Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 20 January 2018

::National::

20 AAP recommended by EC to be disqualified

In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, EC recommended to President Ram Nath Kovind that 20 of its MLAs be disqualified for holding offices of profit. The Commission’s counsel is binding on the President.
Amid reports of the proposed disqualification, some of the affected MLAs approached the Delhi High Court.
However, while the Court refused to pass any interim order, it asked the EC to clarify on January 22 if the recommendation had already been sent to the President, as the legislators had sought a hearing before the EC if such a communication had not been sent.
As and when the President issues orders on the Commission’s recommendation, by-polls for the seats held by these MLAs will have to be conducted. However, the party also has recourse to judicial review.
The AAP currently holds 65 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly and the disqualifications will not pose a threat to its government.
Nonetheless, the EC’s move triggered a political row, with opposition parties declaring the AAP had lost the right to remain in power. Targeting the party and its chief Arvind Kejriwal, the Congress and BJP welcomed the EC decision.
The AAP, however, accused the Chief Election Commissioner of trying to destabilise its government at the behest of the Prime Minister.
Coming out in defence, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “A Constitutional body cannot be used for political vendetta. The 20 AAP MLAs were not even given a hearing by the Hon EC. Most unfortunate. At this hour we are strongly with @arvindkejriwal and his team.”
The office-of-profit controversy was triggered after 21 AAP MLAs were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries in March 2015. The Delhi government then introduced an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, exempting the post from the definition of “office-of-profit.”
President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected the amendment in June 2015.The same month, advocate Prashant Patel petitioned the President seeking their disqualification on office-of-profit charge. The petition was referred to the EC.

Telangana asked centre to check spread of BG-III cotton

Telangana government has requested the Centre to formulate protocols and guidelines at the earliest to take steps to check the spread of herbicide tolerant variety cotton seed, popularly known as BG-III, which is not cleared by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), and is harming the biodiversity in the country.
A detailed presentation was made on the unauthorised spread of the unapproved cotton variety by Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority K. Keshavulu here on Friday before the visiting team of Field-level Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee (FISEC) appointed by the Centre on the issue of BG-III.
He also explained the initiatives taken by the State government in bringing the issue to the Centre’s notice constantly.
Leader of the visiting team, chief scientific officer in DBT, V.S. Reddy, complimented the efforts of Telangana government in highlighting the issue at national-level. The team arrived in Telangana after studying the issue in Gujarat and would be in Andhra Pradesh for the next two days.
Agriculture Production Commissioner C. Parthasarathi said all the stakeholders are in total confusion on the issue of BG-III in the absence of any guidelines from the Centre since the seed was unapproved.

India entered into Australia group to prevent proliferation of biological and chemical weapon

India on Friday joined the Australia Group, saying the membership will be mutually beneficial. MEA said India’s entry into the group, which aims to prevent proliferation of biological and chemical weapons, would ensure a more secure world.
“The Australia Group decided to admit India as its 43rd participant. India would like to thank each of the participants. Its entry would be mutually beneficial and further contribute to international security and non-proliferation objectives,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
Earlier, in a separate statement, the Australia Group said India’s membership would help to counter the “spread of materials, equipment and technologies that could contribute to the development or acquisition of chemical/biological weapons.”
Diplomats said the entry is a show of support from the international community for India’s non-proliferation records.
“India’s entry into the Australia Group shows our export controls and safeguards for biological and chemical agents, equipments and technologies meet the benchmarks established by the international community,” said Rakesh Sood, a former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.
India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) last year.

SC refused to entertain a plea to cancel the Censor Board certificate to the movie Padmaavat

The Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea to cancel the Censor Board certificate given to the movie Padmaavat .
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra dismissed submissions made by advocate M.L. Sharma that exhibiting the movie in certain States would be an open invitation for violence.
“This is a constitutional court. Maintaining law and order is not our job. That is the job of the State. Prayer is rejected,” Chief Justice Misra orally observed.
Mr. Sharma had sought cancellation of the U/A certificate granted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to Padmaavat on various grounds, including the provisions of the Cinematograph Act.
“Yesterday [Thursday], we passed a reasoned order,” Chief Justice Misra observed. The film is scheduled for national release on January 25.
This PIL to cancel the Censor Board certificate came hardly a day after the apex court had stayed the notifications and orders passed by certain States to prohibit the exhibition of the film, saying its “conscience is shocked” that States have guillotined creative rights.

