Current Affairs - 14 July 2016

General Affairs 

Rafale Deal To Figure In Crucial Defence Acquisition Council Today

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  NEW DELHI:  The much-hyped multi-billion dollar Rafale deal could see some forward movement tomorrow as the top acquisition body of the Defence Ministry is set to take a review of the negotiations held so far into the purchase of the French fighters.
  
  Defence sources said the Rafale fighter jet deal is one of the issues that will be discussed during the meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council tomorrow at the South Block.
  
  

  As per the normal process, once the deal is cleared by Defence Ministry, the file will go to the Finance Ministry and then to the Cabinet Committee on Security for final clearance.
  
  In an interview to Press Trust of India in May, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said he was looking at wrapping up the deal soon and this could mean by end of June or July.
  
  Rejecting suggestions that there has been a delay in signing the contract for nearly 7.89 Billion Euros to procure the French fighter planes, the Minister said any such process takes at least 6-8 months.
  
  The deal was announced by PM Modi in April last year during his visit to France when he said India would purchase 36 Rafales in a government-to-government contract.
  
  Soon after the announcement, the Defence Ministry scrapped a separate process that was on to purchase 126 Rafales, built by French defence giant Dassault Aviation. The current deal comes with the clause of delivering 50 per cent offsets, creating business worth at least 3 billion Euros for smaller Indian companies and generating thousands of new jobs in India through the offsets.
  
  The commercial negotiations, as in the pricing of the planes, equipment and other issues, actually began only in mid-January this year.

E-Aadhaar Valid Document For New Mobile Connections: Telecom Department

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  NEW DELHI:  The e-Aadhaar letter or the downloaded version of the card from the UIDAI website, can now be used as a valid identity and address proof document for taking a new mobile connection.
  
  This has been clarified by the Department of Telecom which has also placed the onus of verifying the details mentioned in the e-Aadhaar letter - including name, address, date of birth, gender - from the UIDAI, on the representative manning the point of sale.
  

  The authorised person at the shop will also have to record a declaration saying that the customer details mentioned in the e-Aadhaar letter have been matched with the details received from the UIDAI.
  
  Earlier this year, in a representation to the DoT, COAI Director General Rajan Mathews and AUSPI Secretary General, Ashok Sud had made a case for acceptance of e-Aadhaar as a valid document for issuance of mobile connection.
  
  "It is amply clear that there is no difference in the hard copy of Aadhaar received through Speed Post and the e-Aadhaar taken from the UIDAI website. Therefore, we request your kind intervention to issue requisite instructions and inform...that e-Aadhaar is acceptable," the two industry bodies had said.
  
  At present, there are many applicants who have not yet received the hard copy of their Aadhaar cards through Speed Post, although they may have the electronic copy of their Aadhaar card available through the UIDAI website. DoT's clarification would make it more convenient for such prospective customers to apply for new connections.

MJ Akbar Tasked With Looking After India's Ties With Gulf

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  NEW DELHI:  Newly-appointed Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar has been tasked with looking after India's engagement with West Asia, a strategically key region with which the Modi government has stepped up its engagement.
  
  Responsibility given to Mr Akbar, a journalist-turned-politician, also includes India's relations with the European Union, Central and Western Europe, except the big three -- France, Germany and Britain.
  

  The Gulf region is home to nearly five million Indians and key for India's energy security. Mr Akbar is known to have expertise on the Gulf and its politics.
  
  The Modi government has been trying to put India's ties with countries of the region on a new trajectory.
  
  Mr Akbar has also been given responsibility of bilateral ties with West Africa and Eurasian countries, barring Russia.
  
  Mr Akbar, the second Minister of State along with VK Singh, will also handle issues relating to the United Nations.

Op SankatMochan: 600 Indians To Be Airlifted From War-Torn South Sudan

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  NEW DELHI: Two C-17 Globemaster aircraft left for Juba this morning to evacuate 600 Indians from war-torn South Sudan. Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh is leading the operation - named SankatMochan. South Sudan has been rocked by violence that has claimed hundreds of lives.
  
  "We are launching OP #SankatMochan to evacuate Indian nationals from South Sudan. My colleague @Gen_VKSingh is leading this operation," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.She said Mr Singh will be accompanied by Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, Joint Secretary Satbir Singh and Director Anjani Kumar.
  
