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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 October 2018

::NATIONAL::

Women & child ministry confirms that no time limit for reporting complaints under POSCO act

Survivors of child sexual abuse can file a police complaint after they become adults. The government clarified on Tuesday that there is no time bar on reporting such crimes.
The Law Ministry concurred with the opinion of the Ministry of Women and Child Development that unlike the Code of Criminal Proceedings (CrPC), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012, does not lay down a time limit for reporting crimes covered under it.
“The Ministry of Law, after examining the provisions of POCSO Act vis-à-vis provisions of CrPC, has advised that there appears no period of limitation mentioned in Section 19 in regard to reporting of the offences under the POCSO Act, 2012,” according to a statement.
Section 19 of the POCSO Act, which deals with sexual crimes against children, lays down the procedure for reporting a crime but doesn’t specify a time limit or statute of limitation for reporting it.
Whereas the CrPC lays down different time-limits for crimes which carry a punishment of up to three years, there is no time bar for crimes that would attract a jail term of more than three years.
This is an important step for survivors of child abuse, who may try to file a complaint as adults but are turned away at police stations.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years and provides protection to all children under the age of 18 years from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.

Supreme court allows couple to separate without waiting for cooling off period

The Supreme Court has allowed a couple to go their own way without waiting for the mandatory “cooling-off” period of six months on learning that they have decided to part as friends.
This is one of the first cases in which the Supreme Court has followed its own ruling in September 2017 that Hindu couples who have mutually agreed to separate need not wait anymore for the mandatory “cooling-off ” period of six months before divorce.
The 2017 judgement was pronounced by a Bench of Justices (now retired) A.K. Goel and U.U. Lalit. Previously, under the Hindu Marriage Act, once a couple moves a court of law for divorce, they have to wait for a minimum period of six months before the court actually passes a decree of divorce.
The apex court had held that the waiting period should be done away with in cases where there is no way to save the marriage and all efforts at mediation and conciliation have run their course; where parties have genuinely settled their differences including alimony, custody of child, etc, between themselves; and already a year and a half has passed since their first motion for separation.
The court had observed that application for waiver of waiting period can be filed in court within a week of their first motion for separation. The proceedings can be done through video-conferencing.

::ECONOMY::

CVC analyses 100 top bank frauds and suggests systemic improvements

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has reviewed and analyzed Top 100 Bank Frauds, as on 2017. Sharing the details Dr. T.M. Bhasin, Vigilance Commissioner, CVC informed that the Commission has sub divided the study into 13 sectors comprising of Gems and Jewellery, Manufacturing, Agro sector, Media, Aviation, Service Sector, Discounting of cheques and bills, Trading sector, IT Sector, Exports sector, Fixed deposits and Demand Loan etc.
Dr. Bhasin said that as a conscious decision and with a view to maintaining discreteness, the names of borrower accounts/entities and the names of the Banks have not been disclosed in the report.
However, steps are being taken for all encompassing actions such as investigation by the Premier investigative agencies, fixing staff accountability and recovery measures, etc. for effective action.
Dr. Bhasin said that the modus operandi of these loans has been thoroughly analysed and various loopholes/lapses have been identified. Based on the findings, various industry specific suggestions for systemic improvement have been given in the final report, which have also been sent to Deptt. of Financial Services (DFS)and RBI, in order to plug the loopholes observed by the Commission.
The measures suggested include strengthening of SOPs, monitoring system and also highlighting the role of controlling offices, so as examine the aspect of quality of business.

Centre assures commitment towards zero hunger on world food day

The purpose of celebrating World Food Day this year is to demonstrate our global commitment to achieve the goal of creating “Zero Hunger World” by 2030. Modi government is working continuously in a phased manner to achieve the goal of zero hunger.
At the inauguration ceremony of Agri Startup & Entrepreneurship Conclave on the occasion of World Food Day today, Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister said that the efforts of farmers and techniques developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have contributed to an increase in agricultural production and food security.
As per the fourth advance estimate, foodgrain production is estimated at 284.83 million tonnes in 2017-18, an increase of over 20 million tonnes as compared to 2013-14.
The Minister informed that horticulture crops, which contribute significantly to nutritional security, have witnessed record production this year at 307 million tonnes. Today, India occupies the top spot in horticulture production.
According to statistics, a requirement of 22 lakh skilled youth is in the agricultural sector, for which training of skill development is being conducted in various employment areas with the help of the Agriculture Department ICAR and Krishi Vigyan Kendras. The Modi Government has encouraged entrepreneurs through skill development and start-ups.
To attract the youth of the country towards agriculture, a project called 'Arya' is being run through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and the Farmer Fest program is also playing a leading role in this direction. Skill development internships for youth are provided at the graduation level.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India to sign internal security cooperation agreement with China

