Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 August 2014

First push to inland waterways on cards

Government will give a decisive push to make the Ganga-Hooghly waterway navigable for freight movement by tying up for a World Bank loan that could be as much as $1 billion.
Developing inland waterways is a key agenda for the National Democratic Alliance Government as it pushes for decongesting communication bottlenecks and opening up options for high volume freight.
These barrages will be part of the Government’s recent announcement of a series of barrages on the Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia which will facilitate movement of larger vessels. The plan has drawn criticism from environmentalists who have highlighted the dangers of sedimentation and the decline of fisheries.
Government believes that river transportation is the cheapest available option and should be maximised to boost economic growth. Already barges have begun supplying imported coal to Farakka super thermal power plant in the absence of land based transportation alternatives.
The plan for the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch, which the Government is prioritising, envisages a large number of additions such as navigation aids along the entire 1,600-km-stretch and night navigation between Tribeni and Farakka, a GPS system and repair facilities along the route.

India has made arrangements to fly out 58 nurses from Libya and has asked all its nationals to consider returning home since the condition in the country has “deteriorated.”
Ministry of External Affairs said the nurses would travel by road to Tunis and then be flown back to India.
Government have arranged for, if it is required, a special flight to come to Djerba which is two hours from the border of Libya. But the flight will be used if there is enough planeload. However, if smaller numbers continue, Govt. will then have to take them to Tunis and then fly them out.

The fate of the controversial Insurance Bill hangs in the balance with nine Opposition parties, including the Congress, giving a joint notice in the Rajya Sabha for referring the Bill to a Select Committee of the House.
The Bill, provides for raising FDI in the insurance sector from 26 to 49 per cent. The Government does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu had refused to react to the possibility of the Bill being referred to a Select Committee or of a joint session to take advantage of govt. majority in the Lower House.

Expressing concern over deadly Ebola virus outbreak in West African nations, US President Barack Obama has said leaders and participants of US-Africa Summit travelling to Washington would be screened as part of measures to stop the disease spreading in America.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and various health agencies will work with the World Health Organization and some of the partner countries to make sure that they can surge some resources down to these countries who don’t have a strong public health infrastructure so that they can start containing the problem.

Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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