Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 14 May 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 14 May 2015

:: National ::

INS Vikrant launch on May 28

India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant , will be undocked on completion of structural work at the Cochin Shipyard on May 28.
“All major equipment has gone into the vessel, which has now acquired the shape of an aircraft carrier, with a finished hull. Barring a bit of ongoing work on the super structure, structural work is all over and the internal compartments have all been welded in,” said a yard official.
Outfitting is steadily progressing at the moment, but a major part of it — including piping, electrical cabling, control system wiring — will be carried out after the vessel is launched, marking the culmination of the third stage of work in the second phase of carrier construction for which a contract was signed between Cochin Shipyard and the Navy in December last year.
The extended first phase of work on the carrier was completed in August 2013 when the carrier had its official launch, but there was a delay in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) sanctioning money for the second phase, which as per a schedule prepared in 2010 should be over in 2016.
The CCS sanction for the first phase was Rs. 3,261 crore, while the allocation for the critical second phase is Rs. 2,840 crore. The equipment already fitted in will be set to work towards the end of the ongoing phase after which basin trials will commence in 2017 to be on time for delivery in end-2018. The aircraft carrier will displace over 40,000 tonnes at the time of its induction into the Navy.
While some 14 contracts have been signed with the Russian Rosoboronexport for the carrier’s aviation complex, delivery of major aviation equipment has not begun yet.
The aviation complex is designed by the Nevskoye Design Bureau, as Vikrant will have a complement of Russian-origin MiG 29 K fighter planes operating from its flight deck alongside the indigenously developed Naval LCA (when it receives operational clearance).
Meanwhile, the yard is awaiting clearances from the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) to start installation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
“Ironically, obsolescence of equipment already delivered and stacked for sometime could pose a problem towards the end of the second phase when they are set to work,” said an official.
Equipment such as the massive gas turbines, for instance, would have outlived its guarantee period by the time the pre-delivery trials begin, he pointed out.

Civil services exam to retain aptitude test

The Centre decided to continue with the aptitude test (General Studies Paper-II) in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, fixing its minimum qualifying marks at 33 per cent.
However, the English language comprehension skill will remain excluded. Following a series of protests and representations, the government had, in August last, decided to do away with the English component.
“An Expert Committee would be constituted to examine various issues raised from time to time, namely eligibility, syllabus, scheme and pattern of the Civil Services Examination,” said a release, adding that the aptitude test would remain a qualifying paper till then. The Civil Services exam this year will be held on the 2014 pattern.

Total ban on child labour soon

In a significant overhaul of child labour laws, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to ban employment of children aged under 14 in all kinds of commercial enterprises. The Child Labour Prohibition Act, 1986, imposes the ban on only 18 hazardous industries.
However, keeping in mind the “social fabric” of the country, the Cabinet has made an exception for work done in family enterprises and on farmlands, provided it is done after school hours and during vacations. The proposed amendment Bill will be in sync with the Right to Education Act that guarantees children aged between six and 14 the right to go to school.
Also, children working as artists in the audiovisual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities, except circus, have been granted exemption, provided “such work does not affect their school education.”
The Cabinet has barred employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years) in hazardous occupations and processes in the chemical industry and mines.
The changes provide for stricter punishment for employers for violation. While there is no penalty for parents for the first offence, the employer will be liable for punishment even for the first violation.
Child rights activists had argued that the definition of family enterprises can include matchbox making, carpet weaving and gem-polishing industries where child labour is in high demand.
They have also argued that the new norms can be used to deny education to the girl child who will be stuck with household work.

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:: International ::

U.K. refuses compulsory quotas

In its first brush with Brussels, the new Conservative government has rejected a proposal from the European Commission calling for compulsory quotas to share refugees from northern Africa who are arriving on European shores in the thousands.
Writing in the Times , Home Secretary Theresa May said that she “disagrees” with the suggestion by the EU’s High Representative Federica Mogherini that migrants intercepted at sea should not be sent back to their countries against their will.
“We cannot do anything which encourages more people to make these perilous journeys — or which makes it easier for the gangs responsible for their misery,” Ms. May writes.
The Conservative government had made migration control a central promise in its manifesto; agreeing to a refugee quota would therefore seriously set back its target on migration.
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission has tabled proposals on compulsory quotas for sharing refugees that will be discussed at a EU Summit at the end of June.
Isolating itself from the EU on this question before an in-out referendum that the government now wants to advance from 2017 to 2016 will doubtless further polarise people on the divisive issue of migration.

