Current Affairs - 30 January 2017

General Affairs 

Election Commission unhappy after RBI refuses to raise cash withdrawal limit for candidates

• 

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected the request of the Election Commission to enhance the weekly cash-withdrawal limit, imposed after demonetisation, for those contesting Assembly elections in five states, prompting an angry reaction from the poll panel.

  The Commission had on Wednesday requested RBI to enhance the withdrawal limit of candidates to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 24,000 per week imposed post demonetisation as the nominees would find it difficult to meet their campaign expenditure.

  But RBI said that it was not possible for it to hike the limit at this stage.

  ELECTION COMMISSION UNHAPPY OVER RBI DECISION: THINGS TO KNOW

  1. The Election Commission has urged the central bank to reconsider the proposal.
  2. An apparently peeved Commission has now written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel expressing "serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with".
  3. "...(It) appears that the RBI has not realised the gravity of the situation...It is reiterated that it is the constitutional mandate of the Commission to conduct free and fair elections and to provide level-playing field to all candidates...in order to facilitate proper conduct of elections, it is imperative that directions issued by the Commission are complied with," the poll panel said.
  4. On Wednesday, the Commission had told RBI that it has been apprised of the problems candidates were facing due to withdrawal limits imposed after the note ban.
  5. The Election Commission said the returning officer of the constituency would issue certificate that the person was a candidate in the fray and the contestant be allowed to withdraw Rs 2 lakh cash per week from the bank account opened especially to meet poll expenses.
  6. The Election Commission said the facility be extended till March 11, the day of counting.
  7. Candidates are bound to open an election account for meeting poll-related expenditure which is monitored by the Election Commission.
  8. The Election Commission said that with a weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000, a candidate would be able to withdraw Rs 96,000 in cash during the election process which lasts three to four weeks.
  9. The Election Commission reminded the Reserve Bank that as per law, candidates contesting Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab can spend Rs 28 lakh each for electioneering.
  10. The limit in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh each. The poll panel said despite paying amounts through cheques, candidates still need hard cash for petty expenses. Also the issue is further adversely effected in rural areas where banking facilities are negligible.

Swaraj Abhiyan announces kisan budget parallel to Union Budget 2017

• 

  Jai Kisan Andolan of Swaraj Abhiyan and a few other farmer organisations are planning to hold a Kisan Sansad that is Farmers' Parliament at Jantar Mantar parallel to the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1, same day and time when the Union Budget will be announced.

  WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

  1. National convener of Swaraj Abhiyan - Yogendra Yadav told media that ever-deepening economic and ecological crisis of Indian agriculture as indicated by continuing suicide of farmers, increasing incidence of loan defaults and abysmally low income of all primary producers in the rural sector demands a remedy which government's Union Budget hasn't been able to cater.
  2. Swaraj Abhiyan in a press statement said that the Union Budget is an indicator of the intent and action of the Central Government to provide short, medium and long term relief, remedy and resolutions. So the discussion on the Union Budget is one of the most anticipated media events of the year. In many ways this has become the key occasion to discuss and debate the state of our economy and its future. Over the years, this debate has unfortunately excluded the voice of the farmers and all other rural primary producers of the country. One of the reasons of this neglect is the difficulty of accessing farmers' voices in this short span and lack of availability of farmers' activists and spokespersons who can offer informed comment on the Budget.
  3. After two back-to-back droughts in 2014 and 2015 and failure of 3-4 successive crops in many regions, the good monsoon in 2016 summer raised expectations - bumper crop during Kharif, report of increased sowing during Rabi and information about substantial increase in pulse production, which the country needed so badly. Swaraj Abhiyan said that despite good monsoon in recent past, dark clouds still persist - the overall monsoon may have been good but again a large number of districts in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab face drought, which is now becoming a permanent feature due to climate change. Specific instances of excess or deficit rain are increasing, making agriculture a gamble of life and death.
  4. In the statement, Swaraj Abhiyan further alleged government of being insensitive towards offering minimum support price to its own farmers. It said government's agriculture policy is whimsical, as exemplified by the decision to import pulses at Rs 90/- per kg, while offering MSP of Rs 50/- per kg to Indian farmers. Finally, demonetisation has had the greatest impact on farmers - there was no money to purchase inputs for winter planting, prices of produce reached rock-bottom levels and unsold stock had to be thrown away in a country that suffers food shortage.
  5. In order to redress this situation, Jai Kisan Andolan will release a document on farmers' expectations. On February 1, a day long Kisan Sansad will be held to coincide with presentation of the Budget, offer instant reaction to the government's Budget. On February 2, farmer movements' analysis of what the Union Budget offered to the farmers will be released.
  6. Jan Kisan Abhiyan of swaraj andolan will be the leading front in organising this parallel kisan budget, other kisan organisations that will be represented in kisan budget will be Bhartiya Kisan Union, Karnataka Rajya Rayyat Sangh, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Raithu Swarajya Vedike, and National Alliance of Farmers Movements.

