Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 November 2016

:: National ::

Supreme Court took stock of the situation for demonetisation

Apprehending “riots,” the SC refused the government’s plea to stay cases filed against inconveniences caused by demonetisation in High Courts and lower courts across the country.
Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur observed that the very fact that cases are being filed in courts all over is a signal that the problem is “serious and of magnitude.”
“They are going to the courts for relief. We cannot shut our doors to the people,” Chief Justice Thakur said, refusing the government’s plea.
“This is very serious. This will require great consideration. People have become frantic, people are affected... There may be riots,” the Bench, also comprising Justice Anil R. Dave, told Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi.
“That is completely wrong. People are patiently standing,” Mr. Rohatgi protested.

Tussle between Govt and SCregarding appointments

The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, refused to accept the government’s rejection of 43 names it handpicked for judicial appointments in various High Courts.
The battle lines were drawn when the Supreme Court informed the government that it had reiterated every one of the 43 names that was sent back by the Centre to the Collegium for re-consideration. The Collegium had met on November 15.
The government is now on a sticky wicket as the new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is yet to be finalised.
The prevalent procedure is that once the Collegium has reiterated its recommendations, as in this case, the government is bound to clear the names for appointment as judges.
The government had returned the 43, out of a total 77 names, recommended by the Collegium. The appointments of the remaining 34 names have already been completed by the government.

Govt may clear the scheme for grading CSIR scientists

A controversial proposal to grade the performance of CSIR scientists is expected to be soon cleared by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who is also the president of The CSIR, which is India’s largest chain of publicly-funded research laboratories.
“It just needs to be signed by the PM and cleared by the governing body and will soon be implemented,” Girish Sahni, Director-General.
The new appraisal system will reduce the importance to research publications and gives greater weight to developing products as also scientists who have successfully collaborated with industry and been part of teams to develop marketable products.
The new system proposes to encapsulate a scientist’s performance into a single equation and is a departure from the existing format of having scientists internally evaluated by their peers.
The 75-year-old CSIR has a large network of 38 laboratories spread across the country that are involved in a wide range of research from battery technology and genomics to glass-making.
Over the years, the Council has emerged as India’s biggest publisher of research papers as well as the largest patentee, though only a fraction of these have been become commercial products.
That was because different CSIR labs had different mandates: some were focussed at looking for drugs, some for testing if potential drugs were safe or could be made more efficient.

SC wants steps in the direction of NRI voting

The Supreme Court asked the government to detail the steps taken by it to amend the Representation of People Act to give Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) the status of “special voters”.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur emphasised that NRIs cannot participate in the voting process unless there is an amendment in the law. The Bench asked the government to file its status report by November 28.
Election Commission's counsel and senior advocate Meenakshi Arora submitted that the poll body has already recommended that the government take necessary steps to amend the law for NRI voters.
In this context, in October 2014, the Election Commission had prepared a report titled 'Exploring Feasibility of Alternative Options for Voting by Overseas Electors' and presented it in court.
Ms. Arora said the Representation of People Act was amended to include service personnel abroad in the electoral process. “We send ballot papers and they will be returned after vote is cast,” the counsel submitted.
The court was hearing separate petitions filed by V.P. Shamsheer, a UAE-based doctor, and NagenderChindam, chairman of Pravasi Bharat in London, on the issue of giving voting rights to NRIs.

:: International ::

