(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 14 October 2017

::NATIONAL::

A balance between humanitarian concern and national security is required

The Supreme Court came close to ordering the government not to deport the Rohingya.
It finally settled on merely observing that a balance should be struck between humanitarian concern for the community and the country's national security and economic interests.
The court was hearing a bunch of petitions, one filed by persons belonging to the community, against a proposed move to deport over 40,000 Rohingya refugees.
A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, began by orally indicating that the government should not deport Rohingya “now”, but the government prevailed on the court to not pass any formal order, citing “international ramifications.”
With this, the status quo continues even though the court gave the community the liberty to approach it in case of “any contingency.”
The government said “questions pertaining to deportation of illegal immigrants is essentially an executive function”.

Constitutional Bench to scrutinize Sabarimala temple’s age old practice

The Supreme Court referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench the question whether the fundamental right of women to pray at the place of their choice can be discriminated against solely based “on a biological factor exclusive to the female gender.”
With this, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will scrutinise the age-old practice in Kerala’s famed Sabarimala temple of restricting entry for women aged between 10 and 50 — that is, those who are in the menstruating age.
The court questioned how a temple managed by a statutory board — the Travancore Devaswom Board — and financed out of the Consolidated Fund of Kerala and Tamil Nadu “can indulge in practices violating constitutional principles/ morality.”
The temple authorities have said it is a practice founded in tradition.
The questions for the Constitution Bench were framed by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices R.Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.
The Constitution Bench will decide whether Ayyappa devotees form a separate religious denomination.
Most important, the larger Bench will decide if a temple managed by a statutory board can ‘indulge’ in the practice of banning women from entry.
The Bench will decide whether Rule 3 (b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965 allows a ‘religious denomination’ to ban entry of women aged 10 to 50. If so, does this amount to discrimination and violation of the fundamental rights to equality.
Finally, the Constitution Bench has been asked to decide whether Rule 3(b) is ultra vires the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Act, 1965 and violative of the fundamental rights.
The Sabarimala temple restricts women aged between 10 and 50 from taking the pilgrimage to Sabarimala – which means women are banned from even making the arduous trek to the shrine.
The restriction finds its source in the legend that the Sabarimala temple deity – Swami Ayyappa – is a 'Naishtika Brahmachari' – and should not be disturbed. A 1991 Kerala High Court judgment supports the restriction imposed on women devotees. It had found that the restriction was in place since time immemorial and not discriminatory to the Constitution.
Met with objections from the Pandala royal family and several Ayyappa groups that the deity was not “interested” in women devotees of the restricted age bracket visiting him, Justice Misra had reacted that such arguments merely based on conjecture without any constitutional basis cannot be entertained in the Supreme Court.

Stubble burning- NGT asks for detailed report

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the Centre and the Punjab government as to what it had done to tackle the issue of stubble burning.
Further, the tribunal directed the Punjab government to draw up a list of power plants and other industries that can use the crop residue as a source of power.
The green panel also issued notice to the NTPC which had projected that it will take the residue as a source of power and sought reply on the same.
On October 11, the NGT had asked the Punjab government to present before the Tribunal, the 21 farmers who had benefited from the schemes rolled out by the government.
Pulling up the Punjab government for not providing enough incentives in other districts as well, the Bench asked, “Why don’t you create a structure that the big farmers can benefit from and then help the small farmers?”
While passing the directions, the Bench also said, “Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR] of both public and private sector are equally enforceable where it will serve the general cause of environment and prevent pollution of air.”
The NGT directed the State government to furnish a “complete and detailed mechanism ensuring happy seeders and bailers to farmers depending on their financial capacity.”
The panel further stated that the machinery should be provided either free of cost or at a minimal cost which would not have grave financial implications on the farmers.

