Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 June 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 11 June 2015

:: National ::

Checking vexatious petitions a priority: CIC Vijai Sharma

  • The priority of the Central Information Commission will be to check vexatious petitions and mounting backlog of cases, its new chief Vijai Sharma said.
  • Mr. Sharma, who was administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee, said working of the registry of the Commission will also be improved to ensure cases do not pile up.
  • “[What we need to check] is genuine applications getting crowded out by applications which some may prescribe as vexatious or frivolous. This is a very important angle which needs to be explored. And it is very important that we come out with an objective criteria within the Right to Information Act,” he told reporters after the swearing-in.
  • Mr. Sharma said the internal technology system needs to be enhanced so that it can find out duplicate RTI applications.
  • “The endeavour of the Commission will be to make available maximum information in the public domain so that there is no need to file RTI applications,” he said.
  • Besides Mr. Sharma, K.V. Chowdary was also sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
  • “Mr. Chowdary, a former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, had earlier said his focus would be to protect whistle-blowers and ensure “no personal vendetta” in vigilance-related work.
  • “My priorities will be to strengthen the overall work of the Central Vigilance Commission and focus on preventive vigilance. It would be important for me to see that disciplinary proceedings are completed in a time-bound manner so that no one is harassed.
  • “The Commission will aim at strengthening the overall vigilance work and promote transparency in decision-making,” he had said.
  • The posts of CVC and CIC were lying vacant for over nine months. While the Central Vigilance Commission is at full strength now, the Central Information Commission still has vacancy for three Information Commissioners.

Domestic violence case against AAP leader

  • In yet another setback for the Aam Aadmi Party, its MLA and former Law Minister Somnath Bharti has been accused of domestic violence and mental torture by his wife, Lipika Bharti.
  • Ms. Bharti has filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) which has summoned the AAP leader to appear before it on June 26.
  • Ms. Bharti, who has been married to Mr. Bharti since 2010, has been living separately for the last three years along with their two children in a rented accommodation in Dwarka.
  • Mr. Bharti lives with his mother and brother in Malviya Nagar. Ms. Bharti has filed a police complaint and an FIR is yet to be registered.
  • In a 25-page-long complaint, Ms. Lipika told the commission that she was subjected to physical and mental torture regularly. “Even before leaving for Kerala, he had come to my flat and beat me up. My four-year-old daughter is so scared of him that whenever he comes home, she hides,” the complaint said.
  • DCW chairperson Barkha Singh said Ms. Bharti told her that her husband would kill her.
  • “She looked very distressed and had bruises on her body. She told us that he has been beating her up ever since they got married in 2010. She said when Mr. Bharti married her, he had lied to her about owning an international law firm,” Ms. Singh told.

Railways to stagger Tatkal booking (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

UNP defends electoral reforms

  • The ruling United National Party (UNP) has strongly defended the scheme of electoral reforms approved by the Cabinet a few days ago as part of the 20th constitutional amendment.

  • Answering questions on the scheme, Kabir Hashim, UNP general secretary and Minister for Highways and Investment Promotion, told that if the proportion of seats under the First Past The Post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR) had to be changed in favour of FPTP, this would only reduce the opportunities for minorities to get accommodated under PR.

  • The purpose of keeping the proportion at 5:4 for FPTP and PR was to ensure that the minorities were given adequate representation. (Out of 225, 125 MPs will have to get elected under the FPTP and 100 under PR.)
    Asked why his party was against increasing the size of Parliament from 225 to 255, the UNP leader said any hike would only mean a “drain on the resources of the country which we want to cut down”.

  • Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader and Urban Development Minister Rauf Hakeem said his party is for the introduction of “double ballot paper system” as part of the Amendment which will be “more democratic.” One ballot will be for parties and another for candidates.

4 new Deputy-Ministers appointed

  • Former cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya was among the four Members of Parliament made Deputy-Ministers, all from the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
  • This takes the tally of Deputy-Ministers to 28.
  • Mr. Jayasuriya will look after the subject of Provincial Council and Provincial Development.
  • The other three new Deputy Ministers are: Wijaya Dahanayake; Thilanga Sumathipala and Eric Weerawardena.

Modi invited for Nepal donor meet (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Africa: 26-nation free trade pact signed (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business and Economy ::

Facebook spawns a millionaire artist

  • David Choe, the artist who painted the Facebook building in 2005, was not paid in cash. Instead, he was given stock and today, the same stock is worth $200 million (about Rs. 1,275 crore). The company was then just a start-up.

Strategic debt revamp scheme will not be a game-changer: experts

  • The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme (SDRS) announced will not be a game-changer when it comes to debt recovery, according to banking experts.

  • The scheme, which allows banks to convert their outstanding loans into equity in a company if even restructuring has not helped, will serve as a deterrent to big companies and wilful defaulters, according to the RBI.

  • This sentiment is echoed by HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri, who said that the recently-announced SDRS was an excellent move. “They (corporates) must fear that they will lose the company if they mismanage funds,” he said.

