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Current Affairs - 21 November 2016


General Affairs 

Disaster Response Team Rescues 54 Injured Passengers From Derailed Train Near Kanpur
  • NEW DELHI:  The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rescued 54 passengers, of them 16 who were critically injured, from the train that derailed near Kanpur early on Sunday, said an official.

    The NDRF has also retrieved 31 bodies from the mangled bogies of the derailed train so far.

    Five search and rescue teams of the NDRF, under the leadership of the RK Pachnanda, Director General of the Force, were engaged in extricating victims trapped in the mangled bogies of Patna-Indore Express, an official release said.


    The NDRF is using canine squad, along with latest gadgets, to locate and reach victims in the bogies.

    "Its teams are providing Pre-Hospital Treatment (PHT) to the injured victims and assisting the local administration in shifting them to nearest hospital for advance care," the release added.

    In one of the worst rail disasters in the country, 121 people were killed and around 200 injured before dawn on Sunday when 14 coaches of the Express train derailed near Kanpur

ULFA Faction Claims Responsibility For Attack On Army Convoy In Assam
  • GUWAHATI:  United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) today claimed responsibility for the attack on an Army convoy in Tinsukia district in which three soldiers were on Saturday killed.

    The 15 Kumaon Regiment of Indian Army at Burhi Dihing, Tinsukia, was attacked yesterday morning, the banned outfit said in a statement, adding at least four jawans were seriously injured in the ambush.


    The attack was carried out by ULFA (I) and the Coordination Committee (CorCom), an umbrella body of militant groups People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Progressive), Revolutionary People's Front and United National Liberation Front, the statement said.

    Tinsukia district Superintendent of Police Mugdhajyoti Dev Mahanta said the ambush was carried out jointly by NSCN(K) and ULFA(I) militants and they used sophisticated weapons, including Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), AK-47 rifles and mortars.

Make Train Journeys Safe: PM Narendra Modi To Railway Officials After Derailment
  • SURAJKUND/AGRA:  On a day when over 100 people were killed in the worst rail accident in recent years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked railways to work towards achieving the zero accident target to make train journeys safe.

    The derailment of the Indore-Patna Express at Kanpur dehat will be probed, said the Prime Minister at the Rail Vikas Shivir (rail development camp) at Surajkund on the outskirts of Delhi where he along with railwaymen observed two-minute silence to condole the loss of lives.

    Describing the accident as "unfortunate", PM Modi asked railway officials to ensure fool-proof system in train operation to achieve zero-accident target, according to sources present at the Shivir.

    Later addressing a rally at Agra, PM Modi expressed his concern and sympathy for those killed and injured in the tragedy, which is the worst rail accident in recent years.

    He said the accident will be probed.

    The Prime Minister, who spent more than two hours at the Rail Vikas Shivir, was given thematic presentations on various aspects of the railways, and later addressed the railway officers.


    He also visited the gallery created for showcasing railways' new initiatives.

    Night vision camera developed by the railways to help loco pilots, a new faster and lighter mode of transportation called Caterpillar train, water vending machines, food box to keep food hot at rail premises, green initiatives like harnessing solar and wind energy were among those exhibited at the gallery.

    The three-day Shivir, organised to generate innovative yet practical ideas in the most crucial areas of rail operations and chart out a roadmap for substantial progress of the sector, concluded today.

    On the opening day, PM Modi had addressed railway employees via video conferencing and said the Indian Railways should transform with the change of the century and focus on "new speeds, progress and new capacity" along with gaining financial strength.

    The venue at Surajkund was divided into various areas named after iconic trains services like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Humsafar, Tejas, Gatimaan, Uday, Antyodaya and Jan Shatabdi.

    Making Indian Railways the preferred freight carrier in India, reducing the operational cost, improving non-tariff revenue and increasing the investment in rail infrastructure substantially were among the other issues were taken up during the event though the accident cast a spell on the participants, according to sources.

Tejas As Capable As Rafale Jet: Defence Minister
  • PANAJI:  The indigenously manufactured light combat aircraft 'Tejas', which was inducted into the Indian Air Force earlier this year, is as good as the French-made Rafale fighter jet and comparable with other top LCAs across the world, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Saturday.

    "This is a plane which is completely indigenously manufactured and can compete with any other fighter plane in the world. It is as capable as the Rafale. Only this is a light combat aircraft (LCA)," Mr Parrikar said.

