Important topics for 9 july 2019

          IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY 
                                    http://dailycurrentaffairs-sumit.blogspot.com
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BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                                                            9JULY2019

1.Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu expected in Delhi in September

Phalcon AWACS (warning systems)

AWACS:

The AWACS are advanced radars mounted on an aircraft to give 360 degree coverage to detect incoming aircraft and missiles at long ranges.

The AWACS platform plays significant role in Indian Air Force’s Network-Centric Operations. These aircraft have electronic intelligence (ELINT) and communications intelligence (COMINT)-gathering capabilities that help intercept signals from enemy areas, in monitoring troop build-up and to detect aerial threats.



It can also detect drones and cruise missiles from a range of 400km.

India had procured three Phalcon AWACS, Israeli radars mounted on Russian IL-76 transport aircraft, in 2003 at cost of $1 billion.

About CCS:

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is the highest executive body that takes a call on defence matters.

It decides on India’s defence expenditure, matters of National Security, and makes significant appointments.

CCS is chaired by the Prime Minister of India and comprises the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Home Affairs, and the Minister of External Affairs.

2.EPCA….

About Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA):

EPCA was constituted with the objective of ‘protecting and improving’ the quality of the environment and ‘controlling environmental pollution’ in the National Capital Region. The EPCA also assists the apex court in various environment-related matters in the region.

EPCA is Supreme Court mandated body tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region. It was notified in 1998 by Environment Ministry under Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Composition:

Besides the chairman, the EPCA has 14 members, some of whom are the environment secretary of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council, transport commissioner of the NCT, the commissioners of various municipal corporations of Delhi and professors at IIT Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Functions:

To protect and improve quality of environment and prevent and control environmental pollution in National Capital Region.

To enforce Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in NCR as per the pollution levels.

3.Uniform Civil Code ….

What is Uniform Civil Code?

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India proposes to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the country with a common set governing every citizen.

Is there a provision in Indian constitution for Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?

The constitution has a provision for Uniform Civil Code in Article 44 as a Directive Principle of State Policy which states that “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

What are the Pros of the Uniform Civil Code?

To provide equal status to all citizens

In the modern era, a secular democratic republic should have a common civil and personal laws for its citizens irrespective of their religion, class, caste, gender etc.

To promote gender parity

It is commonly observed that personal laws of almost all religions are discriminatory towards women. Men are usually granted upper preferential status in matters of succession and inheritance. Uniform civil code will bring both men and women at paR.

4.Operation Milap….

The operation Milap under

which children are rescued

was launched in December

2014. Under this

project, the Anti Human

Trafficking

Unit (AHTU) of

the Delhi Police develops information,

rescues the traf­

ficked

or kidnapped person

and arrests the kidnappers.

5. Leader of Opposition

(LoP) ….

LEADER OF OPPOSITION (LOP)

• In the year 1977- The leaders of opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were given statutory recognition. • They provide constructive criticism of the government policies. • Gets same salaries and allowances that are equivalent to a Cabinet minister – paid by the government. • To become leader of opposition, the single largest political party in opposition should have atleast 10% seats in the Lok Sabha. The Leader of such a party acts as the Leader of Opposition. Eligibility criteria of the LoP: • Each house has a LoP – leader of the largest party that has not less than one-tenth of the total strength of the house. In Lok sabha, total strength = 545, one tenth = 55. • Largest party in opposition and its leader is recognized by the Speaker / Chairman as a matter of convention established by 1st lok sabha speaker GV Mavlankar. Main opposition’s strength must be 10% of the total strength. The convention was later incorporated in Direction 121c, Directions by the Speaker. • LoP accorded statutory status and defined under Salary and allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977. Significance of the LoP: • To provide constructive criticism on the policies of the government. • Helps to represent a view contrary from that of government. • LoP is required on the panels that recommend key appointments like Lokpal, CVC, CIC etc. • As per the 2nd ARC setup a Civil service Board- for transfer posting of top bureaucratic posts, the members of this Committee, will be selected by PM and LoP. Different committees and Role of the LoP: Current Controversy related to the post (10% Rule): • Congress being the second largest party has 44 seats. Even If; in count the whole UPA alliance- its 60 members. It falls short of the 10% norm. After 10 years of being in the power, it does not get even LoP. • Therefore, Speaker of the LS declares, ‘neither congress nor the UPA leader can be declared as the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha because none has won the required 55 seats.” • Congress has been demanding the post of LoP but the Speaker rejected their proposal citing conventions and norms. However, her decision was criticized as there is no law that mandates the 10% eligibility. (In 16th Lok Sabha Assembly, National congress party did not get the requisite number and made the leader of opposition ( LoP ) in spite of not having LoP recognition , Mallikarjun Kharge has been inducted in CIC selection panel.) Comparison with other Countries: • Britain- the opposition is formally designated Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. They also form the Shadow Cabinet to balance the ruling cabinet and prepare its members for future ministerial offices. • United States – The President is held accountable by minority parties in Congress. A flourishing democracy should accommodate the fundamental right to dissent. Inclusion of LoP provides objectivity and a contrarian perspective to decisions and appointments made by the government.

