PRELIMS CURRENT

AFFAIRS
11TH OCTOBER 2018
 Overview
✤ HIV AIDS Act 2017

✤ Section 124 of IPC

✤ MSME

✤ Cost of Natural Diasters

✤ Defense Procurement Policy 2016

MENTORSHIP
PROGRAMME
Polity and International
Relations
HIV and AIDS Act 2017
✤ Act aims to prevent and control the spread of HIV and AIDS in the
country and provides for penalties for discrimination against those
affected by the virus

✤ India has the third largest HIV-infected population with an estimated

2 million people.

✤ Goal : decrease new infections by 75 per cent between 2010 and 2020
and eliminate AIDS by 2030.

✤ Provisions

✤ prohibits discrimination or unfair treatment of HIV-infected people

on any grounds, denial of healthcare services, right of movement,
right to reside, purchase, rent or occupy property and hold public
or private office etc.
✤ prohibits isolation of HIV+ person

✤ No HIV-affected person can be subject to medical

treatment, medical interventions or research
without informed consent

✤ No person is compelled to disclose his HIV status

except by an order of the court.

✤ Every state has to appoint one or more Ombudsmen

to inquire into violations of the provisions of the Ac
Section 124 of IPC
✤ It could be invoked only when the President and the governor is ‘compelled
or restrained’ from exercising their power

✤ Applies to assaulting high constitutional functionaries such as President and

Governor with an “intent to compel or restrain the use of any lawful power

✤ Section 124 A

✤ Whosoever attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or

attempts to excite disaffection towards Government established by law in
India shall be punished with imprisonment

✤ disaffection includes disloyalty and feelings of enmity

✤ lawful dissent to change government action without exciting hatred,

contempt or disaffection do not constitute an offence

✤ Punishable Cognizable Non bailable Non compoundable offence

Act East Policy
✤ Focus on extended neighbourhood in Asia-Pacific region

✤ Dimensions

✤ Political

✤ Strategic

✤ Cultural

✤ Economic

✤ Establishment of institutional mechanism for dialogue and cooperation

✤ Active engagement with ASEAN, ARF, EAS, BIMSTEC, Asian

Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC),
IORA
Solicitor General of India
✤ One of the law officers of GOI who assists Attorney
General

✤ Assists AG in fulfilment of official responsibilities

✤ Article 76 does not mention about Solicitor General

Economics
MSME
Manufacturing Sector

Enterprises Investment in Plant & Machinery (in Rs)

Micro < 25 lakh

Small 25 lakh < but < 5 crore
Medium 5 crore < but < 10 crore

Service Sector

Enterprises Investment in Equipment (in Rs)

Micro < 10 lakh

Small 10 lakh < but < 2 crore
Medium 2 crore < but < 5 crore
Abenomics
✤ Economic policies advocated by Shinzo Abe which
elected him to second term

✤ 3 Arrows

✤ Monetary Easing

✤ Fiscal Stimulus

✤ Structural Reforms

✤ Mix of reflation, government spending and growth

strategy to jolt the economy out of suspended animation
Train Safety
✤ High Level Safety Review Committee (Anil Kakodkar)

✤ Findings

✤ Present environment of railways grim — poor infrastructure and resources, lack of

empowerment at functional level

✤ Financial state of Indian Railways on brink of collapse

✤ Three vital functions (rule making, operations and regulation) all vested in Railway
Board

✤ Recommendations

✤ Creation of Railway Safety Authority with powers of safety oversight on operations

✤ Restructuring of Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), apex technical

wing, and setting up Railway Research and Development Council (RRDC) directly
under gov

✤ Adoption of Advance Signalling System

ENVIRONMENT
Cost of Natural Disasters
✤ Study by UNISDR says India suffered economic losses of $80 bn
during the 20 year period

✤ India ranked among world’s top 5 countries in absolute economic

losses

✤ Economic losses from extreme weather events are unsustainable and

a major brake on eradicating poverty in hazard exposed parts of the
world, making it difficult for Low and Lower-Middle income
countries to achieve SDGs

✤ While the majority of fatalities were due to geophysical events,

mostly earthquakes and tsunamis, 91% of all disasters were caused
by floods, storms, droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather
events
INTERNAL SECURITY
Defense Procurement Policy
✤ Objective : Institutionalising, streamlining and simplifying
defence procurement procedure to give a boost to “Make in
India”  initiative

✤ New category of procurement ‘Buy Indian-IDDM accorded

topmost priority for capital equipment

✤ Preference to Buy (Indian) and Buy and Make (Indian) over the
parallel Global categories

✤ Requirement of Indigenous content has been enhanced

✤ Funding of 90% of development cost by gov to Indian industry

and reserving projects not exceeding development cost of Rs 10
crore (gov funded) and Rs 3 crore (industry funded) for MSMEs
✤ Offset Clause

✤ The winners of the contract are required to set up

local manufacturing units or enter into sourcing
deals locally, within a year of signing the main deal

✤ It ensures that the domestic industry benefits in

long run either by way of technology transfer or in
the form of a boost to local manufacturing

✤ The rule states that any firm bagging a major

defense contract would have to invest at least 30%
of the deal amount in Indian defense and aerospace
industry