9 PM Brief by ForumIAS

India extends retaliatory tariff deadline on US products

1. Indian government has extended its deadline to impose retaliatory import duties on
29 US products till May 16, 2019.
2. These deadlines were extended several times since June 2018 when India decided
to impose these duties in retaliation to a move by the US to impose high customs
duties on certain steel and aluminium products.
3. Further, this extension comes in the backdrop of the US decision to withdraw export
incentives being provided to Indian exporters under Generalised System of
Preferences (GSP) programme.
4. However, India may go ahead with its decision to impose retaliatory tariffs if the US
would withdraw the GSP benefits. GSP is a preferential tariff system extended by
developed countries to developing countries which allows zero tariff imports from
developing countries.
5. India’s exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion while imports were at
$26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.

China expanding PLA’s reach around world: US

1. According to a report titled ‘2019 China Military Power’ released by the US

Pentagon, China may create more military bases across the world to protect its
investments in its ambitious Belt and road initiative(BRI).
2. Currently, China has one overseas military base in Africa’s Djibouti. The report said
that China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it
has a long-standing friendly relationship and similar strategic interests such as in
Pakistan.
3. The report has also added that China has rapidly modernised its war-fighting
capabilities ranging from nuclear-capable missiles and submarines to cyber warfare
and anti-satellite weapons. It has developed hypersonic missiles which can travel
more than five times the speed of sound.
4. The report said that China has continued to use coercive measures with both its
economic and military tools to advance its interests and to mitigate opposition from
other countries. The report cited the example where China had recently used
economic coercion by reducing overseas trade and tourism in an effort to influence
domestic politics and political institutions in countries such as Australia and Palau.
5. Further, the report has also said that deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic
region could pave the way for a strengthened military presence in Arctic region
including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attacks.

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Don’t terminate GSP benefits to India

1. A group of 25 influential US lawmakers has urged the US Trade Representative

(USTR) not to terminate the Generalized System of Preferences(GSP) programme
with India.
2. They argued that terminating GSP for India would hurt American companies seeking
to expand their exports to India.
3. Recently, US had decided to terminate India’s designation as a beneficiary of its
GSP.GSP is a preferential tariff system extended by developed countries to
developing countries which allows zero tariff imports from developing countries.
4. The objective of GSP is to give development support to poor countries by promoting
exports from them into the developed countries. The GSP of US provides
preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated countries.
According to World Bank data, India is currently the largest beneficiary of the GSP
programme.
5. US had taken this decision due to(a)India’s new rules on e-commerce that affected
firms such as Amazon and Walmart (b)Data localisation rules which forced foreign
companies to store their data locally (c)Price controls on medical devices(Cardiac
stents) (d)Tariff on ICT products such as smart watches and high end mobile phones
(e)Lack of greater market access for the US dairy industry and (f) Trade imbalance
between India and the US

Not keeping record of pre-natal tests is criminal: SC

1. In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court has upheld the Sections 23(1) and
23(2) of the Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex
Selection) (PCN-PNDT) Act, 1994. It criminalises non-maintenance of medical
records by obstetricians and gynaecologists and suspend their medical licence
indefinitely.
2. The judgement came in the backdrop of a petition filed by Federation of Obstetrics
and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) which said that Section 23 equated
anomalies in paperwork/record keeping/clerical errors on the same footing with the
actual offence of sex determination.
3. The Supreme Court has observed that any dilution of any provisions of the Act
would defeat the purpose of the Act and relegate the right to life of the girl child
under Article 21 of the Constitution, to a mere formality.
4. The PC-PNDT Act was enacted in 1994 with the intent to prohibit prenatal diagnostic
techniques for determination of the sex of the foetus leading to female feticide.
5. Female foeticide is the process of finding out the sex of the foetus and undergoing
abortion if it is a female.
6. Sex-selected abortions is a grave concern in India. In a publication of United
Nations population Fund (UNFPA), it was published that 0.46 million girls were
missing at birth on an average annually during the period 20012012 as a result of
sexselective abortions.
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Commercial flights yet to take off at Hindon