  "Our Ambassador in South Sudan Srikumar Menon and his team is organising this operation on the ground," Ms Swaraj said.
  
  She also thanked Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and extended her best wishes to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for providing two C-17 Globemaster heavy-life aircraft for the operation.There are around 600 Indians in the country.
  
  South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Monday evening ordered a ceasefire after days of heavy fighting between government troops and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar in Juba.
  
  President Kiir directed all commanders to cease all hostilities, control their forces and protect civilians, Information Minister Michael Makuei said in a televised speech on the state broadcaster SSTV.
  
  The ceasefire took effect from 6 pm local time on Monday any member of the Machar-led forces who surrendered must also be protected, Mr Makuei said.
  
  The latest bout of violence started after a localised gunfight outside Mr Kiir's residence in Juba on July 7 when he was holding a meeting with Mr Machar.
  
  Earlier on Wednesday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted that the two C-17s will take off for Juba on Thursday.
  
  The Indian embassy in Juba said in a statement said the aircraft were expected to land at 11 am local time and Indian nationals with valid travel documents will be allowed to board.
  
  The return flights will be only up to New Delhi, the statement said.
  
  The UN has said 36,000 South Sudanese civilians have fled their homes due to the fighting.
  
  Embassies and aid organisations in South Sudan are moving to evacuate staff from Juba amid the tenuous ceasefire.
  
  The US military in Africa said it has sent 40 additional soldiers to Juba to help secure American personnel and facilities in the war-torn city, Fox News reported.

Hope Arunachal Verdict Will Deter Centre From Misusing Power: Sonia Gandhi

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  NEW DELHI:Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi today targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre after the Supreme Court ordered restoration of the party's government in Arunachal Pradesh, saying those who trampled upon constitutional propriety and democratic norms stand defeated.
  
  "Those who had trampled upon constitutional propriety and democratic norms have been defeated today," Mrs Gandhi said in a statement after the top court quashed all decisions of the Governor that had precipitated the Nabam Tuki government's fall in January, holding them "violative" of the Constitution.
  
  

  She hoped that the judgment, which firmly establishes democratic values enshrined in the Constitution, will deter the Union government from any further "misuse" of power, even as she reaffirmed Congress' resolve to continue its fight to strengthen democracy and safeguard the federal structure.
  
  "This judgment, that firmly establishes the democratic values enshrined in our Constitution, will deter the Union government from any further misuse of power," she said.
  
  She also welcomed the "historic" verdict reinstating the "democratically elected and unconstitutionally removed" government in Arunachal Pradesh and congratulated the people of the state for it.
  
  Mr Gandhi took a dig at PM Modi and thanked the Supreme Court for explaining to him what democracy is. "Thank you Supreme Court for explaining to the Prime Minister what democracy is," he said in a tweet.
  
  Mr Tuki also welcomed the verdict, saying it is "historic" that has protected democracy and termed it as a victory of democracy.

Business Affairs 

Fliers to pay less for flight ticket cancellations from Aug 1

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  Air passengers have a reason to smile as the revised norms that caps ticket cancellation charges and bars airlines from levying additional amount for refund process are coming into force from August 1.

  "Cancellation amount not to exceed basic fare plus fuel surcharge; all statutory levies and taxes to be refunded under all circumstances," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said today as he announced that the new cancellation norms for fare refund would become effective from August 1.

  Issuing the revised regulations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also made it clear that airlines cannot levy additional charge to process the refund.

  The move would come as a relief to air passengers against the backdrop of many carriers hiking the cancellation charges in recent times.

  The regulator said carriers should refund all statutory taxes and User Development Fee (UDF)/Airport Development Fee (ADF)/Passenger Service Fee (PSF) to the passengers in case of "cancellation/ non-utilisation of tickets/no show".

  "This provision shall also be applicable for all types of fares offered including promos/special fares and where the basic fare is non-refundable," DGCA noted.

  The changes were first proposed by the Civil Aviation Ministry in June as part of putting in place passenger friendly measures.

  These norms would be effective from August 1, according to the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) issued by DGCA chief M Sathiyavathy on Tuesday.

  In a tweet, Raju said the process of refund would be completed within 30 days even when booked through travel agents or online portals.

  "Cancellation charges to be clearly displayed on every ticket. The policy to be prominently displayed on the website of the airline," Raju said in another tweet.

