Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 March 2015

:: National ::

Rajasthan passes bill on eligibility for panchayat polls

Rajasthan became the first State in the country to fix a minimum educational qualification for contesting elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
The Assembly passed the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (amendment) Bill, 2015, which makes Class VIII pass mandatory for the post of sarpanch — except in tribal reserved areas, where the minimum qualification is Class V — and Class X for Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections.
The amendments to Section 19 of the Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 also make a functional toilet mandatory in the house of a contestant.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said resistance to the law was not justified because the Opposition party had failed to provide even basic education to the people in its more than 60 years in power. Making toilets mandatory had given a push to the cleanliness drive.
The government had promulgated an ordinance specifying educational qualification for contestants on December 20, just before the panchayat elections were announced.
More than 200 cases have been filed against winners, accusing them of producing fake mark sheets to fulfil the eligibility criteria.
The ordinance has been challenged in court by social activists and political parties. The next hearing is scheduled for April 15.

Church concerned over judicial meet on Good Friday

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) expressed concern over reports that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) had convened a three-day meeting of all chief justices beginning on April 3, which is Good Friday.
In a letter to CJI H.L. Dattu, the CBCI urged him to take cognisance of the “legitimate” feelings of Christians and “adopt appropriate measures to reassure us that our legitimate religious sentiments be honoured and the sacrosanct character of Good Friday and Christmas Day will be upheld.”
Conceding that the number of people attending this annual meeting of the Chief Justices of the High Courts is minimal, the CBCI maintained that “it shatters the centuries-old faith that the sacred days of all religions, especially those of the minorities, are also considered sacrosanct by our dear nation.”
The letter also recalls how the Modi Government’s decision to turn Christmas Day last year into Good Governance Day had caused concern and dismay among Christians. “Any move to minimise the importance of these dayshurts the feelings of Christians,” it added.

IAEA for more autonomy to India’s nuclear regulatory board

India has a “strong commitment to safety” but the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) needs more independence and separation from the government, the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said after completing a 12-day review of India’s nuclear safety standards.
The IAEA’s review report that was completed as its Director General Yukiya Amano visited Mumbai, Delhi and Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) also called for the Indian government to allow more on-site inspections at the nuclear power plants (NPPs) under international safeguards.
According to a release from the IAEA in Vienna, six preliminary suggestions were given at the end of the review which were accepted by the Indian agency.
The chairman of the AERB, S.S. Bajaj, was quoted as saying, “AERB is committed to pursuing the improvements suggested by the mission towards further strengthening the regulatory framework.”

Political leaders salute Vajpayee’s vision

The conferring of the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, on the veteran parliamentarian and former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saw leaders, cutting across political lines, greeting him on the occasion.
If Congress president Sonia Gandhi felicitated him, writing a letter in which she saluted his “broad and large-hearted vision,” “patriotism” and “eloquent oratory” that “always embraced the entire political spectrum and all sections of our society,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed made the journey to the national capital to be present on the occasion.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah congratulated Mr. Vajpayee.
Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar welcomed the award for Mr. Vajpayee.
Departing from protocol, President Pranab Mukherjee drove to Mr. Vajpayee’s Krishna Menon Marg residence to give away the award.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other Cabinet Ministers, besides RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat, Mr. Vajpayee’s foster daughter Namita Bhattacharjee and foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharjee. The ceremony was held away from media glare.
The citation highlighted Mr. Vajpayee’s efforts to improve relations with Pakistan. Mr. Vajpayee “represents a moderating influence against polemic by encouraging dialogue,” it said.

Govt. to go ahead with GST Bill

When the second half of the budget session begins on April 20, the Modi Government intends to go ahead with the Constitutional Amendment Bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
The government introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session.
For easing the conduct of business in India, the government will bring a Bill in the next session of Parliament to amend the Arbitration Act and laws pertaining to commercial matters, Union Law and Justice Minister D.V. Sadananada Gowda said here on Friday.
Mr. Gowda said the idea behind amending the laws was to facilitate ease of business for investors in the country. He said the amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 would provide for time-bound disposal of commercial matters.
Speaking at the inauguration of the national seminar on “Law and Good Governance” organised by Punjab University, the Union Minister said the government was already working on the amendments. “So far the commercial cases are not dealt exclusively in lower courts and High Courts, which delays the decisions,” he pointed out.
The proposed amendment is based on recommendations of the Law Commission’s 246th Report