For the first time, India and China will sign an internal security cooperation agreement next week, marking a new beginning in bilateral relations, officials said on Tuesday.
Zhao Kezhi, China’s Minister of Public Security, who is set to visit India on October 22, will hold meetings with Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The duo is slated to discuss various aspects of security cooperation between the two countries.
The proposed pact is expected to cover areas of intelligence sharing, exchange programme, sharing of best practices, cooperation in disaster mitigation besides others, an official said.
The move comes just a year after a two-month-long border stand-off between the India Army and the China’s People’s Liberation Army at Doklam on the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.
A Chinese delegation met an Indian team on August 28 to hold discussions on the forthcoming visit of the Chinese Minister of Public Security and the proposed pact on security cooperation between the two countries, the official said.
Currently, India does not have an extradition treaty with China, nor a pact to exchange each other’s sentenced prisoners.
There are at least 10 Indians in Chinese prisons and an equal number of Chinese citizens in Indian prisons.

Australia plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem

Australia has raised the prospect of following the United States by relocating its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a policy shift that critics described on Tuesday as a desperate grab for domestic political gain to win a crucial by-election.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the idea was suggested to him by a former ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, who is a candidate for the ruling conservative Liberal Party in a by-election on Saturday in a Sydney electorate with a large Jewish population.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had recently spoken to Mr. Morrison and welcomed the Australian policy shift.
Mr. Morrison “informed me that he is considering officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel & moving the Australian embassy to Jerusalem. I’m very thankful to him for this,” Mr. Netanyahu tweeted. “We will continue to strengthen ties” between Israel and Australia.
Mr. Morrison also announced that Australia would vote against a United Nations resolution this week to recognize the Palestinian Authority as the chair of the Group of 77 developing countries and would review the three-year-old Iran nuclear deal.
“Australia makes its decisions about its foreign policy independently. We do so in our own national interests consistent with our own beliefs and our own values,” he added.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

IAF to conduct competition for drone technology

In the first of its kind in the Indian defence sector, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has announced the Mehar Baba prize under which individuals, start-ups and other “for profit” entities can compete to build a swarm of 50 drones to be employed in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.
The competition aims to tap into the young talent pool available across the country and leverage its expertise to meet the emerging requirements of the armed forces. If successful it can be a benchmark for other services to emulate.
The increasing frequency of natural disasters in the country and the extensive damage they cause, underlines the need for enhanced HADR response efforts, especially in the remote and far-flung areas and the swarm technology has great potential in this domain.
The competition is split in three phases where those in Phase II and Phase III meet the jury set benchmarks, shall get their development cost reimbursed of up to ₹25 lakhs and ₹10 crores respectively, the officer added.
Swarm drones as a technology concept, in which a large number of drones are operated and employed collectively on a task, is picking up traction and several countries are investing time and efforts to build large swarms that have multiple applications.

::SPORTS::

ICC to crack down on sexual harassement cases

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is all set to put in place stiff rules and regulations, called ‘Safeguarding Policy and Guidelines’, to deal with sexual harassment of different kinds. The ICC’s four-day quarterly meetings will begin in Singapore on Wednesday.
The two ICC officials have said that it has become aware of a number of incidents of alleged inappropriate behaviour and alleged incidents of sexual harassment, that have occurred within cricket around the world, and in particular, at international matches or ICC events.
Higgins and Ms. Clark have urged the committees and the ICC Board “to consider the introduction of a Safeguarding Policy for the ICC (and related guidelines for Members) to protect children and vulnerable adults, as well as policies and contractual mechanisms that protect adult participants (adults who are not considered ‘at risk’) from sexual harassment and drive improved standards of ‘off-field’ behaviour.”
A discussion has been urged at the quarterly meeting and the types of behaviour Higgins and Ms. Clark have specifically pointed out are (a) Abuse (sexual, physical, emotional or otherwise) of children or adults at risk, (b) Abuse (sexual, physical, emotional or otherwise) of adults not at risk, (c) Harassment of children or adults at risk, (d) Harassment of adults not at risk, (e) Indecency (exposing themselves to someone else), bullying, victimisation, unwanted physical contact, stalking, offensive comments, jokes or body language, publishing, circulating or displaying pornographic, sexually suggestive or otherwise offensive material or pictures.