Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 NOVEMBER 2018


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 NOVEMBER 2018


::NATIONAL::

NITI Aayog conduct training programme for urban water management

  •  NITI Aayog organized todaythe Second Phase of Urban Management Programme on ‘Water Recycling and Reuse’.in collaboration with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise & TF Internationalat India Habitat Centre in the capital today.
  •  Highlighting the importance of this capacity building programme on management of water,particularly its recycling & reuse, as crucial for future urban planning and policy, Amitabh Kant said that attaining high rates of economic growth for India will directly be a function of the sustainable use of water.
  •  He mentioned that NITI’s Composite Water Management Index, launched earlier this year, is a step toward increasing awareness and promoting best practises in water management throughout the country.
  •  In order to develop recycled water as part of sustainable and diverse water portfolio, NITI Aayog has enteredinto a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise - Temasek Foundation International to launch the Second Phase of Urban Management Programme on ‘Water Recycling and Reuse’.
  •  The programme launch was also attended by senior officials from the Central and State Governments, and representatives from the academia and think-tanks. The programme launch also showcased the best practices in the urban water sector in India besides discussing the challenges.
  •  The capacity building programme featured experience sharing by consultants from Singapore, who were associated in the successful transformation of the urban waterscape over the last four decades. The broader capacity building engagement with SCE also includes a series of interactive workshops, advisory sessions and an expository visit to Singapore.
    HRD ministry issues guidelines to states to reduce load of students
  •  No homework for students of classes I and II and prescribed weight limit of school bags for each class are part of the fresh directives issued by the HRD ministry to states and union territories across the country.
  •  According to the official order, the HRD ministry has “instructed all the states and Union Territories to formulate guidelines to regulate the teaching of subjects and weight of school bags in accordance with the Government of India instructions.”
  •  As per these instructions, which the schools have been asked to comply with, institutions cannot assign homework to students of classes I and II.
  •  Students should not be asked to bring additional books, extra materials and the weight of a school bag should not exceed the prescribed limit, the order added.
  •  The weight of school bags for students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg, while the school bag of students of class III to V should weigh between 2 kg to 3 kg.
  •  The school bag of students of classes VI and VII should not be more than 4 kg, while weight of school bags of classes VIII and IX students should not be above 4.5 kg. The school bag of a class X student should not weigh above 5 kg, the order said.

::ECONOMY::

“Paisa” portal launched under DAY –NULM

  •  A centralized electronic platform for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) named “PAiSA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access”, was launched here today.
  •  The web platform has been designed and developed by Allahabad Bank which is the Nodal bank. Launching the portal, Sh Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said , “PAiSA is yet another effort by the government to connect directly with the beneficiaries, ensuring that there is greater transparency and efficiency in delivery of services.
  •  DBT of subvention on monthly basis under DAY-NULM will give the necessary financial support to small entrepreneurs in a timely manner”.
  •  The portal was launched during the course of a day long National Workshop on Municipal Finance and Urban Planning organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and provided a platform to identify key areas of concern regarding municipal finance and urban planning, and exploring the options available to resolve them by inviting senior officials / experts to shed light on best practices.
  •  More than 300 delegates comprising officers from the States, Urban Local Bodies, Town Planning Offices across the country and Banks participated in the workshop.
  •  All 35 states / UTs & all scheduled commercial banks, RRBs and Cooperative Banks are expected to be on board the PAiSA portal the year end.

Govt.to infuse nearly 42000cr in PSB’s by March

  •  The government will infuse ₹42,000 crore in the state-owned banks by March-end and the next tranche would be released as early as next month, a senior finance ministry official said Monday.
  •  The government earlier this year pumped ₹11,336 crore in five PSBs — PNB, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank — to improve their financial health.
  •  State-owned banks will need less capital to meet their capital adequacy norms, as the Reserve Bank of India last week decided to defer the deadline for them to meet the global norms or Basel-III requirement by a year till March 2020.
  •  The RBI Board last week, while deciding to retain the capital adequacy requirement for banks at 9 per cent, agreed to extend the transition period for implementing the last tranche of 0.625 per cent under the capital conservation buffer (CCB) by one year up to March 31, 2020.
  •  Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service had last week said the decision of the RBI board to extend the timeline for banks to implement Basel III guidelines is ‘credit negative’ for PSBs.
  •  The government announced the ₹2.11-lakh crore capital infusion programme in October last year. According to the plan, the PSBs were to get ₹1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds, and the balance ₹58,000 crore through the raising of capital from the market.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India-China amends bilateral tax treaty

