Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 9 May 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 09 May 2015

:: National ::

Every household to pay environmental compensation, says green tribunal

In a culture to pollute environment and blame civic bodies for not doing their bit, the National Green Tribunal reminded denizens of Delhi of their fundamental duty towards protecting and cleaning environment as it announced that every household, including unauthorised, will have to pay a monthly environmental compensation for “Maily se Nirmal Yamuna”.
That is not all. The NGT extended its order of a fine of Rs 5,000 on throwing waste in the Yamuna to the smallest act of throwing municipal solid waste in any drain.
The compensation to be paid would be directly proportional to the property tax or water bill, whichever is higher, payable by a particular household as every house generates waste which finally reaches the Yamuna which has now been reduced to a “stinking drain of effluents and sewage”.
Where the household or person is not paying property tax and water bill or is living in unauthorised colonies, Rs 100 or Rs 500 per month would be levied as compensation.
DDA has nearly 281 unauthorised colonies and 10.80 lakhs residential flats in various parts of Delhi.
The ‘environmental compensation’ will be added to electricity bills which the power suppliers will deposit with the Delhi government. The DJB has said Rs 3,659 crore is required towards ensuring clean Yamuna.
“We direct NCT of Delhi, Delhi Jal Board and all Municipal Corporations, Cantonment Board, electricity companies like BSES and all other civic authorities to require payment of environmental compensation from every house hold which is generating sewage in the entire NCT of Delhi on the Polluters Pay Principle. It will be irrespective of whether a house hold is sewered or not. This would be equally applicable to the household located in the unauthorised colonies,” said a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar.
The Bench ordered that where the household or person is not paying water bill, property tax and are located in unauthorised colonies, a sum of Rs 100 or Rs 500 per month, as the case may be, would be payable. This amount would be determined by the concerned authority with reference to the construction existing on the plot.
Manoj Misra of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, on whose petition the order has been passed, said: “This kind of revenue-generation module would be very helpful where people of Delhi can feel involved in the implementation of the landmark judgment of the NGT announcing ''Maily se Nirmal Yamuna revitalization plan, 2017. This was something long overdue.”
Ritesh Jain, an accountant living in south Delhi said “It is a great way to make people realise their duties but might come as a burden on many.”

HC suspends Salman’s sentence, grants bail

In a big relief to Salman Khan, the Bombay High Court suspended his sentence and granted him bail till his appeal is decided. By evening, the actor was released on his executing a cash bail bond of Rs. 30,000.
His release comes two days after the sessions court sentenced him to five-year rigorous imprisonment in the 2002 hit-and-run case on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was granted interim bail thereafter for two days.
“It is the normal rule that if the sentence is below seven years, it can be suspended after the appeal is admitted,” said Justice Abhay Thipsay, admitting Mr. Khan’s appeal.
“The sentence has to be suspended. We can’t take pleasure in seeing somebody [incarcerated] till his appeal is decided. Even on the basis that he was driving, it is a case for suspension of sentence. This is not a case where in spite of the admission of the appeal, the appellant [Salman] should be kept in detention till the appeal is decided. It would be proper to suspend the sentence during the pendency of the appeal.”
The High Court noted that Mr. Khan was on bail throughout the course of the trial. “His liberty was not disturbed. It is nobody’s case that he is likely to abscond.”
As per the High Court’s directions, Mr. Khan surrendered before the sessions court in the afternoon. In addition to the bail bond, he has to furnish a personal surety within two weeks. His passport has already been surrendered to the police. However, he can apply for permission before the High Court to travel abroad.
Justice Thipsay rejected Prosecutor Sandeep Shinde’s argument that the actor’s social status was important. The court remarked it was unfortunate that people who did not have the resources had to be in detention till their appeals were decided.
The judge observed that several “arguable points” raised by the defence in their appeal challenging the trial court’s order needed consideration. One of them was whether section 304A (death by negligence) or 304 II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code could be applied in the case.
Justice Thipsay posted the appeal for final hearing to July. On June 15 the court will issue directions on the appeal.

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:: International ::

Miliband steps down after ‘humiliation’

Despite hopes that the public had warmed to him during a fractious campaign, Ed Miliband and his Labour Party suffered a devastating rout in British general election, triggering his immediate resignation.
Written off as a political insider lacking charisma just a few months ago, the 45-year-old had won plaudits for his tough campaign style and some observers saw leadership material despite his awkward image. Centre-left Labour was neck-and-neck with the centre-right Conservatives in opinion poll after opinion poll, helping bolster Mr. Miliband against Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron — long seen as the slicker operator.
But results revealed the chasm between himself and Cameron, who won an overall majority. “Britain needs a strong Labour Party. It’s time for someone else to take leadership of this party,” Mr. Miliband told supporters in his resignation speech on Friday. “I am truly sorry I did not succeed, I have done my best for five years,” he said, adding: “I take absolute and total responsibility for the result.”
Mr. Miliband’s gaffe-prone image was summed up in a photograph of him unattractively eating a bacon sandwich — an image much reproduced in Britain’s right-wing press during the campaign. He stumbled following a televised debate and then unveiled a giant slab of stone etched with his key pledges in what was mocked as his “Moses moment.”
A father of two, married to environmental lawyer Justine Thornton, Mr. Miliband put living standards at the heart of his election campaign, insisting that an economic upturn under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has not reached ordinary people.
But he was accused by opponents of leading a party with little economic credibility, and one that was held partly responsible for the pain of austerity inflicted on Britons following the global financial crisis of 2008. By the early hours of Friday, there was growing pressure from Labour supporters for him to stand down. “Ed Miliband has to go after general election humiliation — the only question is when,” the Daily Mirror tabloid, which endorsed him in the campaign, said in an editorial.
Speculation will immediately turn to possible contenders, including the shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, the shadow health minister, Liz Kendall, and the shadow justice minister, Dan Jarvis. Mr. Burnham will start as favourite, but the party will scrutinise each leader very closely.