  No charges can now be levied by airlines for corrections in errors of names of the passengers, he added.

  Separately, DGCA has also revised the rules with respect to persons with disability and reduced mobility whereby airport operators should make provision for such people to embark or disembark from a flight without inconvenience. 

Modi Government makes path to fulfil start-up dream easier

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  The Modi government has come up with more sops to encourage startups. Concerned over the fact that only a few aspiring entrepreneurs have got the government certification for starting new businesses, the Centre has relaxed the norms to avail "holding hand" benefits.

  A senior Department of Industrial Policy and Production (DIPP) official said there were some complaints regarding easing of the rules or norms to get certificates. Now, the process has been simplified so that more startups could get the benefits of the startup action plan. Earlier, to get the benefits of an IPR, a startup had to get certificate from DIPP. There is an inter-ministerial board that gives certificates to startups after going through their project details. Now, a startup can get the IPR benefit adfter registering on the startup portal of DIPP. "The requirement of the startup certification by the inter-ministerial board has also been deleted from the scheme," says a letter issued by DIPP on July 11.

  Many startups had complained about incubation centres and fee charged by those. A startup needs to take a letter of recommendation from incubators before registering on the Startup India portal. Now, the department has fixed a fee of Rs 5,000 for incubators. If the incubators take help of experts from outside to assess the innovative idea put by a startup, the fee charged will be a maximum Rs 10,000.

  In another initiative, the DIPP will launch a learning module on the Startup India portal to help young entrepreneurs. It will have all the information on how to move forward with an innovative idea.

  Over 200 aspiring entrepreneurs had applied with their different business projects on the Startup portal which was launched in April to provide a single-point contact for the entire startup ecosystem. However, only one could get the IPR benefit and another one could only get the government certificate. Officials said there were many issues such as most startups had not even completed all the formalities. Now, a learning module will help in resolving all the issues.

  The government has already declared the fund for startups in the Budget and accordingly, Rs 2,500 crore would be released each year for over next four years to SIDBI. All the tax benefits will be extended to budding entrepreneurs after the passage of the Finance Bill.

Trai explores public Wi-Fi models, expects 90% cut in data cost

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  Telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday sought public views on allowing non-telecom companies to participate in setting up public wifi hotspots, and said low- cost Wi-Fi access infrastructure could slash internet rates by up to 90 per cent, while offering faster speeds.

  The regulator has sought public views by August 10 on slew of issues including regulatory hurdles, licensing restrictions, business models, interoperability between wifi networks and delicensing of more mobile airwaves.

  In this paper, 'public Wi-Fi networks' has broader meaning and not limited to the Wi-Fi hotspot created by licensed TSP/ISP at public places. There could be small entrepreneurs or even a very small entity which would like to participate in common and shared Wi-Fi network for larger public use, Trai said in its paper on Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks.

  Other issues that would be deliberated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India include policy measures to encourage policy measures required to encourage the deployment of commercial models for city-wide Wi-Fi networks as well as expansion of Wi-Fi networks in remote or rural areas.

  The public views have also been sought on adoption of a hub-based model where a central third party Authentication, Authorization and Accounting hub will facilitate interconnection, authentication and payments and who should own and control such hub.

  The regulator said that it is estimated that cost per MB in Wi-Fi Network could be less than 2 paise per MB while consumers on an average are paying around 23 paise per MB for the data usage in the cellular network like 2G, 3G and 4G. This shows that the consumer tariff for data may reduce as much as one-tenth in Wi-Fi compared to mobile data.

  From the above, it is obvious that deployment of Wi-Fi network will not only enhance the speed of internet but also it will make data affordable to consumers, Trai said.

  The regulator said that status of Wi-Fi hotspots in India is not encouraging as while the country represents one-sixth of the world population but its share in Wi-Fi hotspots is less than one-thousandth.

  Globally, the increase in number of Wi-Fi hotspots from 2013 to 2016 has been 568 per cent whereas India has an increase of 12 per cent only. At present, there are only 31,518 with 13,967 installed in cafes, Trai said. 

Govt allows oil firms to raise kerosene price by 25 paise/month

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  The government has allowed state-owned oil companies to raise the price of kerosene by 25 paise a litre each month for 10 months to cut the subsidy burden.

  On July 1, kerosene price was hiked by 25 paise a litre, the first increase in rate of the highly subsidised cooking and lighting fuel in five years.

