Comprehensive Current affairs 8 October 2020

SC quizzes centre and RBI over implementation of Kamalnath committee recommendations.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India about the steps taken to implement the K.V. Kamath Committee report on recommendations to bail out sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan noted that an additional affidavit filed by the government late last week did not address “several issues” raised in writ petitions highlighting the plight of borrowers, small and big, who were being charged compound interest, post the pandemic moratorium which expired on August 31.

During the hearing, the court asked the government whether it had so far issued any circulars, policy decisions and so on, based on the Kamath panel report, which has made suggestions for a loan resolution or restructuring scheme for 26 pandemic-distressed sectors.

 The court said it was not just about placing the report on record, but implementing it. The RBI and the government should issue circulars so that people knew what benefits had been extended to them. “It will be done,” the government and RBI sides responded.

Survey finds majority rural consumers unaware of transfat.

Despite an increase in cardiovascular diseases in the rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic, 61% of consumers in the villages in Rajasthan are unaware of the hazards of trans fats, which are responsible for heart ailments by raising the cholesterol levels. Very few consumers know about the sources of trans fats, according to a survey.

The sample survey, conducted by the Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS)-International in 12 districts of the State recently, has found that the consumption of industrially produced partially hydrogenated vegetable oils had increased by 19% from its pre-lockdown level in the rural areas.

In the urban areas, 46% of the consumers were found unaware of the health harms associated with trans fats, though 21% of them had heard the term.

India-South Korea to expand cooperation in health sectors.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey and United Kingdom’s Minister of State for South East Asia Affairs Lord Tariq Ahmed discussed bilateral relations in the health sector of the two countries through video conference today.

The two Ministers discussed in detail the current status of the COVID-19 vaccine, its efforts to reach the public and the efforts being made by both countries to stop the pandemic.

Mr.Choubey said that COVID-19 has given humanity an opportunity to come together and fight this pandemic with full force and resolve.

Highlighting the need to include the theme of "Ayushman Bharat" in the agenda of the next joint working group meeting to enhance cooperation between the two countries, Mr.Choubey suggested to further cooperation in the fields of e-health, drug regulations, regulatory cooperation, pharma exports, collaborative research, capacity building, among others to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

UK's Minister of State for South East Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmed took this occasion to discuss the work being done by India and the United Kingdom on the COVID-19 vaccine. He thanked Prime Minister NarendraModi for India's critical help in the form of medicines during this transition period.

New Caledonia votes to remain within French territory

The South Pacific territory of New Caledonia chose to remain French on Sunday, narrowly rejecting independence in a tightly-fought referendum marked by a high turnout.

The vote rejecting a breakaway from France after almost 170 years came in at 53.26 percent, down from 56.7 percent in a referendum two years ago.

Sunday's vote was part of a carefully negotiated decolonisation plan agreed in 1998 which ended a deadly conflict between the mostly pro-independence indigenous Kanak population and the descendants of European settlers.

New Caledonia, situated between Australia and Fiji and sometimes called "The Pebble", was seized by France in 1853 and is home to 270,000 people.

The economy's mainstays are the production of metals, especially nickel of which New Caledonia is a major global producer, as well as tourism and financial support from mainland France.

India, Denmark sign MoU on Intellectual Property Cooperation.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Danish Patent and Trademark Office, Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs,

Denmark for intellectual property cooperation.

• The MoU Aims at increasing IP Cooperation between the Two Countries by Way of:

 • Exchange of best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP awareness among public,authorities, businesses and research and educational institution of both countries.

• Collaboration in training programmes, exchange of experts, technical exchanges and outreach activities.

• Exchange of information and best practices on processes for disposal of applications for patents, trademarks, industrial designs and Geographical Indications, as also the protection, enforcement and use of IP rights.

• Cooperation in the development of automation and implementation of modernization projects, new documentation and information systems in IP and procedures for the management of IP.

• Cooperation to understand how Traditional Knowledge is protected; including the use of traditional knowledge related databases and awareness raising of existing IP systems.

• This MoU is expected to go a long way in fostering the cooperation between India and Denmark, and provide opportunities to both countries to learn from the experience of each other, especially in terms of best practices followed in the other country.

Centre decides to take street food vendors online under PM SVANIDHI scheme.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has entered into anMoU with Swiggy, one of the leading food delivery platforms, to onboard street food vendors on its e-commerce platform.

