Current Affairs for IAS Exams

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 May 2017

::National::

$500 million line of credit to Mauritius

India announced a $500 million line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries decided to firm up cooperation in the field of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
Mr. Modi said he and Mr. Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities and provide security to the people of both the countries.
Mr. Jugnauth said the two countries need to ensure that the sea lanes of communications are safe and secure and regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities such as piracy, illegal fishing in the territorial waters and drug trafficking.
A decision to extend the operational life of Coast Guard ship Guardian, that was given by India to Mauritius under a grant assistance programme, was also taken.
During his visit to Mauritius in March 2015, Mr. Modi had commissioned offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Barracuda, built and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
Holding that Mauritius has “strong” defence and security ties with India, the visiting prime minister said the acquisition of such OPVs and fast interceptor boats from India has enhanced the operational capacities of its police and coast guard.
Besides the maritime pact, three other agreements were also signed after talks between the two leaders.
They were for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius, one on cooperation in ocean research and the US dollar Credit Line Agreement between the SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Company and Export-Import Bank of India.

Sovereignty concerns for migration workers issue

Glitches in implementation of the programme brought down the speed of clearances. The issue was also raised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited the UAE in August that year.
But the UAE Ambassador’s ‘sovereignty’ concerns are only one part of a much larger worry for the government as India has seen a job crunch in the Gulf markets in the past few years.
According to a World Bank study on emigrants and remittances worldwide, published in April 2017, while India retained the top position as a recipient of remittances, it saw the biggest year-on-year decline of 8.9% in 2016.
In 2014 India received $69.6 billion in remittances, which dipped to $68.9 billion in 2015 and fell to $62.7 billion last year.
While the timing may seem coincidental, given global job-loss trends, many say India’s decision to enforce more protective measures for its labour force through the eMigrate programme in 2015 and a system of Minimum Referral Wages (MRW) in 2014 have made Indian labour much more difficult to hire by foreign employers.
In 2015, of the three countries, Mr. Nawaz says, India accounted for 37% of the labour, Pakistan accounted for 44%, while Bangladesh accounted for just 19%.
However, in the first three months of 2017, Bangladesh has reversed that trend and now accounts for 51% of the South Asian labour output to Gulf countries.
More than five million Indian nationals work in Gulf countries with a majority of them hired as blue-collar workers in labour intensive sectors including construction, industrial sector, transport, supply and service sectors.

Public money can’t be used to defend Chief Minister

Public money can’t be used to defend Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for statements made in his personal capacity against Union Minister Arun Jaitley, a senior law officer has advised Delhi Lieutentant-Governor Anil Baijal.
The legal opinion was tendered in response to several queries by the L-G on whether statements by Mr. Kejriwal against Mr. Jaitley were in his official capacity and should a special lawyer be provided to the Chief Minister at the expense of the State Exchequer.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain said the statements made by Mr. Kejriwal on his personal Twitter account “have no connection” with his official or public duties and were “distinctly in his individual or personal capacity”.

:International::

Iraqi forces launched a broad assault on city Mosul

Iraqi forces launched a broad assault on parts of battleground second city Mosul still held by the Islamic State group, the military announced.
The offensive is the latest push in the more than seven-month battle to retake Mosul, a linchpin in IS’s now crumbling bid to establish a cross-border jihadist “state”.
Multiple security forces units are attacking “what remains of the unliberated areas” on the west bank of the River Tigris, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
“Army forces attacked Al-Shifaa neighbourhood and the Republican Hospital, federal police forces Al-Zinjili neighbourhood, and counter-terrorism forces attacked Al-Saha al-Oula neighbourhood,” it said.
All three neighbourhoods are located north of the Old City, a warren of closely spaced buildings and narrow streets that has posed significant challenges to Iraqi forces seeking to oust the IS.
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped “hundreds of thousands of leaflets” on IS-held areas of Mosul urging “citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces”.

::Business and Economy::

The output of Darjeeling tea has steadily declined

The output of Darjeeling tea has steadily declined over the last few decades owing to inadequate organic research, climate change and a lack of technical support.
Production is stagnating at about eight million kgs over the past few years. The slopes of eastern Himalayas is the only region in the world, where this tea, with its unique muscatel flavour, can be grown.
Darjeeling tea output stood at 8.42 million kgs in 2014, rising to 8.69 million kgs in 2015 before dropping to 8.45 million kgs in 2016, official statistics showed.
According to Darjeeling Tea Association, output stood at 14 million kgs in 1991. There were some 87 operational tea estates in Darjeeling which grew and manufactured the leaves, most of which are meant for exports.
An inadequate region-specific or organic research, climate-change impact, and lack of technical support were among factors for the stagnation of the crop.
The industry is not only losing the crop but facing a loss in revenue with most of the 35 companies with estates in Darjeeling posting operational losses.
The high cost of operations, coupled with unremunerative prices, especially for lower grades, and the ageing bushes (average 75 years) have contributed to the current scenario, according to DTA officials.
The average production cost of the Darjeeling tea industry is about Rs. 450 per kg. The fact that the erratic weather has mostly occurred during the peak ‘first-flush’ and ‘second- flush’ seasons (which yields the premium teas), has also affected earnings.