Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
Recently, the Delhi High Court has ruled that Section 354A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be used by transgender persons to register complaints of sexual harassment. The Section 354A of the IPC deals with sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment. The development came after a transgender student’s complaint of sexual harassment was not entertained by the police. The Delhi University student wanted to lodge a complaint against male students who allegedly sexually harassed her on the college campus. According to the police, there was a lack of an appropriate penal section under which they could register such a complaint. In it, the HC bench also allowed the petitioner to maintain anonymity and directed that the cause title would read, Anamika versus Union of India & Ors. The bench also stated that the Supreme Court’s National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) judgment of 2014 was gender neutral.

Notes:
President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoye has recently announced 2019 as the ‘Year of Active Investment and Social Development’ in the backdrop of proposed investments from India to boost economy of this Central Asian country, in his annual address to the Parliament. The President stated that concrete measures will be taken on creating an open economy, radically improving the business environment and investment climate, reducing the state presence in the economy. Activities on improving the health of the population will continue at a new level. He further stressed that investment was the driver of economy, new technologies, advanced experience and highly qualified specialists come with investments into all sectors and regions.

Notes:
India has slashed import taxes on crude and refined palm oil sourced from Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries after a request from suppliers. According to the official notification, the duty on crude palm oil was lowered to 40% from 44%, while the tax on refined palm oil was cut to 45% from 54% if imported from Malaysia and to 50%, if purchased from Indonesia or other member-nations of ASEAN. India imports 60% — 15.5 million tonnes annually — of its edible oil requirements, largely from Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina and Ukraine. The reduction will lead to higher imports of palm oil by the world’s biggest edible oil buyer in coming months as it would narrow the difference between the tropical vegetable oil and competitors such as soyabean oil and sunflower oil.

Notes:
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has recently launched the Ujjwala Sanitary Napkin initiative in Bhubaneswar to improve female hygiene and health and employability of rural women. Under the new initiative, 100 manufacturing units will be set up at Common Service Centres (CSCs) covering 93 blocks in the State at an estimated cost of Rs 2.94 crore. Each manufacturing unit will employ five or six Ujjwala beneficiaries with an aim to provide employment to nearly 600 women across all districts. The women will first receive training in manufacturing and sale of sanitary napkins. Each facility will have the capacity to produce 1200-2000 pads per day and will have a sterilisation room to ensure that the napkins are sterilised before they are packed for use. The sanitary napkins will be priced at Rs 42 per pack of eight pads. This initiative will provide women with an opportunity to earn between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 per month. Thus, the Central scheme will be a counter to the Odisha government’s Khushi scheme, in which sanitary napkins are provided free of cost to female students of government and government-aided schools in the state.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently approved amendment to the Trade Unions Act of 1926 to make provisions regarding Recognition of Trade Unions. The amendment provides for insertion of section 10A in the principal Act to power centre and state governments to recognize trade unions and federation of Trade Unions at Central as well as State level. The proposed bill will also provides for insertion of clause (ba) in Section 29(2) of the Act, which empowers the centre and states to make regulations for manner of recognition of trade unions and deciding disputes in this regard. After the amendment Act is passed, the manner of recognition will be prescribed in the regulations. The present act provides for only registration of trade unions. Currently, there is no provision for recognition of unions in the Act.

Notes:
Parliament has passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018, with the Rajya Sabha approving it on 3rd January 2019. The bill seeks to amend a law to abolish the ‘no detention policy’ till Class VIII by enabling state governments to allow schools to fail students. The Lok Sabha had already passed the bill seeking to further amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 to abolish the no-detention policy in schools on July 2018. Under the current provisions of the RTE Act, no student can be detained till class 8 and all students are promoted to the next grade. As per the amendment, it would be left to the States to decide whether to continue the no-detention policy. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar assured the Rajya Sabha that no child will be excluded from school in case he or she fails. The Bill provides for a regular examination in classes V and VIII and if the child fails, he or she shall be given additional opportunity for re-examination in two months’ time.

Notes:
HDFC Mutual Fund has surpassed ICICI Prudential MF to become the India’s largest Asset Management Company (AMC). As per the latest data available with Association of Mutual funds in India (Amfi), HDFC MF manages assets worth Rs 3.35 lakh crore, while ICICI Prudential MF stood at Rs 3.08 lakh crore as of December 2018. MFs are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors and invest in stocks, bonds and money market instruments, among others.

Notes:
On 9th January 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a series of development projects worth Rs. 2900 Crores for the Agra city and the adjoining areas during his second visit to the city. He launched Gangajal project, which will provide Agra with better and more assured water supply. The aim of the Gangajal project is to bring 140 cusecs of Ganga water to Agra. This will help meet the drinking water demands in the city. He also laid the foundation stone for an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) for the Agra Smart City project. In this project CCTVs will be installed throughout Agra City for monitoring and surveillance for the purpose of safety and security. The smart city project is meant to develop the tourism destination as a modern world-class city. Besides, the SN Medical College in Agra will be upgraded with a 100-bed maternity wing. During his first visit in November 2016, he had launched a housing project, the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin). Under this scheme, 65 lakh houses have been constructed so far, including 9.2 lakh in Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
Chief Minister Pema Khandu has recently inaugurated India’s longest 300-meter single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over River Siang in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China. The suspension bridge – also known as Byorung bridge – was built at a cost of Rs 4,843 crore and funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) under Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme. It will reduce the distance from Yingkiong to Tuting town by almost 40 km. The earlier road length was 192 km. The Byorung bridge will benefit about 20,000 people residing on both sides of the bank of Siang river and will also boost military preparedness.

Notes:
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has appointed Su Tseng-chang as the island’s new Prime Minister, during a Cabinet reshuffle following the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s heavy losses in local elections. Su’s appointment follows the widely-expected resignation of William Lai, the second premier to quit since Tsai took office in 2016, in line with a practice of leaders quitting when their party loses a major election. Su is a former premier appointed in 2006 by then-President Chen Shui-bian and was a chairman of Tsai’s DPP for two terms.