Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 2 April 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 2 April 2015

:: National ::

Maharashtra govt to build 56 lakh toilets

  • Maharashtra Government has decided to construct 56 lakh toilets in the state by 2019 under the cleanliness campaign of central government.

  • When the project is completed, all families in the state will have a toilet in their home, Water Supply Minister Babanrao Lonikar told reporters at Vidhan Bhawan.

  • The central and state governments’ provision for building personal toilets has been increased to Rs 12,000 from Rs 4,000 earlier, the BJP leader from Marathwada said.

  • He said “cleanliness ambassadors” would be appointed at village-level to ensure rural sanitation and half of them will be women.

  • The Minister said sanitation parks will be set up at tehsil level, which will enable gram panchayats to check various models of toilets and select any of them for building in their village.

Janata Parivar merger: Name and symbol of new party on Sunday (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International :

Indian-American's sentencing sparks abortion law debate

  • The stiff 30-year prison sentence doled out to an Indian-American woman for female foeticide and child maltreatment has sparked a debate in the United States on how prosecutors are using laws that were designed to protect expecting mothers to instead prosecute women for terminating a pregnancy.

  • Purvi Patel, 33, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with 20 years executed, 10 suspended, charged with neglect of a dependent. She will also serve five years probation.

  • For the foeticide charge, she was sentenced to 6 years in prison, to run concurrently with her neglect of a dependent sentence, ABC News reported.

  • Reproductive rights activists believe the sentencing of Patel, who lives in Indiana, highlights how U.S. prosecutors are misusing of the laws protecting expecting mothers.

  • “While no woman should face criminal charges for having an abortion or experiencing a pregnancy loss, the cruel length of this sentence confirms that foeticide and other measures promoted by anti-abortion organisations are intended to punish not protect women,” said Lynn Paltrow Executive Director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) in a statement.

  • Ms. Patel is not the first woman in the U.S. to have been arrested and charged with a crime for terminating her own pregnancy or based on allegations that she had attempted to do so, it said.

  • This case, however, is the first time any woman has been charged, convicted, and sentenced for the crime of foeticide for having attempted to end her own pregnancy, it said.

  • Ms. Patel comes from a family of Indian immigrants who settled in Granger, Indiana, a suburb of South Bend.

  • Ms. Patel in July 2013 went to a hospital emergency room suffering from heavy vaginal bleeding. She denied that she had been pregnant, but eventually told doctors that she had miscarried and placed the stillborn foetus in a bag and placed the bag in a dumpster.

  • Ms. Patel’s defence attorney argued that the prosecution could not simultaneously accuse her of killing her unborn child and of abandoning a living one.

  • But Indiana prosecutor Ken Cotter said that a person can be found guilty of foeticide even if the foetus survives, and Judge Elizabeth Hurley ultimately rejected the defence’s argument. A jury found Ms. Patel guilty on both counts in early February, though her attorney plans to appeal the verdict.

  • At the sentencing, Ms. Hurley said that Ms. Patel was in a position to legally end her pregnancy, but opted for an illegal method, and later “ensured that baby’s death by placing him in the trash can with the other bathroom trash".

  • Activists like Sara Ainsworth, director of legal advocacy at National Advocates for Pregnant Women, expressed concerns that women will be less likely to seek out doctors in cases of abortions or miscarriages.

  • David Orentlicher, a medical ethics specialist and former Indiana state representative, echoed that fear.

  • “Any time a pregnant woman does something that can harm a foetus, now she has to worry, ‘Am I going to be charged with attempted foeticide?’”

Mission Tikrit: Iraqi govt. declares victory

  • Iraq declared a “magnificent victory” over the Islamic State group in Tikrit, a key step in driving the militants out of their biggest strongholds.

  • Iraqi Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi made the pronouncement, saying security forces have “accomplished their mission” in the month-long offensive to rid Saddam Hussein’s hometown — and the broader Salahuddin Province — of the militant group.

  • Extremists from IS seized Tikrit last summer during its advance across northern and western Iraq. The battle for Tikrit is seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the provincial capital of Nineveh.

  • Iraqi forces, including soldiers, police officers, Shia militias and Sunni tribes, launched a large-scale operation to recapture Tikrit on March 2. Last week, the United States launched airstrikes on the embattled city at the request of the Iraqi government.

  • Recapturing Tikrit would be the biggest win so far for Baghdad’s Shia-led government. The city is about 130 km north of Baghdad and lies on the road connecting the capital to Mosul.

  • Retaking it will help Iraqi forces have a major supply link for any future operation against Mosul. Meanwhile, the U.N. mission to Iraq said that violence claimed the lives of at least 997 people in March, a slight drop from the February toll.

