Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 November 2017

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 November 2017

::National::

PM called for sharing of information and coordination among nations

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for sharing of information and coordination among nations to ensure that “digital space does not become a playground for the dark forces of terrorism and radicalisation”.
• Speaking at the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS), attended by delegates from 131 countries, Mr. Modi pitched for creating “cyberwarriors” to keep the digital space safe.
• Amid the ongoing debate in the country over data privacy, the Prime Minister said it was possible to strike a balance between privacy and national security.
• He said that one of the major focus areas should be the training of well-equipped and capable professionals to counter cyberthreats.
• Stating that cyberspace remains a key area for innovation, the Prime Minister invited the delegates and the industry leaders present to invest in this space, and be a part of the unfolding story of Indian startups.

India wants assurance of safety of Jadhav's kin from Pakistan

• The former Navy official Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife will travel to Islamabad if Pakistan gives sovereign guarantees for their safety during the visit, India said.
• Explaining the contents of a letter regarding the visit of Mr. Jadhav’s family members, the Ministry of External Affairs said India has also said an official of the Indian High Commission should be allowed to accompany them.
• India’s response to the humanitarian gesture of the Pakistan government to allow the wife to meet Mr. Jadhav, who has been in the custody of the Pakistan military.
• Unconfirmed reports suggested that Pakistan is at present evaluating the Indian proposal. Pakistan’s decision came months after India urged it to allow Mr. Jadhav’s mother to meet him.

Govt. says no change to the policy of open internet

• Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the right to access the Internet is non-negotiable and no single entity can have a monopoly over this.
• Mr. Prasad’s comments follow the U.S. proposal to roll back earlier rules related to open internet, clearing the way for service providers to charge users differently based on content or restrict access to some content.
• Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the need for ensuring Net neutrality while pointing out that the right had come under serious challenge in many parts of the world.

::International::

Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a MOU on the return of Rohingya people

• Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a memorandum of understanding on the return of Rohingya people who fled the Rakhine state in the wake of a military crackdown.
• The deal was signed by Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmud Ali and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw.
• At least 600,000 Rohingya people have fled Myanmar to the neighbouring Bangladesh since the army started an operation in August following an attack by Rohingya militants.
• Under the deal, the repatriation process is expected to begin in two months.
• Just before signing the deal, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina renewed her call to Myanmar to immediately start the repatriation of Rohingya.
• Bangladesh wanted a time frame for the beginning and end of repatriation which Myanmar did not agree to. Dhaka also sought the involvement of UN agencies in the verification process, which was also rejected by the other side.
• The two countries, however, agreed to form a joint working group at the Foreign Secretary-level to start the repatriation process.
• Rights groups have raised concerns about the process, including where the minority will be resettled after hundreds of their villages were razed, and how their safety will be ensured in a country where anti-Muslim sentiment is surging.
• the U.S., in what appeared to be a policy reversal, called the military operation in Rakhine “ethnic cleansing” and threatened targeted sanctions against those responsible for it.
• The stateless Rohingya have been the target of communal violence and vicious anti-Muslim sentiment in mainly Buddhist Myanmar for years.
• They have also been systematically oppressed by the government, which stripped the minority of citizenship and severely restricts their movement, as well as their access to basic services.

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::Business and Economy::

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code amendment gets President's nod

• President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the ordinance approved by the Union Cabinet to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to strengthen the regime.
• The ordinance aims at putting in place safeguards by prohibiting wilful defaulters, those associated with non-performing assets (NPAs), and the habitually non-compliant, from regaining control of the defaulting company
• or stressed assets through the back door in the garb of being a ‘resolution applicant’.
• “The sale of property to a person who is ineligible to be a resolution applicant ... has been barred,” an official statement said. Significantly, the amendments also provide for fine ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 crore for those violating these norms.
• According to the statement, a new section has been introduced in the IBC that makes certain persons ineligible to be a ‘resolution applicant’.
• Those being made ineligible include “wilful defaulters, those who have their accounts classified as NPAs for one year or more and are unable to settle their overdue amounts including interest thereon.”
• The ineligible persons also include those who have executed an enforceable guarantee in favour of a creditor, in respect of a corporate debtor undergoing a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process or liquidation process under the IBC.
• Also ineligible are those who are promoters or in management of control of the resolution applicant, or will be promoters or in management of control of corporate debtor during the implementation of the resolution plan, the holding company, subsidiary company, associate company or related party of the above referred persons.
• The ordinance aims at putting in place safeguards to prevent unscrupulous, undesirable persons from misusing the IBC, the statement said.
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has also been given additional powers.

Minimum export price (MEP) of $850 per metric tonne on onion

• The Centre imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $850 per metric tonne on onion till the end of 2017, in a bid to boost domestic supplies and prevent an increase in the price of the widely used vegetable.
• MEP is the minimum rate below which export of an item is not permitted. The move comes two years after the MEP on onion was removed in December 2015.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification: “Export of onion... shall be permitted only on Letter of Credit (LC) subject to a MEP of $850 per tonne till December 31, 2017.”
• Export of all varieties of onions would be allowed only on LC, subject to the terms set in the notification.
• Following pressure on supplies due to a rise in exports of the vegetable, retail onion prices had surged to Rs. 50-65 per kg in many cities.
  MMTC has been asked to import 2,000 tonnes of onion, while the Small Farmers’ Agri-business Consortium and Nafed have been asked to make domestic purchases and supply the vegetable in the consuming areas.
  Onion exports during April-July rose 56% from a year earlier to 1.2 million tonnes. Due to a 30% decline in the area under cultivation, output of the 2017-18 kharif crop, being harvested, is likely to be 10% less.

India will assist Mauritius to develop and set up digital locker services

• The Government of India will assist Mauritius to develop and set up digital locker services, a top official said.
  “With Mauritius showing keen interest in India’s DigiLocker service, we will be helping them to set up the service,” said Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of electronics and IT.
• The government will offer technical support and advisory services to Mauritius. The decision was taken during a bilateral meeting during the conference.
• Besides, in similar separate meetings with Iran and Denmark, it had been decided to collaborate on issues related to IT.

::Science and Tech::

Scientists have designed a robotic system to assist cardiac function in children

• Scientists have designed a soft robotic system with artificial muscles that can assist cardiac function in children who have one-sided heart conditions.
• Soft robotic actuators, designed to perform lifelike motions, are an attractive alternative to more rigid components conventionally used in biomedical devices.
• These patients are not experiencing failure of the entire heart — instead, congenital conditions have caused disease in either the heart’s right or left ventricle, but not both.
• Using external actuators to help squeeze blood through the heart’s own chamber, researchers designed a system that could theoretically work with minimal use of anticoagulants.

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