Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 December 2014

National

Govt. wants to regulate Web-based taxi services

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre had asked all States and Union Territories to stop operations of Web-based taxi services such as Uber till they got themselves registered with the authorities concerned.
• Mr. Singh made the announcement even as the police found that Shiv Kumar Yadav, an Uber cab driver accused of raping a woman executive in Delhi, could be a serial sex offender.
• Calling the rape a “national shame,” the Minister made it clear that the government was not in favour of banning taxi services but was firm on regulating them.
• Union Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said: “Banning the railways for train accidents, buses for bus accidents and taxis is not correct. It is the system that needs to be changed.”
• The Minister said that till November this year, 25,000 rape cases had been registered across the country.

India a moderate-performing country: report

• India has been named a moderate-performing country in combating climate change with Australia being the worst, according to a report released at climate negotiations.
• India was ranked 31. “India climbs five places and continues to profit from the very low level of per capita emissions, but overall CO2 emissions have risen constantly over the past five years to about 40 per cent,” said the Climate Change Performance Index 2015 report by Germanwatch and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe.
• Australia was the worst performing industrial country in terms of climate change in 2014. The report by two NGOs said the poor ranking was due in part to policy changes made by the current coalition government.
• The Climate Change Performance Index ranks emissions and climate policies of the 58 highest CO2 emitters worldwide.
• It ranked Denmark as the best performing nation, followed by Sweden and the U.K. Saudi Arabia ranked last on the index.

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International

Russia & Pakistan ties in India’s long-term interest says President Putin

• Russia’s cooperation with Pakistan will serve the “long-term” interests of India, says Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is set to land for the annual India-Russia summit.
• Mr. Putin also said the scope of the agreement signed last month, which was the first of its kind between Russia and Pakistan, is limited. “[Regarding] Pakistan, we have held talks on Russia’s possible assistance aimed at improving the counter-terrorism and anti-drug operations.
• In my view, this kind of cooperation serves the long-term interests of all countries of the region, including India,” he said.
• Brushing aside concerns that the cooperation would lead to a shift in India-Russia ties, or that India’s growing military closeness to the U.S. was “transforming” bilateral ties, he replied: “If some transformations take place, it would be a completely different kind of transformation.
• The high level of bilateral cooperation and trust allows us to start a gradual transition from the traditional producer-consumer model to joint development and production of advanced weapons systems,” he added, referring to the co-developed Brahmos missile as well as the fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
• Mr. Putin, who will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari, hopes to see some “significant achievements” from these meetings.
• He listed nuclear energy cooperation as a “pillar of the India-Russia strategic partnership.” He hailed the Kudankulam plant built by Russia as the “world’s only nuclear power plant which meets all the “post-Fukushima” safety requirements.”

After Bullet train’s success, China wants to develop world class nuclear technology

• After successfully competing for high-speed rail links abroad, China now wants to develop world class nuclear technology — a move that would not only lighten its carbon footprint, but also help it emerge as a major exporter of atomic power.
• Last week, China decided to set up an undisclosed number of shore-based nuclear power plants, lifting the bar on new ventures that was imposed in the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
• The London-based World Nuclear News website reported that days after the Fukushima accident, China’s State Council decided to halt approvals and licensing for new reactors until a safety plan was in place.
• It also sought assurances that existing plants were adequately designed, sited, protected and managed. Li Pumin, the spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, announced that all projects will comply with the highest international security standards.
• Currently, China runs 21 nuclear power reactors, generating 19,095 MW of power. An additional 27 units are under construction, which would yield around 30,000 MW of electricity, when completed.
• Yet, it is estimated that China would need to set up another 13 reactors, if it is to meet its 2020 target of generating 58 GW of atomic power.
• The post-Fukushima drive for nuclear energy has been significantly spurred by the clean-energy target set by President Xi Jinping, who had announced that China is focusing on peaking its emissions by 2030, before its carbon footprint begins to slide.
• Nuclear power generation has come into sharper focus because of some of the problems that China has recently encountered with renewables. Last year, China, the world’s largest producer of wind energy and solar power, was unable to utilise 11 per cent of wind power capacity because of grid problems.
• Buoyed by its successes in developing relatively cheaper, but first rate, high-speed trains, Chinese planners are now looking at replicating that experience in the field of nuclear exports.
• A magazine article published by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) proposed structural changes, capped by the formation of a new state-run investment company that would steer investments in overseas nuclear power projects.

