Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 4 April 2015

:: National ::

India hails Iran nuclear agreement

• India hailed the agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group — U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany — on Tehran’s nuclear programme, calling it a “significant step” towards a comprehensive settlement.

• A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, after the agreement was announced in the Swiss town of Lausanne said: “The announcement underlines the success of diplomacy and dialogue, which India has always supported.”

• After several delays and an extended deadline, the Foreign Ministers of all the countries involved in what are called the E3+3 (Europe 3+3 or P5+1 of the Security Council and Germany) group and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announced that they had a “framework agreement” to take forward their twin objectives of reducing Iran’s nuclear capabilities for civilian use only, while lifting financial sanctions imposed by the U.N., the European Union and the United States.

• According to the draft agreement released by U.S. officials, Iran will reduce the number of installed centrifuges by two-thirds, bring uranium stocks down from 10,000 kg to 300 kg LEU (low-enriched uranium) and turn its nuclear facility in Fordow into an R&D facility for 15 years. All the excess stockpile and nuclear parts will be kept at an IAEA-monitored location, while the U.N., the U.S. and the EU will withdraw all sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy for years.

• Indian officials were cautious about the completion of the final agreement, but say once the deal is finalised, India could stand to benefit greatly. “If there is a significant withdrawal of sanctions, that would benefit our economic engagement greatly as even the most normal transactions had become very tedious for Indian businesses. From insurance to raising capital, every deal faced international hurdles,” a senior official told.

• India and Iran have an annual bilateral trade of about $14 billion, with an extremely high balance of trade problem, as India has been unable to pay Iran about $8.8 billion for oil due to sanctions, according to Commerce Ministry figures.

• The government has also had to bow to U.S. and international pressure on cutting its oil imports from Iran, and in March 2015 halted oil imports altogether for the first time in more than a decade in order to keep its international commitments.

• Some are also warning that the Lausanne agreement could face a strain if the U.S. and the Iranian governments come under pressure from their hardline domestic constituencies in the months ahead. “Both sides are trying to play this as a great win for domestic reasons, and say that they have taken the other side for a ride,” explained former Indian Ambassador to Iran K.C. Singh. “With both President Rouhani and President Obama in weakened political positions at home, neither can afford to be seen as a loser from the agreement,” he told.

• If the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement is finalised as hoped, opinion is divided over how much India will benefit. While economists are predicting India-Iran trade could double, given old business ties between the two countries, officials concede that once sanctions are lifted on Iran, India would also have to compete with the U.S. and European suppliers for the “prosperous middle-class market” that Iran represents.

• In the short run, the big advantage for India could be a further reduction in the price of oil that India used to source at a much higher quantity pre-2012, when Iran was India’s second biggest supplier.

Gujarat leads in Swachh Bharat implementation

• Gujarat stands tops the list of States in the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission, while Odisha has excelled in the construction of community toilets, according to an assessment by the Union Urban Development Ministry for 2014-15.

• Gujarat accounted for 60 per cent of the 2,70,069 household toilets constructed during the last financial year under the mission. Madhya Pradesh constructed 99,151 household toilets, followed by Karnataka with 4,697.

• Odisha was ahead in the construction of community toilet seats, accounting for 740 of the 1,222 seats built during 2014-15. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 200 and Karnataka 100.

• Gujarat also took the lead in solid waste management, the third component of the mission, reporting 100 per cent collection and transport of municipal solid waste in 120 of the 195 towns in the State. Odisha did well, with 100 per cent solid waste management of 107 towns and Karnataka with 40 towns.

• Swachh Bharat, launched on October 2 last, is aimed at ensuring cleanliness in all 4,041 statutory cities and towns of the country by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

• The five-year mission will be implemented at a cost of Rs. 62,009 crore, with a plan to build 1.04 crore household toilets, 2.51 lakh community toilet seats and 2.55 lakh public toilet seats, besides helping 37 crore urban people in solid waste management.

• “During 2014-15, Rs. 900 crore has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Urban Development and Rs. 700 crore has been released to the States and the Union Territories based on proposals received under the mission. The implementation of the mission is expected to pick up momentum from the current financial year,” said an official.

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:: International :

India advises Nepal to reach compromise on Constitution

• In his meetings with Nepal’s political leadership here in the past two days, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar conveyed New Delhi’s desire to see political stability in Nepal so that the country can move ahead on development.

• For this, India wanted the leadership to narrow down its differences over the new Constitution and draft it quickly. “India wants Nepal’s political leadership to write the Constitution with the broadest possible compromise,” Mr. Jaishankar said in his meeting with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar, according to a Nepalese official who was present during the discussion.

• “We would like to see the Constitution promulgated under your leadership.”

• Mr. Koirala said Nepal supported India’s candidature for the permanent membership of the United Nation Security Council. Mr. Jaishankar had sought Nepal’s support.

• Mr. Koirala, according to a statement issued by his press coordinator, said bilateral relations had become more cordial after the agreements signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

Attacks on bloggers rattle Bangladesh

• Alleged operatives of radical Islamists killed a second online activist and blogger within a month in Dhaka, inflicting a fresh blow to the nation’s culture of tolerance and free thinking.

• In the latest murder of Oyasiqur Rahman Babu (27), the killers had trained well before setting off on their mission, and the investigators found evidence of sound coordination by the killers who earlier hacked to death well-known Bangladeshi-U.S. free thinker and blogger Avijit Roy.