1. Commercial flights under the UDAN scheme are yet to take off at the civil terminal at
Indian Air Force’s Hindon airbase in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
2. In March 2019, Indian Prime minister had inaugurated the civil enclave terminal built
by Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Hindon airbase.
3. The civil enclave terminal at Hindon airbase has been built as an alternative to the
Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi which has been unable to accommodate
new regional flights under UDAN scheme, due to capacity constraints.
4. Launched in 2017, Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) is a regional connectivity
scheme. It seeks to connect under-served and un-served airports in India through
revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme is being implemented by
Airport Authority of India.
5. Under the scheme, airlines have to cap airfares for 50% of the total seats at Rs.
2,500 per hour of flight.
6. The losses for the price cap is compensated by a mechanism called Viability Gap
Funding- A government grant provided to the airlines to bridge the gap between the
cost of operations and expected revenue.
7. The scheme is a component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016. It
aims at making flying affordable to the masses and strengthening the regional air
connectivity.

Commercial flights yet to take off at Hindon

1. Commercial flights under the UDAN scheme are yet to take off at the civil terminal at
Indian Air Force’s Hindon airbase in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
2. In March 2019, Indian Prime minister had inaugurated the civil enclave terminal built
by Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Hindon airbase.
3. The civil enclave terminal at Hindon airbase has been built as an alternative to the
Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi which has been unable to accommodate
new regional flights under UDAN scheme, due to capacity constraints.
4. Launched in 2017, Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) is a regional connectivity
scheme. It seeks to connect under-served and un-served airports in India through
revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme is being implemented by
Airport Authority of India.
5. Under the scheme, airlines have to cap airfares for 50% of the total seats at Rs.
2,500 per hour of flight.
6. The losses for the price cap is compensated by a mechanism called Viability Gap
Funding- A government grant provided to the airlines to bridge the gap between the
cost of operations and expected revenue.
7. The scheme is a component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016. It
aims at making flying affordable to the masses and strengthening the regional air
connectivity.

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AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men

1. A European study published in the Lancet medical journal has concluded that
transmission to sexual partners does not occur when someone with HIV is on
antiretroviral therapy (ART) and their virus is suppressed.
2. The study was conducted 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms
where one partner had HIV and was taking anti-retroviral drugs to suppress it.
3. An earlier phase of the study which looked at HIV transmission risk for serodifferent
(one person is living with HIV and the other person is HIV-negative) heterosexual
couples in the same circumstances also found zero risk.
4. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that can lead to
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), if not treated. There are two main
types of the virus: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-2.
5. At present there is no effective cure for HIV, but HIV can be controlled. The medicine
used to treat HIV is called antiretroviral therapy or ART.
6. According to estimates by WHO and United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS), 36.7 million people were living with HIV globally at the end of 2016. That
same year, some 1.8 million people became newly infected, and 1 million died of
HIV-related causes.
7. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS is the main advocate for
accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS. It works
towards a) stopping new HIV infections, b) ensure that everyone living with HIV has
access to HIV treatment, c) protect and promote human rights, and d) produce data
for decision making.

Pakistan to observe its retaliatory action against India on Feb 27 as ‘Operation Swift Retort’

1. Pakistan has decided to observe the Pakistan Air Force(PAF)’s retaliatory action that
it had taken on 27th February 2019 against India as ‘Operation Swift Retort’.
2. According to PAF,swift response demonstrates their firm resolve,capacity and
capability in thwarting opposing successfully in their criminal designs.
3. Tensions between India and Pakistan had escalated after Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM)
suicide bomber had attacked CRPF convoy in Pulwama killing 40 CRPF soldiers
4. Later,Indian Air Force(IAF) had carried Balakot Air Strike hitting what it claimed was
a JeM training camp in Balakot deep inside Pakistan.
5. Further,the PAF had retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and
captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was later released and
handed over to India.