The MoU aims at giving the street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help them grow their businesses. The arrangement has been facilitated under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNibharNidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.

The Ministry and Swiggy will run a pilot programme by on-boarding 250 vendors across five cities namely - Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Indore, and Varanasi. The street vendors will be helped with PAN and FSSAI registration, training on technology, menu digitization and pricing along with hygiene and packaging best practices.

 Upon the successful completion of the pilot programme, Urban Affairs Ministry and Swiggy plan to expand this initiative across the country in phases.

In a first of its kind initiative, the Urban Affairs Ministry has coordinated with the key stakeholders including Municipal Corporations, FSSAI, Swiggy and GST officials to ensure that necessary pre-requisites are completed for this initiative.

GST council fails to decide upon state compensation.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was deadlocked on the issue of compensation to be paid to states on account of the shortfall stemming from the transition to the levy in 2017. It however decided to extend the compensation cess beyond 2022—the five-year period that had been agreed originally. The council will meet again on October 12 to discuss the issue.

The Centre will immediately disburse Rs 20,000 crore collected in the cess fund in the current financial year to states, Union finance minister NirmalaSitharaman, also the council chairman, told reporters after its Monday meeting.

The Centre proposed to raise the borrowing limit to Rs 1.1 lakh crore from Rs 97,000 crore as suggested by some states in their feedback, pruning the expected revenue growth to 7% instead of the 10% previously estimated over the last financial year.

DRDO test fires ASW missile system.

Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo, SMART was successfully flight tested today from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.

Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO said, all the mission objectives including missile flight upto the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly.

SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for Anti-Submarine Warfare or ASW operations far beyond Torpedo range.

 The launch and demonstration are significant in establishing Anti-Submarine warfare capabilities. A number of DRDO laboratories including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra, NSTL Visakhapatnam have developed the technologies required for SMART.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO Scientists and other stake holders for the important feat. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy, said that SMART is a game changer technology demonstration in the Anti-Submarine Warfare.

JIMEX 2020 be in North Arabian sea.

The 4th edition of India - Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX will be held in the North Arabian Sea.

About JIMEX Exercise:

• It is a series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with special focus on maritime security cooperation.

• It is conducted biennially between the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

• The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.

• The Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings, cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.

• It is indigenously built stealth destroyer Chennai, Teg Class stealth frigate Tarkash and Fleet Tanker Deepak will represent the Indian Navy. P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft will also participate in the exercise.

• The exercise is taking place in the backdrop of growing concerns over China's military muscle flexing in the Indian Ocean Region as well as in the Indo-Pacific.

 • It will be the first military exercise after the two countries signed a landmark agreement (Acquisition and Cross- Servicing Agreement - ACSA), that will allow their militaries to access each other's bases for logistics support.

• India has significantly expanded its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region with a plethora of warships and submarines following the border row with China. The maritime space around the Malacca Strait is critical for China's supply chain through sea routes.

• Indian and Australian navies conducted a passage exercise in the eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR). A passage exercise is normally undertaken whenever an opportunity arises, in contrast to pre-planned maritime drills.

• The Indian Navy carried out a military exercise with a USA Navy carrier strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• The USS Nimitz is the world's largest warship. Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed to the Indian Ocean in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

• Other Military Exercises between India and Japan are Annual joint land military exercise named 'Dharma Guardian', Joint Air Force exercise 'Shinyuu Maitri' and Trilateral Maritime Exercise Malabar with the USA.

Vishnu pandian wins gold in online shooting championship.

India's VisnuShivarajPandian won the 10m air rifle event at the fifth edition of the International Online Shooting Championship yesterday. The 16-year-old Visnu shot 251.4 to win the title by a clear margin of two points.

The second place was won by world no. 27 Etienne Germond of France while Olympic quota winner Martin Strempfl of Austria took the third place.

Shooters from 15 countries are participating in the two-day competition. The 10m air pistol event will be held today. Leading India's challenge will be Olympic quota winner Yashaswini Singh Deswal.

 Focus on UPSC mains.

Document on UCBs’ Cybersecurity

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with ‘Technology Vision for Cyber Security for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) 2020-2023’ to enhance cybersecurity of urban co-Operative Banks (UCBs).

Highlights:

• It plans to achieve its objective through a five-pillared strategic approach GUARD, viz.

Governance Oversight, Utile Technology Investment, Appropriate Regulation and

Supervision, Robust Collaboration and Developing necessary IT, cybersecurity skill sets.