World is united on Paris climate deal

For a U.N. climate summit that began under the shadows of the U.S. presidential election results, which ended with the ascent of Donald Trump, a climate change denier.
11-day meeting concluded with all participating member nations coming together to reaffirm their commitment to climate action under the Paris Agreement adopted last year.
The nearly 200 nations attending the COP22 summit adopted the Marrakech Action Proclamation late on Thursday evening, sending out a strong signal to the world on climate action.
Responding to an invitation by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, heads of state from close to 90 countries, and, delegations from other U.N. member countries issued the proclamation to signal a shift towards a new era of implementation and action on climate and sustainable development.
The nations demanded solidarity with those countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, highlighting the need to support efforts aimed at enhancing their adaptive capacity, to strengthen resilience and to reduce vulnerability.
Climate Vulnerable Forum, comprising a group of over 45 most vulnerable countries, was launched, which adopted an agenda for maintaining the target of limiting warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
The countries also called for an increase in the volume, flow and access to finance for climate projects, alongside improved capacity and technology.
The nations, who are parties to the Kyoto Protocol (which does not include the U.S.), also encouraged the speedy ratification of the Doha Amendment, with its focus on pre-2020 action.
Given the gaps in emissions reduction has to stay on course for keeping global warming levels under 2 degrees C, the nations also called for urgently raising ambition.
Strengthening cooperation among the countries to close the gap between current emissions trajectories and the pathway needed to meet the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.
Environment Minister Anil M. Dave said the greatest achievement of the summit was that it managed to carry forward the momentum on climate action gained in Paris.
However, he refused to comment on what might happen if the Trump administration in the U.S pulled the plug on the deal.
Since the U.S. was not the sole actor in the case, the efforts that began in Paris will continue, no matter what, Mr. Dave said.

:: Business and Economy ::

Demonetisation could lead to reduction in GDP

The shortage of cash due to demonetisation could result in a drastic slowdown in GDP growth for 2016-17 to 3.5 per cent from an earlier projection of 6.8 per cent, according to an Ambit Capital report.
The report predicted that the second half of this financial year will see a GDP growth of only 0.5 per cent, down from the 6.4 per cent forecast by Ambit in the first half of the year.
Official estimates for the first quarter of the year pegged the GDP growth at 7.1 per cent, the slowest in six quarters.
However, the government has been optimistic of clocking higher growth in 2016-17 than the 7.6 per cent recorded in 2015-16.
The report predicts that GDP growth in 2017-18 will also be affected by demonetisation, slowing to 5.8 per cent from an earlier estimate of 7.3 per cent.
Ambit also said that demonetisation could result in small businesses in the informal sector becoming unviable.
It added that the effect on the real estate sector could also be severe based on its estimate that 30-40 per cent of the value of purchases take place using black money.
There could also be a detrimental effect on the Sensex, Ambit said, adding that it had scrapped its March 2017 Sensex target of 29,500 and was instead predicting a target of 29,000 for March 2018.
One positive effect of demonetisation could be on interest rates. Ambit predicts the RBI will cut interest rates by 25-50 basis points in the second half of this year.

India and Cyprus signed the revised bilateral tax treaty

India and Cyprus signed the revised bilateral tax treaty under which capital gains tax will be levied on sale of shares on investments made after April 1, 2017, bringing the island nation on a par with Mauritius in terms of tax treatment.
The new agreement also provides for exchange of banking details and allows the use of such information for purposes other than taxation with prior approval of competent authorities of the country.
The new DTAA provides for source-based taxation of capital gains arising from alienation of shares, instead of residence-based taxation provided under the existing DTAA.
However, a grandfathering clause has been provided for investments made prior to April 1, 2017, in respect of which capital gains would continue to be taxed in the country of which taxpayer is a resident.

Rupee weakens further

The rupee weakened past the psychologically important 68 to a U.S. dollar level for the first time since June as expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next .
“The rupee is likely to touch 69 per U.S. dollar by January-February,” said K. N. Dey, Executive Director, Mecklai Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.
After the announcement of demonetisation, coupled with the victory of Trump, the rupee has come under pressure.” The rupee touched its lowest on February 25, 2016 at about 68.89 per U.S. dollar.
While the RBI stepped in to ease volatility in the foreign exchange market by selling dollars through select state-run banks.
Ambit Capital in a report on Friday almost halved its forecast for GDP growth for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, to 3.5 per cent, from an earlier projection of 6.8 per cent.
After demonetisation, CASA (current account, savings account) has increased and the banks are flush with funds. This may also help credit offtake at reduced interest rates.