Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

24 October 2015

:: International ::

70 years of United Nations

• More than 100 countries on Friday challenged Security Council powers to restrict their use of the veto as the United Nations turned 70, with a joint pledge not to oppose resolutions on mass atrocities.

• The initiative is aimed at avoiding the kind of gridlock that has paralyzed the Security Council on Syria, with Russia and China vetoing any attempt to sanction the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

• With 104 countries on board including Security Council permanent members France and Britain, the "code of conduct" won backing from a majority of the UN's 193 member states.

• Supporters of the drive have lobbied countries for months to sign on to the pledge and pointedly announced the outcome on the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

• Under the measure, countries commit "not to vote against a credible draft resolution" that seeks to end or prevent genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.

• The code of conduct leaves it to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to determine when an outbreak of violence could lead to mass atrocities.

• Other than the five permanent members, the Security Council has 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms who vote on resolutions but have no veto power.

• Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and Mexico were also among the pledge signatories, as well as three of the countries set to take up non-permanent seats in January: Japan, Ukraine and Uruguay.

• The code was drafted by a group of countries known as the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group, led by Liechtenstein.

• Their campaign chimes with a separate French proposal to restrict the use of the Security Council veto in cases of mass atrocities.

• France's idea has won support from 73 countries, but is rejected outright by Russia while China and the United States have reacted coolly.

Germany toughens rules for asylum seekers

• Germany is set to toughen up its asylum rules, a week ahead of schedule, as it faces an unprecedented number of refugees arriving from Syria and elsewhere.

• The new bill, adopted by parliament at exceptional speed, had been expected to take effect on November 1.

• But it was published in the country's legal gazette on Friday, which means it will become operational on Saturday.

• Peter Altmaier, the minister coordinating the government's asylum policy, told ARD television the move was 'a signal' to would-be asylum seekers.

• Germany has become Europe's top destination for refugees, most of whom travel through Turkey and the Balkans.

• It is expecting to receive up to a million migrants this year, after about 200,000 in 2014.

• Chancellor Angela Merkel has attempted to rally Germans to the task of welcoming hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution.

• However, she now faces a backlash for her open-door policy and has seen her approval rating fall in the process.

Hurricane Patricia, one of strongest storms ever, slams into Mexico

• Hurricane Patricia, one of the most powerful storms on record, struck Mexico's Pacific coast on Friday, threatening to inflict catastrophic damage as emergency teams scrambled to evacuate thousands of people from homes and popular beach resorts.

• Blowing winds of almost 165 miles per hour (266 km/h), the Category 5 hurricane had western Mexico on high alert, including Puerto Vallarta and smaller resorts along the coast.

• Pamela Garcia, a spokeswoman for Mexico's meteorological service, said Patricia hit near Punta Perula between Puerto Vallarta and the major cargo port of Manzanillo.

• US weather experts said Patricia was the strongest storm yet registered in the Western Hemisphere, and the World Meteorogical Organization (WMO) compared it to Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands in the Philippines in 2013.

• Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said it was hard to predict what damage would be done by the massive storm, which could be seen barreling into Mexico from outer space.

:: Business ::

RBI retains dominant role in Monetary Policy Committee

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has retained its authority and dominant role in deciding interest rates and setting inflation targets for the country.

• The proposed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will have three nominees from the central bank, including the governor, three independent nominees, and one government nominee, as per the Cabinet note moved on Friday by the finance ministry.

• The announcement of the MPC was made by finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget early this year. The RBI governor Raghuram Rajan was in favour of such an arrangement that is followed by several leading central banks around the world, including the US Federal Reserve.

• However, the government recently faced flak for a proposal that called for a seven-member MPC containing four government nominees and did not allow for a veto for the RBI chief.

• Experts had criticised the proposal, claiming a government-dominated monetary committee would undermine the central bank's ability to keep inflation under control.

• The finance ministry on Friday said it has moved a Cabinet note on setting up the MPC, which will retain dominant role of the RBI in the proposed interest-rate setting panel, according to PTI.

• The revised draft of the Indian Financial Code (IFC), released by the ministry in July, had suggested doing away with RBI governor's veto power and proposed a seven-member committee to take decisions by a majority vote.

• Under the current system, RBI governor is appointed by the government, but controls monetary policy and has veto power over the existing advisory committee of RBI members and outside appointees that sets rates.

• The formal objective of the MPC is to maintain price stability along with growth, said a ministry official. The MPC will also set inflation targets.

•  Apart from the RBI governor, the central bank can nominate two members - one deputy RBI governor and an officer - and one non-voting member from the government.

:: Sports ::

BCCI Members Divided Over Manohar Proposals

• The BCCI is proposing a host of changes in rules and regulations, which will come up for discussion at the annual general meeting on November 9.

• Members feel the Supreme Court’s intervention in board matters which led to the Lodha Commission’s inquiry is the driving force behind this attempt to repair image, which has been damaged after the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

• According to some board members, appointing an independent observer to monitor conflict of interest, changes in methods of electing office bearers, putting in place a system to check how board grants are used and limiting the number of members in sub-committees are among the changes proposed.

• The working committee has already discussed these and AGM is the place where a majority of members are expected to express their views.

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