Comprehensive News Analysis - 22 January 2017

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

Category: International Relations

Topic: India and her Neighbourhood- Relations

Key Points:

• In a rare joint resolution, Pakistan’s two parliamentary committees, have asked India to immediately suspend work on two hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir and agree on the constitution of an arbitration court to resolve the water dispute between the two countries.
• Importantly, the resolution also called upon the World Bank to constitute a court of arbitration to adjudicate on issues raised by Pakistan against India’s ongoing construction of Kishanganga and Ratle hydro projects. 

Category: International Relations 

Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points:

• Thousands of women took to the streets of European capitals to join “sister marches” in Asia against newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of a major rally in Washington that drew nearly a half a million people.
• An organizer from one of the protesting groups has said “We’re not marching as an anti-Trump movement per se, we’re marching to protest the hate speech, the hateful rhetoric, the misogyny, the bigotry, the xenophobia and we want to present a united voice with women around the globe”.

C. GS3 Related

Category: Indian Economy  

Topic: Taxation

Key Points:

• In an important development, the Labour Ministry has sought a fourfold increase in the threshold limit for tax deduction on provident fund withdrawals, from the existing ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh, in the coming Budget.
• The Centre had last year increased the threshold limit of PF withdrawal for deduction of tax (TDS) from ₹30,000 to ₹50,000.
• The Labour Ministry has also requested the Finance Ministry to remove tax deduction of 34.608%, known as the maximum marginal rate, for workers who do not furnish PAN card details.
• It is important to note that The Finance Act of 2015 had first introduced the deduction of income tax on payment of accumulated provident fund balance due to an employee with less than five years of service.

2. Japan threatens to drag India to WTO on steel as Trump era heralds trade tensions

Category: Indian Economy 

Topic: International Trade

Key Points:

• In an important development, Japan is threatening to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to the South Asian nation over the past year.
• This step could trigger more trade spats as global tensions over steel and other commodities run high.
• Japan says that India’s actions are inconsistent with WTO rules and contributed to the plunge in its steel exports to India, which dropped to 11th-largest on Japan’s buyer list in 2016 through November, down from sixth-largest in 2015.

3. Misleading ads for traditional medicine under Centre’s scanner

Category: Indian Economy 

Topic: Government Policy

Key Points:

• In an important development, the Ministry of AYUSH has tasked the advertising industry watchdog (Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)) to proactively identify potentially misleading advertisements of traditional systems of medicine in domains such as ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy.
• In an important statement, Ajit M. Sharan, Secretary, the Ministry of AYUSH, said, “The arrangement would ensure that any advertisement making claims for diseases and disorders, in violation of the notification issued by our ministry for indications that have been prohibited from claiming, are immediately brought to our attention,”.

4. What is interglaciation?

Category: Science and Technology

Topic: Concepts

Key Points:

• Interglaciation is the term used by geologists to refer to the alternating periods of warming and cooling in the earth’s past.
• The cooler times are called the “glacial period” during which ice shelves from the Arctic slowly creep southward and spread across the earth.
• Times when the earth is covered in these large ice sheets are known as glacial periods (or ice ages).
• When the ice sheets are not spread, it is called an interglacial period.
• The most recent glacial period occurred between about 120,000 and 11,500 years ago. Since then, the earth has been in an interglacial period called the Holocene.

D. GS4 Related

E. Important Editorials: A Quick Glance

1. Right to a safe abortion

Category: Polity and Governance

Topic: Social Justice

Key Points:

• It is important to note that when a pregnancy is unwanted, a safe abortion is vital in ensuring a woman’s health and well-being.
• Further, unsafe abortions remain one of the prime causes of maternal death and disability. 
• It is a matter of pride that over 98.6% of members of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) provide abortion as an inherent component of the care they deliver.
• It is important to note that every woman who makes a decision not to continue with her pregnancy has her own history and reasons. 
• An estimated 70,000 young women die each year undergoing an unsafe abortion. 

The Way Forward

• While India has legalised abortion by the Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, this privilege is clouded by the fact that unsafe abortions remain the third highest cause of pregnancy-related deaths.
• This needs to be urgently addressed.

PIB

Category: International Relations

Topic: India and its Neighbourhood- Relations

Key Points:

• India concludes MoU on MSME Cooperation with Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

Member Countries: The MoU will take effect for each party upon signature by 5 countries

The focus areas of the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) are:

a)  To finalize linkages and alliances amongst MSMEs organizations, associations and various institutions engaged in MSME development in their countries.

b) Exchange best practices, policies and programs for MSME development

c) Exchange greater involvement of MSMEs in the global supply chain, increase their market access.

d) Promote youth and women’s economic empowerment

e) Encourage synergies with the IORA forum

f) An IORA special fund has been created for the member countries to use it for to carrying out activities envisaged under this MoU.

About IORA:

1) The IORA is formed by 21 member countries

2) Was formed in 1997

3) The present chair is Indonesia

F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:

• Interglaciation
• Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

G. BILLS/ACTS/SCHEMES/ORGS IN NEWS

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016

H. Fun with Practice Questions 🙂

Question 1: Consider the following statements,

Question 2: Consider the following statements,

1. India recently concluded an MoU on MSME Cooperation with Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
2. Among the focus areas of this MoU include: Promoting youth and women’s economic empowerment.
3. An IORA special fund has been created for the member countries to use it for to carrying out activities envisaged under this MoU.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 Only

b) 1 and 3 Only

c) 2 and 3 Only

d) All 1, 2 and 3

Question 3: Consider the following statements,

Question 4: Consider the following statements about International Finance Corporation:

1. It is known as the private arm of the world bank.
2. It lends money to private sector companies of all countries.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question 5: National treatment (NT) is an important policy of WTO. NT means

I. Archives:

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