Arkansas Governor rejects ‘religious freedom law’ (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

:: Business and Economy ::

Anoop Kumar Sharma is Essar Shipping CEO

  • Capt. Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as whole-time director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Shipping Ltd (ESL).

  • He replaces Ramakrishnan A. R., who retired from service on March 31, the company said in a statement.
    Capt. Sharma has been associated with ESL since August 2008.

  • An alumni of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai and a fellow of Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, London, he is also the member of the Governing council of Narottam Morarjee Institute of Maritime studies.

  • He was previously associated with Shipping Corporation of India for 16 years where he was the Senior Vice President of the Chartering division responsible for exploring global business opportunities for bulk carriers, tankers, containers and other vessels and developing new businesses.

  • Essar Shipping operates a diversified fleet of 15 vessels, including very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Capesize, Mini-capesize, Supramaxes, mini-bulk carriers and tugs.

Flipkart makes senior-level appointments

  • Online marketplace Flipkart, announced a slew of appointments to its senior leadership team.

  • The firm appointed Hari Vasudev as senior vice-president (Engineering, IT & Analytics) for Supply Chain vertical.

  • Mr. Vasudev will spearhead the charter to build innovative supply chain products and services enabled by technology, focusing on key areas such as robotics, mobile, IOT and data sciences, the firm said in a statement.

  • Prior to Flipkart, he worked with Yahoo as vice-president & center head and played a key role on a range of end-to-end consumer products and various platform products in the consumer and advertising domains.

  • Flipkart appointed Anand K.V. as the senior vice-president Customer Experience and will work on driving the customer experience charter for the marketplace.

  • Before Flipkart, he spent over 18 years in the satellite broadcasting and Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television industry across Middle East, Hong Kong and India.

  • The eCommerce firm also announced the appointment of txtWeb co-founder Manish Maheshwari as vice-president who will be responsible for driving key initiatives such as seller acquisition, enablement & growth and helping to beef up the overall seller ecosystem team.

Piramal to sell clinical research division to Indoco

  • Piramal Enterprises has signed an agreement to sell its Hyderabad-based clinical research division to Indoco Remedies for undisclosed amount.

  • Piramal Enterprises has signed a definitive agreement to sell its clinical research division known as ‘Piramal Clinical Research’ (PCR) to Indoco Remedies on a going concern basis for cash, the company said in a filing to BSE.

  • “Fixed assets of this division along with the employees will be transferred to Indoco on a slump sale basis as a part of the transaction,” it added.

  • The sale transaction is expected to be completed upon receipt of purchase consideration by April 6.

  • “PCR was not considered strategic in nature and formed a relatively small portion of the PEL’s consolidated business. The transaction does not have a material impact on PEL’s balance sheet or P&L,” it added.

  • PCR specialises in conducting bioanalytical and bioequivalence studies for generic products and holds approvals from various regulatory agencies, including USFDA, and U.K. MHRA among others, Piramal Enterprises said.

Air Pegasus set to take to the skies (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Dr. Reddy’s to buy UCB’s select brands (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Science and Technology ::

Germanwings crash: second black box found

  • The Flight Data Recorder contains readings from hundreds of parameters of the Airbus A320 jetliner including any pilot commands.

  • The second 'black box' data recorder from the site of last week's Germanwings plane crash has been found, France's Gendarmerie police authority said.

  • France's BEA air crash investigation authority, which is expected to decode the information on the data recorder, was not immediately available for comment.

  • The Flight Data Recorder contains readings from hundreds of parameters of the Airbus A320 jetliner including any pilot commands.

  • The data from the black box is expected to provide crucial further evidence on the final moments of the flight in which the co-pilot is suspected of crashing the jet deliberately.

:: Sports ::

McCullum receives Sir Richard Hadlee medal

  • New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has been awarded Sir Richard Hadlee medal, the country’s highest cricketing honour, for his inspirational leadership and exemplary batting at a glittering ceremony, in Auckland.

  • McCullum, 33, led the Kiwis to their first World Cup final where they did lose to Australia by seven wickets at a packed MCG on March 29 but won a million fans with their entertaining show throughout the 50-over showpiece event.

  • With 328 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 188.50, McCullum led by example to be named captain of the ICC’s team of the tournament.

  • McCullum won the top award ahead of Kane Williamson, who claimed the Redpath Cup for first-class batting, and Trent Boult, who was the winner of the Winsor Cup for bowling.

  • Williamson had a season to savour in 2014-15 and was recognised in winning the Twenty20 International Player of the Year, the ODI Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year.

  • But come April 8 and many of the Kiwi cricketers will be seen in their respective IPL colours with McCullum turning out for Chennai Super Kings.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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