Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 August 2014

TNGF felicitates N. Srinivasan

• N. Srinivasan was felicitated by the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) for becoming the first chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a colourful function .
• Srinivasan said, “Now that India has assumed a leadership role in world cricket, it is time for us to prove that we can also deliver.”
• He said the BCCI was a united body now because almost all the stakeholders believed things were happening for the better.
• Srinivasan also spoke about his long association with golf and was pleased with the stunning improvement in the Cosmo-TNGF course.

ISRO: India working on manned flight mission

• India’s scientists are on course to sending the country’s first manned flight to space, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K. Radhakrishnan said.
• Recognising the increasing demand for communication satellites in the country, ISRO was open to partnership with foreign industries to acquire the best of technology and also to upgrade their current satellite platforms.
• With the country having a constellation of 13 earth observation satellites, Dr. Radhakrishnan said, several new ones are being planned to replace ageing satellites, so as to enhance observation capability.
• He also spoke about the yet-to-be launched Astrosat, a multi-wavelength space-borne observatory that would enable simultaneous observation of celestial bodies in ultra-violet, visible and X-ray bands.

Pushpa Bhargava questions DBT guidelines on transgenic crops

• Even as the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) decided to constitute a sub-committee to review the toxicology data generated by two applicants for genetically modified brinjal, biologist and Padma Bhushan award winner Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava has questioned the guidelines of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on transgenic crops.

• Dr. Bhargava and others had asked for the raw data on toxicity studies on rats using transgenic brinjal which were carried out by Dr. Sesikeran, former Director of National Institute of Nutrition at Hyderabad. He found statistically quite significant differences between rats fed on Bt Brinjal and those fed on a normal meal in respect of several important parameters, said Dr. Bhargava.

• Dr. Sesikeran had said that as all the values (both of the control and of the experimental animals) fell within the normal range of variation, the differences were not significant, and that there was no need to repeat the experiment.

• Dr. Bhargava said he would like to know which international body endorsed this, as scientifically it does not make any sense. He said he didn’t understand what that meant and sought a clarification.
  State climate action plans lack innovation, study finds

• An analysis of State action plans to combat climate change reveal a lack of innovative approaches and a high variation in budgets apart from the fact that many did not move ahead from the business as usual scenario. However, the exercise in sheer numbers by 27 States is one of the largest sub-national action plans in the world and has at least started a conversation on decentralised planning for climate action.

• The study finds shortcomings in approach, process, formulation of outcomes and implementation efforts.

• These shortcomings are united by a common thread – a tendency to prematurely view State climate plans as a means to generate implementable action rather than an opportunity to redirect development towards environment sustainability and climate resilience.

• Following the Centre's mandate, all State plans are aligned with the national action plan on climate change. But this may have reduced the scope for local experimentation. In some State plans, sector-based recommendations go as far as to match national mission objectives.

• State climate change action plans are treated synonymously with sustainable development planning. This approach usefully injects environmental issues into development planning, but represents a lost opportunity to internalise climate resilience.

• The study finds the plans looked at the business as usual scenario and not at how climate change could worsen the scenario. In addition, the recommendations are incremental rather than transformative because of the process chosen for plan formulation.

• The consultation process in the State plans was not adequate and recommendations are not based on a systematic framework for formulation or prioritisation but are a mix of broad statements of objective and specific actions. The result is neither a clear vision nor a clear plan, the study finds.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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