Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 March 2015

:: National ::

MCI mission: to bust ghost teachers

• The Medical Council of India (MCI) has sought the help of health universities and the State medical council, a statutory body, to put an end to the menace of “ghost teachers” in medical colleges.

• To overcome the shortage of the prescribed staff for getting MCI permission to admit students or to enhance student intake, some medical colleges resort to a trick: get retired teachers or those working in other medical colleges temporarily enrolled as their staff, particularly during the visit of MCI teams. And these teachers are known in medical college circles as “ghost teachers”.

• Although the MCI deals sternly with such practice, the menace continues to wreak havoc on the system.

• Medical colleges, particularly the new ones, find it difficult to get qualified teaching faculty as prescribed by the MCI due to two reasons: one, severe shortage of qualified teaching staff in the country and two, exorbitant remunerations demanded by those with the prescribed qualification.

• Hence, colleges employ “ghost teachers” on a temporary basis, especially during the visits of MCI teams, by paying them a fixed amount.

• Sources in the Karnataka State Medical Council confirmed the communication from the MCI in this connection.

• They said that it would be difficult for the council to keep a check on medical colleges employing “ghost teachers” and that the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health University, which has all the facilities, including human resources, was better placed to tackle the situation.

Delhi court acquits former SIMI chief

• A Delhi court acquitted the former chief of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Shahid Badar Falahi, of charges of promoting enmity between different groups and indulging in assertions prejudicial to national integration.

• The Delhi Police filed the case in 2001, months before the outfit was first banned by the Union government.

• Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal held that the prosecution had failed to connect the accused to the charges.

• The case was initially registered at the New Friends Colony police station against unknown persons in May 2001 for fixing a loudspeaker carrying photographs of three controversial religious sites on the wall of a Jamia Millia Islamia hostel building.

• It was transferred to the Special Cell after SIMI was banned on September 27 that year for alleged anti-national and subversive activities.

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CII commissions survey on gender diversity in India Inc (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Vikas Swarup is new MEA spokesperson (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International :

Maritime Silk Road to reset Beijing-Colombo ties

• Looking beyond the controversy on the Colombo port project, China and Sri Lanka have decided to carve a new strategic framework for their relationship defined by the Maritime Silk Road, and avoid a clash with India through a Beijing-Colombo-New Delhi trilateral partnership.

• Hosting visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at the Great Hall of the People, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sri Lanka was a strategic partner and Beijing wanted to “again promote and elevate the China-Sri Lanka relationship to fulfil an important purpose.”

• The Sri Lankan President told Mr. Xi that work on the stalled $1.4-billion Colombo Port City Project would resume after problems were “sorted out,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said.

New memorial at Khmer Rouge prison

• Cambodia unveiled a new memorial at a notorious Khmer Rouge prison to remember the thousands who were tortured and murdered there during the ruthless regime’s rule in the late 1970s.

• The $90,000 tribute, reminiscent of a Buddhist stupa and paid for by the German government, was unveiled in front of survivors of the Tuol Sleng prison in the capital Phnom Penh.

• “I am satisfied and can die peacefully after seeing this,” Chum Mey (85), one of a few prisoners who came out of the notorious camp alive told AFP after the ceremony.

• “It is important for all the victims who were imprisoned, tortured and killed here. I believe their souls will be happy with this memorial,” he added.

• The Khmer Rouge took a former high school and converted it into a prison after they seized power in 1975.

• The site, also known as S-21, has since been turned into a museum to the regime’s brutal massacres.

• Led by “Brother Number One” Pol Pot, who died in 1998 without ever facing justice, the Khmer Rouge dismantled modern society in Cambodia in their quest for an agrarian Marxist utopia in the 1970s, causing the deaths of up to two million people through starvation, overwork, torture or execution.

• The $90,000 tribute, reminiscent of a Buddhist stupa, was unveiled in front of survivors of the Tuol Sleng prison.

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Sri Lanka likely to have access to Asian infrastructure bank (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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:: Business and Economy ::

Sagar Mala will boost GDP by 2 per cent: Gadkari

• The Sagar Mala project, one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will lead to the creation of at least 12 smart cities and has the potential to raise India's GDP by two per cent, Union Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

• The project, which envisages port-led development of the nation, received the Union Cabinet's in-principle nod.

• “This alone will boost India's GDP by two per cent,” Mr. Gadkari told journalists, adding that he had urged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to grant infrastructure status to the domestic ship building industry.

• The 12 smart cities envisaged under the project would cost Rs. 12,000 crore each, he said.

