Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 01 September 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 01 September 2015

:: National ::

Rajiv Mehrishi new Home secretary

Union home secretary LC Goyal was unceremoniously shunted out of the powerful ministry on Monday to be replaced with finance secretary Rajiv Mehrishi hours before the latter was to superannuate on turning 60, marking a stunning twist in the careers of the two senior bureaucrats.
On a day of contrasting fortunes for the two IAS officers, Goyal, perceived by many to be "difficult" and out of sync with the style of the government, was made to make way in disregard of his defence.
He reacted to the setback by taking voluntary retirement but was compensated with the position of chairman of Indian Trade Promotion Organization — a not-so-glamorous body that is best known for organizing trade fairs.
Mehrishi was succeeded by R Wattal as finance secretary, completing the process of putting in place a new team in the finance ministry just before the preparation for the next Budget kicks off.
But there was unanimity that the new job was a comedown for Goyal, who presided over the all-powerful MHA.
Goyal was appointed home secretary in February after his predecessor Anil Goswami allegedly approached the CBI for a scam accused, and given that the home secretary has a tenure of two years, would have remained in the saddle until February 2017.
Besides Goswami and Goyal, former foreign secretary Sujatha Singh was another officer holding a position with a supposedly two year-tenure who did not get to complete her term under the Modi government.
He is perhaps the first IAS officer, at least in recent times, to have served as both finance and home secretary.

:: Miscellaneous ::

Google, accused of abusing its market dominance in ranking its Internet search results.

Anti-trust watchdog CCI will soon begin final hearings into alleged anti-competitive practices of Google, which has been accused of abusing its market dominance in ranking its Internet search results.
While CCI would take a final decision after hearing Google and other parties in the case, including the complainants, the probe report of the watchdog’s investigative arm, Director General, is believed to have found Google in violation of certain competition regulations.
While there was no official word on the content of the probe report, Google said it is reviewing the report from the CCI’s ongoing investigation.
As per the norms, DG’s report is not binding on the CCI and a final decision in this long-running case would be taken by the seven-member Commission headed by Chairman Ashok Chawla.
The DG report is believed to contain comments and inputs from a host of entities present in the Internet business including some well-known e-commerce firms and web portals.
While submissions from some of them appear to suggest violations on part of Google, others have sided with the US-based global giant.

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:: Sports ::

India-South Africa series to be known as ‘Gandhi-Mandela series

Australia & England might have the Ashes but India and South Africa have evoked the memory of two iconic historical figures to name future cricket series between the two countries. Starting in November, the Test series between the countries will be known as ‘The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series’, an announcement said on Monday. “For the people of both our countries there is no greater duty than to uphold the ideals of both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela,” Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement. “As cricket loving people we must fight hard to win on the field of play but never forget to do battle in the spirit of these two great men.”
South Africa tour India for four Tests in November and December, preceded by a series of limited over matches in October. The two countries have played 11 Test series since 1992 with South Africa winning six and drawing three. Only the first series comprised four Tests. A dispute between the two rival boards saw the last series in South Africa reduced to just two Tests in 2013. Gandhi, who pursued non-violent protest to win Indian independence, lived in South Africa for almost two decades, working as a lawyer and leading several civil rights protests. Mandela, who died almost two years ago, spent 27 years behind bars for his fight against apartheid and then became South Africa’s first black president in 1994.