• The vision document, with its 12 specific action points, aspires to involve more board oversight over cybersecurity; enable UCBs to better manage and secure IT assets; develop a forum for UCBs so that they can share best Practices etc.

What are Co-operative Banks?

• Co-operative banks are financial entities established on a co-operative basis and belonging to their members. This means that the customers of a co-operative bank are also its owners.

• These banks provide a wide range of regular banking and financial services.

Background:

• The problem of rural credit was the key reason behind the advent of the co-operative movement in India, which began with the passage of the Co-operative Societies Act in 1904.

• The next addition was the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912, which focussed on the need for regulation of such societies and hence the establishment of appropriate bodies to oversee their Functioning.

 Structure of Co-operative Banks in India:

• Broadly, co-operative banks in India are divided into two categories – urban and rural.

• Rural cooperative credit institutions could either be short-term or long-term in nature.

✓ Short-term cooperative credit institutions are further sub-divided into State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.

✓ Long-term institutions are either State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs) or Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs).

• Urban Co-operative Banks (UBBs) are either scheduled or non-scheduled. Scheduled and non-scheduled UCBs are again of two kinds- multi-state and those operating in single state.

Who Oversees these Banks?

• In India, co-operative banks are registered under the States Cooperative Societies Act.

They also come under the regulatory ambit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under two laws, namely, the Banking Regulations Act, 1949, and the Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955.

• They were brought under RBI in 1966, a move which brought the problem of dual regulation along with it.

Difference between Scheduled Commercial Banks and Co-operative Banks:

• Primary Function: Commercial bank’s primary function is to accept deposits from the public and provision loans to individuals or businesses. A cooperative bank’s primary business is to accept deposits from members and the public, and grant loans to farmers and Small Businessmen.

Motive: Commercial banks can be considered as joint stock companies, incorporated as a banking company that operates for profit. Cooperative banks work for service (Financial Inclusion, Community Service) motive.

 • Regulation: Unlike commercial banks, UCBs are only partly regulated by the RBI. While their banking operations are regulated by the RBI, their management and resolution in the case of distress is regulated by the Registrar of Co- operative Societies either under the

State or Central government.

• Area of Operation: The area of operation of a commercial bank is comparatively larger than a cooperative bank, as opposed to the cooperative banks which are confined to a limited area.

• Voting Powers: The borrower in a commercial bank do not have any voting power.

Cooperative banks borrowers influence the credit policy through their voting power.

• Inters Rates: Commercial bank’s interest rate on deposits is relatively lesser than a cooperative bank.

• However, in the event UCBs fail, deposits with them are covered by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India up to a sum of ₹1 lakh per depositor, the same as for a Commercial Bank.

EC Announces New Rules for Postal Ballot.

Seeking to make the procedure to opt for postal ballot more convenient for those above 80 years of age and people with disabilities, the Election Commission has come out with a set of New Instructions.

About the News:

• The form required to opt for the postal ballot would be delivered at the residence of all those above 80 years of age and people with disabilities by the booth level officer under his polling station. It would be up to these two category of voters to opt for postal ballot.

• "If he/she opts for postal ballot, then the BLO will collect the filled-in form 12-D from the house of the elector within five days of the notification and deposit it with the returning officer forthwith".

 • The Fresh Instructions would be applicable to all elections and by -elections, including the by Polls Announced last week to 56 assembly and one Lok Sabha seat.

• The Returning officer would deploy polling teams, who will deliver and collect the postal ballot on pre-informed dates and thereafter deposit it with the RO.

• This postal Ballot Facility is different from the one extended to service voters. Here, those willing to use the facility have to fill up a form. Officials then carry the ballot to the residence of such voters and Videograph the voting to ensure transparency.

What is Postal Voting?

• A Restricted set of Voters can Exercise Postal Voting.

• Through this facility, a voter can cast her vote remotely by recording her preference on the Ballot Paper and sending it back to the Election Officer before counting.

Who can Avail of this Facility?

• Members of the armed forces like the Army, Navy and Air Force, members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses are entitled to vote only by post.

• In other words, they can’t vote in person. Voters under preventive detention can also vote only by post.

• Special voters such as the President of India, Vice President, Governors, Union Cabinet ministers, Speaker of the House and government officers on poll duty have the option to vote by post.

• But they have to apply through a prescribed form to Avail this Facility.

What about Absentee Voters?

