Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 05 July 2016

:: National ::

Govt will be undertaking an expansion of his Council of Ministers with a nod to the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and bolstering the talent pool with “doers”, albeit mostly with junior Ministers.
The expansion is being made keeping in view the need to bring in doers, and performers who would deliver on Prime Minister Modi’s promise of good governance.
Almora MP Ajay Tamta, finds a berth, and is a Dalit. Mahendranath Pandey and Krishna Raj, both from poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, have also got ministerial berths.
Among NDA allies, apart from Apna Dal, the Republican Party of India’s Ramdas Athawale will be included.
Rajasthan MP P.P. Choudhary, who is a Supreme Court advocate, had been chosen for his professional expertise; Subhash Rao Bhamre, first time MP from Dhule, Maharashtra, is a well known oncological surgeon, while M.J. Akbar is an acclaimed journalist.

Big and high-end diesel cars have better emission norms and pollute less than the commoner’s small cars, the Centre told the Supreme Court.
Govt. challeneged the court’s blanket ban on fresh registration of diesel luxury cars and SUVs with over 2000 CC engine capacity in the national capital.
Besides, the government warned the highest judiciary that if the continued, global car makers would opt to leave India for greener pastures, rendering lakhs of youths without jobs and FDI in a shambles.

Criticising the strong reactions from India over China blocking its bid to enter NSG, a state-run daily said India is “still stuck” in the 1962 war mindset as it called for a more objective evaluation of Beijing’s stand.
“The Indian public seems to be having a hard time accepting the outcome of the Seoul plenary meeting of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) late last month after India failed to gain entry into NSG,” an article in Global Times said.
The country seems to be “still stuck” in the shadow of the war with China in the 1960s and many still hold on to the “obsolete geopolitical view” that China does not want to see India’s rise, it said.
Continuing to justify China’s stand to block New Delhi’s bid, the article harped on the often repeated argument of signing the NPT being a must for India to join the NSG and that consensus is required for entry of new members.
Quoting Political scientist Zheng Yongnian who stated that that, “China’s bilateral relationship with India is second only to the Sino-U.S. relationship,” it said ties with China are of great significance to India as well.

Nearly 200 stocks hit their one-year high level on the BSE supported by a rally in the broader market where the Sensex rose by about 134 points, registering gains for the sixth session.
A total of 192 firms surged to their 52-week high mark, including BPCL, DLF, GAIL, Godrej Consumer Products, Hero MotoCorp, IOC, M&M, NHPC, NTPC, Power Grid Corporation, and Yes Bank.
The 30-share Sensex ended higher by 133.85 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 27,278.76 — its highest closing since October 26 last year.
It had added 747.20 points in the past five sessions.

Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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