DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Sept. 13, 2022

India, Vietnam holds second security dialogue in New Delhi

Tags: place in news Summits

India and Vietnam held their 2nd security dialogue on 13 September 2022 in New Delhi and discussed ways to enhance maritime security cooperation. The first Security Dialogue was held in Hanoi in 2018.

The Second India-Vietnam Security Dialogue was held at the level of Deputy National Security Advisor/Deputy Minister.

The Indian side was led by Vikram Misri, Deputy National Security Adviser, and the Vietnamese side was led by its Deputy Minister of Public Security, Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

India Vietnam Relation :

• Vietnam has become an important partner in India’s Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific vision as both the countries has dispute with China.
• Vietnam is involved in a dispute with China on the South China Sea Island. China  claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea islands, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
• India favours free and open navigation right in the South China Sea which is threatened by China.
• India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. India and Vietnam are boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.
• In 2016, during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Vietnam, the bilateral relations were further elevated to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
• India and Vietnam signed an important Joint Vision Statement on defence partnership during the visit of the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam on 8 June 2022.
• During the defence minister's visit India provided a $500 million defence loan to Vietnam.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Vietnam :

• It lies in South East Asia and it is a member of Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
• Capital: Hanoi
• Currency: Dong
• President: Nguyen Xuan Phuc

Govt constitutes M Damodaran committee to suggest ways to attract VC/PE investments

Tags: committee Economy/Finance

The Union Ministry of Finance on 13 September 2022 has set up a committee to suggest ways to attract venture capital and private equity (VC/PE) investments in India. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The Committee will be headed by the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), M Damodaran.
• The Finance minister in her Budget speech for the fiscal year 2022-23 had stated that the government was considering forming a committee that will encourage Private Equity and Venture Capital investment in India.
• According to the Ministry the  committee will "comprehensively study, using a systems approach, the end-to-end frictions and potential accelerants from regulatory policy and taxation to facilitate ease of investing, as well as to encourage investments in India".

Venture Capital Fund and Private Equity are regulated by SEBI in India.

India’s biggest telecom flagship event DIPA Annual 2022 to be held in New Delhi

Tags: place in news Science and Technology Summits

Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), an apex industry body of digital infrastructure providers will host its Annual Flagship Event on 14 September 2022 at the New Delhi .The event is said to be the biggest event of Telecom industry of the year 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The event is being organised by DIPA with the support of the Department of Telecommunications.
• The Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the Chief Guest and the Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan will be the Guest of Honour.

Theme of the Event 2022 :

The theme of the event is:  “Gati Shakti vision for 5G & Beyond”. 

India to invite Bangladesh and other friendly as guest country during its G-20 presidency

Tags: National Summits

The Ministry of External Affairs on 13 September 2022, said that India will invite a number of friendly countries and International Organisation to the G-20 summit as Guest countries to the G-20 Summit meeting being hosted by India on 09 and 10 September 2023 in New Delhi.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Guest Countries :

• India will invite Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE as Guest Countries. 

International Organisations to be invited :

• India will invite the United Nations, International Monetary Fund(IMF),World Bank, World Health Organisation (WHO),World Trade Organization (WTO),International labour organization(ILO),Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Financial Stability Board(FSB), Head of African Union, International Solar Alliance ,Association of South-east Asian Nation(ASEAN) , African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD ) CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) and ADB (Asian Development Bank).
• The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA and the European Union (EU).

JIMEX 2022: India- Japan starts joint naval exercise in Bay of Bengal

Tags: place in news Defence

According to the Ministry of Defence the sixth edition of Japan India Maritime Exercise 2022 (JIMEX 22) hosted by the Indian Navy commenced in the Bay of Bengal on 11 Sep 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The Japanese Navy which is officially called as Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) is being represented by Naval ships Izumo, a Helicopter Carrier, and Takanami, a Guided Missile Destroyer.
• The Indian Navy is being represented by three indigenously designed and built warships; Sahyadri, a multi-purpose stealth frigate and Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvettes Kadmatt and Kavaratti. Additionally, Guided Missile Destroyer Ranvijay, Fleet Tanker Jyoti, Offshore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, submarines, MIG 29K fighter aircraft, Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft and ship borne helicopters are also participating in the exercise.
• JIMEX 22 involves two Phases; exercises at sea and a harbour phase at Visakhapatnam.
• The 5th edition of JIMEX -21 was held in Arabian Sea from 6 to 8 October.

Newly Constituted Board of Trade first meeting held in New Delhi

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance

The first meeting of the newly constituted Board of Trade was held in New Delhi on 13 September 2022. The meeting was presided over by the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goel.

The Board of Trade meeting focused on export target setting, the new Foreign Trade Policy (2022-27), and the strategies and measures to be taken in order to take forward domestic manufacturing and exports.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Board of Trade and its functions :

• The Board of Trade was set up by the government of India by  merging Council for Trade Development and Promotion with Board of Trade,
•  The Board of Trade advises the Government on policy measures connected with the Foreign Trade Policy in order to achieve the objectives of boosting India’s trade.
• It provides a platform to state governments and Union Territories (UT) for articulating state-oriented perspectives on Trade Policy. 
• It also acts as a platform to the Government of India for appraising State Governments and UT about international developments affecting India’s trade. 
• It is an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with industry bodies, associations, export promotion councils, and state and UT governments.