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Jail sentence given to Assange disproportionate, says UN group

1. The UN working group on arbitrary detention (WGAD) has said that the 50-week jail
sentence given to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is disproportionate. Further, it
has slammed the UK government for breaching his human rights.
2. Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for violating bail conditions in
2012 when he sought political asylum in the London’s Ecuadorian Embassy.
3. This sentence comes ahead of a hearing due to take place in the UK Court as part
of efforts to extradite him to the U.S. The USA wants his extradition and trial him
over charges of computer hacking and espionage.
4. Julian Assange is a controversial figure who founded anti-secrecy organization
Wikileaks in 2006.Wikileaks aims at obtaining and publishing confidential documents
and images.
5. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a body of independent human
rights experts that investigate cases of arbitrary arrest and detention. It was
established in 1991.
6. Arbitrary arrest and detention is the imprisonment or detainment of an individual, by
a State, without respect for due process

Court to hear VVPAT review plea next week

1. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition filed by 21 Opposition parties to
review its judgment rejecting 50% random physical verification of electronic voting
machines using the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT).
2. Earlier the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to increase
random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs to five polling booths per assembly
segment of a parliamentary constituency or Assembly consistency.
3. The Court had observed that the move would ensure greater degree of accuracy
and increase satisfaction in the election process of not just the political parties but of
the entire electorate.
4. However, Supreme Court’s decision was far short from what the Opposition had
demanded- at least 50% of paper trails be verified with EVMs. The physical scrutiny
of slips in five EVMs has increased the VVPAT verification percentage from the
previous 0.44% to less than 2%.
5. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is an independent system attached to an
EVM that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. It helps to
detect any possible election fraud or malfunction of EVMs.
6. Earlier, under the ECI guideline 16.6, only the VVPAT slips from one EVM in every
Assembly segment/constituency was subjected to physical verification.

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Payment service will be launched only after complying with RBI norms, WhatsApp tells
Supreme Court

1. WhatsApp has assured the Supreme Court that only a trial run of its payments
service is underway at present and that it would comply with Reserve Bank of
India(RBI) norms before launching the full version.
2. This assurance came when the Supreme Court was hearing a petition seeking
directions for the messaging platform to comply with RBI data localisation norms for
its payments service.
3. Data localisation is the act of storing data on any device physically present within the
borders of a country. Localisation mandates that companies collecting critical data
about consumers must store and process them within the borders of the country.
4. The RBI circular has said that to run a payment service in India, a company must
have its offices and payments in India. This rule appears to be violated by Whatsapp
considering that it is a foreign company having no offices or servers in India.
5. The main intent behind data localisation is to protect the personal and financial
information of the country’s citizens and residents from foreign surveillance and give
local governments and regulators the jurisdiction to call for the data when required.
6. Further, data localisation is essential to national security. Storing of data locally is
expected to help law-enforcement agencies to access information that is needed for
the detection of a crime or to gather evidence.

Chief economic advisor included in finance commission’s advisory council

1. The Chief Economic Advisor of India, Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been
included as a Member of the Advisory Council of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
In April,2018 the Fifteenth Finance Commission had constituted an Advisory
Council.
2. The role of the council is to (a)advise the Commission on any relevant issue related
to the Terms of Reference(ToR) of the Commission (b)To assist in the preparation of
any research study which would enhance the Commission’s understanding on the
issue contained in its ToR and (c)To help in broadening the Commission’s
understanding to seek best national and international practices on matters pertaining
to fiscal devolution.
3. The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under Article 280 of the
Constitution mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues
between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves.
4. The Commission is appointed every five years. It consists of a Chairman and four
other members.The Chairman of the 15th finance commission is chaired by N. K.
Singh. Its recommendations will cover the five year period commencing from 1st
April,2020.
5. The Chief Economic Adviser(CEA) is a post in Government of India and is
equivalent to the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. The CEA is the ex-

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officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service. The office of
Economic Adviser is attached to the Minister of Commerce and Industry (India).

