Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 August 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 10 August 2015

:: National ::

Environment Ministry pushes for contentious hydel projects

With the appointment of the third committee of experts by the Union Environment Ministry to review a few contentious hydroelectric power projects in Uttarakhand, activists see an attempt to shift the debate away from the danger they pose to changing their design in tune with the disaster-prone State.
The Ravi Chopra Committee and the Vinod Tare Committee had warned against the projects, including the six on which the Supreme Court is yet to give a decision.
The Hindu reviewed the minutes of the two meetings of the newly formed committee held in June and July. Lata Tapovan (171 MW), Alaknanda Badrinath (300 MW), Kotlibhel 1A (195 MW), Jhelum Tamak (128 MW), Bhyundar Ganga (24.8 MW), and Khirao Ganga (4.5 MW) are the projects that will be reviewed again by the new committee.
At a meeting held in July, the developers of the six projects presented design modifications to the new committee, so that they could be implemented once the issues of muck disposal, impact on biodiversity and disaster mitigation plan were addressed. The modifications were discussed last year too, but the first committee rejected them. Since the developers again failed to present acceptable modifications, the committee has said they should come up with the required modifications.
In the latest affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Ministry has also underscored the importance of design modifications, almost ruling out the possibility of cancellation of the projects even if they don’t meet the criteria.
Environmentalists have been objecting to the formation of the new committee, suspecting that the Ministry is forming committee after committee to get the green signal for the contentious projects.
On the formation of the third committee, senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, E. Theophilus of the Uttarakhand-based Himal Prakriti, and Bharat Jhunjhunwala, a former professor of the IIM-Bangalore, had written to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

‘A violation’

“Not only is this a violation but also a clear indication of your ministry’s malafide intentions to overwrite and compromise the findings of previous committees…It is hence clear that till the time you [Mr. Javadekar] do not get a report that gives a green signal to these hydropower projects you will continue to form one committee after another, regardless of the reality on the ground,” they said.

:: International ::

Facebook campaigns for Internet.Org in India

Facebook campaigns for Internet.Org in India - Facebook completely disagrees with a DoT panel's report in India which says that Internet.Org does not follow the net neutrality principle
In justification, the company explains that though the app provides the users with access to only some websites it does not obstruct the other sites.
Facebook is working hard to gather maximum support of its users for Internet.Org as now there is very little time left in DoT panel to present the public opinion on its report.
Once Facebook is able to gather enough public support it would move to the courts for keeping Internet.Org functional in India.
The DoT panel report on net neutrality which says Internet.Org is unsuccessful in establishing is made available on My Gov website for the people to comment on.
As of now, the report has got very insignificant comments as compared to the messages sent as part of the campaign to establish net neutrality in India.
Facebook submits that Internet.Org is introduced to provide internet access even to those who cannot pay for it; the company has no intent to violate the net neutrality principle.
The Facebook users in India have received messages from Facebook in which they are asked if they support free internet in India for all the people to use.
The message further guides them to comment to assert their support for the free basic internet cause so that their opinion could be presented at the government level.

:: Business ::

India on top in exporting beef

India retains its top spot as the world’s largest exporter of beef, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and has extended its lead over the next highest exporter, Brazil. It must be noted, however, that the U.S. government classifies even buffalo meat as beef.
According to the data, India exported 2.4 million tonnes of beef and veal in FY2015, compared to 2 million tonnes by Brazil and 1.5 million by Australia. These three countries account for 58.7 per cent of all the beef exports in the world. India itself accounts for 23.5 per cent of global beef exports. This is up from a 20.8 per cent share last year.
Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that most of India’s buffalo meat exports go to Asian countries — Asia receives more than 80 per cent, while Africa takes around 15 per cent. Within Asia, Vietnam is the largest recipient, at 45 per cent.
India’s buffalo meat exports have been growing at an average of nearly 14 per cent each year since 2011, and fetching India as much as $4.8 billion in 2014. Last year, India for the first time earned more from the export of buffalo meat than it did from Basmati rice.
Several databases, including the United Nations Food and Agricultural Outlook, show that meat consumption in India is increasing. However, the data also shows that beef consumption has been falling over the years, down -44.5 per cent in 2014 from the level it was in 2000. This fall in consumption has been taking place regardless of the political party in power. Chicken consumption, however, was up 31 per cent in that period.

:: Sports ::

India eyes third spot in ICC Test rankings.

The Indian cricket team can rise to as high as third in the ICC Test rankings if Virat Kohli’s men whitewash Sri Lanka in the three-match series starting on Wednesday.
“Fifth-ranked India know that a 3-0 victory can propel them up the rankings table, and depending on the final outcome in the ongoing Ashes series, they could even climb to as high as third place, provided Australia defeats England at The Oval. A 2-1 victory would see India gain three points,” the ICC said in a statement.
If seventh-placed Sri Lanka whitewash India 3-0 then they will gain eight rankings points and could climb to fifth and India would drop to 89 points.
A 2-1 win for the hosts, meanwhile, would see them gain four rankings points and, thus, overtake Kohli’s side.
The last time India toured Sri Lanka in 2010, the series ended in a 1-1 draw, and in that scenario Sri Lanka would gain a point, while India would remain on 97 points.
Meanwhile, in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, fifth-placed Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakarra goes into his final Test series as the highest ranked batsman on either side on 874 points, seven adrift of South Africa’s Hashim Amla.
His skipper Angelo Mathews, who will make his 50th appearance next time out, lies a single place and 14 rankings points further behind, with his opposite number Kohli in 10th position, eight points behind Australia’s Chris Rogers. Kohli is now 180 runs short of the 5,000-run mark in Test cricket.
Other batsmen from either side aiming for upward movements include India trio Murali Vijay (21st), Ajinkya Rahane (22nd) and Cheteshwar Pujara (25th), as will Sri Lanka trio Kaushal Silva (30th), Dimuth Karunaratne (32nd) and Dinesh Chandimal (45th).
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is the highest ranked bowler heading into the series in eighth place on 752 points, 13 points behind Australia’s Mitchell Johnson.
Twelfth-placed Ravichandran Ashwin, with 124 wickets in 25 Tests to date, is his side’s leading bowler with Ishant Sharma (21st) looking to break back into the top 20. Other bowlers likely to feature in the series are; Dilruwan Perera (27th), D. Prasad (29th) and Harbhajan Singh (32nd). Umesh Yadav (47th) holds an 18-point advantage over his team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar (48th).
Ashwin is also the highest-ranked all-rounder on either side heading into the series, sitting a point behind South Africa’s Vernon Philander in third position, while Mathews is Sri Lanka’s best all-rounder in 15th spot.

Indian under-12 team finishes 2nd in Asian Youth Football

An Indian under-12 team, represented by Nagaland's Green wood School, finished second in the Asian Youth Football Festa 2015 held at Anseong, South Korea.
The side got the second position in their group by winning 3 out 4 matches. The school was selected to represent India in the festival since it was the winner of the last under-14 Subroto Cup held in 2014, the Sports Ministry said in a statement.
Financial assistance for participation of the team was provided from the National Sports Development Fund of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
A total of 47 teams from 15 countries participated in the event. India was in Group B-2 along with three teams of South Korea and a team from China and Thailand each.
The Indian team was adjudged the second best team in their Group after Thailand. The team was awarded the trophy for being runners up in its group.
The 15 countries whose teams participated in the event were South Korea, China, India, Thailand, East Timor, Mongolia, Palestine, Nepal, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos and Tajikistan.