Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 12 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Admitting to have acted too hastily, the Supreme Court recalled its 2013 judgment declaring the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) unconstitutional.
Earlier SC disqualified the NEET, a single common entrance test system for MBBS, BDS and post-graduate medical courses.
SC said in that judgement that NEET is an interference in the right of the State and private medical colleges to administer, the court agreed without elaborating that its decision required re-consideration.
The NEET was meant to end rampant corruption in medical admissions, especially payment of huge capitation fees or donations in private colleges.

Barack Obama says the biggest mistake of his presidency was the lack of planning for the aftermath of the fall of late Libyan leader MuammarQadhafi, with the country spiralling into chaos and grappling with violent extremists.
Reflecting on his legacy in an interview aired, Mr. Obama said his “worst mistake” was “probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya”.
Since the downfall of Qadhafi, who was killed in a popular uprising, Libya descended into near-anarchy, ruled by rival militias vying for power.
Mr. Obama also reflected on some of the best moments of his tenure as President — due to end in January — in the interview.
“Saving the economy from a great depression” was his biggest accomplishment, he said. As for the best day in the White House? “The day that we passed health care reform,” Mr. Obama said.

In a first, researchers have shown that ribose — a sugar that is one of the building blocks of genetic material in living organisms — may have formed in ice on comets.
The genetic material of all living organisms on Earth, as well as of viruses, is made up of nucleic acids, DNA and RNA.
Scientists have long wondered about the origin of these biological compounds.
Now, by simulating the evolution of the interstellar ice making up comets in the laboratory, French research teams have successfully obtained ribose — a key step in understanding the origin of RNA and of life.

Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen has thanked India for “protecting” his country from possible punitive actions from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which had been asking Maldives to move towards genuine democracy.
“I am in India today to show my appreciation for the very steadfast way India has protected the Maldives from the CMAG.” Abdullah Yamen said.
The CMAG held an extraordinary meeting in February 24 and asked Maldives to create an “inclusive” country.
Mr.Yameen said his government was trying to achieve the same goal based on universal human rights and democratic principles, which were essential if his country had to provide employment to youngsters prone to radicalisation.
Maldives drew international criticism in November, 2015 after he declared national emergency ahead of a big wave of protests against his political opponents. The Emergency was withdrawn later.
Maldives has undergone a wave of crackdowns since September 28, 2015, when a bomb targeting Mr. Yameen went off in the Presidential yacht, injuring his wife.

NITI Aayog, the government’s policy think tank, is working on a sector-based medium-term planning framework.
The new planning framework could replace five-year plans, the last of which is set to end in 2016—17.
It was possible to synchronise with the finance commission cycle, the financial approval of schemes and projects of both the central and state government.
The current financial year, 2016-17, is the last year of the 12th five-year plan.
With the Planning Commission scrapped, the process for formulating a 13th five-year plan government has not been initiated, as a consequence of which the era of five-year plans is set to end in India this year.
While medium-term growth is dependent on past performance, long-term growth, on the other hand, can only be enhanced by structural reforms and improving the productive capacity of the economy, he said.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in the Budget Speech that from the next financial year, the plan and non—plan distinction will be done away with for expenditure classification.
The government had constituted a committee for proposing a new format of budget statements and accounts.
The committee to be headed by Special Secretary Expenditure will co-opt state secretaries.
The primary units of appropriation at both central and state levels are being revisited to create a clear distinction between revenue and capital items of expenditure so that accounts can be prepared in a bottoms-up manner.