Current Affairs Assam July 15-21, 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of July 15-21, 2018 )
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July 15
Monsoon deficiency dips to 5% IMD
The country-wide monsoon deficiency has dropped to five per cent but has risen to 30 per cent in east and northeast India. The southern peninsula and central India have been witnessing good rains as they gauged 17 and 7 per cent more precipitation than the normal limit.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red-coded warning for Goa, Konkan region, parts of Gujarat and Chhattisgarh and an amber-coded warning for parts of Gujarat, Kerala, east Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
The IMD has a color coded weather warning system. Red signifies warning and demands necessary action by different agencies. Amber asks people to remain alert. The yellow code is for keeping a watch on the situation and the green code means “no warning”.
FACTFILE – The India Meteorological Department (IMD)
- It also referred to as the Met Department, is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
- It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
- IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica.Regional office are at Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur and Pune.
- IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization.
- It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Gold imports in First Quarter of FY 2019 dip by 25%
Gold imports fell by 25 per cent to USD 8.43 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal due to sliding prices of the metal in both global and domestic markets. According to the Commerce Ministry data, gold imports had amounted to USD 11.26 billion in the corresponding quarter of last financial year, 2017-18.
India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of the jewellery industry. The gems and jewelry exports in June grew by about 3 per cent to USD 3.5 billion and silver imports grew by 104.5 per cent to USD 364.24 million in June. This trend of declining imports of the metal since January 2018 help contain the current account deficit (CAD).
FACTFILE – Current Account Deficit (CAD)
- Current Account Deficit (CAD) is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign exchange. It touched to USD 48.7 billion, or 1.9 per cent of GDP, in 2017-18 fiscal as compare to USD 14.4 billion, or 0.6 per cent, CAD in 2016-17 fiscal.
- A country is said to have a trade surplus if its exports exceed its imports, and a trade deficit if its imports exceed its exports. Positive net sales abroad generally contribute to a current account surplus; negative net sales abroad generally contribute to a current account deficit. The current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the goods and services it exports.
- Rise in crude oil prices and imports too have impacted the trade deficit, which widened to USD 44.94 billion during April-June this fiscal as against USD 40 billion in the same period of 2017-18.
FDI in services sector slumps 23% in 2017-18
FDI inflows in the services sector declined by about 23 per cent to USD 6.7 billion in 2017-18. The sector had attracted FDI worth USD 8.68 billion in 2016-17.
The growth rate in the services secto, which includes finance, banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier, tech testing and analysis, recorded a five-year low of 3 per cent at USD 44.85 billion in 2017-18. FDI in chemicals sector too registered a marginal decline in growth rate in 2017-18, when it attracted USD 1.30 billion investments as compared to USD 1.39 billion in 2016-17.
Service sector contributes over 60 per cent to India’s GDP.
FACTFILE – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country.
- The origin of the investment does not impact the definition, as an FDI – the investment may be made either “inorganically” by buying a company in the target country or “organically” by expanding the operations of an existing business in that country.
July 16
India successfully test fires BrahMos missile
India successfully test fired supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from a test range at Chandipur in Balasore district off the Odisha coast The life extension test achieved all parameters, with this, India has achieved another milestone in the defence sector. It is one of the best all-weather weapon systems.
FACTFILE – BrahMos Missile
- Aerospace is a joint venture between India`s DRDO and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
- The BrahMos (designated PJ-10) is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land. It is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world.
- It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace.
- It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology.
FACTFILE – DRDO
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency of the Republic of India, charged with the military’s research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India.
- It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation.
- It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
IMF lowers India's GDP growth projection to 7.3%
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a 7.3 percent growth for 2018 and 7.5 percent growth for 2019 for India from 6.7 percent in 2017.
Although it is still projected to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the growth projection was reduced by 0.1 percent for 2018 and 0.3 percent for 2019 compared to the April 2018 estimates.
IMF has warned of a damage to the growth in world economy due to escalating trade conflicts between countries after the US imposed tariffs on its trade partners and also will also pressurize the medium-term growth prospects.
The potential damage from the tariff threats could be a 0.5 percent reduction in annual global economic output by 2020, which could be a nearly $500 billion loss in output as per a Reuters report.
IMF’s projection of growth in China and the US remained unchanged. Growth in China is projected to be at a moderate level of 6.6 percent in 2018 and 6.4 percent in 2019, which is lower than 6.9 percent in 2017. And a 2.9 percent growth in 2018 and 2.7 percent in 2019 was estimated for the US.
FACTFILE – The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- IMF is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of “189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
- Formed in 1945 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system.
- It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.
- Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money.
- As of 2016, the fund had SDR477 billion (about $666 billion).
Solar cells import from China, Malaysia may face 25% safeguard duty
The Chinese and Malaysian manufactured solar cells being imported to India is likely to attract 15% to 25% safeguard duty during the next two years as the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended three slab safeguard duty on imported solar cells from China and Malaysia, while exempting all other countries including USA, EU and Taiwan.
As per the recommendation made by DGTR, 25% of duty will be levied during the first year followed by 20% for a period of initial six months of the subsequent year and 15% duty in the last six months of the second year.
The proposal will now move to Board of Secretaries from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Commerce, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Revenue, Labour and Agriculture.
FACTFILE – Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR)
- Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) was created subsuming the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied duties, Directorate General of Safeguards and some functions of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.
- DGTR is the apex national authority for all trade remedial measures including anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguard measures.
- The body also provide trade defence support to domestic industry and to exporters in trade remedy investigations instituted by other countries.
- It will serve as multi service organization drawing upon the skill-set of various officers from various ministries in the field of International Trade, Customs, Revenue, Finance, Economics, Costing and Law.
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