Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 18 April 2016

:: National ::

Thrissur Pooram festival painted the city in vibrant hues

Thrissur Pooram, the renowned festival of sound and light, painted the city in vibrant hues.
Challenging the scorching sun, lakhs of Pooram lovers poured into the cultural capital of Kerala for the 36-hour- long festival, which is the meeting of deities of ten participating temples.
There was something for everyone – processions, elephants, fire- works and percussion ensembles.
The celebrations started on Sunday morning with Ezhunnellippu of Kanimangalam Sastha.
It was followed by other processions (Cheru Poorams) from Karamukku Bhagavathy, Neythilakkavu Bhagavathy, Panamukkamballi Sastha, Choorakkottukavu Devi, Ayyanthole Karthyayani and Chembukkavu Karthyayani temples.
The sight of tuskers emerging in their regalia through the milling crowds to the accompaniment of percussion ensemble was awe-inspiring. There is a friendly competition between the Devaswoms.
Against the backdrop of the High Court order on fire- works and elephant processions, stringent security measures were taken for the Pooram.

New inscription shedding more light on Buddhism found in Karnataka

A new inscription that sheds more light on the history of Buddhism in Karnataka has been discovered at Lakkundi village in Gadag district.
It is the first time that an inscription related to Buddhism was found in Lakkundi, a place of antiquarian interest with nearly 50 temples, 101 stepped wells and a large number of inscriptions spread over the Chalukya, Kalachuri and Hoysala periods.
The inscription, whose lower portion has been severed of, makes salutations to Lord Buddha, ‘dhamma’, ‘sangha’ and Tara Bhagavati.
There are possibilities of the inscription speaking about donations to a Buddhist monastery located at Lakkundi. Besides, it was among a handful of inscriptions making specific reference to the Tara Bhagavati cult of the Vajrayana Buddhism.
The period of this inscription could be assigned to the regime of Hoysala king Veeraballala II (1173–1220 CE).

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:: India and World ::

US defence secretary visit send important message to neighbours

The many strategic decisions agreed upon during U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter’s visit last week to India opens up not just new possibilities but also challenges, say specialists in the defence sector.
Many of them also see a message for India’s neighbourhood, especially China, in the decisions.
Both sides reached an “in-principle” understanding on concluding the first of the three foundational agreements, the Logistical Exchange Memorandum of Understanding (LEMOA), which has been in the works for over a decade.
India needs more support as it cannot stand against China on its own either militarily or economically. Some kind of message had to be sent. It doesn’t mean we are allying with the U.S.
The LEMOA, a modified logistics support agreement, addressing Indian concerns entails the militaries of two nations to share facilities for refuelling, supplies and spares.
The U.S. has similar arrangements with over 80 countries.

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:: International ::

Strong earthquake jolt Ecuador

Rescuers in Ecuador raced to dig out people trapped under the rubble of homes and hotels, after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 235.
Vice-President Jorge Glas called it the “worst seismic movement we have faced in decades”. In a news conference, he raised the toll to 235 killed and 1,557 injured.
The quake, which struck at 2358 GMT on Saturday about 170 km northwest of Quito, lasted about a minute and was felt across Ecuador, northern Peru and southern Colombia.
Ecuador lies near a shifting boundary between tectonic plates and has suffered seven earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher in the region of the quake since 1900, the USGS said. One in March 1987 killed about 1,000 people.

:: Business and Economy ::

Indian government wants World Bank to continue its concessional financing

Arun Jaitley has called on the World Bank to continue its concessional financing until 2030 and in- crease the development financing and non-concessional loans to $100 billion over the next five years.
During the ‘Spring Meetings’ interaction with various officials of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Mr. Jaitley said the ongoing revision of environmental and social standards required under the financing conditions must not “compromise the primacy of the development objective.”3
The largest recipient of World Bank loans, India has so for received $ 52.7 billion in commercial loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and $49.4 billion from the International Development Association (IDA) which is the Bank’s assistance programme for developing countries.
The finance minister said delivering the Bank’s SDG on development and reconstruction agenda would require large amounts of concessional and non-concessional finance.
All these call for a bigger-than-ever grant contributions based IDA replenishment. In fact, we will need quite a few such strong replenishments until 2030 if we were to achieve the goals of eliminating extreme poverty and other SDGs in IDA countries.
He called for increasing the current levels of $50-$60 billion per annum in concessional, non-concessional and private sector re- sources from the WB Group to $100 billion a year over the next five years.
IDA funds are meant for countries with per capita income up to $1,260 adjusted for purchasing power, and going by this technical definition India is no longer eligible for continued support.
This year, the 45-odd developed countries that contribute to the kitty are set to replenish it, as it happens once in three years. Amid global economic un- certainties support for India under this plan has ignited a debate in the Bank.
The framework will have significant implications for India that is grappling with environmental and social questions alongside its push for rapid economic development.
The ESF requires borrowing governments to ad- dress certain environmental and social risks in order to receive Bank’s financing for development projects.
Seeking reforms in IMF and World Bank to reflect a larger say for economies like India, Mr Jaitley has said the voting share of developing and transition countries (DTCs) in the multi—lateral lending agencies IBRD and IFC must be raised to 50 per cent, from the current 45.06 per cent in IBRD and 39.41 per cent in IFC.

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:: Science and Tech ::

Carbon sharing between trees

A chance discovery in a mixed forest in Switzerland reveals that tree-to-tree interaction in forests goes beyond mere competition for resources.
Forest trees are even more interconnected than thought, suggests a new study, which showed that around 40 per cent of the carbon in fine roots of spruce trees came from neighbouring trees.
This level of sharing can be crucial for forests, especially under stress conditions like wildfires.
Human-driven activities have been releasing vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere since industrialisation began two hundred years ago.
Consequently, there is a lot of interest in understanding to what degree forests the largest terrestrial pool of biological carbon, are able to absorb this amount, thereby mitigating climate change.
Much about the magnitude, direction and the regulation of these transfers is yet unclear.
Since all the trees in the study were healthy, and stress- free the authors acknowledged the possibility that the labelled trees were transferring its excess carbon below ground and, in turn, triggering mycorrhizal growth and activity.