Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 26 June 2019

::NATIONAL::

PM seeks support to his vision of inclusive nation

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday called upon all parties to move forward together to fulfil the dream of a safe, modern and inclusive country, a call reflected, he said, in the positive mandate that his government received in the last election.
He was speaking in the LokSabha, while replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President for his address to both Houses of Parliament.
The Prime Minister said the mandate that his government received was a validation that it was moving in the right direction, a direction, he said, that valued both welfare and progress.
He extensively quoted from the speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Ram ManoharLohia and Jawaharlal Nehru, and said his own government’s direction, including in the field of sanitation and water, emanated from their words.
Prime Minister Modi said that rather than belittle his predecessors, he believed in reaching for higher targets, like making India a $5 trillion dollar economy, to reach piped water to all homes.
Quoting extensively from former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s 1951 speech given at the launch of the Congress party’s manifesto before the first General Election, Mr.Modi said the 75 years of independence and the 150th birth anniversary of the Mahatma should be occasions to reflect on Mr. Nehru’s words on privileges and duties.

Food and nutrition security report gives worrying data for India

Almost one in three Indian children under five years will still be stunted by 2022 going by current trends, according to an analysis of the country’s food and nutrition security released on Tuesday.
Over the last decade, child stunting which is a measure of chronic malnutrition has reduced at a rate of about 1% per year, the slowest decline among emerging economies. At this rate, 31.4% of children will still be stunted by the 2022 deadline. India must double its rate of progress to reach the target of 25% by that time, says the report.
The report, which is a baseline analysis of the country’s progress in achieving the second Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger, was prepared by the UN World Food Programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Foodgrain yields have risen 33% over the last two decades, but are still only half of 2030 target yields, says the report. Even so, the Indian farmer is producing more foodgrains than ever before, making the country self-sufficient in this regard.
Unfortunately, the consumer’s access to rice, wheat and other cereals has not increased at the same rate, due to population growth, inequality, food wastage and losses, and exports.
There are high rates of stunting among children in the poorest wealth quintile (51.4%), Scheduled Tribes (43.6%) and Scheduled Castes (42.5%), and children born to mothers with no education (51%).

::ECONOMY::

UKSinha committee gives recommendations for restructuring MSME funding

A committee formed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), headed by former SEBI Chairman U.K. Sinha, has recommended a Rs. 5,000 crore distressed asset fund for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The fund will assist units in a cluster where there is a change in the external environment such as plastic ban, which had resulted in large number of such entities becoming non-performing.
The panel also suggested that the RBI should increase the limit for non-collateralised loans to Rs. 20 lakh, and this would address a significant proportion of the sector needs. In addition, it also suggested revision in loan limit sanctioned under MUDRA by the Finance Ministry to Rs. 20 lakh from Rs. 10 lakh.
The committee has also recommended banks that wish to specialise in MSME lending, their sub-targets for farm loans under the priority sector lender could be waived off, and instead can be given a target for loans to the SME sector. The targets, committee said, could be of 50% of he net bank credit for universal banks and 80% for small finance banks.
At present, the overall priority sector lending target for a universal bank is 40% of their net bank credit and 75% for small finance bank.
Commercial banks have been suggested that they should develop customised products to assess the financing requirements based on expected cash flows moving away from traditional forms of assessment.

Finance ministry claims cash in circulation has declined post demonetisation

Demonetisation, coupled with increased digital transactions and the reduced cash usage in the informal economy, led to a reduction in currency in circulation by Rs. 3.4 lakh crore, according to Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman.
Replying to a question in the RajyaSabha, Ms.Sitharaman said that the level of currency in circulation as of May 31, 2019, was significantly lower than what it would have been if demonetisation had not happened.
According to the data provided, the value of notes in circulation on November 4, 2016, (four days before demonetisation was announced) stood at Rs. 17.74 lakh crore, which has now increased to Rs. 21.71 lakh crore as of May 31, 2019.
Ms.Sitharaman went on to cite Reserve Bank of India data to show that the number of counterfeit bank notes detected decreased from 762,072 pieces in 2016-17, to 522,783 in 2017-18 and 317,389 pieces in 2018-19 and hence “demonetisation resulted in curbing of the counterfeit currency”.
However, she did not mention whether this reduction in detection of fake currency was due to their incidences coming down or their sophistication surpassing the RBI’s ability to detect.
The Minister also said that demonetisation led to a “significant positive impact on most theatres of violence” in the country since illegally held cash formed a major chunk of terrorfunding, and that the note ban rendered the cash held with terrorists worthless.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

International organisation for Migration claims 20000 rescued from Sahara

The International Organization for Migration, IOM has said that nearly 20 thousand migrants have been rescued from the Sahara desert in Niger over the past three years.
The intergovernmental organization said that on June 15 alone it rescued 406 migrants from 14 West African countries including seven women and four children.
The migrants walked for hours under the scorching desert sun with no water. The UN organisation said the most recent rescues had mainly included people from Ivory Coast, Guinea-Conakry and Mali.
The latest operation was IOM's 189th humanitarian mission into Niger's Tenere desert, the most remote desert in the Sahara. The vast plain of sand spans an area larger than Japan.
The flow of migrants, often heading for Libya with the ultimate aim of reaching Europe, has lessened considerably since a 2017 peak. The IOM said, trucks carrying migrants frequently breakdown in the desert or become lost, with smugglers sometimes abandoning people to their fates.
A representative of the organization said, no one knows exactly how many migrants have died often due to hunger or thirst, attempting to cross the Sahara.

UNSC pushes for ending U.S-Iran tensions

Condemning the latest attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, the UN Security Council has urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and take measures and actions to reduce escalation and tension.
The UN's most powerful body said the attacks violate international rules on freedom of navigation and maritime transport and threaten international peace and security.
It said that differences must be addressed peacefully and through dialogue. The statement was issued after closed consultations and a briefing on the attacks by U.N. peacekeeping chief Rosemary DiCarlo.The United States blames Iran for the latest attacks. Tehran has denied any involvement.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Astronauts return from International space station

Three astronauts safely returned to Earth on Tuesday after spending more than six months aboard the International Space Station.
The Soyuz capsule with astronauts from Canada, Russia and the United States landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 8-47 a.m. (0247GMT), less than a minute ahead of the scheduled time, on Tuesday after a 3 hour flight from the orbiting lab.
Two of the astronauts had completed their maiden flights — Anne McClain of the United States and David Saint-Jacques of Canada. The expedition commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia has ended his fourth space mission. All three spent 204 days in space.
The space veteran Kononenko who was the first one to have been extracted from the capsule looked visibly tired and pale. McClain and Saint-Jacques were more energetic and gave a thumbs-up to the recovery team who greeted the three with applause.
The astronauts were put on camping chairs in the sun just by the capsule for a respite and initial medical checks.

::SPORTS::

India assures maximum support to sportsmen to participate in Tokyo Olympics

The government is supporting sportspersons through National Sports Federations for their training, foreign exposures and competitions to obtain maximum participation in the Tokyo Olympics, 2020.
Sports Minister KirenRijiju told the RajyaSabha today that under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) customized training and allied facilities are being made available to medal prospects and high achievers.
Besides, ‘out of pocket allowance' of fifty thousand rupees per month is being given to the sports-persons included in TOPS for meeting their contingent and miscellaneous expenses.