:: Business and Economy ::

UM-Lohia JV plans new super bike launch every quarter

UM Lohia Two Wheelers plans to roll-out a new cruiser bike every quarter in India. The joint venture between US-based UM Motorcycles and Indian electric two wheeler firm Lohia Auto Industries is drawing up big plans to establish its presence in the cruiser category of mid-size super bike market (250cc-650cc) in the country.
“We intend to launch a new super bike every three months. We hope to launch the first product by the end of this calendar year and the first product will come with two variants,” Ayush Lohia, Chief Executive Officer of Lohia Industries told.
“The proto types for the new bikes are ready and we will shortly commence road tests here in India, he said adding, “those UM brand of bikes have been redesigned for Indian road conditions and buyer tastes.”
The equal JV, which was formed in September 2014, will manufacture its super bikes at the Kashipur (Uttarakhand) manufacturing unit of Lohia Auto.
An investment of Rs.100-120 crore is being made by the JV for initial business expansion.
Mr. Lohia said the JV would target only the cruiser segment and would come out with models in the category 250cc and 500 cc. “There is a strong opportunity for a player like us in this segment. Also, we see a strong momentum in this category,” he added.
The company has also commenced talks to establish its dealer network and looking at all major cities to put up its dealer outlets. It is planning to have about 50 dealerships during the launch of the bikes.
While Royal Enfield is leading brand in the mid-size segment of super bike market in the country, many other players have also taken a plunge into this segment.

:: Science and Technology ::

Living biobank, a new hope in cancer research

Tissue grown from biopsies shown to closely mimic patients’ tumours, allowing researchers to study specific mutations and identify most promising drugs Scientists have created the world’s first “living biobank” of patients’ tumours and used the tissue to identify the most promising drugs for each person’s disease.
Tiny biopsies of the patients’ tumours were grown into clumps of cells and kept alive in the lab, so researchers could study their specific mutations and subject the tumours to more than 80 anti-cancer drugs.
Geneticists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge said the work marked a step towards more personalised medical treatments that target cancer tumour by tumour in individual patients.
The researchers grew what they call 3D organoids from both cancerous and healthy tissue biopsies taken from 20 patients with bowel cancer. All of the patients had received surgery to remove their tumours and were not having further treatment.
Tests on the organoids showed that they closely mimicked the patients’ tumours in many ways, including their genetic profiles, the variety of cells they contained, and the structures they formed.
“The beautiful thing here is that we’ve shown we can grow these organoids in the lab and they look a lot like the tissue from which they were taken, so they should be much better models for studying cancer,” said Mathew Garnett , a researcher at the Sanger Institute.
“This opens up amazing opportunities to ask questions about the biology of the patients’ tumours, the genetics of their tumours, and to see how that patient might respond to different cancer drugs,” he added.
About 41,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year. Doctors use a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to treat patients, but anti-cancer drugs work better in some patients than others.
“Cancer is a very diverse disease and we often find that some patients respond to a drug while others don’t. The reasons are often poorly understood, but we can use the organoids to try and understand that better,” said Mr. Garnett whose study is published in the journal, Cell . “Ultimately this living biobank should enable us to identify populations of patients that we can predict will be most likely to benefit from a specific drug,” he added.
From the 20 patients, the scientists grew 22 tumour organoids and 19 healthy tissue organoids. Each one took from two to six weeks to grow. By comparing the genetic make-up of the diseased and healthy organoids from each patient, the researchers identified specific DNA mutations that seemed to be driving each of the patients’ tumours.
They then broke the organoids up and exposed the tumour tissue to 83 approved or experimental anti-cancer drugs. The drugs had varying effects on the cancers, with some having little impact because of known mutations that made the tumours resistant.
But the drug screening also raised hope for some patients. One tumour that carried a mutated RNF43 gene was swiftly destroyed by a drug that blocked a protein called porcupine. Researchers now hope to build up a library of living tumours to help them find drugs for a broader range of cancers.
The results from the drug tests were not used to influence the patients’ care because they had already been treated, but the work demonstrated how the procedure might help other patients in the future.

:: Sports ::

Sardar recommended for Khel Ratna

The Indian men’s hockey team captain Sardar Singh has been recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award while 11 other names, including six women, have been put forward by Hockey India for the Arjuna Award.
Sardar has led the Indian team to many victories in the international arena in the last 12 months, including the gold medal at the Asian Games last year and a direct qualification for 2016 Rio Olympic Games, besides a silver medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Under his captaincy, India also finished third in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last month. Sardar has already been conferred with the Arjuna award in 2012.
For the Arjuna awards, HI has recommended Danish Mujtaba, Dharamvir Singh, V.R. Raghunath, P.R, Sreejesh and S.V. Sunil among men, while Asunta Lakra, Deepika, Rani, Ritu Rani, Sushila Chanu and Vandana Katariya got the nod among women.