  Petroleum Ministry has conveyed to oil marketing companies to raise kerosene price by 25 paise every month till April 2017, a senior official said.

  The first increase has been notified by the oil companies but the rates have so far no reflected in the price of kerosene sold through public distribution system (PDS).

  It will happen after state governments concur. Before the price hike, kerosene cost Rs 14.96 a litre in Delhi. Its price was last raised by Rs 2.64 a litre in June 2011.

  The previous increase happened in June 2010, when prices went up by Rs 3.23 a litre. Officials said PDS kerosene price of Rs 14.96 a litre was at Rs 13.12 discount to the fuel's actual cost of production. Of the discount, the government bears Rs 12 a litre and the rest of the bill is footed by upstream oil producers like ONGC.

  Kerosene accounted for 41.7 per cent of the total petroleum subsidy of Rs 27,571 crore in 2015-16. The previous UPA government had taken a similar approach of raising rates in small dosage of 50 paise a litre per month to completely eliminate subsidy on diesel.

  This approached helped the present BJP-led government to deregulate diesel price in October 2014. Petrol price was deregulated in June 2010. 

High retail inflation diminishes RBI rate cut hopes

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  Soaring food prices drove India's headline inflation to its highest level in nearly two years in June, increasing the odds of the central bank keeping interest rates on hold next month.

  Consumer prices rose 5.77 per cent on an annual basis last month - the fastest pace since August 2014. This compared with a 5.73 per cent increase predicted by economists in a Reuters poll and a 5.76 per cent gain in May.

  Retail food inflation accelerated to 7.79 per cent in June from 7.47 per cent a month ago on the back of double-digit annual increases in prices of sugar, pulses and vegetables.

  That would be a worry for outgoing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, who wants inflation kept below at 5 per cent by March 2017.

  "We think that the RBI continues to face a difficult challenge in meeting this target," said Shilan Shah, an economist with Capital Economics.

  The Aug. 9 policy meeting will be the last for Rajan, whose three-year term ends in early September. Between January 2015 and this April, he cut the repo rate by 150 basis points, to 6.50 per cent.

  After holding rates in June, the governor said the central bank was looking for room to reduce them further though it remained concerned about pressure on food and commodity prices.

  Demand-driven pressures are likely to be stoked by a hike of salaries and pensions for about 10 million government employees and pensioners that took retroactive effect on Jan. 1.

  While a pick-up in summer monsoon rains in recent weeks is expected to cool food inflation, most analysts don't anticipate another rate cut before a new governor is on the job. DBS in Singapore expects a rate cut in the October-December quarter.

  Industrial production, meanwhile, unexpectedly rebounded in May, posting 1.2 per cent annual growth - its fastest pace in three months. Output at factories, mines and utilities shrank a revised 1.3 per cent in April from a year earlier.

  The data, however, have paled in significance since last year, when New Delhi revamped the method it uses to calculate gross domestic product.

  The new method takes into account gross value addition in goods and services, a departure from the old practice that factored in volume-based indicators such as industrial output.

  NEW GOVERNOR, NEW MECHANISM

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to name a new governor before July 18.

  The government must also constitute a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to set interest rates by a majority vote, a change from the current regime where the decision effectively rests with the RBI chief.

  It aims to name the six-member committee before the August policy review. Three members of the MPC would be RBI insiders, headed by the governor who would have the casting vote in the event of a 3-3 split.

  "Clarity on the next RBI governor and composition of (a) Monetary Policy Committee would have a significant bearing on how monetary policy stance evolves going ahead," said A. Prasanna, economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd.

General Awareness

PM Narendra Modi on a four nation tour of Africa – To compose a fresh chapter in Indo – African relationship.

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a historic Five day visit to the Four African Countries in order to fortify the bilateral relationship with the developing African Countries. The Following countries were visited by Modi in the last five days, [From 7th July to 11th July]

    Country	Capital	President
    Mozambique	Maputo	Filipe Nyusi
    South Africa	Pretoria, Cape town	Jacob Zuma
    Tanzania	Dodoma	John Magufuli
    Kenya	Nairobi	Uhuru Kenyatta

    Prime Stress given in the Agenda:-

    • Energy,
    • Food security,
    • Trade,
    • Maritime cooperation and
    • Diaspora interactions.

