CURRENT AFFAIRS 14 OCTOBER 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

14 OCTOBER 2019

BY SUMIT

IMPORTANT TOPICS IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,

INDIAN HISTORY,INDIAN POLITY,ECONOMY AND SOCIETY,

ENVIRONMENT  for TODAY TO LOOK AT .

1.WORLD BANK(GS-3)

CONTEXT: World Bank cuts India’s growth projection to 6%

2.Railways Act, 1989(GS-2)

CONTEXT:First private train violates Railway tarif law

3.GRADED RESPONSE ACTION PLAN (GRAP)(GS-2,3)

CONTEXT: Delhi’s air quality slips to ‘very poor’ category 

4.Stubble burning(GS-2,3)

CONTEXT: Punjab records 45% increase in farm fires

5. Sister Mariam Thresia(GS-1)

CONTEXT: Nun from Kerala declared saint 

6.Great Nicobar Island(GS-1,3)

CONTEXT:‘Foreign’ plastic invades Great Nicobar Island

7.What is a Red Notice?(GS-2,3)

CONTEXT: Red Notices against Nirav Modi’s brothers vanish They played a role in the PNB fraud

1.WORLD BANK(GS-3)

• CONTEXT: World Bank cuts India’s growth projection to 6%
• After a broad-based deceleration in the initial quarters of this fiscal year, India’s growth rate is projected to fall to 6%, the World Bank said on Sunday.
• In 2018-19, the growth rate of the country stood at 6.9%.
• However, the bank in its latest edition of the South Asia Economic Focus said the country was expected to gradually recover to 6.9% in 2021 and 7.2% in 2022 as it assumed that the monetary stance would remain accommodative, given benign price dynamics.
• The report, which has been released ahead of the annual meeting of the World Bank with the International Monetary Fund, noted India’s economic growth decelerated for the second consecutive year.
• The World Bank report also noted that the current account deficit had widened to 2.1% of the GDP in 2018-19 from 1.8% a year before, mostly reflecting a deteriorating trade balance

World Bank (WB)

• HQ – Washington
• Set up in 1944 with a charter to drive post-World War II reconstruction
• Officially known as IBRD ( International bank for reconstruction and Development)
• Provide long term soft loans to rebuild the third world (Soft loans interest rate is very low)
• The official goal or mission of the World Bank is reduction of poverty
• Aim – Promotion of foreign investment and international trade + Facilitation of capital investment

World Bank Consists of Two Institutions viz.

• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• The International Development Association (IDA)

World Bank Group Comprises of Five organizations viz.

• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• The International Development Association (IDA)
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Key Function Areas (Same as MDG)

• Universal Primary Education
• Gender Equality
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Poverty and Hunger
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Voting Power

• Voting power is based on economic size + International Development Association contributions.
• In 2010, voting powers at the World Bank were revised to increase the voice of developing countries, notably China. The countries with most voting power are:

• United States (15.85%)
• Japan (6.84%)
• China (4.42%)
• Germany (4.00%)
• United Kingdom (3.75%)
• France (3.75%)
• India (2.91%)
• Russia (2.77%), Saudi Arabia (2.77%) and Italy (2.64%)

WORLD BANK GROUP:

• 
  
• With 189 member countries, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.
• The Bank Group works with country governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, regional development banks, think tanks, and other international institutions on issues ranging from climate change, conflict, and food security to education, agriculture, finance, and trade

