Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
The 42nd Indian Social Science Congress (ISSC-2018) was inaugurated by Manipur governor Dr Najma Heptulla at KIIT University campus in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on December 27. The theme of the Congress was ‘Human Future in Digital Era’. The ISSC is the annual meet of social scientists organised by Indian Social Science Academy (ISSA). It is a multidisciplinary national forum, which promotes integration of Science of Nature-Humans-Society through intra, inter and multi disciplinary appraisal of current research and theory.

Notes:
As per 2nd schedule of the RBI Act of 1934, the ESAF Small Finance Bank (SFB) Ltd has got approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a scheduled bank. This makes ESAF the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala after Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, and Dhanlaxmi Bank. Being a scheduled bank, ESAF can step up resource mobilisation through the issue of certificate of deposits and inter-bank borrowings at competitive rates of interest. The bank can also seek funds from trusts, associations, religious institutions and mutual funds. It will also enable the bank to avail higher refinance facility. It will also assume more responsibility for the implementation of government schemes and Aadhaar enrolment services. ESAF has a presence in urban, semi-urban, rural and unbanked rural areas with a network of 432 banking outlets across 13 States. The headquarters of ESAF is located at Thrissur, Kerala.

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:
A government committee, headed by IIT-Hyderabad chairman B V R Mohan Reddy, has advised the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to stop setting up new colleges from 2020 and review the creation of new capacity every two years after that. The panel has also suggested that no additional seats should be approved in traditional engineering areas such as mechanical, electrical, civil and electronics and that institutes should be encouraged to convert current capacity in traditional disciplines to emerging new technologies. This recommendation has been justified on the ground that current capacity utilisation in traditional disciplines is just 40% as opposed to 60% seat occupancy in branches such as computer science and engineering, aerospace engineering and mechatronics. For the same reason, the committee has urged the AICTE to introduce undergraduate engineering programmes exclusively for artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, quantum computing, data sciences, cyber security and 3D printing and design.

Notes:
On 1st January 2019, Jair Bolsonaro has been sworn-in as new president of Brazil for a four-year term. He is a member of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) and succeeded Michel Temer. Bolsonaro won the presidential election by a wide margin against Fernando Haddad of the left-wing Workers Party on 28 October 2018.

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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.

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Recently, German authorities approved an $8 billion rail and road tunnel linking Denmark and Germany, despite environmental objections. The project comprises a four-lane motorway and a two-track railway. It is part-funded by the European Union (EU). The 19 km Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link is a planned immersed tunnel that is proposed to connect the Danish island of Lolland with the German island of Fehmarn. It was due to be completed in 2024, but has been delayed by environmental protests in Germany. The link would cross over the Fehmarn Belt in the Baltic Sea – 18 km wide – hence providing a direct link by railway and highway between northern Germany and Lolland, and thence to the Danish island of Zealand and Copenhagen. Once completed, it will become the world’s longest road and rail tunnel, and will open new socio-economic opportunities on both sides of the border.

Notes:
France has recently introduced a new “GAFA tax” – named after the large internet and technology companies viz. Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive businesses in Europe. The so-called GAFA tax targeting major digital firms comes into force on 1st January 2019. Some other EU member states such as Britain, Spain and Italy are also working on national versions of a digital tax, with Singapore and India also planning their own schemes.

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:
President Ram Nath Kovind nominated Justice AK Sikri as the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) with effect from December 31, 2018. The post got vacant after the retirement of Justice Madan B Lokur. The NALSA was constituted on 5th December 1995 under the authority of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987. Its purpose is to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. The Chief Justice of India is the Patron-in-Chief, while second seniormost judge of Supreme Court of India (SCI) traditionally takes over as the Executive Chairman of the Authority. The prime objective of NALSA is speedy disposal of cases and reducing the burden of judiciary.