Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 21 June 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 21 June 2015

:: National ::

Modi leads India's effort at setting Guinness record in Yoga

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi led India's attempt to set a Guinness Book of World Record in the maximum number of people doing Yoga at one venue.

  • Barring the ‘vrikshasana', he followed the entire Common Yoga Protocol that had been put together for the record¬ attempting event on Rajpath to mark the worldwide celebration of the first International Yoga Day.

  • Making a brief statement before joining Yoga practitioners, Mr. Modi said this was not just a day¬long celebration but the beginning of an era of peace and harmony.

  • Yoga, Mr. Modi said, is not just an exercise. Had that been the case, even children doing circus stunts would be called ‘yogis.’ “Yoga offers an opportunity to balance the mind and body, and helps harness an individual's inner strength,” he said; wrapping up his speech and surprising the gathering by leaving the stage rather

  • He then walked across the Rafi Marg¬ Rajpath intersection to take his position at the head of the thousands lined up to do yoga.

  • After doing the warm¬up exercises, he took a break at the ‘vrikshasana' stage – where people balanced themselves on one leg with the other folded at the knee – to walk down the rows of people doing yoga.

  • ‘Vrikshasana' over, he was back doing the rest of the protocol for the next half¬hour.

  • Other prominent personalities who joined Mr. Modi in attempting the record included the warring duo of Delhi politics – Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung – besides some members of Parliament from Delhi.

  • With four members of the Union Council of Ministers leading similar yoga demonstrations in the U.S. and others instructed to do the same in their respective constituencies, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha was one of the few Union Ministers who put in a presence at Rajpath.

  • Till the moment Mr. Modi joined the Yoga practitioners, he kept everyone guessing on whether he would do yoga in full view of the media. Though initially organisers had said that the Prime Minister would lead the yoga demonstration at Rajpath, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had over a fortnight ago ruled it out during a formal briefing on International Yoga Day celebrations.

  • However, the arrangements made for camera¬persons opposite the dias let the cat out of the bag. Even as the footage of Mr. Modi doing yoga was beamed live, the big screens placed all along Rajpath continued to beam footage of the four experts leading the 35¬minute demonstration of Yoga for the rest to follow with a running commentary on how to do the selected exercises properly.

Daunting task ahead for new CIC

  • The Defence Ministry tops the list of Central government departments contributing the highest number of Right to Information (RTI) appeals pending hearing before the bench of the Chief Information Commissioner with 4,182 cases, according to the newly-appointed Commissioner Vijai Sharma who spoke exclusively to during an interaction.

  • Over 15,000 RTI queries had piled up before the Commissioner’s bench during the long gap between the retirement of the previous Chief Information Commissioner Rajiv Mathur in August last and the appointment of Mr. Sharma this month.

  • Other Central government departments contributing to the large number of cases pending before the Commissioner include Railways (3,056), Human Resource Development (1,669) and the Indian Air Force(1,499).
    Ironically, the Department of Personnel and Training, responsible for ensuring the implementation of the RTI Act, with 1,476 pending cases, is the fifth Central government department. When government departments do not dispose of RTI petitions coming to them in a time-bound manner, information seekers file appeals for hearings before the Central Information Commission.

  • Mr. Sharma says he would like to use a mix of imposition of penalties and encouragement for proactive disclosure of information already available with the departments to ensure that the pendency comes down.
    There are two types of cases pending hearing, one are cases of grievance redress of citizens, for example, somebody unsuccessful in booking an emergency quota ticket with the Railways asking why someone else got the reservation.

  • Others are cases of government employees or citizens with a grudge against an individual working in a public authority seeking information for personal benefit. However, genuine cases of grievance redress and queries pertaining to the use of official discretion, to detect misuse of official powers, far exceed the personal vendetta-driven petitions, Mr. Sharma said.

  • Sources within the Central Information Commission (CIC) requesting anonymity told The Hindu that following 40 per cent budget cuts in 2015 and the DoPT’s refusal to pay anything more than the minimum wage to the support staff, the day-to-day functioning of the Commission has been crippled.

  • However, Mr. Sharma refused comment on the resource crunch and pointed instead to the CIC soon getting a building of its own out of which to function. A budget of Rs. 43.53 crore has already been sanctioned for the project and the National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. is in the advanced stage of finalising the concept plan for the building, he said.

  • Mr. Sharma also sought to put to rest concerns regarding curtailment of the financial autonomy of the CIC, by saying that after the retirement of the former Chief Information Commissioner, the secretary of the CIC took over the financial responsibilities of running the Commission and it was only “a matter of technicality” before these functional powers were restored to him as the new appointee to the post.

