Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 14 February 2018

::NATIONAL::

NHRC on pesticide death

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought an action taken report from the Tamil Nadu government following a spate of pesticide poisoning deaths reported from the State in October and November last year.
Acting upon the complaint of an activist who was part of a fact-finding team that investigated into the deaths and several instances of hospitalisations after exposure to pesticides in Perambalur, Ariyalur, Salem and Cuddalore districts of Tamil Nadu.
The Commission issued a notice last month demanding the State government to submit a report on the actions undertaken to address the problem.
However, response from the concerned authorities is still awaited as per the status displayed on the NHRC website.
In the NHRC complaint, activist V.M. Parthasarathy alleged that no concrete preventive measures had been put in place by the government, and no ex-gratia relief provided to the affected.
Earlier, the fact-finding team that had met with the affected families and concerned government officials presented evidence to show that more than 500 hospitalisations and 9 deaths have taken place in Tamil Nadu due to pesticide poisoning.
“Subsequent to our fact-finding visit to meet affected families and other stakeholders last, there have been further reports of poisonings. This is alarming,” Mr. Parthasarathy said.
NHRC’s action comes at a time when the Punjab government has announced a ban on monocrotophos as well as 19 other pesticides.
The State government of Punjab has also put out orders to stop issuing fresh licenses for these pesticides, since the State can only issue a ban for 60 days.
“If Punjab, which has one of the most intensive use of pesticides in all of India, can take up such progressive measures, there is no reason why Tamil Nadu government cannot issue similar orders”, said K. Saravanan of PUCL.
Responding to queries, V. Dhakshinamoorthy, Director of Agriculture, said that he was unaware of the NHRC notice but his department had convened a meeting soon after the deaths were reported to give detailed guidelines on do’s and don’ts of using pesticides to field-level agriculture officials.
“We have also organised meetings with manufacturers and dealers of pesticides asking them not to sell hazardous pesticides to farmers,” he said.

Colleges performing well will be empowered

Colleges that perform well will now be able to apply for autonomous status, which will permit them to start new courses and programmes, set syllabi and even “fix fees for courses at their own level”.
The University Grants Commission has notified guidelines for this change.
To be eligible for such autonomy, the colleges must have been given ‘A’ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, which means a Cumulative Grade Points Average of at least 3 on a scale of 4.
Reservation policies will apply to these colleges too.
However, the degrees, including PhDs, shall be awarded by the university with the name of the college on the degree certificate.
The colleges will continue to be affiliated to the university but will enjoy autonomy to take their own decisions.
Autonomous status will initially be granted for 10 years, but can be extended for five years at a time.
Such colleges will also have the right to appoint their own faculty and principal as per existent UGC regulations.
“Colleges (of any discipline) whether aided, partially aided and unaided/self-financing are eligible provided they are under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act. The college should have at least 10 years of existence,” the notification says.

Focus on cybersecurity

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked States to focus on strengthening the cybersecurity ecosystem to push adoption of digital services in the country, a senior official said.
The Minister met IT ministers and secretaries from almost all States during a two-day conference to discuss the roadmap on making India a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025.
“The Minister requested every State to continuously monitor the traffic of websites and set up cybersecurity centres,” an official who attended the meeting.
“It was also discussed that there should also be audit from time to time of sensitive centres such as nuclear power stations, financial hubs and IT hubs,” another source said. The Centre will send officials for such audits.
According to the source, Mr. Prasad was informed that financial institutions and the government were the targets for nearly 40% cyber attacks, including phishing, denial of services attacks and ransomware.
In addition, Mr. Prasad, who is also the Law Minister, asked the States to ensure that no one was denied any benefits for not having an Aadhaar card.