CBDT makes public names of 18 tax defaulters

• Adopting an aggressive approach to increase tax collections, the Revenue Department, for the first time, publically named 18 tax defaulters, who owe over Rs.500 crore to the exchequer.

• Of the 18 defaulters mentioned in the list posted on the website of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, 11 are based in Gujarat.

• “This is the first time the department has put in public domain a list of those wilful tax defaulters who have a tax liability of Rs.10 crore and above,” a senior tax official said, adding that in many cases the assessees were not ‘traceable’.

• The companies in the list include Somani Cement with tax arrears of Rs.27.47 crore, Blue Information Technology (Rs.75.11 crore), Appletech Solutions (Rs.27.07 crore), Jupiter Business (Rs.21.31 crore) and Hirak Biotech (Rs.18.54 crore).

• The other Gujarat-based companies include Icon Bio Pharma & Healthcare (Rs.17.69 crore), Banyan & Berry Alloys (Rs.17.48 crore), Laxminarayan T Thakkar (Rs.12.49 crore), Virag Dyeing & Printing (Rs.18.57 crore), Poonam Industries (Rs.15.84 crore), Kunvar Ajay Food Pvt Ltd (Rs.15 crore).

• Besides, Jaipur-based Goldsukh Trade India (Rs.75.47 crore), Kolkata-based Victor Credit & Construction (Rs.13.81 crore) and Mumbai-based Noble Merchandise (Rs.11.93 cr) are also there in the list.

Bajaj launches super sports bike

• In a move that could grow the super sports bike segment, Bajaj Auto, launched its all new super sports bike, the Bajaj Pulsar RS 200.

• According to a company statement, the bike has a 4-valve Triple Spark DTSi 200cc engine with fuel injection and liquid cooling, 300 mm disc brakes (with ABS option) and a perimeter frame.

• It is priced at Rs.1.19 lakh, and Rs.1.30 lakh for the ABS (anti-lock braking system) version (prices ex-showroom Maharashtra), and is available at select company dealerships.

• The super sports segment accounts for less than one per cent of the motorcycle market, and Bajaj expects the new Pulsar to re-define and expand the segment.

• Launched in 2001, the Pulsar sells more than 55,000 units per month with a 43 per cent share in the sports bike segment.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Twitter launches app Periscope

• Twitter launched its streaming video application Periscope, a move that could dampen enthusiasm for the rising online star Meerkat, which offers a similar service.

• The Periscope app, like Meerkat, allows anyone to stream live video to a wide audience with their smartphone.

• The new app “lets you share and experience live video from your mobile phone’’ and is “a perfect complement to Twitter, which is why we acquired the company in January,” Twitter’s Kevin Weil said in a blog post.

• The Periscope team outlined a range of possibilities for the service, including how it can turn any smartphone user into a global reporter.

• “What if you could see through the eyes of a protester in Ukraine? Or watch the sunrise from a hot air balloon in Cappadocia?” the Periscope team blog said.

• “It may sound crazy, but we wanted to build the closest thing to teleportation. While there are many ways to discover events and places, we realised there is no better way to experience a place right now than through live video.”

• The team said it sees tremendous potential for the app, which is available to iPhone users with one for Android devices in the works.

• “Whether you’re witnessing your daughter’s first steps or a newsworthy event, Periscope offers an audience and the power of a shared experience,” the blog said.

• “Broadcasters on Periscope are directly connected to their audience, able to feel their presence and interact.”

• As Meerkat was becoming a craze at the South by Southwest festival, Twitter cut Meerkat’s access to some features, which could limit its ability to grow.

:: Sports ::

Australia brings India down, makes final

• India’s World Cup campaign juddered to a halt after a 95-run defeat to Australia in the semifinal.

• Steve Smith made a splendid century as Australia posted a massive 328 batting first. In response, India sank to 233 all out, done in by the pressure of a big chase and the home team’s excellent fast bowling.

• Australia will face New Zealand in the final in Melbourne. Smith, who flourished against India in the Test series, made an unruffled, classy 105, stitching a partnership of 182 runs for the second wicket with Aaron Finch.

• India’s fast bowlers, who played a vital role in its unbeaten run to the semifinals, proved expensive.

• Umesh Yadav took four important wickets, but he leaked 72 runs from nine overs. No team had made over 300 in a World Cup semifinal; India was always going to be running uphill.

• Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan made bright starts at the beginning of the run chase, but the openers, and Virat Kohli, fell in the space of some 30 minutes. M.S. Dhoni made a valiant 65, but the verdict had long been read.

• Although disappointed by its failure, India will not be ashamed. The team began the campaign amid low expectations after a poor series in Australia. Its turnaround was as swift as it was surprising.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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