Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 02 July 2016

:: National ::

The Union Law Ministry has asked the Law Commission to examine in detail all issues pertaining to the Uniform Civil Code and submit a report to the government.
Through an office memorandum, the Legislative Department has made a reference to the Law Commission for an in-depth examination of “matters in relation to Uniform Civil Code”.
Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda confirmed the Law Ministry initiative. “The issue has been discussed in and outside Parliament.
It has also been on the BJP’s agenda. Therefore, the Law Commission has been asked to conduct a detailed study and file a report. It may take six months to a year,” he said.
The Minister said a decision on the future course of action would be taken on the basis of the Law Commission report. “If it is required in the larger interest of the country, we will hold consultations [with stakeholders]..,” he said.
Even the Preamble of our Constitution and Article 44 of the Constitution do say that there should be a Uniform Civil Code. it needs to have a wider consultation,” he had said.
Implementation of a common code is part of the BJP’s election manifesto.

Scoring a hat-trick, India successfully test fired the new surface-to-air missile developed jointly with Israel from a defence base off Odisha coast in a third consecutive trial of the air defence system.
The missile with a strike range of 70 km was launched at 1020 hours from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
With a third consecutive successful test firing today, the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) air defence system has achieved a hat-trick
With this, MRSAM system has proved the air defence capability for three different boundary envelopes of the target, it said.
Defence Research and Development Organisation created history by conducting three consecutive successful trials of the missile for Indian Air Force, a DRDO official said.

A Hindu priest has been hacked to death in Bangladesh’s Jhenaidah, the latest in a series of attacks on religious minorities by suspected Islamists.
Three weeks ago, another Hindu priest was killed in similar way in the same western district.
The attack bears similarities to the killing of Ananda Gopal Ganguly, a 69-year-old priest, on June 7 in Jhenaidah Sadar’s Mahishdanga village.
Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters on Friday that the law enforcers will be able to catch the killers “soon”.
Several Bangladesh analysts say the killing of Hindu religious leaders in the country is a focused attempt by the Islamists to create misunderstanding between India and Bangladesh at a time when bilateral relations are at its peak.

In a bid to strengthen India-Africa ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will undertake his first visit to the “African mainland” between July 7 and 11, covering four countries.
The Prime Minister’s visit reflects India’s desire to further strengthen and reinvigorate bilateral ties with our African partners which were renewed at the successful IAFS-III in October last year.
Since taking charge in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi has visited Seychelles and Mauritius that are members of the African Union.
Mr Modi will address two major meetings with members of Indian diaspora in Johannesburg and Nairobi on July 8 and 10.

Manufacturing activity saw a pick up in June after two months of sluggish growth, according to a private survey.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.7 in June from 50.7 per cent in May. The index was at 51.3 in June 2015.
“The favourable operating environment encouraged businesses to purchase additional inputs but was insufficient to generate jobs,” it said.
“The upturn is significant when compared to the average 0.5 point decline between
The new orders index rose to 52.9 from 51.3 in May, mainly led by an improvement in domestic demand.
“The PMI data suggest that external demand remains lacklustre even as domestic demand continues to support growth, led by consumption,” the note said.