Current Affairs
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Novermber 2018 current affairs STATUE OF UNITY INDIA AS “THE TARIFF KING” CORE SECTORS OF ECONOMY DELHI TB SUMMIT: WHO US-MEXICO BORDER WALL OCTOBER GST COLLECTION EASE OF DOING BUSINESS INDEX 2018 NASANAS RETIRES KEPLER SPACE TELESCOPE 1. MAHARASHTRA REFORMS THE 29. INDIA, CHINA AMONG 8 COUNTRIES APMC ACT ALLOWED TO BUY IRANIAN OIL: MIKE 2. EASE OF DOING BUSINESS INDEX POMPEO 2018 30. TIGRESS SUNDARI CAPTURED IN 3. INDIA AS “THE TARIFF KING” ODISHA’S SATKOSIA RESERVE 4. CORE SECTORS OF ECONOMY 31. ‘SAMOSA CAUCUS’ 5. THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL 32. ASEAN MEMBER COUNTRIES OF PRODUCTION (IIP) RCEP OFFER INDIA CONCESSION 6. CREDIT RATING AGENCIES IN INDIA 33. KAMALADEVI CHATTOPADHYAY 7. NASA RETIRES KEPLER SPACE 34. NASA’S PARKER SOLAR PROBE TELESCOPE PROBE 8. STATUE OF UNITY 35. NOT IN DIRECT TALKS WITH 9. DELHI TB SUMMIT: WHO TALIBAN: MEA 10. ASIA BIBI TO LEAVE PAKISTAN 36. INDIA APPRECIATES U.S. WAIVER ON 11. US-MEXICO BORDER WALL NEW DELHI-TEHRAN ENERGY TRADE 12. FATHER OF WEB SEES SPLIT OF 37. THE CREDIT STIMULUS FOR MSMEs WEB GIANTS 38. WRESTLING: BAJARANG PUNIA IS 13. US SUPREME COURT ON INDIAN WORLD NO. 1 POWER PLANT 39. ‘EU SHOULD PAY MORE FOR 14. ₹1 LAKH-CRORE IN OCTOBER GST DEFENCE’ : USA COLLECTION 40. RUSSIA STEPS INTO AFGHAN PEACE 15. PRIVATE MEMBER BILL ON RAM EFFORTS TEMPLE 41. KHADA DUPATTA 16. PRIVATE MEMBER'S BILL 42. THE HUKITOLA BUILDING 17. INDIA PROTESTS CHINA-PAKISTAN 43. GOLD NANOPARTICLES TARGET BUS VIA PoK PROSTATE CANCER 18. ROMANCE OF KURINJI 44. WORLD’S LARGEST BRAIN-LIKE 19. PALAU TO BAN SUNSCREEN AS IT SUPERCOMPUTER (SPINNAKER) TRIES TO SAVE ITS CORAL REEFS 45. SIMBEX 20. RETALIATORY TARIFFS PUT OFF 46. CENTRE APPROVES RENAMING 21. CHOKED BY SMOG: ON AIR OF 25 PLACES IN PAST ONE YEAR POLLUTION 47. ISRO ‘s MISSION VENUS 22. U.S. RESTORES IRAN SANCTIONS 48. ‘DISGUISED UNEMPLOYMENT’ LIFTED UNDER OBAMA NUCLEAR DEAL 49. QUAD 23. INDIA, ZIMBABWE INK 6 AGREEMENTS 50. HIMA DAS IS UNICEF INDIA'S FIRST 24. PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT YOUTH AMBASSADOR RULES, 2016 51. GROWTH-INDIA TELESCOPE’S FIRST 25. GSAT-11 RETURNS TO GUIANA FOR SCIENCE OBSERVATION DECEMBER LAUNCH 52. GOVERNMENT DIRECTIONS TO RBI 26. ILLINOIS STATE BRACES ITSELF FOR UNDER SECTION 7 UNLIKELY ALL-INDIA CONGRESSIONAL RACE 53. BIMSTEC TO BOOST CONNECTIVITY 27.Classic KA, KU BANDS AND HTS IAS 54.Academy BOARD FOR FINANCIAL 28. PACIFIC ARCHIPELAGO VOTES ON SUPERVISION INDEPENDENCE FROM FRANCE 55. SOUTH KOREAN CANDIDATE CHOSEN AS INTERPOL CHIEF 56. THE SENTINELESE 1 57. ‘NEEDS OF 70% OF POPULATION MET 81. ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS: BY PRIVATE SECTOR’ HOME TO A TENTH OF INDIA’S FAUNA 58. ARTIFICIAL RAIN SPECIES 59. ABHIJIT BOSE NAMED WHATSAPP 82. HANTAVIRUSES INDIA HEAD 83. HOME IS THE DEADLIEST PLACE 60. US COURT ALLOWS DR.REDDY’S TO FOR WOMEN, SAYS UN STUDY SELL GENERIC VERSION OF 84. 'MISINFORMATION' AS WORD OF ‘SUBOXONE’ THE YEAR 61. GAUSE’S LAW IN ECOLOGY 85. RBI EASES ECB HEDGING NORMS 62. KHASHOGGI MURDER: EU CALLS FOR FOR COMPANIES 86. BUYBACK ACCOUNTABILITY 63. LEANING TOWER OF PISA 87. UKRAINE DECLARES MARTIAL LAW STRAIGHTENED BY 4 CM 88. CHINESE ACADEMIC CLAIMS TO 64. TERM OF OBC PANEL EXTENDED HAVE GENE-EDITED TWINS AGAIN 89. NASA'S INSIGHT SPACECRAFT 65. ‘PSBS CAN SEEK LOCS AGAINST LANDS ON RED PLANET DEFAULTERS’ 90. DEATH PENALTY FREAKISHLY 66. ONE MILLION CLOUD COMPUTING IMPOSED: JUSTICE KURIAN JOBS TO BE CREATED BY 2022 IN 91. TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION: ON INDIA: REPORT DAMAGE CAUSED BY CYCLONE 67. CLOUD COMPUTING GAJA 68. INDIA, CHINA SET FOR POST WUHAN 92. NORWAY’S CARLSEN BEATS BOUNDARY TALKS CARUANA TO DEFEND CHESS 69. AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES VISION 2035 WORLD TITLE FOR INDIA 93. ISRO'S PSLV-C43 SUCCESSFULLY 70. ILLIQUID STOCKS PLACES HYSIS 71. BANKS UNDER PCA SEE RETAIL LOAN 94. 51 PILOT WHALES DIE IN ANOTHER SHARE JUMP 400 BPS MASS STRANDING IN NEW ZEALAND 72. OCEANS ARE HEATING MUCH 95. PANDAVANI FASTER: STUDY 96. PHAD PAINTING 73. LUNAR LANDER FACES CRUCIAL 97. POWADA TEST 98. OPERATION SMILE 74. PETYA AND NONPETYA 99. GSP RANSOMWARE 100. LIST OF CENTRALLY 75. TECHPLOMACY SPONSORED SCHEMES (not 76. CORRIDOR OF HOPE: ON THE exhaustive) KARTARPUR PROPOSAL 77. TIGER RELOCATION 78. SYED MODI INTERNATIONAL BADMINTON: SAMEER VERMA DEFENDS TITLE , SAINA LOOSES IN ClassicFINAL IAS Academy 79. 27 EU LEADERS APPROVE TERMS OF BREXIT DEAL 80. 