Indian Navy is confident of commissioning Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) Vikrant

After several delays, the Indian Navy is confident of commissioning Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) Vikrant, currently under construction at Kochi, by October 2020, a senior officer said on Friday.
“IAC-I is expected to join the Navy in October 2020. All trial schedules have been worked out. We are going to sign advanced contracts with Cochin Shipyard Limited very soon,” said Commodore J. Chowdhary, principal director of naval design.
The IAC-I project has been delayed due to hold-ups in procurement, especially of 18 major equipment related to aviation complex, including the arrestor and the withstanding gear, from Russia.
The carrier is likely to be handed over to the Navy by December 2018 after which it will be put through harbour and sea trials before commissioning.
Vikrant borrows its name from India’s first aircraft carrier, the 20,000-tonneINSVikrant purchased from the U.K. India currently operates the 44,500-tonneINSVikramaditya procured from Russia.
LikeINS Vikramaditya , Vikrant too would employ the STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) mechanism with a ski-jump and arrestor cables to launch and recover aircraft.
It can operate 20 fighter jets and 10 other aircraft. The Mig-29K fighters currently in service with the Navy would also be on the deck of Vikrant .
Initially the plan was to have a mix of Mig-29K and the naval variant of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas.
The IAC-I project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 2003 and the keel for the 260-metre ship was laid in 2009.
The CCS had initially sanctioned Rs. 3,200 crore, which was subsequently revised to Rs. 19,341 crore.
In a 2016 report, the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) said that the “delivery of the carrier with completion of all activities is likely to be achieved only by 2023.” But Navy officials stated that all issues have now been resolved and the ship would join the Navy in 2020.
The Navy has already set sights on the IAC-II, which it envisages to be conventionally powered and to displace 65,000 tonnes with an advanced Catapult-based Aircraft Launch Mechanism (CATOBAR) similar to the U.S. Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for aircraft launch and recovery.

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::International::

US said that Hafiz Saeed should be prosecuted as terrorist

The U.S. said on Friday that it has told Pakistan clearly that Hafiz Saeed is a “terrorist” and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, reacting strongly to Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s remarks that there was no case against Saeed.
The reaction by the State Department came after Mr. Abbasi, during an interview to Geo TV, referred to Saeed sahib .
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said: “We believe that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law... He is listed by the UNSC 1267, the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee for targeted sanctions due to his affiliation with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a designated foreign terror organisation,” Ms. Nauert told reporters.
Ms. Nauert said: “We regard him as a terrorist, a part of a foreign terrorist organisation. He was the mastermind, we believe, of the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed many people, including Americans as well.” Saeed was released from house arrest in November.
Acknowledging that that the U.S. has had some challenging times with the government of Pakistan recently, Ms. Nauert said the administration expected Pakistan to do a lot more to address terrorism issues.
Earlier this month, the U.S. suspended about $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan. In retaliation, Pakistan reportedly suspended military and intelligence cooperation with the U.S. The State Department said it had not received any formal information in this regard.

::Business and economy::

US set to become second highest oil producer

The U.S. is set to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s number two oil producer after Russia this year, as shale companies ramp up drilling, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
Crude production of 9.9 million barrels per day in the U.S. was now at the highest level in nearly 50 years, “putting it neck-and-neck with Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest crude producer after Russia”, it said.
Crude recently rose above $70 per barrel for the first time since 2014 after OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to extend their combined cutbacks until the end of this year.

Ease of data putting pressure on compliance

Govt said the ease with which corporate data is available online had put pressure on companies to ensure compliance. It was also helping in preventing improprieties due to the fear of the possibility of such wrongdoings being detected.
“It’s now all open to public gaze (which) has its own advantages. There is a pressure to make sure that compliance takes place. Everyone realises that if there is any impropriety, the possibility of it being detected is going to be very high,” Mr. Jaitley said.
He added, “Therefore this transparency is good for the system, good for corporate India, it’s good that your details to the extent that are to be made public, are being made public.”
The National CSR Data Portal will capture information on CSR activities carried out by eligible companies, according to an official statement.
“The CSR portal contains all filed information, which can generate predefined reports with respect to expenditure across states, districts and development sectors,” it said, adding that the portal also provided for feedback on projects to be given by registered users.
The open access to data is expected to help researchers, improve quality of data filed by companies as well as involve intended beneficiaries in giving valuable feedback to companies. It will help in institutionalising and consolidating the CSR activities.
The Corporate Data Portal aims at making all the financial and non-financial information of the companies available in a user friendly format to the general public.
P.P. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Law and Justice suggested that CSR projects should be geo-tagged and aimed at helping the poor.
According to Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Corporate Affairs the CSR portal would facilitate the social audit of CSR projects.