Exams not a benchmark of success: Narendra Modi's Mann ki Baat to students in 10 points

• 

  Ahead of the Board examinations and other competitive exams, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today played the teacher, the adviser and the friend to students, and asked them to not treat exams as a matter of life and death.

  Earlier, the Prime Minister had sought suggestions from students, teachers and parents ahead of his 28th Mann ki Baat radio programme. This was the Prime Minister's first radio address in the new year.

  Here are the top takeaways from the Prime Minister's address:

  1. Exams should be a time of pleasure, not pressure. Do not think about exams as pressure; they should be celebrated as festivals.
  2. We sometimes do not see exams in the right perspective; exams are not a benchmark of your success in life.
  3. If your mission and ambition are in sync, marks will follow. A happy mind is the secret of a good mark sheet.
  4. Sometimes, the weight of expectations is more than the weight of a schoolbag. The root of problems are expectations, acceptance that makes things easy.
  5. Parents should focus on three things: accept your children the way they are, mentor them and give them time.
  6. Three things that are important during exams: proper rest, sufficient sleep and physical activity.
  7. Take small breaks, return to books feeling fresh. Try deep breathing, it is very relaxing.
  8. Lack of self-confidence forces people to take shortcuts like cheating during exams. To cheat is to be cheap.
  9. If you focus on knowledge you expand your horizon, if you focus on marks, you limit yourself.
  10. Sachin Tendulkar could achieve what he did because he competed with himself, not others. The competition should be with yourself.

Jat quota protests: Haryana on high alert, Section 144 imposed in sensitive districts

• 

  In view of the fresh round of quota agitation that started this morning by a section of Jats, Haryana has been put on high alert.

  As a precautionary measure, Section 144 has been imposed in sensitive districts like Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Jind, Bhiwani, Hisar, Panipat and Kaithal.

  55 companies of central security forces have been deployed across the state along with local police and home guards personnel.The officials have enforced the ban on assembly of more than four people in about 500 meters from national and state highways, along with railway stations in the city.

  Following are the demands of protesters:

  • Quota in Centre and state government jobs
  • Release of arrested Jat youths from jails
  • Withdrawal of cases registered during last year's agitation
  • Government jobs for the kin of youths killed during last year's stir

   The call for the fresh agitation has been given by the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti.

  Meanwhile, in Fatehabad, the SP has suspended five policemen for not performing their duties.

  Last year, the Jat agitation for reservation had left 30 people dead.

Republic Day: Announcement 'goof up' for the Best Marching Contingent

• 

  The contingent of CISF was adjudged as the "Best Marching Contingent" amongst Paramilitary Forces and other Auxiliary Marching Contingents. But few know of the goof up on Republic Day, when announcement of contingent leader of the force was done incorrectly in the name of Abhishek Chaudary, Deputy Commandant by national news network Prasar Bharati. The contingent was led by Prabh Simran Grewal, Assistant Commandant in Republic Day Parade - 2017.

  HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

  1. Inspector Pawan Kumar Bhati (Chief Drill Instructor), Head Constable Arun Dhama (Drill Instructor), Constable Ombir Singh (PT Instructor) who oversee the parade during month long training told Headquarters (HQ) that Grewal was in best shape with an impressive gait compared to Chaudhary who was initially selected to lead the parade. The switch was done nearly 24 hours before parade.
  2. For the event which is considered as national pride, like most other forces, back up was ready. For this year, back up of three was ready for contingent leader. Back up of six was ready for three ladies and 20 soldiers for 140 soldiers.
  3. Grewal had led the team to victory in 2015 also. The last minute switch was communicated to the announcer at Rajghat where audience heard the correct annoucement. Sources say that changes were communicated, but perhaps could not be amended in time in the DD script. So the world and other broadcast channels who tuned in to the network to beam the impressive parade, heard the wrong name being announced.
  4. Perhaps an injustice done to both Chaudhary and Grewal. Chaudhary did not participate as he was kept on standby. But with the contingent winning the best marching contingent, Grewal was lauded.
  5. The marching team consisted of 148 officers and men (Assistant Commandant, 3 Lady Sub-Officers, and 144 other ranks). This is the fifth time that CISF Contingent has won the Best Marching Contingent. Earlier CISF Contingent was adjudged Best Marching Contingent in the year 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015.
  6. The selection of the contingent including Contingent Commander is made through a rigorous selection process.
  7. Their daily schedule of practice starts with rigorous physical training, after which, the marching practice is conducted under the supervision of selected outdoor instructors.
  8. Special sessions of yoga and motivation are also conducted for the contingent.

Business Affairs 

RBI rejects EC's plea for raising cash-withdrawal limit

• 

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected the request of the Election Commission to enhance the weekly cash-withdrawal limit, imposed after demonetisation, for those contesting Assembly elections in five states, prompting an angry reaction from the poll panel.

  The Commission had on Wednesday requested RBI to enhance the withdrawal limit of candidates to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 24,000 per week imposed post demonetisation as the nominees would find it difficult to meet their campaign expenditure.

  But RBI said that it was not possible for it to hike the limit at this stage.

  An apparently peeved Commission has now written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel expressing "serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with".

  "...(It) appears that the RBI has not realised the gravity of the situation...It is reiterated that it is the constitutional mandate of the Commission to conduct free and fair elections and to provide level-playing field to all candidates...In order to facilitate proper conduct of elections, it is imperative that directions issued by the Commission are complied with," the poll panel said.

  It urged the central bank to reconsider the proposal.

  On Wednesday, the Commission had told RBI that it has been apprised of the problems candidates were facing due to withdrawal limits imposed after the note ban.

  It said the returning officer of the constituency would issue certificate that the person was a candidate in the fray and the contestant be allowed to withdraw Rs 2 lakh cash per week from the bank account opened especially to meet poll expenses.

  The EC said the facility be extended till March 11, the day of counting. Candidates are bound to open an election account for meeting poll-related expenditure which is monitored by the EC.

  The Commission said that with a weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000, a candidate would be able to withdraw Rs 96,000 in cash during the election process which lasts three to four weeks.

  It reminded the central bank that as per law, candidates contesting Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab can spend Rs 28 lakh each for electioneering.

  The limit in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh each. The poll panel said despite paying amounts through cheques, candidates still need hard cash for petty expenses. Also the issue is further adversely effected in rural areas where banking facilities are negligible.

Government may make Aadhaar Card must for rail concession in Budget 2017

• 

  Government is contemplating to make Aadhaar or Unique Identification (UID) card mandatory to avail rail concession, and an announcement is likely to be made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the first combined General and Railway Budget on February 1.

  The move will help the government in better targetting of benefits and check misuse of the facility, sources said.

  The Railways provides concession on tickets to more than 50 categories of passengers which include senior citizens, students, research scholars, teacher, doctor, nurse, patients, sports people, unemployed youth, Arjuna awardees among others.

  At present, Railways is running a pilot project for senior citizens who are entitled for rail concessions.

  The concessional tickets cost the Railways about Rs. 1,600 crore in 2015-16, with the bulk being accounted for senior citizens.

  As per the government data, over 100 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued so for covering bulk of India's population.

  The government has decided to end the 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate Railway budget and merged it with the General Budget.

  Mr Jaitley, according to sources, will contribute few pages of his Budget to programmes and schemes related to Indian Railways.

  Although there will be a single budget, the Railways will continue to have autonomy as commercial undertaking and the existing financial arrangement will remain.

