Daily Current Affairs 28 January 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Bodo groups to redraw, rename territory

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Assam government and Bodo groups on Monday signed an agreement to redraw and rename the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) in Assam, currently spread over the four districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, and Udalguri.
As per the agreement, villages dominated by Bodos that were present outside the BTAD would be included and those with nonBodo population would be excluded, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Bodos living in the hills would be granted Scheduled Hill Tribe status
the agreement had not addressed the issue of “citizenship or work permit” for non-domiciles in the BTAD, to be renamed as the Bodoland Territorial Region.
Several Bodo groups, led by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), have been demanding separate land for the ethnic community since 1972, a movement that has claimed nearly 4,000 lives. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who presided over the event, said the signing of the agreement would “end the 50yearold Bodo crisis”.
Today, Assam is united. Around 1,500 cadres of NDFB (P), NDFB (RD) and NDFB (S) will be rehabilitated by Centre and Assam Government. They will be assimilated in the mainstream and will surrender on January 30 on Bapu’s death anniversary
The memorandum of the settlement says that the criminal cases registered against members of the NDFB factions for “nonheinous” crimes shall be withdrawn by the Assam government
and in cases of heinous crimes it will be reviewed. Civilians numbering 2,823, 239 security personnel and 939 Bodo cadres have been killed so far. Mr. Shah said that the families of those killed during the Bodo movement would get ₹5 lakh each.
After the agreement, the NDFB factions will leave the path of violence, surrender their weapons and disband their armed organizations within a month of signing the deal.” A Special Development Package of ₹1500 crore would be given by the Centre to undertake specific projects for the development of Bodo areas,

2) 1st Advance Estimates of 2019-20 of Area and Production of various Horticulture Crops

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare have released the Final Estimates of 2018-19 and 1st Advance Estimates of 2019-20 of Area and Production of various Horticulture Crops. These are based on the information received from different State/UTs and other source agencies.

Highlights of 2019-20 (1st Advance Estimates)

Total Horticulture production in 2019-20 (1st Advance Estimates) is expected to be 0.84% higher than 2018-19.
Increase in Vegetables, Aromatics and Medicinal and Plantations is envisaged but a decrease in Fruits, Flowers and Spices is expected.
The Fruits production is expected to be lower by 2.27% in 2019-20 over 2018-19. It is mainly due to loss in the production of Grapes, Banana, Mango, Citrus, Papaya and Pomegranate.
Increase of 2.64 % in the production of vegetables in 2019-20 over 2018-19. The increase is mainly due to the increased production of Onion, Potato, and Tomato.
Onion production is expected to be 24.45 Million Tonne (an increase of 7.17%) as compared to 22.82 Million Tonne in 2018-19.
Potato production is expected to be 51.94 Million Tonne (an increase of 3.49%) as compared to 50.19 Million Tonne in 2018-19.
Tomato production is expected to be 19.33 Million Tonne (an increase of 1.68%) as compared to 19.01 Million Tonnes in 2018-19.

3) India-Brazil set a target of USD 15 billion trade by 2022

The visit of the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is a sign of the growing importance of India – Brazil bilateral partnership said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, Piyush Goyal, during his address at the inaugural session of the India-Brazil Business Forum held in New Delhi.
The 15 MoUs signed during the visit of the President of Brazil. The MoUs of cooperation that has been signed during the presidential visit on investments, trade facilitation, social security, agriculture, defense, and double taxation make this the most productive visit by a Brazilian Head of State.
Commerce and Industry Minister hoped that investments will also grow in the sectors of clean energy, startups, railways and creation of value chains between India and Brazil where goods may be semi-assembled in one country and finished in another. Piyush Goyal informed that the entire Indian Railway will be fully electrified by 2024 and by 2030 the railway network in India will run completely on clean energy with zero-emission.
Visa-free travel between the two countries, visitors for business and tourism between the two countries will benefit greatly from this.
India and Brazil share close relationships at the bilateral level as well as plurilateral fora like BRICS, BASIC, G-20, IBSA, International Solar Alliance and in larger multilateral bodies like UN, UNESCO and WIPO stated Commerce and Industry Minister. He further said that the decade long bilateral strategic partnership is based on a common global vision shared democratic values and a commitment to foster economic growth with social inclusion for the welfare of the people of both countries.

