VISION

 •Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has changed some rules regarding cash withdrawal from automated teller machine (ATM). These ATM cash withdrawal rule changes include higher charges on transactions beyond the free permissible limit, a new free ATM transaction limit and a rise in interchange fee.

The new ATM charges as defined by RBI are as under:

•Free cash withdrawal limit from own bank: Bank customers can now do five free financial and non-financial transactions every month from their own bank ATMs.

•Free ATM transaction limit from other banks: ATM cardholders can do three free financial and non-financial transactions in metro centres while five in the non-metro transaction from other bank ATMs

•Charges on ATM cash withdrawal beyond the free limit: RBI allowed banks to increase charges on ATM transactions beyond the free ATM transaction limit.

•Rise in interchange fee: Interchange fee per transaction changed from Rs 15 to Rs 17 for financial transactions while from Rs 5 to Rs 6 for non-financial transactions in effect from August 1, 2021.

•New charges on ATM withdrawal beyond the free transaction limit: Bank customer will have to pay Rs 21 (currently it is Rs 20) for each ATM cash withdrawal beyond the free transaction limit in effect from January 1, 2022.

Raus IAS Focus Magazine June 2021 PDF

📰 How will food reach migrant labourers without ration cards, asks Supreme Court

 What is the issue?

• June 6 marks the third anniversary of the incarceration of five rights activists in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case.
• Here is a look at the case and the larger issue behind.

What is the Bhima Koregaon case?

• January 1, 2018 was the 200th anniversary of a battle fought at Bhima Koregaon, a small village in Pune.
• [It was where 500 Dalit Mahar soldiers of the British army defeated an army of the Peshwas.]
• Dalits converged in thousands from across the state for its commemoration.
• But violence broke out and one person died.
• Initially, the police investigated Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide for instigating the violence, and arrested Ekbote briefly.
• But some months later, the police claimed that the violence was a conspiracy by left activists and intellectuals.
• Five rights activists were arrested in this conspiracy case and eleven more were subsequently jailed for the same.
• These 16 women and men - the BK-16 accused - are intellectuals, lawyers, a poet, professors, cultural and rights activists.
• It includes an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, Father Stan Swamy.
• All these persons have sterling records of service with India’s most oppressed people.

Why is the case contentious?

• The charge against BK-16 was that they had conspired to instigate Dalits into violent insurrection, and to assassinate the Prime Minister.
• 3 years later, the trial against them has still not commenced.
• The state has succeeded in misusing the law with the complicity of all institutions of criminal justice.
• It worked to confine behind bars the BK-16 accused, without any opportunity for either bail or to prove their innocence.
• [After a tortuous court battle, just one of them, poet Varavara Rao, was granted bail because of his critically deteriorating health.]
• The evidence marshalled against the accused rests on some alleged emails.
• But independent agencies contest that these are malign insertions through malware.

• The case reveals the ease with which it is possible for the executive to undermine reputations of activists.
• It has imprisoned indefinitely without bail or trial, people who dissent and organise struggles against state policies.
• Many among the BK-16 are suffering from various kinds of illnesses.
• They are now housed in the overcrowded Taloja and Byculla jails, ideal sites for super-spreading the Covid virus.
• Above all, it is the agenda of the state to ensure that political prisoners are kept well.

Source: The Indian Express

GS SCORE FACT FILE- Important Judgement PDF

1)  Assam CM Sarma launches Sishu Seva Achoni for COVID-19 Orphans

•Assam chief minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has dedicated Chief Minister Sishu Seva Scheme to the service of the beneficiaries and handed over the cheques of financial assistance to few beneficiaries who lost both their parents due to COVID. It may be noted that under the scheme an amount to the tune of Rs. 7,81,200 would be parked in the bank as fixed deposit in the name of each beneficiary.

•Monthly financial assistance of Rs. 3500 which will be realised from the fixed deposit will be given to the beneficiaries till they attain 24 years of age. On completion of 24 years of age, the principal amount parked as a fixed deposit against each beneficiary would be credited to their bank accounts.

