All India Radio News Summary: 12 SEPTEMBER 2017

All India Radio News Summary: 12 SEPTEMBER 2017

1. India and Belarus Relationship

President of Belarus’s visit is significant as it taking place in a year when Belarus and India are celebrating 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations

• India and Belarus have signed ten MoUs in areas like Oil and Gas, Youth Affairs and Sports, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Agricultural Research and Education and Culture.
• Both the leaders reviewed the architecture of partnership; considered ideas and initiatives for further expanding it and decided to enhance interaction in all aspects of cooperation.
• The Prime Minister said, there has been progress in discussion on utilising the 100 million dollars line of credit offered by India in 2015 in specific projects in Belarus.
• He said, companies of India and Belarus have to evolve from a buyer-seller framework to deeper engagement as there are abundant business and investment opportunities in pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, heavy machinery and equipment sectors.
• He said, last year Indian companies made a positive beginning with three joint ventures in pharmaceuticals.
• Possibility for partnership also exists in manufacturing of tyres, agro-industrial machinery and mining equipment.
• Similarly, in heavy-duty construction machinery, India has a growing demand and Belarus has industrial strengths.
• The Prime Minister said, India is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union. He said, India and Belarus will continue extending mutual support for each other in multilateral fora.

President of Belarus invited Indian companies to take benefit of the brilliant opportunities in his country.

• He said, India will play a big role in the multi-polar world.
• He said, Belarus and India are in the new stage of the cooperation and he said, Belarus admires India and its political and economic successes.  
• The two leaders also released commemorative postage stamp to mark the 25th anniversary of India-Belarus diplomatic relationships.

2. Traffic on the 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar national highway will remain closed

Traffic on the 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar national highway will remain closed for vehicular movement today. Traffic was suspended after a massive landslide blocked the arterial road and also damaged a bridge in Udhampur district. The landslide struck the national highway, linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, at Morh Passi near Balli Nallah in Udhampur district damaging a bridge and blocking the road.

Landslides in the Himalayas

• Landslides are very common in the Himalayas especially during monsoon season. Himalayan landslides can be attributed to the fact that Himalayas lies at the convergence zone of two lithospheric plates,e., Indian plate in the south and Eurasian plate in the north. Thus geologically, it is considered very active as the height of the Himalayas is still increasing.
• Presence of large number of faults and lineaments make the region geologically very fragile and susceptible to landslides at any scale 
• Most of the landslides are natural and anthropogenic activities, such as construction of roads using blasting technique and dams are just triggering events.

3. The current wave of monsoon would cover the shortfall in rain in the country this season

The current wave of monsoon would cover the shortfall in rain in the country this season. DG of the India Meteorological Department said in the next few days good rainfall will cover the loss. 

• The rainfall seasonal deficiency which was existing over Kerala, Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra has been covered up and the deficit which exist now over Vidarbha and East & West Madhya Pradesh regions are getting covered up.

The southwest monsoon has remained weak in recent weeks which have widened the country’s total rainfall deficit for the season to six percent. However, there are signs of revival, in the second half of September.

4. State Start-up conference

The commerce and industry ministry is organising a state Start-up conference today to deliberate on issues including incubation facilities and making regulations easier for budding entrepreneurs.

• A framework for ranking states and Union Territories on the basis of initiatives taken by them to promote start-ups will also be discussed in the conference.
• The move is expected to provide momentum towards building a positive start-up ecosystem in states.

5. China and Russia have joined a unanimous UN vote to impose new sanctions on North Korea

China and Russia have joined a unanimous UN vote to impose new sanctions on North Korea after its sixth and largest nuclear test. The council voted 15-0 to back the US-drafted sanctions resolution banning exports of coal, lead and seafood.  

• Pyongyang has claimed to have developed a hydrogen bomb and has continuously threatened to strike the US.
• North Korea is already under UN sanctions to force the leadership to curtail its weapons programme.
• The new sanctions were agreed after the US removed some of the tougher proposals it had announced last week, including a complete oil embargo and measures to freeze the assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

6. EU Withdrawal Bill

The Government’s bid to extract the UK from EU law in time for Brexit has passed its first Parliamentary test. The EU Withdrawal Bill was backed by MPs by 326 to 290 in a late-night vote despite critics saying it represented a power-grab by the government. The bill,  which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, now moves on to its next Parliamentary stage.

7. The Apex Court has modified its last year’s order regarding fire crackers

The Apex Court has modified its order of November last year, suspending all licences for sale and retail of fire crackers within Delhi and NCR.

• The court said, suspension of permanent licences is lifted for the time being and it may need a review after Diwali depending on air quality.
• The apex court also directed the Delhi Police to reduce grant of temporary licences by about 50 per cent of those granted last year and put the cap at 500.
• The court also appointed a committee to conduct a study on the health of people due to bursting of crackers during the festival season.

8. Tougher conditions for both military and economic aid to Pakistan

In the United States, Appropriations committees in the Senate as well as in the House of Representatives have proposed tougher conditions for Washington for both military and economic aid to Pakistan.

• The committees called for meeting benchmarks for progress in the fight against terrorism.
• Passing the annual appropriations bill for the State Department for the year 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee said, it remains concerned with the commitment by Pakistan to US strategic objectives in the region, including combating terrorism.
• The appropriations bill continues to withhold 33 million US dollar funds of assistance to Pakistan until the Secretary of State certifies to the Congress that Islamabad is co-operating with the US in counter terrorism efforts against domestic and foreign terrorist organisations, including Haqqani Network, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Al-Qaeda.

9. Doordarshan and All India Radio will give information to Divyangs regarding their rights

Information and Broadcasting Minister has said, Doordarshan and All India Radio will give information to Divyangs regarding their rights and several schemes which are being run by the Centre.

• She said people should be sensitive towards the rights of Divyangs.
• She said, the education standards for Divyangs should be raised and they must be informed about their career prospects.

10. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund, DIDF

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund, DIDF with an outlay of Ten thousand 881 crore rupees during the period from 2017-18 to 2028-29.

• Out of this, eight thousand four crore rupees shall be loan from NABARD to National Dairy Development Board and National Dairy Development Cooperation.
• The project will focus on building an efficient milk procurement system by setting up of chilling infrastructure and installation of electronic milk adulteration testing equipment, creation of processing infrastructure and manufacturing faculties for value added products for the Milk Producer Companies.
• Farmers residing in 50 thousand villages will be benefited from the scheme.
• The implementation of DIDF scheme will generate 40 thousand direct  employment and about 2 lakh indirect employment opportunities for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower.

11. India has regretted criticism by UN Human Rights body on Rohingya issue

India has regretted criticism by UN Human Rights body on Rohingya issue. The reaction came a day after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights criticised the Indian government’s plan to deport Rohingya refugees.

• India’s Permanent Representative to the UN today stated that enforcing laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion and expressed regret that the UN body had overlooked the central role of terrorism.  
• He also insisted that India is concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges.
• He said, assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience.
• He said, India believes achieving human rights goals calls for objective consideration, balanced judgements, and verification of facts.

Addressing UN Human Rights Council’s 36th session in Geneva, UN human rights chief had criticized any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar when the ethnic minority community is facing violence in their country.