  • However, other banking officials felt that SDRS would be a tool that would likely not be used often due to the legal and procedural complications.

  • While the RBI has made clear that such a scheme is meant to be used when a company’s turnaround is being held up by the inefficiency or failure of the existing management, there is a concern in many quarters over what the bank will do once it owns a majority share.

  • “Who will run the company for the bank? The bank itself does not have the wherewithal to run a company,” said Sanjay Bhattacharya, former Managing Director and Chief Credit and Risk Officer of State Bank of India.
    “The RBI notification does state that banks have to comply with the Banking Regulation Act, specifically Section 6, which stipulates the forms of businesses that banking companies can engage in. However, even looking for alternative management is a time-consuming process, while the company continues to flounder,” according to Mr. Bhattacharya.

  • The notification also urges banks to sell their equity in these companies as soon as possible.

  • “This opens up all kinds of other issues,” according to Mr. Bhattacharya. “Banks will find it difficult to find buyers. Nobody will want stake in a floundering company,” he said.

Engineering goods exports to South Asia on the rise

  • Many South Asian countries, which used to account for a small share in Indian engineering exports, are now emerging as promising markets.
  • The EEPC, the apex body of Indian engineering exporters, felt that this was in sync with the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has begun to yield dividends.
  • Early trends show that “South Asia is emerging as the number one destination of Indian high-tech products clocking in close to $one billion dollar in April, 2015,” according to an EEPC India paper.
  • An EEPC official said that while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal were major importers, there was insignificant trade with Bhutan and Afghanistan and almost nil trade with Pakistan.
  • As against a miniscule uptick of 0.23 per cent in overall engineering exports in April this year, the shipments to South Asia leapfrogged by over 90 per cent to $892 million for the month over $465 million a year ago.
  • “South Asian countries have become a major market for us, giving us more than 15 per cent of the total shipments,” Anupam Shah, EEPC Chairman, said.
  • As per the analysis, the South Asian exports of engineering products have overtaken North America this year by a few notches. Shipments to North America in April this year 838.8 million, but it is the South Asian market which is expanding.
  • Total engineering exports in April were $5.7 billion, showing a small growth, with slowdown in several key markets of Europe such as Germany, Italy, Italy, the U.K. and France.
  • “When Europe and several other parts of the world are posing challenges, finding a handsome growth in the neighbourhood was a pleasant surprise,” Mr. Shah said.

New aviation policy soon (Register and Login to read Full News..)

HDFC Bank launches PayZapp (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Science and Technology ::

INS Vikrant undocked at Cochin shipyard

  • India crossed a major milestone in defence shipbuilding when the maiden indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was undocked on completion of structural work at the State-owned Cochin shipyard.

  • The Navy is slated to take delivery of the carrier by 2018.

  • Senior officials and workers of the yard were present when tugs pulled the behemoth, weighing about 26,000 tonnes at the moment, out of the dry dock where it was undergoing construction for about a year-and-a-half after its launch in August, 2013.

  • The undocking was done after a series of postponements caused by a glitch with the dock gate operation and siltation at the dock mouth. The flooding of the dock and ballasting of the ship had begun on Monday itself.

  • Once the vessel was floated over eight metres of water pumped into the dock, the floodgate was overturned and the carrier was pulled by tugs into the Kochi channel. Sources said the carrier will now be outfitted for over a year-and-a-half before the basin trials begin, likely in 2017, succeeded by sea trials ahead of delivery.

  • “Almost 90 per cent of work below the fourth deck — all underwater works — is over. Cabling, piping, electrical works, and heat and ventilation works will take place now. Delivery of systems and components for the aviation complex designed by the Russian Nevoske design bureau is expected anytime now,” said an official.

  • The undocking is part of the second phase of work on the carrier, which is expected to be over by 2017.

  • The carrier was designed indigenously by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND). ‘‘It's a rare feat. In fact, the Navy has a protracted history of indigenisation of vessels and the DND has done commendable work by developing over 18 designs, including that of the carrier,’’ said a shipyard official.

60-member team to probe ‘Eastern Star’ sinking (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Sports ::

England records its biggest win

  • Registered a 210-run win over New Zealand in the first One-Day International at Edgbaston as it launched its ‘new era’ of limited-over cricket.
  • It was England’s biggest victory, in terms of runs, in all ODI cricket beating the 202-run margin it achieved against India at Lord’s during the 1975 World Cup.
  • England’s total of 408 for nine, its highest in ODIs, was built on the back of hundreds by wicket-keeper Jos Buttler (129) and Joe Root (104).
  • The host then dismissed World Cup finalist New Zealand for 198 with more than 18 overs to spare, fast bowler Steve Finn (four for 35) and leg-spinner Adil Rashid (four for 55) doing the bulk of the damage.
  • The first over of New Zealand’s reply saw Finn clean bowl the advancing Brendon McCullum. Adil Rashid, who removed dangerman Kane Williamson for 45, took two wickets off two balls to reduce the Kiwis to 185 for six.
  • New Zealand lost its last six wickets for just 13 runs.

FIFA suspends 2026 World Cup bidding (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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