4) Nagardhan excavations- findings on Vakataka dynasty

Archaeological excavations at Nagardhan, near Nagpur, have provided concrete evidence on the life, religious affiliations and trade practices of the Vakataka dynasty and also about the Vakataka rule under Queen Prabhavatigupta.

About findings and their significance:

An oval-shaped sealing has been traced. It belongs to the period when Prabhavatigupta was the queen of the Vakataka dynasty.
It bears her name in the Brahmi script, along with the depiction of a conch.
The presence of the conch, scholars say, is a sign of the Vaishnava affiliation that the Guptas held.
A copper plate issued by Queen Prabhavatigupta has also been found. It starts with a genealogy of the Guptas, mentioning the Queen’s grandfather Samudragupta and her father Chandragupta II.
Since the Vakataka people traded with Iran and beyond through the Mediterranean Sea, scholars suggest that these sealings could have been used as official royal permission issued from the capital city. Besides, these were used on documents that sought mandatory royal permissions.

Who was Queen Prabhavatigupta?

The Vakataka rulers were known to have forged several matrimonial alliances with other dynasties of their times. One of the key alliances was with Prabhavatigupta of the mighty Gupta dynasty, which was then ruling north India.
After marrying Vakataka king Rudrasena II, Prabhavatigupta enjoyed the position of Chief Queen.
Scholars say Queen Prabhavatigupta was among a handful of women rulers in India to have reigned over any kingdom during ancient times. Also, there had been no evidence so far of any successor female ruler within the Vakataka dynasty, the researchers suggest.
She ruled for about 10 years until her son Pravarasena II
She had a pivotal role in the propagation of Vaishnava practices in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

About Vakataka dynasty:

Ruled parts of Central and South India between the third and fifth centuries.
Rule extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east.
They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India.
They were Shaivite rulers.
Nagardhan served as the capital of the Vakataka kingdom.
The elephant god was a commonly worshipped deity in those times.
Animal rearing was one of the main occupations. Remains of seven species of domestic animals — cattle, goat, sheep, pig, cat, horse and fowl — have been traced.
The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of Ajanta Caves (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) were built under the patronage of the Vakataka emperor, Harishena.

5) GeM MoU with UP state for Project Management Unit

Government eMarketplace (GeM), under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Government of Uttar Pradesh, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a GeM Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the State.

Objective

The MoU aims to expedite the harmonization of the procurement guidelines of the two entities and the integration of systems, enabling seamless procuring experience. The PMU to be set up under the MoU will make it easier for MSMEs of U.P. to onboard and transact on GeM. Ministry of Finance, Government of India, has advised Ministries and Departments of Central and State Governments to consider services of GOTT on an outcome-based self-sustenance model. GOTT will assist the buyer agent to redesign the procurement processes and enhance competencies to derive maximum benefit from the online marketplace.

Other States

The Government of Uttar Pradesh is the second State after Punjab to establish a GOTT-PMU for effectively utilizing this transformational initiative towards inclusive, efficient and transparent procurement. Among the CPSEs, SAIL has already signed MoU for setting up a PMU. Many other states and CPSEs are in the process of setting up GOTT-PMUs.

6) Criminalization of Politics

SC asks EC to devise a mechanism to curb criminalization of politics.

The court also asked the poll body to come up with a framework within one week, which can contribute towards the larger issue of containing the entry of candidates having criminal background into politics.

Why it is needed?

