Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 22-11-15
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE1. / Modi promises IPR policy, transparent tax regime (Pgs 1, 12) / a) I.R / a) PM Modi said that India would have a comprehensive national intellectual property rights policy by the year-end, and a national investment and infrastructure fund for leveraging public investments.
2. / PM for consensus to resolve South China Sea row (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) PM Modi made a passing reference to the disputes in the South China Sea in his address at the ASEAN-India Summit.
3. / Hollande to be chief guest at Republic Day Parade (Page 1) / a) I.R / a) French President Francois Hollande will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade of Jan 26.
4. / India, China to exchange information on terror activities (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) The Home Ministries of India and China have agreed to be only a phone call away from each other, by deciding to establish missing telecom links, as part of a broader security engagement between two neighbours.
5. / Niti Aayog in dialogue with Chinas think tank DRC (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) Taking a step towards closer economic ties with China and to deliberate on macro economic issues, a team led by Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman will engage in a dialogue with Chinas Development Research Centre.
6. / Sushma, Dunya Maumoon discuss Maldives Emergency (P12) / a) I.R / a) Maldivian Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon apprised External Affairs Minister Sushma circumstances leading to imposition of Emergency in the island nation earlier this month besides current political situation.
7. / UN authorises members to redouble fight against IS (Pages 1 and 14) / a) International / a) The UNSC authorised countries around the world to take all necessary measures to fight the Islamic State in a resolution that won unanimous backing, even as threats of terror strikes locked down Brussels.
8. / Paris attacks draw US closer to Pakistan (Page 14) / a) International / a) The terrorist attacks on Paris have invoked memories of Mumbai 2008 yet again in the Western world, but its impact on Pakistan and its relations with the US may not be to Indias liking.
9. / IS calls Bangladesh new battleground (Page 14) / a) International / a) The Islamic State terror group has warned that it is preparing for fresh attacks in Bangladesh to rise and expand in Bengal.
10. / ADB, Japan plan $16 billion programme to support sustainable Asia infrastructure (Page 15) / a) Economy / a) The Asian Development Bank and Japan announced a five-year, $16 billion partnership (including an investment fund) to support sustainable infrastructure development in the region.
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS
1. / Modi promises IPR policy, transparent tax regime (Pages 1 and12) / a) I.R / a) ASEAN-India Summit
b) Business and Investment Summit
c) Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy
d) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model
e) FDI
f) Climate change
g) Counterterrorism / a) Speaking at the ASEANs Business and Investment Summit, PM Modi said that India would have a comprehensive national IPR policy by the year-end, and a national investment and infrastructure fund for leveraging public investments.
b) He said world-class infrastructure remained a dream for India and his govt was focussing on building futuristic infrastructure, besides encouraging the PPP model to increase investments in infrastructure.
c) Outlining the second set of structural and financial reforms, he said that these included more FDI in such key sectors as insurance, defence and railways; rationalised FDI policies in other sectors, including construction, plantation and medical devices; and liberalisation of the licensing regime to improve the ease of doing business.
d) He has said the trade between India and the ASEAN should increase to $100 billion by 2020 and to $200 billion by 2025. During 2014-15 (after a temporary decline), the trade stood at $76.5 billion.
e) He also intends to set up an Asean-India innovation platform to facilitate commercialisation of low-cost technologies, technology transfer and collaborative research and development projects. Laying special emphasis on Indias partnership with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, he said India would create a project development fund to create manufacturing hubs in the four countries.
f) As for climate change, Modi proposed an international solar alliance of 122 solar-rich countries, which he and French President Francois Hollande would launch at the Paris convention on November 30.
g) To counter terrorism, he suggested that India and Asean countries enhance their cooperation at the regional and international levels, including through support for adoption of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
2. / PM for consensus to resolve South China Sea row (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) ASEAN-India Summit
b) South China Sea dispute
c) United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 / a) PM Modi made a passing reference to the disputes in the South China Sea in his address at the ASEAN-India Summit.
b) Modi also emphasised the need for evolving specific plans of cooperation in maritime security, counter-piracy and humanitarian and disaster relief.
c) The PMs of India and China reviewed the issues relating to global economic slowdown, climate change and the growing terrorism activities. Expansion of trade and economic partnership (besides tourism) were also discussed. Both leaders felt Asia would be more secure if India and China came together to counter terrorism.
d) At the meeting with Japans PM Abe, Modi was stated to have observed that the issues over right of passage and access to resources envisaged in the 1982 UNCLOS should be amicably resolved. And a code of conduct should be accepted on the basis of consensus.
3. / Hollande to be chief guest at Republic Day Parade (Page 1) / a) I.R / a) India – France relations
b) Paris Climate Summit 2015
c) Terrorism
d) Islamic State in Syria (ISIS) / a) French President Francois Hollande will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade of January 26.
b) Hollandes visit will be symbolic and is expected to send out a message of solidarity among the democratic countries against terrorism of the ISIS.
c) France is going to host the COP 21 (Paris Climate Conference) summit from November 30.
