Assam Current Affairs July 08-14, 2018

Current Affairs Assam – July 2018

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of July 2018 )

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July 10

World’s biggest mobile manufacturing factory to come up at Noida

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korea President Moon Jae-in inaugurated a Samsung Electronics mobile phone manufacturing facility, in Noida on 9th July 2018. The 35-acre factory, would be World’s largest Cellphone Factory, will generate more jobs and also make India a global export hub.

The new plant, built at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore, will help Samsung raise its capacity in a phased manner, from 68 million units at present, to 120 million.

This facility will allow Samsung to manufacture phones at a lower cost due to its scale, while other phone making hubs in China, South Korea and Vietnam are getting expensive. Samsung will export 30 per cent of the handsets made in Noida to other markets.

DoT demands  ₹7,200 crore to approve Vodafone-Idea merger

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has demanded Rs 3,900 crore in cash and Rs 3,300 crore in bank guarantees towards one-time spectrum charges to clear the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

While Rs 3,900 crore cash is for transfer of spectrum from Vodafone to Idea for airwaves up to 4.4 MHz, the bank guarantee of Rs 3,300 crore is for airwaves beyond 4.4 MHz. Only then, the DoT will give its final approval for the merger.

The two companies have already received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the Competition Commission of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

One-time spectrum charges are payable by companies which want to convert their administered spectrum or spectrum not bought in an auction to liberalized or auctioned spectrum. Auctioned spectrum can be deployed flexibly for any purpose, unlike administered spectrum.

Under the DoT’s merger and acquisition guidelines, if a transferor holds a part of the spectrum, which (4.4 MHz/2.5 MHz) has been assigned against the entry fee paid, the transferee, i.e. the resultant merged entity, at the time of merger, shall pay to the government, the differential between the entry fee and the market-determined price of spectrum from the date of approval of such arrangements by NCLT on a pro-rata basis for the remaining period of validity of the licence.

National Green Tribunal asks states to submit data on steps taken to protect local cow breeds

The National Green Tribunal asked state governments to inform it about the measures the states have taken to protect indigenous breeds of cows. A bench headed by Justice Jawad Rahim directed state governments to conduct a census to monitor the cows and share information on whether the bovines receive any medical assistance. It also asked the states about existing laws in various states, with regards to preventing the slaughter of cow  

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar who claimed that there was a “looming threat of extinction of indigenous breeds of cattle” in the country. The petitioner claims local cow breeds are being replaced by cross-bred verities imported from abroad.

FACTFILE – The National Green Tribunal (NGT)

  • NGT has been established on October 18, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
  •  It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.

Point2Remember – Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel is the chairman of National Green Tribunal.

Tamil Nadu Assembly passed Lokayukta Bill

Recently, Tamil Nadu State Assembly passed a bill to set up a Lokayukta to inquire into corruption allegations against public servants. TN State minister D Jayakumar tabled the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Bill, 2018 .

The Centre had earlier enacted the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013, which had a provision for a Lokayukta, or public anti-corruption ombudsman, in every state. Accordingly, the state government has decided to establish the Lokayukta for the state of Tamil Nadu to inquire into allegations of corruption against public servants.

FACTFILE – Lokayukta

  • The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states. Once appointed, Lokayukta cannot be dismissed nor transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly.
  • The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by Morarji Desai submitted a special interim report on “Problems of Redressal of Citizen’s Grievances” in 1966, which recommended the setting up of two special authorities designated as ‘Lokpal’ and ‘Lokayukta’ for the redressal of citizens’ grievances in the Centre and States, respectively. 

July 11

India, South Korea signs 11 Agreements and aims to boost trade

India and South Korea have increased the target for bilateral trade to $50 billion in the next 12 years, even as they tried to add some strategic heft to their relationship with statements of support for de-nuclearisation talks with North Korea and joint projects in third countries.

The business community from both the countries to leverage opportunities arising from complementarities between the two economies, to enhance investment, to promote joint ventures, and to work towards the goal of raising bilateral trade to $ 50 billion by 2030.

The current bilateral trade is around $20 billion. South Korian President Moon coined a new acronym ‘3P Plus’ for boosting bilateral ties through cooperation for people, prosperity and peace.

Besides a MoU on technology advancement, Eleven agreements were signed by both sides, including a statement on an Early Harvest Package that would facilitate negotiations on an upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

FACTFILE – South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea)

  • South Korea is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and lying east to the Asian mainland.
  • It comprises an estimated 51.4 million residents distributed over 99,392 km2 (38,375 sq mi).
  • The capital and largest city is Seoul.
  • It was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910.
  • At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into Soviet and U.S. zones of occupations.
  • A separate election was held in the U.S. zone in 1948 which led to the creation of the Republic of Korea (ROK), while the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established in the Soviet zone.
  • The United Nations at the time passed a resolution declaring the ROK to be the only lawful government in Korea.
  • The Korean War began in 1950 when forces from the North invaded the South. The war lasted three years and involved the U.S., China, the Soviet Union and several other nations.
  • Under long-time military leader Park Chung-hee, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country was transformed into a G-20 major economy.
  • Military rule ended in 1987, and the country is now a presidential republic consisting of 17 administrative divisions.
  • South Korea is a developed country and a high-income economy, with a “very high” Human Development Index, ranking 18th in the world.
  • The country is considered a regional power and is the world’s 11th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 12th largest by PPP as of 2010.
  • South Korea is a global leader in the industrial and technological sectors, being the world’s 5th largest exporter and 8th largest importer
  • Its export-driven economy primarily focuses production on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. South Korea is a member of the ASEAN Plus mechanism, the United Nations, Uniting for Consensus, G20, the WTO and OECD and is a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.
RBI’s Dollar sales touch Five-year high in May 2018

