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Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 30 March 2016

:: National ::

Uttarakhand HC allows floor test of Harish Rawat government

Granting the former Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Harish Rawat, a chance to prove his majority in the Assembly, the Uttarakhand High Court ruled that fresh voting must take place on March 31.
The court ruled that all 70 MLAs, including the nine rebels who were suspended on Sunday by the Speaker, must vote, and the floor test shall decide whether Mr. Rawat would be reinstated.
However, the rebels would vote separately under the supervision of an observer appointed by the court.
On March 18, the BJP, the Opposition party, along with nine Congress MLAs, voted against the Appropriation Bill in the House.
While Mr. Rawat said the Bill was “constitutionally” passed, the BJP’s central leadership accused Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal of showing the Bill as “passed” when a majority of the 67 MLAs present had voted against it.
Thereafter, Governor K.K. Paul asked Mr. Rawat to prove his majority on March 28. But President’s Rule was imposed on the State on March 27.

FDI through automatic route allowed in e-commerce

The government allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through the automatic route in the marketplace model of e-commerce retailing.
This brought in long overdue clarity on FDI policy for the sector as well as definition of marketplace format.
As per the guidelines issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on FDI in e-commerce, foreign direct investment has not been permitted in inventory-based model.
At present, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in B2B (business-to-business) transactions under the automatic route.
The marketplace model has been defined as providing an “information technology platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital and electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller.”
DIPP said that the e-commerce marketplace may provide support services to sellers in warehousing, and logistics., order fulfilment, call centre, payment collection and other services.
However, such entities will not exercise ownership over the inventory.

Second Batch of Netaji files released (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

IS has built a strong terror network in Europe

Officials now say the signs of this focused terrorist machine were readable in Europe as far back as early 2014.
Hame was arrested in Paris last August, before he could strike, one of at least 21 trained operatives who succeeded in slipping back into Europe. Their interrogation records offer a window into the origins and evolution of an IS branch responsible for killing hundreds of people in Paris, Brussels and beyond.
European officials now know that Dad, Hame’s handler, was none other than Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian operative who selected and trained fighters for plots in Europe and who returned himself to oversee the Paris attack last year.
For much of 2012 and 2013, the jihadist group that eventually became the IS was putting down roots in Syria.
According to a brief by France’s domestic intelligence agency, Boudina was the first European citizen known to have travelled to Syria, joined the IS and returned with the aim of committing terrorism.
Including Boudina, at least 21 fighters trained by the IS in Syria have been dispatched back to Europe with the intention of causing mass murder.
Like the killers in Paris and Brussels, all of these earlier operatives were French speakers — mostly French and Belgian citizens, alongside a handful of immigrants from former French colonies, including Morocco.

Sri Lanka will build 65000 houses in civil war hit areas

The Sri Lanka government has decided to go ahead with the plan to build 65,000 houses in the civil war-hit Northern and Eastern Provinces.
At present, the process of receiving feedback on the project was under way. Two model houses had been set up in Jaffna.
This year, 11,000 houses had been planned with 18,000 houses annually for the next three years.
The executing agency of the project, ArcelorMittal Construction, France, would open an office in Jaffna to address the issues.
The guarantee period of the houses would be 30 years and each house would have lifetime of 60 years to 70 years.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Defence Minister inaugurated first indigenous bow mounted sonar dome

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar flagged off the first indigenous bow-mounted sonar dome for naval warships at Defexpo.
It was designed by engineers at a DRDO laboratory based in Pune and manufactured by Kineco Ltd., a Goan company.
Only a couple of companies in the world have the capability to make such a structurally demanding structure in composites.
The sonar functions as the ship’s underwater eyes and ears.
The dome is a structure fitted over the sonar array so that its electronics and sensors are not exposed to surrounding hostile environment.
The sonar dome has to be structurally sound as well as acoustically transparent.
Kineco has a joint venture with Kaman Aerospace group of the U.S., which has also become a significant player in the field of aerospace composites.

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:: Business and Economy ::

Government changed the policy related to inoperative provident funds

The government has scrapped a decision taken by the previous United Progressive Alliance government to suspend interest credits on inoperative Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) accounts, in the absence of any fresh contributions in these accounts for three years.
Interest income was not credited to such accounts since April 1, 2011.
At present, 9.23 crore out of total 15 crore EPF accounts are inoperative with around Rs.44,000 crore deposits in them.
The government has not taken a decision on crediting interest on these inoperative accounts between April 2011 and April 2016.
The decision could also scuttle the finance ministry's attempts to use the funds in such dormant accounts for creating a new Senior Citizens Welfare Fund as announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Union Budget 2015-16.
Under the new rules, EPF accounts will also continue to get interest credits for three years after members reach the age of 58 years.
This provision will ensure that EPF members, who choose not to withdraw their deposits immediately at retirement, would continue to earn interest till the age of 61.
A similar provision exists under the General Provident Fund (GPF) for government employees allowing them to earn interest for 12 months after they retire at the age of 60.
Accounts will become inoperative only in cases where employees settle abroad permanently and fail to withdraw their account balance within 36 months.
Similarly, in the case of an EPF member’s death, the interest on their savings will be credited for a period of three years after his or her death.

Vodafone moves ICJ against India

British telecom giant Vodafone is believed to have moved the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking appointment of a judge to preside over an arbitration over its Rs.14,200-crore tax case.
Vodafone this month moved ICJ after arbitrators appointed by it and the government of India failed to reach a consensus on selection of a neutral/presiding judge of the three-member panel.
Vodafone in 2013 had invoked India-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty seeking resolution to the tax demand imposed on it by enacting a tax law with retrospective effect to sidestep a Supreme Court judgement that went in the company’s favour.
The government had in June 2014 appointed former Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti as arbitrator while Vodafone named Canadian trial lawyer Yves Fortier as its choice.
The two had zeroed in on Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of the ICJ as the presiding arbitrator.
Lahoti recused himself from the case in May 2015 and a month later Yusuf too declined to be part of the panel.
Thereafter, India in July last year named Costa Rica based lawyer Rodrigo Oreamuno to arbitrate on its behalf.
But Oreamuno and Fortier have not been able to decide on a presiding arbitrator forcing Vodafone to move ICJ.
The government had initially slapped a tax demand of Rs.7,990 crore on Vodafone for failing to deduct tax on capital gains made over its $11-billion acquisition of 67 per cent stake in the mobile phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007.
Last month the IT department sent a reminder notice to Vodafone seeking Rs.14,200 crore in tax and interest.
Cairn Energy of UK, which faces a total tax liability of over Rs 29,000 crore owing to the same retrospective legislation, had resorted to ICJ to force the government to join the arbitration.