• Recently, the Law Ministry, at the Election Commission’s behest, introduced a new category of ‘absentee voters’, who can now also opt for postal voting.

 • These are voters employed in essential services and unable to cast their vote due to their service conditions.

• Currently, officials of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Northern Railway (Passenger and Freight) Services and media persons are notified as absentee voters.

• Senior citizens above the age of 65 and voters who test positive for COVID19 or are suspected to be COVID-affected were allowed to cast their vote by post.

How are Votes Recorded by Post?

• The Returning Officer is supposed to print ballot papers within 24 hours of the last date of nomination withdrawal and dispatch them within a day.

• This is done so that the ballot papers reach the concerned voter well before the polling date and she has enough time to send it back before the counting day.

• Postal ballot papers for members of the Armed Forces are sent through their record offices.

• For members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses, the ballot paper can be sent through post or electronically.

• For remaining categories ballot papers can be delivered personally or through the post.

Issues with the Recent Move:

• Allowing those aged 80 and above to vote by postal ballot violates secrecy in voting as a large Segment of the Population is uneducated and they might seek assistance from others.

• This will end up Disclosing their Preferred Candidate.

• This also exposes them to “administrative influence or influence by the Government or the ruling party”.

Comprehensive Current affairs 7 October 2020

Senior Citizens and disabled people getting postal ballot to their doorsteps.

Seeking to make the procedure to opt for postal ballot more convenient for those above 80 years of age and people with disabilities, the Election Commission has come out with a set of new instructions.

The form required to opt for the postal ballot would be delivered at the residence of all those aged above 80 and people with disabilities by the booth level officer under his polling station. It would be up to these two categories of voters to opt for postal ballot.

“If he/she opts for postal ballot, then the BLO will collect the filled-in form 12-D from the house of the elector within five days of the notification and deposit it with the returning officer forthwith,” according to the October 3 letter sent by EC to all State chief electoral officers.

These instructions have been issued based on the feedback the poll panel received from civil society and media during its visit to poll-bound Bihar last week.

The EC said the fresh instructions would be applicable to all elections and bye lections.

 

As per the instructions, the returning officer would deploy polling teams, which will deliver and collect the postal ballot on pre-informed dates and then deposit it with the returning officer.

Apex court acts against involuntary narco tests.

Involuntary administration of narco or lie detector tests is an “intrusion” into a person’s “mental privacy”, a Supreme Court judgment of 2010 has held.

•The judgment is significant amid reports that the Uttar Pradesh government wants to subject the Hathras rape and murder victim’s family members to these tests.

•The consequences of such tests on “individuals from weaker sections of society who are unaware of their fundamental rights and unable to afford legal advice” can be devastating, the court said.

•It may involve future abuse, harassment and surveillance, even leakage of the video material to the Press for a “trial by media.” Such tests are an affront to human dignity and liberty, and have long-lasting effects.

•An ndividual’s decision to make a statement is the product of a private choice and there should be no scope for any other individual to interfere with such autonomy,” the apex court had held.

National Medical Commission (NMC)

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has recently replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI), as per the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• MCI was established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1933 with the main function of establishing uniform standards of higher qualifications in medicine and recognition of medical qualifications in India and abroad.

• The old Act was repealed in 1956 and a new act was enacted in its place. The new act was further modified in 1964, 1993 and 2001.

• The government dissolved the MCI in 2018 and replaced it with a Board of Governors (BoG), which was chaired by a member of NITI Aayog.

 

• The IMC Act, 1956 stands repealed after the gazette notification, and has been replaced by The National Medical Commission Act that came into existence on 8th August 2019.

• The change is aimed at bringing in reforms in the medical education sector and especially aimed at replacing the MCI, which was tainted by corruption and other problems.

• The NMC will function as the country’s top regulator of medical education.

• It will have four separate autonomous boards for Undergraduate medical education, Postgraduate medical education, Medical assessment and rating and Ethics and medical registration.

• The common final year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) examination will now be known as the National Exit Test (NEXT), according to the new medical education structure under the NMC.

• The NEXT will act as licentiate examination to practice medicine, the criteria for admission to postgraduate medical courses, and also for screening of foreign medical graduates.

• The NEXT will also be applicable to institutes of national importance such as all the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in a bid to ensure a common standard in the medical education sector in the country. NEET is conducted by the National Testing

Agency (NTA).

