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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 July 2019

::NATIONAL::

Government plans for big infrastructure projects

An Annual Global Investors Summit is to be organised later this year, with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund anchoring the event, to invite investment in the infrastructure segment, where spending for the next five years is projected at Rs. 100 crore. The government is hoping that this will have a cascading effect of pushing growth.
This was revealed by government sources as the Modi government completed the first 50 days of its second term and shared data on decisions taken by it.
Significantly, Prime Minister NarendraModi told close aides in his office that there will be no “settling-in” period this time around as it was a continuing government.
Giving further details, government sources said the 50-day push was important as it clearly delineated the government’s priorities and where it wanted to focus resources and policy thought.
The blistering pace is, however, most evident in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. Government data shows that at least 17 bills have been cleared and 104 more have been introduced in this session alone, from various ministries.
Apart from this, 58 archaic laws have been repealed continuing on from the last term of the government where nearly a 1000 laws had been repealed.

EC claims above 60% turn out of service voters during elections

Having sent postal ballots to service voters electronically for the first time in the 2019 LokSabha elections, the Election Commission of India on Sunday said the one-way electronic transmission had enabled 60.14% turnout of such voters.
In comparison, an EC statement noted, the service voter turnout in the 2014 General Elections was just 4%. While the service voters still had to post their ballots back, an online registration system was set up and the ballots sent to them electronically for the first time.
For the first time enabled through the dedicated portal https://www.servicevoter.eci.nic.in online registration, the service voters were sent postal ballots electronically one way to save processing time, resources and avoid human errors,” the statement read.
Service voters comprise those working in Central forces and government officials deployed at embassies around the world. Of the total service electors, 10,16,245 were from the Ministry of Defence; 7,82,595 from the Central Armed Police Forces; 3,539 of the Ministry of External Affairs and 267 of State Police.
The Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System has two layers of security, with use of a one-time password, PIN and unique QR code on the portal, it said.

::ECONOMY::

NITI Aayog VC hopeful of attaining 8% growth from 2020

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that India will achieve economic growth of 8 per cent plus from the fiscal year 2020-21 onwards as structural reforms are set to produce the benefits.
Talking to a news agency in New York, Mr Kumar said, the foundation has been laid and the transformation has begun with the passing of structural reforms like the Goods and Services Tax, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. He said, these have taken their time to settle down and now they'll produce the benefits.
Mr Kumar stressed that in the next five years, the Modi government is focused on accelerating growth from the current about seven per cent to more than eight per cent and it will propel the country to easily achieving the target of becoming a five trillion dollar economy.
The NITI Aayog Vice Chairman was in New York for the High-Level Political Forum Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations Headquarters. During his visit, he delivered the keynote address at the 'India Investment Seminar' held at the Consulate General of India, New York.
He highlighted that the Union Budget, presented earlier this month, has taken big steps forward for facilitating and further improving ease of doing business by liberalising the inflows of FDI.

Centre bans Colistin from animal food industry

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an order prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of colistin and its formulations for food-producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements.
Intensivists across the country are rejoicing as the move is a “massive victory” for the movement against anti-microbial resistance. Colistin is a valuable, last-resort antibiotic that saves lives in critical care units and in recent years, medical professionals have been alarmed by the number of patients who have exhibited resistance to the drug.
“Excessive use of any drug leads to resistance. If you can cut the use of colistin as a growth factor in animals and limit it to therapeutic usage only, the chances of developing resistance to it goes down,” he explains, while pointing out it might be a challenge to implement the order.
Dr.Ghafur says awareness programmes need to be conducted for farmers, telling them about the danger of using colistin in feed. “Most are not aware of the presence of colistin, since it comes mixed in the feed.
However, we have had discussions with associations of poultry farmers and they have not objected to removing colistin from the mix.” Also, he argues that since the bulk of colistin (nearly 95%) is imported from China, it would also be easy to stop importing it within a short time.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Japanese ruling coalition secures upper house majority

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition secured a majority in the upper house of parliament in elections today. According to vote counts by public television and other media, Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito had won 64 seats in the upper house after two hours of voting.
Exit polls indicated Abe could even close in on the super-majority needed to propose constitutional revisions.
The two-thirds majority needed for constitutional revision could be within reach if the ruling bloc can gain support from members of another conservative party and independents. Up for grabs were 124 seats in the less powerful of Japan's two parliamentary chambers.
There are 245 seats in the upper house - which does not choose the prime minister - about half of which are elected every three years.
The results appeared to match or even exceed pre-election polls that indicated Abe's ruling bloc was to keep ground in the upper house, with most voters considering it a safer choice over an opposition with an uncertain track record. To reach the two-thirds majority, or 164 seats, Abe needs 85 more seats by his ruling bloc and supporters of a charter change.

Britain to hold emergency meeting to discuss oil tanker seizure issue

Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a meeting of Britain's emergencies committee today to discuss Iran's seizure of a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the meeting will discuss the maintenance of the security of shipping in the Persian Gulf as well as receive the latest s from ministers and officials.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt spoke to his French and German counterparts over the issue.
Both ministers agreed with the foreign secretary that safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is a top priority for European nations while avoiding any possible escalation.
Iranian authorities impounded the Stena Impero with 23 crew members aboard off the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized it Friday in the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Environment ministry claims sharp decline in vulture population in the country

There has been a sharp decline in the population of vultures in the country which has come down from 40 million to 19,000 in a span of over three decades, the Environment Ministry told the Parliament on Friday
Responding to a query on the status of vultures in the country, Union Environment Minister PrakashJavadekar said there are three species of critically endangered resident Gyps vultures – white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture and slender-billed vulture – whose population as per the latest figures is 6,000, 12,000 and 1,000, respectively
The Minister said nationwide vulture surveys are being carried out by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) every four years sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forest Departments of various States since 1990.
The major cause of mortality of vultures was found to be the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ‘Diclofenac’, given to cattle in pain and inflammation.
The Environment Minister also gave out details of financial support for vulture conservation to various States for saving critically endangered species and habitats of centrally sponsored scheme – Development of Wildlife Habitats.

::SPORTS::

Indian bodybuilder wins south Asian title

Indian bodybuilder Ravinder Kumar Malik has clinched Mr. South Asia title. He has crowned the overall champion at 12th South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship in Kathmandu yesterday.
Malik, the winner of 80 kg category, was adjudged best bodybuilder among the winners of nine senior men's weight categories. Afghanistan won team championship by securing a top position with 535 points. Host Nepal finished second with 445 points, while India remained third with 380 points.