Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 15 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

PM launched Gramodaya Se Bharatodaya Abhiyan

• The 125thbirth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar saw leaders across the board compete for the legacy of India’s first Law Minister and Dalit icon.

• PM Modi addressed a rally at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Ambedkar’s birthplace.

• With Punjab, having the highest proportion of Dalits among Indian States (32 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (21 per cent) going to the polls next year, the Dalit issue has acquired centrality in the political discourse. Dalits constitute 16 per cent of India’s population.

• Mr. Modi launched Gramodaya Se Bharatodaya Abhiyan (Development of the Nation through Development of the Village), underlining that the growth of purchasing power in villages, rather than growth in cities or having some billionaires, would help develop India.

• He sought to show this as part of Dr. Ambedkar’s vision for India.

• He also showcased the Jan Dhan Yojana and the plan to offer the poor LPG connections as part of his government’s “pro-poor” vision.

• Accusing the Congress of “undermining” the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar, Mr. Modi sought to know why the Congress had not developed places related to him when it was in power for several decades.

Second phase of Odd-even started in Delhi

• Findings on how Delhi behaved and what it breathed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. from April 15 to 30 will decide if the odd-even scheme will be repeated next month.

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will take a final call based on the findings of an assessment of traffic congestion and pollution levels between April 15 and April 30.

• Public opinion, too, will have a significant impact on the decision. Real-time data of congestion and air quality will be collated on a daily basis by the Transport Department and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and studied in detail to reach a conclusion.

• In either case, scientific data and public opinion will form the core of the Chief Minister's decision on whether or not the scheme will be enforced at least next month.

• The odd-even scheme, which was launched in January with the objective of checking pollution, had only managed to bring down congestion on city roads.

• This time, the Delhi government expects the scheme to better the quality of ambient air too. It aims to enforce the restrictions through a stringent prosecution regime and voluntary compliance from motorists.

• The air quality challenge will be posed by ozone and nitrogen dioxide, which are the main pollutants during summer months. In winter, it was the particulate matter whose soaring levels had bothered the Delhi government.

• Though the levels of particulate matter are lower now, they are still above the national standard, and reducing the number of vehicles on Delhi's streets is expected to lower them. Levels of ozone and nitrogen dioxide emanating from vehicles should also see a drop given the curb on the plying of vehicles.

United Nations described Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a global icon (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Major reservoirs in country are drying (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Canadian PM seeks to legalise assisted suicide

• The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation on Thursday that will legalise physician-assisted death for Canadians with serious medical conditions.

• The Supreme Court of Canada overturned a criminal ban against assisted suicide in February 2015 and had given the previous government led by Stephen Harper one year to introduce a new law.

• But his Conservative Party strongly opposed assisted death and did little to deal with the looming legal void. After Mr. Trudeau and his Liberal Party came into power in the fall, the Supreme Court extended its deadline until June.

• Although criminal law is a federal matter in Canada, when it became apparent that the Conservative government was not acting on the court’s ruling, Quebec used its powers over health care to introduce a provincial assisted-dying system late last year.

• Since the Supreme Court ruling, judges in other parts of Canada have also given individual patients permission for assisted deaths.

• It is likely that the new legislation will pass, given the Liberal Party’s strong majority. However, a few Liberal Members of Parliament have said that it conflicts with their religious beliefs.

China still analysing India-US logistic support agreement

• China has taken in its stride India’s decision to sign a logistics support agreement with the U.S., saying New Delhi “will make up its diplomatic policies based on its own interests”.

• In New Delhi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that the two countries had agreed “in principle” to conclude a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in the coming months, which would allow the two militaries to use each other’s assets for repair and replenishment.

• Earlier, China criticised Mr. Carter’s decision to drop Beijing from the itinerary of his Asia visit, which took him to India and the Philippines.

• In a written statement to China Daily , the Chinese Defence Ministry noted that Mr. Carter’s visit to China “has been listed in the plan for this year’s China-U.S. military exchanges.

• The defence authorities of the two countries have maintained normal communication and coordination over the concrete time of the visit”.

• The website attributed comments to The Wall Street Journal , which said that Mr. Carter had dropped his plan to visit Beijing this month during his trip to India and the Philippines amid tensions between Beijing and Washington over the South China Sea issue.

India expressed concern over the hike in visa fee (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Finance minister says India is undergoing reform which is parallel to 1991 (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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