  The Railways is expected to get exemption from payment of dividend to the Union government, a move which will help strengthening its finances.

  The organisation will also get budget support to meet part of its capital expenditure and will be allowed to raise extra budgetary resources.

  According to sources, Railways would continue to bear the expenditure on social and public service obligations.

  It is also expected that Mr Jaitley will present a separate statement of budget estimates and demand for grants for Railways in the General Budget.

  There will also be a single Appropriation bill, including the estimates of Railways, to the Parliament.

Mallya-bank CMD holiday meeting led to hasty sanction of Rs 350 cr loan: ED

• 

  Two initial tranches of loan worth Rs 350 crore were hastily disbursed by IDBI bank to Kingfisher Airlines after a "holiday" meeting between liquor baron Vijay Mallya and the then bank CMD as both organisations "criminally conspired" to clear the entire deal despite weak financials of the airline, the ED has said.

  The total loan sanctioned and disbursed by IDBI was Rs 860.92 crore.

  The agency, probing the case for money laundering charges, has said its investigation found that the processes deployed to structure and re-structure the loan by the bank to the now-defunct airline was planned to be defrauded and that Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) had "no intent" to repay it.

  "PMLA investigation indicates that the marketable value and quality of the collateral security offered by Ms KAL (KFA) and its promoters was not assessed. There is a complete lack of due diligence on the part of the bank coupled with the fact that undue haste was shown while disbursing the initial two tranches of loan amounting to Rs 350 crore.

  "It is apparent that the said loans were disbursed post meeting of Mallya with the then CMD (Yogesh Aggarwal) of the bank on a holiday. It does not need an eagles' eye to decipher the cause of immediate disbursement of the loan amount of Rs 150 crore on October 7, 2009 and Rs 200 crore on November 4, 2009," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe report, accessed by PTI, said.

  The CBI recently arrested Aggarwal and eight others in this case.

  The report added this specific transaction, where "substantial amounts" were sanctioned to KFA, in an ad-hoc basis and without due diligence points to the "existence of a deep rooted criminal conspiracy between the bank officials and the promoters of KAL (KFA)".

  The agency, in its report, has appended the statement of the Aggarwal given to ED on March 23 last year wherein he told the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case that in October 2009, Mallya made a telephonic call to his office and requested for an "urgent meeting the very next day".

  "As the next day was a holiday, it was pointed out to him... and he could meet at a later day. However, he (Mallya) informed that he was leaving Mumbai next day evening and as the matter was urgent, he would be grateful if he could meet the next day despite it being a holiday to which he (Aggarwal) agreed," the ex-CMD said, adding Mallya did meet him the next day along with a former MD and current advisor of the bank and an Executive Director of IDBI.

  "Mallya informed that Ms KAL (KFA) was in a severe crunch and needed funds urgently to keep flying," Aggarwal said in his statement. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai displeased with US President Trump's immigration order

• 

  Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai on Saturday criticised President Donald Trump's controversial immigration order against people from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it will create "barriers" to bringing great talent to the US, as the Internet search giant ordered its travelling staff to return to America.

  Pichai in an email to staff said the US ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries will hit at least 187 Google employees.

  "We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," the Wall Street Journal quoted Pichai as saying in the email.

  "It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," he said.

  Google has recalled around 100 of its affected staff from overseas, the BBC reported.

  President Trump on Saturday ordered "extreme vetting" of people entering the US from seven Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees until further notice, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America.

  The countries impacted are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

  The controversial move, signed a week after he was sworn- in as the President, fulfills the vow Trump made on the campaign trail to limit Muslim immigration to the US.

  In his message to employees, 44-year-old Pichai, who grew up in India, suggested that at least 187 employees hailed from countries included in the ban.

  "Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected," he said. "If you're abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team."

  "We wouldn t wish this fear and uncertainty on anyone and especially not our fellow Googlers," Pichai wrote. "In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide."

  Immigrants make up much of the workforce in Silicon Valley, including many executive roles, and the tech industry has long advocated for more open immigration laws in the US, saying they need more skilled foreigners to fill technical jobs.

  The new restrictions will have a major impact on American technology companies that hire skilled staff from all over the world on special H1-B visas, mostly used by Indian IT firms.

