Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 21 December 2014

:: National ::

CPI (M) says the Re-conversion campaign should be stopped

The Communist Party of India (Marxist demanded that the “RSS-sponsored re-conversion campaign” be prohibited under the provisions of the law.
In a statement, the Polit Bureau – which is currently meeting in the Capital – said the BJP and the RSS are indulging in doublespeak by talking about religious conversions.
While on the one hand RSS organisations are conducting a re-conversion campaign targeting minorities, the BJP leadership is demanding a law to ban forcible conversions.
Flagging this, the CPI(M) said the twin demands are not just directed against minorities but also aimed at sharpening communal divisions.
According to the Polit Bureau, there is no need for such a law as Article 25 of the Indian Constitution provides for “freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religions.”
If there is any forcible conversion it is already covered under Indian Penal Code (Section 153(a)) as it classifies forcible attempts in the name of religion as a criminal offence.

:: International ::

At U.N. India may end support to Palestine

In what could amount to a tectonic shift in the country’s foreign policy, the Modi government is looking at altering India’s supporting vote for the Palestinian cause at the United Nations to one of abstention.
Two sources within the government confirmed that the change, which will be a fundamental departure from India’s support to the cause of a Palestinian state, was under consideration.
“Like other foreign policy issues, the Modi government is looking at India’s voting record at the United Nations on the Palestinian issue,” a government told. The change only needs an administrative nod.
Despite the growing defence and diplomatic ties with Israel, the UPA government, which junked traditional ally Iran to vote with the United States at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2005, had baulked at making any change in India’s support to the Palestinians.
Even former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s government, which invited Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to India in 2003, did not amend India’s voting record at the U.N.
India’s stance at the U.N. has been an irritant in Indo-Israeli relations, with Tel Aviv frustrated that close bonds had not resulted in any change in the stance on Palestine.
A senior Israeli interlocutor told a visiting Indian External Affairs Minister some time ago that New Delhi treated Tel Aviv like a “mistress” – by keeping the bilateral relationship away from the public gaze.
This re-examination of India’s voting stance will come as sweet music to Israeli ears just as it will raise concerns in West Asian capitals about the future course of Indian foreign policy.

:: Sports ::

Elano Blumer gets the Golden Boot in Indian Super League

Chennaiyin FC’s Elano Blumer and FC Goa’s goalkeeper Jan Seda (FC Goa) topped the list for Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards respectively as the inaugural Indian Super League concluded.
Elano scored eight goals in 11 matches, apart from one assist, according to official website www.indiansuperleague.com.
He is followed by FC Goa’s Mirosalv Slepicka (five goals/ four assists, 10 games), Kerala Blasters’ Iain Hume (five/ three, 16), Delhi Dynamos’ Gustavo Santos (five/ two, 15) and ATK’s Fikru Lemessa (five/ two, 11).
Seda topped with 40 saves/ seven clean sheets in 14 matches for FC Goa. ATK’s final hero Apoula Edel Bete is second (39/ 4, nine) followed by ATK’s Subhashish Roy Chowdhury (18/ four, eight), Kerala Blasters’ David James (33/ five, 12) and NEUFC’s T.P. Rehenesh (41/ five, 12).

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:: Business & Economy ::

GoAir offers discount on fares, lowest at Rs 1,469 for travel next year

The Wadia Group-promoted budget carrier GoAir said it has put 1.7 million seats up for sale, offering fares as low as Rs. 1,469 for travel next year with a five-day booking period, to stimulate demand during the lean period.
The special offer is available on flights across the GoAir network for a travel period between January 1 and March 31, the airline said. The bookings under the offer can be made between December 21 and December 25, it said.
“The January-March quarter is traditionally a lean quarter... The purpose of introducing these fares is to make air travel affordable during the period,” GoAir chief executive Giorgio De Roni told PTI in New Delhi.
Stating that lowering of ticket prices was not to trigger a fare war in the domestic skies, Mr. De Roni said, “It is not an offer on lowest price or the cheapest price but to make it affordable and more attractive during the lean period.”
GoAir is committed to offer the affordable fares that allows it to deliver a sustainable result, Mr. De Roni said, adding “we can grow only when we are profitable and develop our network and the fleet.”
The airline wants to be consistent with its pricing strategy, he said. The Mumbai-based airline operates across 22 destinations in the country with a fleet of 19 Airbus A320s.

:: Science & Technology ::

NASA plans to send airships for manned Venus mission

NASA plans to send solar-powered airships to explore Venus’ atmosphere and to eventually establish a permanent human colony in a floating cloud city above the Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour.
Dale Arney and Chris Jones, from the Space Mission Analysis Branch of NASA’s Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at Langley Research Centre, in Virginia, have proposed that it may make sense to go to Venus before we ever send humans to Mars.
NASA’s High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) mission aims to explore the atmosphere of Venus instead of exploring the surface.
The researchers believe the upper atmosphere of Venus is “probably the most Earth-like environment that’s out there”. At 50 kilometres above its surface, Venus offers one atmosphere of pressure and only slightly lower gravity than Earth.
Astronauts would also be protected from radiation in Venus’s atmosphere, researchers said. The planet’s proximity to the Sun provides it 40 per cent more solar power than the Earth gets, and 240 per cent more than that seen on Mars.
Since the orbits of Venus and Earth align over time, a crewed mission to Venus would take a total of 440 days using existing or very near-term propulsion technology, ‘IEEE’ reported.
But getting to Mars and back using the same propulsive technology would involve more than 500 days in space at a minimum.

Persons in News

M.C. Sampath passes away

M.C. Sampath, retired Senior Associate Editor of The Hindu, passed away here on Saturday evening after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. He was 78.
He retired from The Hindu in 2012 after serving the newspaper for 50 years, not counting the five years during which he was the part-time correspondent in Chengalpattu.
Joining the organisation in June 1961 as a Staff Reporter, he rose to become an Editorial writer and a Senior Associate Editor. He was also in charge of the Book Reviews for some years. For long years, he was writing the Religion column in the newspaper.
In his later years with the newspaper, as the seniormost member of the editorial team, Mr. Sampath assisted the Editor in managing the editorials for the day, finally seeing them off on the page after scrutiny.
MCS was an old school journalist who was meticulous in his commitment to accuracy, contextualising and fairness.
As an editorial writer, he was clear-headed, sceptical about big claims, nuanced, and able to deal with complexity skilfully and to present a persuasive argument with ease.
But he never shied away from expressing a forthright opinion on issues that mattered. And as a coordinator of editorials, willing to put in long hours, he was considered the safest pair of hands any Editor could wish for.