Current Affairs for IAS Exams

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 11 November 2016

The Income Tax Department conducted searches in Mumbai and Delhi on hawala operators and bullion traders found accepting demonetised currency.
The IT searches followed “specific and definite information” against at least a dozen hawala operators and jewellers suspected to be dealing in demonetised currency in return for gold, sources said.
The monitoring in the cooperative banks is loose, and chances of manipulation and back-dated entries is high. But mainly, the searches were restricted to hawala operators in the Mumbai region.

Supreme Court declared that Punjab reneged on its promise to share the waters of rivers Ravi and Beas with neighbouring States like Haryana by unilaterally enacting the controversial Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act of 2004.
A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave gave its opinion on a Presidential Reference made to it 12 years ago, on July 22, 2004, questioning the constitutional validity of the Act.
The apex court concluded that the Act was illegally designed to terminate a 1981, agreement entered into among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to re-allocate the waters of Ravi and Beas. The SYL Canal was a product of this 1981 agreement.
By introducing the 2004 Act, the State defied two back-to-back apex court verdicts, pronounced in 2002 and 2004, it said.
The first one had directed Punjab to complete the SYL Canal in a year. The second judgment had ordered the formation of a central agency to “take control” of Punjab’s work on the canal.
In short, the Supreme Court said Punjab acted as “a judge in its own cause”. The State exceeded its legislative power in proceeding to nullify the decree of this court and therefore, the Punjab Act of 2004 cannot be said to be a valid legislation.

A day after Republican Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the U.S., it dawned on America that divisions are easy to create but difficult to heal.
The three protagonists of this election season — President Barack Obama, President-elect Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton — appealed for unity and calm, but protests broke out in many parts of the country.
In at least 25 cities across the country, protesters chanted ‘not my President’ and lit candles while numerous social media initiatives sought support to ensure that Mr. Trump is a one-term President.
The protesters marched on Trump buildings in several cities. College campuses in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also witnessed students protests.
Muslims, Hispanics and Blacks, three communities that felt particularly at the receiving end of Mr. Trump’s campaign, are more anxious.
The most unsettling prospect for minority communities is the potential repealing of Obamacare, which Mr. Trump has promised to do. The programme ensured health insurance for 20 million people who were not previously covered.