China moves towards closer ties with Bangladesh.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he stands ready with Bangladesh leaders to better align the two countries’ strategies and jointly promote the construction of his multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to take the strategic partnership of the two countries to new heights.

Mr. Xi made the remarks on Sunday in an exchange of congratulatory messages with his Bangladesh counterpart, Mohammad Abdul Hamid, on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relationship.

 

 

With over $26 billion Chinese investments and $38 billion dollars funding commitments, Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of China’s massive infrastructure project.

China has also offered zero-tariff treatment to 97% of Bangladesh’s exports by adding 5,161 more items to the existing list of 3,095 duty-free products.

The BRI seeks to build rail, maritime and road links from Asia to Europe and Africa in a revival of ancient Silk Road trading routes.

Earlier, China had sent medical team to Bangladesh to share its experience of handling coronavirus, which had emerged first in Wuhan in December last year.Bangladesh is also among a dozen countries where the clinical trials of Chinese vaccine are under way.

Quad Discusses Indo-Pacific Infrastructure and 5G

Senior officials from the Foreign Ministries of “the Quad” group of countries — India, the U.S., Australia and Japan — met virtually on Friday, during the United Nations high level week, as part of their periodic consultations on the Indo-Pacific Region.

Highlights:

• Officials discussed ongoing and proposed practical cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development.

• Noting the importance of digital connectivity and secure networks, the officials discussed ways to promote the use of trusted vendors, particularly for fifth generation (5G) networks.

• In an effort to stop Chinese G5 giant Huawei from setting up shop networks in other countries, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has been promoting “clean telcos” — a list of companies considered by the U.S. administration to be free from security risks and the risk of surveillance by the Chinese government.

• Other topics discussed by the Quad officials, included counter-terrorism, cyber and Maritime Security, and Quality Infrastructure in the Region.

 

ASEAN Inclusiveness:

• Both countries’ statements say the officials committed support to the concept of ASEAN-centrality in the Indo-Pacific and ASEAN’s leadership in the architecture of the region.

• The U.S. statement says the officials “explored ways to work together in the Mekong sub-region, in the South China Sea, and across the Indo-Pacific to support international law, pluralism, regional stability, and post-pandemic recovery efforts”.

• The MEA statement says the officials reiterated their readiness to work with ASEAN and all other countries towards realising “a common and promising vision for the Indo-Pacific”.

• The U.S. statement describes collective efforts to advance “a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region”.

• The phrase normally used by US is “free and open Indo-Pacific”.

• India had, at least initially since the Quad was revived after a ten year hiatus in 2017, been hesitant for the Quad to be seen as a framework to exclude or contain China. Prime

Minister Narendra Modi had articulated an inclusive vision for the Indo Pacific in 2018 atthe Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, when India-China relations were on a high relative to this year, when there have been tensions and clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Centre starts implementing Swaminathan commission recommendations.

Indian Minister has said that the Central Government has started implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and is working towards doubling the income of farmers by 2022.

The minister while addressing a press conference in Osmanabad today assured the farmers that the recent laws will not affect the minimum guaranteed price or market committee for agricultural commodities but will provide alternative selling options to the farmers for their agricultural products.

 

•Minister further said that the Central Government under the leadership of PM Modi has started various schemes including Kisan Credit Card, Prime Minister crop insurance scheme, Prime Minister irrigation scheme among others.

7). PM set to inaugurate RAISE 2020 summit on artificial intelligence.

Indian P M Modi will inaugurate the Summit RAISE 2020 - ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020 today. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog are organizing the Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence from today to 9th of October.

The summit will discuss cross-sector subjects like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic Preparedness’, the Impetus that Innovation Places on Digitisation’, Inclusive AI and Partnerships for Successful Innovation.

In the spirit of 'SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas', Prime Minister Modi plans to leverage AI for inclusive development, representing the country's 'AI for All' strategy. Directed by the Prime Minister’s vision,

India will soon stand out in the international community not just as a leader in the Artificial Intelligence field, but also as a model to show the world how to responsibly direct AI for social empowerment.

The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors. During the summit, delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe.

The Summit will also feature some of the most exciting startups working in Artificial Intelligence-related fields. Start-ups chosen through the AI Solution Challenge will showcase their solutions in the AI Startup Pitch fest scheduled on 6th October.

 

 

MoeFCC to bring in detailed plan for improving quality of zoos.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister PrakashJavadekar said that a detailed plan will be prepared to improve the quality of zoos across the country. He said, budget allocation will be enhanced to improve the experience of people who visit zoos.