    "Only a 3.5 ton missile can be carried on it, Rafale on the other hand can carry a nine-ton (missile). This plane can fly at the rate of 450 km, Rafale can run 900 km because it has twin engines," he added. 


    The Defence Minister also said that the Tejas, which was stalled for 33 years, was expedited because of his explicit directions to those in-charge of the project. 

    "I told them that all shortcomings should be fulfilled and the plane should be ready in a year," Mr Parrikar said, adding that some days ago an order had been placed for 83 more planes. 

NASA Launches 'Next Generation' Weather Satellite
  • WASHINGTON:  A "next generation" US weather satellite that was rocketed into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:42 pm EST on Saturday (5.12 am Sunday, India time) is on its way to sharpen forecasts, watches and warnings about hurricanes and storms, NASA said.

    After the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R), reaches its final designated orbit in the next two weeks, it will be renamed GOES-16, the US space agency said in a statement.

    "The launch of GOES-R represents a major step forward in terms of our ability to provide more timely and accurate information that is critical for life-saving weather forecasts and warnings," said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

    "It also continues a decades-long partnership between NASA and NOAA to successfully build and launch geostationary environmental satellites," Zurbuchen added.

    The new satellite will become operational within a year, after undergoing a checkout and validation of its six new instruments, including the first operational lightning mapper in geostationary orbit.


    "The next generation of weather satellites is finally here," NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan said.

    Forecasters will use the lightning mapper to hone in on storms that represent the greatest threats.

    The satellite's primary instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager, will provide images of Earth's weather, oceans and environment with 16 different spectral bands, including two visible channels, four near-infrared channels, and 10 infrared channels.

    Improved space weather sensors on GOES-R will monitor the sun and relay crucial information to forecasters so they can issue space weather alerts and warnings.

    In all, data from GOES-R will result in 34 new or improved meteorological, solar and space weather products, NASA said.

Business Affairs 

Depositing unaccounted cash: I-T dept warns violators will face max 7 year jail
  • Warning people against depositing their unaccounted old currency in someone else's bank account, the tax department has decided to slap charges under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act against violators that carries a penalty, prosecution and rigorous jail term of a maximum seven years.
    In a related development, official sources said that the department has detected over Rs 200 crore in undisclosed income after it conducted over 80 surveys and about 30 searches in cases of suspicious usage of the scrapped currency. About Rs 50 crore has also been seized in these operations since November 8, they said, across various states.
    The sources said the taxman has initiated a country-wide operation to identify suspect bank accounts where huge cash deposits have been made post November 8, when government demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.
    Such instances where the suspicion is found to be true will be prosecuted under the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, applicable on both movable and immovable property, that has been enforced from November 1 this year.
    They said the Act empowers the taxman to confiscate and prosecute both the depositor and the person whose illegal money he or she has "adjusted" in their account.
    "The CBDT has asked the Income Tax department to closely monitor all such transactions where people are using bank accounts of other persons for hiding and converting into white their black money using the old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000.
    "Already some instances have been reported in this regard and the department is set to issue notices under the Benami Act," the sources told PTI.
    Primarily, they said, the notices will be issued in cases of huge cash deposits beyond the threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh but in cases where a suspicious report is received from the bank or the Financial Intelligence Unit below this threshold will also be investigated.
    "Such an arrangement where a person deposits old currency of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in the bank account of another person with an understanding that the account holder shall return his money in new currency, the transaction shall be regarded as benami transaction under the said Act.
    "The person who deposits old currency in the bank account shall be treated as beneficial owner and the person in whose bank account the old currency has been deposited shall be categorised under this law as a benamidar," a senior official explained.
    The Benami Act, the official said, provides that the benamidar, the beneficial owner and any other person who abets or induces the Benami transaction, shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a period ranging from 1-7 years.
    "The benami amount in the bank account deposited post de-monetisation will be seized and confiscated and the accused will also be liable to fine which extends upto 25 per cent of the fair market value of the benami property," the official said.
    The Income Tax department has stepped up its action to check black money transactions, money laundering and tax evasion in the wake of the de-monetisation and has issued hundreds of notices of enquiry to charitable and religious trusts to show their account balances and to those who have deposited huge cash in their bank accounts.