Right to contest election is not a fundamental right: Supreme Court

Tags: National

The Supreme Court on 13 September 2022 has ruled that the right to contest an election is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right but a right conferred by statute. It was giving its ruling on a Special Leave petition filed by Mr Vishwanath Pratap Singh challenging Delhi High Court judgment which had dismissed a similar petition.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vs Election Commission of India 2022 case :

• The petitioner Vishwanath Pratap Singh wanted to contest the Rajya Sabha election to be held in June 2022. He said he had collected the nomination form but was not allowed by the Election Commission to file his nomination without a proper proposer proposing his name.
• The petitioner claimed that since his candidature without the proposer was not accepted, his fundamental right to free speech and expression and his right to personal liberty was infringed.
• The Delhi High Court had in its Judgment dismissed his petition that his fundamental right was infringed.

Supreme Court Judgment :

• A two judge bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia while  referring to earlier judgments viz Javed v. State of Haryana, (2003) and Rajbala v. State of Haryana (2016) , dismissing his plea observed that the right to contest election was neither a fundamental right nor a common law right. It is a right conferred by a statute."
• The bench noted that the petitioner did not have any right to contest election to the Rajya Sabha in terms of the law made by Parliament.
•  The Court said that "The Representation of People Act, 1950 read with the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 has contemplated the name of a candidate to be proposed while filling the nomination form,".
• "Therefore, an individual cannot claim that he has a right to contest an election and the said stipulation violates his fundamental right, so as to file his nomination without any proposer as is required under the Act," the bench observed.
• The Supreme Court dismissed the petition with a cost of ₹ one lakh and said the cost be paid to the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee within four weeks.

Proposer and Seconder :

• To discourage non-serious candidates from contesting elections, the law provides that a candidate who wants to contest election will have to file a nomination paper which has to be signed by proposer and endorsed by seconder.
• The person who is a proposer cannot become an endorser.
• The proposer and seconder are the voters who are eligible to vote for the particular post which is being contested.

The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Acts 1952 provides for the proposer and seconder for the Presidential and Vice Presidential polls.

They are as follows :

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

For Parliament and State Legislature elections

• According to the section  33 (1) of Representation of People Act, 1951 , a candidate who belongs to a recognised political party, needs only 1 proposer (voter of the constituency from where the candidate is fighting election) for filing nomination to contest Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council election.
• If the candidate is from an unrecognized political party or Independent then the proposer requirement is 10. 

INS Satpura & P8 I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft reached Darwin, Australia to participate Exercise Kakadu

Tags: Defence

INS Satpura and a P8 I Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy reached Darwin in Australia for participation in multinational Exercise Kakadu-22, hosted by the Royal Australian Navy.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Exercise Kakadu 2022 (KA22) is starting from September 12, involving over 15 ships, over 30 aircraft and around 3,000 personnel from over 20 countries.

• The KA22 is being commanded by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

• The biennial exercise, which was started in 1993, is the major international participatory activity of RAN.

• The theme for this year’s exercise is "Partnership, Leadership, Friendship”

• It is scheduled to conclude on 24 September.

About INS Satpura :

• It is an indigenously designed and manufactured 6000 ton guided missile stealth frigate with the capability to seek and destroy enemies in air, surface and underwater.

• The ship is a part of the Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

P8 I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft :

• It is manufactured by American aviation company Boeing, is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

Vedanta, Foxconn signs MoU with Gujarat government to set up a semiconductor unit in the state

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Science and Technology

In a boost to the government’s semiconductor mission, Anil Agarwal led Vedanta Group and electronic manufacturing giant Foxconn of Taiwan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat Government on 13 September 2022 to set up a FAB manufacturing unit in the state. The manufacturing unit which will include display and semiconductor facilities will be set up near Ahmedabad.

Update on 16 September 2022

The Vedanta Limited has issued a clarification on 16 September 2022 that Volcan Investments would undertake the business of manufacturing semi-conductors and not Vedanta Limited. Volcan Investments is a holding company wholly owned by the Agarwal family trust. It is also the majority shareholder of the London based  Vedanta Resources and owns more than 50 percent stake in Vedanta India. However, unlike Vedanta India, Volcan Investments is unlisted.

• The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Railways, Communication, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.
• A fab (fabrication facility) is short for fabrication plant where raw silicon wafers are processed and turned into integrated circuits.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Joint Venture partners :

• The manufacturing giant Foxconn will be the technical partner in the Joint venture while the  oil-to-metals conglomerate Vedanta is financing the project, as it looks to diversify into chip manufacturing.
• Under the Joint Venture , Volcan Investment will hold a majority stake of up to 60%, and the remaining 40% will be held by Foxconn.
• The total investment in the manufacturing unit will be Rs 1, 54,000 crore to set up the facility in Gujarat which is expected to create one lakh job opportunities.

