Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 23 November 2017

::NATIONAL::

Union Cabinet approved an Ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to promulgate an Ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
move is to strengthen the IBC by explicitly preventing certain persons — including wilful defaulters, disqualified directors, those who have indulged in fraudulent transactions as well as promoters whose account is classified as NPA beyond a prescribed duration.
The IBC provides for an effective and robust legal framework for “time-bound insolvency resolution to release assets locked up in NPA and promote maximisation of value of assets, failing which, under-utilised resources of unviable business are released through liquidation.”
These amendments have been proposed because in the initial phase of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the IBC, a number of cases are likely to have long pending default requiring deep haircut for the creditors, the sources said.
The ordinance is likely to be tabled during the winter session of Parliament with a view to get its nod soon.The President’s nod for the ordinance is expected shortly.

India successfully test-fired the air-launched version of the BrahMos cruise missile

In a first, India successfully test-fired the air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from an IAF Su-30MKI aircraft.
BrahMos, which is multi-platform, multi-mission missile, is now capable of being launched from land, sea and air and completes the tactical cruise missile triad.
“The air-launched BrahMos missile is a 2.5 ton supersonic air-to-surface cruise missile with ranges of more than 400 km. The IAF is the first Air Force in the world to have successfully fired an air-launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category,” the IAF said.
The missile was gravity-dropped from the Su-30MKI from its fuselage, and the two stage engine fired up and propelled towards the intended target, a ship, in the Bay of Bengal.
BrahMos weighing 2.5 ton is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on the Su-30 fighter aircraft which was modified by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to carry the weapon.
The integration of the missile on the aircraft was a complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications on the aircraft. In fact, the test launch had been delayed by the complexities in the integration.
The software development of the aircraft was undertaken by the IAF engineers.
The land and sea variants of BrahMos are already operational with the Army and the Navy. The original range was 290 km in line with the limitations of the Missile Technology Control Regime.
After India joined the grouping in June 2016, the range was extended to 450 km and would be further extended to 600 km.
BrahMos is a joint venture with Russia and named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. The development trials of an anti-shipping variant began in 2003 and combat trials in 2005.
The significance of the development is that in an increasingly complex air defence environment, the missile gives long stand-off distance to the IAF to strike targets deep inside the enemy territory and get away quickly.

win for India’s nominee to ICJ, Justice Dalveer Bhandari, was unprecedented

win for India’s nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Justice Dalveer Bhandari, was unprecedented in many ways, but not the first time that India nearly missed the post due to delays in nominating him.
In 2011, India failed to put up a candidate for the Asian group vacancy that had come up with the retirement of the Japanese justice, and rectified the miss only in 2012, when a by-election came up, and Justice Bhandari was named.
This time around, Justice Bhandari’s nomination was announced only in June, while his main rival in the ‘Asian’ grouping Nawaf Salam had nearly two years for his campaign.
There were more difficulties. While there is no formal stipulation on the subject, the ICJ’s composition of 15 judges follows a geographical break-up: three each for Asia and Africa; two each for Latin America and Eastern Europe; and five for Western Europe and other States.
It has nearly always had one winning candidate from each of the P-5 or permanent members of the Security Council.
In addition, the only other Asian candidate besides Justice Bhandari was Mr. Salam, who had been the Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations since 2007, and is a well-known figure.
What surprised even the Indian officials, however, was the low vote count the U.K. received in every round from the General Assembly.
Eventually the last mile was run by all the government’s arms, with Ms. Swaraj herself speaking to her counterparts in 60 countries to support India against the U.K.
The British candidate, Christopher Greenwood, also faced flak personally, as his was the legal advice that sanctioned U.K. to take part in the Iraq invasion in 2003, and India looked close to winning its target of two-thirds of the UN General Assembly on Monday, when the U.K. decided to bow out of the race.

Some Indian institutions have made it to the top 20 in the QS University rankings

Some Indian institutions have made it to the top 20 in the QS University rankings: BRICS 2018.
However, the top three slots are with Chinese universities. Tsinghua University, Peking University and Fudan University of China are at the top of the rankings.
Four Indian institutions — IIT Bombay, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kanpur — feature in the top 20, with IIT Bombay at the ninth position.
IIT Roorkee is ranked 51, IIT Gauhati 52 and Calcutta University 64. UGC Chairman V.S. Chauhan said the rankings for all their complexities had given the Indian universities the opportunity to collate the good work done by them.

