Daily Current Affairs for TNPSC Group Exams, Upsc Exams, SSC, RRB, BANK & All Government Exams – The Hindu – 15 July 2022

1. ‘Fiscal deficitreined in, CAD a concern’

Front Page.
Economy.
India’s macro risks have receded in recent weeks and concerns about the fiscal deficit target being breached may be misplaced, the Finance Ministry asserted on Thursday, while conceding that the current account deficit (CAD) could, however, deteriorate this year mainly due to rising trade deficits. Identifying elevated inflation and a widening trade deficit as ‘twin challenges’ for the economy, the Ministry, however, emphasised that economic activity in the country remained resilient almost five months into the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

2. Fleeing, Quitting

Page 8.
IR.
As Sri Lankan President sent in his resignation Thursday evening, it was clear he was holding out so that he would not lose his presidential immunity from prosecution until he reached safe haven. Instead, he appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discharge the President’s functions in his absence, using a provision in the Constitution which allows such an arrangement if the incumbent has to leave the country or is otherwise unable to perform his duties.

3. The great omission in the draft disability policy

Page 8.
Govt Policies and Interventions.
The Department of Empowerment of Person with Disabilities (DoEPwD) recently released the draft of the national policy for persons with disabilities. The necessity for a new policy which replaces the 2006 policy was felt because of multiple factors such as India’s signing of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities; enactment of a new disability legislation (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016) which increased the number of disabilities from seven conditions to 21 and being a party to the Incheon Strategy for Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022 (“Incheon commitment”). The last was prepared under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) which identifies 10 goals for Asia-Pacific countries to ensure the inclusion and the empowerment of persons with disabilities and conformity with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

4. Is protectionism compatible with liberalisation?

Page 9,
Polity.
At a time when the Central government says it is liberalising India’s economy, its economic policymaking on the external front has been marked by rising protectionism. With policies such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, there seems to be a conscious effort to protect the domestic economy from foreign competition. This raises questions on whether the government’s external protectionism is compatible with its promise of liberalising India’s economy.

5. The debate around the Forest Conservation Rules

Page 10.
Govt Policies and Interventions, Environment and Conservation.
Forest Conservation Rules prescribe the procedure to be followed for forest land to be diverted for non-forestry uses such as road construction, and highway development. The latest version of the rules, which consolidates changes to the Act over the years from various amendments and court ruling, was made public. Prior to the updated rules, state bodies would forward documents to the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) that would include information on the status of whether the forest rights of locals in the area were settled.

6. The road to rolling out labour codes

Page 10.
Govt Policies and Interventions, Human Resources, Employment.
The government says the delay in implementing the four labour codes is due to the delay in framing rules by the States. The States are publishing draft rules and inviting comments from stakeholders on those draft rules. The Centre had also published draft rules for certain sections of the four codes. The trade unions are warning about protests if the codes are implemented. They say that the Centre will have to repeal it the way it repealed the three farm laws.

7. How to grease the wheels of justice

Page 11.
Judiciary.
In India, more than 40% of cases are decided after three years, while in many other countries less than 1% of cases are decided after three years. Computer algorithms should decide on case listing, case allocation and adjournments with only a 5% override given to judges. All the courts in the country must switch to a hybrid virtual mode immediately and start disposing cases. Even after the COVID-19 crisis ends, it would be beneficial to continue hybrid virtual courts.

8. India to give land for I2U2backed food parks

Page 14.
IR, Growth and Development.
India will provide “appropriate land” for “food parks” across the country that will be built in collaboration with Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The plan for the “integrated food parks” was announced in a joint statement after the leaders of the I2U2 grouping — India, Israel, the UAE and the U.S. — held a summit on Thursday. The leaders said they would bring in private capital for specific projects in the fields of water, energy, transportation, health, space and food security.

9. Trade deficitwidenstorecord$26.1 bn

Page 16.
Economy.
“While the upwardly revised merchandise trade deficit for June 2022 poses some upside risks to the current account deficit for the first quarter… the correction in commodity prices has softened the outlook for the ongoing quarter,” said ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar. However, she cautioned that export growth may see a slowdown amidst a weaker outlook for the global economy. “We foresee modest downsides to our current account deficit forecast for this year of $105 billion, or 3% of GDP,” she noted.