Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 17-11-14
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS1. / G20 endorses Indias stance (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) G-20 summit
b) Black money
c) Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS)
d) Transfer pricing
e) OECD / a) The G20 summit supported the need for transparency and disclosure by countries of tax information as Modi voiced support to the new global standard on automatic exchange to tackle the black money issue.
b) The new standard would be instrumental in getting information relating to unaccounted money stored abroad and enable its eventual repatriation.
c) The PM while voicing Indias support for it urged every jurisdiction especially tax havens to provide information for tax purposes in accordance with treaty obligations.
d) He also extended Indias support for all initiatives to facilitate exchange of information and mutual assistance in tax policy and administration.
e) He also expressed the hope that BEPS system would fully address concerns of developing and developed economies.
f) The BEPS is a technical term referring to the effect of tax avoidance strategies used by multinational companies on countries tax basis. It is known more commonly as Transfer pricing.
g) This term is used in a project headed by the OECD that is said to be an attempt by the worlds major economies to try to rewrite the rules on corporate taxation to address the widespread perception that the corporations do not pay their fair share of taxes.
2. / India-EU n-deal likely by 2015 (page 1) / a) I.R / a) India – EU relations
b) Civil nuclear cooperation agreement
c) Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) / a) India is engaged in talks with the EU to sign a civil nuclear cooperation agreement and the deal is expected to be signed by next year.
b) An agreement is expected to be signed between the Indias Department of Atomic Energy and Joint Research Centre of the EU.
c) It will focus on areas of research and energy.
d) There were concerns raised by a few countries about signing an agreement because India is not a signatory to the NPT but there is a consensus on this now.
e) Both sides and countries within the EU are ironing out the differences over the language of the draft.
f) India and the EU have been cooperating on various aspects like environment, sustainable development, renewable energy and clean technology.
3. / Putins walkout may strain ties (Pages 1 and 12) / a) International / a) G20 summit
b) Ukraine crisis / a) Putins early exit from the G20 summit in Australia may further increase Russia-West tensions and lead to renewed fighting in Ukraine.
b) Western leaders piled huge pressure on the Russian President at the summit in Brisbane.
c) Work started to remove the debris of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, four months after it was shot down.
d) He and the West had not been expected to reach a development over Ukraine.
4. / Gulf stability and the oil supply scenario (Page 8) / a) International / a) West Asia crisis
b) Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
c) International Energy Agency (IEA)
d) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
e) Ukraine crisis / a) West Asia has dominated world headlines over the last few years due to the eruptions related to the Arab Spring, conflicts in Iraq and Syria
b) Over the last few weeks, a new source of uncertainty has emerged - the dramatic fall in oil prices.
c) The jump in oil prices has been so swift and unexpected that most observers have been caught by surprise.
d) With every decline, there were expectations that Saudi Arabia would play its traditional role as swing producer and cut production but this failed to happen.
e) This was surprising since almost all major oil producers have become dependent on high prices, with break-even levels usually over $90 per barrel to meet their fiscal obligations.
f) The global economic slowdown is the principal cause with Chinas national growth projected at around 7 percent per year, increase in oil demand is negligible.
g) Europe is also not expected to contribute to increased demand due to its slow growth.
h) Not only have the OPEC members not effected cuts in their production, additional production has also come into the market from member-states experiencing domestic turmoil (Libya and Iraq) which have had record exports.
i) But, the biggest market changer is shale oil production in the US with additional production of 3.9 million barrels a day.
j) The US now produces more than all OPEC members except Saudi Arabia.
k) The IEA thinks low prices will continue next year due to low demand and high shale oil production.
l) The unexpected fall in prices has caused two competing grand strategy scenarios.
m) One scenario emerges from the impact of the price falls on the economies of US adversaries Russia and Iran.
n) It is the unrealistic hope of the proponents of this scenario that the economic pressures generated by low prices would make them more accommodative in their engagements with western interlocutors.
o) The other scenario sees a deliberate Saudi attempt to retard the further development of the shale oil industry in the US, which is crucially dependent on high oil prices of $80-90 per barrel to sustain production.
p) The Kingdom is well aware that shale oil has in fact stabilised world markets at a time of acute turmoil in oil-producing countries.
q) For this reason it has repeatedly welcomed new production sources, particularly since unconventional production boosts the demand for fossil fuels and reduces investments in renewables.
r) The Kingdom has focussed on retaining its market share in spite of the prevailing low prices.
s) The decline in prices has serious economic and political implications for producer countries experiencing domestic turmoil such as Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
t) The GCC producers may not at present feel any need to intervene in the market since they have a current account surplus of $2.4 trillion and substantial reserves to handle fiscal shortfalls in the short term.
u) They also need to urgently address long-standing energy issues such as expanding and wasteful domestic consumption and massive subsidies estimated at $160 billion annually.
v) Gulf supplies could be threatened by various factors such as political turbulence in Iraq, constraints on supplies from Iran and the failure of the region to make the required investments in new exploration and development due to low prices.
w) This has serious implications for Asia.
x) Today, 60 percent of Gulf production is consumed in Asia by 2035.The Gulf will export 90 percent of its oil to Asia, while meeting about 90 percent of Asias needs.
y) The challenge before the principal Asian consumers led by India, China, Japan and Korea is to work together to shape a new regional security paradigm that is inclusive and provides a dialogue and confidence-building platform that the Gulf countries desperately need.
5. / Ties need not be hostage to Kashmir, says Pak envoy (Page 11) / a) I.R / a) India – Pakistan disputes
b) Kashmir issue
c) Terrorism
d) Afghanistan situation / a) Pakistan High Commissioner to India said that the Kashmir issue need not hold the India-Pakistan relations hostage.
b) The issue should be resolved through dialogue in a just and fair manner.
c) After cancellation of the Foreign Secretary-level talks, he said the effort was to break the ice.
d) He said that India-Pakistan relations were very important and also very complex at the same time.
e) He pointed out how the country was suffering from terrorism since the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
f) If Afghanistan stabilises, Pakistan will stabilise and it will impact the entire region.
g) He wanted Pakistan and India to come together to tackle terrorism, human trafficking, organised crime and climate change.
6. / Raghuram Rajan on shortlist for BRICS bank chief post (Pages 1 and 10) / a) I.R / a) BRICS New Development Bank
b) BRICS summit / a) RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan (a well-known banker in infrastructure finance) has figured so far in discussions on possible candidates for BRICS New Development Bank president.
b) PM Modi proposed that 2016 be set as the target for the inauguration of the BRICS Bank.
c) The BRICS nations had agreed at their sixth Summit in Fortaleza that India will nominate the first president of the bank and that its headquarters will be located in China.
7. / Global warming hiatus over: Study (Page 7) / a) S&T / a) Global warming
b) Climate change
c) Temperature
d) Greenhouse gas emissions / a) Climate scientists have recorded the highest-ever global sea surface temperatures this year due to global warming.
b) Study found that the global warming problem(the 2000-2013 period) when the global ocean surface temperature rise paused is over and as of April 2014, ocean warming picked up speed again.
c) This summer has seen the highest global mean sea surface temperatures ever recorded since their systematic measuring started.
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