Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 June 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 22 June 2015

:: National ::

‘Bt Cotton leading to suicides in rain-fed areas’

The cultivation of Bt Cotton, a genetically modified, insect-resistant cotton variety, is a risky affair for Indian farmers practising rain-fed agriculture, says a latest study published by California-based agricultural scientists in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe .
Annual suicide rates of farmers in rain-fed areas are directly related to increase in Bt Cotton adoption, say the scientists Andrew Paul Gutierrez, Luigi Ponti, Hans R. Herren, Johann Baumgartner and Peter E. Kenmore, who are associated with the University of California, Berkeley, and the Centre for the Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, California.
Revisiting the raw annual suicide data for Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra during 2001-2010, the authors found 86,607 of 549,414 suicides were by farmers, and 87 per cent were men with the numbers peaking in the 30-44 age group.
Total suicides per year per State were regressed singly on the averages of proportion of area seeded to rain-fed cotton, average farm size, cotton-growing area, area under Bt Cotton, proportion of area under Bt Cotton, and simulated average yield a hectare that includes the effects of weather.
Excluding the proportion of area seeded to rain-fed cotton, linear multiple regression shows suicides dec
The study is significant for two reasons. First, most cotton cultivation in India is rain-fed.
Second, between 2002 and 2010, the adoption of Bt Cotton hybrid went up significantly to 86 per cent of the total cultivated area of cotton in India, says the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications.
Though cultivating the Bt Cotton variety may be economic in irrigated areas, the costs of the seed and insecticide increase the risk of farmer bankruptcy in low-yield rain-fed settings.

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India & world

Chengdu is India’s gateway to western China

“Since the western region of China is developing very rapidly, our presence in this region will be helpful to develop relations between India and China in different areas, especially in trade and economy, culture and tourism,” says Ashok Kantha, India’s Ambassador to China.
Mr. Kantha made the observation in response to questions at the inaugural of a Yoga festival in the city, which signalled India’s intent to leverage culture and soft power to engage with the people of China. The event was held to coincide with the International Day of Yoga on Sunday.
The Ambassador pointed out that given Chengdu’s location as a link with western, central, north-western and south- western China, India has decided to open a consulate in the city.
“It will be our endeavour to operationalise this consulate within the year 2015,” he said. The Chinese are opening a consulate in Chennai, in order to deepen engagement along the Bay of Bengal coastline.
The city is a first rate financial centre and a globally connected logistical hub. Chengdu’s Shuangliu International Airport is the fourth busiest in China.
An intricate rail network not only links the landlocked city to China’s coastal pivots of Shanghai and Guangzhou but also to Central Asia and parts of Europe.
The first Chengdu-Europe international direct rail freight train started its Eurasian journey three years ago, routed through Poland.
Chengdu has also become the engine of China’s Western Development Programme — a strategic plan to develop inland China, following the dramatic success in building coastal China.

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:: Miscellaneous ::

Black money: India slips to 61st place on Swiss money list

India has moved down to 61st place in terms of foreigners' money in Swiss banks and it now accounts for a meagre 0.123 percent of the total global wealth worth USD 1.6 trillion in Switzerland's banking system.
While the UK and the US have retained their top two positions with the largest shares of the foreign clients' money with Swiss banks, Pakistan has inched up to 73rd place.
Interestingly, just two big banks -- UBS and Credit Suisse -- account for nearly two-third of the total money kept by foreigners in Swiss banks, while their share in case of Indians is even higher at about 82 per cent.
As per the latest data released by Switzerland's central banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank),
Indians' money in Swiss banks declined by over 10 per cent to about 1.8 billion Swiss francs (USD 1.98 billion or Rs 12,615 crore) in 2014.
This accounts for just 0.123 per cent of the total funds kept in the Swiss banks by people from across the world.
This is the second lowest level of Indian money in Swiss banks -- after an increase of over 40 per cent in 2013 -- and the latest data comes amid an enhanced clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of Switzerland's banking system.
At the end of 2014, there were 275 banks in Switzerland, but only two -- UBS and Credit Suisse -- were classified as 'big banks' by Zurich-based SNB at that time. There are also many foreign-controlled banks operating in the country.
The UK alone accounts for 22 per cent of total global funds in Swiss banks. Just four top nations together account for over half of all foreigners' wealth in Swiss banks, which rose to 1.47 trillion Swiss franc (about Rs 102 lakh crore or USD 1.6 trillion) in 2014.
There are only 19 countries with share of over 1 per cent each and they together command more than 80 per cent of funds. The remaining 20 per cent is divided among close to 200 other countries.