Govt directed by SC to form expert panel on Blue Whale game

The Supreme Court directed the government to constitute an expert committee to suggest ways to “control the alleged menace” of the “suicidal” Blue Whale game, which is claimed to be the reason behind several deaths across the country.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra ordered that the apex court will comprehensively hear petitions on the Blue Whale game and directed all the High Courts to not proceed on any similar cases.
The order came on a petition filed by Supreme Court advocate Sneha Kalita asking the court to frame guidelines for regulating and monitoring the virtual digital online games and to take immediate measures to ban/block sites linked to the Blue Whale online game or any other forms of violent and immoral games.
The petition asked the apex court to issue directions to network service providers, cybercafes, etc. to “observe due diligence and take immediate steps to inform users not to host, display, upload and share any virtual digital games which are grossly harmful and life-threatening and morally degrading”.
“Incidents of suicides and rescued cases have been reported throughout the country, particularly from Assam, Odisha, Mumbai, Delhi, Manipur, Chennai, West Bengal, Haryanna, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Puducherry. There is a serious threat of life and rising deaths from this game/challenge,” Ms. Kalita argued.

::INDIA AND WORLD::

Talks on terror to be revived

In a surprise move, the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry has announced a revival of the Pakistan-led Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) to bring the Taliban into talks, saying that the next meeting of the group comprising officials from the U.S., China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, would be held in Oman, Muscat on October 16.
Two topics will be discussed: counter-terrorism, and Pakistan’s honesty in fulfilling its promises that it will make in the presence of China and the U.S. at the meeting. The meeting is also significant for its timing just ahead of the visit of American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will travel to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India from October 23.
Mr. Tillerson is the most senior U.S. State Department official to visit all three countries after the announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new ‘South Asia policy’ for Afghanistan which suggested a tougher line on Pakistan’s support to terror groups, and greater cooperation with India.
Both Mr. Tillerson and U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis, who will visit Islamabad shortly after, are expected to convey a “zero tolerance” policy for support to the Haqqani group and other groups targeting Afghan forces.
Some say Pakistan’s push to revive the QCG process now may be a reaction to the growing number of strong statements from the U.S. accusing its intelligence agency ISI of supporting terrorism in the neighbourhood.
The announcement of the QCG meeting came even as senior MEA officials travelled to Moscow to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Afghanistan “contact group”, a first for India and Pakistan, who became members of the Russia and China led SCO grouping this year.
“India shared its perspectives on the situation in Afghanistan, including terrorism imposed from beyond its borders, the need to strengthen Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, need for an Afghan led and controlled peace and reconciliation process,” the MEA said on Thursday.
However, India is not a part of the QCG, and officials said no request had been made to invite India to the revived version.

India planning to enhance infrastructure along Sino-India border

The Ministry of Defence has decided to significantly enhance infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border including near Doklam, where the militaries of both sides were engaged in a two-month standoff.
The decision was taken at the Army’s commanders conference from October 9 to 15 which extensively deliberated on the recent face-off with China, besides analysing all possible security challenges on the northern border, according to official sources.
“It has been decided that there would be a concerted heft towards road construction activities in this sector. To that end four passes to Niti, Lipulekh, Thangla1 and Tsangchokla have been decided to be connected by 2020 on priority,” Director General Staff Duties (DGSD) Vijay Singh said.
He said the commanders also examined organisational changes of some of the formations to enhance existing capability, indicating that the Army leadership was looking at bolstering its current operational preparedness.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also addressed the conference and lauded the swift and effective response of the Army in dealing with external and internal threats.
Referring to the government’s ‘Make in India’ programme, Ms. Sitharaman also stressed on the urgent need to become self-reliant in the defence sector.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Bipin Rawat said the Army will have to be prepared for “all eventualities at all times” and therefore utmost priority has to be given to procurement of arms, ammunition and equipment.

