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All India Radio News Summary: 21 NOVEMBER 2017

All India Radio News Summary: 21 NOVEMBER 2017

  1. India’s nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Dalveer Bhandari has been re-elected

India’s nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Dalveer Bhandari has been re-elected to the world court after Britain withdrew its candidate from the election.

  • Justice Bhandari received 183 out of 193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all the 15 votes in the Security Council after separate and simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York.
  • The elections were held after United Kingdom, in a dramatic turn of events, withdrew out of the race for the Hague-based ICJ.
  • It paved the way for seventy-year old Bhandari’s re-election to the prestigious world court.
  • To win an ICJ election, a candidate needs to get a majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. It will be the first time since the ICJ was established in 1946 that there will be no British judge.

 

  1. Central Board of Excise and  Customs asks FMCG companies to immediately revise MRP on all products in line with latest reduction in GST rates

The Centre has appealed to industry leaders to pass on the benefit of the GST rate reduction to consumers.

  • In a letter to all the major Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, FMCG, companies, the Central Board of Excise and  Customs, CBEC, Chairperson, stressed on the need to immediately revise the MRP on all the products in which reduction of GST has been announced.
  • The Chairperson also requested them to give wide publicity to the revised MRP of products.
  • The GST Council on the 10th of this month had reduced taxes on 178 items  which came into effect from 15th  of November.

 

  1. The Government has raised 52,500 crore rupees through disinvestment in the current fiscal

The Government has raised 52,500 crore rupees through disinvestment in the current fiscal, including listing of insurance Public sector undertakings.

  • The government raised 14,500 crore rupees through the Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).
  • The ETF saw bids of nearly 32,000 crore rupees coming in, with Foreign institutional investors bidding for one-third of the money.
  • The government has set an ambitious target of raising 72,500 crore rupees for disinvestment in the current fiscal.

 

  1. Manipur Sangai Festival

President inaugurated the Manipur Sangai Festival at Palace Compound in Imphal.

  • Sangai festival is an annual cultural festival organised by Manipur Tourism Department every year. 
  • Even though many editions of this Festival has been celebrated over the past few years with the name of Tourism Festival, since 2010 this has been renamed as the Sangai Festival to stage the uniqueness of the shy and gentle brow-antlered deer popularly known as the SangaiDeer, which is the state animal of Manipur.
  • As this festival is being celebrated to promote Manipur as a world class tourism destination, it showcases the best of what the state has to offer to the world in terms of art and culture, handloom, handicrafts& fine arts, indigenous sports, cuisines & music, eco & adventure sports as well as the scenic natural beauty of the land.

 

  1. Sagar Kavach,’ the three-day coastal security exercise

Sagar Kavach,’ the three-day coastal security exercise, will be conducted for Kerala and Lakshadweep islands.

The exercise is a half-yearly event with an objective to assess the coastal security mechanism and validate Standard Operating Procedures.

 

  1. US President has declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism

US President Donald Trump has declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that allows the Trump administration to impose additional sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programmes.

  • North Korea had been removed from the list of state sponsor of terrorism under the George W Bush administration in 2008.
  • Announcing the designation at the start of a White House Cabinet meeting in Washington, Mr Trump said in addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil. 
  • President Trump said this designation will impose further sanctions and penalties on North Korea.

 

  1. Government is observing Vasectomy Fortnight

Government is observing Vasectomy Fortnight to raise awareness about male sterilisation and to promote the participation of men in family planning.

  • All states and Union territories will observe the Fortnight till 4th of next month where quality male sterilisation services will be provided at public health facilities.
  • During the event, various myths about use of contraceptives by men will be dispelled.

 

  1. India has improved its global ranking in the annual IMD World Talent Ranking

India has improved its global ranking by three notches to 51 in terms of ability to attract, develop and retain talent in the list compiled by leading global business school IMD.

  • Switzerland is the top ranker in the list.
  • Globally, Europe continues to dominate the rankings, with Switzerland, Denmark, and Belgium being the most competitive countries.
  • The annual IMD World Talent Ranking covered 63 countries and assessed the methods the countries adopted to attract and retain talent.
  • The rankings are based on a country’s performance in three main categories – investment and development, appeal, and readiness – and India was ranked 62nd, 43rd and 29th on these terms.
  • From the BRICS bloc, China stayed in the lead with a ranking of 40, followed by Russia at 43 and South Africa at 48. Brazil was ranked just after India at the 52nd slot.

 

  1. Infrastructure status on logistics sector

The Government has conferred infrastructure status on logistics sector, which includes industrial parks, warehouses, cold storages and transportation.

 

Significance

  • The decision will help logistics sector access longer term finance and on better financing terms.
  • The status will help the sector get credit at competitive rates and on a long-term basis as rising logistics cost impacts the global competitiveness of exporters.
  • In 2017 country’s logistics performance improved from 54 to 35 under World Bank Logistics Performance Index.