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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 26 June 2014

Centre to collaborate with States to fight inflation

To keep a check on inflation in the wake of a weak monsoon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for “proactive” coordination between the Centre and States in implementing contingency plans and asked the States to set up fast-track courts to sternly deal with hoarders.
At a high-level inter-ministerial meeting convened by him to discuss food security and monsoon situation, the Prime Minister reviewed the availability of water and seeds and directed that fodder grids be formed for a long-term solution to the problem of drying grazing lands for livestock in rain-fed areas.
The meeting, attended among others by Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Ram Vilas Paswan, Radha Mohan Singh and Uma Bharti, decided to extend by three months the period till when States should implement the National Food Security Act, which provides for concessional foodgrains to 75 per cent identified beneficiaries. Earlier, State governments had to implement the Act by July 4, 2014, within 365 days of it coming into force (on July 5, 2013). Only five States are ready for implementation of the Act.
It gave a go-ahead for setting a minimum export price of $450 per tonne for potato to discourage exports and check the rising price of the tuber. Onion supplies have improved over the last week easing prices, but the price of potato has gone up by about 30 per cent compared to last year. India exports between one to two lakh tonne potatoes annually.
Monsoon has so far been delayed in parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, hitting kharif sowing in paddy and cotton.It was informed at the meeting that monsoon will revive by July 7 and the El-Nino effect in August-September will be lower than initially expected.
Steps to tackle inflation were yielding results and the Agriculture Ministry was ready with a contingency plan for 500 districts in case the monsoon failed to revive, the Prime Minister was informed.
The government announced only a modest hike in the minimum support price of paddy and pulses to contain inflation.

Deadline extended for National Food Security

The Centre extended by three months the deadline by which States should roll out the National Food Security Act that provides for distribution of concessional foodgrains to 75 per cent of identified beneficiaries.
Under the Act, States were given time till July 4 to implement the Act but so far only five states have begun to roll out the scheme while six others are “in the process.”
To discuss the Act’s rollout and the problems faced by the States, the Centre has called a meeting of Food Ministers on July 5. The meeting will also discuss steps that States should take to check hoarding and tackle inflation.
Announcing the decisions taken at a high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said it was mandatory for the government to announce an extension of the scheme under the Act. “The allocation of foodgrains to all States will continue on the basis of the Targeted Public Distribution System till they switch to the new dispensation under the Act.

Russia to join Kiev talks with EU

Russia said it had finally got Brussels and Kiev to include it in talks over a landmark association agreement between Ukraine and the EU to be signed this week.
Much to Russia’s chagrin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is set to sign the final chapters of the landmark EU pact that has been at the heart of a raging crisis in his country.
However Moscow hopes it will still be able to raise its concerns over possible damage to its economic interests as a result of the agreement which has seen it threaten to protect its markets against Ukrainian goods.

Adverse growth-inflation setting, major challenge- RBI

Adverse growth-inflation setting that has obtained over the last two years is posing a major challenge to economic recovery, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It, however, conceded that the moderation in consumer price inflation and reduction in twin-deficits had provided some breather.
The RBI said formation of a stable government at the Centre had made the prospects of economic recovery appear bright. However, it felt that supply-side constraints needed to be addressed to complement its efforts to contain inflation expectations. The RBI made these observations in the Financial Stability Report June 2014, the ninth issue of the half-yearly publication.
“A strong push to implementing policy is expected to provide the necessary impetus to the investment cycle. Recent policy measures and timely interventions have proved to be effective in containing external sector risks but there is a need to work towards reducing structural current account imbalances,” the report said.
The RBI said Indian capital markets reflected the expectations on policy measures to address the adverse growth-inflation dynamics and saving-investment balance.

N.Srinivasan becomes first ICC Chairman

BCCI president-in-exile N. Srinivasan was formally appointed the first Chairman of the ICC after its 52-member council approved a controversial revamp of the body’s administrative structure.
The full council approved the amendments to the ICC’s Memorandum and Articles of Association at the Annual Conference.
As was widely known before the conference, Mr. Srinivasan was elected despite being barred by the Supreme Court of India from carrying out his duties as BCCI president due to ongoing investigations into the match-fixing allegations relating to the 2013 edition of the IPL.
However, after the apex court refused to stop his nomination to the ICC position, decks were cleared for his anointment to the newly-created post. The revamp will also hand major executive decision-making authority to the ‘Big Three’ of the game — India, Australia and England.