::INTERNATIONAL::

New Iran nuclear deal strategy by Trump

The nuclear deal with Tehran is the worst in the history of the U.S. and he would no longer be certifying for its continuation, President Donald Trump, unveiling a new American strategy on Iran that could heighten tensions in West Asia.
The new policy abandons the focussed approach of the previous Obama administration on rolling back Tehran’s nuclear weapons programme and threatens punitive measures against Iran for a range of alleged transgressions.
Mr. Trump has also called upon American allies to join in the effort to confront Iran, adding that he would not allow it to obtain a nuclear weapon and threaten America like North Korea is currently doing.
Terming Iran the world’s “leading state sponsor of terrorism,” Mr. Trump said Tehran was in violation of the terms of the agreement, a doubtful claim as other countries party to it do not share that view. He blamed his predecessor Barack Obama for singing the deal when sanctions were leading to a “total collapse of the Iranian regime.”
With the President refusing to certify the deal as required by law, the onus is on U.S. Congress to decide the next course of action.
The Congress will get 60 days to decide whether or not to reimpose the sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the nuclear deal.
Mr. Trump said he has asked the Treasury department to devise new sanctions against Iran, particularly targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which he termed as a “terrorist militia.”
He linked Iran to a litany of terrorism incidents around the world that targeted the U.S and its allies. He said the Iranian regime regime harboured “high level terrorists including Osama bin Laden’s son” and accused it of supporting the Al Qaida, Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah. The President also blamed Iran for the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
The new approach would target “the full range of the Iranian regime’s malign activities,” the White House said in a statement ahead of the speech. The statement termed Obama’s Iran policy “myopic” and repudiated the U.S policy towards Tehran “over the last decade and a half.”
The new “comprehensive” strategy does not immediately upend the deal, but the administration’s intent to decertify it, and to pursue a raft of punitive measures against Iran for other alleged transgressions, could make it unsustainable. Iran has said it would not renegotiate the deal.
The other five countries that are party to the deal, Germany, U.K, France, Russia and China, have all said the deal is woking fine.
The new Trump policy warns of punitive moves against Iran for “ballistic missile development and proliferation, material and financial support for terrorism and extremism,support for the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people, unrelenting hostility to Israel, consistently threatening freedom of navigation….cyber-attacks against the U.S., Israel, and America’s other allies and partners in the Middle East; grievous human rights abuses; and Arbitrary detention of foreigners, including U.S. citizens, on specious charges and without due process,” the statement said.
Israel and Saudi Arabia, the American allies in the region, have been calling for scrapping the deal altogether. Following the nuclear deal that removed a range of sanctions against Tehran, Indian private and public sector entities had quickly reached out for opportunities in the country.
Increasing cooperation with Tehran is also meant to counter the Chinese-led One Belt One Road project, as Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar could be creating new transportation routes to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe for India.
Mr. Trump’s Afghan policy, which involves a more unforgiving approach towards Pakistan for its inability to rein in terrorist groups, could also be under strain as more battlefronts open across the region.
While the Sunni regimes in the Asian Gulf and Israel would be pleased by Mr. Trump’s move. Other American allies, already unnerved by a series of recent moves by Mr. Trump — such as withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and criticism of NATO — could find ties with America under unprecedented stress.

A major Navy drill by U.S and South Korea

The United States and South Korea will kick off a major Navy drill, the U.S, a fresh show of force against North Korea over its missile and nuclear tests.
Tensions over North Korea’s weapons programme have soared in recent months with Pyongyang launching a flurry of missiles and conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in defiance of multiple sets of UN sanctions.
The United States has since ramped up military drills with South Korea and Japan, its two closest regional in the region.
In a statement the US 7th Fleet said the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and two U.S. destroyers would take part in the drill alongside South Korean Navy vessels.
The exercise, slated for October 16 to 26 in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, would promote “communications, interoperability, and partnership,”.
There has been a flurry of U.S. military hardware movement around the Korean peninsula in recent days.
The nuclear-powered USS Michigan submarine arrived at South Korea’s southern port of Busan, according to Yonhap news agency, just days after another nuclear-powered submarine — the USS Tuscon — left after a five day visit.
Earlier the U.S. flew two supersonic heavy bombers over the Korean peninsula, staging the first night-time joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea. That mission came 17 days after four US F-35B stealth fighter jets and two B-1Bs flew over the peninsula.
The North’s missile and nuclear capabilities have made significant progress under Kim, who on Saturday told party officials that the country’s atomic weapons were a “treasured sword” to protect it from aggression.