6. Biodiversity Park at Gachibowl….Hyderabad…

7..National repository of photographs mooted…..

 National Crime Records

Bureau (NCRB) +..Automated FacialRecognition System (AFRS

8.A shot at economic logic

The 12th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) which concluded on July 8 at Niamey, the capital of the Niger Republic, saw 54 of 55 of its member states signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) for goods and services. Of these countries, 27 have already ratified it. Actual cross-border free trade could start by July 2020 with an elimination of custom duties on 90% of the tariff-lines. If taken to its logical conclusion, this audacious project would eventually create an African Common Market of 1.2 billion people and a GDP of over $3.4 billion — the metrics are comparable to India’s. The AfCFTA would be world’s largest FTA, and in a world dependent on African markets and commodities, it would have global impact.

What is African Continental Free Trade Agreement AfCFTA?

the 44 African countries from total 55 members of African Union (AU) have signed agreement to create African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), one of the world’s largest free trade blocs. The agreement was signed at a summit held in Kigali, Rwanda.... 

The signed AfCFTA agreement contains legal framework for free trade area. It will come into force after it is ratified by individual countries through their respective domestic processes. 10 countries including Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country have refused to sign the agreement.... 

9.Sedition….Section 124A    of the IPC states, Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life   to which fine may be added, or with impris­onment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine

10.foreign-made generic drugs

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)…The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011. The FSMA has given the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authorities to regulate the way foods are grown, harvested and processed.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

What FDA does?

The FDA exercises authority for inspections of facilities in foreign countries which supply pharma products to the US.

So, pharma plants in India that export to the US must adhere to the cGMP (current good manufacturing practices) as per FDA guidelines.

FDA officials often visit the facilities to check compliance with the rules.

FDA issues Form 483 at the completion of inspection.

What is Form 483?

If FDA finds deviations from cGMP, it is mentioned in the Form 483.

The form specifies areas in which the facility fell short of regulatory expectations.

It is then presented and discussed with the management of the company.

Along with the Form 483, the FDA also issues an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) which specifies whether action is required to be taken.

What will happen then?

The FDA calls for a response to the Form 483 observations within 15 working days.

Though a written response is not mandatory, it is preferred so that a warning letter can be avoided.

The company has to respond to the observations in detail with reasons for the shortcomings and corrective action plans.

If the management does not convincingly address the Form 483 observations within the specified time period, the FDA issues a warning letter.

Sometimes, if the observations are of a severe nature, the FDA may issue a warning letter even without issuing Form 483.

Unsatisfactory response to the warning letter could lead to further action including import alert for products or the facility, withholding of product approval, and suspension or cancellation of manufacturing license.

Why is it important?

The USA is the major market for several Indian pharma companies.

Indian companies have become dominant players in the US generic drugs space.

But over the past few years, there has been an increase in the issue of Form 483s .which further led to warning letters.

Over the past four years, India received the highest number of warning letters issued to a single country.

Also, the number of warning letters received by Indian companies has increased over these years.

The timeline for problem redressal and re-inspections have also lengthened.

If the regulatory crackdown continues, it could put a question mark on the growth story of many such companies.

Quick, satisfactory redressal of Form 483 observations is therefore important to stop further escalations to warning letters and more.

Why should we care?

If we have invested in pharma stocks, it makes sense to keep a close watch on FDA inspections and outcomes.

Many pharma stocks have been negatively impacted in the recent past due to adverse Form 483 observations and their escalations into warning letters and import alerts.

On the other hand, getting FDA clearances after re-inspection of facilities have seen pharma stocks rally sharply.

11.What are Free Trade Agreements (FTA)?

A Free Trade Agreement is an agreement between countries to reduce or eliminate barriers to trade.Trade barriers include tariff barriers like taxes and nontariff barriers like regulatory laws.

Trade barriers include tariff barriers like taxes and nontariff barriers like regulatory laws.

