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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2018

::NATIONAL::

TDP quits NDA, moves NO-confidence motion

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) pulled out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as it had “denied Special Category Status (SCS) and failed to fulfil the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.”
The decision to end the about four-year-old alliance was announced by TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during a teleconference with the party’s polit bureau members here in the morning.
Minutes after pulling out, Mr. Naidu changed his strategy of supporting the YSRCP’s no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha and directed his party MPs to take the initiative and move it. A
pparently the TDP wanted to take the credit for moving the motion denying the same to YSRCP, the main Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan read both the YSRCP and TDP motions before announcing that she was unable take them up as the House was not in order.
Both these parties would now move the motions afresh.
Though the fate of these motions looks uncertain, the two-day recess is being used by Mr. Naidu and YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to mobilise support from non-NDA parties.
YSRCP MPs have been meeting the floor leaders to seek their support during the last two days, while the TDP MPs started the exercise.

Will explore alternative route to project, won’t touch Ram sethu: Govt to SC

The Union government told the Supreme Court that it will not touch the Ram Sethu, an underwater coral formation in the Indian Ocean referred in mythology Ramayana, for the implementation of the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project.
The government said cutting a route through the Ram Sethu, also known as Adam’s Bridge, would be a cause of “socio-economic disadvantage”.
This is part of a one-page affidavit filed by the Shipping Ministry almost four years after the Supreme Court asked the government to “come clean” on the choice of the project’s route and whether it would damage the Ram Sethu.
BJP leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy had, as early as 2014, asked the apex court to verify whether a Cabinet decision was taken to “not touch” the Ram Sethu for the project.
Mr. Swamy mentioned his plea again before a Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand told the court that an affidavit had been filed stating the government’s position.
The affidavit said instead of Alignment 6 (the route which cuts through the Ram Sethu), the government would explore an “alternative”.
Acting on the suggestions of the Supreme Court, the government appointed a committee under R.K. Pachauri to study whether an alternative route to Alignment 6 was feasible.
The committee was to consider if construction of the project was viable along Alignment 4A, an alternative route running on land north of Dhanushkodi, thereby avoiding any chances of affecting the Ram Sethu,
The court then reserved its judgment until such time the government got Alignment 4A evaluated and a report submitted to it.
The committee referred the question of Alignment 4A to the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO).
Mr. Swamy had alleged that the NIO completed the study and handed over a report to the government in March 2009.
He had voiced apprehensions that the report may never be submitted in the Supreme Court as the consequences may be to the scrap the project itself.
The court also wanted to know the government’s position on whether the ancient Ram Sethu could be declared a national monument.

Halt tree-felling for Chardham Project: NGT

Hearing a petition alleging that the Chardham highway project was resulting in ‘massive’ felling of trees, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has urged the project proponent to refrain from doing so till further orders.
The green panel on February 28 had issued notices to the Centre and the Uttarakhand government on why the ongoing work on the Chardham highway project should not be stayed.
In its reply to the show-cause notice, the State government denied “each and every averment and allegation made in the applications”.
The directions came while the tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Dehradun-based NGO Citizens for Green Doon, where it was alleged that the road-widening work to connect Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri was being carried out in violation of environmental laws.

Abolishing Health scheme: Rajasthan Govt.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajasthan is set to abolish a health scheme for the poor, started by the previous Congress regime, on the purported ground of duplication leading to loss to the exchequer.
Congress has cried foul and described it as an instance of BJP’s insensitivity.
The State government has decided not to extend the Mukhya Mantri BPL Jeevan Raksha Kosh to the financial year 2018-19 after its expiry on March 31.
Medical and Health Minister Kali Charan Saraf said that the scheme’s beneficiaries would get free diagnosis and treatment facilities under other plans.
According to the official orders, the patients of below poverty line (BPL) category will get the medical treatment under the Bhamashah health insurance scheme, free diagnostic test scheme and free medicine scheme.
A new procedure has been laid down for the cases of hospitalisation, implants and specialised treatment.
However, the move will render over 500 contractual employees, including the computer operators, unemployed.
They were hired for effective implementation of the Mukhya Mantri BPL Jeevan Raksha Kosh in various districts.
Besides, it gave a grant to the childless BPL couples and those with an annual income of Rs. 1 lakh for their treatment.
Mr. Gehlot said the State government had taken the decision on the pretext of promoting the Bhamashah health insurance scheme.