2)  Russian navy building first fully stealth warship

•Russia is building the first naval ship that will be fully equipped with stealth technology to make it hard to detect. The hull of the Mercury naval corvette dubbed project 20386 has already been built and the vessel is expected to be delivered to the navy next year. The warship will be armed with cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and artillery.

•The naval ship is capable of searching for and destroying submarines. Stealth technology can make military assets such as ships and planes harder for radar to detect. While Russia has used stealth technology, such as a radar-absorbing coating into some of its navy vessels, they have not had full stealth technology.

3)  India’s Tillotama Shome wins Best Actor award at UK Asian Film Festival

•Indian actress Tillotama Shome has made the country proud by winning the Best Actor award at the 2021 UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF). Tillotama won the award for her role in the film Raahgir: The Wayfarers. The film has been directed by Goutam Ghose. The UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF) 2021 was the 23rd edition of the annual event. Apart from Tillotama, filmmaker Goutam Ghose has also won the Best Director award at the UKAFF.

4)  Auckland tops Global Liveability Index 2021

•New Zealand and Australian cities dominated the Global Liveability Index 2021 published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Auckland has been ranked the best on liveability rankings due to the ability of New Zealand city to contain Covid-19 faster. Japanese cities of Osaka and Tokyo grabbed second and fourth place and Adelaide, Australia spot 3rd place on EIU’s Global Liveability Index 2021. living conditions remained worst in the Syrian capital Damascus.

5)  K Nagaraj Naidu named to lead UN bureaucracy for a year

•Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, K Nagaraj Naidu was named chef de cabinet by the incoming UN general assembly president, Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid. He was appointed for the duration of one-year tenure to lead the world body through its return to normalcy as countries strive to bring the pandemic under control.

•Naidu is India’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, and he will be on loan from the Indian government to the United Nations for a position that is comparable to the Indian prime minister’s principal secretary, who oversees the cabinet bureaucracy; also something like the chief of staff to the US president.

6)  ICRA projects GDP growth of India at 8.5% in FY 2022

•The domestic credit rating agency ICRA has projected the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of India for the financial year 2021-22 to 8.5 per cent year-on-year. It expects the gross value added (GVA) at basic prices (at constant 2011-12 prices) to grow at 7.3 per cent in FY2022. ICRA is Gurgaon based credit rating agency, owned by Moody’s Corporation.

7)  United States Tops Bitcoin Investment Gains in 2020

•The US traders have benefited the most in Bitcoin Investment Gain in 2020, with a profit of $4.1 billion, according to the latest report by Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company based in Manhattan, New York. Chinese traders stood second, with a profit of $1.1 billion. India has been ranked at 18th spot with a profit of $241 million, among the top 25 countries, in Bitcoin investment gains 2020.

8)  Thales appoints Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director for India

•French defence and aerospace group, Thales announced the appointment of Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director for India with effect from June 1, 2021. He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role as the VP and head for Thales in the Middle East. He will lead the company’s India business and will be responsible for its strategic growth in the country across all of its markets, further strengthening local teams, collaborations and innovation.

•Prior to joining Thales, Saraf served as the president and head of the region for Airbus Helicopters – India and South Asia where he led Airbus’ Helicopters’ sales, services, training, innovation, industrial partnerships and government relations functions across the civil, parapublic and military markets in the region. Thales group builds electrical systems &provides services for aerospace, defence, etc.

9)  Ferrari appoints Benedetto Vigna as new company CEO

•Ferrari has named Benedetto Vigna as its new company CEO, taking over from interim chief John Elkann. Vigna currently serves as the president of STMicroelectronics’ Analog, MEMS and Sensor Group, and is a member of the company’s executive committee. Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy.

10)  Debbie Hewitt appointed Football Association’s first chairwoman

•England’s Football Association named corporate executive and former RAC chief, Debbie Hewitt as its first woman chair, ending months of speculation over Greg Clarke’s successor following his exit over inappropriate remarks. The FA, which was formed in 1863 and has been working to become more inclusive, launched its ‘Pursuit of Progress’ initiative in 2018. FA is the governing body of football located in England.

📰 Maharashtra govt. clears action plan to protect heritage trees

 GS SCORE PIB 1-15 May 2021 PDF