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Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 15 December 2015

:: National ::

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the winter session of Parliament, which had started with much promise of a détente between the Government and the Opposition, was “threatened with a washout.”
He also said “The last session of Parliament did not function. The current session is also threatened with a washout. The reasons for the washout of the current session keep changing by the hour,”.
The Congress, which had appeared to be thawing on the GST issue at the beginning of the session, continued its aggressive stance against the government, from the day a Delhi court refused to exempt Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi from personal appearance in the National Herald case.

Coast Guard Deputy Inspector General B.K. Loshali, who was facing an inquiry for publicly contradicting the government over the sinking of a Pakistani ship off the Gujarat coast on New Year’s Eve, has been dismissed.
He was dismissed after the Board of Inquiry found him guilty of all charges on Saturday. The inquiry was conducted by a panel of senior Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank officers for over three months.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting is set to showcase growing alignment between China and Russia, through closer integration of the Beijing-marshalled Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) with Moscow driven Eurasian Economic Union (EEAU), steered by a 10-year developmental plan.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang hosted a banquet for the heads of government from the SCO countries on Monday, setting the stage for a daylong session.
The meeting, in which Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah are to participate, is expected to focus on top developmental goals for the grouping.
The SCO has so far been known for its sharp focus on security concerns. Kazakhstan, is also expected to attract considerable attention during the deliberations. India is being represented by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh.
Analysts point out that SCO is part of the emerging Eurasia-centred Silk Road geopolitical architecture pillared by China and Russia, along with the Central Asian Republics.
But the grouping is expanding rapidly towards South Asia, with the inclusion of India and Pakistan as full members remaining only a procedural formality.
Nepal has become an observer state, and Iran’s elevation to full membership is also under active consideration.

Revival of bilateral talks between India and Pakistan will not only benefit the two countries but also help establish security and stability in Afghanistan and across the region, says the United States of America.
India has very important role to play in security and stability in Afghanistan and across the region. Good relations between India and Pakistan will not only benefit the two countries but also the entire region.
Indians have suffered greatly at hands of terrorists. Many lives have been lost in terrorist attacks in Pakistan. We have seen increasing realisation and action by the Pakistan government to act against terrorist groups.
US continue to urge Pakistan to act against all terrorist networks that target Pakistani establishments or U.S. government or Indian government and its interests.

India wanted an agreement on a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) and on a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes.
SSM is a trade remedy which is important for developing countries as it will allow them to temporarily hike duties to counter sudden import surges and price falls of farm products due to the heavily subsidised agricultural imports from developed countries, it said.
India asked the G33 countries to stand united, and collectively send out a message that the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration should be balanced and cover all the elements of the Doha Development Agenda.

China, the host for the 2016 G20 meet and holder of the rotating presidency, urged member countries to pursue structural reforms to spur global economic growth even as the Asian giant’s economy slows. Macro-economic expansionary policies such as monetary easing remain a ‘temporary response’ to the global financial crisis of 2008.
G20 leaders had met at Antalya last month and resolved to persist with collective action to lift actual and potential growth of their economies and boost job creation.
The G20 summit mechanism for economic co-operation had evolved in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Due to growing divergence in economic performance and policy priorities among major economies, we are seeing increasing difficulties in macro-economic policy co-ordination. The world economy calls for a new impetus.
China has questioned the significant rise in protectionist measures adopted by countries in trade and investment and the lack of movement on the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development round of talks. G20 nations account for 80 per cent of global trade volumes.
China has proposed a new assessment system that focuses on aggregate impacts of the structural reform measures undertaken by G20 countries instead of focusing on the progress of implementation. This, it has argued, would provide a more objective and effective evaluation of reforms.

The Ministry of Textiles plans to implement direct transfer of funds to cotton farmers’ accounts, on an experimental basis, if the price of cotton drops below the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will get into MSP operations as and when required in the cotton-growing states.
During the last cotton season, the industry paid higher prices for cotton, especially textile mills in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh though these are cotton-producing states.
China has a system for direct payment of benefits to farmers and the Chinese spinning mills have benefited from it.

Anirban Lahiri on Monday become the fourth Indian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title.
He was declared the new Asia No. 1 for 2015, as his lead on the money list has swollen to over $600,000 with one event remaining in the season.