Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 08 November 2015

:: National ::

Modi's J&K package fails to lift mood

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an economic package of Rs. 80,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir here on Saturday, but the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was upset by his silence on a “political package” it had been expect-ing. Even so, the PDP, which is in an alliance with the BJP in the State, will take a “holistic view of the situation”.
Addressing a packed Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Mr. Modi said “not only Del-hi's treasures but Delhi's ‘Dil' [heart] is also always for thepeople of Kashmir”.
There can't be a bigger message than Mr. Vajpayee's Jamhooriyat, Insaaniyat and Kashmiriyat [democracy, humanity and the essence of be-ing a Kashmiri].
The State's development has to stand on these three pillars... People participated in recent polls and came out in huge numbers even for the panchayatpolls.

Centre notifies OROP , veterans reject it

The Union government notified the one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme on Saturday, but ex-service-men were quick to reject it.
“The Government Order by the Ministry of Defence, which could not be issued [earlier] because of the model code of conduct [for Bihar elections], has been issued to-day,” said a government statement.
The government seems to have stuck to the conditions announced by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in September. The veterans had rejected them then, and last weekend, announced plans to step up protests.
Personnel who henceforth get discharged on their own request under Rule 13(3)1(i)(b) ,13(3)1(iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rule 1954 or the equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to OROP benefits, the government said. The ex-servicemen, however, want no distinction between retirees, and exclusion of such personnel will become a major point of friction.
The two sides had not reached a consensus on the concept of premature retirement. Earlier, the government stated that those opting for it would not be eligible for the OROP.
After protests by ex-service-men, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said everyone was eligible. However, the notification said those opting for it in future would be out of the scheme.
The notification says “in future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years”. The ex-servicemen have been demanding more frequent revisions. They have argued that revision after every five years, which means five different pensions for the same rank, will not be in the spirit of the OROP.
The government announced that the pension of past retirees would be revised on the basis of the pension of retirees of calendar year 2013 and the benefit will beeffective from July 1, 2014. This is not acceptable to the veterans, sources said. The notification said arrears would be paid in four equal half-yearly instalments.
However, family pensioners and gallantry award winners would be made the payment in a single instalment, it said.

Border youth may get martial arts training

The new Border Area Development Plan drawn up by the Union government lays emphasis on providing “martial arts” training to the young population living close to the Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China borders, say new Union Home Ministry guidelines.
The Border Security Force, posted along the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders; the Sashastra Seema Bal, along the Ne-pal and Bhutan borders; and the Indo- Tibetan Border Police Force, along the China border, will be asked to encourage “martial arts” among the youth and train them in shooting, archery and boxing.
The paramilitary forces have been asked to provide training platforms and coaches, the guidelines say. There is no compulsory military training in India, but nations such as China, Singapore, Israel and South Korea have conscription.
After the India-China war in 1962, the Special Service Bureau had been providing some sort of armed training to the border population till 2001. In Jammu and Kashmir, a similar practice exists in the form of village defence committees, which work under the State police and are provided with li-censed weapons to fight militants.
The Border Area Development Plan was started in 1986-87 for the balanced development of areas bordering Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The plan was later extended to all land borders. After it came to power, the National Democratic Alliance government modified the plan, which was allotted Rs.990 crore this fiscal.
The Ministry, which will be implementing the scheme, has decided to include the ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyan' in it. The government has decided to extend the plan to cover all villages within 10 km of the International Border.
These villages in 381 blocks are located in 106 border districts in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Naga-land, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. They will be referred to as “strategic villages”.

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:: International ::

China, Taiwan hold historic talks

Taiwan and China have identified a broad agenda of engagement, including talks to narrow down differences over a “one-China” formulation, easing security tensions and collaboration in Beijing-led connectivity projects, following historic talks after a gap of 66 years, between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Tai-wanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou.
As they assembled for talks in Singapore, President Xi called his meeting with President Ma as “historic.” “This is a very special day, and a new chapter in history,” he added. Mr. Xi pointed out that a seven-year effort by both sides had culminated in Saturday's meeting. “This is a very special day, and a new chapter in history,” he ob-served.
Mr. Ma reciprocated, with matching enthusiasm, by point-ing out Saturday's meeting was not for his personal benefit but for that of the next generation. History, he added, has left a series of “complex and perplexing is-sues” that needed to be resolved. “On sensitive issues, the two sides should confront reality and deal with any problems using wisdom, patience, sincerity and pragmatism,” he observed.
A lengthy handshake that lasted 80 seconds, in full media glare, before they went into talks, underscored the special importance that the two leaders attached to the occasion.
Consolidating consensus Analysts point out that both leaders have a tough task ahead of bridging their gap on their perception of a “one-China” concept that the two neighbours hadflagged in 1992 when they had agreed that that there was only one China, but acknowledged their differences on its interpretation. In his remarks, President Ma noted that China and Taiwan needed to make progress in consolidating the consensus reached in 1992.

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:: Economy And Business ::

Facebook joins $300-billion club, beats GE in market cap

Facebook, the 11-year-old social media company founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room, surpassed the $300-billion mark in market capitalisation, overtaking General Electric (GE) along the way.
Facebook became the seventh most valuable firm in the U.S. on Friday, with market capitalisation touching $303 billion and joined Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon among the top 10 ranks.
$896-million profit The surge in market value came on the back of Face-book posting $896 million in third quarter profit on a revenue of $4.5 billion. In comparison, GE reported a profit of $2.51 billion on a revenue of $41.7 billion for the third quarter.
Facebook shares touched a high of $108 after the results valuing the tech giant at a whopping $306 billion,surpassing the about $300-billion market cap of GE. “We had a good quarter and got a lot done,”.
The stark contrast in revenue and profits of Facebook and GE notwithstanding, investors are bullish about Facebook's prospects, especially given its reach and ability to monetise the people's connections through advertisements.
The social media company, which counts more than 1.45 billion active monthly users, got 78 per cent of its advertising revenue from mobile advertising in the third quarter, a 66 per cent jump over the year earlier period.

Robust U.S. jobs report bolsters case for December rate hike

U.S. job growth surged in October and the un-employment rate hit a 7-1/2-year low of 5 per cent in a show of economic strength that makes it much more likely the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.
Nonfarm payrolls in-creased 2,71,000 last month, the largest rise since December 2014, the Labor Department said on Friday.
In addition, average hourly earnings rose a respectable 9 cents. The payrolls jump followed modest gains in August and September.
The unemployment rate now stands at its lowest level since April 2008 and is in a range many Fed officials see as consistent with full employment.“The employment reporthad everything you could have asked for.
The reaction in financial markets was swift and sharp. The dollar rallied to a near seven-month high against a basket of currencies as investors braced for higher borrowing costs. U.S. Treasury debt prices fell, with yields on the two-year note hitting a 5-1/2-year high.