New travel and trade rules between US and Cuba come into effect

New travel and trade rules between the United States (US) and Cuba have come into effect on 16 January 2015.

It is considered as biggest policy shift between the two countries in more than 50 years after restrictions were imposed on travel and trade.

New travel and trade rules between the US and Cuba:

• It allows US citizens to use credit cards in Cuba and US businesses to export some technologies. Earlier this facility was not available to US citizens.

• It also allowed US citizens to take home up to 100 dollar in alcohol and tobacco from Cuba.

Background:

• These new travel and trade rules are implemented after US and Cuba agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties between the two countries in December 2014.

• Enmity between US government and Cuba’s communist government started in 1959 after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro had overthrown then Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.

• In 1961, Cuba had broken all its diplomatic relations with US and had joined hands with US cold war rival Soviet Union. During this time, US had imposed travel and trade ban on Cuba.

• Enmity between both nations had attained its peak in 1962 after Cuban missile crisis that brought whole world to the brink of nuclear war.

• But after the fall of Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba was left alone without any strong international support.

President launches pulse polio immunization programme

President Pranab Mukherjee has launched the Pulse Polio Immunization(PPI) Programme by administering polio drops to children at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

It was launched by President ahead of the National Immunization Day which is observed on 18 January.

PPI Programme is a Government drive to sustain polio eradication from the country. As part of it children less than 5 years of age are given polio vaccine drops.

Background:

• Since 1995, India has been implementing the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme.

• On 27 March 2014, India and 7 other Asian countries were declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

• 7 other Asian countries are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives and Myanmar.

• It should be noted that WHO declares any country polio free if no case is reported for three consecutive years.

Key facts about Polio :

• Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children below age of 5.

• Transmission: The virus is transmitted from person-to-person. It mainly spreads through the faecal-oral route (e.g. contaminated water or food). After entering body, it multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.

• Symptoms: Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In some cases, it causes permanent paralysis. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by immunization.

More About Pulse Polio Immunization:

In the pursuance of the World Health Assembly resolution of 1988, the Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) Programme was started nation-wide from 1995 to eradicate polio in India covering children in the age group 0-3 years. In order to accelerate the Pace of polio eradication, all children under the age of 5 years 78 were targeted since 1996-97. The annual strategy on polio eradication is decided on the basis of recommendation of India Experts Advisory Group (IEAG) which constituted of Indian experts; and international experts from World Health Organization (WHO), United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) & Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Atlanta.

• Of the 3 types of polio causing viruses, type 2 (WPV-2) has already been eradicated in 1999.

• The bivalent vaccine (bOPV) was introduced in the country for the first time in 2010.

• On 13th January the nation reached a major milestone in the history of polio eradication – a year without any case of wild polio being recorded.

• As India reached this ‘no wild case’ mark, it will no longer be considered ‘endemic’ to polio. Following this, the World Health Organisation removed India from the list of endemic nations.

Today CA : 17/01/2014

1. Ashok Srinivasan winner of The Hindu Prize for 2014

• Ashok Srinivasan won the The Hindu Prize 2014 for his Book of Common Signs, his debut novel.

• The award was presented by Justice Leila Seth on Saturday at The Hindu Lit for Life 2015.

• Ashok Srinivasan began writing at the age of 14, and after courting obscurity for decades, finally decided to publish his collection of short stories Book of Common Signs.

2. Piramal buys Coldstream Labs for Rs. 180 cr

• Piramal Enterprises Ltd has acquired Coldstream Laboratories Inc a specialty pharmaceutical contract manufacturer in $30.65 million (about Rs. 180 crore) deal.(Note: i. Piramal Enterprises Limited, formerly known as Piramal Healthcare Limited, is the flagship company of Piramal Group. The company has the following business units: Piramal Healthcare, Piramal Life Sciences, Piramal Capital & Decision Resources Group.)

• Coldstream is a contract development and manufacturing organisation focused on the development and manufacturing of sterile injectable products.

• Founded in 2007, it is majority owned by University of Kentucky Research Foundation (an affiliate of the University of Kentucky), the note said.

3. R K Tyagi conferred with JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi conferred with the JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of the year 2014.

• He played a key role in 2014 being a successful year for HAL through series of initiatives. The year was dedicated for Integrity, Customer Focus and Quality (ICQ).

4. Govt launches Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes

• Government has launched the Venture Capital Fund and Green Business scheme for Scheduled Castes.

About the Scheme -

• It is a Social Sector Initiative to be implemented nationally in order to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Casts who are oriented towards innovation and growth technologies.

• The fund has been launched with initial capital of 200 crore rupees .

• The initiative also aims to increase financial inclusion for SC entrepreneurs and to motivate them for further growth of their communities.

• Under the scheme, financial assistance upto 15 crore rupees will be provided to the SC entrepreneurs for a period upto 6 years.

• The Green Business Scheme focuses to provide the loan for unit cost up to 1 lakh rupees at concessional rate of interest and will be provided to Scheduled Castes for activities such as e-rickshaw, Solar Pump and Solar energy powered implements.