Net sales of dollars from the Reserve Bank of India hit the highest level in nearly five years in the month of May 2018, in response to stop the depreciation of the Indian rupee. RBI sold a net of $5.76 billion in May month.

The last time the RBI’s net sales of dollars were this high was in July 2013, when the rupee was plummeting towards its then all-time lows of 68.86 against the U.S. dollar.

This year the rupee has once again been weakening, in response to a stronger dollar, higher oil prices and a widening current account deficit.

The RBI’s foreign exchange reserves have slipped to $406 billion from a peak of over $420 billion in March 2018.

Fixed Rate System vs Floating Rate System

If the government or RBI fix the exchange rate of a currency (and does not allow any variations according to demand and supply forces in the market), such a system is called Fixed Rate system. India was following this kind of system till 1975 and partially controlled till 1993. India changed to Floating Rate System where currency market determines the value of a currency.

Rupee Devaluation vs Rupee Depreciation

The term devaluation is used when the government reduces the value of a currency under Fixed Rate System. When the value of the currency falls under Floating Rate System, it is called depreciation. Revaluation is when there is a rise of currency value w.r.t. a foreign currency in a fixed exchange rate.

India ranked 57th in the Global Innovation Index 2018

The Global Innovation Index rankings, published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD and the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation, ranked India at the 57th spot this year, which is a slight improvement from the 60th position in 2017.

India improved its rank among the World’s most innovative economies, maintaining its position as the top exporter of information technology services but still lagging in parameters of ease of starting a business, political stability and safety, and female employees with advanced degrees in the workforce.

India is the top exporter of IT services for the second consecutive year. The other areas of strength for India include the number of science and engineering graduates, in this area, India is ranked sixth overall.

It ranked fourth on ease of protecting minority investors, 16th on trade, competition and market scale and within this section, third on domestic market scale measured in purchasing power parity, 18th on the global R&D companies indicator and 35th overall in investment.

In the business environment category, ranking 106 overall and 114th in the sub-category of ease of starting a business and 91st on ease of resolving insolvency.

Out of 126 nations, India is ranked 123rd on environmental performance and 119 rank on the ecological sustainability indicator.

In the education sector, India was lagging considerably, coming in at the 112th rank

FACTFILE – The Global Innovation Index (GII)

  • Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation. It is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in partnership with other organisations and institutions, and is based on both subjective and objective data derived from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
  • The index was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine.
  • The GII is commonly used by corporate and government officials to compare countries by their level of innovation

Top countries in the Global Innovation Index 2018 rankings

  1. Switzerland
  2. Netherlands
  3. Sweden
  4. United Kingdom
  5. Singapore
  6. United States
  7. Finland
  8. Denmark
  9. Germany
  10. Ireland
Andhra Pradesh retains top position in Ease of doing Business index

Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the top state in implementing reforms for the second year in a row and ranked first in the top position in the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) and World Bank’s jointly released Ease of Doing Business Index in 2017.

According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Ease of Doing Business Index creates a sense of competition for the states. The rankings attract better investments for the states, helping them boost business.

Andhra Pradesh emerged with the highest score, with Telangana at second position with a score of 98.33%, closely followed by Haryana with score of 98.07%. Jharkhand landed in the fourth spot with 97.99% combined score.

West Bengal which has aggressively collaborated with many ASEAN nations for business growth has made a stunning comeback in the top 10. The state scored 94.7% ranking 10th on the list.

Maharashtra, which is one of the highest earning states in India, ranked 13 on the state index, while Delhi scored a mere 31.6%, ranking 23rd.

ASSAM is Ranked at 17th with a score of 84.75 and other northeastern states viz. Tripura at 25th, Nagaland at 28th, Mizoram at 30th, Manipur at 32nd, Sikkim at 33rd, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya at 34th Position.

Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2017 – The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the World Bank Group, released the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2017 for implementation by States/ UTs. The BRAP includes 372 recommendations for reforms on regulatory processes, policies, practices and procedures spread across 12 reform areas.

FACTFILE – Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)

  • DIPP was established in the year 1995, and in the year 2000 Department of Industrial Development was merged with it. It is working under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
  • This department is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives.
  • While individual Administrative Ministries look after the production, distribution, development and planning aspects of specific industries allocated to them, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is responsible for the overall industrial policy.
  • It is also responsible for facilitating and increasing the FDI flows to the country.

July 2018 – eBook Monthly PDF | July 2018 Quiz 

 

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