Daily Current Affairs including static notes - 19 MAY

ROW OVER BOPAIAH AS PRO TEM SPEAKER (POLITY)

👉Why in news?

The ongoing political tussle in Karnataka is throwing up several polity topics, which one should be knowing.

After Supreme Court directed CM B. S. Yeddyurappa to seek a vote of confidence, Governor Vajubhai Vala swore in four-time MLA K.G. Bopaiah as a pro tem speaker to preside over the floor test of the BJP government on Saturday.

However, the Congress has approached the Supreme Court to set aside the appointment on the grounds that it violated the parliamentary convention

👉About Protem Speaker

Whenever Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker continues to remain in office until immediately before the first meeting of Lok Sabha after it is reconstituted.

When a newly elected house is first assembled, to run activities of the House till the speaker is elected, the President appoints a speaker Pro Tem for the first meeting of the newly elected Lok Sabha. He is appointed to administer oath to the new members and enable the house to elect a new speaker.

The powers regarding the Pro tem speakers are not clarified but this is very clear that Pro tem speaker does not have as much power as the permanent speaker has. He cannot or at least does not exercise the serious powers of the speaker like defection etc.

👉Rule/ convention of appointment

Usually, by convention, the senior-most member is elected as Protem speaker and the President himself administers oath to him.

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ONLINE RESOURCE FOR ACADEMICIANS SOON ( SHCEMES)

Government is coming up with an online resource, in a bid to connect Academicians from University and college across the country with experts in their fields of study.

A National Resource Centre, envisaged as a one-stop point for Indian academicians to enhance their research and teaching skills, will make such cooperation across universities possible with the launch of a portal within months from now.

👉Facilities under the Initiative

Using this facility the academicians would be able to consult and pose queries on academic questions that they wish resolved through suggestions offered by these experts or other teachers of their discipline

Also the centre will enable college and university teachers to access a detailed database of academic resources, including lists of books, top journals and along with the subject experts in their area of interest.

It will also suggest a mechanism to assess students’ satisfaction with teaching and research in the institutions, which would help the faculty to figure out what students think about their college/university and make improvements.

The portal will be launched with detailed information on resources in some key subjects: History, Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology among others.

👉Implementation

The initiative is part of the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Training (PMMMNMTT), an ambitious scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi.

The National Institute of Educational Research and Planning (NIEPA) is entrusted for the process of rolling out the centre. NIEPA will hold a series of intensive workshops with experts in various disciplines to put together an effective resource centre.

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WALMART SEEKS CCI NOD FOR FLIPKART BUY (ECONOMY)

US retail behemoth Walmart has approached fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for approval of its proposed acquisition of a majority stake in e-commerce major Flipkart.

In a filing sent to the Competition Commission of India that was sourced by paper.vc, Walmart said its proposed buyout of Flipkart did not create any competition concerns and that the pecking order of the broader retail market in India remains unaffected by the deal.

👉Why approach CCI?

Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India.

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COMMODITY DERIVATIVES: FOREIGN UNITS MAY GET NOD (ECONOMICS)

With an aim to deepen the commodity derivatives market, regulator SEBI           proposed allowing trading in this segment by foreign entities with exposure to the Indian physical commodity market.

SEBI also proposed a detailed set of norms for eligibility criteria, disclosure and KYC requirements, code of conduct and safeguards against any unwanted price fluctuations, while reserving the framing of final regulations, to take into account public comments, till June 18.

To begin with, foreign entities may be allowed to hedge their exposures with derivatives trading in only those commodities where India has a large production, consumption or export share globally, barring the sensitive commodities.

The proposal is to allow, in the second phase, banks, insurers, foreign portfolio investors and pension funds in the commodity derivatives market.

👉What are commodity derivatives?

Derivative is a product whose value is derived from the value of one or more basic variables, called bases (underlying asset, index, or reference rate), in a contractual manner. The underlying asset can be equity, forex, commodity or any other asset.

Commodity trading is an exchange where various commodities and derivatives products are traded. Most commodity markets trade in agricultural products and other raw materials and contracts based on them

Therefor commodity derivatives are derivative contract with a commodity as the underlying asset. Producers who want to manage the risk of future price uncertainty for their commodities enter into commodity derivatives.

In India, like a stock market NSE provides a platform to trade in different shares, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National commodity derivative Exchange (NCDEX) facilitate for the commodities.

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EU MOVES TO SAVE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL ( IR)

The European Union took steps Friday to avoid reimposed US sanctions on Iran and save the international nuclear deal as a rift with Washington widened.

In bid to shield its firms from US sanctions, The EU has begun reviving legislation that will allow European companies to continue doing business with Iran, despite US sanctions.

The blocking statute forbids EU companies from complying with the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions.  It also allows companies to recover damages arising from such sanctions from the person causing them, and nullifies the effect in the EU of any foreign court judgments based on them.

The statute, which the 28 EU member states and the European Parliament must endorse, is aimed at reassuring European firms that invested in Iran after the deal.

👉About the Iran Nuclear deal

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal is an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, reached in 2015.

It’s a deal negotiated among Germany, the five permanent UN Security Council members (China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S) and the European Union.

The agreement was to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for removing some economic sanctions imposed on it earlier.

Recently President Donald Trump had pulled Washington out of the 2015 international deal with Iran to curb its nuclear programme in return for easing sanctions

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