UPSC allows blind candidates to use scribes (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

World takes to mat, bend, twist to mark Yoga Day

  • Thousands of yoga enthusiasts across the world took to mats and stretched, bent and twisted their bodies in multiple complex postures as they marked the inaugural International Day of Yoga, celebrating the ancient Indian spiritual practice.

  • More than a thousand people took part in several events across Australia to mark the day, with Prime Minister Tony Abott appreciating Yoga’s universal appeal.

  • “For thousands of years, yoga has provided its followers with a guide to bringing their mind, body and spirit into balance,” Mr. Abott said.

  • Melbourne saw over 500 people gathered at the Springers Leisure Centre to kick off the day with ‘Surya Namaskar’ and bending and twisting their bodies in complex postures.

  • Several MPs including Victoria’s speaker Telmo Languiller, Inga Peulich, Anthony Byrne attended the ceremony by lighting the lamp in the presence of Indian consul-general in Melbourne Manika Jain.

  • Yoga events were also held at Sydney’s popular Bondi beach and in the Australian capital Canberra.

  • In the U.K., hundreds gathered across cities to celebrate the day with the main event on the bank of the river Thames in London. It was held at Bernie-Spain Garden, on the South Bank of Thames.

  • British Prime Minister David Cameron said in his message: “The UK is pleased to support International Yoga Day. We were one of 177 countries to vote in favour of Prime Minister Modi’s proposal and we are pleased to see the enthusiasm with which it is being embraced, both in UK and around the world.”

  • In China, events were organised at the prestigious Peking University and Geely University. People from different walks of life took part in the exercise.

  • About a week ahead of the International Yoga Day, the India-China Yoga college was inaugurated at Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, the first such college in the country.

  • U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his excitement at the first International Day of Yoga during his meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New York, saying the day has garnered “unprecedented” enthusiasm around the world.

  • More than 4,000 people participated in a two-hour programme held at 50 centres across Singapore. The event was led by High Commissioner Vijay Thakur Singh and Singapore’s Minister in The Prime Minister’s Office, Grace Fu.

  • “We have an overwhelming response to the first International Yoga day in Singapore — people from diplomatic corps, business executives and Singaporeans from all walks of life participated,” Mr. Singh said.

  • In Thailand, an open field at a Bangkok university was turned into a “yoga studio” as thousands of Thais, Indians and other expatriates gathered to celebrate the day.

  • More than 7,400 people were on the grounds at Chulalongkorn University to participate in the event organised by the Indian Embassy.

  • Yoga experts from India gave a demonstration followed by common Yoga Protocol to all participants for 33 minutes.

  • Similar events were also held at Chiangmai, Phuket and Pattaya.

  • “The whole event was superb, the participation was extraordinary from schools and universities in Thailand,” India’s Ambassador to Thailand Harsh Vardan Shringla said.

  • Thailand’s minister of tourism and sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul was the chief guest at the event attended by ambassadors, representatives from the UN and Indian associations.

  • In Vietnam, hundreds took part in the celebrations at Hanoi’s Quan Ngua Sports Palace, and in Ho Chi Minh city and seven other provinces.

  • “The response was amazing, way beyond our expectations,” Preeti Saran, India’s ambassador to Vietnam said.

  • In Hanoi, at least 4,000 spectators watched 800 people perform yoga asanas. In Ho Chi Minh, there was a turnout of 3,000 people who watched 500 people do yoga.

  • The International Day for Yoga was also held across Japan.

  • India’s Ambassador to Japan Deepa Wadhwa said Tokyo itself had several events on the Yoga Day.

  • Wadhwa flagged off at the premises of a Japanese school where around 500 yoga enthusiasts were attending.

  • A similar event was held in Paris, where people dressed in white sat on mats under the Eiffel Tower and practiced yoga.

  • Other ASEAN nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, also joined the world in celebrating the ancient Indian spiritual practice.

  • June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the UN General Assembly in December, 2014.

  • 177 nations, out of 193 member states of the UN joined as co-sponsors, creating a new record for the highest number of co-sponsoring countries ever for an UNGA Resolution of such nature.