4. / India, China to exchange information on terror activities (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) India – China relations
b) Security cooperation
c) Counter-terrorism cooperation / a) The Home Ministries of India and China have agreed to be only a phone call away from each other, by deciding to establish missing telecom links, as part of a broader security engagement between the two neighbours.
b) A flurry of proposed high-level visits also signals that the process of top level interaction between the two powerful security establishments has finally commenced.
c) A joint statement released on Nov 21 pointed out that an India-China High Level Meeting Mechanism led by the Home Minister of India and the Minister of Public Security of China would be held in Beijing and Delhi once every two years.
d) The Paris terror attacks preceded the talks (which made counter-terrorism collaboration) to address global threats, as their focal point. Counter-terrorism experts of the two countries will now meet to discuss details of cooperation for combating terrorism.
5. / Niti Aayog in dialogue with Chinas think tank DRC (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) India – China economic ties
b) Indias Niti Aayog
c) Chinas Development Research Centre (DRC) / a) Taking a step towards closer economic ties with China and to deliberate on macro economic issues, a team led by Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman will engage in a dialogue with Chinas Development Research Centre.
b) The two-day meeting will be held in Beijing. DRC is directly under the State Council of China and does research on strategic, long-term issues pertaining to economic and social development.
c) According to the meetings agenda, there will be deliberations on opportunities and challenges for both the nations in the current global economic scenario.
d) Besides, there will be discussions on issues related to regional trade associations and their implications for India as well as China.
e) The issue of the wide trade imbalance between the two nations will also be discussed at the China-India Development Roundtable 2015 beginning on November 23.
f) Indias trade deficit with China increased about 34 percent to USD 48.43 billion in 2014-15 from USD 36.21 billion in the previous fiscal.
g) Indias concern on the rising deficit has been discussed with China at various fora, including the highest level of leadership of the two countries.
6. / Sushma, Dunya Maumoon discuss Maldives Emergency (Page12) / a) I.R / a) India – Maldives relations
b) Maldives internal issues / a) Maldivian Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon apprised External Affairs Minister Sushma circumstances leading to imposition of Emergency in the island nation earlier this month besides current political situation.
b) Both Swaraj and Maumoon also deliberated on a range of other issues of mutual interest.
c) Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen had on Nov 4 imposed Emergency in the country for 30 days citing threat to national security and gave sweeping powers to security forces.
d) However, the Emergency was lifted on Nov 10, a week after its imposition after requests from many countries including the US and Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth.
7. / UN authorises members to redouble fight against IS (Pages 1 and 14) / a) International / a) Terrorism
b) Islamic State (IS)
c) Al-Qaeda / a) The UNSC authorised countries around the world to take all necessary measures to fight the IS in a resolution that won unanimous backing, even as threats of terror strikes locked down Brussels, the Belgium capital that houses the European Commission headquarters.
b) The French-drafted measure calls on all UN member states to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks committed by the IS and other extremist groups linked to the Al-Qaeda.
c) Before the hostage crisis at a Malian hotel was over, before the gunmen had even been identified, admirers of al-Qaeda and rival IS started jostling on social media over which of the jihadi organizations was more righteous and more prominent.
8. / Paris attacks draw US closer to Pakistan (Page 14) / a) International / a) US – Pakistan relations
b) Terrorism
c) Paris terror attacks
d) Mumbai attacks 2008 / a) The terrorist attacks on Paris have invoked memories of Mumbai 2008 yet again in the Western world, but its impact on Pakistan and its relations with the US may not be to Indias liking.
b) But the series of recent statements from administration officials and senior law-makers, starting with the joint statement by President Obama and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif in October lauded Pakistans counterterrorism initiatives, indicating a different understanding.
9. / IS calls Bangladesh new battleground (Page 14) / a) International / a) Islamic State (IS)
b) Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
c) Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh / a) The IS terror group has warned that it is preparing for fresh attacks in Bangladesh to rise and expand in Bengal.
b) The IS also referred to the BNP-Jamaat alliance as a coalition of murtaddin – apostates.
c) The former govt (which consisted mainly of a coalition of murtaddin from both the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh) foolishly thought that the call of tawhid, jihad, and Khailafah would be crushed by the martyrdom of a few righteous scholars.
10. / ADB, Japan plan $16 billion programme to support sustainable Asia infrastructure (Page 15) / a) Economy / a) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
b) Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
c) Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit
d) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank / a) The Asian Development Bank and Japan announced a five-year, $16 billion partnership (including an investment fund) to support sustainable infrastructure development in the region.
b) The ADB said the first activity would be establishment of a trust fund by March 2016, to be capitalised with $1.5 billion from the JICA. Another $10 billion for promoting public infrastructure will be provided by ADB and JICA in co-financing to sovereign borrowers over five years.
c) It was not immediately known if the trust fund was part of Japans quality infrastructure programme, which PM Shinzo Abe discussed during the past weeks APEC summit in Manila.
d) In May, Japan unveiled a $110 billion infrastructure fund that could rival the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that will begin operation next year.
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