Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 October 2018

::NATIONAL::

Swachh bharat sustainable sanitation workshops begin

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in coordination with the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Government of Maharashtra, organized the first in a series of regional review meetings on Sustainable Sanitation today.
The regional review was held in Nagpur, attended by State Secretaries in-charge of rural sanitation, Mission Directors, and other State Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) officials, including representatives from 25 districts from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.
Quality and sustainability are a parallel focus in the Swachh Bharat Missionimplementation mechanism, especially now that a majority of districts across the country have achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.
Aimed at a more focused drive on the theme of sustainability, and improving quality of, the work done on the ground, the review meeting covered a range of quality and sustainability indicators in order to improve infrastructure and data quality and to improve communication for quality initiatives.
In his address, Mr. Akshay Rout shared that as the Swachh Bharat Mission enters its fifth and final year of implementation, this year is a clear milestone for the janandolan to move ahead with a new target to ensure the cleanliness of the country.
The States also made presentations on their status of sustainability indicators, such as geotagging, ODF verifications, Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities, etc., followed by discussions on how to move forward.

PM urges youth to uphold unity of nation

Ahead of the country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel birth anniversary on October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes to the leader and dedicated a “united India” to Patel’s “sagacity and strategic wisdom”.
Recalling Patel’s contribution in uniting the nation, Mr. Modi said the leader ensured “the merger of all princely states with the Dominion of India”.
“Patel formulated solutions one by one, weaving the warp and weft of unity on the axis of a single thread. He ensured the merger of all princely states with the Dominion of India. Whether Junagadh, Hyderabad, Travancore, or for that matter the princely states of Rajasthan. If we are able to see a united India now, it was entirely on account of the sagacity and strategic wisdom of Patel,” Mr. Modi said.
Mr. Modi also linked Infantry Day observed in commemoration of the first victorious military action led by the Infantry in Jammu and Kashmir after Independence to drive out Pakistani invaders to Patel.
He urged people to participate in large numbers in the ‘Run for Unity’ — a marathon organised across the country to mark Patel’s birth anniversary.
“The youth of the country is all set to take part in the ‘Run for Unity’. The weather is also pleasant. I urge you to participate in the largest possible numbers in this run for unity.

::ECONOMY::

Finance ministry hails GST council meetings

The all-powerful GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has met 30 times and taken 918 decisions related to laws, rules and rates for the new tax regime within a span of just over two years, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which comprises state finance ministers and Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue as members, was set up on September 15, 2016, as the country’s first ‘federal institution’.
The remaining decisions are under various stages of implementation. Almost equal number of corresponding notifications have been issued by each state, it added.
The working of GST Council has ushered in a new phase of cooperative federalism where the Central and state governments work together to take collective decisions on all issues relating to indirect tax regime of the country, the statement said.
Besides, tax officers of the Centre and states met ahead of the GST Council meetings to enable the council members to fully discuss the issues under consideration. The Council has held discussions in a “harmonious and collaborative spirit” in the 30 meetings that have taken place so far, it added.
The GST, which replaced 17 central and state levies including factory-gate, excise duty, service tax and local sales tax or VAT, is India’s biggest tax reform in 70 years of independence.

WTO sets up dispute panel for India –U.S export subsidy issue

The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) dispute settlement body has set up a panel to examine the U.S. complaint against certain export-subsidy measures by India as both the sides failed to resolve the issue at consultation level, an official said.
In March, the U.S. dragged India to the global trade body’s dispute settlement mechanism over export subsidies, saying that these incentives were harming the American companies.

The U.S. has requested for the establishment of a dispute panel to examine the allegations on India’s export incentive measures.
Seeking consultation under the aegis of the WTO is the first step of dispute settlement process. If the two nations are not able to reach a mutually agreed solution through consultation, the complainant can request for a WTO dispute settlement panel to review the matter.
The U.S. has challenged India’s export subsidy programmes such as Merchandise Exports from India Scheme in the WTO, asserting that these initiatives harm its companies by creating an uneven playing field.
India had stated that it was disappointed that the U.S. chose to move forward with a request for a panel, as it believed bilateral consultations held on April 11 were constructive.
During the consultations, India provided a detailed understanding of the schemes implemented under its Foreign Trade Policy by answering all the questions raised by the U.S.
India has also said that the schemes identified by the U.S. do not violate India’s WTO obligations and are in conformity with all the elements of the agreement.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

::INTERNATIONAL::

