Current Affairs: November 12, 2016

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November 12, 2016

India should improve ports, logistics to boost exports

World Bank in its report has mentioned that India must

take steps to improve ports and logistics and frame

policies to reduce farm subsidies to emerge as an export

powerhouse. It was mentioned in the World Bank’s

recently released report titled ‘South Asia’s Turn:

Policies to Boost Competitiveness and Create the Next Export Powerhouse’. The report has

suggested a set of policy actions in four sectors — agribusiness, apparel, electronics and

automotive. India and the South Asia region can be Next Export Powerhouse by adopting the

right set of productivity-enhancing policies. It can triple its share in global markets of

electronics and motor vehicles and double its already significant market share in apparel

(excluding textiles and leather) by 2030.

Guy Ryder re-elected as DG of ILO

Guy Ryder from United Kingdom has been re-elected

Director-General of the International Labour Organisation

(ILO) for a second five-year term. He was elected by the

Governing Body of the International Labour Organization

(ILO) and received 54 of the 56 votes. Ryder is the 10th DG of

ILO and was elected for the first time in May 2012. He has some 35 years of experience in the

world of work. The ILO is a United Nations agency dealing with labour issues, particularly

international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all.

Current Affairs: November 12, 2016

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Punjab Law Terminating Sutlej-Yamuna Link Agreement unconstitutional: SC

The Supreme Court has scrapped Punjab Termination of

Water Agreements Act, 2004 which unilaterally allows

Punjab to stop sharing Ravi, Beas waters with other States.

Ruling in this regard was given by a five-judge SC

Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave. The SC

bench gave its opinion on a Presidential Reference made by

then President APJ Kalam in 2004 to the apex court under Article 143 (1) of the Constitution

questioning the constitutional validity of the Act. The law unilaterally enacted by Punjab was

illegally designed to terminate a 1981 agreement entered into among Punjab, Haryana and

Rajasthan to re-allocate waters of Ravi and Beas.

India to host 2018 International Competition Network annual conference

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) was

selected as the host the 2018 International

Competition Network (ICN) in New Delhi in

March–April 2018. By virtue of this event, CCI has

also been inducted as an ex-officio member of the

steering group member of the ICN for a period of 3 years. The 2017 ICN Annual Conference

will be held in Portugal and will be hosted by Portuguese Competition Authority. ICN is an

informal international body consists of 132 members from 120 competition jurisdictions. It was

established in 2001. CCI is a member of the ICN since 2003. It is exclusively devoted to

international competition enforcement and facilitates cooperation between competition law

authorities globally.

Current Affairs: November 12, 2016

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Peru to host 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum’s Leaders Summit will be held in

Lima, Peru from November 19 to 20, 2016. The theme of

the summit is ‚Quality Growth and Human

Development‛ and the official logo is the architecture of

the ancient city of Caral. It will be the second time Peru

hosting to the APEC Summit, previously it had hosted

the event in 2008. The 2016 summit will gather leaders

from the world’s 21 most important member economies, as well as over 1,500 investors and

entrepreneurs.

India, Japan ink ten agreements including civil nuclear deal

India and Japan signed have ten agreements to boost the

bilateral cooperation between the two nations. The

agreements were signed in presence of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe

in Tokyo, Japan. It provides for bilateral cooperation in the

field of Nuclear Energy. It will help to strengthen of energy security of India, by facilitating

development of nuclear power projects in India.

Current Affairs: November 12, 2016

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India and Japan Sign Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

After years of negotiations, India and Japan have signed a

bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement on 11

November, 2016. With this, India has become the first

non-NPT country with which Japan has signed a Civil

Nuclear Agreement. The civil nuclear agreement between

the two countries was not realized so gar manly because

India did not fit into Japan’s ‘Hikaku San Gensoku’ or three non-nuclear principles. These

principles adopted in a resolution by Japanese parliament provide that Japan would neither

possess nor manufacture nuclear weapons, nor shall it permit their introduction into Japanese

territory.

China successfully launches pulsar navigation satellite XPNAV-1

China has successfully launched experimental X-ray

pulsar navigation satellite XPNAV-1. It is the world’s

first pulsar navigation satellite or spacecraft. It was

launched on board of Long March 11 solid-fuelled

rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s northwest. It was 239th flight

mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. The satellite weighs more than 200

kilogrammes and carries two detectors. It will operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit (500

kilometers) inclined 97 degrees. It will conduct in-orbit experiments of autonomous spacecraft

navigation using pulsar detectors to demonstrate new technologies.