Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 14 June 2016

:: National ::

HC of Bombay clears Udta Punjab Movie

• The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue an ‘A’ certificate to the movie Udta Punjab (Punjab on a High) with the deletion of one scene and a modified disclaimer.

• The Court ordered the CBFC to certify the movie within 48 hours, enabling its release on schedule on June 17.

• A Division Bench of Justices said, “We do not find anything in the script that affects the sovereignty and integrity of the Nation.”

• While dictating the strongly-worded order, the court said, “The power to exercise deletions and cuts should be consistent and in consonance with provisions of the Constitution and directions of the Supreme Court.”

• The court said, “It is undisputed that the CBFC possesses powers to call for cuts, changes, deletions in a movie while certifying it. However, in the present case, the CBFC-imposed restrictions were not correct.

• The movie has to be seen as a whole and it is not permissible to take the characters, scenes and songs out of context.”

• After dictating the order, the Bench said, “There are so many litigants awaiting justice. This is hardly a cause to be brought before the court, let alone the highest court of the State.”

A fresh transgression by Chinese troops into Indian territory

• A fresh transgression by Chinese troops into Indian territory has come to light. The incident happened on June 9 at Yangtse which is located 25-30 km east of Bum La pass in western Arunachal Pradesh.

• According to official sources, about 250 Chinese troops had crossed into the Indian side on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and went back in a few hours.

• This happens regularly due to differences in perception on the boundary and after claiming that the area belongs to China, troops tend to go back.

• The incident coincides with India’s efforts at securing membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which China has openly opposed citing India’s non-accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

• In March, Chinese troops had entered Indian territory in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir.

• On March 8, Chinese troops had entered almost 6 km deep inside Indian territory near the Pangong lake in Ladakh.

President refused to give assent to legislation that protects 21 AAP MLAs (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Pulses to be imported to keep prices in check (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

UN expresses concern over targeted killing in Bangladesh

• As Bangladesh reels under a spate of targeted killings, the United Nations has expressed concern at the “dramatic increase” in murders, including that of people belonging to religious minority groups.

• In a wide-ranging opening speech at the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein called for investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.

• Meanwhile, the government said categorically that Bangladesh does not need help from any foreign country or government to protect members of its minority communities.

• Press Trust of India (PTI) said that “two leaders from Bangladesh’s Hindu community” had sought assistance from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• The Minister claimed that the government’s tough stance has already ensured the rights of religious minority groups.

• Since the beginning of a crackdown on terrorists and extremists, law enforcement officials have arrested a total of 5,287 people, of which 85 have suspected militant links.

Islamic state claims responsibility for Orlando shooting (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Science and Technology ::

Mars Orbiters have for the first time found a seasonal dust storm pattern

• NASA’s Mars Orbiters have for the first time found a seasonal dust storm pattern on the Red Planet — paving the way to improve scientists’ ability to predict hazards there.

• Temperature records from Mars orbiters reveal a pattern of three types of large regional dust storms occurring in sequence at about the same time each year during the southern hemisphere spring and summer.

:: Business and Economy ::

Consumer Price Index accelerated to 5.76 per cent in May

• Retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), accelerated to 5.76 per cent in May, its highest level in 21 months.

• CPI acceleration is driven primarily by rising food prices, making it more unlikely for the central bank to cut rates in the near future

• The index came in at 5.47 per cent in April 2016. It was 5 per cent in May last year. The last time the retail inflation was higher was in August 2014 when it crossed 7 per cent.

• Shortage in the sugar market has also moved up prices and could move up further during the festival season.

• Efficient management of the food basket is likely to become crucial for any monetary easing in the future. Expect easing to commence only when the RBI is sure of hitting the 5 per cent target in March next year.

• The data, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday, shows that inflation in the ‘food and beverages’ segment accelerated to 7.2 per cent in May.

• Overall, only food inflation witnessed acceleration while the other major segments in the index recorded marginal slowdown.

• The housing segment saw a marginal easing of inflation to 5.35 per cent in May, down from 5.37 per cent in April.

• Core inflation moved down imparting a downward bias to the overall print. However, this decline could possibly be short lived as the seventh pay commission is implemented and the base effect in certain categories wears off.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella outlined his thoughts on the LinkedIn buy

• In an email to company staff, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has outlined his thoughts on the LinkedIn buy, the biggest for the software giant.

• The key questions that weighed on his were: Does it expand the total addressable market of Microsoft? Is this asset riding secular usage and technology trends?

• “The answer to all of those questions with LinkedIn is squarely yes,” he said.

• “This deal brings together the world’s leading professional cloud with the world’s leading professional network,” he said.

• As these experiences got more intelligent, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement would grow, he opined.

• This would help create new opportunities for monetisation through individual and organisation subscriptions and targeted advertising, he added.

Central Bank revised the norms for banks to undertake debt restructuring (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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