::PERSONS::

Satish Chandra a veteran historian passes away

Veteran historian of medieval India and noted educational administrator Satish Chandra passed away. He was 95.
Prof. Chandra was the author of the NCERT’s medieval India textbook that was in circulation from some time in the 1970s till the early 2000s and was considered the most comprehensive textbook of the era, loaded with information.
His two-volume book Medieval India was a well-received reference book on history that generations of students have studied.
His strength was his accessible, comprehensive writing.
His information-rich work on medieval India was known to uphold India's composite culture and showed the medieval state as broadly “secular” in orientation.
He was Chairman of the University Grants Commission from 1976 to 1981, and Vice-Chairman of the body from 1973 to 1976.

::CULTURE::

Hakki Pikki tribes stranded in Rwanda brought back

All 11 members of the Hakki Pikki tribe from Sadashivapura village, Karnataka, who were detained in Rwanda have returned home safely.
They went to Rwanda via Uganda. In Uganda, they secured visas, through a travel agency, to visit Rwanda. During verification in Rwanda, it was found that the visas were not genuine, leading to their detention. After the matter was taken up by the Indian government, they were released.
Members of Hakki Pikki tribe from Sadashivapura village visit Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and East African nations regularly to sell decorative flowers and herbal medicines.

::ENVIRONMENT::

Seemai karuvelam’ has no direct effect on groundwater

A committee of experts informed the Madras High Court that the growth of ‘seemai karuvelam’ (prosopis juliflora) had no direct impact on the depletion of groundwater level in the State as feared by many. In fact, the trees have a positive impact on the overall ecosystem.
The submission was made before a Full Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice M. Sundar, on a batch of PIL petitions, including one filed by MDMK leader Vaiko with a plea to eradicate the trees.
The committee led by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests stated that Seemai Karuvelam’s “xerophytic adaptation and root system does not penetrate to great depths.”
Pointing out that they grow well in dry regions with less rainfall, the committee said that the trees would die if they remain submerged in water for more than six months.
It was also brought to the notice of the court that the timber from the trees had been traditionally used as fuel wood and charcoal due to shortage of fossil fuels and that a large number of rural people in the State were dependent on the trees for survival.
Overall, it was pointed out that the benefits of the trees outweigh their harmful characteristics.

::BUSINESS AND ECONOMY::

Exports narrowed down the trade deficit to 7-month low

Goods trade deficit in September narrowed to a seven-month low of $8.98 billion with exports, that surged by 25.7% to $28.6 billion, outpacing imports that rose 18.1% to $37.6 billion, according to government data released by the Commerce Ministry.
The growth in goods exports registered in September was in continuation with the trend of positive growth exhibited by shipments for the last 13 months.
“Braving the teething troubles of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) roll-out, if India has achieved such an impressive export growth in September, 2017, it shows a clear positive turnaround in the global economic environment,” T. S. Bhasin, chairman, EEPC India, the apex body for engineering exporters, said in a statement.
The Commerce Ministry said all the top 10 commodity groups of exports had shown positive growth in September 2017 over the year earlier period — comprising 82.14% share of total exports.
Mr. Bhasin said engineering sector had been among the brightest spots with demand for the entire metal pack picking up along with industrial goods.
Non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in September 2017 jumped 28.65% to $20.2 billion.
However, G. K. Gupta, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said in a statement that “some of the major labour-intensive sectors like handicraft, fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and poultry products and iron-ore have posted negative growth.

Nifty ends with a record

Benchmark Nifty extended its rally by 71.05 points to end at a fresh closing high of 10,167 , lifted by positive economic data and buying in the banks, finance, metal and realty counters.
Positive cues from the Asian market also boosted sentiment. Telecom stocks rallied after Bharti Airtel agreed to take over Tata group’s mobile business.
The NSE 50-share Nifty closed at a record 10,167.45, gaining 71.05 points, or 0.7%. It also registered an all-time, intra-day high of 10,191.90.
Most Asian stocks ended higher. Investors were cautious ahead of U.S. economic data as well as the Chinese Communist Party congress next week. Meanwhile, the broader midcap and smallcap shares were lacklustre in trade.