Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 25 September 2018

::NATIONAL::

Centre assures supreme court on issuing warnings on mob violence

The Centre on Monday assured the Supreme Court that the Union and State governments would, within a week, start broadcasting on radio and TV a stern message that mob lynchings and violence would invite the “wrath of law”. The Centre’s promise came in response to a query by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DipakMisra on whether the court’s directions on the matter had been complied with.
On July 17, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and the State governments to disseminate using radio, television and other media platforms, including the official websites of the Home Department and through State police, the message that “lynching and mob violence of any kind shall invite serious consequences under the law”.
When the court sought a response from Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal and Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, they replied that “the same shall be done, if not already done, within a week”. Mr.Venugopal informed the Bench that an empowered Group of Ministers was considering a specific law against lynchings.
“It has to be borne in mind that the said direction was issued so that people would realise the gravity of their act and the effect on the law and order situation,” Chief Justice Misra observed in Monday’s order for the Bench, also comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud. “The said purpose has to be put on a high pedestal and people must realise that involving in such kind of activities will invite the wrath of law.”
The court also directed the State governments to not lag in compliance and follow the direction “absolutely religiously within a week from today”. The court noted that eight States and Union Territories were yet to file reports indicating their compliance with the July 17 verdict. It asked them to file it in three days.

Expert panel approves nutrition norms

India’s top nutrition panel has recommended that severely malnourished children must be fed freshly cooked food prepared from locally available cereals, pulses and vegetables, and distributed by anganwadi centres, as part of the country’s first-ever guidelines for nutritional management of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
The measures are part of the community-based health management of children suffering from SAM. The government had, till now, only put in place guidelines for the hospitalisation of severely wasted children who develop medical complications. Those norms were made public in 2011.
The guidelines outline the role of anganwadi workers and auxillary nurse midwives (ANMs) in identifying severely wasted children, segregating those with oedema or medical complications and sending them to the nearest health facility or nutrition rehabilitation centres.
The remaining children are enrolled into “community based management”, which includes provision of nutrition, continuous monitoring of growth, administration of antibiotics and micro-nutrients as well as counselling sessions and imparting of nutrition and health education.
According to the recommendations, anganwadi workers have to provide modified morning snacks, hot cooked meals and take home ration for SAM children.Importantly, the government has also revised the method to be used to measure wasting and advised calculating weight based on the height of children instead of the mid-upper arm circumference.

::ECONOMY::

Non-essential import tariffs finalised by centre

The government has finalised the list of non-essential items on which it will be imposing import tariffs, according to a senior official in the Finance Ministry.
The official said the list, to be notified soon, would include electronics, gems, select items of steel that are also manufactured in India, imported apples, and almonds, among others.
The government had, earlier this month, announced the easing of overseas borrowing norms for manufacturing companies, removal of restrictions on foreign portfolio investment in corporate bonds and tax benefits on masala bonds.
The imposition of tariffs on the import of non-essential items is expected to bolster these efforts in stabilising the rupee’s levels, according to the official.
“The main issue under consideration was whether to include gold in it. The list has now been finalised and will include most of the non-essential items...”The official, however, did not specify when the list would be notified, only saying that it would be “very soon.”
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had said the list would help in shoring up the rupee.

Liquidity deficit in economy leads to reduced short term rates

The liquidity crisis at IL&FS, the quarter-end rush to dress up balance sheets by banks and redemption pressure on mutual funds (MFs) have all combined to trigger a liquidity deficit in the system which has led to short-term rates on commercial papers (CPs) rising up to 50 basis points (bps) within a week, according to bankers.
This prompted the Reserve Bank of India to announce late on Monday, that it will conduct an open market operation (OMO) on Thursday to purchase government bonds to infuse liquidity worth Rs. 10,000 crore into the system.
The IL&FS crisis had also impacted other non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which are also facing increase in borrowing cost. Banks and mutual funds are the main sources of funding for housing finance companies and other NBFCs contributing about 40% and 30%, respectively, of their funding needs.
“While the lines of credit from banks are easier to roll over and insurance provides longer [term] funding, the paper with mutual funds tends to be short-term. Fifty-five per cent of NBFC paper with MFs has less than 90-day maturities and could lead to redemption related pressures,” broking firm CLSA said in a note.
With MFs becoming a key source of short-term liquidity, estimates suggest that the CPs of NBFCs have gone up three times since March 2016 and MFs now reportedly hold 60% of total NBFC CP issuance. Even if rating agencies have reaffirmed the NBFC ratings, MFs are expected to cap or cut down their NBFC exposures.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Abdulla yameen defeated in Maldives presidential polls, new president sees India as a natural ally

