Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 June 2016

:: National ::

Basic trainer aircraft HTT-40 successfully flies

It was a thumbs-up for local design and make of military aircraft as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar watched HTT-40, the basic trainer aircraft for Air Force pilots, ceremonially touch the skies.
It has to be certified over the next two years.
It was victory for the design team of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., as its baby soared and turned.
Mr. Parikkar had a special word of praise for Project Manager Prashant Singh Bhadoria for seeing it through its hurdles.
The IAF, which will follow a two-aircraft, three-phase training, may need about 210 trainers against the earlier 181.
It may top up its June 2015 plan to buy 70 HTT-40s with another 30 or 40, Mr. Parrikar said.
The trainer could be up to 25 per cent cheaper than the imported trainer and may also generate business of Rs. 3,000-4,000 crore for vendors from Bengaluru and Hyderabad in future.
The final decision on acquiring Rafale medium multi-role fighter aircraft for the IAF could be taken after six weeks, Mr. Parrikar said.

IIT-B moved from 46 to 35 in the Quacquarelli Symonds university rankings

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has moved up in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings: Asia, from last year’s rank of 46 to 35 this year.
The results were released by QS, a British company which is a leading global provider of specialist higher education and career information and solutions.
IIT-B’s overall score is 76 out of 100. The institute has a score of 87.8 in academic reputation, 98.8 in employer reputation, and 100 in staff with PhD.
IITB ranks second in India, below the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, which is at 33.

First official transit to India’s north-east via the inland waterways of Bangladesh

The India-Bangladesh waterways transit, carrying goods from Kolkata, was inaugurated in Dhaka.
In a first for New Delhi-Dhaka relations, the vessel carrying Indian goods consigned for Tripura marked the official transit to India’s north-east via the inland waterways of Bangladesh.
The vessel from Kolkata, carrying a thousand tonnes of iron rods, was received at Ashuganj port in Bangladesh by Shahjahan Khan, the Bangladeshi Shipping Minister, and Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
India will be investing in creating infrastructure (Port, Road and Rail) in Ashuganj and Akhaura, Bangladesh, to facilitate the smooth movement of goods. The projects would also create jobs for the local people of Bangladesh.
The opening is part of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade signed by the Prime Ministers of the two nations last year.
The transit would reduce the transportation cost substantially to carry goods from rest of India to country’s north-east as the distance reduces from about 1,700 km via Siliguri in north Bengal to about 500 km via Bangladesh.

:: International ::

Strategically important Fallujah taken back from IS

After weeks of fighting, Iraqi forces entered central areas of Fallujah, facing little resistance by the Islamic State (IS), as thousands of civilians fled in a new wave of displacement that has overwhelmed the ability of aid agencies to care for them.
Counterterrorism forces raised the Iraqi flag over the main government building in central Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, which was the first target of U.S. forces when they invaded the city in 2004.
The rapid, and unexpected, gains suggested a shift in tactics by the Sunni extremists, or perhaps a sign of their weakness, as they abandoned their dug-in positions and regrouped in western neighbourhoods.
That allowed thousands of civilians, which aid groups had said were being held as human shields, to flee across two bridges over the Euphrates river beginning.
The U.S., which has led a coalition targeting the IS with airstrikes for almost two years in Iraq, has supported the battle for Fallujah with air power, even as it has raised concerns about the role of Shia militias backed by Iran in the fight.
Fallujah has been in the hands of the IS since the end of 2013.
Tthe UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said she was receiving reports that perhaps 10,000 families, or 60,000 people, were on the move toward government-held areas of western Anbar province, where camps for the displaced are already overwhelmed and lack basic supplies.

U.S. diplomats demand action against Assad

Dozens of U.S. State Department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates U.S. military action to pressure Syria’s government into accepting a cease-fire and engaging in peace talks.
The “dissent channel cable” was signed by about 50 mostly mid-level department officials who deal with U.S. policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document.
It expresses clear frustration with America’s inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of U.S. President Barack Obama’s reluctance to enter the fray.
Mr. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013.
But he only has authorised strikes against the Islamic State and other U.S.-designated terror groups in Syria.
While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favoured diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syria’s leader out of power.

:: Business and Economy ::

Portfolio managers and REITs to be made more attractive

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) plans to relax norms for portfolio managers to enable more offshore fund managers to relocate to India.
The regulator is also looking to change the norms for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to attract more real estate companies in the sector.
The board of SEBI decided to release consultation papers on regulations for portfolio managers and REITs so that the current norms could be amended based on public feedback.
Earlier, there have been issues related to the manner in which such entities would be taxed. In the Union Budget 2015-16, the Income Tax Act, 1961 was amended by inserting Section 9A - popularly known as ‘Safe Harbour Norms.”
The clause laid down that such fund management activities would not constitute as business in India subject to certain criteria, including the Eligible Fund Manager getting registered with SEBI.
The capital market regulator intends to review the procedure for registration of overseas fund managers who want to relocate to India and also there obligations and responsibilities.
Such fund managers would not be required to comply with certain provisions related to audit of overseas fund, minimum investment requirement of Rs.25 lakh and reporting requirements with respect to the overseas fund.
For REITs, the regulator is of the view that restriction on special purpose vehicles (SPVs) on investing in other SPVs should be removed and REITs should be allowed to invest up to 20 per cent in under-construction assets.
The regulator will also review the norms related to the number of sponsors in each REITs and align the minimum public holding requirement with SCRR - (Securities Contract (Regulation) Rules. SEBI will also clarify on the roles and responsibilities of trustee and its associates of REITs.

India and South Korea will look to boost trade and investment ties

India and South Korea will jointly review their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost trade and investment ties.
The FTA, officially called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), had come into effect in 2010.
The FTA review will involve, among other things, fresh negotiations on elimination/reduction of duties on various products.
Indian steel makers want steel products to be excluded from the scope of FTA as a surge in cheaper steel imports was hurting them.

Fall in export is getting arrested says Govt

Commerce Minister said the Centre was looking into reasons for decline in merchandise exports since December 2014 and plans to ‘arrest the fall’ by extending interest subsidy and other incentives.
“I can see that the fall (in goods exports) is getting arrested and pick-up is slowly showing up. The pick-up may be slow but the bottoming out has happened. From now, it (exports) will show a slow but steady rise.”
Merchandise exports have been shrinking for 18 consecutive months since December 2014 but the contraction in May 2016 at (-) 0.79 per cent was at the slowest pace since then.
The Minister said the government was studying sector-wise contraction in exports in a bid toextend help through interest subsidy and other incentives.
On the 20 per cent duty imposed on sugar exports, Ms. Sitharaman said it was done to ensure greater availability of the commodity in the domestic market.