  •  India and China have amended the bilateral tax treaty which will help prevent tax evasion by allowing exchange of information, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.
  •  The Government of India and the People’s Republic of China have signed a protocol on November 26, 2018, to amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
  •  Further, the Protocol incorporates changes required to implement treaty related minimum standards under the Action reports of Base Erosion & Profit shifting (BEPS) Project.
  •  Besides minimum standards, the Protocol brings in changes as per BEPS Action reports as agreed upon by the two sides, the ministry added.
  •  Under Section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, India can enter into an agreement with a foreign country or specified territory for avoidance of double taxation of income, for exchange of information for the prevention of evasion.

Maldive’s supreme court quashes former president’s conviction

  •  The Maldives Supreme Court on Monday quashed former President Mohamed Nasheed’s terrorism conviction and overturned his 13-year jail sentence.
  •  Mr. Nasheed pulled out of the presidential race earlier this year after the Maldives Election Commission barred him from contesting, citing his controversial 2015 conviction for detaining Criminal Court judge Abdulla Ghazee during his presidency in 2012.
  •  However, the Supreme Court on Monday said Mr. Nasheed had been “wrongfully charged” and that he should not have been convicted in the 2015 trial that has been widely criticised as “politically motivated”.
  •  Since his conviction in 2015, Mr. Nasheed was in exile, after obtaining prison leave for medical treatment abroad. He lived in London and more recently in Colombo, from where he continued his political activism. Things began changing for the leader after a coalition led by his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ousted incumbent President Yameen in a high-stakes election held in September.
  •  The MDP welcomed the development in a statement. Mr. Nasheed’s legal counsel Hisaan Hussein said: “I am pleased by today’s judgment, which proves that President Nasheed should never have been arrested, let alone convicted of terrorism.”

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Zoological survey of India brings in database of Andaman fauna

  •  A recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) titled Faunal Diversity of Biogeographic Zones: Islands of India has for the first time come up with a database of all faunal species found on the island, putting the number at 11,009.
  •  The documentation proves that the islands, comprising only 0.25% of India’s geographical area, are home to more than 10% of the country’s fauna species.
  •  The publication, however, also cautions that tourism, illegal construction and mining are posing a threat to the islands’ biodiversity, which is already vulnerable to volatile climatic factors.
  •  The total area of the A&N Islands, which comprises of 572 islands, islets and rocky outcrops, is about 8,249 sq. km. The population of the islands, which includes six particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) — Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shompens is not more than 4 lakh.
  •  The number of tourists visiting the islands has crossed the number of people residing in them, with latest data showing 4.87 lakh tourists visiting the islands annually.
  •  Of the ten species of marine fauna found on the islands, the dugong/sea cow, and the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, are both classified as Vulnerable under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species.
  •  Another unique feature of the islands’ ecosystem is its marine faunal diversity, which includes coral reefs and its associated fauna. In all, 555 species of scleractinian corals (hard or stony corals) are found in the island ecosystem, all which are placed under Schedule I of the WPA.

::SPORTS::

Aussins beat England Women in T20 finals

  •  All-rounder Ashleigh Gardner starred with bat and ball as Australia cruised to an eight-wicket victory over England in the final of the Women’s World T20 here on Saturday.
  •  Gardner and teenage leg-spinner Georgia Wareham combined for five wickets to restrict the English to 105 all out off 19.4 overs after they had chosen to bat first at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
  •  Gardner then featured in an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 62 with her captain Meg Lanning as the Aussies reached the target with almost five overs to spare to lift their fourth World T20 crown.

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