Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams 19 August 2017
Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams 19 August 2017
::National::
India to continue to engage with China over Doklam
- India said it will continue to engage with China to find a mutually acceptable solution to the Dokalam standoff, but underlined that incidents like one in Ladakh three days ago were not in the “interest of either side”.
- “Today, I can confirm that there was an incident at PangongTso on August 15. This was subsequently discussed by the local army commanders of the two sides. Such incidents are not in the interest of either side,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.
- However, he did not confirm whether the incident involved stone pelting or use of rods and asserted that, “I just said there was an incident”. He also emphasised that the incident should not be linked with what was happening in any other sector.
- Mr. Kumar also did not confirm whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China next month to attend the BRICS summit, saying he does not have any information about it.
- Asked about the current status of the standoff, he said, “It is a sensitive issue... We will continue to engage with China to find mutually acceptable solution.
- Peace and tranquillity in border areas are important pre-requisites for smooth development of bilateral relations.”
National Human Rights Commission wants centre's reply over Rohingya's
- The National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs over the planned deportation of about 40,000 Rohingya immigrants from Myanmar, asking for a detailed report within four weeks.
- Taking cognisance of media reportsabout the government’s plan to deport the Rohingyas by setting up “detention centres”, the NHRC observed that the “refugees are no doubt foreign nationals but they are human beings.”
- “Before taking a big step, the Government of India has to look into every aspect of the situation, keeping in focus the fact that the members of the Rohingya community, who have crossed into India and are residing here for long, have a fear of persecution once they are pushed back to their native country,” it said in a statement.
- While stopping short of commenting on the plan, the NHRC highlighted the Supreme Court’s decisions that say the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution apply to all, irrespective of their citizenship.
- It observed that its intervention in the matter was appropriate given the potential implication on the human rights of the Rohingyas.
- The NHRC said that though India was not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, it was a signatory to many United Nations and world conventions on human right.
China reacts to Japan's support for India’s position on Doklam
- China has reacted sharply to Japanese Ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu’s comments supporting India’s position on Doklam.
- However, India has refused to react to the comments that came as the first clear show of backing from a major power on the two-month long standoff at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction.
- Japanese embassy said “consistent with our position on the international rule of law”, when he advised all parties concerned with the Doklam standoff not to “resort to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, and resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner”.
- In its statement of June 29, the Government of Bhutan had also accused the PLA of violating its agreements, and demanded that the “status quo in the Doklam area be maintained as before 16 June 2017”.
- As a result, Mr. Hiramatsu’s comments, that have sparked off a war of words with Beijing, are seen as direct criticism of China’s position and unqualified support for India whose troops remain on territory in dispute between China and Bhutan.
- A Japanese embassy official told that Mr. Hiramatsu’s comments should be read as a reiteration of Japan’s traditional position on resolving disputes, and added that Japan welcomes External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj’s statement that the Doklam standoff should be ended through early dialogue.
::International::
All neighbors are watching Doklam standoff between India and China
- From Nepal to Japan, countries in South and Southeast Asia are keenly observing the Doklam standoff between India and China, some taking sides, some staying neutral.
- Pakistan has thrown its weight behind China, its “iron brother”. During a visit to Islamabad by China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence, Islamabad backed all positions adopted by China, ranging from Doklam to South China Sea.
- Japan has become the first G-7 country to support India’s position on the Doklam issue. Nepal, which shares border with both India and China, has expressed neutrality, and called for a diplomatic solution.
- But in the Asia-Pacific, the Doklam face-off is being conflated with regional contests between China and several members of the Association of South East Asian Nations.
- The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has reported that the border dispute between China and India “has created a ‘spillover effect’ as China’s neighbours become unsettled by its tough handling of the escalating conflict between the two Asian giants”.
::Business and Economy::
Scholars, academics and government officials looking for BRICS agenda
- As the countdown for the September summit of the BRICSgrouping begins, scholars, academics and government officials have been brainstorming ways in which the emerging economies can set the global agenda, based on new rules of governance.
- Delegates to a BRICS seminar, organised by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the southeast Chinese city of Quanzhou, analysed and debated the Chinese model of rapid development as the template for the rapid growth, especially of the global South.
- The BRICS summit is being held in China’s coastal city of Xiamen from September 3-5. It highlights the theme — BRICS: stronger partnership for a brighter future.
- That among nearly 200 developing economies since the end of the Second World War, only two have transitioned from low-income to high-income economies, with China possibly emerging as the third by 2025.
- He attributed the failure to avoidance of either the middle-income or the low-income trap and to the pursuit of western mainstream economic theories — structuralism, and neoliberalism.
- He stressed that a right balance between the role of the market and the state was required to achieve breakthroughs, Xinhua reported.
- While acknowledging China’s success, most participants also underscored that there was no one-size-fits-all development model that could be fully replicated to achieve growth.
FM has written to all Chief Ministers urging them to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT)
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has written to all Chief Ministers urging them to reduce VAT on petroleum products used in the manufacture of goods as the current system was leading to cascading of taxes on such goods under the GSTregime.
- Currently, crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel are out of GST purview. All other petroleum products fall under the new indirect tax.
- “The letter by Finance Minister highlights a concern being raised by the manufacturing sector in the country regarding the rise in input costs of petroleum products happening on account of transition to Goods and Services Tax regime,” the Finance Ministry said.
- In the post-GST scenario, manufactured goods attract GST while inputs of petroleum products used in the manufacturing attract VAT and, therefore, it would lead to cascading of taxes.