5. President launches pulse polio immunization programme

• President Pranab Mukherjee today launched the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme by administering polio drops to children at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Children of less than 5 years of age will be given polio drops as part of the Government's drive to sustain polio eradication from the region. The National Immunization Day will be held tomorrow(Note: India has been implementing the Pulse Polio Programme since 1995.)

• The South-East Asia region of WHO has been certified on 27th of March last year as 'polio free', which means transmission of polio virus has been interrupted in this block of 11 countries including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka for the last three years.

• India is mindful of the risks of importation of polio virus from these countries and high level of immunity in the population needs to be maintained.

6. 8th India-Japan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue held in New Delhi

• The 8th India-Japan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue held in New Delhi today. 

• Both the leaders discuss about the Tokyo Declaration issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tokyo in September last year.

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida deliberate a range of key issues including joint production of amphibious aircraft US-2, removing hurdles to finalise a civil nuclear deal. 

7. Sri Lanka's new Foreign Minister arrive India

• Sri Lanka's new Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera is arriving in New Delhi today on a three day visit to India.

• During the visit he will meet Ms Swaraj and will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be the first high level exchange between India and Sri Lanka since Maithripala Sirisena government came to power on 8th of this month.

8. Viktor Troicki win Sydney title

• Viktor Troicki of Serbia defeat Mikhail Kukushkin in a straight set 6-2 6-3 to win the Sydney International on Saturday.

• The 28-year-old right-hander, who returned to action last July after serving a one-year ban for missing a dope test, took just over an hour to claim his second career ATP title.

9. Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands win Sydney doubles title

• Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won doubles title at the Sydney International Tennis Tournament.

• This is Sania's first title of the season and 23rd of her career. 

• They defeated top-seeded Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones in the summit clash 6-3, 6-3 yesterday.

• It was fifth WTA title for Sania and Bethanie together.

10. Book titled The Red Sari written by Javier Moro released

• "The Red Sari" an unauthorized biography of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, written by Spanish author Javier Moro released.

• The book describes Sonia Gandhi's life journey form childhood to the congress party president.

IAF gets first indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas

First indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at ceremony held at Bengaluru, Karanataka.

It was handed over after it was granted Initial Operational Clearance (IOC)-II, which signifies that aircraft is airworthy to fly in different conditions.

About Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas:

• Tejas is outcome of India’s LCA programme, which began in the 1983 to replace country’s aging MiG-21 fighters.

• It is a lightweight multi-role jet fighter indigenously-built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

• It is a tailless and having compound delta wing design. It is powered by a single engine.

• It is mounted with inbuilt Multi Mode Radar (MMR), Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) systems.

• As part of LCA programme, 20 aircraft will be built by 2017-2018, to make the first squadron of the aircraft.

• IOC-I was granted to the aircraft in January 2011 after it was built by HAL. While, IOC- II was granted in September 2014, after the aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight.

• It is yet to receive the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) and excepted to receive it by the year-end which includes testing mid-air refuelling and its long-range missiles capabilities.

Union Government launches schemes to support entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes

Union Government has launched Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes Scheme to encourage budding and existing entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes (SCs).

It was launched by Union Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot in Delhi.

Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes Scheme:

• Objectives : To promote entrepreneurship amongst the SCs who are oriented towards innovation and technological growth by providing concessional finance to them. It also seeks to enhance direct and indirect employment generation for SC population.

• It consists of an initial capital of Rs. 200 crore.

• Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Limited will be the Sponsor this scheme. While, Settler and Asset Management Company (AMC) will be nodal agency to operate the scheme.

• Under this scheme, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will provide assistance of Rs. 15 crore to each 30 persons a year, in the form of loan.

Missing Mars probe Beagle 2 found on Mars after 11 years

A British-built space probe Beagle 2 has been found on the surface of Mars, 11 years after it was thought that it was lost on Mars.

It was discovered in the high-resolution images taken by HiRISE camera mounted on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Thus, its discovery has ended the decade long mystery of what happened to the mission since 2003.

After the discovery, the Royal Society has announced an award in commemoration of Prof Colin Pillinger (died in 2014) who was Principal Investigator of Beagle2 probe.

About Beagle2:

• Beagle2 was released to its landing trajectory from its mother craft- European Space Agency’s Mars Express (MEx) orbiter on 19 December 2003.

• After its release, it was due to land six days later on Mars surface using parachutes and airbags.

• But nothing was heard from probe’s radio contact after its scheduled touchdown.

• It was assumed by many scientists that it had been destroyed in a high-velocity impact during landing.

More About Beagle 2 : Click Here

Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands wins Sydney doubles title

India’s Sania Mirza along with her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands has won doubles title at the Sydney International Tennis Tournament 2015.

Indo-American in the finals defeated top-seeded Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones by score of 6-3, 6-3.

It should be noted that it was fifth WTA title won by Sania and Bethanie together as partner. While, this win is Sania’s first title of the season and 23rd of her career.

Sydney International Tennis Tournament:

• It is one of the oldest professional tennis tournaments in the world, dating to 1885.

