Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 July 2018

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 July 2018

::NATIONAL::

Government set up high level committee chaired by Union Home Secretary to check mob lynching

  • Government is concerned at the incidents of violence by mobs in some parts of the country. Government has already condemned such incidents and made its stand clear in the Parliament that it is committed to upholding the rule of law and adopting effective measures to curb such incidents.
  • As per the Constitutional scheme, 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects. State Governments are responsible for controlling crime, maintaining law and order, and protecting the life and property of the citizens. They are empowered to enact and enforce laws to curb crime in their jurisdiction.
  • Government respects the recent directions of the Supreme Court on the issue of mob violence, and has issued an advisory to State Governments urging them to take effective measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching and to take stringent action as per law.
  • In order to formulate appropriate measures to address the situation, Government has set up a high level committee chaired by the Union Home Secretary to deliberate in the matter and make recommendations.
  • Government has further decided to constitute a Group of Ministers headed by the Union Home Minister to consider the recommendations of the high level committee.

India- Bangladesh joint committee on border haats held

  • The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held on 22-23 July 2018 inAgartala, Tripura. In the meeting both sides noted the positive impact of Border Haats on the livelihoods of the people living in areas adjoining the Haats.
  • Extensive discussionswere held on issues related to review of operations of the four functional Border Haats and suggestions for improvement, timeline for setting up the six additional Border Haats that had earlier been agreed to by both sides and the roadmap for further expansion of Border Haats.
  • The Joint Committee visited the Border Haat at Kamlasagar (Sipahijala District, Tripura) Tarapur (Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh) on 22 July 2018, appreciated its vibrant functioning and noted the need for improvement of infrastructure.
  • The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Border Haats between India and Bangladesh signed on 8th April 2017 provides for establishment of a Joint Committee to review the border haats operations, suggest modifications in the operational modalities and propose new locations of Border Haats.

::ECONOMY::

Bankers sign agreement to resolve stressed assets quickly

  • Leading lenders of the country on Monday signed an agreement among themselves to grant power to the lead lender of the consortium to draw up a resolution plan for stressed assets.
  • The plan would be implemented in a time-bound manner before bankruptcy proceedings kick in, as was the mandate of the Reserve Bank.
  • The move comes after the banking regulator, in its February 12 circular, dismantled all the existing resolution mechanisms, such as the joint lenders’ forum, and asked lenders to start resolution for the asset even if the default was by one day.
  • The agreement, known as Inter-Creditor Agreement (ICA) was framed under the aegis of the Indian Banks’ Association and follows the recommendations of the Sunil Mehta Committee on stressed asset resolution.
  • The agreement is primarily focussed on the Rs. 50 crore-Rs. 500 crore and the Rs. 500 crore-Rs. 2,000 crore categories. If there are any specific assets of more than Rs. 2,000 crore, will be dealt with that separately.

Iran replaces Saudi Arabia in oil supply to India

  • Iran was the second-biggest oil supplier to Indian state refiners between April and June, India’s Oil Minister said on Monday, replacing Saudi Arabia as companies took advantage of steeper discounts offered by Tehran.
  • India, Iran’s top oil client after China, shipped in 5.67 million tonnes or about 4,57,000 barrels per day (bpd), of oil, from the country in the first three months of this fiscal year, DharmendraPradhan told lawmakers in a written reply.
  • State refiners, accounting for about 60% of India’s 5 million bpd refining capacity, had curbed imports from Iran last year in protest against Tehran’s move to grant development rights for the giant Farzad B gas field to other parties.
  • India and other major buyers of Iranian oil are under pressure to cut imports from the country after Washington in May withdrew from a 2005 nuclear deal with Tehran and decided to reimpose sanctions on the OPEC member.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.K not to recognise caste as an aspect of race in anti-discrimination legislation

  • The British government has decided that it will not recognise caste as an aspect of race in anti-discrimination legislation, in a move that was condemned by Dalit organisations and other campaign groups.
  • Following a consultation last year, the government pointed to “the extremely low number” of cases involved and the “clearly controversial nature” of introducing caste, insisting that reliance on case-law and the ability for people to bring claims of caste discrimination under “ethnic origins” was the solution that would promote “community cohesion” and be “likely to create less friction”.
  • This clearly means the victims will not have any legal protection and have to go through expensive long-drawn legal battle to get justice.
  • The issue of incorporating caste discrimination into British legislation has been a matter of public debate for a number of years. Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010, amended by Parliament in 2013, required the government to introduce secondary legislation to make caste an aspect of race, and caste discrimination a form of race discrimination, but allowed for further consultations.

U.S pressure increases world over inorder to isolate Iran

  • U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat against Iran on Monday came hours after his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a speech to the Iranian diaspora in California, slammed the “nightmare Iranian regime”.
  • Mr.Pompeo asks all countries to reduce their imports of Iranian oil by November 4, or face U.S. sanctions.
  • He announced an intensified American propaganda campaign, with the launch of a multimedia channel with 24-hour coverage on television, radio, and social media.
  • Mr. Trump has made Iran a favourite target since his rapprochement with nuclear-armed North Korea. In May, he pulled the U.S. out of a hard-won agreement with Tehran, also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, which lifted sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme. The 2015 agreement was in response to fears that Iran was developing a nuclear bomb.
  • Iran president Mr.Rouhani repeated his warning that Iran could shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for international oil supplies.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists on the verge of creating artificial embryos

  • An international team of scientists has moved closer to creating artificial embryos after using mouse stem cells to make structures capable of taking a crucial step in the development of life.
  • Experts said the results suggested human embryos could be created in a similar way in future — a step that would allow scientists to use artificial embryos rather than real ones to research the very earliest stages of human development.
  • The scientists developed the structures further using three types of stem cells enabling a process called gastrulation, an essential step in which embryonic cells begin self-organising into a correct structure for an embryo to form.
  • These self-assembled human embryos would be an invaluable tools to understand early human development.

::SPORTS::

German footballer quits after racist remarks

  • Germany midfielder MesutOzil announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect on Sunday, hitting out at what he perceived to be unfair discrimination surrounding his meeting with Turkish president RecepTayyipErdogan in May.
  • Ozil, 29, was part of the Germany squad that exited the World Cup in Russia at the group stage and was the target of criticism for his performances as well as his meeting with Mr.Erdogan who has been accused of human rights abuses.
  • The Arsenal playmaker has Turkish ancestry and defended his actions in a lengthy statement, the first time he has publicly addressed the matter.

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