Other Chip manufacturing proposals :

• Vedanta is the third company to announce a chip plant location in India after international consortium ISMC and Singapore-based IGSS Ventures, which are setting up in the southern states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, respectively.
• The world chip market is dominated by China and Taiwan and India wants to be self-sufficient in this critical technology

India’s Semiconductor Mission :

• On 29 December 2022, the Information Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched the India Semiconductor Mission.
• Under the policy, the government will provide Rs 76000 crore incentives for companies setting up manufacturing facilities in India.
• This was done by the government to encourage companies to set up chip manufacturing plants in India.

What is semiconductor :

• Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors and insulators. They can be pure elements, silicon or germanium or compounds; gallium, arsenide or cadmium selenide.
• They are the basic building blocks that serve as the heart and brain of all modern electronics and information and communications technology products.
• These chips are now an integral part of contemporary automobiles, household gadgets and essential medical devices such as ECG machines.

Fabrication units in India :

• Currently, India has two fabrication facilities (fab).One is Society for Integrated Circuit Technology and Applied Research (SITAR) of the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru and a semiconductor laboratory in Chandigarh, which builds silicon chips for strategic purposes like defense and space and not for commercial use.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Vedanta limited :

• It is a multinational company headquartered in Mumbai, India. 
• It is in the business of Zinc-Lead-Silver, Iron ore, Steel, Copper, Aluminium, Power, Oil and Gas.
• The Chairman of Vedanta group: Anil Aggarwal 

MeitY Startup Hub, Meta to launch program to accelerate XR technology startups in India

Tags: National Economy/Finance National News

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will launch a program to support and accelerate XR technology startups across India in collaboration with Startup Hub META.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• This collaboration is part of the government's efforts to skill in emerging and futuristic technologies.

• With a large talent pool of creators, developers and a vibrant technology ecosystem, India has the potential to play a significant role in the metaverse.

• MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of MeitY, is a national platform focused on promoting technology innovation, start-ups and creation of intellectual property.

• Currently, it has over 3,000 tech startups, with the expectation of growing to over 10,000 startups in the next three to five years.

Minister of Electronics and IT  - Ashwini Vaishnaw

Nirmala Sitharaman releases N K Singh book “Recalibrate: Changing Paradigm”

Tags: Books and Authors

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the book “Recalibrate: Changing Paradigm” authored by the 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh and Former Agricultural Secretary P K Mishra in New Delhi on 13 September 2022.

The book has been published by Rupa and Co.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Other books authored by NK Singh :

• The New Bihar: Rekindling Governance and Development
• Not By Reason Alone
• The Politics of Change : A Ringside View
• Portraits Of Power'

About NK Singh : 

• Nand Kishore Singh (NK Singh) is a former Indian Administrative Officer. 
• He was the chairman of the 15th Finance Commission

Hughes and ISRO launch satellite internet service in India

Tags: Science and Technology

Satellite Internet provider Hughes Communications India (HCI) on September 12 announced the commercial launch of India's first high-throughput satellite (HTS) broadband service operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in the form of Elon Musk-run SpaceX.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Hughes Communications India abandoned its affordable internet project Starlink in the country.

• The satellite service aims to expand high-speed broadband across the country, to connect government networks in the most remote areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks.

About HCI :

• HCI is a joint venture of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), a leading global provider of broadband satellite networks and services, and Bharti Airtel Limited, India's leading communications solutions provider.

• It has a combined base of over 200,000 VSATs.

• It provides broadband networking technologies, solutions and services.

India to assume G20 Presidency for one year from December 2022

Tags: International News

As per the Ministry of External Affairs India will chair the G20 meeting for one year starting from December 1, 2022 to November 20, 2023.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• A total of 200 G20 meetings are likely to be held under the chairmanship of India.

• The G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September 2023.

India is part of the G20 Troika :

• India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, past and upcoming G20 presidencies) which includes Indonesia, Italy and India.

• During India's Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika.

• This will be the first time that the troika will include three developing countries and emerging economies, which will give them a boost.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

G-20 Group :

• Group of 20 or G-20 is a multilateral organisation which was set up in 1999.

• It consists of the world's major developed and developing countries.

• It consists of 19 countries and the European Union. The member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

• Italy was the President of the G-20 in 2021. Indonesia is the President for 2022 and India will be the President in 2023. 

• The first Summit meeting of the leaders of the G-20 was held in 2008 at Washington, United States.

• The G20 has no permanent secretariat.

• G-20 members constitute 60% of the world population, 80% of the World economy and 75% of world trade.

Government launches national list of essential medicines

Tags: National National News

The Health Ministry has released a new National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), in which 384 medicines have been included.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• In the list of 384 medicines, 34 new medicines have been included in the list of essential medicines.

• The NLEM 2022 contains 384 medicines as compared to 376 in NLEM, 2015. 

• The drugs are now classified into 27 therapeutic categories.

What is National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) ?

• Essential medicines are those that meet the primary health care needs on the basis of efficacy, safety, quality and total cost of treatment.

• The primary objective of NLEM is to promote rational use of drugs considering three important aspects viz., cost, safety and efficacy.

• It is based on the concept that a limited list of carefully selected drugs will improve the quality of health care, provide cost-effective health care and better manage medicines.