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:: International :

Alps crash: Germanwings Airbus co-pilot hid ‘illness’ from the airline

The Germanwings co-pilot who flew his Airbus into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, hid a serious illness from the airline, prosecutors said amid reports he was severely depressed.
The black box voice recorder indicates that Andreas Lubitz (27) locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately sent Flight 4U 9525 crashing into a mountainside, French officials say, in what appears to have been a case of suicide and mass murder.
German prosecutors revealed on Friday that searches of Lubitz’s homes netted “medical documents that suggest an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment”, including “torn-up and current sick leave notes, among them one covering the day of the crash”. They did not specify the illness.
But Bild daily earlier reported that Lubitz sought psychiatric help for “a bout of serious depression” in 2009 and was still getting assistance from doctors, quoting documents from Germany’s air transport regulator.
The paper also cited security sources as saying that Lubitz and his girlfriend were having a “serious crisis in their relationship” that left him distraught.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said that Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, “for a certain period”, before restarting and qualifying for the Airbus A320 in 2013.
According to Bild , those setbacks were linked to “depression and anxiety attacks”.
Lubitz lived with his parents in his small home town of Montabaur in the Rhineland and kept an apartment in Duesseldorf, the city where his doomed plane was bound on Tuesday.
Duesseldorf prosecutors said the evidence found in the two homes “backs up the suspicion” that Lubitz “hid his illness from his employer and his colleagues”. They said they had not found a suicide note, confession or anything pointing to a “political or religious” motive but added it would take “several days” to evaluate the rest of what was collected.
The tragedy has already prompted a shake-up of safety rules, with several airlines, including German companies, announcing a new policy requiring there always be two people in the cockpit.
Meanwhile, the U.N. world aviation body stressed that all pilots must have regular mental and physical check-ups.

Aviation authority recommends ‘rule of two’

The European Aviation Safety Agency recommended that at least two people be present in the cockpit of planes at all times, following the apparently deliberate crashing of the Germanwings flight this week.
German and Austrian airlines earlier announced they would adopt the so-called “rule of two” which is already standard in the United States.
The moves came after initial investigations into the Germanwings crash indicated co-pilot Andreas Lubitz may have deliberately crashed the Airbus A320 into a mountain in France on Tuesday, killing all 150 people aboard, after locking the captain out of the cockpit.
“[The European Aviation Safety Agency] publishes today a temporary recommendation for airlines to ensure that at least two crew, including at least one qualified pilot, are in the flight crew compartment at all times of the flight,” the agency said on its website.
Strict procedures to securely lock cockpit doors have became standard since the September 11, 2001 attacks to prevent hijackers from taking control of civilian aircraft.
German aviation industry body BDL and the Transport Ministry agreed to the rule for Lufthansa, including its subsidiary Germanwings, as well as Air Berlin, Condor and TUIfly.
The move also affects two Austrian carriers — Austrian Airlines and Flyniki — subsidiaries of Lufthansa and Air Berlin respectively.
The measure will be put into place immediately, Austrian Transport Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Heigl said.
The EU said on Friday it is studying whether to change the rules after the Germanwings disaster. “We are waiting for the conclusions of the investigation under way and, if it’s necessary, the safety rules will be reviewed,” European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told a news conference.
Airlines that already adhere to a rule of two include Ireland’s Ryanair, Finland’s Finnair and Spanish carrier Iberia.
The Lufthansa Group also said it had created the new position of head of safety for the group, naming Werner Maas who would have “overarching responsibility to review and further develop flight safety procedures.”
French airline Corsair and British charter airline Thomson Airways said they would soon implement a mandatory two-person cockpit rule too.

Open to dialogue with U.S., says Assad

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad says he would be “open” to a dialogue with the United States, but that it must be “based on mutual respect.”
Mr. Assad made the remarks in an interview with Charlie Rose for CBS News’ 60 Minutes. A short excerpt of the interview was posted online.
In the clip, Mr. Assad said that, in principle, “every dialogue is a positive thing, and we are going to be open to any dialogue with anyone, including the United States.” He said there is no direct communication so far with Washington.
Mr. Assad’s comments come after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier this month that the U.S. must eventually talk with the Syrian government to help broker an end to the country’s civil war.
The Obama administration later reiterated its position that Assad has no future role in Syria.
In a separate interview with a group of Russian journalists, Mr. Assad lauded a Russian initiative to nurture talks between Syrian government representatives and the opposition in Moscow.