Centre-state stalemate over GST jurisdiction continues
  • Stalemate between the Centre and states over administrative control under the proposed goods and services tax (GST) regime continued today with an informal meet called by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley failing to break the deadlock.
    Jaitley's informal meeting with state finance ministers failed to arrive at a common ground on how Centre and states will control assessees under the new regime that will subsume an array of taxes like excise duty and service tax as well as VAT, multiple ministers participating in the meeting said.
    With states unrelenting on their position of being given right to control all assessees with up to Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover, it was decided that officials will meet again tomorrow before the meeting of the all powerful GST Council on November 25.
    "The meeting has remained incomplete. Discussions will continue on November 25," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the over three hour long meeting.
    The issue has remained a contentious one during the previous two GST Council meetings and any disagreement at the next meet holds potential of derailing rollout of the GST from the targeted April 1, 2017.
    Jaitley had earlier this month stated that the proposed GST needs to be rolled out by September 16, 2017 before the validity of the Constitutional Amendment brought in by Centre and ratified by states expires.
    States like West Bengal, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have insisted on exclusive control over small taxpayers, who earn less than Rs 1.5 crore in annual revenue, for both goods and services.
    Uttarakhand Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh said states demanded exclusive control for both goods and service tax assessees of Rs 1.5 crore and below.
    "Centre is agreeable on goods, but is not yielding on services. States are looking at their interest to safeguard their revenue. Centre will have to yield to states to get the CGST and IGST bills passed. A middle ground on the issue has to be worked out politically," she said.
    Today's informal meeting was held sans civil servants to arrive at a political solution.
    According to sources, many states including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Odisha and Uttarakhand, said that small taxpayers cannot be harassed by dual control.
    Rajasthan Urban Development Minister R Shekhawat said Centre and states are working on different permutations and combinations.
    Isaac said Centre prefers to have a vertical split of all dealers for assessment under GST. "They are taking a rigid stand but I hope good sense will prevail at the Centre," he said.
    The GST Council was earlier discussing five proposals for deciding on jurisdiction, but in the last meeting on November 4, arrived at two options -- horizontal division and vertical division.
    'Horizontal Division' would mean taxpayers would be divided both for administrative and audit purposes based on a cut off turnover. Those with a turnover over Rs 1.5 crore would be administered both by the Centre and states, while those with below Rs 1.5 crore would be administered solely by the state.
    'Vertical Division', based on ratios, assigns taxpayers to a tax administration, Centre or state, for a period of 3 years for all purposes including audit. Taxpayers could be divided in a ratio which would balance the interest of the Centre and the states, both with respect to revenue and spread of numbers.
    States feel they have infrastructure deployment at grassroot level and small taxpayers are familiar with state authorities.
    Centre, on the other hand is unagreeable to the states' demand of exclusive control over small entities which earn less than Rs 1.5 crore in annual revenue, as it wants single registration mechanism for ease to service taxpayers.
    Instead of horizontally splitting the taxpayers, it has proposed to divide entire taxpayer base vertically.
    As a compromise, it is willing to give states administrative power over 2/3rd of taxpayer base, with service tax continuing to be administered by Centre. 