The Minister today virtually interacted with children as part of Wild Life Week 2020 and gave away the PraniMitra Award. He congratulated all the awardees who have shown exemplary compassion towards zoo animals.

Mr.Javadekar said, an economic valuation of ecosystem service of national zoos in Delhi showed that nature gives you more than what you spent on it.

He said, government is committed to creating more zoos in the country and efforts will be made to promote public participation in conservation of wildlife. He said, development of zoos can ensure coordination between wildlife and humans.

Kitata and Kosgei wins London marathon.

Ethiopian Shura Kitata outsprinted Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba to win a thrilling London Marathon on Sunday as a stunned World record holder EliudKipchoge faded late in the race to suffer his first defeat since 2013.

In cold, wet conditions, 24-year-old Kitata edged clear in the final metres to win by one second over Kipchumba in a relatively slow two hours, 05.41 minutes.

Scrub Typhus in North East.

Recently, an outbreak of Scrub Typhus (also known as Bush Typhus), a bacterial disease, has caused 5 deaths and 600 infections in Nagaland’s Noklak district bordering Myanmar.

• The North East Region is also suffering from an outbreak of diseases like malaria, Japanese encephalitis and Covid-19 pandemic. The cattles have also been affected by African swine fever.

• It is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (Bacteria)

 

• It spread through bites of Larval Mites of family trombiculid, also called Chiggers.

• Its symptoms are Fever, headache, body aches, and sometimes rash.

• It occurs in rural areas of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India and northern Australia.

• It has no vaccine available.

About Typhus:

• It is a group of bacterial infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus.

• The Epidemic typhus is due to Rickettsia prowazekii spread by body lice.

• The Scrub typhus is due to Orientia tsutsugamushi spread by chiggers.

• The Murine typhus is due to Rickettsia typhi spread by fleas.

• Napoleon’s army was infected with Epidemic Typhus during his invasion of Russia in 1812 causing it to Retreat.

Focus on UPSC Mains.

Domestic Systemically Important Insurers.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation of India and The New India Assurance Co have been identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2020-21 by insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

About Domestic Systemically Important Insurers:

• D-SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too big or too important to fail’ (TBTF).

 

 

 

• D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance and domestic and global interconnectedness whose distress or failure would cause a significant dislocation in thedomestic financial system. Thus, the continued functioning of D-SIIs is critical for the uninterrupted availability of insurance services to the national economy.

• The IRDAI would identify D-SIIs on an annual basis and disclose the names of such

Insurers for Public Information.

Requirements for D-SIIs:

• The three public sector insurers have been asked to raise the level of corporate governance.

• Identify all relevant risks and promote a sound risk management culture.

• The D-SIIs will also be subjected to enhanced regulatory supervision of the IRDAI.

Reasons:

• The insurance sector had Grown Exponentially in the last 15 years and a few of the insurers have a Sizeable Market share and Interconnected with other Financial Institutions as well.

• With perception of TBTF and the perceived expectation of government support may amplify risk taking, reduce market discipline, create competitive distortions, and increase the Possibility of Distress in Future.

Concerns:

• Given the nature of operations and their systemic importance, the failure of D-SIIs has the potential to cause significant disruption to the essential services they provide to the policyholders and, in turn, to the overall economic activity of the country.

• These considerations require that D-SIIs should be subjected to additional regulatory measures to deal with the systemic risks and moral hazard issues.

 

 

• Systemic risk is the possibility that an event at the company level could trigger severe Instability or collapse an Entire Industry or Economy.

• Moral hazard is a situation in which one party gets involved in a risky event knowing that it is protected against the risk and the other party will incur the cost. It arises when both the parties have Incomplete Information about Each Other.

Background:

• In January 2019, IRDAI announced the formation of a committee on D-SIIs.

• The constitution of the committee came in the backdrop of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) asking all member countries to have a regulatory framework to deal with Domestic-SIIs.

• The IAIS is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors from over 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world's insurance premiums. It is the international standards-setting body for the Insurance Sector.

About Domestic Systemically Important Bank (D-SIBs):

• D-SIB means that the bank is too big to fail. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), some banks become systemically important due to their size, cross- jurisdictional activities, complexity and lack of substitute and interconnection. Banks whose assets exceed 2% of GDP are considered part of this group.

• Presently, the State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank have been identified as DSIBs in India.

