Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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India will file dispute with WTO if U.S. rejects exemption on steel, aluminium tariffs

News

• India would lodge a trade dispute against the United States at the World Trade Organisation if Washington does not grant it exemptions from higher tariffs on steel and aluminium, three government officials involved in trade talks told Reuters.

Beyond News

• India recently requested exemptions, arguing that its exports of these products to the United States did not create a security concern for a country with whom it has a strategic partnership that goes beyond trade.
• Three senior officials said New Delhi would file a case citing discrimination with the WTO as a first course of action if the U.S. did not grant the exemptions.
• Following an outcry over the U.S. tariffs announced in March, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to suspend their imposition until May 1 for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the European Union, the biggest U.S. trading partner, in order to allow discussions to continue.
• Earlier this month, U.S. Assistant Trade Representative held talks with Trade Minister Suresh Prabhu, and other senior officials in New Delhi.
• India exported less than 1 million tonnes of steel to the U.S. in 2017, and was the tenth biggest supplier, according to an internal note prepared by the Steel Ministry. Steel exports to the United States account for 2.2 per cent of India’s total steel exports, it showed.
• India’s goods trade deficit with the United States fell by nearly six per cent to less than $23 billion last year.
• The three Indian officials involved in the trade talks said New Delhi could seek support, if needed, from other WTO member nations worried about the direction of U.S. trade policy.

Protectionism in all forms should be rejected, India tells Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Foreign Ministers

News

• India said protectionism in all its forms should be rejected and reaffirmed its belief in an economic globalisation which is more open, inclusive and equitable, amidst new trade barriers cropping up across the world, especially in the United States.

Beyond News

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her address to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers in Beijing raised the issue of protectionism.
• She called on the eight SCO nations to promote liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment to inject greater impetus into the world economy.
• She also said that,in this respect they must continue to diversify cooperation in the fields of innovation and digital economy, science and technology, energy, agriculture, food security, amongst others.
• The SCO, a permanent intergovernmental international organizationcreated in 2001, comprises eight member states including India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russian, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• Its main goals include strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states, promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection.

India highest recipient of remittances at $69 bn

News

• India retained the top position as recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending about USD 69 billion back home last year, the World Bank said.

Beyond News

• Remittances to India picked up sharply by 9.9 per cent, reversing the previous year’s dip, but were still short of USD 70.4 billion received in 2014.
• In its latest Migration and Development Brief, the World Bank estimated that officially recorded remittances to low-and middle-income countries reached USD 466 billion in 2017.
• This was an increase of 8.5 per cent over USD 429 billion in 2016.
• Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, grew 7 per cent to USD 613 billion last year, from USD 573 billion in 2016, the bank said.
• The stronger than expected recovery in remittances is driven by growth in Europe, Russia and the US.
• India continued to top in terms of receiving remittance, and was followed by China (USD 64 billion), the Philippines (USD 33 billion), Mexico (USD 31 billion), Nigeria (USD 22 billion), and Egypt (USD 20 billion).
• The Bank said remittances to South Asia grew a moderate 5.8 per cent to USD 117 billion.
• Reversing previous year’s sharp decline (8.9 per cent in 2016), remittances to India in 2017 picked up sharply by 9.9 percent, the bank said. As against USD 62.7 billion in 2016, it received USD 69 billion last year.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

‘58 lakh farmers will benefit from Rythu Bandhu scheme’

News

• Telangana Irrigation Minister has called upon the officials and public representatives to make the Rythu Bandhu (investment support scheme for agriculture) a grand success, stating that this will benefit more than 58 lakh farmers in the State covering about 1.42 crore acres.

Beyond News

• An awareness programme on Rythu Bandhu scheme was held for the officials and public representatives of Sangareddy, Medak and Siddipet district.
• Pass books and title deeds will be handed over to the farmers along with the bearer cheques of ₹4,000 at the programme.
• He said that farmers were free to encash the amount anywhere and bankers were instructed not to adjust the cash for any other loans.
• He said the government had spent about ₹100 crore for the printing of cheque books alone .
• He also suggested that the Collectors examine whether it was possible to hand over cash, after collecting cheques in the villages, by bank mitras. The officials were also instructed to deal with the farmers softly.

Novel portable device can ‘sniff out’ trapped humans

News

• Scientists have developed a light and portable sensor that can detect even the faintest signs of life, and could be used to rescue people trapped in rubble after an earthquake or bombing.

Beyond News

• Scientists from ETH Zurich in Switzerland and University of Innsbruck in Austria developed an inexpensive, selective sensor that is light and portable enough for first responders to hold in their hands or for drones to carry on a search for survivors.
• In the hours following a destruction-causing event, the survival rate of people stuck in the rubble rapidly drops, so it is critical to get in there fast.
• Current approaches include the use of human-sniffing dogs and acoustic probes that can detect cries for help.
• However, these methods have drawbacks, such as the limited availability of canines and the silence of unconscious victims.

Chemical sensor

• Devices that detect a human chemical signature, which includes molecules that are exhaled or that waft off the skin, are promising.
• So far these devices are too bulky and expensive for wide implementation, and they can miss signals that are present at low concentrations, researchers said.
• The researchers built the palm-sized sensor array from three existing gas sensors, each tailored to detect a specific chemical emitted by breath or skin: acetone, ammonia or isoprene. They also included two commercially available sensors for detecting humidity and CO2.
• In a human entrapment simulation, the sensors rapidly detected tiny amounts of these chemicals, at levels unprecedented for portable detectors – down to three parts per billion.
• The next step is to test the sensor array in the field under conditions similar to those expected in the aftermath of a calamity, researchers said.

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