DAC approvals

The Defence Acquisition Council gave approval for a series of proposals to shore up the Army’s infantry firepower and other deals, together estimated at Rs. 15,935 crore.
The DAC accorded approval for procurement of 7.4 lakh assault rifles for the three Services.
These rifles will be ‘Made in India’ under the categorisation of ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’, through both the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and private industry at an estimated cost of Rs. 12,280 crore.
The other proposals approved include procurement of 17,000 light machine guns for the three Services through the fast-track procedure at over Rs. 1,819 crore and 5,719 sniper rifles for the Army and the Air Force for about Rs. 982 crore.
While the high-precision rifles will be bought in the ‘Buy Global’ category, the ammunition will be initially procured and subsequently manufactured in India, the Ministry said.
The assault rifles will be of 7.62mm calibre and the carbines of 5.56mm calibre. The Army has been trying to replace the indigenous INSAS rifles.
The approval is the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), the first step of the Defence Procurement Procedure.
Despite desperate attempts by the Army, all these proposals had been repeatedly cancelled in the past.
To enhance the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of Naval Ships, the DAC approved the procurement of the “Mareech” advanced torpedo decoy systems.
The system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and has successfully completed extensive trial evaluations.
The systems will be produced by Bharat Electronics Ltd., Bengaluru, at an estimated cost of Rs. 850 crore.
Last month, the DAC cleared a separate proposal for 72,400 assault rifles and 93,895 close quarter battle (CQB) Carbines for Rs. 3,547 crore on a fast-track basis.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.S. Senate debate

The U.S. Senate started an open-ended debate on immigration, a highly divisive topic that has eluded political consensus for years now.
The debate, which may last the entire week, is not on any specific Bill. Rather, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has picked up a random Bill into which amendments that get the support of 60 Senators could be inserted.
But getting 60 votes is not easy in the chamber, in which the Republicans have a narrow majority of 51-49.
The most urgent immigration question relates to ‘Dreamers’, those who came to the country illegally when they were children. President Donald Trump has announced the discontinuation, starting March 5, of an amnesty given to nearly eight lakh such people.
He has also linked the offering of a path to citizenship for ‘Dreamers’ to a severe curtailment in the existing legal immigration regime.
The Democrats are resisting the move, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday called for a Bill that only deals with the question of ‘Dreamers’ for now.
The Secure and Succeed Act, being championed by a group of Republican Senators, is closely aligned to Mr. Trump’s views.
It proposes family-linked visas only for spouses and minor children, an elimination of the diversity visa lottery, and the construction of a border wall.
It does not mention anything about skilled workers’ immigration.
There are several Bills that deal with the H-1B programme but one being pushed by Republican Orrin Hatch is in focus, given the Senator’s proximity to the President.
Mr. Hatch’s Immigration Innovation Act proposes changes to the visa programme that will allow higher wages and an easier route to permanent residency for skilled workers.
The administration has not made its views known on this, and indications are that its immediate priory lies in dealing with illegal immigration and border security.
It was in 2013 that the Senate debated immigration the last time. It approved an overhaul of the system but the House did not hold a vote, killing the proposal.
However, the Republican Senators who argued for a path to citizenship for the country’s 11 million undocumented residents found themselves in a spot in 2016 when Mr. Trump built his campaign on an anti-immigration platform.
At present, Republican lawmakers have little appetite for any measure that does not find approval by Mr. Trump and his base.

::ECONOMY::

Government Saving Promotion act

In a bid to consolidate the legislations pertaining to small savings schemes, the government is proposing a merger of the various laws into a Government Savings Promotion Act.
“The government gives highest priority to the interest of small savers, especially savings for the benefit of the girl child, senior citizens and regular savers who form the backbone of our country’s savings architecture,” the government said in a release.
In order to remove existing ambiguities due to multiple Acts and rules for small saving scheme the government has proposed merger of Government Savings Certificates Act, 1959 and Public Provident Fund Act, 1968 with the Government Savings Banks Act, 1873.
All existing protections have been retained while consolidating PPF Act under the proposed Government Savings Promotion Act.
No existing benefits to depositors are proposed to be taken away through this process.
The main objective in proposing a common Act is to make implementation easier for the depositors as they need not go through different rules and Acts.

India-UAE Energy security

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to the UAE has resulted in two agreements being signed that will strengthen India’s energy security, said Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Two highlights of the PM’s visit were the signing of the Concession Agreement between an Indian consortium and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for award of 10% stake in Lower Zakum Offshore oil field.
And an agreement between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves (ISPRL) and ADNOC to operationalise the filling up of a strategic petroleum reserve cavern in Mangalore.
The Lower Zakum oil field is coming up for rebidding for 40% of its capacity, of which 10% had been awarded to India.
The second agreement allowed ADNOC to invest in the strategic crude oil storage facility in Mangaluru.
ADNOC will invest about $400 million [for] storing crude in one ISPRL underground rock cavern... of capacity 5.86 million barrels.