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::BUSINESS AND ECONOMY::

After GST government now turned their attention on direct tax

With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in place, the government has now turned its attention towards improving India’s direct tax regime by constituting a task force to review the country’s 56-year old Income Tax law and suggest a new law to replace it.
Finance Ministry formed a task force led by Central Board of Direct Taxes Member Arbind Modi to review the Income Tax Act, 1961 and draft a new direct tax law in consonance with economic needs of the country.
“The terms of reference of the task force is to draft an appropriate direct tax legislation keeping in view the direct tax system prevalent in various countries, international best practices, the economic needs of the country and any other matter connected thereto,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sought a redrafting of the archaic Income Tax law to make it simpler and raise India’s low direct tax base, at a meeting with tax administrators this September.
The task force had been given six months to submit its report to the Centre. Hence, a decision on the tax law overhaul is unlikely in the 2018-19 Union Budget.
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian will be a permanent special invitee in the task force that also includes academics, private sector tax experts and a retired Indian Revenue Service officer.
The NDA government had put the code in cold storage after assuming office in May 2014.

COAI has sought one more month to implement the OTP-based system for linking Aadhaar

The Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) has sought at least one more month to implement the OTP-based system for linking Aadhaar with mobile numbers, slated to come into effect December 1 onwards.
Considering the technical changes that the TSPs have to undergo, the timelines for implementation of any such process should be realistic, at least 4-6 weeks from the date of the process being finalised and implementation orders issued by the DoT.
The letter dated November 20 also sought the UIDAI to issue the process for OTP based re-verification, consisting of SMS, mobile application and web-based methods.
This will create a lot of confusion as subscribers would expect the process to be live on December 1 and the industry would not be ready, it had added.

Cabinet set the ball rolling for the constitution of the Fifteenth Finance Commission

The Cabinet set the ball rolling for the constitution of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, which will decide the devolution formula for revenue-sharing between the Centre and States from the year 2020 till 2025.
The Commission, whose members and terms of reference will be notified soon, will have to grapple with the significant changes in the taxation framework, such as the Goods and Services Tax, which has replaced the earlier indirect taxation system.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Cabinet had given an in-principle nod to constitute the Commission and finalise its terms of reference.
The Fourteenth Finance Commission, whose recommendations were accepted by the government and are effective till March 31, 2020, had mooted a ten percentage points jump in States’ share of the central pool of taxes from 32% earlier to 42%.
“India is a Union of States, the Union also has to survive,” Mr. Jaitley said in jest, hinting that the Centre hoped the devolution of shareable taxes did not compromise on its own capacity to spend.
“The Fifteenth Finance Commission’s recommendations have to be in place before April 1, 2020. The normal experience is that a Finance Comission takes about two years to undertake consultations and finalise its report,” said Mr. Jaitley, explaining the timing of the Cabinet decision.
“It is natural that compared to the previous Finance Commissions, the exercise will be different this time. Because, after the GST, it’s no longer the same pattern,” Mr. Jaitley pointed out.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Driverless buses from 2022 in Singapore

Driverless buses will appear on some roads in Singapore from 2022 as part of plans to improve mobility in the land-scarce city-state, its Transport Minister said on Wednesday.
Singapore has so far avoided the massive traffic jams that choke other Asian cities like Manila and Jakarta by imposing road tolls, spending massively on public transport and becoming one of the world’s most expensive places to own a car.
It now plans to embrace self-driving technology to further reduce reliance on cars and improve how people get around.
Driverless buses will be deployed during off-peak traffic hours in three new suburban towns designed to accommodate the vehicles in a pilot project, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
Mr. Khaw said the technology will help Singapore “alleviate its tight land and manpower limits that currently constrain our land transport system” and that he hopes the city-state can become a key global player in the sector.
Singapore is asking for input from industry and research institutions on what is needed to implement the project, with industry proposals to be invited after May 2018, he said.
Around 10 local and foreign companies are currently in Singapore to test their driverless vehicle technology, Mr. Khaw said.