Farmers fear lost crops and income after 'black money' move
  • For Indian farmer Buddha Singh, who works a small plot of land in the village of Bajna south of New Delhi, the government's decision to abolish 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes to crush the shadow economy could hardly have come at a worse time.
    He and millions of other farmers cannot get enough cash to buy the seeds and fertilisers they need for their winter crops, threatening production of key commodities and hurting rural communities only just recovering after two years of drought.
    "We can't buy our full requirements of seeds, fertiliser and pesticides on credit. There is a limit," said Singh, a turbaned man in his 50s, who tills a two-acre field near the highway running from the capital to the holy city of Mathura.
    "We're running out of time as we've only 10-15 days more to plant crops like wheat, mustard and chickpeas," he added, to murmurs of assent from around 30 fellow farmers sitting under a neem tree and discussing their predicament. India's 263 million farmers mostly live in the cash economy, exposing them to the full impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock Nov. 8 announcement that larger denomination bank notes would immediately cease to be legal tender.
    Modi's drive to purge "black cash" from the economy has, at a stroke, wiped out 86 percent of the money in circulation. Delays in printing new 500 and 2,000 rupee notes mean that money could be tight for weeks to come.
    While city dwellers are still queuing up to exchange or deposit old money at the bank, and to draw new funds, many villagers live miles from the nearest branch and have yet to see the new notes being rushed into circulation.
    DRAGGED DOWN
    Delays to the planting season that began last month threaten to dent India's agricultural and overall economic growth, wiping out gains for farmers who this year cashed in on decent monsoon rains after being hit by drought in 2014 and 2015.
    Farmers who have already spent money on ploughing and irrigation to keep the soil moist can ill afford to leave their land fallow. Late sowing typically reduces yields and increases the risk that inclement spring weather could damage crops.
    "In all likelihood we'll not be able to recover our cost of cultivation as the prime sowing time has nearly lapsed," said Prakash Chandra Sharma, another local farmer.
    The farmers said they spent an average of 58,000 rupees ($855) per hectare to grow wheat, only to eke out an income of 70,000 rupees. That assumes a crop yield of about 3.2 tonnes per hectare.
    A drop in wheat output would boost local prices that are already near record highs. Stocks are at their lowest level for nearly a decade, and even before the latest cash crunch, private traders were expected to import around 3 million tonnes this year.
    Devinder Sharma, an independent food and trade policy analyst, said rural communities in particular would suffer from the demonetisation move.
    "It's a little early to hazard a guess about the extent of crop loss," said Sharma. "But both rural income and demand will take a big hit before things start improving from April next year."
    THANKS, BUT NO THANKS
    In the latest in a series of ad hoc steps, the government on Thursday allowed farmers to withdraw up to 25,000 rupees ($368) a week against their crop loans to ensure that sowing of winter crops "takes place properly".
    Shaktikanta Das, a top finance ministry official, also said a time limit for farmers to pay crop insurance premiums had been extended by 15 days.
    But that cuts little ice with farmers, who often rely for their cash not on banks but on money lenders charging annual interest of up to 40 percent.
    "Most farmers have already availed of their farm loan for the previous summer season and, for the handful who can still withdraw, the ceiling is too low," said Tejinder Narang, a New-Delhi-based farm expert.
    After selling their rice crop last month, many are stuck with old 500 and 1,000 bills they can no longer spend.
    They are only allowed to exchange 2,000 rupees into new money, and the rest must be deposited before the notes cease to be accepted by banks after Dec. 30.
    "Four banks cater to 200 villages of about 2,000 people each. It's not easy to get your old currency notes converted," said Harbir Singh, another local farmer.
    MARKETS IDLED
    The breakdown in the cash economy is causing major disruptions to the supply of produce to India's cities, with payment alternatives such as plastic cards or digital wallet apps on smartphones yet to gain widespread acceptance.
    At Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, Asia's largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market, traders said business was at a virtual standstill, and labourers who usually earn between $4 and $6 a day sat idle.
    "The bosses are giving us 500 rupee bills, but we are refusing to take those notes," said porter Raju Kumar Rathore. "Then they are telling us to collect our money after a week or 10 days. For us that is a big problem."

Coping with cash challenges, micro loan businesses in limbo
  • With loan disbursements and their repayments nearly stopped for many microfinance institutions, the Indian microfinance sector is largely on a holiday, thanks to the challenges of cash available within the system following the demonetisation of the 500 and 1000 rupee notes.
    Even if it all seems somewhat similar to what one had read in Aladdin's tales about 'exchange of old for new,' the move announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 9th has had a huge ramification.
    In one shot,  84 per cent of the currency in circulation went out of the market. That is a huge Rs 14 lakh crore going out of circulation. The MFIs cannot accept them as they are no more legal tender.
    Then, disbursements have come to a near standstill because cash is not available to the extent required and even if some MFIs do it electronically, they seem to have stopped because they can credit the borrower's account but they themselves cannot draw the cash.
    The government has been introducing new currency notes but the quantum and speed with which the replacement is happening is still short of what is needed. 
    But as far as micro lending business or microfinance is concerned, to many, it is more or less on a holiday though it seems to be differing between regions.
    Some argue that in South, the availability is bit better and therefore repayments are perhaps a bit better there than elsewhere. Most of the MFI (microfinance institutions) have therefore opted to put collections "on hold" - what some others call a "repayment holiday", at least for a week. These could be sums as small as Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 from borrowers depending on whether they are weekly or monthly repayments.
    This does not seem to have hit those MFI entities who operate as business correspondents for banks. But then, the timing may be quite inappropriate from a borrowers' perspective, given the coming Rabi season, there will be greater demand for loans. As would be the case for the coming marriage season, which might also be a trigger for seeking more loans, at least by small traders.
    As a veteran put it, Indian microfinance tends to get cursed and blessed together. Whenever there are signs of overheating, the sector also gets a ready external target it can blame for all the ills. For instance, in 2010, there was the ordinance by the Andhra government and now, cash availability challenges. 
    Because of the over 100 per cent growth it was beginning to show, there were fears that the sector will see some implosion but now it can blame the currency scenario for repayment cycle stopping and the resultant non-performing assets (NPAs) if any.