Government and IIT-Delhi to set up a Centre of Excellence for Waste to Wealth Technologies

1. Government of India and IIT-Delhi has signed a MoU to set up a Centre of

Excellence for Waste to Wealth Technologies. The centre will be set up to
commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
2. The aim of the centre is to implement a sustainable, scientific and technological
solutions for waste management through validation and deployment of available
technologies for transformation of waste to wealth.
3. The waste to wealth mission project had been approved under the Prime Minister’s
Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
4. Government had constituted a new 21-member advisory panel on science,
technology and innovation called Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and
Innovation Advisory Council(PM-STIAC).
5. The 21 member panel consists of both permanent members and special invitees.
The special invitees includes secretaries of all science & technology related
ministries.
6. The committee will advise the Prime Minister on all matters related to S&T,
innovation and monitor the implementation of PM’s vision on the same.It will also
facilitate the (a) formulation and implementation of policies and decisions (b)provide
action-oriented and future preparedness advice and (c)assist in directing S&T to
solve the socio economic problems in the country.

RBI imposes fines on PPIs for violating norms

1. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment
instrument (PPI) issuers under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems
Act, 2007 for violation of regulatory guidelines.
2. Prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) come with a pre-loaded value and in some
cases a pre-defined purpose of payment. They facilitate the purchase of goods and
services as well as inter-personal remittance transactions such as sending money to
a friend or a family member.
3. These are generally issued in the form of smart cards, mobile wallets, paper
vouchers, internet accounts/wallets. These payment instruments are licensed and
regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. There are three types of PPIs (a)closed
system PPIs (b)semi-closed system PPIs and (c)open system PPIs.
4. The most common example of a closed system PPI is a brand-specific gift card.
Such cards, physical or otherwise can be used only at specific locations and cannot
be used to transfer funds from one account to another.

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5. Among semi-closed PPIs,e-wallets like Oxygen and Mobikwik are a common

example. These are not restricted to a single entity. Instead, these can be used for
purchase of any kind of goods and services from a merchant as well as to transfer
money to someone.
6. The open system PPIs can be issued only by banks and can be used at any
merchant outlet for any purchase or even cash withdrawal. A travel card is a type of
open system PPI. It can be used for all types of spending and for cash withdrawal
from ATMs.
7. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act,2007 provides for the regulation and
supervision of payment systems in India and designates the Reserve Bank of India
as the authority for that purpose and all related matters. A payment system refers to
a system that enables payment to be effected between a payer and a beneficiary,
involving clearing, payment or settlement service or all of them.

Only 10 of 100 Ganga sewage projects completed

1. According to a report on the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) website,
only 10 of the 100 sewage infrastructure projects commissioned after 2015 under
the Namami Gange mission have been finished.
2. The report has noted that the majority of the projects completed were those
commissioned before the Namami Gange. The projects were under programmes
such as the Ganga Action Plan-1 and Ganga Action Plan-2 which began in 1987 and
1996 respectively. The core objective of GAP was to abate pollution and improve
water quality of River Ganga
3. Further, out of the total 28000 crore sanction for the Mission, only about ₹6,700
crore (about 25%) has been spent. Poor spending and incomplete projects are
reflected in the river quality.
4. Launched in 2015, the Namami Gange programme is an Integrated Conservation
Mission which seeks to achieve effective abatement of pollution, conservation and
rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
5. The main pillars of Namami Gange Programme are a) Sewerage Treatment
Infrastructure, b) River-Surface Cleaning, c) Afforestation, d) Industrial Effluent
Monitoring, e) River-Front Development, f) Bio-Diversity, g) Ganga Gram and h)
Public Awareness
6. Under the Namami gange Mission Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is followed in
awarding tenders to sewage treatment plants (STP) and infrastructure developers. It
is inspired from the prevalent practice of developing highways in India.
7. Under HAM, 40% of the capital cost of the project is paid by the government during
the construction phase of the project. The remaining capital investment on the
project, the cost of operations and maintenance of STP are paid over a period of 15
years as quarterly installments, subject to achieving performance standards.

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