Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 January 2020

::NATIONAL::

IMD to change reference dates for onset and withdrawal of monsoons

• With changing rainfall pattern, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) will change the reference dates for onset and withdrawal of southwest monsoon from this year, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said on Wednesday.
• June 1 is the onset date for monsoon over Kerala and it is likely to remain the same but the IMD will change the reference dates for some states and cities, Rajeevan said, adding the dates for withdrawal of monsoon will also be changed.
• The new dates are expected to be announced in April when the IMD releases its First Long Range Forecast for Monsoon 2020, IMD Director General M Mohapatra said.
• He said the data cited to give the reference dates dates back to 1940s and it needed to be revised.He, however, did not specify whether climate change was behind setting the new reference dates.
• Last year, the monsoon covered the entire country by July 19, four days after its normal date. It also withdrew from the entire country on October 9, as against the normal date of September 1.
• Rajeevan added the IMD is working with the UK's Met department to come up with impact-based forecast that will suggest measures to be taken during extreme weather events.

WCD ministry ensures protection of child rights in adoption cases

• Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani has said that all the rights and privileges of a child are safeguarded during the process of adoption and transfer of responsibilities to adoptive parents are done in a completely legal manner.
• She was speaking at the National Consultation on Adoption organized by Central Adoption Resource Authority, CARA, a statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• She said, a large number of parents are still waiting to adopt, even as the total number of reported adoptions is less when compared to the figures of destitute and orphan children in the country.
• Ms Irani urged all stakeholders that every effort should be made to improve the implementation of the adoption programme thereby ensuring the best interest of the children.
• Officials and stakeholders from all States and Union Territories participated in the consultations. Major issues deliberated upon were simplification of the adoption process, bringing more children in need of care and protection into the adoption pool and rehabilitation of older and children with special needs among others.

::ECONOMY::

India to bring in law to safeguard foreign investments

• India is planning a new law to safeguard foreign investment by speeding up dispute resolution, aiming to attract more capital from overseas to boost stuttering domestic growth, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter told.
• The draft proposal is aimed at diffusing investor mistrust around the sanctity of agreements, which has worsened recently after some state governments decided to review approved projects, or threatened to cancel contracts.
• While investors can still rely on the existing legal system to settle disputes, it often takes several years for cases to be decided or settled.
• Investors previously had an option to take India to international arbitration courts under bilateral investment treaties (BITs) the government had agreed with dozens of nations. But, after suffering setbacks in overseas arbitration matters, India has allowed most of its treaties to lapse, giving investors little to fall back on in case of major disputes.
• India is entangled in more than 20 such overseas arbitration cases - the most against any country - brought by companies including Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Nissan Motor Co for disputes over retrospective tax claims and breach of contracts.
• If India loses these cases, brought before most of its BITs lapsed, it could end up paying billions of dollars in damages.
• The government's thinking is that India may not need to sign investment treaties with other nations if the new law which is modelled on a BIT, can give confidence to investors, said the first source.

India- China trade followed steady path in 2019

• India-China bilateral trade has continued to make steady growth in 2019. As per Chinese official data released to media yesterday, China-India bilateral trade stood at 639.52 billion yuans in 2019 which is 1.6 per cent increase year on year.
• However, in US dollar terms, it has dipped by 3 billion US dollars as compared to 2018 as overall global trade was moderated in 2019. Bilateral trade is projected to be about 92.68 billion dollars in 2019 while it was 95.7 billion US dollars in 2018, a record high till now.
• Trade deficit has become a major concern in India-China bilateral relations. It is India’s biggest single trade deficit running with any country. India’s trade deficit is two-pronged, the sheer size of the deficit and its continuous widening year after year to reach 58.04 billion US dollars in 2018.
• During second informal summit in Chennai last year, the two leaders have agreed to set up new mechanism led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua to discuss trade, investment and services, first meeting of which is expected to take place this year.
• The growth of trade deficit with China is mainly due to two factors - a narrow basket of commodities, mostly primary, that India exports to China and market access impediments for most of Indian agricultural products and its competitive sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, IT/ITeS, etc.
• India has been pitching for more market access to Indian IT companies, pharmaceuticals and agriculture products, including major commodities like sugar, rice, milk and milk products. India, being a large producer of these commodities can emerge as a most stable and cost effective source for China.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India visions 2020 as year of implementation of decisions with Russia

• PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday suggested that 2020 should be the ‘year of implementation of those decisions’ arrived between India & Russia in 2019.
• This was decided when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Modi here on Wednesday. The Prime Minister noted that several important decisions and outcomes were reached between the two countries in 2019.
• He suggested that the year 2020, which is also the 20th anniversary year of the establishment of strategic partnership between India the Russian Federation, should be the ‘year of implementation of those decisions’.
• There was a also detailed exchange of views on key regional and international issues including the situation relating to Iran, Syria and Libya when Lavrov met his Indian counterpart.
• The Prime Minister referred to the wide-ranging conversation he had with President Putin over telephone on 13 January 2020, and noted the progress in the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the previous year.
• Lavrov conveyed that President Putin looked forward to the visit of the Prime Minister to Russia in May 2020 to participate in the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Victory Day, and in July 2020 for the BRICS and SCO Summits.
• The Prime Minister welcomed multiple occasions this year to meet President Putin, and said that he also looked forward to hosting President Putin in India for the Annual Bilateral Summit later this year.

Maldives agrees to extend cooperation with India for stability of Indian ocean

• Maldives is an ally of India and on the same page with Delhi regarding peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region, Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid told.
• While the Minister did not refer to China the Minister was of opinion that Male does not favour big power rivalry in the region. But this is not only challenge for Male. The horrendous terror attacks in Sri Lanka has impacted Maldives.
• This is Shahid’s second visit to India in as many months which underscores Maldives growing strategic partnership with India since election of Ibu Solih as the President in 2018.
• When asked about achievements of the Solih government over the past 14 months the Minister explained that Maldives has reclaimed democracy, peace and happiness over the past year. “There is overwhelming support for stability in Maldives. Today we have two women for the first time as judges in the Supreme Court of Maldives which is a landmark development.”

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

IMD reports 2019 as the warmest year since 1901

• The International Meteorological Organisation released its “State of Climate Report” for the year 2019. According to the report, the climate change has claimed 1,659 lives in India in the year 2019. 2019 is the seventh warmest year since 1901.
• The temperatures were not high as compared to 2016 (the warmest year so far) mainly due to weak El Nino in the Pacific.
• The extreme weather events that occurred in the country in the year 2019 were all linked to climate change. It includes cyclones, floods, heat waves, cold waves, landslides, etc. Of all the states, Bihar reported highest deaths (650) due to extreme weather events.
• Of these 300 died in floods and 350 died due to heat waves. Following Bihar, other states such as Maharashtra, UP, Kerala, Rajasthan and Karnataka showed high numbers of deaths due to extreme weather events.
• There were 8 cyclonic storms that were formed in the Indian seas. Of these, around 5 were formed in Arabian sea. This was unusual as compared to the usual one per year.
• The report also stated that heavy rains claimed 850 lives. Heat waves that was stronger in North Eastern and western parts claimed 350 lives.

::SPORTS::

ICC names Kohli as captain of ODI & Test teams of the year

• India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli today named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year.
• Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI teams of the year.
• While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.

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