Fielding candidates with criminal antecedents has been one of the key concerns in the recent elections.
The extent of this can be understood from the fact that according to an analysis by New Delhi based Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), nearly half the MPs of the 17th Lok Sabha elected in May last year had declared criminal cases against them.
Out of the 539 MPs which ADR analyzed, 233 had declared criminal cases against them which were an increase of 44% in the number of MPs with declared criminal cases since 2009.
In its analysis released in May last year, ADR added that out of the 542 MPs analyzed during Lok Sabha polls in 2014, 34% or 185 had declared criminal cases against themselves while out of 543 in 2009, 30% or 162 had declared criminal cases against themselves.

What does the RPA say on this?

Currently, under the Representation of the Peoples (RP) Act, lawmakers cannot contest elections only after their conviction in a criminal case.
Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 disqualifies a person convicted with a sentence of two years or more from contesting elections. But those under trial continued to be eligible to contest elections. The Lily Thomas case (2013), however, ended this unfair advantage.

Efforts by SC in this regard:

The SC has repeatedly expressed concern about the purity of legislatures.

In 2002, it made it obligatory for all candidates to file an affidavit before the returning officer, disclosing criminal cases pending against them.
The famous order to introduce NOTA was intended to make political parties think before giving tickets to the tainted.
In its landmark judgment of March 2014, the SC accepted the urgent need for cleansing politics of criminalization and directed all subordinate courts to decide on cases involving legislators within a year, or give reasons for not doing so to the chief justice of the high court.

Main reasons for Criminalization

Corruption
Vote bank.
Lack of governance.

What is the way out?

There are three possible options.
One, political parties should themselves refuse tickets to the tainted.
Two, the RP Act should be amended to debar persons against whom cases of a heinous nature are pending from contesting elections.
Three, fast-track courts should decide the cases of tainted legislators quickly.

Other suggested measure to curb the criminalization of politics:

Bringing greater transparency in campaign financing is going to make it less attractive for political parties to involve gangsters.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the financial accounts of political parties.
Broader governance will have to improve for voters to reduce the reliance on criminal politicians.
The Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between the criminals and the politicians.

Conclusion:

Corruption and criminalization of politics is hitting at the roots of democracy. Therefore, Parliament must take steps urgently to curb this menace. Candidates and political parties must give wide publicity to criminal cases pending against her/him in the local media, both print and electronic, after s/he files nomination to contest elections.

7) Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) Crisis

In Oct 2019, the Supreme Court had directed telecom service providers to pay the pending dues –aggregating to over Rs 1.47 lakh crore – to the government by 23rd January 2020
The decision impacts over 15 telecom firms, both current and defunct, but those with the highest liabilities are Vodafone-Idea Ltd (Rs 53,038 crore), Airtel (Rs 35,586 crore) and Tata Teleservices (Rs 13,823 crore)

Brief History of the issue:

1994 – Telecom sector was liberalized under the National Telecom Policy under which licenses were issued to companies in return for a fixed license fee.
1999 – The government gave an option to the licensees to migrate to the revenue sharing fee model, to provide relief from high license fees.
Under this, telecoms were required to share a percentage of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) with the government as annual license fee (LF) and spectrum usage charges (SUC).
The LF and SUC were set at 8 percent and between 3-5 percent of AGR respectively, based on the agreement.
2005– Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) challenged the government’s definition for AGR calculation.
2015 – TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) ruled in favor of Telecos
Oct 2019 – Supreme Court set aside TDSAT’s order and upheld DOT’s definition of AGR
Jan 2020 – Supreme Court has accepted the petition of Telecos request to extend the deadline fixed at 23rd Jan 2020 to pay up the dues (but not on the definition of AGR)

Department of Telecom’s (DOT) Stand AGR includes all revenues (before discounts) from both telecom and non-telecom services

Telecos Stand AGR should comprise just the revenue accrued from core services and not dividend, interest income or profit on the sale of any investment or fixed assets.

Why the definition of AGR is important?

Because it has revenue implications for both government & Telecos.