Odisha Govt push for Disaster Management

The Odisha government is set to collaborate with the Thailand-based Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for strengthening its early warning services and enhancing preparedness for management of hazards in the State.
As per the initial discussions held, the Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority and RIMES would forge a partnership in the field of drought monitoring and early warning for different natural disasters.
At present, India is chairing RIMES. Under the drought monitoring system, both institutions would work on a system to archive, analyse and visualise data, besides evaluating station performance and validating forecast data.
Similarly, RIMES is expected to provide a one-stop risk management system for all OSDMA needs. Odisha is particularly concerned about tsunami originating from the Andamans.
A team led by RIMES director A.R.Subbiah held discussions with Chief Secretary A.P. Padhi and Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan.
Subsequently, it was decided that a memorandum of understanding would be signed for the collaboration. RIMES is already working with the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority.

Sports talent and Woman power of Manipur inspire India: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Manipur’s woman power and sporting talents have been an inspiration for the Centre in designing programmes such as ‘Khelo India’.
He was speaking at a rally after initiating a slew of projects at Luwangshangbam on the outskirts of the State capital, Imphal.
The projects included Luwangpokpa Multi Sports Complex, Rani Gaidinliu Park, 1,000 anganwadicentres and 19 residential complexes for teachers, doctors and nurses in far-flung areas. He also inaugurated the boxing academy of Olympic medallist, Mary Kom.
Mr. Modi laid the foundation stone of the National Sports University — India’s first — that was caught in a land dispute.
But scrapped from the list of projects to be inaugurated by him was a multi-purpose dam project following protests from the Joint Action Committee Against Forced Inauguration of Mapithel Dam, an umbrella body of 20 groups of project-affected people.
Born at Nungkao in Manipur’s Tamenglong district, Gaidinliu (1915-1993) was a revolutionary who led an army of Nagas against the British in 1931.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Failed to act against terrorists: US to Pakistan

Pakistan has failed to take decisive actions against terror groups as sought by the Trump administration, the White House said, and warned Islamabad that the U.S. is prepared to take actions on its own to safeguard its personnel in Afghanistan.
U.S. President Donald Trump had announced his South Asia Policy in August last year, criticising Pakistan for providing safe havens to terror groups carrying out attacks in Afghanistan.
Expressing the White House’s displeasure on the alleged continued reluctance on the part of Pakistan to take action against terrorists, the official said, “We are still seeking actions from Pakistan that we have not seen. We are continuing to look for real actions and not word on the Taliban and the Haqqani sanctuaries.”
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted that there is an urgency on the part of Pakistan to take action.“The U.S. is interested in addressing some of the Pakistani concerns, but the ball lies in Islamabad’s court,” the official said.
The Trump Administration, for the first time, has really restored clarity on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.
On questions about the deadline, the official said the U.S. is in discussion with Pakistan. The U.S. also wants Pakistan to take action against Pakistan-based terrorist groups that target India like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Putin targeted by U.K for attack on Ex-spy

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that it was overwhelmingly likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself made the decision to use a military-grade nerve toxin to strike down a former Russian agent on English soil.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said that the Russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former double agent who betrayed dozens of spies of Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence service, and his daughter.
Ms. May said it was tragic that Mr. Putin, who is likely to coast to a fourth term in presidential election, had chosen to act in such a way.
Soon after Mr. Johnson’s comments were reported, the Kremlin said accusations that President Putin was involved in the nerve agent attack were shocking, TASS news agency reported.
Britain's key allies closed ranks against Mr. Putin after Prime Minister May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and suspended high-level contacts, among other measures.
In a rare joint statement, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and the U.S. on condemned the attack.
Moscow vowed to hit back at Britain with its own punitive measures.
Mr. Peskov said Russia’s sanctions could come “any minute” even though he declined to say whether Moscow would deliver its response before presidential election. “All the steps will be well thought out,” he told reporters.
Relations between Britain and Russia have been strained since the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210 in London in 2006, a killing which a British inquiry said was probably approved by Mr. Putin.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing.

