Current Affairs Assam – June 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of June 2018 )
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June 26
India to buy 4,500 Spike missiles from Isral for $500 million
India is about tofinalise a $500 million deal with Israel for the government-to-government purchase of around 4,500 Spike anti-tank guided missiles for the army.
Both sides were awaiting the final approval from the Indian government for the deal, which was initially conceptualised as one with a significant ‘Make in India’ component.
Israeli defence contractor Rafael won the contract to sell more than 8000 Spike ATGMs to India in a deal which included manufacture of 3000 of the missile systems in India through the ‘Make in India’ route, but the contract was cancelled in November last year amid furore from the Israeli side.
The procurement was changed to the government-to-government route. The contract has now been revised to direct purchase of 4500 weapon systems with a small quantity being manufactured in Hyderabad.
FACTFILE – Spike missile
- Spike is an Israeli fourth-generation man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge HEAT warhead.
- It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
- As well as engaging and destroying targets within the line-of-sight of the launcher (“fire-and-forget”), some variants of the missile are capable of making a top-attack profile through a “fire, observe and update” guidance method; the operator tracking the target, or switching to another target, optically through the trailing fiber-optic wire while the missile is climbing to altitude after launch.
- This is similar to the lofted trajectory flight profile of the US FGM-148 Javelin.
RBI Proposes to setup Board of Management in Urban Cooperative Banks
The central bank, Reserve Bank of India, proposed that all Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) having deposits of over Rs 100 crore will have to set up a board of management within one year to promote professional management in the banks, which is in addition to the existing board of directors.
Presently, the Board of Director of a UCB perform both the executive and supervisory roles and has the responsibility to oversee the functioning of UCB as a co-operative society as well as its functions as a bank.
The proposed board of management will consist of members with special knowledge and practical experience in banking.
Other banks, who do not have deposits over Rs 100 crore will have two years to establish a board of management.
The proposed board will have a minimum of three members in UCBs having deposit size up to Rs 100 crore and five members in UCBs having deposit size above Rs 100 crore. The maximum number of members should not exceed 12.
FACTFILE – Cooperative banking
- Cooperative Bank is a retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis.
- Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
- Cooperative banks are owned by their customers and follow the cooperative principle of one person, one vote.
- Co-operative banks are often regulated under both banking and cooperative legislation.
- They provide services such as savings and loans to non-members as well as to members, and some participate in the wholesale markets for bonds, money and even equities.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) has signed a MOU with Gujarat Forensic Science University (GFSU)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the Gujarat Forensic Science University (GFSU) to strengthen its cyber and digital forensic operations.
ED, the premier money laundering investigation agency faces challenges in its process of investigations while dealing with digitally stored data.To deal with these challenges, ED has set up cyber labs in 5 Regional Offices (at Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata) along with a Central Cyber Lab at Delhi.
This MoU will be a big step for ED in effective money laundering investigation as it will result in trained manpower in the field of digital and cyber forensics, faster analysis of seized digital data during investigation and development of advanced infrastructure facilities.
As part of theMoU, both ED and GFSU have decided to strengthen the capabilities of each other in cyber and digital forensics and in developing state of the art infrastructural facilities at various centres of ED.
FACTFILE –Gujarat Forensic Science University (GFSU)
- It is a state university in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- It is the first university in the world solely dedicated to forensic and investigative science.
- It was created by Act 17 passed in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly on 30 September 2008.
- It is an international standard learning resource centre which provides excellent theoretical knowledge and advanced technical training in real-time investigation scenario with high level ethical practices.
FACTFILE -Directorate of Enforcement(ED)
- ED is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
- It is under of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, and Governmentof India.
- It is manned by officers from the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service.
- It’s origin goes back to 1 May 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
- In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate.
- The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts of the Government of India namely, the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA)
CM announces Rs 100 crore for flood-hit Barak valley
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced a package of Rs 100 crore for relief and rehabilitation in the flood-affected areas of Barak valley.
Addressing media after a high-level review meeting on the flood situation at the office of the Cachar deputy commissioner at Silchar, he said the government understands the plight of the people and has decided to release a fund of Rs 100 crore for relief and rehabilitation measures across the three districts of Barak valley.
“The money should be utilized for adequate compensation to the flood-affected people. Also schools and other establishments, which have been damaged by flood, should be repaired,” he said.
Accompanied by Water Resources Minister KeshabMahanta, Sonowal also visited the vulnerable embankment at the Sib Bari Road in Tarapur and said the water resources department has been given instructions to repair the embankments and the sluice gates in the valley. The Chief Minister also reviewed the flood scenario in Karimganj and Hailakandi districts as well.
June 27
Global ban on use of chemical weapons
India extended support to the Chemical Weapon Convention to uphold the global ban on the use of chemical weapons.
India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of India to Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Venu Rajamony on 26th June said India is ready to co-operate with the international community.
The OPCW Permanent Representative branded the use of chemical weapons as disregard of the United Nations and is contrary to the provisions of the Chemical Weapon Convention.
