Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 07 December 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 07 December 2015

:: NATIONAL ::

SC will ensure rule of law, says CJI

• Noting that there is a political angle to the whole religious intolerance debate,Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur sent a strong message against divisive forces, saying that India is an inclusive society where people of all faiths and religions flourish with mutual respect and the Supreme Court will ensure that the rule of law reigns supreme.

• When the Constitution guarantees Rule of Law to those who are not our citizens, there is no question that citizens of India, no matter of what religion or faith should feel unprotected. We[Supreme Court] have no reluctance to protect the beliefs of our fellow citizens. As long as Rule of Law prevails no one has to be afraid

• On the issue of rising judicial vacancies in the HighCourts and the SupremeCourt, he said he would prefer to wait till the five-judgeConstitution Bench led byJustice J.S. Khehar pronounces the guidelines for the Collegium.

Supreme Court agrees with Odd Even Formula

• After being pulled up by the Delhi High Court and the National Green Tribunal for the worsening air pollution in the Capital, theDelhi government got a breather with none other thanChief Justice of India T.S.Thakur for odd-even formula” of car use

• Chief Justice Thakur’s Bench is hearing a suo motu litigation requiring commercial vehicles plying throughDelhi to pay environmentalcompensation cess along with entry toll charges. However,the case recently reached aroad block when the private toll contractor employed by the Municipal Corporation ofDelhi objected to the Supreme Court order, saying that he instead would want to opt out of the toll contract itself.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Indo-Pak dialogue

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Islamabad, leading the Indian delegation to the ‘Heart of Asia’ donor conference on Afghanistan
• The meeting of NSAs in Bangkok and Ms. Swaraj’s Islamabad visit are part of the government’s decision to reset the engagement with Pakistan that has suffered after the cancellation of Foreign Secretary talks in 2014 and NSA talks earlier this year, and will ensure that the governments meet at four levels: of PM, EAM, NSA and Foreign Secretaries within a span of 10 days.
• The government agreed to include Jammu and Kashmir in the talks along with terrorism, which it had earlier refused to

WTO trade facilitation pact

• India is likely to ratify the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), aimed at easing customs rules to expedite trade flows, during the Nairobi meeting of the global trade body from December 15 to 18.

• Not using all the available safeguards could lead to greater chances of India finding it difficult to implement all its TFA-related commitments on time, thereby giving opportunities to other countries to drag it (India) to the WTO’s dispute settlement panel

• In November 2015, WTO member countries had adopted a “protocol of amendment” to make the TFA a part of the overall WTO Agreement. However, the TFA will become operational only after two-thirds of the members ratify it. So far, only 53 of the 162 member countries have done so.

• New Delhi is planning to ratify the TFA as part of the government’s initiatives to attract more investment by improving India’s ranking in the World Bank’s “ease of doing business” report, the sources said. The government wants India to leapfrog its position from 130th this year (out of 189 countries) to the top 100 next year and then in the top 50 soon.

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:: BUSINESS ::

Startup policy in New Year

• The government is gearing up to unveil a new policy for promoting startups in January 2016 with an eye on boosting innovation, entrepreneurship and creating new jobs.
• The Start-up India policy would be a set of significant measures to encourage entrepreneurship in the economy and we hope it would become agame-changer in making the ecosystem conducive for new ventures
• Nearly 90 per cent of the venture capital in Indian startups is coming from overseas. We are trying to create a domestic VC industry and the Rs.2,000 crore allotted from this fund would enable seed funding for entrepreneurs and innovators

Major reforms in the labour laws

• The government is striving to introduce five more labour reform legislations in the winter session of Parliament, including the bills to introduce a new wage and industrial relations code and amend laws governing child labour and bonus payments.

• These are in addition to the amendments to the Factories Act of 1948 that the government had listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha last week, but eventually wasn’t tabled. The only new bill to be introduced in Parliament’s lower house so far in this session is the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

• The government has officially listed the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 for consideration and The government has also proposed to introduce the Child Labour (Protection and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 in the Rajya Sabha this week. The Bill proposes that children below fourteen years of age may only be allowed to work in their own family enterprises. It also bars employment of children in hazardous occupations till the age of 18 years. Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi has, however, raised concerns about the Bill reducing the list of such occupations from 83 to just three mining, inflammable substances and explosives and hazardous occupations as per the Factories Act. passing in the Lok Sabha this week

• The law is being changed to make more employees eligible for bonus and double such payments. It proposes to raise the salary ceiling for statutory bonus payments to Rs 21,000 per month from Rs 10,000 specified under the 1965 law.

• The Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill, for instance, seeks to make it easier for manufacturing firms to employ upto 40 workers by exempting them from compliance with six labour laws which include the Factories Act, the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 and the Shops and Establishment Acts of respective states.

• The code on wages aims to replace four diferent laws pertaining to salaries — the Payment of Wages Act of 1936, the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. Similarly, the code on industrial relations would substitute three diferent laws — the Trade Unions Act of 1926, the Industrial Disputes Act and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act of 1946.

• The government has also proposed to introduce the Child Labour (Protection and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 in the Rajya Sabha this week. The Bill proposes that children below fourteen years of age may only be allowed to work in their own family enterprises.

• It also bars employment of children in hazardous occupations till the age of 18 years.

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:: SPORTS ::

India takes bronze in world hockey league

• India beat European champion and World No. 2, the Netherlands, to take bronze at the Hockey World League Finals

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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