World Bank Group and India

• India was one of the forty-four original signatories to the agreements reached at Bretton Woods that established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• It was also one of the founding members of the IFC in 1956 and the IDA in 1960. India later became a member of the MIGA in January 1994.
• India is not a member of ICSID. India claimed ICSID Convention is not fair, convention's rules for arbitration leaned towards the developed countries. In ICSID, the Chairman of the Centre is the Chairman of the World Bank. The Chairman appoints the arbitrators. If the arbitration award is not satisfactory, then the aggrieved party would appeal to a panel, which will also be constituted by the ICSID. There is no scope for a review of the award by an Indian court, even if the award is against public interest.
• IBRD lending to India commenced in 1949 with a loan to the Indian railways; the first investment by the IFC in India took place in 1959, and by IDA in 1961 (a highway construction project).
• During the 1950s, the IBRD was India's sole source of World Bank borrowings.
• By the end of the decade, India's mounting debt problems became an important factor in the launch of the IDA, the soft loan affiliate of the World Bank (WB) group.
• By the end of the 1960s, the United States, until then India's largest source of external resources, sharply cut its bilateral aid program. Since then, the WB emerged as the most important source of official long-term finance.
• During the 1960s and 1970s, the IDA accounted for nearly three-fourths of all WB lending to India and, in turn, India was by far the largest recipient of IDA funds, accounting for more than two-fifths of all its lending.
• The subsequent decade, with China joining the WB in 1980 and accordingly entering its own claims to limited IDA resources, the worsening economic fortunes of Africa, and India's better performance, saw a sharp decline in India's share in IDA.
• Instead, its share of IBRD lending grew sharply in the 1980s, buoyed by its improving credit-worthiness and the Indian government's waning inhibitions with regard to non-concessional borrowing.
• During the 1980s, while the WB shifted its emphasis to stress policy reforms and greater economic liberalization, it continued to lend to poorly governed public sector institutions in India and was muted in its criticism of India's closed economy.
• The lending portfolio changed sharply after the 1991 macroeconomic crisis. In the immediate aftermath, India became one of the last important WB borrowers to partake of structural adjustment lending, which supported policy reforms in finance, taxation, and the investment and trade regime.
• India is currently classified as a “blend” country — defined as one in transition from lower middle-income to middle-income — and is creditworthy for lending from both IDA and IBRD.
• India is the largest IBRD client of the World Bank. Between 2015 and 2018, the World Bank lent around $10.2 billion to India.
• The World Bank Group (WBG) has approved a $25-30 billion commitment plan for India for the period 2019-22.
• MIGA Performance Standards are environmental and social standards which help to structure and implement sustainable projects. For Indian market, one of the options is a breach of contract insurance which MIGA would offer to investors. In case the government doesn’t perform its obligation, under the contract arrangement, then MIGA can come and cover that risk for investment

2.Railways Act, 1989(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:First private train violates Railway tarif law
• The country’s first private train has contravened the Railways Act, 1989, since the Central government is the competent authority to decide on tariff?? and not the IRCTC, say top railway offi??­ cials. The much­publicised train service, flagged off on the Lucknow­Delhi­Lucknow route earlier this month, charges a higher fare than the existing Shatabdi Express and other trains on the same route.

Railways Act, 1989:

• The Railways Act, 1989 is an Act of the Parliament of India which regulates all aspects of rail transport. The Act came into force from 1989. It replaced the Railways Act, 1890. The Act provides in detail the legislative provisions regarding railway zones, construction and maintenance of works, passenger and employee services

 IRCTC:

• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the latter, with around 5,50,000 to 6,00,000 bookings every day is the world's second busiest and highest of 15 to 16 Lakh tickets every day. Its tagline is "Lifeline of the nation".

3.GRADED RESPONSE ACTION PLAN (GRAP)(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT: Delhi’s air quality slips to ‘very poor’ category 

• Ahead of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) that is scheduled to kick­in on October 15 to check rising air pollution in the Capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said all the gains achieved so far to combat pollution would be nullified if neighbouring States do not stop crop burning. On a day when several monitoring stations across the city showed the Air Quality Index (AQI) as “very poor”, Mr. Kejriwal tweeted: “All the gains achieved so far on pollution front will be nullified. Whereas, we need to do a lot in Delhi and we are trying, however, all governments and all agencies need to work to stop crop burning also (sic).”

GRADED RESPONSE ACTION PLAN (GRAP):

What is GRAP?

• Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016.
• It works only as an emergency measure.
• As such, the plan does not include action by various state governments to be taken throughout the year to tackle industrial, vehicular and combustion emissions.
• When the air quality shifts from poor to very poor, the measures listed have to be followed since the plan is incremental in nature.

Has it been helpful?

• It has created a step-by-step plan for the entire Delhi-NCR region and getting on board several agencies including pollution control boards, industrial area authorities, municipal corporations, regional officials of the India Meteorological Department, and others.
• It has been successful in fixing accountability and deadlines. For each action to be taken under a particular air quality category, executing agencies are clearly marked.
• Coordination among as many as 13 agencies from four states is simplified to a degree because of the clear demarcation of responsibilities.
• Three major policy decisions that can be credited to EPCA and GRAP are the closure of the thermal power plant at Badarpur, bringing BS-VI fuel to Delhi before the deadline set initially, and the ban on Pet coke as a fuel in Delhi NCR.

