Current affairs- April 19, 2016
Services corner bulk of FDI inflows
According to an analysis of the official data by the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion and Citi Research,more than half of total FDI
inflows in 2015 came into the services sector, comprising software,
financial services, trading, hospital and tourism.
Key facts:
- Although India received an
all-time high annual foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015, the surge is
led by the inflows into the services sector.
- In 2014, the services
sector accounted for about a third of the gross inflows. FDI into the
sector in 2015 was 111% higher than in 2014.
- The inflows into the
manufacturing sector are up 6% in 2015 after the 19% fall in 2014. FDI
into infrastructure in 2015 was marginally lower than in 2014.
- Inflows to construction
surged 188% from $1527 million to $4,405 million. Insurance received $581
million against $236 million, a 146% jump.
- FDI in Railways declined
67% to $71 million from $213 million in the previous year. Air transport
too saw lower inflows — $50 million against $73 million. For mining the
fall was from $666 million to $547 million. The defence sector is yet to
receive FDI.
- In the 20 months of the
NDA government, India has received total FDI of $85 billon compared to $59
billion in a similar period before that. FDI outflows (Indians investing
overseas) declined 37%, confirming the change in investor sentiment.
Kohinoor given away voluntarily to British: Govt.
The centre has told the Supreme Court that the Kohinoor was given
away voluntarily to British. This was stated by the centre
during a hearing of a petition filed by an NGO, on whether the government
intends to make a bid to get back the Kohinoor.
What the centre says?
The heirs of Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave the Kohinoor to the
British as voluntary compensation to cover the expenses of the Anglo-Sikh Wars.
Way ahead:
The court has asked the petitioner to file a comprehensive
affidavit covering all possible dimensions of the matter after consulting the
Ministry of External Affairs and the Union Ministry of Culture.
Background:
- The return of
Kohinoor diamond to India has been a long-standing demand, with many
claiming that the diamond was taken forcibly. The fight to get back the
diamond has been ongoing since India’s independence.
- The Indian government,
believing the gem was rightfully theirs, made the first demand for the
return of the Kohinoor diamond soon after independence. A second request
followed in 1953, the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Each
time, the British government refuted the claims, saying that ownership was
non-negotiable.
- In 2000, several
members of the Indian Parliament signed a letter calling for the diamond
to be given back to India, claiming it was taken illegally. British
officials said that a variety of claims meant it was impossible to
establish the gem’s original owner.
Who owns the
diamond, anyway?
It is not just India that is claiming ownership of the diamond;
the list includes Pakistan and Aghanistan, too.
Key facts:
- The diamond belonged to
the Sikh Ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
- It has been in British
possession for more than 150 years.
- It is now priced at 100
million euros.
Are there no rights violations in Union
Territories, SC asks Centre
In what could be a first step towards Union territories getting
better access to justice, the Supreme Court has questioned why people in these
central government regulated regions were to come to Delhi to file their
complaints regarding human rights violations.
What the Centre says?
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that Delhi cannot have a
State Human Rights Commission as it is a Union Territory and not a State. It
says, “Delhi has to continue without an SHRC until Parliament amends the law.”
Background:
The court’s question came on a contempt petition filed against the
government for failing to set up a state human rights commission (SHRC) in Delhi.
The apex court, in a verdict last year, had directed Delhi, Nagaland, Mizoram,
Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh to set up SHCs in their respective
states within six months. The petition was filed for the alleged violation of
this verdict.
- It should be
noted here that Delhi accounts for the second largest human rights
violation cases, after Uttar Pradesh, with the National Human Rights
Commission.
State Human
Rights Commission:
The Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993 provides for the creation of not only the National Human Rights
Commission but also a State Human Rights Commission at the state level.
Jurisdiction:
A State Human Rights Commission can inquire into violation of
human rights only in respect of subjects mentioned in the State List (List-II)
and the Concurrent List (List-III) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
However, if any such case is already being inquired into by the National Human
Rights Commission or any other Statutory Commission, then the State Human
Rights Commission does not inquire into that case.
Composition:
- The State Human Rights
Commission is a multi-member body consisting of a chairperson and two
members.
- The chairperson should be
a retired Chief Justice of a High Court and members should be a serving or
retired judge of a High Court or a District Judge in the state with a
minimum of seven years experience as District Judge and a person having
knowledge or practical experience with respect to human rights.
- The chairperson and
members are appointed by the Governor on the recommendations of a
committee consisting of the chief minister as its head, the speaker of the
Legislative Assembly, the state home minister and the leader of the
opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
- In the case of a state
having Legislative Council, the chairman of the Council and the leader of
the opposition in the Council would also be the members of the committee.
- A sitting judge of a High
Court or a sitting District Judge can be appointed only after consultation
with the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned state.
Term:
- The chairperson and
members hold office for a term of five years or until they attain the age
of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
- After their tenure, the
chairperson and members are not eligible for further employment under a
state government or the Central government.
Appointment
and removal:
- Although the chairperson
and members of a State Human Rights Commission are appointed by the
governor, they can be removed only by the President (and not by the
governor).
- The President can remove
them on the same grounds and in the same manner as he can remove the
chairperson or a member of the National Human Rights Commission.
Facts
- IndianOil
Corporation has inked an MoU with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to
examine the possibility of jointly working on setting up a LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) import terminal at Chittagong port
and other downstream infrastructure in that country. The agreement would
help India use the Chittagong port for importing LPG and then
transporting it to Tripura through pipeline for use
in northeastern states.
- Scientists have identified three new
species of mouse lemurs in Madagascar, taking the total number
of known mouse lemur species to 24. Mouse lemurs are small,
nocturnal primates, which are only found in Madagascar – and they all look very similar with their brown fur and
large eyes. The three new discovered species are named- Ganzhorn’s mouse
lemur, Microcebus manitatra and Microcebus boraha. According to the “Red
List” of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) more
than 100 known species of lemurs are threatened by extinction and
represent the world’s most endangered group of mammals.
- Reliance Jio has announced
the launch of its 8,100-km Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) offering direct connectivity to South East Asia and the
Middle East. The undersea cable landing facility is housed in
Chennai. BBG connects India to South East Asia and the Middle East,
with onward connectivity to Europe, Africa and Far East Asia via
connections to other cable systems. It has an initial capacity of 9Tbps, based on 100-Gbps wavelengths. Other members of the
consortium include Dialog Axiata, Etisalat, Omantel, Telecom Malaysia, and
Vodafone. The consortium awarded a construction contract for the submarine
cable systems in 2013 to Alcatel-Lucent. BBG uses high-speed broadband
fibre optic technology; dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)
which allows the capacity to be increased without any additional submarine
intervention.
- The Government has
released a Rs.200 commemorative coin and a Rs.10 circulation coin on the
occasion of theMartyrdom
day of Tatya Tope, one of the outstanding Indian leaders
of the 1857 revolt against the British. Tatya tope fought during 1857
revolt along with Jhansi ki Rani and Nana Sahib. He was defeated by GeneralNapier’s British Indian troops at Ranod and after a further defeat at Sikar abandoned the campaign. He was executed by the British
Government at Shivpuri on April 18, 1859.
- Maharashtra government has
decided to make it mandatory to have a hologram on every alcohol
bottle manufactured and sold in the state in order to check sale of
spurious liquor.
