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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 June 2018

::NATIONAL::

India notifies higher tariffs on U.S. imports

India on Wednesday notified higher tariffs on several items imported from the U.S., including agricultural products such as apples, almonds, chickpeas, lentils, and walnuts, and industrial inputs such as some grades of iron and steel products.
Wednesday’s action follows the government’s notification to the World Trade Organization last week that it was imposing tariffs, amounting to $240 million, in retaliation for the U.S. duty on steel and aluminium.

Centre bans two affiliates of al Qaeda and IS

The Home Ministry has banned the Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) under the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
The AQIS is a terrorist organisation, which has committed acts of terrorism in the neighbouring countries, has been promoting and encouraging terrorist acts on the Indian interests in the Indian sub-continent and has been attempting radicalisation and recruitment of youth from India.
“The recruitment of youth from India and their radicalisation are a matter of serious concern for the national security and international peace,” the notification said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

India, U.S. 2+2 Dialogue on July 6

The new dialogue format was agreed to between the two sides during the visit of Prime Minister NarendraModi to Washington D.C. in June, 2017.
The two sides are expected to share perspectives on strengthening their strategic and security ties and exchange views on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The U.S is pressing India to scale down its defence cooperation with Russia.
Negotiations on India’s proposed purchase of Guardian Avenger armed drones from the U.S. is dependent on the progress of talks on the Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) between the two countries.

India, Maldives hold discussions to sort out issues

India and the Maldives are engaged in a series of high level meetings to end the logjam in the relations over strategic issues, sources have confirmed.
Male is likely to revive an old Letter of Exchange [LoE] that India had sent offering a Dornier aircraft for maritime surveillance.
The LoE would be slightly modified and will include terms for about 30 Indian personnel, including pilots and engineers, as well as a construction team required to build a hangar for the plane at the Kadhdhoo National Defence facility.
While discussions are on, the Indian military establishment said it is yet to be informed of these developments.

India & Tajikistan agree to enhance mutual cooperation for sustainable water development

India and Tajikistan have reaffirmed their commitment to promote bilateral relations and agreed to enhance economic cooperation, particularly in sustainable water development.

Shri Gadkari also conveyed to the Tajikistan leader, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's commitment towards expanding economic cooperation between the two countries, and said that potential for trade in commodities like sugar and milk powder may be explored.
Shri Gadkari gave him an update on the progress of Chabahar Port which India is helping to develop in Iran and said that New Delhi would be willing to share with Tajikistan, Indian expertise in building quality infrastructure.

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::ECONOMY::

SEBI eases norms for share buy-backs, IPOs.

As part of its attempts to rationalise stock market regulations, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the rules related to public issues, takeovers and buy-backs based on feedback received from various market participants.
While raising funds through an IPO, a company can now announce the price band just two days before the opening day of the issue instead of the earlier requirement of five days.
Further, financial disclosures now need to be mentioned only for three years instead of five. Also, companies making a rights issue have to submit a draft document only if the issue size is more than Rs. 10 crore. Currently, the threshold limit in such cases is Rs. 50 lakh.
SEBI has also decided to amend the norms related to the tenure and directorships of managing directors and public interest directors (PID) of such market institutions.

Upgrade software at ATMs by June 2019 or face penalty, RBI tells banks

With banks failing to upgrade software in automated teller machines (ATM) despite repeated reminders, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has now directed the banks to complete the process in a phased manner latest by June 2019.
RBI said the vulnerability arising from the ATMs operating on unsupported version of operating system and non-implementation of other security measures, could potentially affect the interests of customers and the banks’ image.
The banking regulator pointed out that many ATMs were still running on Windows XP and other unsupported software.
RBI noted that any deficiency in timely and effective compliance with the instructions contained in this circular may invite appropriate supervisory enforcement action under applicable provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and/or Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007

::SOCIAL::

World’s hungry population on the rise again, says UN report

The number of hungry people in the world has risen for the first time in more than a decade, according to a United Nations report released on Wednesday.
There are now approximately 38 million more undernourished people in the world, rising from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, the year for which the latest statistics are available.
After a prolonged decline, world hunger appears to be on the rise again. Conflict, drought and disasters linked to climate change are among the key factors causing this reversal in progress
Noting the increasing impact of extreme events related to a changing climate, the report said economic losses attributed to disasters were estimated at over $300 billion in 2017.
South Asia, which includes India, has seen child marriage rates plunge, with a girl’s risk of getting married in childhood dropping by 40% from 2000 to 2017.
On the other hand, water stress levels for many countries in the region are above 70%, indicating fast-approaching water scarcity.
More than nine out of 10 people living in urban areas around the world are breathing polluted air, with southern Asia scoring the worst in this area.