Demonetisation: Congress wants debate under Rule 56
  • Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has said the Narendra Modi government announced the demonetisation of high-value currency notes without any preparation and the Opposition wants a serious discussion on the issue under the rules that entail voting.
    "The decision was taken in haste, without any preparation. This has hit people at the lower level. 60 people have so far died in queues outside ATMs and banks," he claimed.
    Kharge said Congress was willing to debate the issue under Rule 56, but the government wanted to discuss it under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. "It is merely a formality. The government is evading questions," he alleged.
    Asked if the Opposition will allow Parliament to function on Monday, Kharge said,
    "The government should agree to a debate on demonetisation under Rule 56. All parameters of a debate will be met under the rule."
    Attacking the government for failing to bring back black money stashed abroad, he said, "The Modi dispensation has completed two-and-a-half years in office, but has failed to come out with the list of people having accounts in Swiss banks."
    He claimed that a few BJP leaders were also against the way the decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was taken. "The entire House is on the same page in this regard," he said.
    The Opposition will also try to pin down the government on the issue of One Rank One Pension scheme, the Jammu and Kashmir turmoil and surgical strikes, Kharge added. 

    General Awareness

    Israeli President, Reuven Rivlin’s, Six day’s Visit to India

    • Israeli president Reuven Rivlin arrived India on November 14, 2016 on a six-day visit to strengthen bilateral ties.Rivlin, landed at the Mumbai airportwith a large delegation of businessmen and presidents & senior representatives of Israeli academic institutions, from where he left for Delhi.
      • He also visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj along with several sites of co-operation and joint projects between the two nations.
      • The Israeli leader paid a visit to Chandigarh and Karnal as part of his plan to highlight agri-cooperation.
      • In Chandigarh, he inaugurated ‘Agro Tech 2016′ along with President Mukherjee and in Karnal he visited the Centre of Excellence of Indo-Israeli Agricultural Project.
      • Mr. Rivlin’s visit focuses on agriculture cooperation between the two countries. He was accompanied by Michael Mirilashvili, chairman of Watergen, one of the most important futuristic companies of Israel that specialises in optimal use of water resource.
      • He also paid his respects at the sites of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in Mumbai and lay wreaths at memorials for Mahatma Gandhi and for Indian soldiers, who fell in the World War-I.
      • Rivlin attended meetings with senior Indian officials and with leaders of the Jewish community.This visit is a sign of the strong relations and friendship between the two countries.
      • Mr. Rivlin is the second president of Israel to visit India in two decades. The first Israeli president to visit India was Ezer Weizman who visited Delhi in 1997.
      India, Israel agreed to Intensify Defence, Anti-Terror Cooperation
      India and Israel on November 15, 2016 inked pact to intensify its already strong defence partnership to combat radicalisation and extremism and act tough against terror networks and states supporting terrorism.
      • The two countries also agreed to deepen their cooperation in a variety of areas including trade and investment, agriculture, water resources and cyber crime
      • India is Israels largest buyer of military hardware and the Israel has been supplying various weapons systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years.
      Referring to growing collaboration between the two countries, particularly in defence sector,  the Israeli President said that his country is ready to “make in India and make with India“.
      Water resources management and agriculture agreement
      India and Israel have inked two agreements in the field of water resources management and agriculture. The agreements were signed in New Delhi on November 15, 2016.
      India, Israel to boost cooperation to combat terrorism, radicalization
      • The two nations also signed agreement to enhance their cooperation against the growing threat of terrorism and radicalization.
      • The two leaders, recognised terrorism as a global challenge that knows no boundaries, and agreed that its time when the international community must act with determination against terror networks and states that harbour them.
      About India-Israel relation
      • In 2017, the two countries will celebrate 25 years of the establishment of full diplomatic relations which was established in 1992.
      • India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment. The military business between the two nations between 1999 and 2009 was worth about 9 billion dollars.
      • Israel is the second-largest defence supplier to India. Russia is the largest supplier.In terms of trade relations, India is the third-largest Asian trade partner of Israel. Overall, India is also the tenth-largest trade partner of Israel.
      Israel :
      ♦ Capital: Jerusalem
      ♦ Currency: Israeli new shekel

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