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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 June 2014

Strong and prosperous India in neighbour’s interest: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his “extremely successful” visit to Bhutan with a message to neighbouring countries that a strong and prosperous India was in their interest.The upshot of the two-day visit, the first abroad by Mr. Modi since assuming office, was a decision by the two countries to scale up their ties that cover security interests and cooperation in a wide variety of fields.
Bhutan promised not to allow its territory to be used against India, an assurance that comes against the backdrop of militants from the northeast taking shelter there.The two countries agreed to continue with their close coordination and cooperation on issues relating to their national interests, said a joint statement issued at the end of the visit.
Earlier, addressing the joint session of the Bhutanese National Assembly, Mr. Modi said a strong Bhutan would benefit India like a strong and prosperous India would be beneficial for the countries of the region, especially the SAARC members.“India’s prosperity is important, as then it can help small countries and perform its duty of a good neighbour. But if India is weak and struggling with its own problems, then how can it help others?”
There was a series of other tweets from Mr. Modi after he returned home. “Addressed Bhutan’s Parliament.When Bhutan moves ahead, India too feels like taking steps ahead to support Bhutan.”“India plans to create an e-library network in Bhutan & we would double scholarships being given to students of Bhutan,” he wrote.

Government to rectify Lokpal selection process

The Narendra Modi government, which charged the erstwhile UPA government with framing rules for the Select Committee to choose the Lokpal against the letter and spirit of the law, has set in motion the process to `rectify’ the situation.The Finance Minister and the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley informed the House last week that the rules framed by the Manmohan Singh government for the Selection Committee were contrary to the Act with the ulterior motive of controlling the Lokpal.
According to officials in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) work has begun to effect changes in the rules on the mandate of the search committee which will be notified soon.As per existing rules, an eight-member search committee is tasked with drawing up a panel of persons for consideration by the selection committee led by Prime Minister. These persons have to be chosen from among the panel provided by the DoPT, the rules say.
However, the government will now empower the search committee to include people from outside the list provided by DoPT for consideration by the committee, the sources said.Besides, the DoPT has written to the Law Ministry to vet rules formed on filing of property returns by government employees under the Lokpal regime.
As per the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, every public servant shall make a declaration of his or her assets and liabilities.The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act provides for the establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the States to enquire into corruption charges against public functionaries.
Outlining Narendra Modi government’s road map, President Pranab Mukherjee last week in his address to the Joint Session of Parliament said that the government “is committed to providing a clean and efficient administration focused on delivery. ”

Only twelve States implemented the National Food Security Act

According to Ministry of Consumer Affair,Food & Public Distribution only five States had fully implemented the National Food Security Act, 2013 and seven others had done so partially so far.
Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab have fully implemented as per the provisions of the Central Act, the Food and Public Distribution Minister told reporters here. Seven other States, including Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Chandigarh have implemented the Act partially.
As per the Act, all States are required to identify the number of beneficiaries by July , but only 12 States have done so thus far.The Centre will soon take a call on whether or not to extend the deadline for identification of beneficiaries under the Act. In Bihar’s case, as many as 1.58 crore families have been under the Act.

Inflation hits five month high

Even before the effect of deficient monsoons begins to kick in, wholesale price inflation hit a five-month high of 6.01 per cent in May with the rate of rise of food prices running at 9.5 per cent. The bad news came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned: “To improve the economic health of India, pull the country out of the current mess shouldn’t we take some bitter decisions?”
In April, the rate of growth of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 5.2 per cent; food price inflation had risen at the rate of 8.6 per cent. The pick-up in food inflation was led primarily by higher poultry and milk prices, according to the official data released here on Monday. Wholesale prices of potato are up more than 40 per cent since March. The build up in wholesale inflation in vegetables since March is touching 18 per cent.
Fuel inflation climbed to 10.5 per cent in May largely on the back of the Rs.1.3 a litre hike in diesel prices and the lagged revision in the electricity index. In April, the fuel price rate of inflation was 8.9 per cent.
The wholesale price data dampened the feel-good that the easing of retail price inflation in May to 8.3 per cent from 8.6 per cent in the previous month had generated. The official release also said that the rate of WPI rise for March has been revised up to 6 per cent from 5.7 per cent.

Iraqi conflict causes concern

The ongoing conflict in Iraq has pushed Brent crude prices over 4 per cent to nine-month high to $113 a barrel causing concern in the economy as well as among oil marketing companies (OMCs) and airlines that are staring at increased under-recoveries and mounting losses, respectively.
In case the unrest spills over to Southern Iraq and prices do not stabilise, OMCs are estimated to bear an additional annual burden of Rs.25,000 crore as the under-recoveries are projected to increase to Rs.6 per litre for diesel from around Rs.3 in the fortnight beginning June 1.
“Indian OMCs end up carrying a higher fuel subsidy burden every time global crude prices climb or the rupee depreciates against the dollar. The only thing that could change this is if the new BJP government comes up with a roadmap for fuel price reforms — one that balances a gradual unwinding of subsidies with economic growth.In June, India is to buy 290,000 barrels per day of Iraq’s Basra Light crude, the second largest importer in Asia after China.
Meanwhile, airlines which collectively lost over Rs.11,000 crore in 2013-14, and are reeling under mounting debt burden are estimating the impact. Experts feel that the airlines will be in deep trouble if crude prices rise by a few more dollars.“If it crosses $120 a barrel, the impact can be significant,” said Amber Dube, Partner and India head of Aerospace and Defence, KPMG.

IOA seeks views on Asiad

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has sought the views of its members about submitting a bid for hosting the Asian Games in 2019.
With the deadline for submitting the bid being July 1, the secretary general of the IOA, Rajeev Mehta, has written to the members, stating that there was not enough time to call a general body meeting.
“The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has already shown its keenness in supporting a bid from IOA to host the Games.