::ECONOMY::

Sanctioned Rs.10,000 crore for GST refunds: Govt.

The government sought to debunk reports carrying unverified estimates of pending GST refunds, terming these figures “highly speculative and mostly inaccurate.”
So far, the government said, ₹10,000 crore of refunds had been sanctioned by the Central Board of Excise and Customs and the States, although it did not mention the quantum of the remaining amount.
“It has been noticed that at regular intervals, unverified estimates of pending GST refunds on account of exports are published in the print media or put forward by various trade bodies,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. “These figures are highly speculative and mostly inaccurate.”
“It is a fact that while a number of exporters have not been able to get the export refunds, so far others have been granted refunds,” it added.
“In order to overcome the causes of the delay in sanctioning of refunds, government has taken various steps, which includes amendments in the rules, changes in the business procedures of common portal and customs automated system to address the systemic issues.”
The statement said that many of the errors plaguing the claims for refunds were due to the “inadequate familiarisation of the exporters with the GST laws and data entry errors in the various GSTRs/forms.”
“A standard operating procedure applicable to both Central and State GST has been put in place by virtue of various circulars and clarifications issued with regard to processing of ITC refund.”

Q3 CAD is 2% GDP

The current account deficit (CAD) rose to 2% of the GDP or $13.5 billion in the December quarter, up from $8 billion or 1.4% in the year-ago period, on the back of higher trade deficit, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
The CAD, which shows the difference between foreign exchange earned and spent, stood at $7.2 billion or 1.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the preceding September quarter, according to the data released by the central bank.
“The widening of the CAD on a year-on-year basis is primarily due to a higher trade deficit which rose to $44.1 billion in the reporting quarter due to a larger increase in merchandise imports relative to exports,” the central bank said in a statement.
On a cumulative basis, CAD more than doubled to 1.9% of GDP in the April-December 2017 period from 0.7% in the corresponding period of 2016-17 due to wider trade deficit, which increased to $118.9 billion from $82.7 billion.
Net services’ receipts rose 17.8% during the reporting quarter mainly on the back of a rise in net earnings from software services and travel receipts.
Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances, amounted to $17.6 billion, an increase of 16% from over a year ago.
In the financial account, net foreign direct investment stood at USD 4.3 billion, almost 55 per cent less than in the year-ago period when it was at USD 9.7 billion, the apex bank data showed.
However, net portfolio investment inflows were in the green at USD 5.3 billion in Q3, compare to an outflow of USD 11.3 billion in the year-ago period, due to net purchases in both the debt and equity markets.
Net receipts on account of non-resident deposits amounted to USD 3.1 billion in the reporting quarter as against net repayments of USD 18.5 billion a year ago.
During the three months to December 2017, the forex kitty swelled by USD 9.4 billion (on balance of payment basis) as against a depletion of USD 1.2 billion in Q3 of FY17.
During this period, forex kitty saw an accretion USD 30.3 billion to the foreign exchange reserves.
Net FDI inflows during April-December 2017 declined to USD 23.7 billion from USD 30.6 billion, while net portfolio inflows stood at USD 19.8 billion during the period as against a net outflow of USD 3.2 billion a year ago.

Chances of steel imports to rise from South Korea and Japan

India is likely to witness an increase in steel imports from South Korea and Japan in the near term due to global readjustment of trade patterns after the U.S. imposed a 25% import tariff on the commodity, rating agency ICRA said in a note.
Both South Korea and Japan, which have free trade agreements (FTA) with India, are expected to raise their exports to countries with which they have such pacts, following the move by the U.S.
Together, the two countries exported about 5 million tonnes (mt) of steel to the U.S. in calendar 2017.
ICRA, however, said the impact of U.S. tariffs may not be significant in the medium term as 26 mt of affected imports to that country would be absorbed by the 25 mt increase in the global demand elsewhere, especially in emerging economies.
Also, Chinese steel exports had been declining in the last two years, reaching 75 mt in 2017 from a peak of 112 mt in 2015, providing an opportunity to other countries to fill this gap left by China, by diverting volumes away from the U.S.
India’s steel exports to the U.S. remained a meagre 0.7 mt in [calendar] 2017. India’s steel mills should be able to find an [alternative] market for its nominal U.S. export volumes without much difficulty.