Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 12 November 2014

National

Myanmar, India sign MoU for closer links

• As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Myanmarese President Thein Sein met at capital Nay Pyi Taw, the big focus of discussions was improving connectivity between what they called “brother countries.”
• The two leaders spoke about the need for more direct air links, as well as an India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and the Kaladan multi-modal transport project. They signed a MoU for a bus service between Imphal and Mandalay only this year.
• “Both sides see the trilateral highway as an opportunity for industrial cooperation and sought to explore the possibility of setting up industrial parks along the highway. President Thein Sein said that as India grows and develops, Myanmar will also benefit.
• The possibility of India investing in special economic zones in Myanmar was discussed,” said a press release.

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International

US, China unveil ambitious goals to cut pollution levels

• The United States and China unveiled ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gases, aiming to inject fresh momentum into the global fight against climate change ahead of a make-or-break treaty to be finalized next year.
• President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would move much faster in cutting pollution, with a goal to reduce by 26 per cent to 28 per cent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. Earlier in his presidency, Mr. Obama set a goal to cut emissions by 17 per cent by 2020.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country’s emissions are still growing as it builds new coal plants, didn’t commit to cut emissions by a specific amount.
• Rather, he set a target for China’s emission to peak by 2030, or earlier if possible. He also pledged to increase the share of energy that China will derive from sources other than fossil fuels.
• The unexpected breakthrough by the world’s two largest polluters reflected both nations’ desire to display a united front on climate change, blunting arguments from developing countries that have balked at demands that they get serious about cutting emissions.
• “This is, in my view, the most important bilateral climate announcement ever,” said David Sandalow, formerly a top environmental official at the White House and the Energy Department. “It sends the signal the two largest emitters in the world are working together to address this problem.”

Russia signed an agreement to build nuclear reactors for Iran

• Russia signed an agreement with Iran for helping the latter build two new nuclear reactors, media reported.
• The two new nuclear reactors will be built in a nuclear power plant based in Iran’s Bushehr region, which houses the country’s existing 1,000 megawatt reactor that was completed by Russia’s Rosatom corporation and started operation last year.
• According to the protocol signed by Russian and Iranian representatives in Moscow on Tuesday, the two countries agreed to eventually expand the number of reactors using Russian technology to eight in Iran, including four at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southern Iran.
• Nuclear fuel for the eight energy reactors will be provided by Russia and the used fuel rods will be returned to Russia, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Rosatom corporation stressed in a statement that the project will be under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

China’s economic ‘vision’ wins over APEC

• The members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members have agreed to initiate the formation of a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific — a vision steered by China, which competes with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative of the United States.
• Summit host Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the in principle endorsement of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a decision that “will be written into history books”. He said backing for the initiative “demonstrated the confidence and determination of the APEC in advancing regional economic integration”.
• In his closing address, Mr. Xi said the business community wanted the FTAAP, which is expected to include Russia, Beijing’s geostrategic partner.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the Chinese initiative, a day after Beijing and Moscow signed a preliminary agreement on a new route to transfer copious quantities of Russian natural gas into China.
• U.S. President Barack Obama has lauded the Chinese move, but after announcing the imminence of the Washington-led TPP deal that pointedly excludes China but includes Japan and Australia in its 12-member star-cast.
• China accelerated its push for the FTAAP after it began to view the TPP as the economic extension of the “Asia Pivot” of the U.S., meant to contain Beijing’s rise through an amassing of forces around China’s periphery.
• Aware of the concerns over its rise, China has been emphatic in stating that its growing economic heft is a win-win situation that would reinvigorate the flagging global economy. “We have reached consensus that regional economic integration is the driving force behind sustained strong growth in the Asia-Pacific, and APEC should continue to play a leading and coordinating role in pushing forward this process,” observed President Xi during a closing media conference.

Team of U.S. troops back on the ground in Iraq

• A team of US troops was on the ground in Iraq's frontline Anbar province Washington steps up efforts to help Iraqi forces battle the Islamic State jihadist group.
• The Pentagon confirmed that about 50 military personnel were at Al-Asad air base to prepare the way for a larger contingent of advisers and trainers to assist Iraqi security forces.
• President Barack Obama has announced plans to double the number of American troops in Iraq to 3,000 as US-led efforts against the jihadists enter what he called a "new phase".
• Parts of mainly-Sunni Anbar province have become a stronghold for IS and Iraqi forces have been on the retreat in recent weeks, falling back to the Asad air base.
• The desert airfield was a sprawling hub for American troops and aircraft during the 2003 to 2011 occupation of Iraq.
• A string of battlefield defeats for Iraqi forces has led to warnings that Anbar, which stretches from borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad, could fall entirely.

Malaysian MH370 may be declared ‘lost’

• Relatives of passengers of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, that vanished mysteriously eight-months ago with 239 people on board, have expressed shock after a senior airline official reportedly said that the plane would be declared “lost” by the year end.
• The Airlines’ commercial Director Hugh Dunleavy reportedly said that the Malaysian and Australian governments were working together with the national carrier to determine compensation details, adding that the formal announcement of the loss would likely be made by the year end.

