Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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Centre defends Rafale deal, cites dire IAF needs

News

• In the face of continued allegations about the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, Defence Minister defended the decision saying it was taken as an emergency measure to meet the urgent requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Beyond News

• Then Prime Minister understood the loss of time and took the government-to-government route for 36 aircraft, and given the limited numbers, transfer of technology made no sense.
• The government had decided to procure 126 fighter jets in 2000, but even by 2014, the deal could not be concluded.

Moscow declaration: WHO seeks co-ordinated action on TB, end of HIV co-infection deaths by 2020

News

• Health ministers, NGOs, and private sector representatives from 120 countries adopted the Moscow Declaration , committing themselves to eliminating additional deaths from HIV co-infection by 2020 and achieving synergy in coordinated action against TB and non-communicable diseases.

Beyond News

• India is among the signatories to the declaration that WHO director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus described in his address as a “milestone in the history of TB”.
• The Moscow declaration emphasised the need for fixing multisectoral responsibility towards ending TB by 2035, the global target.

India, France to boost ties in counter-terror, trade

News

• Gravely concerned over growing terrorism, India and France decided to strengthen counter-terror cooperation, and asked the international community to oppose countries which are financing, sheltering and providing safe havens to terrorists.

Beyond News

• As part of the 2008 nuclear cooperation agreement between India and France, Paris is to help build atomic power reactors for New Delhi.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Ganga of Manas National Park is first rhino to be grandmother tracked in the wild

News

• This is the first time a rhino belonging to the wild in India has been officially recorded as having become a grandmother.

Beyond News

• Way back in 2004 when a devastating flood had ravaged Kaziranga National Park, Ganga – then a two-month old rhino calf – was almost washed away, had it not been for volunteers of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and. Conservation (CWRC) who rescued her and shifted her to safety and brought her up.
• Thirteen years later, Ganga – the name given at CWRC – is a proud grandmother, the first grandmother rhino tracked in a wild habitat.

The rhino population in Manas was totally wiped out in the early 1990s with Unesco putting a “in-danger” prefix to its World Heritage Site tag in 1992.

• With the government launching an ambitious programme under Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV) to raise the total rhino population across Assam to 3000, a number of rhinos were shifted to Manas from 2006 onwards.

‘PSLV built by domestic industry by 2020’

News

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to hand over the entire gamut of launch vehicle manufacture to domestic industry by 2020.

Beyond News

• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director said that ,until now, public and private industries have only supplied devices, components and sub-systems for ISRO’s launch vehicles, including the PSLV and the GSLV.
• This effort is to give a push to industry for production of end-to-end systems. By 2020, we hope to have the first completely industry-built PSLV.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Aerospace Manufacturing in India-Vision 2030.’

• ISRO already has a partnership with private industry to produce satellites.
• The IRNSS-1H communication satellite aboard the ill-fated PSLV C-39 was the first to be produced by a consortium of six companies.

ISRO had a partnership with about 500 domestic industries for the supply of various components and devices. “About 80% of the cost of launch vehicles and 40% of satellites are handled by these industries”.

Economy gets Moody’s thumbs up

News

• Global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Services raised India’s sovereign rating for the first time in 13 years early, citing the country’s high growth potential in the years to come.

Finding:

• The decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody’s expectation that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms will, over time, enhance India’s high growth potential and its large and stable financing base for government debt, and will likely contribute to a gradual decline in the general government debt burden over the medium term

 Beyond News:

• Upgrading the Indian government’s rating as a local and foreign currency issuer from Baa3 with a positive outlook to Baa2 with a stable outlook.
• Obligations rated Baa2 are subject to moderate credit risk.

They are considered medium grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics. Baa3, by contrast, was the lowest investment grade rating.

• Acknowledging that some steps such as the GST and demonetisation have ‘undermined’ growth in the near term as reflected by the slower GDP growth of 5.7% in the first quarter of 2017-18, Moody’s said it expects real GDP growth in India to moderate to 6.7% in this fiscal year.

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