106 JUDICIAL POSTINGS CLEARED IN A MONTH 2 MAHARASHTRA REFORMS THE APMC India’s ranking in the World Bank’s – Ease of ACT Doing Business Index 2018, has made a giant leap of 30 positions – from 130th in 2016 to the With this Maharshtra has become second state 100 th spot in 2017. This jump can be after Bihar that amended the APMC ACT attributed to major improvement in significant comprehensively in 2006. parameters such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, resolving The Maharashtra government has promulgated insolvency, getting electricity and getting credit, an ordinance deregulating all agricultural produce from the APMC Act. This means among other parameters. farmers can now sell all agri-commodities The World Bank’s ‘Doing Business 2018 — outside regulated APMC markets in the state. Reforming to Create Jobs’ report ranks 190 The changes have been made in accordance countries based on a combined score on 10 with the Centre’s Model Agricultural Produce parameters. According to the report, India and Livestock Market Act 2017, he said adding features among the top 10 countries that have shown a marked improvement this year in six that the scope of the Act in the state has been out of 10 ‘Doing Business’ indicators. This widened to include promotion and facilitation comes as a positive news after 2016, when instead of regulation. India moved up only by a single position from Some of the other measures also include 131 to 130. Additionally, India’s combined or establishing markets of national importance Distance-to- Frontier (DTF) score also (MNI). At present, Asia’s largest agri market witnessed a spike - from 56.05 in the previous Azadpur Mandi, Delhi is the only Market of year to 60.76 now, which reflects the country National Importance (MNI) in the country. Now has improved in absolute terms as well. Maharashtra has taken the lead to frame a policy to encourage and grant the status of INDIA AS “THE TARIFF KING” Markets of National Importance to some of the US President Donald Trump described India as Agriculture Produce Market Committees “the tariff king”, accusing it of imposing (APMCs) in the state. “tremendously high” tariffs on American The move aims to strengthen the agricultural products. marketing system in the state and encourage While the recent tariff hikes may have been export and trading among states. If any APMC occasioned by the burgeoning current account receives more than 30 % arrivals of the total deficit and the fall in the rupee, they only from two other states then that committee reinforce a growing trend of protectionism in would be declared as APMC of national Asia’s third largest economy. While import importance. tariffs may provide the economy with short- This means that markets such as Mumbai, term relief, left uncorrected, the country’s lurch Pune, Nashik and Nagpur APMC’s may fit into toward protectionism could extract a steep this criterion. Therefore instead of a elected price in the years to come. body on the APMCs which is the current case, In order to compare the rate of protection in suchClassic markets a nominated board IASwould across Academy countries, we use the “effective average come into existence. tariff rate” here instead of a simple average of tariffs. EASE OF DOING BUSINESS INDEX 2018 3 Among members of the BRICS grouping— Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa— India has the highest effective tariff rates on THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION food items, automobiles and industrial inputs. (IIP) In consumer goods and capital goods, Brazil The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an has the highest effective tariff rates . The lack index for India which details out the growth of of clarity in information on tariffs at a product various sectors in an economy such as mineral level in India adds a further layer of protection, mining, electricity and manufacturing. The all according to some scholars. India IIP is a composite indicator that Data from the Global Trade Alert (GTA) measures the short-term changes in the database, which attempts to record all trade- volume of production of a basket of industrial related measures by public authorities, and not products during a given period with respect to just tariffs, shows that India and the US have that in a chosen base period. It is compiled and introduced the most trade restrictions so far in published monthly by the central statistical 2018. organisation (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation six weeks after the No wonder then that it was not just Trump who reference month ends. was complaining about India’s trade policies. A recent World Bank report accused India of The level of the Index of Industrial Production increasingly resorting to trade remedy (IIP) is an abstract number, the magnitude of measures such as anti-dumping and safeguard which represents the status of production in the actions. According to the report, between 2011 industrial sector for a given period of time as and 2015, India initiated around 10% of global compared to a reference period of time. anti-dumping investigations and 17% of new The base year was at one time fixed at 1993– safeguard investigations. 94 so that year was assigned an index level of The lurch toward protectionism is especially 100.