Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 12 April 2015

:: National ::

Rafale purchase a setback to ‘Make in India’ pitch

After the surprise announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on buying 36 Rafale fighters in a direct purchase from France, the original Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal now hangs fire.
This deal, under which the Rafale acquisition is being negotiated, had a substantial ‘Make in India’ component, is now heading towards a ‘Made in France’ endeavour.
Speaking on the decision, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said: “India has finally broken the ice over the deal which has been pending for the last 17 years.” He added that the Rafale fighters in fly-away condition would be inducted into the Air Force in two years.
Experts feel the decision was driven by operational necessities. Defence analyst Nitin Gokhale said: “It’s a decision born out of absolute operational necessity for the IAF and therefore, in a way, unavoidable. Under the circumstances it is the best beginning possible. Going by PM’s statement, under ‘Make in India’ Rafale could play a major role.”
While this does address the immediate concerns of the Air Force, the surprising part of the announcement is the timing since the deal was on the verge of collapse. Just last month, Mr. Parrikar had reiterated that France had to adhere to tender norms. He had also said that if the deal was to fall through, India would buy additional Sukhois.
Officials, however, indicated that there was potentially a larger ‘Make in India’ component to the direct purchase by inviting Dassault to partner with an Indian private entity and build more Rafales in India.
Some see this decision as an acknowledgement that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is not capable of producing an advanced aircraft and irrespective of what is said, the fact remains that no private player in India has the capability to execute such a sophisticated project.

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:: International :

Human chain marks 100th week of Bagmati clean-up

Over one lakh people joined hands to form a human chain to mark the 100th week of the Bagmati Cleaning Mega Campaign.
Thousands of people began trickling in early in the morning to form the chain over a 28-km-stretch from Sundarijal to Chobhar in the capital, along the banks of the river. Vice-president Parmanand Jha, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chairman K.P. Oli, and UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamala Dahal were among the participants.
People from all walks of life, including leaders of political parties, ministers, bureaucrats, members of civil society and the business community took part in the human chain.
At Sundarijal, Chief Secretary Lila Mani Paudyal — the man credited with conceiving and spearheading the campaign — read out a public oath to keep the river clean. Mr. Paudyal began the campaign to clean the Bagmati, considered sacred by Hindus and one of the dirtiest rivers in the country, on May 18, 2013.
“This has demonstrated that no goal is impossible if we are committed to achieving it. The campaign will inspire Nepal to maintain a clean environment, peace, democracy and development,” said Mr. Koirala, at Tilganga section of the river, close to the Pashupatinath temple.
According to reports, Mr. Dahal said the spirit of unity displayed during the campaign would inspire the Constitution-writing process.

:: Business and Economy ::

Textile Minister promises early end to TUFS imbroglio

The Centre, assured the textile industry that it would soon resolve the issue of pending claims under its technology upgradation scheme.
The Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) is an interest subsidy scheme for upgradation of technology as part of measures to boost textile and jute sectors.
“The textile industry has been facing issues such as non-allocation of around Rs.3,000 crore to meet pending cases under TUFS, which include committed liability, left out cases and blackout period.
“I had a talk with the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister about this issue, and I can assure you that the issue will be resolved soon,” Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar told textile traders here. Mr. Gangwar also suggested the industry to take up the issue with the Prime Minister.
“I will request Gujarat to give some suggestions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I met him (Mr. Modi) four days ago and spoke on the issue... he listened to me but did not give an answer. If you people will write to him, he will surely offer a solution,” he said.
He was replying to textile traders on TUFS issues, including non-allocation of subsidy and delayed reimbursement, at Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI).
Talking about technical textile sector, the Minister said the business of the sector was estimated at about Rs.17 lakh crore, while India’s contribution was just around Rs. 1 lakh crore.
“The Prime Minister keeps a tab on this sector, and, therefore, projects of Rs.425 crore have been approved especially for the north-eastern States. Gujarat has the ability and the State has been making good efforts to become the hub of technical textile,” Mr. Gangwar said.
TUFS is an interest subsidy scheme for upgradation of technology as part of measures to boost textile and jute sectors.

:: Science and Technology ::

‘New drugs soon for malaria, osteoporosis, diabetes’

The Indian pharmaceutical sector would soon be showcasing ‘candidate drugs’ for malaria, osteoporosis and diabetes, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan said.
With further R&D, important breakthroughs could be on the horizon for these diseases, he said following a visit to the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, a wing of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Addressing scientists, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to making India one of the world’s leading destinations for end-to-end drug discovery and innovation by 2020.
“I am confident that the drug laboratories under the CSIR are capable of backing up the Swasth Swachh Bharat Mission. Our scientists are focussing on both infectious and lifestyle diseases. We are developing next generation drugs, biologics, biosimilars, gene therapeutics, stem cell therapeutics, personalised medicine and multifunctional nanomedicine,” said Dr. Vardhan.
Indian R&D efforts in government laboratories like CSIR-CDRI, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad) and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (CSIR-IICB, Kolkata) have a track record in making drugs for kala azar, filaria, leprosy and tuberculosis available at affordable rates to the common man, he said.
The “candidate drugs” for malaria, osteoporosis and diabetes were currently undergoing clinical trials, he said, adding that the CSIR-CDRI were simultaneously carrying out Investigational New Drug (IND) studies on lead molecules for fracture-healing, cancers, thrombosis, malaria and hyperglycemia. “Strengthening of the R&D ecosystem is the priority,” he added.
He also said people were expecting CSIR laboratories to produce therapeutic and preventive measures for re-emerged infectious diseases.

:: Sports ::

Impressive India stuns Australia

Young striker Nikkin Thimmaiah scored a hat-trick as India produced its best performance of the tournament to stun world champion and title-holder Australia and secure a place in the third and fourth place play-off at the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament.
Already out of title race, India played without pressure and at last came up with a complete performance. India scored a goal each in all the four quarters through V.R. Raghunath (1st minute), Nikkin (23rd, 32nd, 60th), while Australia’s goals came from the sticks of Daniel Beale (14th) and Matt Gohdes (53rd).
By virtue of this win, India finished its league engagements with seven points from five game and will now face Korea in the play-off which drew 3-3 with New Zealand.
The loss snapped Australia’s unbeaten run and gave it a wake up call before final against New Zealand.