For government – it means an increase in its revenue collection which helps to maintain the fiscal deficit and undertake welfare measures
For Telecom Operators– Added financial burden, especially at a time where their assets are over-leveraged and profits, are under pressure from the severe competition (after Jio’s entry)

The implication of the Supreme Court’s 2019 Order

On Telecom companies: Increased liability means losses in their operation in the short term. It also erodes the telcos’ net worth impacting retail investors
On Telecom Sector: It could potentially lead to Vodafone Idea’s exit due to its weak financial position & its inability to pay its dues. This leads to the creation of an Airtel-Jio duopoly which may not augur well for the competitiveness in the sector and thus the government’s vision of Digital India.
On Banking Sector: AGR issue has triggered panic in the banking industry, given that the telecom sector is highly leveraged. Vodafone Idea alone has a debt of Rs 2.2 lakh crore. mutual fund industry having exposure to the telecom sector will also see the erosion of value.
On Consumers: Competition in the sector will always lead to better prices and better technology. The possibility of the creation of a duopoly will impact the competition in a negative manner.

Way ahead

The government should realize the consequences of the failure/weakness of the sector on the broader economy & on its long term vision of Digital India.
Therefore, instead of being inflexible on AGR for short term revenue gain, it should accommodate the interests of the telecom operators (like an extension of the deadline, foregoing interest on dues) so that long term vision is not compromised

8) Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) for 2020 has been released.

What is GTCI?

GTCI, launched in 2013, is an annual benchmarking report that measures the ability of countries to compete for talent.
It is released by INSEAD business school in partnership with Adecco Group and Google.
The report measures levels of Global Talent Competitiveness by looking at 70 variables such as ease of hiring, gender earnings gap, and prevalence of training in firms.

India's Performance

India is placed at no. 72.
Although more could be done to improve the country’s educational system (68th in Formal Education), India’s key strength relates to growing (44th) talent, due to its levels of lifelong learning (40th) and access to growth opportunities (39th).
The country’s highest-ranked sub-pillar is employability, but the ability to match labor market demand and supply stands in contrast to the country’s poor mid-level skills.

Switzerland, the United States, and Singapore lead the index.

Key observations

The gap between talent champions and the rest of the world is widening.
A similar gap is also seen in the universe of artificial intelligence. AI talent is scarce and unequally distributed across industries, sectors, and nations.
More than half of the population in the developing world lacks basic digital skills.

What next?

AI policies and programs should work to minimize negative outcomes and increase access to AI for those left behind.
AI could provide significant opportunities for emerging markets to leapfrog.
Some developing countries (e.g., China, Costa Rica, and Malaysia) can become talent champions in their respective regions, while others (e.g., Ghana and India) have significantly improved their capacity to enable, attract, grow, and retain talent over the past few years, and hence can be labeled talent movers.
The emergence of AI in the workplace requires a massive re-skilling of the workforce. At all levels of qualifications, workers will need training on adaptability, social intelligence, communication, and problem-solving.

9) Oslo Accords

Palestinians threaten to quit Oslo Accords if U.S. President Donald Trump announces his West Asia peace plan next week.

Why? Palestinians’ concerns

The main worry is that this initiative will turn Israel’s “temporary occupation (of Palestinian territory) into a permanent occupation”.
The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and believe Mr. Trump’s plan buries the two-state solution that has been for decades the cornerstone of international West Asia diplomacy.

What’s the issue?

Under the Oslo Accords of 1993, both Israel and the Palestinians agreed that the status of settlements would be decided by negotiations. But the negotiations process has been all but dead for several years now.
Israel walked into East Jerusalem in 1967 and subsequently annexed it. For Israel, Jerusalem is non-negotiable.
Palestine wants East Jerusalem as the capital of their future

About the Oslo Accords:

Formally known as the Declaration of Principles (DOP), the pact established a timetable for the Middle East peace process. It planned for an interim Palestinian government in Gaza and Jericho in the West Bank.
Oslo II, officially called the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza, expanded on Oslo I. It included provisions for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from six West Bank cities and about 450 towns. Additionally, the pact set a timetable for elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council.

