Current Affairs 12th January 2019

Current Affairs 12th January 2019 - Important Points

• Alok Verma resigned after PM Modi-led panel removed him as CBI Chief on - 11th January 2019
• Currency Swap Contract with Japan approved by - Cabinet
• Tata Steel’s Netherlands plant recognised as the Factory of the Future by -  The World Economic Forum 
• Setting up of 3 New AIIMS  by - Union Cabinet

Current Affairs 12th January 2019 - Details

Alok Verma resigned after PM Modi-led panel removed him as CBI Chief on - 11th January 2019

The sacked CBI Chief, Alok Verma announced his resignation from service on 11th January 2019, refusing to take charge of the new role as DG of Fire Services.  This move comes a day after a high-powered selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed him from the post of CBI Director in a 2:1 vote within 48 hours  after he was reinstated to the position by the Supreme Court after he was sent on forced leave by the government.

Important Points

• The selection panel has removed Verma from the post over corruption charges and doubtful integrity as per the findings of the Central Vigilance Commission.
•   There were eight counts of charges against him in the CVC report presented in front of the Committee, making him the first chief in the CBI history to be ousted from the post.
• Other than this the Prime Minister, the high-level committee comprised Chief Justice of India’s nominee Justice AK Sikri and the leader of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge. 
•  While the PM and Justice Sikri held that the CVC report had provided enough grounds for Verma’s removal, including evidence to start a criminal investigation,  opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge dissented on the decision, stating that the committee should not arrive at a conclusion without hearing the side of Verma. 
• On the basis of Panel’s recommendation, the PM-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet issued orders to transfer Verma as Director General Fire services,  civil defence and home guards for the remainder of his term immediately, ending on 31st January 2019.
• In addition to that, the ACC appointed M Nageswara Rao, CBI Additional Director to look after the duties of the CBI Director until the appointment of a new director.

Currency Swap Contract with Japan approved by - Cabinet

The Union Cabinet has sanctioned India’s Currency Swap Contract with Japan. The $75-billion bilateral
currency swap contract is a milestone in mutual economic co-operation & special strategic & global partnership between both nations.
Currency Swap Contracts
A Currency swap contract is a foreign exchange contract between both parties to exchange a given
amount of single currency for another &, after a specified period of time, to issue back the original
amounts swapped.
Benefits

• The currency swap provisions make it easier for India to pay for its imports., which benefits in addressing the challenge of depreciation.
• The Currency swap contract involves trading in local currencies. Nations pay for imports & exports via their own currencies rather than involving a 3rd nation currency. 
• This does away with the charges intricate in multiple currency exchanges.
• The currency swap makes it relaxed to advance liquidity conditions.
• Currency swap contracts aid in saving for a rainy day when the economy is not feeling in better shape.
• The swap contracts also subsidize towards stabilising the nation’s balance of payments position.
• The contract benefits in progressing the confidence in the Indian market.
• Together with making sure that the decided amount of capital is available to India, it also decreases the cost of capital for Indian entities while retrieving the foreign capital market.

Tata Steel’s Netherlands plant recognised as the Factory of the Future by -  The World Economic Forum 

The World Economic Forum has recognised Tata Steel’s plant IJmuiden in the Netherlands as
‘Manufacturing Lighthouse’ with state-of-the-art production amenities which effectively approve & 
integrate the cutting-edge skills of the future & drive financial & operational influence.
Recognition to Tata Steel

• Acknowledgement of the flourishing culture of innovation at Tata Steel & advanced analytics team’s dream & commitment to realise much efficient, productive & responsible steel manufacturing.
• The pioneering usage of advanced analytics to optimise the usage of raw materials, upsurge the yield at  every step of the steel manufacturing process & further advance logistics between the different processes & the quality of the product for clienteles.
• The Advanced Analytics Academy issues Tata Steel employees a motivation to find ways for waste
  reduction, quality improvement & overall dependability of production processes.
  Manufacturing Lighthouses
• The World Economic Forum systematizes a network of leading intelligent production firms as
  ‘Manufacturing Lighthouses’ under its “Shaping the Future of Production” motive to permit the exchange of knowledge & promote associations in the area of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” in production.
• These “Manufacturing Lighthouses” displays how best a plan for the Fourth Industrial Revolution be
  industrialized by training employees, co-operating with other parties, executing changes in the
  workplace & in the value chain via greater efficiency & contribute to decreasing the climate footprint of production corporations by 50%.

 Setting up of 3 New AIIMS  by - Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi has sanctioned the formation of 3 new AIIMS
institutions. The 3 new institutions would be constructed at Vijaynagar, Samba of Jammu Region,
Awantipora in Pulwama of Kashmir Region & Rajkot in Gujarat under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
The 2 new AIIMS for J&K, 1 each for Jammu Region & Kashmir Region was declared by the PM under the Prime Minister’s Development Package & the AIIMS in Rajkot, Gujarat was declared by the Finance Minister in his budget speech.

Prime Minister’s Development Package

• PM’s Development Package was declared as a reconstruction plan for Jammu & Kashmir.
• The Reconstruction Plan goals at expanding economic infrastructure, expanding provision of basic
  amenities, providing thrust to employment & salary &  providing relief &rehabilitation to the victims of September 2014 floods & to reinforce Disaster Management Framework of the State.
• The reconstruction plan also pursues to fortify the economic & social infrastructure & deliver for the balanced development of the 3 regions of Jammu & Kashmir.
  Benefits of New AIIMS institutions
• Each new AIIMS will add 100 MBBS seats & 60 BSc (Nursing) seats, along with 15-20 super speciality departments.
• This will work as the dual purpose of providing super speciality healthcare to the citizens closer to their homes & benefit in creating a large pool of doctors as well as other health workers in these regions to reinforce the primary & secondary level institutions & amenities being created under the National Health Mission.