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International Current Affairs August 1st Week 2017
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International Current Affairs August 1st Week 2017

 1. India-Bhutan New Trade and Transit agreement come into force.

 
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The new bilateral Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan came into force from July 2017. The new agreement aims to further strengthen the bilateral trade relations between both countries.

The new agreement signed in November 2016 provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan. It also provides for duty-free transit of Bhutanese merchandise for trade with third countries.

Bilateral trade between both countries will continue to be transacted in Bhutanese Ngultrums and Indian Rupees. Moreover, the new agreement removes requirement of having an annual consultation between India and Bhutan for the transit of goods of both countries along with the goods originating in third country.

The bilateral trade relations between India and Bhutan are governed by the Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit. The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan. The last agreement was renewed on July 29, 2006 for ten years. The validity of this agreement was extended (from July 29, 2016) for one year or till new agreement comes into force.
 
2. India, Somali sign agreement on transfer of sentenced persons.
 
India, Somali sign agreement on transfer of sentenced persons
 
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India and Somalia have signed an agreement for transfer of sentenced prisoners in each other’s country. The agreement was signed in New Delhi during the ongoing visit of the Somalia’s Foreign Minister to India.

During the visit, both countries discussed entire gamut of bilateral relations, including the issue of piracy and maritime security. They also discussed regional issues pertaining to developments in the Gulf region and India’s neighbourhood.

The agreement opens a new front for collaboration in anti-piracy operation in Eastern Africa as the incidents of piracy originating from Somalia have affected Indian interests in the Indian Ocean region near the Horn of Africa.

Somalia is situated near the Horn of Africa with the Gulf of Aden to its north. It is among the partner countries of India’s Pan African e-Network project. India-Somalia bilateral trade stood at $391.05 million in 2014-15, a more than 51% increase over the figure of $257.27 million in 2013-14.

Diplomatic contacts between India and Somalia have been infrequent, however, Somalia had participated in the 2015 India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi. Somalia plays important role in containing China’s presence in Indian Ocean region. China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti. Somalia shares border with Djibouti on the west.

India also offers Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training scholarships and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships to Somalia. In recent years, India also has extended development assistance which included mini buses to the war-battered country.
 
3. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
 
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan
 
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Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was elected the 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly. Abbasi, nominee of ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) secured 221 votes in the House of 342.

Abbasi succeeds Nawaz Sharif who was disqualified by the Supreme Court over the Panama Papers scandal. He will be interim PM of Pakistan. He will vacate the position for Nawaz Sharif’s brother Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister gets elected to the National Assembly.

He was born 27 December 1958 in Karachi, Sindh and comes from a military family. Prior to entering politics, he was an electrical engineer and businessman owning Pakistan’s most successful private airline Airblue. He had started his political career after the death of his father in 1988, and since then he has been an elected Member of the National Assembly six times from Rawalpindi District.

He is member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) in the National Assembly. He had served as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources (2013 to 2017) in the third Nawaz Sharif Government. He had briefly held the cabinet portfolio of Minister for Commerce in the Gillani Government in 2008. He also had served as Chairman of Pakistan International Airlines (1997 to 1999) during the second Sharif Government.
 
4. India can construct Kishanganga, Ratle Hydro Power Plants: World Bank.
 
India can construct Kishanganga, Ratle Hydro Power Plants: World Bank
 
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World Bank has allowed India to construct Kishanganga, Ratle hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers with certain restrictions under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

The World Bank’s comments came as officials from India and Pakistan concluded the secretary-level talks on the technical issues of the IWT in Washington, US.

Pakistan had opposed the construction of the Kishanganga (Jhelum River) and Ratle (Chenab River) hydroelectric power plants built by India in Jammu and Kashmir. Both countries had disagreed over the technical design features of the two hydroelectric plants, as these two rivers are part of “Western Rivers” along with Indus River under. IWT has given Pakistan full control over these three western rivers for unrestricted use. Besides, it also allows India to construct hydroelectric power facilities on these rivers along with other uses, subject to constraints specified in annexures to the treaty.
 
