Search ops continue for missing IAF aircraft

A massive search operation was underway on June 4 to locate a Russian-origin AN-32 transport aircraft of the IAF, a day after it went missing in Arunachal Pradesh. The aircraft, with 13 people on board, went missing on June 3 afternoon after taking off from Jorhat in Assam for Menchuka near the border with China. A fleet of fixed-wing aircraft and choppers have been deployed to locate the missing aircraft. Officials said ground troops have also been deployed to carry out search operation in the mountainous terrain. A total of eight crew members and five passengers were on board the aircraft and the IAF is coordinating with Indian Army as well as various government agencies to locate it. The AN-32 is a Russian origin aircraft and the IAF currently operates a sizeable number of it. It is a twin engine turboprop transport aircraft.

FinMin in ‘quarantine’ for Budget exercise

As the NDA government gets down to prepare its first Budget, North Block, which houses the finance ministry, will be in ‘quarantine’ until the Budget presentation on July 5. The ministry will be out of bounds for visitors and media as it gets down to prepare Budget 2019-20. Before the country went to polls, an interim Budget authorising government expenditure for a limited period was presented on February 1. With a government in place now, a full-year Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as the domestic economy suffered its worst slowdown in five years. Her Budget team comprises Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, and Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian. The Economic Survey will be tabled on July 4.

RBI modifies large exposures framework

The RBI has modified the guidelines on large exposures for banks with a view to reduce the concentration of risk and align them with global norms. The modified Large Exposures Framework (LEF) provides exclusion of entities connected with the sovereign from the definition of group of connected counter-parties. It also introduces economic interdependence criteria in definition of connected counter-parties. The amendment, the RBI said, is being done in order to “capture exposures and concentration risk more accurately” and to align the above instructions with international norms. As per the revised norms, the sum of all the exposure values of a bank to a single counter-party must not be higher than 20 per cent of the bank’s available eligible capital base at all times.

‘Pre-monsoon rainfall lowest in 65 years’

The pre-monsoon rainfall was the second lowest in 65 years, private weather forecaster Skymet Weather said. The pre-monsoon season from March to May ended with a rainfall deficiency of 25 per cent. All the four meteorological divisions - northwest India, central India, east-northeast India and south peninsula - recorded deficit rainfall of 30 per cent, 18 per cent, 14 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively. Pre-monsoon rainfall is vital to many parts of the country. “This has been the second driest pre-monsoon season in the last 65 years, with the lowest being recorded in 2012 when cumulative rainfall deficiency had mounted to 31 per cent,” Skymet said. This year, pre-monsoon rains have performed exactly the same as in 2009 when the deficit was 25 per cent. Both were El Nino years.

Govt proposes changes in copyright rules

The government is proposing a mechanism to ensure that songs and videos reach the maximum number of people at affordable rates, which in case of dispute may be fixed by a quasi-judicial body, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). These changes are proposed in the Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019, the draft of which has been made public by the commerce and industry ministry for stakeholders’ views and comments till June 29. Once the changes are approved, it would become easier for websites, portals and music streaming firms to buy content and upload them. However, the move could hurt the commercial interest of content owners. Currently, the Act covers only radio, and TV broadcast firms are allowed to take the nod of the owners and negotiate a price bilaterally or through IPAB under Section 31D of the Act.

‘India to become 5th largest economy in 2019’

India is forecast to overtake the UK to become the world’s fifth largest economy this year and projected to surpass Japan to feature at the second position in the Asia-Pacific region by 2025, IHS Markit said. In a report on Prime Minister Narendra Modi victory in the general election, it said the economic outlook “looks positive” for the second term, with GDP growth forecast to average around 7 per cent per year over the 2019-23 period. “A key policy priority for the government will be to continue to drive reforms in public sector banks and reduce the burden of bad loans on their balance sheets,” IHS said. While the manufacturing sector’s share in the GDP is still at 18 per cent against the target of 25 per cent, around 7.5 million persons are set to join the workforce per year over the next 20 years.

Foodgrain output dips to 283.37 mn tonnes

India’s foodgrain production is estimated to have fallen marginally to 283.37 million tonnes (MT) in the 2018-19 crop year due to a fall in pulses and coarse cereals output even as rice and wheat output hit a high. Foodgrain (rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses) production stood at 285.01 MT in the 2017-18 crop year. Releasing the third advance estimates of production of major crops for 2018-19, the agri ministry said that rice production is estimated at an all-time-high of 115.63 MT during 2018-19, beating the previous record of 112.76 MT in 2017-18. Wheat output is also seen at a record 101.20 MT, surpassing 99.87 MT in the previous year. However, production of coarse cereals is estimated to have declined to 43.33 MT from a record 46.97 MT in 2017-18. Pulses output is pegged lower at 23.22 MT from 25.42 MT.

A blueprint for boosting e-transactions

To encourage digital payments, the Nandan Nilekani committee has suggested a host of measures, including elimination of charges, round-the-clock RTGS and NEFT facility and duty-free import of point-of-sale (PoS) machines. The RBI-appointed panel had submitted its suggestions on promoting digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das last month. Among other things, the panel has suggested that there should be no convenience fee on payments made to government agencies by customers and recommended that payment systems use machine-driven online dispute resolution systems to handle complaints.

India calls for expanding ART coverage

India, an important player in the global fight against AIDS, has called for focusing on efforts to invigorate research for improving diagnosis and developing vaccine and new treatments to alleviate the need for lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART). First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi said India is building on lessons learnt of past decades to tackle last-mile challenges, with focus on reduction in new infection, elimination of mother to child transmission and elimination of stigma and discrimination by 2020. “Remarkable progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, significant challenges remain in our way towards eliminating HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” Tripathi said.

Scientists turn plastic waste into jet fuel

Scientists have found a novel way to turn daily plastic waste products like water bottles and plastic bags into jet fuel. Researchers at Washington State University (WSU) in the US melted plastic waste at high temperature with activated carbon - a processed carbon with increased surface area - to produce jet fuel. “Waste plastic is a huge problem worldwide. This is a very good, and relatively simple, way to recycle these plastics,” said Hanwu Lei, an associate professor at WSU. “We can recover almost 100 per cent of the energy from the plastic we tested,” Lei said. “The fuel is very good quality, and the byproduct gasses produced are high quality and useful as well,” he said.

Newsmakers

Abu Dhabi-based Indian retail tycoon M.A. Yusuff Ali has become the first expat to get the UAE’s first gold card permanent residency. Unlike the long-term visa for businessmen and talented individuals, the gold card gives permanent residency of the UAE to the holder.

Celebrated chef Jaspal Inder Singh Kalra, popularly known as Jiggs Kalra, passed away on June 4. He was 71. Kalra, who held titles like the ‘Czar of Indian Cuisine’ and ‘Taste maker to the Nation’, conferred upon him by eminent writer Khushwant Singh, was best known for his role as a culinary revivalist.