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:: Business and Economy ::

BSE to delist Ranbaxy

The BSE has decided to delist Ranbaxy scrip from S&P BSE 100, S&P BSE 200, S&P BSE 500, S&P BSE Healthcare and S&P BSE Carbonex indices from April 6.
After Ranbaxy’s merger with Sun Pharma, the scrip will be discontinued from trading on the bourses, while Ranbaxy shareholders will receive 0.8 share of Sun Pharma for each share of Ranbaxy, the BSE said in a statement .

Fortis sells Singapore hospital

Fortis Healthcare sold its Singapore hospital to Concord Medical Services (International) Pte Ltd for S$55 million (approx Rs.251 crore) in line with strategy to focus on the domestic market.
“The Board of Fortis Healthcare International decided to disinvest 100 per cent shareholding in Fortis Healthcare Singapore Pte Ltd to Concord Medical Services for a consideration of S$55 million,” Fortis said in a BSE filing.
The deal is expected to be completed by April 6, the filing added.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Now, an app to lodge your complaints

In a bid to bridge the gap between people and police, and to encourage people to lodge their complaints confidentially, the Udupi district police launched an app, “Suraksha Police”.
The app is available on Android mobile phones. The app has a secured log-in.
Without the log-in, the user cannot use the app or its features. The number of the mobile phone is verified while registering and when logged in.
The app also has a complaint tracker, where the user can track only his complaints.
The user would get to know the status of the complaint through the app. The users will also get a notification in case of any police announcements.
The significance of this app is that all the complaints would be kept confidential. People can directly post their complaints to the
Addressing presspersons after launching the app, K. Annamalai, Superintendent of Police, said that the police had taken this initiative because many a time, people feared approaching the police for any help. This app would break the barrier.
“People can download it and actively participate by sending their complaints directly to me. All the complaints posted in the app will be kept confidential.
Enquiry would be conducted and results of it would be communicated to the complainants directly. We will try to solve the complaint in a day,” he said.
Mr. Annamalai said that the police launched this app because most people now had mobile phones. Hence, this would be effective.
Some students in Manipal had said that though they wanted to lodge a police complaint, they could not miss their classes. This app would help the student community also.
“A verification code will be sent as soon as any user lodges a complaint to avoid fake complaints. You can give text complaints or images and text together. This will help as 90 per cent of offences are minor in nature,” he said.

Fourth navigation satellite launch

The ISRO will launch the IRNSS 1-D satellite through the PSLV C-27 (XL) vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, helping India begin the operation of an indigenous regional navigation satellite system.
“With the functioning of IRNSS 1-D in orbit, proof-of-concept of an independent regional navigation satellite system over India can be established,” the ISRO said.
The 1,425-kg IRNSS is the fourth in a series of seven satellites that, along with ground stations, form the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
The IRNSS 1-D launch, scheduled for 5.19 p.m., will help the country begin operations partially, and the system will become efficient once all seven satellites are positioned in space, an ISRO official said.
A common service and restricted service will be provided after the seventh satellite is launched. Though the navigation system is indigenous, it cannot be compared with the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), since the IRNSS will cover areas only in South Asia.
“The countdown is proceeding smoothly, and the vehicle is ready at the second launch pad,” the official said.

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:: Sports ::

Umpires for World Cup final

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena and England’s Richard Kettleborough will be the on-field umpires for World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne, the International Cricket Council said.
Marais Erasmus of South Africa will be the television umpire, with Sri Lanka’s Ranjan Madugalle the match referee.
England’s Ian Gould, who stood in the first semifinal between New Zealand and Pakistan, will be the reserve official for the final.

Vinod Sridhar triumphs

Top seed Vinod Sridhar thrashed Assam’s Borthakur Abhinansu to clinch the men’s singles title in the all-India national-ranking tennis tournament.
The 36-year-old from Chennai took 75 minutes to oust his rival in a lop-sided contest.
The doubles summit clash saw Madhya Pradesh’s Aditya Tiwari and Gujarat’s Jay Soni outplay the Maharashtra duo of Sahil Gaware and Kunal Vazirani in 80 minutes.
Sridhar won a prize money of Rs. 13,000 and added 20 points to his rating, while Abhinansu took home Rs. 9,000 and pocketed 15 points.
The doubles winners won Rs. 6,300 and garnered 15 points each, while the runner-up earned Rs. 3,300 and 12 points.