5. Rising temperatures drive up farmer suicides in India: US study.
 
Rising temperatures drive up farmer suicides in India: US study
 
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According research report from the University of California, US, climate change may have led to over 59,000 farmer suicides over the last 30 years in India.

The study was carried out using data for all States and Union Territories. It tested the link between climate change, crop yields and suicide by comparing the number of suicides across India between 1967 and 2013 with crop yield and climate data. Data on suicides were collected from the National Crime Records Bureau.

The increase in temperature during the cropping season reduces crop yields, resulting in increased suicides. Even a 1°C increase in temperature above 20° C in a single day during the crop growing season results in about 70 suicides on average. Similar increase in temperature during other seasons did not result in a rise in suicides.

Crop losses due to heat damage causes additional burden on farming households leading to suicides. Moreover, increase in rainfall by 1 cm during the growing season decreases about 0.8 deaths per 100,000, thus lowering the suicide rate by 7% on average.

The effect of climate variation has revealed that past growing season temperature strongly influences suicide rates in the following years up to five years. For instance, abundant rainfall during one growing season leads to dip in the suicide rates for the next two or three years. Drought does not have any effect on suicide rates.

South India, which is generally hotter, has higher farmer suicide rates. States where the yields are more affected by high temperatures are also the States which report higher suicide rates. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have severe suicide rates in responses to temperature and crop yield is also more negatively affected by higher temperature.

The study has not looked at other factors that could have contributed to suicides. It did not find any adaptive behaviour to prevent suicides in response to climate change.
 
6. BRICS nations vow to fight protectionism.
 
BRICS nations vow to fight protectionism
 
India and other four other members of the BRICS grouping members (Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa) have pledged to fight protectionism.

Decision in this regard was taken at the two-day meeting of the trade ministers from BRICS nations held at Shanghai, China. They released joint statement highlighting various issues and need to address the collectively.

BRICS countries should jointly tackle the challenges of economic globalisation, promote open and equitable world economy. They should uphold the common interests of the emerging markets and developing countries with a view to promoting strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

BRICS agreed to firmly oppose protectionism and pledged to annul any protective measures, calling on other countries to follow the same suit. They also encouraged more countries to participate in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), urging the institution to show more commitment to receiving the least developed countries (LDCs). They also agreed to play a major part in global economic governance.
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 7. 7th Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers held in Shanghai, China.

7th Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers held in Shanghai, China
 
The 7th Meeting of Brazil Russia India China and South Africa (BRICS) Countries with the corresponding Trade Ministers was held in Shanghai, China.

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A six-member delegation led by Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman along with Ambassador J.S. Deepak, PR to WTO participated in the meetings.Mr. Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce from China, presided over the meetings.
The 8th BRICS Summit held on 16th October 2016 at Goa.

8. Sun’s core rotates 4 times faster than its surface: Study.
 
Sun’s core rotates 4 times faster than its surface: Study
 
A team of researchers have discovered solar seismic waves which revealed that Sun’s core is rotating four times faster than its surface.  Earlier it was assumed that sun’s core rotate at same speed as the surface.

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The discovery was made using 16 years of observations from GOLF (Global Oscillations at Low Frequency) instrument on Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, a joint project of ESA and NASA.

Researchers had use ‘Helioseismology’ to probe the solar interior by studying sound waves reverberating through it. They had studied surface acoustic waves in the Sun’s atmosphere, some of which penetrate to the Sun’s core, where they interact with low frequency gravity waves (g-waves) known as g-modes that have a sloshing motion.

From those observations, they detected the sloshing motions of the solar core. By carefully measuring the acoustic waves, the researchers precisely determined the time it takes an acoustic wave to travel from the surface to the centre of the Sun and back again.