Significance of D-SIBs:

• Should such a bank fail, there would be significant Disruption to the Essential services they provide to the Banking System and the Overall Economy.

 

 

• The too-big-to-fail tag also indicates that in case of distress, the government is expected to Support these Banks.

• Due to this perception, these Banks Enjoy certain Advantages in funding. It also means that these banks have a different set of policy measures regarding systemic risks and moral Hazard Issues.

PCA Decision on Retrospective Taxation by India.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) recently ruled that India’s retrospective imposition of a tax liability, as well as interest and penalties on Vodafone Group for a 2007 deal was violation of the Bilateral Investment Treaty with Netherlands and the arbitration rules of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

About the News:

• In May 2007, the British telecommunication company Vodafone Group had bought a 67% stake in a company called Hutchison Whampoa.

• For this, the Indian government for the first time raised a demand of capital gains and withholding tax from Vodafone, under the Income Tax Act of 1961. The government argued that Vodafone should have deducted the tax at source before making a payment to

Hutchison.

• In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Vodafone Group.

• Later, the Finance Act was amended (2012) giving the Income Tax Department the power to retrospectively tax such deals.

• Vodafone then initiated arbitration in 2014 invoking the Bilateral Investment Treaty signed between India and the Netherlands in 1995.

• The International Arbitration Tribunal at Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the government’s demand is in breach of fair and equitable treatment.

• The government must cease seeking the dues from Vodafone.

• This was a unanimous decision meaning that India's appointed arbitrator also ruled in favour of Vodafone.

• India has said it would study the order and all its aspects and take a decision on further course of action including legal remedies before appropriate fora.

• According to Indian Government, as Vodafone had not paid the initial tax demand and interest and penalty on it, the question of India paying back the amount does not arise.

• India has the option to move to Singapore International Arbitration Centre as well.

About Capital Gains Tax:

• It is the tax paid on income that derives from the sale or exchange of an asset, such as a stock or Property that's Categorized as a capital asset.

What is Retrospective Taxation?

• It allows a country to pass a rule on taxing certain products, items or services and deals and charge companies from a time behind the date on which the law is passed.

• Countries use this route to correct any anomalies in their taxation policies that have, in the past, allowed companies to take advantage of such loopholes.

• Retrospective Taxation hurts companies that had knowingly or unknowingly interpreted the tax rules differently.

• Apart from India, many countries including the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Australia and Italy have Retrospectively Taxed Companies.

Bilateral Investment Treaty:

• On 6th November, 1995, India and the Netherlands had signed a BIT for promotion and protection of investment by companies of each country in the other’s jurisdiction.

• The two countries would ensure that companies present in each other’s jurisdictions would at all times be accorded fair and equitable treatment and shall enjoy full protection and

security in the territory of the other.

• The BIT between India and the Netherlands expired on 22nd September, 2016.

• Vodafone invoked BIT as its Dutch unit, Vodafone International Holdings BV, had bought the Indian business operations of Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd. This made it a transaction between a Dutch firm and an Indian firm.

About United Nations Commission on International Trade Law:

• UNCITRAL was established in 1966 as a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

• It is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law.

• To further the progressive harmonization and modernization of rules on international business and reform Commercial Laws.

• It adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration in 1985 and the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules in 1980.

• The UNGA has recommended the use of the said Model Law and Rules in cases where a dispute arises in the context of international commercial relations and the parties seek an

amicable settlement of that dispute by recourse to conciliation.

• India has also incorporated these uniform principles of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 which has been amended several

times.

• The Arbitration Act provides for ADR mechanisms like arbitration, conciliations, etc. for national and international stakeholders.

Significance:

• Vodafone’s win in the arbitration against the government in the retrospective taxation is very significant as it may cause other similarly placed companies to seek arbitral reliefs.

• India is entangled in more than a dozen such cases against companies over retrospective tax claims and cancellation of contracts. The exchequer could end up paying billions of dollars in damages if it loses.

• To reduce future arbitration claims, India has ended such bilateral investment agreements

with over 50 countries and is working on a new law to protect foreign investors by offering relief from possible policy changes even as it upholds the right to tax them.

• The victory of Vodafone at PCA may provide it some relief as the telecom sector is already facing a number of issues and challenges. The ruling comes days after the Supreme Court allowed a period of 10 years for telecom companies to clear Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) related dues, Causing Heavy Financial burden on the Telecom Sector.