Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 13 March 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 13 March 2015

:: National ::

MHA tells States, UTs not to use national flag made of plastic

  • The Union Home Ministry had directed all State Government and Union Territories not to use National Flag made of plastic for any function as these are not biodegradable and thus their appropriate disposal is not possible.

  • The Haryana Government said it has received a letter from the Home Ministry seeking strict compliance of the provisions contained in the Flag Code of India, 2002 and Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

  • The letter, which has been sent to all State governments and Union Territories, noted that National Flag made of plastic are being used in place of paper flags on important functions. Since plastic flags are not biodegradable like the paper flags, these do not get decomposed for a long time and are harmful to the atmosphere. Further, ensuring the appropriate disposal of national flags made of plastic with the dignity of the flag is a problem.

  • Therefore, the MHA said State governments and others should ensure that on important national, cultural and sports events, only flags made by the paper are used in public.

  • It cautioned that offence pertaining to showing disrespect to the National Flag can invite up to three years jail term, fine or both.

Process on to implement One Rank One Pension scheme

  • The modalities for implementing ’One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) scheme for armed forces are under consideration and the financial implication could be calculated once the details are finalised and approved by the government, Lok Sabha was informed.

  • Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply that the principle of OROP for the armed forces has been accepted by the government.

  • “The modalities for implementation have been discussed with various stakeholders and are presently under consideration of the government. Financial implication could be calculated, once the modalities are finalised and approved by the government,” he said.

  • He was asked whether the implementation of the scheme has been delayed.

  • Responding to another part of the question on removing disparities in pension of various ex-servicemen, he said possible amendments to the pension policies are being examined with a view to reduce litigation.

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said on February 28 that the issue of OROP is pending as the method of calculating pension is stuck between the Armed Services and the Defence Ministry.

  • Explaining the reasons behind the delay, the Minister had said, “The methodology of calculating the One Rank, One Pension is an issue pending between the Services and the Defence Ministry.”

  • The scheme, which seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement, has been a long-standing demand of the over two million ex-servicemen in the country.

Law panel bats for stronger EC

  • Law Commission has pitched for a stronger Election Commission by giving equal constitutional protection to all members of the poll body and appointing the CEC and the two ECs by a high-powered collegium.

  • In its report on electoral reforms submitted to the Law Ministry, the law panel has also recommended creation of a permanent, independent Secretariat for the EC.

  • The law panel said Article 324(5) of the Constitution should be amended to equate the removal procedures of the two Election Commissioners with that of the Chief Election Commissioner. “Thus, equal constitutional protection should be given to all members of the ECI in matters of removability from office,” it said.

  • The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners after the Law Ministry initiates the file for their appointment.

  • The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament. The government can remove the ECs based on the recommendation of the CEC.

  • The Law Commission said the appointment of all the Election Commissioners, including the CEC, should be made by the President in consultation with a three-member collegium or selection committee, consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha) and the Chief Justice of India.

  • It said elevation of an Election Commissioner should be on the basis of seniority, unless the three member collegium or a committee, for reasons to be recorded in writing, finds such Commissioner unfit.

  • The precedent is to appoint the senior-most EC as the CEC.

Govt. rethinking strategy on Land Bill

  • In a major shift in stance, the government will not bring the controversial Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill in the first half of the Budget Session of Parliament ending on March 20.

  • It may either allow the ordinance to lapse or repromulgate it after Parliament is prorogued.

  • This was indicated by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to party leaders during the meeting of the Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee.

  • On the face of it, the government maintains that it needs to confer with the Opposition to build a consensus, but with tremendous pressure from the RSS and its affiliates and farmers’ organisations, the BJP is reframing its strategy on the Bill.

  • Significantly, Prime Minister’s “Man ki Baat” radio talk on March 22 is on farmers’ issues.

  • He has invited comments from farmers, saying he would like to “hear them.”

  • According to sources, the government is keen that the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill be approved by the Upper House after they are returned by the respective Select Committees on March 18.

  • Since coal auctions are under way, the government is keen that legislation is in place and the Opposition parties are on board on this.

  • But because of differences on the Land Bill, the government is having a rethink on its strategy.

Ban on airing India’s Daughter to continue (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Make paid news a poll offence: Law panel (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Citizen ID systems tend to exclude marginalised: WB (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International :

Iceland withdraws its bid to join the EU

  • The North Atlantic island of Iceland has withdrawn its bid to join the European Union, with the government saying that its interests are best served outside the 28-nation EU.

  • EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said that the bloc would “fully respect such a decision” and underlined that Iceland remained an important partner.

  • Iceland started its membership negotiations in 2010 looking to better anchor itself to Europe two years after its economy imploded amid a banking collapse.

  • The biggest challenges to those talks were fishing rights and agriculture. The new government froze the EU accession application when it came to power in 2013.

  • Iceland’s foreign ministry had announced that the application was withdrawn.

:: Business and Economy :

Britain applies to join Chinese-led Asian bank

  • Britain has applied to join a proposed Chinese-led Asian regional bank that Washington worries will undercut institutions such as the World Bank.

  • The British Treasury said it will join talks this month on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s structure and governance arrangements.

  • China proposed the bank in 2013 and has pledged to put up most of its initial $50 billion in capital. Twenty-one other governments including the Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam have said they want to join.

  • The United States has expressed concern the bank will allow looser lending standards for the environment, labour rights and financial transparency, undercutting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

  • The British Treasury said it would try to ensure the Asian bank “embodies the best standards.”

IMF chief to visit India, China (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Science & Technology ::

ISRO’s launcher assembly unit gets Rs. 120 crore

  • ISRO’s proposal for having a second facility to assemble launchers at Sriharikota has got a Rs. 120-crore Budget boost.

  • The amount is the first big allocation for additional infrastructure since it was approved in late 2013.

  • Estimated at Rs. 360 crore, the second Vehicle Assembly Building (SVAB) was conceived to increase the number of satellite launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota.

  • M.Y.S. Prasad, Director of SDSC, said the project was going through a multiple tendering process to choose agencies that would build it over the next two years.

  • The SDSC has got a separate allocation of Rs. 559 crores.

NASA launches 4 spacecraft to solve magnetic mystery (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Sports::

England beats Afghanistan by 9 wickets

  • England beat Afghanistan by nine wickets in a rain-affected Pool A match to recover a little bit of pride from a disastrous World Cup campaign.

  • England’s batsmen scored quickly to chase down the revised target of 101 off 25 overs after England’s bowlers, led by Chris Jordan (2-13) and Ravi Bopara (2-31), restricted Afghanistan to 111-7 off 36.2 overs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

  • Ian Bell scored 52 not out and combined for an 83-run stand with Alex Hales (37) to make light work of the small target.

  • England was aiming to end its tournament on a positive note after being removed from quarterfinal contention in a 15-run loss to Bangladesh on Monday.

New Zealand beat Bangladesh, remain unbeaten in World Cup (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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