India confirms its project in Mauritius as not colonial or acquisitive

In 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had witnessed the signing of the agreement for Agalega Islands, the MoU had provided for “setting up and upgradation of infrastructure for improving sea and air connectivity” and enhancing “capabilities of the Mauritian Defence Forces in safeguarding their interests in the Outer Island.
However, since then, there have been growing reports over the Indian Naval and Coast Guard’s interests in setting up transponder systems and surveillance infrastructure, which has led to some local protests.
In March this year, several islanders, including some from Agalega, which has a tiny population of 300, formed the “Koalision Zilwa Pou Lape” (Islanders Coalition for Peace), to lobby against the Agalega project.
France maintains naval bases in the Indian Ocean and stations frigates off its Reunion islands, while China has a string of naval assets in the region from Gwadar to Djibouti, all leading to fears of their peaceful island region becoming increasingly militarised.
However, Indian officials point out that India’s projects in the neighbourhood have never been acquisitive or “colonial”.
Mauritian opposition members say they will continue to protest the government’s “lack of transparency” over the project, and the fact that the Mauritian government has exempted the project from any Environmental license process (EIA clearances).
Worries for India stem from the fact that it was just such protests, that began on a very small scale in the Seychelles, that led to plans for a coast guard facility on the Assumption Islands being shelved, after President Danny Faure said he lacked the parliamentary strength to ratify it. The setback, according to speculation, may have been chalked up to China’s heavy investment in the Seychelles.
“India needs to project itself as a credible and long term partner in a more persuasive manner, than what has been the experience in recent years,” Commodore (Retd) Uday Bhaskar of the Society for Policy Studies told.

Bosnia encounters ethnic tensions

For a country with a tripartite presidency to represent each of the three major ethnic groups Bosniak, Serb and Croat the upheaval about who is justified to represent the Croats has drawn further divisive lines after its eighth general election on October 7.
BiH declared independence from the erstwhile Yugoslavia in 1992, which triggered a secessionist movement by the country’s Serbs, leaving 1,00,000 people dead. The Dayton Accords ended the ethnic war in 1995, but created a three-member presidency to appease each of the three ethnic groups, and two Prime Ministers for the country’s two entities the Federation (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the Republic of Srpska.
In the Federation, two members are elected to represent Bosniaks and Croats and one is chosen to represent the Serb-dominated Republic of Srpska.
The latest crisis was triggered by the victory of Željko Komšić of the Democratic Front, a moderate leader, to the Croat presidency over the nationalist candidate Dragan Čović of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Mr. Čović and his supporters claim Mr. Komšić, who advocated strengthening Bosnia’s unity, won with support from Muslim Bosniaks and that he doesn’t represent the Croats. Mr. Čović is now pushing for a change in the Election Law.
The country continues to sway between moments of Yugo-nostalgia because of the relative economic equanimity back then, and moments of looking towards a capitalist framework for development. But even the future is uncertain with youth unemployment as high as 40% and young population fleeing into northern Europe, seeking economic opportunities.

::SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists develop world’s smallest optical gyroscope

Scientists have developed the world’s smallest optical gyroscope - a device that helps vehicles, drones and handheld electronic devices know their orientation in 3D space. The new gyroscope, described in Nature Photonics, is 500 times smaller than the current best device.
Originally, gyroscopes were sets of nested wheels, each spinning on a different axis, said researchers from the California Institute of Technology in the U.S. However, today’s cellphones have microelectromechanical sensor, the modern-day equivalent, which measures changes in the forces acting on two identical masses that are oscillating and moving in opposite directions.
The smallest high-performance optical gyroscopes available today are bigger than a golf ball and are not suitable for many portable applications, researchers said.
As optical gyroscopes are built smaller and smaller, so too is the signal that captures the Sagnac effect, which makes it more and more difficult for the gyroscope to detect movement, they said. Up to now, this has prevented the miniaturisation of optical gyroscopes.
Professor Hajimiri’s team found a way to weed out this reciprocal noise while leaving signals from the Sagnac effect intact. Reciprocal sensitivity enhancement thus improves the signal-to-noise ratio in the system and enables the integration of the optical gyroscope on to a chip smaller than a grain of rice.

::SPORTS::

Referee Chris Broad completes 300 matches

Chris Broad became only the second member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees to reach 300 ODIs when he walked out for the toss in the third match between India and the West Indies here on Saturday.
Even though Broad made his ODI debut as an official in Auckland in 2004, 11 years after Ranjan Madugalle refereed in his opening match in Karachi, the Englishman now trails the Sri Lankan by only 36 ODIs.
Jeff Crowe of New Zealand is third on the list with 270, while former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath has officiated in 212. Roshan Mahanama retired in 2015 after refereeing in 222 ODIs.
Broad is presently sitting on 98 Tests and will become the second referee after Madugalle to complete a unique double by reaching the 100-Test mark in the second Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Wellington in March, 2019.