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Business & Economy

RIL to transfer textile business to new Joint Venture with Chinese company

• Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of China’s Shandong Ruyi Science and Technology Group (Ruyi) to transfer its founding textile business into a newly incorporated joint venture (JV) company.
• RIL said that it would receive cash consideration from the deal. It will own 51 per cent in the proposed joint venture, while Ruyi will own the balance. The proposed transaction is subject to requisite approvals.
• In the 1970s, Reliance entered into the textile business in a small way, and since then, it has grown to be a Fortune Global 500 company through backward vertical integration.
• The textile business of RIL operates under the brand Vimal, which was popularised by the ‘Only Vimal’ campaign. This business has a prominent presence in the domestic worsted and synthetic suiting fabric segments.
• Ruyi, China’s leading textile company with revenues of $3 billion, has a global presence with a portfolio of world-renowned brands. It operates in India under the Georgia Gullini brand in the worsted suiting segment. This business operation would be realigned with the joint venture.
• “Our joint venture will help Reliance reposition its textile business on a high growth path. Our partner’s deep commitment and global reach in textile business will enable this joint venture to harness the growth potential of the Indian market and emerge as a global textile player,” said RIL Executive Director Nikhil Meswani.
• “We see our joint venture with Reliance as a significant event for the group. To enter the Indian market with Reliance, we truly believe in the bright future of this joint venture business,” said Shandong Ruyi group Chairman Qiu Yafu.
• The joint venture will build on RIL’s textile business and distribution network as well as Ruyi’s technology and global reach.

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Sports

Indians subdue the Dutch in Champions Trophy

• After two morale-sapping defeats, India finally regained a lot of confidence by notching up a 3-2 upset win over World Cup silver medallist and second-ranked Netherlands in its final Pool B match of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament at the Kalinga Stadium.
• The home team, which opened its account with three points earned from this unexpected victory, finished third in its pool and will meet Pool A’s second-placed side Belgium in the quarterfinals.
• The Netherlands frontline, especially the trio of Jeroen Hertzberger, Sander Baart and Rogier Hofman, showed tremendous understanding and agility to invade the Indian circle at lightning speed and came close to taking the lead on several occasions.
• But India remained unaffected mainly due to some fabulous saves by its brave goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh. V.R. Raghunath and Rupinderpal Singh, who were tested on numerous instances, withstood the nervous moments.
• Against the run of play, India grabbed the lead early in the third quarter. Bubbling with energy, young Gurjinder Singh launched a long-range slap shot and S.V. Sunil deflected it in to trigger celebrations in the stands. The Dutch lost a bit of advantage as its referral challenging the goal did not yield the desired result.
• The Netherlands, however, replied strongly as van der Weerden shot high to convert his side’s third short corner in the 36th minute.
• India scored its second goal as man-of-the-match Manpreet slid to put it in after rival custodian Pirmin Blaak blocked two consecutive attempts in the 47th minute.

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Science & Technology

New evidence of water on Mars, NASA report

• Led by a team of scientists of Indian-origin, NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new evidence of water on Mars, indicating that the planet most like Earth in the solar system was suitable for microbial life.
• Pictures and other data collected by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity show that rivers once flowed into a lake or lakes at the bottom of Gale Crate, an enormous dimple carved out by an incoming space rock.
• NASA said its interpretation of Curiosity’s finds in Gale Crater suggests ancient Mars maintained a climate that could have produced long-lasting lakes at many locations on the Red Planet.
• The American space agency said Mars’s Mount Sharp was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years.
• “If our hypothesis for Mount Sharp holds up, it challenges the notion that warm and wet conditions were transient, local, or only underground on Mars,” said Indian- American Ashwin Vasavada, who is the Curiosity deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
• The thickness of the rock outcrops indicates that the lake — or lakes — must have sloshed around the bottom of 154-km Gale Crater over the course of millions of years, though the lake probably dried up and then reappeared a number of times, the researchers said.
• “A more radical explanation is that Mars’ ancient, thicker atmosphere raised temperatures above freezing globally, but so far we don’t know how the atmosphere did that,” he added.

African Snail will make a comeback says experts

• The Giant African Snail, an invasive species that has established itself in large parts of the State, could re-emerge from its dormant state and pose a greater menace before the next wet spell, a consultative workshop held warned.
• The molluscs that have gone into aestivation (period of hibernation to escape summer heat and dryness) could come out in a big way during the summer showers and go on to expand their area of distribution, according to T.V. Sajeev, Entomologist and Head, Forest Health division, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi.
• Experts participating in the workshop cautioned against the use of chemicals to control the snail that has ravaged crops and posed a threat to native ecosystems in parts of the State.
• The workshop was organised by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) and the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action.
• Highlighting the potential ecological damage caused by chemicals, speakers called for organic methods to check the biological invasion.
• In his presentation, Mr. Sajeev suggested nicotine-based pesticides to keep a check on snail populations. He said studies had proved the efficacy of tobacco decoction to quell the marauding pest.
• The KFRI, he said, had initiated efforts to develop a plant extract with molluscicidal activity. “It is important to ensure that the control agent used against a pest does not become a problem in itself,” he said.

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Persons in News

Narendra Modi tops TIME readers’ poll 2014

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the winner of this year’s reader poll for TIME Person of the Year, but his name does not figure in the magazine editors’ own list of final eight.
• This year’s possible winners include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani and singer Taylor Swift.
• The list also includes groups of individuals, like the Ebola caregivers and the protesters in Ferguson, Missouri.
• The TIME editors’ choice of the person who has had the biggest influence on the news within the past year will be announced.
• In the final tally of the reader poll, Mr. Modi received more than 16 percent of the almost five million votes cast. Protesters who took to the streets in Ferguson, Missouri, after the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager finished second.
• Hong Kong protest leader Joshua Wong, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and the doctors and nurses treating Ebola rounded out the top five.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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