  "There have already been reports of green card holders, who are allowed to work in the US, being prevented from getting on flights. However, green cards are not specifically mentioned in the executive order," the WSJ said.

  Microsoft has also warned its shareholders that curbs on immigration could have a material impact on its business.

  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also criticised Trump's decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it.

  "Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.

Nestle's Maggi back on track after 5-month ban, captures 60 per cent market share

• 

  Nestle India's instant noodles brand Maggi, whose sales were severely hit by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ban in 2015, has now cornered close to 60 per cent market share, a top company official said.

  Maggi commanded a market share of around 75 per cent prior to the five-month ban in 2015.

  Nestle India, which is looking to consolidate its leadership position in the noodles segment, is also working on new products and categories for overall growth.

  "We are now close to 60 per cent market share and we are at the market leadership position," Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan told PTI.

  Asked how much time would it take for Maggi to reach its pre-crisis level, he said, "Its difficult to speculate. The energy and drive of the organisation remains to get back to the peak level, but it is going to involve a lot of efforts, a lot of imagination and perseverance, which we are willing to do."

  The company has launched 35 products across categories in the last six months to diversify its portfolio.

  "We have launched 35 new products in the last six months as for Nestle renovation and innovation is a key dimension of the growth equation of the company. This will continue. This would involve not just new offerings in existing brands but also in venturing into new categories," Narayanan said.

  Maggi was banned by FSSAI in June 2015 for allegedly containing lead beyond permissible limits, forcing Nestle India to withdraw the product from the market.

  Following legal battles, the popular noodles brand was back in the market in November 2015.

General Awareness

Indian Think Tank ORF Ranks Highest in Global Go To Think Tank Index in Asia category

• According to the latest Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, released globally by the Lauder Institute, Pennsylvania University, US on January 27, 2017, the Delhi based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has been ranked as the top think tank in the China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea category.

  Other Categories

  In the category of Asian region, ORF ranked 5th out of 90 think tanks, improving its position from 6th (out of 65) last year.

  • The first position in this category was bagged by Korea Development Institute, Republic of Korea, Japan Institute of International Affairs came second while Korea Institute for International Economic Policy came in third.
  • In world-wide (Non-US) category, ORF ranked 50th out of 150 think tanks, thus improving its position from last years 90th position (out of 137).
  • In this category, Chatham House was ranked first. Besides, the only Indian think tank ahead of ORF in the same category was the IDSA which came 30th.
  • In the category of world-wide (US and non-US), ORF ranked 119. The Brookings Institution, US, came first.
  • In the overall world ranking, ORF came 64th out of 133 think tanks, moving up from the 85th position in the last Index report. Brookings Institution came in the first place.
  • In the ‘Top Education Policy Think Tanks’, only ORF featured from India. It came 63rd out of 65 think tanks.
  • In the ‘Top Environment Policy Think Tanks’ category ORF finished 89th. Stockholm Environment Institute bagged the first rank.
  • Other than these, the ORF was ranked the highest think tank in India in the ‘Top Foreign Policy and International Affairs Think Tanks’, ‘Best Managed Think Tanks’, ‘Think Tanks with Best Use of Internet’, ‘Best Institutional Collaboration Involving Two or More Think Tanks’ and ‘Think Tanks with the most Innovative Policy Ideas/Proposals’ category.
  • Based on the ranking, ORF was seen as the most featured Indian think tank across categories by appearing in 26 places making it the most top Think Tank in Asia Category.

  About Observer Research Foundation (ORF) 

  Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is an independent think tank based in India.

  • Its aim is to lead and aid policy thinking towards building a strong and prosperous India in a fair and equitable world.
  • ORF helps discover and inform India’s choices. It carries Indian voices and ideas to forums shaping global debates. It provides non-partisan, independent, well-researched analyses and inputs to diverse decision-makers in governments, business communities, and academia and to civil society around the world.
  • It’s mandate is to conduct in-depth research, provide inclusive platforms and invest in tomorrow’s thought leaders today.  ORF has partnerships with think tanks such as Brookings Institution, Chatham House, RAND Corporation, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (USA) among others.

  Keys:

  • Formation: September 5, 1990
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Director: Sunjoy Joshi