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:: Business and Economy ::

Delhi Govt. not to allow FDI in retail

The Aam Aadmi Party Government said it would not allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail sector in the Capital as it would hurt the interests of traders and lead to unemployment.
The stand of the government, communicated to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry on January 14, 2014 during its previous tenure, remains unchanged.
In a statement here, the government said the Capital was not ready to disturb the character of retail trade.
It quoted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal making it clear that the approval granted by then government headed by Sheila Dikshit in 2012 was withdrawn in January 2014. “The decision remains unchanged,” it affirmed.
The Delhi Government intends to reiterate its stand to the Union Government in order to remove all ambiguity on the issue, which may arise following the release of a fresh policy document by the Centre, the statement added.
The government said it did not have blind opposition to FDI, but added that the Capital did not require FDI in the retail sector at this juncture.

:: Science and Technology ::

Facebook launches Instant Articles

Facebook, launched its much-rumoured product “Instant Articles”, a programme that directly host articles from news organizations so that users do not have to click out and wait for websites to load. The firm has tied up with nine media companies - The New York Times, National Geographic, BuzzFeed, NBC, The Atlantic, The Guardian, BBC News, Spiegel and Bild - for Instant Articles, which would be available on iPhone to start with.
“As more people get their news on mobile devices, we want to make the experience faster and richer on Facebook. People share a lot of articles on Facebook, particularly on our mobile app. To date, however, these stories take an average of eight seconds to load, by far the slowest single content type on Facebook. Instant Articles makes the reading experience as much as ten times faster than standard mobile web articles,” Facebook said in a blog post. “Instant Articles lets them deliver fast interactive articles while maintaining control of their content and business models,” Facebook’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said.
Publishers can sell ads in their articles and keep all the revenue or allow Facebook to sell ads, with the social network getting 30 per cent of the proceeds. Publishers will also have the ability to track data and traffic through comScore and other analytics tools.
According to the New York Times, Facebook clearly plays an important role as a gatekeeper to news. Nearly half of American Internet users said they got news about politics and government on Facebook during the course of a week, almost as many as got such news from local television, it said quoting a survey last year by the Pew Research Center.
NYT also quoted Vivian Schiller, who advises media companies and brands, as saying publishers have little choice but to co-operate with Facebook. “That’s where the audience is,” Ms. Schiller said. “It’s too massive to ignore.” It also further said that Facebook’s role as a powerful distributor of news makes many people in the industry uneasy. The fear is that it could become more of a destination than their own sites for the work they produce, drawing away readers and advertising.

:: Sports ::

Delhi Daredevils halts Chennai Super Kings’ march

Opener Shreyas Iyer struck an unbeaten 70 after veteran pacer Zaheer Khan led a brilliant bowling show as Delhi Daredevils notched up a comprehensive six-wicket win over table-topper Chennai Super Kings in their IPL-8 match.
Electing to bat, Chennai scored just 119 for six with Zaheer returning superb figures of two for nine from his four overs and Albie Morkel chipping in with two wickets as Daredevils produced a disciplined bowling show at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.
Chasing the small target of 120, Daredevils, who are already out of contention for a play-off berth, lost two quick wickets — opener Quinton de Kock (3) and captain Jean-Paul Duminy (6) were out cheaply — and were 24 for two in the fifth over.
But, the young Shreyas and Yuvraj Singh (32) repaired the Daredevils innings with a 69-run stand for the third wicket, and set up the easy victory with 3.2 overs to spare.
The 20-year-old Shreyas, who was dropped on 32 by Mohit Sharma off R. Ashwin in the ninth over, hit 10 fours and a six in his 49-ball unbeaten knock on a slow track, while Yuvraj, who was out in the 14th over, struck four boundaries and a six in his 28-ball innings.
Fittingly, Shreyas hit the winning run, as the Delhi side reached home with plenty to spare.
For Chennai, Ishwar Pandey and Pawan Negi took two wickets apiece.
The win was Daredevils’ fifth from 13 matches and snapped its four-match losing streak this season, though the victory did not have much significance as it remained in the seventh spot in the league table with 10 points and one match to play.
Interestingly, Daredevils snapped their seven-match losing streak against Chennai in the IPL.
For Super Kings, the loss kept it waiting for a play-off berth though it still remained on top of the table with 16 points from 13 matches and one game on hand.