On the basis of the signature of the g-waves, researchers determined that the g-waves are shaking the structure of the sun’s core. The signature of the imprinted g-waves suggested that the inner core of the Sun is rotating once every week, nearly four times faster than the observed surface and intermediate layers. 

Significance of Discovery: The rotation of the Sun’s core may give a clue to how the Sun formed. It may also help to find linkages between the Sun’s core rotation and sunspots.
 
9. Qatar to become first Arab state to offer permanent residency to some non-citizens.
 
Qatar to become first Arab state to offer permanent residency to some non-citizens
 
Qatar’s Cabinet has approved a draft law making permanent residency available to some non-citizens. It marks a partial shift from Qatar’s heavy reliance on its longstanding visa-sponsorship system. 

With this the energy-rich Qatar becomes first Gulf Arab state to make permanent residency available to some non-citizens.

Under the new law, residency permits will be granted to children of Qatari women married to foreigners. Moreover it will be also granted to people who offered valuable services to the country and those with special skills. The residency permit will give holders similar rights as Qataris in terms of property ownership and run some businesses without needing a Qatari partner.

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It will also entitle them free state education and healthcare services. The interior ministry of Qatar will establish committee to review requests of granting permanent residency ID in line with the provisions of the law.

Gulf Arab countries have a high number of expatriate workers but do not allow naturalization of foreigners except in rare cases and under strict conditions. Qatar which is world’s wealthiest country per capita has population of 2.7 million including some 300,000 citizens. 

Qatar’s native population is far surpassed by foreigners, so the energy-rich Arab state is reluctant to extend residency rights out of concern for the demographic balance.
 
10. MCX, Mahindra Agri sign MoU for agriculture related price information.
 
MCX, Mahindra Agri sign MoU for agriculture related price information
 
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) and Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide agriculture related price information. This information would be available on their recently launched mobile application- ‘MyAgriGuru’, which is available for free on Google play store. 

This MoU would enhance the decision-making ability of the farmers further. To start with, MCX would be providing price information, open interest information, spot price, future price and derived data (analytics) for all the agri commodities namely – CPO (Crude Palm Oil), Cotton, Cardamom & Mentha Oil. Additionally, this partnership also signifies the vision of the two leading organizations to empower farmers by offering knowledge based solutions, and is in line with the Government`s motive  to digitize the agricultural sector. 

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Speaking on the development, Mrugank Paranjape, MD and CEO, MCX said, “We are pleased to have signed this MoU with Mahindra Agri Solutions. By partnering with Mahindra Agri Solutions, we hope to include participation from the grass root level in the agricultural value chain and support the government’s initiative of significantly enhancing the farmer’s income by 2022.” 

Ashok Sharma, President – Agriculture Sector, MD & CEO – Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. added, “We are delighted to sign this MoU with MCX. Our objective is to educate farmers by delivering complete information on agricultural products. Today, India is experiencing an exciting phase of Farming 3.0, where we are witnessing innovative and digital disruptions in Agriculture and an initiative like MyAgriGuru is a significant step in that direction. The move will enable farmers to manage prices and will also provide them with solutions that boost both agricultural productivity and farm incomes substantially.” 
 
11. National Company Law Tribunal approves Airtel-Telenor merger.

National Company Law Tribunal approves Airtel-Telenor merger

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the proposed merger between Bharti Airtel and Telenor India. The tribunal has instructed the companies to hold a meeting of equity shareholders and unsecured creditors. The Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company had announced in February that it would acquire the business of Telenor India for an undisclosed sum. 

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Airtel would take over its spectrum in all seven circles — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. It would also acquire its licences and operations, including its employees and customer base of 44 million. This would help Airtel augment its overall customer base and network. It will also enable Airtel to bolster its spectrum footprint in the seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. 

In June, the merger received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The merger has also received nod from the Competition Commission of India. The merger is subject to other statutory approvals.