07 October 2016 Current Affairs

SC stays commercial release of GM mustard

The Supreme Court has stayed the commercial release of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard crop till October 17, 2016. It has asked the Central Government to seek public opinion before releasing the variety for cultivation purpose. Order in this regard was issued by SC Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar on petition filed by Aruna Rodrigues. The petition had alleged that sowing of the GM Mustard seeds will be undertaken without relevant tests and without entire bio-safety dossier for commercial launch GM mustard. It also had urged the SC to prohibit open field trials and the commercial release of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) crops, including HT Mustard DMH 11 and its parent lines/variants.


India-Pakistan border to be sealed completely by 2018

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that India-Pakistan border will be completely sealed by December 2018. Announcement in this regard was made after Union Home Minister held meeting of representatives of 4 states sharing border with Pakistan in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Central government has formulated time-bound action plan to completely seal the entire stretch of 3,323-km-long border between the two countries. The process of sealing border will be monitored at Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) level, Border Security Force (BSF) level and chief secretary of states level.


Adoption of GST tax will boost India’s medium-term growth: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asserted that adoption of GST (Goods and Services) tax will boost India’s medium-term growth. It was mentioned IMF’s latest Asia Pacific regional economic update. It mentioned that India has shown progress on reforms that could boost business investment and growth. Greater labour market flexibility and product market competition in India remain essential to create jobs and raise growth. Priorities also include effective implementation of the new corporate debt restructuring mechanisms. India has shown progress on reforms that could initiate business investment, including already strong FDI inflows, which will further increase domestic demand.


Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 has been awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end his country’s 50-year civil war. Mr Santos negotiated a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group but the peace deal was rejected by a narrow majority of Colombians when it was put to referendum. “The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process,” said a statement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.


Pound crashes 6% in 2 minutes

The pound saw a sudden collapse in intra-day trade on 08 October 2016, plunging over 6% to $1.1841 in two minutes, to hit a fresh 31-year-low. This reportedly followed a ‘flash crash’ driven by a technical glitch that created a lot of computer-driven orders.


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