The Details of Oslo Accords:

The Declaration calls for:

Israel to withdraw from Jericho and Gaza, and eventually the West Bank.
Five years of limited autonomy for Palestinians in those areas.
Election of Palestinian Legislative Council within nine months.
Establishment of a Palestinian police force.
The question of Jerusalem was left undecided.

Most of the world's nation look upon it as an occupied nation

10) Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) For Strategic Disinvestment of Air India issued

Shri Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of State(I/C), Ministry of Civil Aviation in a Press Conference today informed that the newly constituted Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), headed by Hon’ble Home Minister and comprising of Union Ministers of Commerce & Industry, Finance & Corporate Affairs and Civil Aviation, as members, has approved the release of the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) for inviting Expression of Interest (EOI) from the Interested Bidders (IBs) for Strategic Disinvestment of Air India.
Shri Puri informed that Air India along with Air India Express has 146 aircraft in its fleet, 82 of which are owned by it; have worldwide bilateral rights and spread over domestic as well as international slots and added that During 2018-19, both Air India and Air India Express carried around 26.2 million passengers. Air India and Air India Express have average aircraft age of 8 years which is among the youngest fleet. 27 Boeing-787 with Air India are as young as 5 years and 27 Airbus-320 Neo (CFM engines) are as young as 2 years. Air India and Air India Express have almost 51% share of the international traffic to/from India among Indian carriers and 18 % share including global carriers (ex-India).
Pointing out that Air India has coverage of 98 destinations with 56 domestic and 42 international destinations, Shri Puri informed that Air India offers 75 additional destinations through its secondary network of code share operations. Air India and Air India Express have a combined revenue of Rs.30,632 crore in 2018-19, which is the highest among Indian carriers. Air India + Air India Express employee cost as % of revenue is about 11% which is comparable to Indian carriers and much lower to International carriers. AISATS provides in-house ground handling facilities at key metro airports – Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore. Even after infusion of about Rs.30,500 crore as per Turn Around Plan since 2012, Air India has been running into losses year after year. Due to its accumulated debt of about Rs.60,000 crore, its financial position is in a very fragile condition.

A few of the key decisive parameters in the current PIM include:

Transfer of management control and sale of 100% shares of Air India along with Air India’s 100% stake in its subsidiary, Air India Express Limited and 50% stake in the joint venture, AISATS.
Freezing of Debt in Air India at Rs.23,286.5 crore which is approximately equivalent to the Written Down Value (WDV) of combined assets of Air India and Air India Express.
The liabilities to be retained in Air India will be equal to certain current and non-current assets. Considering the combined figures as on March 31, 2019, the liabilities retained would be Rs 8771.5 crore.
The remaining debt and liabilities of Air India and Air India Express will be allocated to SPV (Air India Assets Holding Limited).
The contingent liabilities related to statutory dues and Government dues will be indemnified by Government.
The contingent liabilities due to retired employees will be clarified at the RFP stage.
Corporate guarantees given by Air India on behalf of Alliance Air will not be passed to new investors.
Land and buildings at Delhi, Mumbai airports and Corporate Office which are core assets for running the airline will be given to new investor on right to use basis for a limited period.
The government has committed to pay certain employees’ related dues before the closing of the transaction.
The bidding structure on forming the Consortium has been eased as compared to the last round of bidding.
The financial capability of prospective investors has also been made more attractive such as lowering of Net Worth criteria to Rs. 3,500 crore, and Net Worth qualification of investor based on strength of its Affiliate.
Individual members must have at least a 10% share in the consortium i.e. a net worth or ACI of Rs.350 crore. The scheduled Indian commercial operator(s), however, with zero or negative net worth are eligible to be a member of the consortium provided they have a shareholding of <=51%.
Air India with a new investors will continue using the ‘Air India’ brand.