Daily Current Affairs for TNPSC Group Exams, Upsc Exams, SSC, RRB, BANK & All Government Exams – The Hindu – 07 July 2022

1.  Words from Bandung to relive in Bali and Delhi 
 

• Page 6.
• IR.
   
• Three back-to-back summits in the past fortnight have helped settle the dust on who stands where on the Russian invasion of Ukraine: the BRICS, followed by the G-7 summit, and then the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Madrid. In 1955, it was in such a similar moment that India took leadership of a conference that eventually led to the Non-aligned Movement (NAM). This is the time to rethink India’s role in “growing the unaligned area” and bringing the “objective and balanced” outlook Nehru spoke of, to the forefront of India’s strategic policy, by channelling that thought from Bandung, to Bali and Delhi this year.

2.  A ‘no’ to pharma freebies, a ‘yes’ for public good 
 

• Page 6.
• Health, Judiciary, Governance.
   
• The SC dismissed the Special Leave Petition by Apex Laboratories to claim deduction on freebies given to doctors. Upholding a decision by the Madras High Court, the Bench said that the act of pharmaceutical companies giving freebies to doctors is clearly ‘prohibited by the law’. Further, it cannot be claimed as a deduction under Section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The judgment will go a long way in checking unethical and illegal practices in the pharma sector which has become so out of reach for the common man.

Daily Current Affairs for TNPSC Group Exams, Upsc Exams, SSC, RRB, BANK & All Government Exams – The Hindu – 07 July 2022

3.  Taking stock of five years of GST 
 

• Page 7.
• Economy, Growth and Development.
   
• Implementing GST should not lead to a change in overall inflation. The revenue neutral rate (RNR) is calculated so that it would not cause higher inflation. But revenue neutrality does not mean that prices would not go up or down in the economy. This is because the weight of goods in the consumption basket and their contributions to indirect tax collections are not the same. For example, food and drinks (which comprise 46% of the CPI index), rent, and clothing are all significant parts of the CPI basket that are either not taxed or taxed at low rates.

4.  India-EU: Global Dynamics 
 

• Page 7.
• IR, Environment and Conservation.
   
• With carbon neutrality being the byword to a sustainable world, a host of countries — Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Japan, Germany, Canada, Costa Rica, the United States, Brazil, India, and China among others — have set for themselves net-zero targets for the middle and later part of the century. At the forefront of the commitment to NetZero is the European Union, which wants to be the first carbon neutral region in the world by 2050. It brought out the ‘European Union Green Deal’ in July last year to focus on a new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU society into a fair and wealthy one with a modern, resource efficient and competitive economy.

5.  The new rules to keep advertisements in check 
 

• Page 8.
• Govt Policies and Interventions.
   
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) recently issued guidelines to prevent false or misleading advertisements. The guidelines are pathbreaking because they fill significant consumer protection gaps while explicitly outlining advertiser duties.  An advertisement is valid if it contains true and honest representation of goods and does not exaggerate the accuracy, scientific validity or practical usefulness or capability. In a prominent move, advertisements that condone, encourage, inspire or unreasonably emulate behaviour that could be dangerous for children or take advantage of ‘children’s inexperience, credulity or sense of loyalty etc.’ have been prohibited.

6.  Understanding the all-time high in India’s trade deficit
 

• Page 8.
• Economy, Growth and Development.
   
• The chasm between exports and imports has widened in the first quarter of this year, with the cumulative trade deficit already hitting $70 billion, translating into an average of $23.3 billion a month. While Russia’s conflict with Ukraine has propped up commodity prices globally, the spill over effects of runaway inflation is hurting global growth prospects as well as trade demand. The ‘lacklustre’ exports in June reflect an underlying slowdown in external demand. India is not alone as even super exporter Germany recorded its first trade deficit in 30 years this May, albeit a minor one.

Daily Current Affairs for TNPSC Group Exams, Upsc Exams, SSC, RRB, BANK & All Government Exams – The Hindu – 07 July 2022

7.  MSP should continue till markets become efficient
 

• Page 12.
• Economy, Agriculture.
   
• NITI Aayog member said that the MSP should continue till markets become competitive and efficient.  The MSP can be given through means other than procurement.

9.  RBI eases rules to boost forex inflows 
 

• Page 14.
• Economy.
   
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a slew of temporary measures aimed at boosting foreign exchange inflows, including a doubling in the overseas borrowing limit for corporates and removal of interest rate ceilings for NRIs’ foreign currency deposits. The move comes as persistent capital outflows and a widening trade deficit have led to a sharp depreciation in the Indian rupee to new lows against the dollar.