Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 5 May 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 May 2015

:: National ::

Rajnath promises rethink on AFSPA in Arunachal

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured a delegation of the All-Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union that his Ministry would look into the demand for lifting the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the State.
The Home Ministry, through a March 27 notification, ordered that the AFSPA be extended to all the districts of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam, triggering strong opposition from the State government. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki also took up the matter with Mr. Singh, urging him to withdraw the order.
Mr. Singh told the delegation that the notification on the extension of the AFSPA to nine districts, other than Tirap, Changlang and Longding, was kept in abeyance. He said he would discuss the issue with Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to arrive at a decision.
Mr. Rijiju recently said he had asked Home Ministry officials to review the AFSPA extension in coordination with the State government.

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:: International :

Sri Lanka must have a new Constitution: expert

Jayampathy Wickramaratne, the leader of a three-member team that prepared the 19th Constitutional Amendment in Sri Lanka, called for a new Constitution which will include a fresh Bill of Rights and address the issues of devolution of powers to provincial councils and power sharing at the Centre.
Pointing out that the 19th Amendment did not cover the issues of devolution and power sharing, the expert told that “ideally speaking, we should have a brand new Constitution. We cannot go on with this Constitution. It has been amended so many times.”
The proposed Bill of Rights, which would be a “great improvement” over Fundamental Rights of the existing Constitution, would not only have civil and political rights but also social, economic and cultural rights.
Arguing for stronger Provincial Councils and power sharing at the Centre, Dr. Wickramaratne said Provinces and various communities should share power at the Centre and this should be done “to strengthen the Centre without weakening the periphery.”
On the relevance of the 13th Constitutional Amendment which was enacted subsequent to the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987, the expert said that despite the Amendment having “lacunae,” it should be implemented fully and for the time being.
“It permits the Centre to take back powers. Every comma and full stop in the 13th Amendment has been used by those who are against devolution to take back powers.”

France signs Rafale deal with Qatar

French President Francois Hollande sought to boost ties in the Gulf as he oversaw the signing of a warplanes deal with Qatar and headed to Saudi Arabia for a summit.
Mr. Hollande was to be the first Western head of state to attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) during the meeting in Riyadh.
The summit comes at a crucial time for the six-nation GCC, with a Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels in Yemen, concerns over the rise of Islamist militants and regional worries over a potential final nuclear deal with Iran.
With Mr. Hollande in attendance, the CEO of French aerospace firm Dassault, Eric Trappier, signed the €6.3-billion ($7-billion) deal with Qatari defence officials in Doha.
The agreement includes an order for 24 Rafale fighter jets, with an option on a further 12.
Having struggled for years to sell any Rafales abroad, Dassault has recently scored several lucrative high-profile contracts with Egypt, India, and now Qatar.

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:: Business and Economy ::

e-commerce space set for consolidation

The over $6-billion e-commerce market in India will see IPOs gaining traction, preferably in the U.S., as well as see several consolidation moves in the next 2-3 years, experts said.
Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) funds turned towards the Indian market around 2008-09 after the sub-prime crisis hit the U.S. and the debt problems in Europe.
These funds started investing in the nascent online shopping market, where they expected huge returns in the medium-to-long term, they added.
The PE and VC funds usually have investment commitments in the range of 6-10 years, after which they have to return the amount with assured benefits to their Limited Partners (LPs). The funding varies on company-specific circumstances as well as market conditions.
Considering the investment cycle in India, these funds could look for a closure in 2016-18, experts said.
However, the investment scene is certainly not drying up as the e-commerce market is attracting huge attention from investors globally and there will be more funds and companies coming into the country to invest in this space, they noted.
“When investors put in money, they also have a commitment that is generally around 7-8 years after which they have to return it to their LPs.
Considering many funds invested around 2010, we will see either these e-commerce firms going for IPOs or we will see consolidations to shore up value,” Aristotle Consultancy Director Deepak Dhamija told PTI.
An investment banker, who did not wish to be named, said these funds now are also selling or in the process of selling some of their stake to other funds.
India Venture Capitalist Association President Arvind Mathur said: “New funds will most likely enter the market, given the strong potential for e-Commerce in India.”

:: Sports ::

West Indies levels series with a five-wicket victory

West Indies defied the odds and a wearing pitch to complete a series-levelling five-wicket victory over England on the third day of the third and final Test.
Set a daunting target of 192 after the tourists were dismissed for 123 in their second innings, a 108-run fifth-wicket partnership between Darren Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood tilted the match decisively the Caribbean way.
That allowed them to celebrate their first victory over England since the opening match of the 2009 series in Kingston, Jamaica.
Bravo’s controlled knock of 82, his 11th Test half-century, ended when he attempted to make the victory hit off Ben Stokes as Stuart Broad pulled down the catch at mid-off.
It was left to Blackwood to finish off the match in the next over, hoisting Moeen Ali’s off-spin over long-on to finish unbeaten on 47 and complete a team and personal triumph following his first innings top score of 85 out of a total of 189.
He was named man-of-the-match.
West Indies seemed on the verge of another capitulation when veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul played on to James Anderson without scoring to leave the home side uncomfortably placed at 80 for four just after tea.
Anderson took the man-of-the-series honours for his 17 wickets in the three matches, lifting his overall Test tally to 397.
England won the second Test in Grenada by nine wickets while the opening game of the three-match series in Antigua was drawn.