Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 January 2020

::NATIONAL::

Tenth National voter’s day celebrated

The 10th National Voters’ Day has been celebrated on 25th Jan . It was celebrated at over ten lakh locations across the country including Polling Stations, District and State headquarters. The theme this year is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy'.
It sets the tone for year-long activities focusing on voter education and renewal of citizens’ faith in the electoral process. The Day is celebrated since 2011 to mark the Foundation day of Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January 1950.
President Ram NathKovind was the Chief Guest at the 10th National Voters' Day function organized by Election Commission at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi earlier today. Meanwhile, Prime Minister NarendraModi has greeted the nation on the occasion.
In a tweet, he expressed gratitude to Election Commission of India for its efforts towards making the electoral process more vibrant and participative. He hoped that this day will inspire everyone to work towards increased voter awareness and turnout.
As part of the celebration, EPIC cards were given to several newly enrolled voters. Later, prizes were also given to the winners of National Voters Day run which was held in the city this morning.

Centre to run out of funds in MGNREGA scheme

The Centre is on the verge of running out of funds for the crucial Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
More than 96% of the allocated money has already been spent or is needed to pay pending dues, with less than ₹2,500 crore left to sustain the scheme for the next two months.
Fifteen States are already in the red. According to the scheme’s financial statement as on January 26, Rajasthan has the highest negative net balance of ₹620 crore, followed by ₹323 crore in Uttar Pradesh.
In fact, the situation on the ground may be worse as States do not always enter pending payments into the information system.
A number of economists have recommended that putting money into the hands of rural consumers via MGNREGA is key to kickstarting the economy. However, this year’s budget allocation was ₹60,000 crore, lower than the amount spent in the previous year.
States are fast running out of funds for the crucial Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme with the Centre yet to release pending dues. In Rajasthan, for example, workers’ wages have not been paid since October-end.

::ECONOMY::

Fiscal deficit expected to reach 3.8% this fiscal

The country's fiscal deficit for 2019-20 is expected to widen to 3.8 per cent and the upcoming Budget may set a target of 3.5 per cent for 2020-21, a report said.
The first full-year Budget of the current government, to be presented on February 1, will focus on reviving consumption demand through base-level income tax cuts, interest subvention for small and medium businesses and housing, Bank of America Securities said.
It added that the sharp corporate tax cut announced last year will result in a recurring 0.8 per cent sacrifice for the next two years but added that the government has room as per the N K Singh committee report, and also pointed to the long-term fiscal deficit being at 4.5 per cent.
On the income tax front, there could be a cut at the lower-income group levels to push consumption, while small businesses may be offered a 2 per cent interest subvention on all their borrowings, it said.
The subvention is necessary to compensate the troubled segment from the 0.85 per cent increase in real lending rates since March, it said adding that the cost of the 2 per cent subvention will come at Rs 21,100 crore or 0.1 per cent of GDP.

India plans to raise import duties on more than 50 items

India plans to increase import duties on more than 50 items including electronics, electrical goods, chemicals and handicrafts, targeting about $56 billion worth of imports from China and elsewhere, officials and industry sources said.
Higher customs duties are likely to hit goods such as mobile phone chargers, industrial chemicals, lamps, wooden furniture, candles, jewellery and handicraft items, two government sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The move could hit smartphone manufacturers that still import chargers or other components such as vibrator motors and ringers, along with retailers such as giant IKEA that is in the process of expanding its footprint in India.
The government had identified items and decided to increase import tariffs by 5%-10% as recommended by a panel of trade and finance ministry officials, among others, the second government official said.
The government is separately considering imposing "quality standards" on imports as less than 10% of India's tariff lines are regulated for safety, health and environmental standards, an industry official, who is participating in the pre-budget consultations, said.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Global coalition set to find cure for coronavirus

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has announced that it will fund three companies working on different pathways to fight the new strain of coronavirus which has put authorities on alert worldwide after it was first reported in China earlier this month.
This comes within weeks of the outbreak of respiratory infection due to the virus--named 2019-nCoV--being reported from Wuhan province in China. The pacts were signed in record time in an attempt to not repeat the mistake of slow action during the Ebola crisis, Gagandeep Kang, vice chairperson of CEPI, told
Kang is hopeful that research can help develop a vaccine in four months from the start of an epidemic and subsequently keep reducing the time of developing new treatments for infectious diseases. She said she hopes that there will be lessons learnt that will allow public health organisations to get a treatment out faster.
Illness due to the new coronavirus is currently being treated with repurposed drugs or antivirals. But this may not be enough, experts say. Kang said that a project by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) that looked at humanised monoclonal antibodies to treat the Nipah virus could possibly be replicated to treat coronavirus, too.

Palestine threatens to withdraw from Oslo accords

Palestinian officials threatened on Sunday to withdraw from key provisions of the Oslo Accords, which define relations with Israel, if U.S. President Donald Trump announces his West Asia peace plan next week.
Chief Palestinian negotiator SaebErekat said that the Palestine Liberation Organisation reserved the right “to withdraw from the interim agreement” if Mr. Trump unveils his West Asia plan.Mr. Trump’s initiative will turn Israel’s “temporary occupation (of Palestinian territory) into a permanent occupation”, Mr.Erekat said.
The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, signed in Washington in 1995, sought to put into practice the first Oslo peace deal agreed two years earlier. The agreement set out the scope of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet Mr. Trump at the White House on Monday.The Palestinians, who see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, say Mr. Trump’s plan buries the two-state solution that has been the cornerstone of global West Asia diplomacy.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

First waste to energy plant of Railways inaugurated

The East Coast Railways commissioned the first waste-to-energy plant of Railways sector of India. It is the fourth such plant in the country. The plant has been set up at a cost of Rs 1.79 crores with Poly Crack technology.
The plant installed converts waste collected from the garbage disposal units into carbon powder, diesel and gas using Poly Crack Technology. The diesel oil is to be sold by the Railways to other stake holders for commercial purposes. The gas and carbon powder are to be used in brick manufacturing.
The best thing of the plant is that it does not leave any waste at the end. The plant has the capacity to process 500 kg of waste per day and will earn Rs 17.5 lakh per annum.
The first of such plant was established by Infosys in 2011 at Bengaluru. The second plant was established in Delhi in 2014 and the third was installed by Hindalco in 2019.
In Poly Crack Technology, waste is processed and reformed in 24 hours. The only drawback is that it requires larger area.
The technology involves de-polymerization, cracking, reforming, scrubbing, particle filtration and rapid quenching. The major benefit of the method is that it does not require pre-segregation.

::SPORTS::

India beats New Zealand in second T20

In Cricket, India defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 International at Auckland yesterday. Chasing the target of 133 runs, India made 135 for the loss of three wickets with 15 balls to spare. While KL Rahul remained not out at 57, ShreyasIye made 44.
Earlier, Indian bowlers struck intermittently to restrict Kiwis to a modest 132 for five. Opting to bat, the Black Caps could not generate enough momentum in the middle overs and finished with a sub-par total.