Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 21 July 2019

::NATIONAL::

Defence ministry assures solving Kashmir issue

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the Kashmir problem was “bound to be solved”. The Minister is in Jammu and Kashmir on the 20th anniversary of the Kargil War.
Referring to his appeals of talks to separatists during the NDA government’s previous tenure, Mr. Singh said the Hurriyat had shut its door on the members of the delegation. “The new government’s focus is only on speedy development and prosperity of J&K,” he said.
The Defence Minister paid tributes to the soldiers killed in the 1999 Kargil War at a memorial in Drass Sector.
He was accompanied by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Chief of the Army Staff General BipinRawat and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (Northern Command) Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, said a Defence spokesman.
The Defence Minister also visited Veer Bhoomi and the Hut of Remembrance, which are located on the memorial premises.
Mr. Singh also dedicated to the nation a Memory Lane, which displays information on a few important battles that took place in Kargil. He later interacted with the soldiers deployed in the sector.

More wellness centres under Ayushman Bharat scheme

20 thousand wellness centres will be completed by the end of the current year under Ayushman Bharat programme.
This was stated by the Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan in Hyderabad yesterday, he said that a total of 1.5 lakh wellness centres are to be established in the country under this programme.
Addressing scientists and officials of CSIR laboratories Dr Harsh Vardhan termed the Ayushman Bharat programme as a successful model in implementing universal health.
He asked them to work in a proactive and out of box manner to reduce sufferings of people, especially those with rare and genetic diseases. He asked the scientists to work in a focused manner so that the results of the research reach people.
The minister further said the government has set a target of eradicating Tuberculosis from the country by 2025. He also informed that the new National Medical Council Bill will be introduced in Parliament on Monday.

::ECONOMY::

Govt.to discuss SME loan isuue with foreign players

The government is in talks with foreign lenders to provide $14.5 billion in credit to millions of small firms, two officials said.
The government is in discussions with multiple foreign lenders, including Germany’s state-owned development bank KfW Group, the World Bank and some Canadian institutions to extend lines of credit to small enterprises, one of the officials, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters.
KfW’s India office confirmed the discussions, though the main focus was on credit lines to support small businesses’ solar power generation. The talks were at an early stage, KfW said.
The World Bank’s India spokesperson did not reply to an email seeking comment. The official said the government plans to source up to Rs. 1 lakh crore of loans from foreign institutions because Indian banks were not in a position to provide enough capital for the small business sector, which is seen as critical to job creation.
State-owned banks have not been able to drive increased lending because they are burdened with more than $145 billion in bad loans. Last month, a study by an RBI panel said the overall deficit in credit for the MSME sector is estimated at about Rs. 20-25 lakh crore.

India’s Forex reserves fall in mid-July

India's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 1.113 billion to USD 428.797 billion in the week to July 12 - the first fall after four consecutive weeks of gains - due to a fall in foreign currency assets.
According to the latest weekly RBI data, foreign currency assets, which are a major component of the overall reserves, slipped by USD 1.11 billion to USD 399.697 billion.
The central bank said that despite ongoing massive rally in gold prices, the country's gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 24.304 billion.
It stated that the Special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund fell by USD 1.2 million to USD 1.450 billion. The country's reserve position with the fund also declined by USD 1.5 million to USD 3.345 billion.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Chinese envoy confirms no disruption of relation with India for individual cases

China's new Ambassador to India Sun Weidong has said that China and India should not allow any individual case at certain time to disrupt the bilateral relations and take more initiatives to move forward the bilateral ties.
Talking to media in Beijing, Mr Sun Weidong said under the strategic guidance provided by XiJinping and Mr Modi at their first informal summit in Wuhan last year, the China-India relations have gathered a very good and sound momentum of development.
In an apparent reference to the CPEC and the Belt and Road Initiative( BRI), Mr Sun said both the countries should not allow individual cases to disrupt ties.
Outlining various initiatives taken by India and China including the appointment of Special Representatives in 2003 to address the boundary dispute, Sun said an early settlement of the boundary issue is in line with the interests of the two countries.

India asks Iran to release its sailors held in captivity

India has reached out to the Iranian government to help release 18 Indian crew members on board the British oil tanker seized by Iranian forces in the Straits of Hormuz, the government said here on Saturday.
The Iranian Embassy in Delhi said it did not have further information on the charges against the Indians arrested, but Iran would protect them. “Based on the goodwill which exists between Iran and India, the two countries protect the nationals of the other side, and this is not a matter of concern,” said a senior embassy official when asked by The Hindu about the fate of the Indians on board the cargo vessel.
The ship’s captain and 17 other crew members detained on board are Indians, said an Iranian official, quoted by news agencies. The official listed five others with Russian, Philippines and Latvian nationalities.
According to the Iranian government, the Stena Impero was involved in a collision with a smaller Iranian fishing boat in the Straits, which the IRGC called a “violation of international regulations”. “After it was seized, it was transferred to Iranian shores to undergo legal procedure,” the IRG said in a statement.
Indian sailors on various ships are under threat from the tit-for-tat actions on the high seas, along with the lakhs of Indians living in the Gulf region who would face the consequences of any open conflict.
For the past few weeks, Indian air carriers have avoided overflying parts of Iranian airspace after American FAA strictures, which has already meant crores in losses.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Centre bans colistin from animal food industry

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an order prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of colistin and its formulations for food-producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements.
Intensivists across the country are rejoicing as the move is a “massive victory” for the movement against anti-microbial resistance.
The order, issued on Friday, directed manufacturers of colistin and its formulations (since it is also used to treat humans) to affix a label on the container reading thus: Not to be used in food producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements: on the package, insert and promotional literature.
Dr.Ghafur,an expert says awareness programmes need to be conducted for farmers, telling them about the danger of using colistin in feed. “Most are not aware of the presence of colistin, since it comes mixed in the feed.
However, we have had discussions with associations of poultry farmers and they have not objected to removing colistin from the mix.” Also, he argues that since the bulk of colistin (nearly 95%) is imported from China, it would also be easy to stop importing it within a short time.

::SPORTS::

India’s Asian games silver medal to be upgraded to gold

India are in line to get the Asian Games gold in 4x400 mixed relay as KemiAdekoya of Bahrain, who was part of the gold winning team, has been handed a four-year ban for failing a dope test.
The silver won by India's mixed relay team of Mohammad Anas, Hima Das, Arokia Rajiv and M R Poovamma at the Asian Games in Jakarta last year is set to be upgraded to gold.