• Almost unknown, Babu was murdered in broad daylight on March 30. He wrote against religious bigotry and fanaticism on Facebook.

• Investigators said the young man was murdered by a “buffer cell” of fanatics and had been planned at least 15 days prior to the execution.

• A fanatic group, Ansarullah Bangla Team, had used similar buffers, that they call “sleeper cell”, as they had for murdering Avijit Roy on February 26.

• The chief of Ansarullah Bangla Team, Jasimuddin Rahmani, is being tried for his suspected role in the murder of Ahmed Rajib Hider, another blogger.

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:: Business and Economy:

New trade policy may erode competitiveness of Indian teas further, fears industry

• The competitiveness of Indian teas in international markets may be eroded further by the recent reduction in export benefits to the sector under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), industry fears.

• The Indian Tea Association (ITA), which represents the interests of tea-producers and a significant segment of direct-exporters, has sought a review of the rates announced for the industry in the new trade policy, which, in effect, has reduced the rates from five to three per cent on bulk teas, which constitute around 90 per cent of total Indian tea exports.

• Tea had been earlier included in the Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana (VKGUY). Under this scheme, teas both bulk and value-added tears are eligible for incentive in the form of Duty Credit Scrip at five per cent of the FOB value of exports.

• The ITA had also been associated in the preparation of a medium-term tea export 2015–25, one of the pillars of which was enhanced benefit for tea exports. The ITA’s recommendations had been to enhance the benefit from 5 to 7 per cent.

• Indian tea exports continue to be under severe strain with the Tea Board of India’s latest data for April-January of 2014-15 recording a decline of nearly 28 million kg over the corresponding period of 2013-14.

• This decline has largely been in the wake of increased competition from lower cost tea producers such as East African countries, according to the ITA.

• “The industry felt let down by the policy which speaks of higher MEIS benefits for plantations (tea, coffee, spice, cashew) — where women constitute over 50 per cent of the total workforce.

• In this backdrop, the reduction in the MEIS rate for bulk tea is particularly disappointing,” the ITA said in a statement.

180 NSE firms fail to comply with SEBI norms

• As many as 180 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange have not inducted a woman director so far as required by the Companies Act and officials expect the market regulator to come out with its views and penalties for non-compliance.

• The deadline for induction of woman director expired on March 31.

• “At least 180 companies out of 1,456 National Stock Exchange listed companies that have to comply with the rule of having a woman director have failed to fulfil the requirement,” Pranav Haldea, managing director, Prime Database told.

• “Perhaps next week, the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) shall come out with its order on companies that have not complied with the woman director norm,” he said.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Myntra to focus on 3D technology

• In a move to enhance the customer experience on its mobile platform, fashion e-tailer Myntra is planning to focus more on 3D technology, print technology, image recognition and localisation.

• The company is also looking at making three acquisitions in the field of 3D technology this year. According to a source, it is in the final stage of discussion and expects to close one deal by next month.

• “Many of the technologies that were considered remote are becoming imminent. 3D visualisation, printing, image recognition, virtual reality and the like are getting closer. In the immediate future, they will become a big part of the shopping experience. We have to prepare for that, and are investing deeply in technologies like this,” said Myntra Chief Product and Technology Officer Shamik Sharma.

• Apart from acquisition, Myntra has developed technologies related to 3D and imaging, and are conducting internal demos on the technology. The company is also planning to shut its desktop and mobile websites to focus more on the mobile app version.

• “A major portion of our revenue today comes from mobile devices. The mobile transaction was 15 per cent last year, and has grown to 70 per cent in 12 months. We expect the same to touch around 90 per cent soon,” added Mr. Sharma.

• “We are directing our users to download mobile application, and as the user base from mobile reaches close to 100 per cent, we will shut the desktop and mobile website. The time period for the same has not yet decided,” he added.

:: Sports ::

Kamal’s resignation will not hurt cricketing ties: BCB chief

• Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has said that he does not think Mustafa Kamal’s resignation from the International Cricket Council president position would affect cricketing ties with India.

• Speaking to journalists, Mr. Hassan said Mr. Kamal’s resignation was ‘unfortunate’ and that it would have been better had it not happened.

• Ruling out any possibility of weakening cricket ties with India, Mr. Hassan said: “I can’t find any reason … We are not complaining against any specific country…We have spoken about umpiring. We stressed why technology was not used when it was readily available.”

• Echoing massive emotions of cricket fans at home, Mr. Kamal, a former BCB president and now a minister, was quite critical of ‘controversial’ umpiring decisions in the Bangladesh-India match at the Melbourne on March 19, and said he would step down as president, if needed, on protest.

• His remarks followed a massive spat between Mr. Kamal and ICC Chairman N. Srinivasan, who finally presented the World Cup to winners Australia.

• Normally, ICC presidents hand trophies to winners, but Mr. Srinivasan used Mr. Kamal’s outspoken stand over “poor umpiring” to sideline him from final handing over trophy to the victors.

• This added a fuel to the fire and Mr. Kamal, on returning from Australia, announced his resignation, levelling allegations of personal nature against Mr. Srinivasan terming him a “controversial” person at home.

• Earlier, the BCB chief told the local media that the ICC would “investigate and analyse” the quarterfinal match between Bangladesh and India which ended the Tigers’ most successful ever World Cup campaign.

Saina eclipses Sun

• Newly-crowned world No. 1 Saina Nehwal edged out China’s Sun Yu to reach the women’s singles semifinals of the $500,000 Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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