Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 August 2018


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 August 2018


::NATIONAL::

Centre assures kerala that relief efforts could be handled domestically

  • India has said a polite ‘no’ to offers of foreign assistance to the Kerala flood victims. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said India will rely on domestic resources for the State’s ongoing flood relief efforts.
  • In line with the existing policy, the Government is committed to meeting the requirements for relief and rehabilitation through domestic efforts,” the MEA’s official spokesperson said.
  • The spokesperson, however, indicated that certain foreign entities other than governments were welcome to contribute to disaster relief, and said, “Contributions to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund from NRIs, PIOs and international entities such as foundations would, however, be welcome.”
  • The formal declaration of India’s official position on foreign aid for flood relief in Kerala came hours after the ambassador of Thailand revealed that India was not accepting foreign offers for help.
  • It is understood that ‘as of now’ India will continue to deal with natural calamities in the way it has dealt with such episodes in the last 15 years when a convention to avoid foreign aid was adopted in the backdrop of the Gujarat earthquake of 2001 and the tsunami of 2004.

Under SBM, curbing open urination is the next target by centre

  • Under new norms, cities and towns wanting to be declared ODF+ (Open Defecation Free Plus) must also be free of public urination and not just open defecation.This is the first time that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) is officially including the elimination of public urination in its agenda.
  • The ODF+ and ODF++ protocols, which were released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs last week, are the next step for the SBM-U and aim to ensure sustainability in sanitation outcomes.
  • The original ODF protocol, issued in March 2016, said, “A city/ward is notified as ODF city/ward if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating in the open.” So far, 2,741 cities have been certified as ODF, based mostly on third-party verification of toilet construction.
  • The new ODF+ protocol, issued last week, says that a city, ward or work circle could be declared ODF+ if, “at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well-maintained.”
  • The ODF++ protocol adds the condition that “faecal sludge/septage and sewage is safely managed and treated, with no discharging and/or dumping of untreated faecal sludge/septage and sewage in drains, water bodies or open areas.” “Urination has always been implied as part of the ODF agenda,” said Mr. Jindal. “That’s why there is a subsidy for urinals, not just toilets.”

::ECONOMY::

Ministry threatens PSB CEO’s to check NPA frauds or face action.

  • In a stern warning to bankers, the finance ministry has asked chief executives of public sector banks (PSBs) to check all NPA accounts exceeding ₹50 crore for fraud, else face criminal conspiracy charges, according to official sources.
  • This missive comes in the light of arrest of Bhushan Steel’s erstwhile promoter NeerajSingal by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for allegedly siphoning of funds.
  • If the investigating agencies find diversion of funds in those defaulting accounts, bankers may be liable to face criminal proceedings, the sources said, adding that this advisory is like an extra precaution to keep bankers from getting into legal tangles.
  • Indian banks are facing mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans, especially at PSBs, which have reached more than ₹8 lakh crore. In addition, several banking frauds have been unearthed, including the ₹14,000-crore scam at PNB, carried out allegedly by diamond jeweller NiravModi and his associates.
  • SFIO is also looking into the books of companies which are currently undergoing debt resolution, he said, adding that this had been done on the basis of specific inputs provided by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. During the resolution process, the extensive audit of bankrupt companies has thrown up financial irregularities in several cases.

Economic adviser says rupee weakening not a matter of concern

  • Principal Economic Adviser to the Finance Ministry SanjeevSanyal on Wednesday sought to allay concerns over the falling rupee against the U.S. dollar, saying India should not get too swayed by a single bilateral exchange rate.
  • If you take any broad based basket, you will see that the rupee is not especially weak. We cannot get too swayed by a single bilateral exchange rate,” Mr.Sanyal said.
  • The falling rupee value should be seen as strengthening of the dollar rather than weakness of the rupee because the rupee has been stable over the last five years against most global currencies, Mr.Sanyal said.
  • “The rupee has been very stable over the last five years against most global currencies, except the dollar. Hence, we should see this as US dollar strengthening rather than rupee weakness,” he said.
  • Mr.Sanyal said the RBI had more than adequate forex reserves to manage sharp movements.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

::INTERNATIONAL::

India-China agree to work for full implementation of CBM

  • Defence minister Smt.NirmalaSitharaman met State Councilor and Defence Minister of China Gen. Wei Fenghe, here today. The Chinese Defence Minister is on an official bilateral visit to India from 21- 24 August 2018.
  • The two Ministers held extensive discussions on bilateral defence related engagement as well as regional and international developments in a free, frank and constructive manner.
  • They welcomed recent exchanges between their Armed Forces which had enhanced mutual trust and understanding to implement the consensus reached between Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi and President Xi Jinping at the Informal Sumit in Wuhan.
  • It was decided to expand the engagement between their Armed Forces relating to training, joint exercises and other professional interactions. Both sides also decided to work towards a new bilateral MoU on Defence Exchanges and Cooperation to replace the MoU signed in 2006.
  • The Ministers also discussed issues relating to the border areas. It was agreed to work towards full implementation of ongoing confidence building measures as well as greater interactions at the working level to ensure the maintenance of peace and tranquillity, including early operationalisation of the Hotline between the relevant departments of their Armed Forces.

Social media giants remove accounts linked to Russia,Iran

  • Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc collectively removed hundreds of accounts tied to an alleged Iranian propaganda operation on Tuesday, while Facebook took down a second campaign it said was linked to Russia.
  • Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the accounts identified on his company’s platform were part of two separate campaigns, the first from Iran with some ties to state-owned media, the second linked to sources that Washington has previously named as Russian military intelligence services.
  • Such claims are ridiculous and are part and parcel of U.S. public calls for regime change in Iran, and are an abuse of social media platforms,” said AlirezaMiryousefi, spokesman for the Iranian mission to the UN.
  • The Kremlin rejected Facebook’s accusations. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow did not understand the basis for such statements and that they looked like “carbon copies” of previous allegations that Moscow has denied.
  • Cybersecurity firm FireEye said the Iranian campaign used a network of fake news websites and fraudulent social media personas spread across platforms, to push narratives in line with Tehran’s interests.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

CSIR to manufacture components for LCA Tejas

  • CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) has received an order of more than Rs 100cr for delivering critical composite air-frame components to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), for the LCA-Tejas Full Operational Capability (FOC) standard aircraft.
  • CSIR-NAL’s collaboration with LCA program started from technology demonstrator (2 aircrafts) to prototype development (5 aircrafts) to limited series production (8 aircrafts) and Initial Operational Capability (IOC) standard production aircrafts (SP1 to SP20).
  • The initial IOC order of 20 sets is nearing completion. The challenges were to develop the co-cured complex components indigenously during the time of technology denials and sanctions from other countries. Moreover, the autoclaves necessary for processing composite materials were also developed indigenously by CSIR-NAL.
  • This homegrown technology developed by CSIR-NAL was used in realizing primary air-frame components of LCA like Fin, Rudder, Wing Spars and Fairings, Centre Fuselage and Main Landing Gear components.
  • “It is a matter of pride for the country that LCA’s percentage deployment of composites is one of the highest among contemporary aircraft of its class anywhere in the world and this order of Rs 100 crore plus value is a major achievement for CSIR” said Dr.Sahni.

::SPORTS::

Rahisarnobat creates history