FACTFILE – Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
- The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force on 29 April 1997.
- The OPCW has 193 member states.
- Its seat in The Hague, Netherlands.
- It oversees the global endeavour for the permanent and verifiable elimination of chemical weapons.
- The organisation promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction.
- The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prizefor its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.
Nigeria overtakes India as nation with most poor
According to the study, published in the ‘Future Development’ blog of Brookings. Nigeria now has maximum no. of poor, suppressing India, as in the past years, India witnessed a drastic drop in the number of poor.
Studies suggest that around 44 Indians come out of extreme poverty every minute, resulting India dropping down and thereby shedding the dubious distinction of being home to the largest number of poor.
The report also predicts that at the present trends, India could drop to No. 3 later this year, by improving over the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The UN-sponsored Sustainable Development Goals aim to eliminate global poverty by 2030. The benchmark projections of poverty imply a high speed of poverty reduction in south Asia, East Asia and the Pacific fuelled by high rates of income per capita growth in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, China and Pakistan.
Sustainable Development Goal targets of 92 people escape poverty per minute.
Gross Non Performing Assets Likely to Worsen
In its Financial Stability Report (FSR), Reserve Bank of India said the Gross Non Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio of banks is likely to rise from 11.6 percent in March 2018 to 12.2 percent by March 2019 and said that stress in the banking sector continues.
11 state-owned banks are under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and of the 11 banks, six are likely to experience capital shortfall relative to the required minimum CRAR (Risk-weighted Assets Ratio) of 9 percent.
The 11 banks under PCA framework or RBI watchlist of their high bad loans are – IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Dena Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Maharashtra, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank.
FACTFILE – Non-performing asset (NPA)
- A Non-performing asset is defined as a credit facility in respect of which the interest and/or installment of principal has remained ‘past due’ for a specified period of time.
- An asset is tagged as non-performing when it ceases to generate income for the lender.
- NPA is used by financial institutions that refer to loans that are in jeopardy of default the so called NPL.
- Once the borrower has failed to make interest or principal payments for 90 days the loan is considered to be a non-performing asset.
- Non-performing assets are problematic for financial institutions since they depend on interest payments for income. Troublesome pressure from the economy can lead to a sharp increase in NPLs and often results in massive write-downs.
French utility EDF and GE to build six reactors for the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plants
French utility EDF and GE will jointly build six reactors for the Nuclear Power Corp. of India’s Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plants in Maharashtra, which is planned as the world’s largest nuclear power plant with a total capacity of 9,900 MW.
These two companies signed a strategic cooperation agreement between the two firms for the planned construction of six European Pressurised water Reactors (EPRs) at Jaitapur site.
The layout of nuclear power plant comprises two major parts, the nuclear island and the conventional (turbine) island. GE Power will design the conventional island for the Jaitapur nuclear plant and supply its main components. EDF will be responsible for engineering integration of the entire project.
Recently, India is shifting away from coal-based electricity to environment friendly sources for meeting the growing energy demands of its increasingly urban population. India plans to have nuclear power generation capacity of 22,480 MW by 2031 through projects.
India is facing 20 billion cyber threats per day: Cisco India
According to Cisco India, India is facing 20 billion cyber threats per day and the Banking and Financial Services Industry (BSFI) is facing 24% of it. CISCO SAARC President Sameer Garde told at the Cisco India Summit 2018 – with the theme ‘The Future Reimagine’.
Indian banks face heavy threats across the country, as 800 million accounts are linked and we are giving end-to-end solutions to contain it.
FACTFILE– Cyberattack
- A cyberattack is any type of offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, or personal computer devices.
- Cyberattack could be employed by nation-states, individuals, groups, society or organizations.
- Cyberattack may originate from an anonymous source.
- Cyberattack may steal, alter, or destroy a specified target by hacking into a susceptible system in computers and computer networks.
Unique initiative Project Sindhu Kshetra to prepare youths for joining armed forces
In view of the low presence of youths of Assam in the armed forces, the Sadiya district administration has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative, Project Sindhu Kshetra, to prepare the local youths for facing the challenges of competitive exams required for entry into these fields.
The administration has taking assistance of experts from the Army (20 Madras Regiment) and the CRPF (68 Battalion), and from other fields, for imparting training on soft-skill development.
Sadiya district’s backwardness, its vulnerability to extremist activities and the high unemployment, also pushed the administration to start the initiative.
To make the program sustainable and effective, Project Sindhu Kshetra will be made a perennial exercise and the database of each participant shall be kept and they will be provided with prompt notifications, concerning the requirement drives. Special sessions will also be held so as to keep the participants alert and active.
A total of hundred youths – mostly from economically backward families – are currently undergoing the training in four batches.
Sadiya being a remote place situated on the easternmost tip of the State, the level of awareness is less. The drive was aimed at giving exposure to local youths for appearing in tests for the armed forces – military, paramilitary and police – both at regional and pan-India level.
The project has been named Sindhu Kshetra after the ancient name of Sadiya.
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