Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Exams: November 23, 24, 2016

India, Switzerland sign joint declaration for AEOI

• India and Switzerland have signed a Joint Declaration for implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in respect of accounts of Indians held abroad. Under the pact, both countries will start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards. Thus, it will help India to get details of bank accounts held by Indians in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years on an automatic basis from September 2019.
• It is considered as a big step towards fighting black money stashed by Indians overseas. The pact is based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA) also known as Common Reporting Standards (CRS) on AEOI.

Background

• Switzerland always had been at the centre of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad. It used to be known for very strong secrecy walls around its banking practices till a few years ago. However, after huge global pressure had forced Switzerland to sign MCAA on AEOI and do away with its tough secrecy clauses in its local laws given to the banks. What is the Multilateral Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA)?

About MCAA

• MCAA is multilateral convention on administrative assistance in taxation matters developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
• It was signed by 53 jurisdictions in July 2015 based on Article 6 of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. India had joined it in June 2015.

CCEA approves setting up of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in 62 uncovered districts

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved opening of one Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in each of the 62 uncovered districts. These JNVs will provide good quality modern education to the talented children prominently from rural areas. Nearly 35,000 students will be benefitted from these JNVs.

Highlights

• The expenditure for this purpose during the 12th Plan will be 109.53 crore rupees with a spill over amount of 2,761.56 crore rupees from 2017-18 to 2024-25. All JNVs are residential and co-educational in nature. It is compulsory for all the staff and students to reside in the Vidyalaya campus.
• These 62 new JNVs will provide direct permanent employment to 2914 individuals. They will also generate opportunities to the local vendors for supply of essential commodities. It will also create large opportunity for local service providers such as tailor cobbler, barber, manpower for housekeeping and security services etc.

Yudhvir Singh Malik appointed as new Chairman of NHAI

• The Union Government appointed Yudhvir Singh Malik as the Chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Malik is a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. Prior to this appointment he was posted as special secretary in NITI Aayog. Prior to joining NITI Aayg, he was CEO of FSSAI from October 2014 to September 2015. His tenure marked with Maggi noodle ban issue which had brought food regulator into limelight.

About National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

• NHAI is an autonomous agency of the Union Government, responsible for management of a network of over 70,000 km of national highways in India. It was established through National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. In February 1995, it was formally made an autonomous body. It is a nodal agency of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. It is responsible for the development, management, operation and maintenance of National Highways.

Malini Subramaniam wins 2016 CPJ International Press Freedom Award

• Indian journalist Malini Subramaniam on won the International Press Freedom Awards given by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on November 23, 2016, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
• Along with Subramaniam, three other journalists won the prestigious award.  They are Mahmoud Abou Zeid from Egypt, Can Dundar from Turkey and Oscar Martinez from El Salvador.
• The CPJ chose these four journalists as “they have risked their freedom – and their lives – to report to their societies and the global community about critical news events.”
• Subramaniam reports on buses by police and security forces, sexual violence against women, the jailing of minors, shutdown of schools, extrajudicial killings, and threats against journalists in the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.

About International Press Freedom Award

• The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honours journalists/publications around the world who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats or imprisonment.
• They are administered by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which an independent, non-governmental organization based in New York City.
• The CPJ seeks to focus local and international media coverage on countries where violations of press freedom are particularly serious.