Overview of the plan:

• The plan requires action and coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan (NCR areas).
• At the head of the table is the EPCA, mandated by the Supreme Court.
• Before the imposition of any measures, EPCA holds a meeting with representatives from all NCR states, and a call is taken on which actions has to be made applicable in which town.

Measures announced:

• Severe+ or Emergency- (PM 2.5 over 300 µg/cubic metre or PM10 over 500 µg/cu. m. for 48+ hours):
• Stop entry of trucks into Delhi (except essential commodities).
• Stop construction work.
• Introduce odd/even scheme for private vehicles and minimise exemptions.
• Task Force to decide any additional steps including shutting of schools.
• Severe- (PM 2.5 over 250 µg/cu. m. or PM10 over 430 µg/cu. m.):
• Close brick kilns, hot mix plants, stone crushers.
• Maximise power generation from natural gas to reduce generation from coal.
• Encourage public transport, with differential rates.
• More frequent mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water.
• Very Poor- (PM2.5 121-250 µg/cu. m. or PM10 351-430 µg/cu. m.):
• Stop use of diesel generator sets.
• Enhance parking fee by 3-4 times.
• Increase bus and Metro services.
• Apartment owners to discourage burning fires in winter by providing electric heaters during winter.
• Advisories to people with respiratory and cardiac conditions to restrict outdoor movement.
• Moderate to poor- (PM2.5 61-120 µg/cu. m. or PM10 101-350 µg/cu. m.):
• Heavy fines for garbage burning.
• Close/enforce pollution control regulations in brick kilns and industries.
• Mechanised sweeping on roads with heavy traffic and water sprinkling.
• Strictly enforce ban on firecrackers....GREEN CRACKERS INTRODUCED

Way ahead:

• One criticism of the EPCA as well as GRAP has been the focus on Delhi. While other states have managed to delay several measures, citing lack of resources, Delhi has always been the first one to have stringent measures enforced.
• For GRAP as well as EPCA, the next challenge is to extend the measures to other states effectively.

4.Stubble burning(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT: Punjab records 45% increase in farm fires
• State govt. says overall count will be less than 2018 due to intensive interventions
• The paddy harvesting season has started in Punjab and the State has already recorded a 45% increase in stubble burning incidents till October 11, but the administration hopes the farm fire counts will come down gradually as a result of intensive interventions made this year. The period between October 15 and November 15 is considered critical as most farmers harvest their paddy crop during this period. According to data from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), the State had recorded 435 incidents of stubble burning till October 11 last year. This year, the figure has shot up to 630

What is stubble burning?

• Stubble burning is a common practice followed by farmers in the neighboring states Haryana and Punjab to prepare fields for sowing of wheat in November as there is little time left between the harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat.
• Stubble burning results in emission of harmful gases such carbon diaoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide along with particulate matter.

Advantages of stubble burning:

• It quickly clears the field and is the cheapest alternative.
• Kills weeds, including those resistant to herbicide.
• Kills slugs and other pests.
• Can reduce nitrogen tie-up.

What’s the issue?

• Stubble burning is adversely affecting environment and public health. The problem has not been fully tackled and the adverse impacts on the air quality and consequent impacts on the citizens’ health and lives are undisputed.

What needs to be done- Supreme Court’s observations?

• The Problem is required to be resolved by taking all such measures as are possible in the interest of public health and environment protection.
• Incentives could be provided to those who are not burning the stubble and disincentives for those who continue the practice.
• The existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme must be so interpreted as to enable the States concerned to wholly or partly deny the benefit of MSP to those who continue to burn the crop residue.
• Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has also been directed to be present to “find a lasting solution.”
• The Central government should convene a meeting with the States.

5. Sister Mariam Thresia(GS-1)

• CONTEXT: Nun from Kerala declared saint 
• Pope Francis canonises Sister Mariam Thresia at grand ceremony in Vatican
• Sister Mariam Thresia, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family, was declared a saint by Pope Francis at a grand ceremony in Vatican City on Sunday. The nun, who hailed from Thrissur district in Kerala, was canonised along with English Cardinal John Henry Newman, Swiss laywoman Marguerite Bays, Brazilian nun Dulce Lopes, and Italian nun Giuseppina Vannini

Beatified in 2000 

• Mariam Thresia was born in Puthenchira, a sleepy village in Thrissur district, on April 26, 1876 as the third daughter of Chiramel Mankidiyan Thoma and Thanda. From an early age, she led a life of austerity and penance. Along with three of her friends, she helped the poor, nursed the sick and comforted lonely persons in her parish. In 1914, she found the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family. She served as a nun for 11 years. She died at Kuzhikkattussery on June 8, 1926 at the age of 50. She was declared venerable in June 1999 and beatified on April 9, 2000.
•  Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to her in 2009. A medical team from Vatican accepted on March 22, 2018 that a baby boy with life­threatening respiratory problems had been cured with her intercession. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme on September 29, had referred to Sister Mariam Thresia and said that was a matter of pride for every Indian.