    Mozambique Visit:

    On the First day Modi visited Mozambique as per the schedule. India signed a long-term agreement for the import of pulses from Mozambique during Modi’s visit. The pact will help India tide over shortage of pulses in the country that has led to a spurt in prices.

    

    
    

    Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption. India’s cabinet last month had cleared a proposal to enter into an agreement with Mozambique for importing 100,000 tons of pulses in 2016-17 with an option to scale it up to 200,000 tons by 2020-2021.

    Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Filipe Nyusi.

    The leaders witnessed signing of 3 agreements in Maputo.

    • An MoU for long term agreement for purchase of pulses from Mozambique,
    • An MoU on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking of drugs
    • An MoU in the field of youth affairs and sports

    India handed over 30 Mahindra SUVs to the Mozambique government, completing the delivery of $4.5 million grant assistance as part of supporting institutions in the African country.

    Narendra Modi visited the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana. This Centre provides essential services including classroom training in IT-related technologies and incubation space for startup technology.

    Modi discussed with the students and encouraged them to share their experiences of working at the Centre and he also met alumni of Indian educational institutions.

    It is noted that Modi is the first Indian head of government to visit Mozambique after 34 years. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the last to visit that country in 1982.

    South Africa Visit:

    On the second day, He visited South Africa. On arriving in Pretoria, Modi talks with South Africa President Jacob Zuma and addressed a gathering of business leaders.

    In the second day evening, Modi addressed more than 11,000 members of the Indian community in Johannesburg calling the country the ‘karma-bhoomi’ of Mahatma Gandhi.

    During this visit, Modi declared three important MoUs including

    • An MoU on grassroot innovation in selected areas
    • An MoU in including agricultural technology
    • An MoU for indigenous knowledge systems
    • And also in tourism and information and communications that were finalized as the leaders sat across to take the diplomatic and trade relations to the next level.

    During his visit to South Africa, Modi invited defense businesses to set up a manufacturing base in India, which could service the domestic requirements of India and South Africa as well as for export to third countries.

    PM Modi visited historical places related to Mahatma Gandhi in SA

    Phoenix Settlement:
    

    

    Narendra Modi visited Phoenix Settlement, a place well known to be closely related to Mahatma Gandhi who had established it in 1904. This settlement portrays Gandhi’s principles of Satyagraha which has played a crucial role throughout his long history in promoting justice, peace and equality. Prime Minister plants a tree at this settlement.

    
    

    Pentrich to Pietermaritzburg: PM retraces Mahatma Gandhi’s South African train journey

    Earlier in the same day, Modi travelled in a train from Pentrich to Pietermaritzburg railway station, where Mahatma Gandhi was “dejected from a train in 1893 for refusing to obey an order to move from a first-class compartment to a third-class one because of his race”.

    Tanzania Visit:

    As a part of the plan, Modi visited Tanzania on the third leg of the tour plan.

    India and Tanzania agreed to deepen overall defense and security partnership, especially in the maritime security.

    

    India and Tanzania signed five MoU’s in order to fortify the bilateral relationships. They are as follows:-

    • An MoU to work closely and efficiently to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change,
    • An MoU as per which India would provide a Line of Credit of $ 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar’s water supply system.
    • Both country leaders expressed satisfaction on the holding of bilateral counter-terrorism consultations in early 2016.
    • An MoU on water resource management and development.
    • An MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar.
    • An MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between the National Small Industries Corporation of India and the Small Industries Development Organization, Tanzania.
    • Modi also offered $500 million of concessional credit for water supply connections to 17 cities in addition to an existing $100 million to Tanzania.

    Kenya Visit:

    On the final leg of the tour, Modi visited Kenya.

    Significant agreements includes
    

    

    • An MoU on revised double taxation avoidance agreement,
    • An MoU on Defense Cooperation, an agreement on exemption of visa facilities for official and diplomatic passport holders,
    • An MoU between Bureau of Indian standards and Bureau of Kenya standards
    • An MoU on national Housing policy development and management. India has extended two Lines of Credit to Kenya.
    • An MoU for the line of Credit Agreement for US $15 million to IDB Capital Limited, Kenya, for the development of various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya.
    • An MoU for the line of Credit Agreement for the US $29.95 million to the Government of Kenya for the upgrade of Rift Valley Textiles Factory [RIVATEX East Africa Limited], Kenya.
    • An MoU on Defense Cooperation.