Much to the surprise of his critics and political rivals, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Monday conceded defeat in Sunday’s presidential election, making way for the joint Opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Senior parliamentarian of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mr.Solih secured 58.3% of the votes, while Mr.Yameen obtained 41.7%, according to preliminary results released by the Elections Commission. The final tally is expected within a week.
Countries that had strained relations with the Yameen administration were quick to welcome the poll outcome on Monday, before Mr.Yameen conceded and ahead of the Elections Commission’s official announcement. The U.S. said it looked forward to “a peaceful transition of power,” and pledged cooperation to Mr.Solih’s government.
Meanwhile,A Maldives court released political prisoners and heard appeals for freedom from several others on Monday, including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, just hours after strongman leader Abdulla Yameen conceded an election defeat.
Suggesting that the Chinese projects in the Maldives may be reviewed by his party-backed coalition that won Sunday’s presidential election, former President Mohamed Nasheed said: “India remains our natural partner.” “I can’t speak for the coalition, but my own views remain the same. None of the projects made business sense,” the Maldivian Democratic Party leader told.

External affairs ministry to focus on South-South cooperation

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj kicked off her week-long diplomatic engagements at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday morning, attending a special meeting on drugs convened at the instance of U.S President Donald Trump.
Ms.Swaraj will attend several bilateral and multilateral meetings over the next few days. She will address the UNGA on Saturday. Ms.Swaraj will also attend a special meeting on climate change being convened by Secretary General AntónioGuterres during her stay in New York.
The 73rd UNGA is taking place against the backdrop of increased American hostility towards the world body in particular and multilateralism in general. Mr. Trump believes that multilateral global bodies and treaties function to the detriment and at the cost of the U.S.
Mr. Trump is, however, seeking more support from member countries for his combative stance against Iran. As Mr. Trump pushes ahead with his ‘America First’ agenda, India will be trying to secure its interests and preserve its standing, according to a senior official overseeing Ms.Swaraj’s engagements.
With the U.S. rolling back its interest in global security and development, the UN’s prominence has diminished, an Indian official pointed out. “The EAM’s meetings will focus on issues such as climate change, digital infrastructure, sustainability and South-South cooperation. These are areas that India has interests and expertise in,” said the official. Ms.Swaraj met Federica Maria Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Morocco Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita on Monday.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists use genetic tool to bring in extinction of malaria causing mosquitoes

Scientists said on Monday they had succeeded for the first time in wiping out an entire population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in the lab using a gene editing tool to programme their extinction.
So-called gene drive technology works by forcing evolution’s hand, ensuring that an engineered trait is passed down to a higher proportion of offspring — across many generations — than would have occurred naturally.
In experiments with the species Anopheles gambiae , scientists at Imperial College London tweaked a gene known as doublesex so that more females in each generation could no longer bite or reproduce.
After only eight generations, there were no females left and the population collapsed due to lack of offspring. “This breakthrough shows that gene drive can work, providing hope in the fight against a disease that has plagued mankind for centuries,” said lead author Andrea Crisanti, a professor in Imperial’s Department of Life Sciences.
Malaria affected more than 200 million people worldwide in 2016 and killed nearly 4,50,000. It remains one of the most deadly of infectious diseases.
Previous attempts by the same team and others to induce the genetically programmed extinction of mosquitoes in the laboratory ran into “resistance” in the form of mutations that fought back against the high-tech engineering.

::SPORTS::

Three International breaks in ISL season

The three international breaks in the Hero India Super League season 5 schedule has led to mixed feeling among players and coaching staff. While Mumbai City FC’s new head coach from Portugal, Jorge Costa, feels the breaks are normal, Pune’s new coach, Miguel Portugal from Spain, feels it is too much.
The season starts on September 29 with the first break from October 8 to 16 and the second from November 12 to 20. The third, which will be over 30 days, starts on December 17.
“India has to prepare for the AFC Asian Cup (in the UAE from January 5 to February 1, 2019). So the third break could be between 30 and 40 days. The actual duration of the break depends on India’s campaign,” said a national football official.
At a media interaction here on Monday, Costa said, “the first break is good because we did not have enough time to work before. We worked for one month and played two games. So the break will help us to improve as a team.“The players will also get time to rest. For me these breaks are normal, I am used to it because of the international competitions.