6.Great Nicobar Island(GS-1,3)

• CONTEXT:‘Foreign’ plastic invades Great Nicobar Island
• Researchers have found litter from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand on the island, which hosts a biosphere reserve
• The pristine beaches of the Great Nicobar Island, India’s southernmost territory, are under threat from plastic. A survey of five beaches in the islands recorded the presence of plastic bottles.
• Sixty of these were analysed and found to be of ‘non-Indian origin,’ according to researchers, whose findings appear in the latest edition of Current Science.
• “Major portion of the litter (40.5%) was of Malaysian origin. It was followed by Indonesia (23.9%) and Thailand (16.3%). Other countries contributed a minor portion,” researchers Biraja Kumar Sahu and B. Baskar note in their study.

Great Nicobar Island:

• Great Nicobar is the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands of India, north of Sumatra.
• The island of Sumatra is located 180 km (110 mi) to the south of Great Nicobar. The island covers 921 km2 (356 sq mi) but is sparsely inhabited, with a population of 8067, largely being covered by rainforest and known for its diverse wildlife.
• The island has several rivers, including the Alexandra, Amrit Kaur, Dogmar and Galathea. Virtually all rivers flow in a southern or southwesterly direction, which is indicative of the general slope of the terrain across the island. There are undulating hills throughout the island, with the main range running in a north-south orientation. Mount Thullier, which is part of this range, has the highest elevation of any point in the Nicobars, at 642 m above sea level
• Indira Point (6°45’10″N and 93°49’36″E) is the southernmost point of the Great Nicobar Island and India itself. Indira Point subsided 4.25 m in the 26 December 2004 tsunami and the lighthouse there was damaged. The lighthouse was subsequently made functional.

7.What is a Red Notice?(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT: Red Notices against Nirav Modi’s brothers vanish 
• They played a role in the PNB fraud
• The Red Notices issued against Neeshal and Nehal, brothers of Nirav Modi, the “mastermind” of the Punjab National Bank fraud, are not available on the Interpol website anymore. It is not clear whether the notices have been executed or withdrawn

What is a Red Notice?

• A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
• It contains two main types of information:
• Information to identify the wanted person, such as their name, date of birth, nationality, hair and eye colour, photographs and fingerprints if available.
• Information related to the crime they are wanted for, which can typically be murder, rape, child abuse or armed robbery.
• Red Notices are published by INTERPOL at the request of a member country, and must comply with INTERPOL’s Constitution and Rules. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.

How many Red Notices are there?

• There are currently approximately 58,000 valid Red Notices, of which some 7,000 are public.
• The majority of Red Notices are restricted to law enforcement use only.
• In some cases, for example where the public’s help is needed to locate an individual or they pose a threat to public safety, a public extract of the Red Notice is published on this website.
• In 2018, INTERPOL issued 13,516 Red Notices.

Who are the subjects of Red Notices?

• Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. This follows judicial proceedings in the country issuing the request. This is not always the home country of the individual, but the country where the crime was committed.
• When a person is sought for prosecution, they have not been convicted and should be considered innocent until proven guilty. A person sought to serve a sentence means they have been found guilty by a court in the issuing country.

What checks are done before a Red Notice is issued?

• Every Red Notice request is checked by a specialised task force to ensure it is compliant with our rules. This review takes into account information available at the time of publication.
• Whenever new and relevant information is brought to the attention of the General Secretariat after a Red Notice has been issued, the task force re-examines the case.

Are the individuals wanted by INTERPOL?

• No, they are wanted by a country or an international tribunal.
• INTERPOL cannot compel the law enforcement authorities in any country to arrest someone who is the subject of a Red Notice.
• Each member country decides what legal value it gives to a Red Notice and the authority of their law enforcement officers to make arrests.

Why are Red Notices important?

• They are used to simultaneously alert police in all our member countries about internationally wanted fugitives. Police in other countries can then be on the watch for them and use the Red Notice to support extradition proceedings.
• Red Notices help bring fugitives to justice, sometimes many years after the original crime was committed.