Commission of India has announced the schedule of election for the 16th Presidential Election.

About:

The term of office of Shri Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, is ending on 24th July, 2022.
As per Article 62 of the Constitution of India, an election to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of the outgoing President is required to be completed before the expiration of the term.
Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Presidential and Vice – Presidential Elections Rules, 1974 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of election to the office of the President of India in the Election Commission of India.
As per the Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of:

1.   elected members of both Houses of Parliament, and
2.   elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry
3.   Nominated members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, and members of state Legislative Councils, are not part of the electoral college.

Article 55 (3) of the Constitution provides that the election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.

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Russia delivers more efficient nuclear fuel for Kudankulam reactors

Rosatom State Corporation of Russia has supplied the first batches of more reliable and cost-efficient nuclear fuel over the existing one, the TVS-2M nuclear fuel, to India for the Units 1 & 2 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).

About:

Russia is building KNPP under anInter-Governmental Agreement(IGA) of 1988 and follow onagreements in 1998 and 2008.
Nuclear fuel is used in a nuclearreactor to sustain a nuclear chainreaction. Most common nuclearfuels are radioactive metalsuranium-235 and plutonium-239.
Russia is building KNPP under anInter-Governmental Agreement(IGA) of 1988 and follow onagreements in 1998 and 2008.
Advantage of TVS-2M fuel:increased uranium capacity,
anti-debris filter protecting fuelbundles from debris damage etc.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Russia Tests India Freight Direct Via INSTC

Iran’s state-run shipping company said it started its first transfer of Russian goods to India, using a new trade corridor that transits.

About:

International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation network, first envisaged in 2000 by Russia, India and Iran, to promote transportationcooperation among the Member States.
INSTC connects Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to Caspian Sea via Iran andis then connected to Saint Petersburg and North Europe via Russia.
Currently, it has 13 members: India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia,Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkey, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Ukraine and Syria.

Significance:

Will help India to gain smooth access into Central Asia and beyond and will help to expand trade and investment links.
Reduce dependence on current trading partners, especially energy connectivity, through realignment of supply chains.

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US treasury CurrencyMonitoring List

India on Friday remained on the US treasury department's currency Monitoring List of major trading partners as Washington placed India along with 11 other major economies that merit close attention to their currency practices and macroeconomic policies.

About:

The countries are China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mexico, said the US Department of Treasury in its semi-annual Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States.
This is a label given by US government to countries it feels are engaging in “unfair currencypractices” by deliberately devaluing their currency against the dollar.
An economy meeting two of the three criteria is placed on the Monitoring List:

1. A significant bilateral trade surplus with US.
2. A material current account surplus equivalent to at least 2 percent of GDP over a 12-monthperiod.

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::ECONOMY::

Govt clarifies rate of TDS on virtual digital assets continues to be 1%

The government on clarified that the TDS on virtual digital assets continues to be 1%.

About:

The clarification from the Income Tax comes at a time when earlier in the day some media reports mentioned that the TDS rate for virtual digital assets has been dropped to 0.1% from 1% as announced earlier in the budget.
The 1% TDS will be applicable from July 1.
It is hereby clarified that there is no change in the rate of TDS on VDA, which continues to be 1%.
The Centre had set a 30% taxation on the gains from the cryptocurrency assets.

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::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Amyloidosis

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has been hospitalised for the past few weeks due to complications arising of the medical condition he is suffering from called amyloidosis.

About:

Amyloidosis is a rare disease that occurs when an abnormal protein (normally not found in thebody), called amyloid, builds up in one’s organs, affecting their shape and functioning.
Amyloid deposits can build up in the heart, brain, kidneys, spleen and other parts of the body,leading to life-threatening conditions like organ failure.
There are also different amyloidosis that are prevalent such as Light-chain (AL), AA,Dialysis-related, Transthyretin.

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