A Free Trade Agreement or FTA is an agreement between two or more countries where the countries agree on certain obligations that affect trade in goods and services, and protections for investors and intellectual property rights, among other topics.

12.Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill…..

Background:

Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951 provided for the erection of a National Memorial in memory of those killed or wounded on April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.

The 1951 Act also provided for a Trust to manage the National Memorial. The Trust as per the 1951 Act included the Prime Minister, as Chairperson, (ii) the President of the Indian National Congress, (iii) the Minister in-charge of Culture, (iv) the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, (v) the Governor of Punjab, (vi) the Chief Minister of Punjab, and (vii) three eminent persons nominated by the central government.

Changes:

The 2018 amendment bill removes the President of the Indian National Congress as a Trustee.

It clarifies that when there is no Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha will be the Trustee.

The 1951 act provided that the three eminent persons nominated by the central government will have a term of five years and will be eligible for re-nomination. The 2018 bill added a clause to allow the central government to terminate the term of a nominated trustee before the expiry of his term without assigning any reason.

13.India slams U.N. rights office report on J&K as continuation of ‘false narrative’….

(OHCHR),The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)…..

It is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system

It is responsible for promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.

It was created by UNGA on 15 March 2006 by adopting resolution 60/251 to promote human rights globally.

It had replaced former UN Commission on Human Rights.

It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Members: 

UNHRC is made up of 47 UN member states which are elected by UN General Assembly (UNGA) with specific number of seats allocated for each region of the globe.

The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive terms.

Functions: 

Members of the council work to engage countries on improving human rights.

They make decisions ranging from exposing violations to recommending that UN Security Council make referral to International Criminal Court (ICC).

UNJRC does not have authority to take action but can exert significant pressure on violating country.

It can also set up special rapporteurs with mandate to investigate and report human-rights violations and abuses.

The council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and engages the United Nations’ special procedures.

The General Assembly can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term of membership.

The suspension process requires a two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly.

United States under President Donald Trump Administration had withdrawn from UNHRC after it questioned legitimacy of the council

because of presence of several dictatorial regimes violating human rightS.

14.AVIATION SCAM…..

Enforcement Directorate’. The Directorate General of Economic Enforcement is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. It comprises officers of the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service. The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1st 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’.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted by the NDA government to prevent money-laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from money-laundering. PMLA and the Rules notified there under came into force with effect from July 1, 2005.

DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is the Indian governmental regulatory body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents. It is headquartered along Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite Safdarjung Airport, in New Delhi

15.RBI board finalises

‘Utkarsh 2022’

The Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) board, which met in

New Delhi, finalised

a threeyear

roadmap to improve

regulation and supervision,

among other functions of

the central bank

16.TRAI…..

Established in 1997

Established by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997

TRAI is an independent regulator of Telecom Business in India.

Aims to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.

Its mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in India to enable country to have leading role in emerging global information society.

It also provides fair and transparent environment that promotes level playing field and facilitates fair competition in the market.

It also regularly issues orders and directions on various subjects such as tariffs, quality of service, interconnections, Direct To Home (DTH) services and mobile number portability.

TRAI also fixes or revises the tariffs for telecom services in India.

Digital

Communications Commission

(DCC) — the highest decision

making body in the

DoT …..

17.The National Company Law Tribunal or NCLT is a quasi-judicial body in India adjudicating issues concerning companies in the country. It was formed on June 1, 2016 as per the provisions of the Companies Act 2013 (Section 408) by the Indian government.

It was formed based on the recommendations of the Justice Eradi Committee that was related to insolvency and winding up of companies in India.

As of now, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has established 11 Benches of the tribunal with the Principal Bench at New Delhi. The other 12 Benches are at Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Guwahati, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi and Hyderabad. There are two more proposed Benches to be established at Indore and Amaravathi.

Each Bench is headed by a President, 16 judicial members and 9 technical members. The current and the first President of the NCLT is Justice MM Kumar.

NCLT Functions

All proceedings under the Companies Act such as arbitration, arrangements, compromise, reconstruction and winding up of the company will be disposed off by the Tribunal.

The NCLT is also the Adjudicating Authority for insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

In the above mentioned subjects, no civil court will have jurisdiction.

The NCLT has the authority to dispose of cases pending before the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), as well as, those pending under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985.

Also to take up those cases pending before the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.

It can also take up cases relating to the oppression and mismanagement of a company.

Decisions taken by the NCLT can be appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The decisions of the NCLAT can be appealed to the Supreme Court on a point of law.



18.Italy’s Prosecco hills join

UNESCO Heritage list ….

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