• It is currently noted as an ATP 250 point event on the men’s tour and a WTA Premier event on the women’s tour.

• It is played annually at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre in Homebush, New South Wales, Australia.

[The Big Picture] RBI rate cut : What will be the impact?

Summary:

• After months of all round demands for the repo rate cut, the RBI governor has finally obliged.

• The rate cut is accompanied by other positive indications in the economy like easing inflation, narrowing trade deficit and recovering industrial output. These send strong signals needed for the economic recovery(Rate cut=> more money (cheap money) => more capital investment=> more home production=> more export=> trade deficit taming).

• The main reason for the cut was the change in the inflation trend. Inflation has come down largely because of fall in international oil prices.

• This move has sent a signal that there is a firm case for the economy to rebound.

• Central bank has clearly indicated that the fiscal position matters while announcing such rate cuts. The government has assured that it will stick to the 4.1% fiscal deficit target.

• There is a need to reduce revenue deficit further and decrease the interest rates to increase the investments in the industrial sector.

• An optimal policy, wherein revenue expenditure is reduced and capital expenditure is increased, is the need of the hour.

• Interest rate channel, at present, in India is very weak.

• The complete benefits of the fall in crude oil prices have not been passed on to the consumers. And experts suggest that this gap can be utilized to manage the subsidy burden.

• The fertilizer prices also have fallen globally. And to this extent the subsidy burden of the government is expected to go down.

• Service tax collections of the government have been weak and disinvestment targets have not been met. Non tax revenues are going to go up this fiscal year in a weak way.

• The government has been planning for a sharp expenditure cut to keep the inflation down.

• Despite decline in the nominal GDP growth, the government borrowings have not been reduced.

• The decline in oil prices is likely to endure for another year. This helps the government to repair its balance sheet considerably.

Source : Rajya Sabha TV

[Loksabha TV Insights] RBI’s interest-ing move

16/01/2015

• RBI yesterday cut repo and Reverse repo rate by 25 basis point. This is first monetary easing since May, 2013. There was considerable pressure on RBI from all quarters to ease the interest rates. Interest rates are most important variables that determine any investment decision. It is expected to boost up investments in the economy.

• RBI last year, adopted recommendation of Urjit Patel Committee regarding ‘Inflation Targeting’. Now monetary policy is solely determined upon inflation expectations in the future and related targets. Prior to this monetary policy was based on ‘multiple indicators’ such as inflation, growth, exchange rate etc. This year, target given by committee (and taken up by RBI) for CPI inflation is 8%. For next year 2016, it is 6%. This year actual CPI inflation rate stood at 5.1% which is almost 3% down from the target. This made a strong case for rate cuts.

• In India, there is seen extremely negative relation in interest rates and inflation. Current subsidence of Inflation is result of tough monetary policy of RBI, lower oil and commodity prices, and lower demand all over the world. However, higher inflation in India is mainly due to supply side constraints and Infrastructure bottlenecks. Whenever, interest rates are lowered, more money flows in hand of the people. More of this money instead of going in Investments in productive assets goes for consumption. Soon there is shortage of everything in economy and prices start spiraling upwards. Then due to high inflation RBI has to again increase the Interest rates, which halts the investment, in turn production, exports, growths etc.

• Lack of Infrastructure results in high transportation costs, high wastage, longer time etc. It is noted that in times of Monsoon or fogs etc, there is sudden exceptionally high inflation. This is because whole infrastructure is damned which further delays flow of goods.

• Hence it is pertinent to ensure that adequate investments are going in Agriculture, manufacturing and Infra. It should be noted that Interest rates (and inflation) are only one of many factors that determine investments. Demand, sentiment, current capacity etc are other main factors. In manufacturing sector demand is quite weak. Due to this industry is operating much below capacity. In case of revival in demand, further investment will come only once present installed capacity is exploited.

• Further, Infrastructure sector is starving for investment but private companies have already invested beyond their capacity (by taking more loans from banks). Due to infrastructure bottlenecks and policy paralysis, work on these projects has halted in last years. This has created major imbalances in economy. Banks who have given loans are not getting their payments, so NPA’s are increasing. Banks are not in position to lend more. There is urgent need for restructuring of companies’ debt, but here there are significant avenues for corruption and favoritism here and political opposition will be forth coming.

• Further, Fiscal deficit condition is gloomy. Government has already incurred 90% of this year’s Fiscal deficit. Increase in Tax revenue was targeted at 20%, but due to low demand and production, it increased just 7%. Tax buoyancy is quite low. In order to meet fiscal targets, government will cut its capital expenditure, which again will have its toll at infrastructure (that’s why FD is bad). India’s tax GDP ratio is quite low at 15-16% , tax revenue foregone is high and tax base is small. Many rich agricultural farmers are not taxed due to political compulsions. Government can increase non tax revenue collection by selling surplus (but idle) land properties held by numerous PSUs. Tax reforms like GST are also much needed.

• Interest rate cut after this long time has immense symbolic value. It demonstrates the confidence of RBI in fundamentals of Indian economy. It is hoped that this cut is only the beginning and more easing will be forthcoming.

Source : Loksabha TV