Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 June 2014

Central govt. to simplify laws for single window clearance

As the BJP-led NDA government completes its first month in office, Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said his Ministry was working towards meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to provide a single window clearance for projects. This, he said, would improve the investment climate and send a clear message to foreign investors that they could freely invest in India.
Mr. Prasad, who is also the Telecom Minister, said there was an impression that India was one of the most over-regulated countries in the world and one had to obtain 20 or odd clearances for a project and this affected investment climate. He said he had asked the Law Commission to examine whether so many clearances were needed for approvals.
“The Commission has been asked to submit a report in consultation with trade bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry, with a suggestion in creating a more enabled business atmosphere, viz. how many clearances you need for a project with certain mandatory clearances.
Also to tell the government whether we can have a process of self-certification from the project proponents that every law had been followed, with a rider that in the event of violation there will be serious punishment.

After the sharp opposition to its Railway fare hike, the NDA government has decided to hold steady the administered prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene. This decision, confirmed by Oil Ministry ,could push up the annual subsidy bill by about Rs. 20,000 crore.
Over the last fortnight, the Indian crude basket (that comprises 30 per cent Brent and 70 per cent Dubai grade) spiked to $112.4 per barrel from $107 per barrel, worsening the macroeconomy headache for Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The growing subsidy bill will widen the fiscal deficit and disturb the budget arithmetic. A $10-per-barrel price surge normally widens the fiscal deficit by Rs. 40,000 crore. A stable crude price is one of the key stated assumptions on which the United Progressive Alliance government had based its interim budget estimates. Its fiscal deficit target for this year is 4.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.
The surge in the inflation rate that the diesel and petrol price hikes are likely to cause is by about 30 bps-90 bps. Wholesale inflation was 6 per cent in May.
Though, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) is at comfortable level, every $10/barrel rise in the Indian basket will widen it by $ 9billion-10 billion. Crude accounts for more than a third of India’s total imports. The CAD was 1.7 per cent of the GDP in 2013-14.
33 per cent reservation for women in the police force.

In a pioneering move, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced 33 per cent reservation for women in the police force.It is necessary to empower women for their uplift in the society.It will be implemented in all cadres.
The path-breaking initiative comes at a time when crime against women is on the rise in several states and is under media spotlight following alleged rape and murder of two minor girls in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh.
Gujarat will be the first state in India to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the police force.The sanctioned posts in Gujarat Police is around 60,000, around 10,000 more than its present strength. There are around 2500 policewomen in the State at present. If the government manages to fill all 33 per cent posts for women against the sanctioned strength, the State would have around 19,800 women in the force.

Suspected Boko Haram militants have abducted more than 60 women and girls, some as young as three, in the latest kidnappings in northeast Nigeria and over two months since more than 200 schoolgirls were seized.
Analysts said the kidnapping, which happened during a raid on Kummabza village in the Damboa district of Borno state, could be an attempt by the Islamist group to refocus attention on its demands for the release of militant fighters.
Boko Haram has indicated that it would be willing to release the 219 schoolgirls that it has held hostage since April 14 in exchange for the freedom of its brothers in arms currently held in Nigerian jails. Nigeria initially refused to sanction any deal but efforts have since been made to open talks with the group, with a possible prisoner swap part of discussions.
The military in Abuja said in a tweet late that it could not confirm the latest abductions and spokesmen were not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP. The Chibok abduction triggered a groundswell of outrage within Nigeria that spread overseas, leading to a social media campaign and international pressure on the government to act.

Moscow will continue to protect ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said after dismissing a week-long ceasefire between pro-Kremlin rebels and Ukrainian troops as “too short.”
“We will always protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine, as well as the part of Ukrainian people who ... feel part of the wider Russian world, and we will not only monitor this but also react,” Mr. Putin said during a visit to Austria. “I hope that armed forces will not be necessary for this.”
Mr. Putin asked Russian lawmakers on Tuesday to revoke a resolution allowing him to invade Ukraine in a shock change of heart that Kiev hailed as the “first practical step” in defusing the months-long crisis.
The Russian leader however insisted that the seven-day truce between separatist rebels and forces loyal to Kiev in Ukraine’s restive east be followed by concrete talks.

The budget will be centred on growth-promoting policies and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will soon unveil new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies that the government is working on, Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram said.
The government would focus on the infrastructure sector so that manufacturing that had slumped from 12 per cent growth to 0 per cent now could be revived, Mr. Mayaram further added. He explained that for this the system needed to gear up, especially for de-clogging the infrastructure sector as the new government had clearly stated that the system of project approvals was to be simplified and timelines were to be set so that there were no delays and so that then both domestic and foreign investments could return to the manufacturing sector.
“I am confident that the economy will see a major change this year and it will take off this year,” the Finance Secretary said. He was speaking at the launch of the World Investment Report 2014 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).