National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 22nd March 2019

by Mentors4ias · March 22, 2019

Finance Commission

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: As part of its visit to the different states across the country before submitting its recommendations, the Fifteenth Finance Commission shall be visiting the State of Mizoram.

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The Fifteenth Finance Commission of India (XV-FC) is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for five fiscal years, commencing 1 April 2020.
The First Finance Commission was established by the President of India in 1951 under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
It was formed to define the financial relations between the central government of India and the individual state governments.
The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 additionally defines the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the term, eligibility and powers of the Finance Commission.As per the Constitution, the Commission is appointed every five years and consists of a chairman and four other members.
Every member will be in office for the time period as specified in the order of the President, but is eligible for reappointment provided he has, by means of a letter addressed to the president, resigned his office.
The members of the commission shall provide full-time or part-time service to the commission, as the President specifies in his order. The members shall be paid salaries and allowances as per the provisions made by the Central Government.
The commission is constituted to make recommendations to the president about the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and States and also the allocation of the same among the States themselves.
It is also under the ambit of the finance commission to define the financial relations between the Union and the States. They also deal with the devolution of unplanned revenue resources.

Source: The Hindu

ECI convenes meeting with Social Media Platforms

Topic: Governance

In News: Election Commission of India had in-depth interactive session with representatives of various Social Media Platforms and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on the usage of Social Media ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

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ECI exhorted the Social Media Organizations, who are formidable force-multipliers, to come up with a similar Code for the ongoing election process in the immediate context and a lasting document in the long run.
ECI suggested that a clear clause on users’ voluntarily agreeing not to misuse social media platforms for election or political purposes should be considered by the management.
The role of social media in helping spread information as well as curbing misinformation cannot be underestimated.
The deterrents like some punitive action against users misusing the platform should be considered pro-actively.
Participative approach from the social media platforms would greatly help ECI meet its objectives.

About Model Code of Conduct:

Election Commission of India’s Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for conduct of political parties and candidates during elections mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, portfolios, election manifestos, processions and general conduct.
These set of norms has been evolved with the consensus of political parties who have consented to abide by the principles embodied in the said code in its letter and spirit.
The Model Code of Conduct comes into force immediately on announcement of the election schedule by the commission for the need of ensuring free and fair elections.
Much of it is designed to avert communal clashes and corrupt practices. For example, politicians should not make hate speeches, putting one community against another or make promises about new projects that may sway a voter.

Source: The Hindu

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

Topic: Governance

In News: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

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The IBBI and the SEBI seek effective implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) and its allied rules and regulations, which have redefined the debt-equity relationship and aims to promote entrepreneurship and debt market.
They have agreed under the MoU to assist and co-operate with each other for the effective implementation of the Code, subject to limitations imposed by the applicable laws.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy code:

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is considered as one of the biggest insolvency reforms in the economic history of India.
This was enacted for reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximization of the value of assets of such persons.
BC aims at consolidating all existing insolvency related laws as well as amending multiple legislation including the Companies Act.
The code aims to resolve insolvencies in a strict time-bound manner – the evaluation and viability determination must be completed within 180 days.
Moratorium period of 180 days (extendable up to 270 days) for the Company. For startups and small companies the resolution time period is 90 days which can be extended by 45 days.
Introduce a qualified insolvency professional (IP) as intermediaries to oversee the Process
Establishment of Insolvency and Bankruptcy board as an independent body for the administration and governance of Insolvency & bankruptcy Law; and Information Utilities as a depository of financial information.

Source: The Hindu

International Air Transport Association

Topic: Important Institutions in News

In News: SpiceJet has announced its membership of global airlines’ grouping ‘International Air Transport Association’ (IATA). SpiceJet is the first Indian low-budget carrier to join the IATA.

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The membership will allow SpiceJet to explore and grow its collaborations with international member airlines of the IATA grouping through interlining and code shares.
It will also enable the low cost carrier in seamlessly expanding its network options for its passengers in future.

About IATA:

The International Air Transport Association is a trade association of the world’s airlines.
Consisting of 290 airlines, primarily major carriers, representing 117 countries, the IATA’s member airlines account for carrying approximately 82% of total available seat miles air traffic.
IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards. It is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with Executive Offices in Geneva, Switzerland.
Safety is the number one priority for IATA.The main instrument for safety is the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).

Source:The Hindu

Cannonball’ pulsar

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Astronomers have found a runaway pulsar hurtling through space at nearly 2.5 million miles an hour so fast it could travel the distance between Earth and the Moon in just 6 minutes.

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Pulsars are superdense, rapidly spinning neutron stars left behind when a massive star explodes.
A pulsar is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can be observed only when the beam of emission is pointing toward Earth (much like the way a lighthouse can be seen only when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer), and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission.
Neutron stars are very dense, and have short, regular rotational periods. This produces a very precise interval between pulses that ranges from milliseconds to seconds for an individual pulsar.
Pulsars are believed to be one of the candidates for the source of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
The periods of pulsars make them very useful tools. Observations of a pulsar in a binary neutron star system were used to indirectly confirm the existence of gravitational radiation.
Certain types of pulsars rival atomic clocks in their accuracy in keeping time.

Source: The Hindu

Nowruz

Topic: Culture

In News: Nowruz, also spelled as Navroz, is the Iranian New Year celebrated by ethnic Iranian people. Several ethno-linguistic communities around the world irrespective of their religious background observe it as the start of the New Year. In India, the Parsi community, who follow Zoroastrianism, celebrate Navroz with full fervour.

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Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendar.
It usually occurs on March 21 or the previous or following day, depending on where it is observed.
The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, and families gather together to observe the rituals.
Nowruz was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
In India, the Parsi community celebrate the Iranian New Year in a similar fashion as is around the world.
A visit to the Fire Temple, the place of worship of the Parsi community, is a ritual followed on Navroz every morning.
In India, prominent numbers of the Parsi community still remain in Mumbai and Gujarat, who celebrate Navroz with ardour.