IS plans to introduce its own currency

• The Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation plans to introduce its own currency and bring back solid gold and silver coins, according to media reports.
• The militants want to bring back the original dinar, which is a currency from the ancient Islamic era, and religious authorities in Iraq have apparently announced the currency’s return in mosques.
• The original dinar was a gold coin, equal in weight to 4.3 gm of gold. Its silver counterpart, known as the dirham, was a silver coin whose weight was equivalent to 3 gm of silver.

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Sports

L. Sarita could face long ban: AIBA

• International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Wu Ching-kuo said boxer L. Sarita Devi could expect heavy punishment for refusing to accept the Asian Games bronze medal.
• The boxer lost in the semifinals of the women’s lightweight competition at Incheon, South Korea, in September, and tried to give her medal to her opponent at the presentation ceremony.
• AIBA president Dr. CK Wu told The Associated Press that the commission will make its ruling “very soon” and forecast a strong penalty.
• “She will be heavily punished, there will be zero tolerance,” Dr. CK Wu said. “If you accept being the winner, you have to accept being the loser. If everyone behaved like that, what type of competition will we have?”
• Sandeep Jajodia, president of Boxing India, last month urged AIBA to revoke Devi’s provisional suspension, saying “it was purely an emotional reaction and not pre-planned.”
• But Dr. Wu said there would be little forgiveness. “I said to them, that (apology) doesn’t matter, you need to think before you act,” Dr. Wu told the AP.
• “She probably will be banned for some time because we want to consider the case that all the referees and judges’ decisions need to be respected.”
• Dr. Wu said the controversies over scoring at the Asian Games and allegations of impropriety were possibly caused by a misunderstanding of the new scoring system and heightened measures to prevent influencing of judges.

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Science & technology

India’s first net zero energy building with energy- efficient building material

• India’s first net zero energy building that has been constructed with adoption of solar passive design and energy-efficient building materials.
• Functional since a year, a tour of the Indira Paryavaran Bhavan, a building under the Central Government, was organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats. It was aimed at reinforcing the need for more such buildings across the country.
• Speaking about the energy efficiency of the building, TERI (Sustainable Habitat Division) director Mili Majumdar said: “The Indira Paryavaran Bhavan is one of the first buildings in India to have deployed energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies at a large scale.
• It is one of the exemplary projects to be rated under Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment [GRIHA] and has set standards that can be emulated by upcoming buildings in the region.”
• The building boasts an earthquake-resistant structure with a total plinth area of 31,488 sq. m. It covers only 30 per cent of the total area, while more than 50 per cent area outside the building is a soft area with plantation and grass.
• The building has a robotic parking system in the basement that can accommodate 330 cars. Thin-client networking system has been provided instead of conventional desktop computers to minimise energy consumption.
• “Buildings have an enormous impact on environment, human health and economy. The energy used to heat and power our buildings leads to consumption of large amounts of energy, mainly from burning of fossil fuels, oil, natural gases and coal, which generate significant amounts of carbon dioxide, the most widespread greenhouse gas.
• The successful adoption of green building strategies can maximise both the economic and environmental performances of buildings,” added Ms. Majumdar.
• The building has received GRIHA 5-star (provisional) rating for the following features: The design allows for 75 per cent of natural daylight to be utilised to reduce energy consumption.

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Business & economy

Sugarcane growers to get incentives, loans to shift to drip irrigation

• To conserve water and help farmers get better yield, the State government has decided to offer sugarcane growers incentives and loans to shift to drip irrigation. Minister for Water Resources M.B. Patil told presspersons that the growers would be told to switch to drip irrigation from January.
• The Rs. 4,500-crore project, to be implemented in the next three years, would help conserve 180 tmcft of water annually in the State, he said. There would be a tripartite agreement between the State government, sugarcane growers and sugar factory owners.
• With an estimated Rs. 40,000 required to set up a good quality drip irrigation system, the Department had decided to offer a subsidy of Rs. 10,000 and the sugar factories would give an incentive of Rs. 5,000.
• The Minister said that though sugarcane was being grown on 4.5 lakh hectares of land in the State now, the permissible limit, henceforth, would be 40,000 hectares. “The remaining crop cultivated on 4.1 lakh hectares is not permissible.
• By shifting to drip irrigation, farmers who are growing sugarcane on the 4.1 lakh hectares can get their crop regularised,” the Minister said.

Universities may offer credit transfer scheme from next year

• The Skill Assessment Matrix for Vocational Advancement of Youth (SAMVAY) was launched to mark National Education Day.
• It defines the rules for credit allotment and follows the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) — approved by the Union government last year — which allows students to alternate between vocational and general courses.
• “The University Grants Commission in its meeting took a decision on how various Central universities can practice choice-based credit transfer, and I hope all our universities will implement this system in the next academic year so that all our students can seamlessly study from one university to another,” Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said at the launch.
• The Ministry also launched the ‘Know Your College’ portal in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee, Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla and Ministers of State for HRD Upendra Kushwaha and Ram Shankar Katheria.
• The portal  http://www.knowyourcollege-gov.in/  has basic details of colleges offering technical courses that would help students make an informed choice.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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