:: Business and Economy ::

Jaitley discusses Bilateral Investment Treaty with top US officials

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met top US officials here and raised India’s concerns over key bilateral issues, including totalisation agreement and the proposed Bilateral Investment Treaty.
  • In a series of meetings with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and US Trade Representative Mike Froman, Jaitley discussed bilateral issues of mutual interests and concerns.
  • Mr. Jaitley who is on a nine-day US tour and is currently is in Washington also flagged off some of the important issues for India, including the totalisation agreement.
  • The totalisation agreement aims to protect interests of professionals of Indian-origin who contribute more than $ 1 billion each year to the US social security.
  • “We had our own concerns with regard to the totalisation agreement so that our professionals could get the benefit which are otherwise being denied to them,” Mr. Jaitley said. India has signed BIPPAs with over 80 countries. However, it has put a freeze on these agreements following a spate of suits from telecom companies.

U.K. Unions’ decision recognises shortfall in pension fund: Tata (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Chengdu is India’s gateway to western China (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Science and Technology ::

Online sale of medicine need a dose of regulation

  • The advent and proliferation of on-line sale of medicines on e-commerce platforms no doubt buttress the government’s case of ‘access to all’ but the recent case of prescription drugs being sold online has alerted authorities to extent and dangers of this unregulated practice.

  • As such, selling medicines online is prevalent in developed markets and its mushrooming in India is a consequence of the booming e-commerce segment in India. But, clearly selling over-the-counter (OTC) medicines online, which is permissible, is quite different from selling prescription drugs online where the attendant dangers of abuse are high.

  • “A prescription issued by a doctor cannot be re-used randomly. There is a danger that scheduled drugs can be re-ordered and misused by the consumer,’’ Jayesh Lele, President, Indian Medical Association (IMA), a body representing over 2.50 lakh medical practitioners across the country, said.

  • “Besides, there are several `do’s and don’ts’ with regard to storage and dispensing of prescription medications that need to be adhered to,’’ he added.

  • According to Mr. Lele, self-medication is a rampant practice in India, and online sale of drugs would only encourage it. “Indiscriminate use leads to patient resistance which is very dangerous as has been the case with tuberculosis drugs.’’

  • After a brief lull, the Rs.85,000-crore pharmaceutical industry in India is back to growth in 2014, notching up 12 per cent growth, S.V. Veeramani, President, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), said. “With double-digit growth back, the fledgling on-line medicine segment is also booming and there is a much needed regulation of this new practice.’’

  • There has been a call for regulation because the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Act does not have any guidelines in place for e-commerce players in the pharmaceutical industry. However, it is very clear that ‘scheduled’ drugs should be sold only by licensed pharmacies against a doctor’s prescription.

  • The authorities have responded with alacrity to the situation, and last week, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) pointed out the need to have in place a regulatory framework to bring online medicine sale under its ambit. Industry body FICCI has been appointed as the nodal agency by the DCGI to consolidate the guidelines, and it will seek the views of representative bodies such as AIOCD, IMA, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and others.

  • The interest of small retailers would be protected and existing supply chains would not be adversely impacted by e-pharmacies, the DCGI said adding that the aim was to integrate e-pharmacy into the existing system.

  • While supporting the need for an unambiguous regulatory framework, Mr. Shinde felt existing brick-and-mortar pharmaceutical retailers were prepared as retailers were embracing new technology and “even deliver drugs home in the case of aged patients. But this is all only within the law and prescriptions for scheduled drugs are non-negotiable,’’ he said. “We want a level playing field.’’

:: Sports ::

Serbia stuns Brazil to win U-20 WC

  • Nemanja Maksimovic scored a 118th minute goal on the counter attack to give Serbia a 2-1 victory over Brazil in extra time in the under-20 World Cup final at North Harbour Stadium.
  • The game had been locked at 1-1 at regulation time after Stanisa Mandic had given the Serbs hopes of their first title as an independent nation with 20 minutes remaining but Andreas Pereira equalised three minutes later.

Pakistan wins first test against Sri Lanka

  • Pakistan won the first test against Sri Lanka by ten wickets in Galle.
  • Set a target of 90, Pakistan knocked off the runs in 11.2 overs.
  • Sri Lanka were bowled out for 206 runs in their second innings just before tea on day five.
  • Pakistan require 90 runs to go one up in the series.

Sri Lanka first innings - 300 (Kaushal Silva 125, Kumar Sangakkara 50, Zulfiqar Babar 64/3)

Pakistan first innings - 417 (Asad Shafiq 131, Sarfraz Ahmed 96, Sulfiqar Babar 56; Dilruwan Perera 122/4)

Sri Lanka second innings - 144/4 (Dimuth Karunaratne 63 not out; Wahad Riaz 34/2)

Click Here to Register for Full News

Click Here for Archive

Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

This is a Part of Online Coaching Programme for IAS Exam