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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 November 2014

National

Mudgal panel submits report to SC in IPL scam

• The Supreme Court has allowed Justice Mukul Mudgal panel probing the betting and spot fixing scandals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to submit its final report on the role of N. Srinivasan and others in the scam, in a sealed cover.
• Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, on behalf of the Mudgal Committee, while seeking permission to submit the report, said the report contains the final findings and probe has been completed in the stipulated time of two months.

Act now on climate change: IPCC

• Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) R.K. Pachauri said the window of action on tackling climate change was closing rapidly and warned that the path of inaction would be more costly than the path of action.
• Speaking at the launch of the IPCC’s Synthesis Report in Copenhagen, he said the scientific community had done its job and was in a sense passing on the baton to politicians and decision-makers.
• The Synthesis Report points to the human influence on climate but also points out that there were means to limit climate change and build a sustainable future. He said the global community must look at the numbers in this report and bring about change. “There is no Plan B because there is no planet B,” he said to questions.
• “The Report tells us that we need to tackle climate change with a combination of adaptation and mitigation,” he added. Navroz K, Dubash, one of it lead authors, said for India, keeping the pressure on for global mitigation was also key.

New educational policy likely to come out very soon: HRD minister

• Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani said the new educational policy of the BJP-led NDA government is expected to be rolled out next year.
• “The deliberations on the proposed new policy will start next year and we should have a policy. We will start a new educational policy soon. Educational policy takes seven months to three years and politicians, bureaucrats and experts draw it up.
• But there is need to involve principals, teachers and students in the educational policy,” she said. Ms. Irani was speaking at a valedictory function of the 21st Annual Sahodaya conference of CBSE at nearby Nedumbassery.
• Addressing principals and teachers from CBSE schools across the country and abroad, she said, “The future of the country lies in your hands. I say this not only as HRD minister, but as also a mother of two CBSE school going kids.”
• Pointing out that India is going through an evolution, she said the nation’s destiny has for too long been vested on those who did politics and now there was a chance to transform India for the better.
• “I stand here as witness of the desire of people to seek transformation and this cannot happen only in government. It should happen at the grassroots and teachers should be a vehicle to bring about the change,” she said.

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International

Navies of friendly nations keen on Indian SONARS

• India is looking to export indigenously developed hull-mounted sonars and negotiations are at an advanced stage with the navies of three to four friendly nations.
• SONAR (an acronym for Sound Navigation and Ranging) is used to detect underwater targets. Like radar, used to detect long-range aerial and other targets, sonars have applications in underwater surveillance, communication and marine navigation.
• Three units of these sonars have been exported to Myanmar. Officials from Bharat Electronics Limited and the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory visited the neighbouring country and installed them a fortnight ago. BEL produced the sonars while the Kochi-based NPOL, a naval lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), designed and developed them.
• BEL had signed the Rs.150-crore contract for the three sonars with Myanmar in January 2013. Director-General of DRDO (Naval Systems and Materials) Bhujanga Rao told that there was a demand from other nations too. Naval officials from three to four countries came to India and held discussions.
• Mentioning different sonars developed for the Navy, he said that a versatile, new-generation system USHUS has been installed on India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant. It has a higher range and can withstand high static pressure of water.
• Observing that it was superior to Russian equivalents and comparable to the best in the world, he said that sonars on all Russian-class submarines being operated by the Indian Navy would be replaced with USHUS.
• Another advanced hull-mounted sonar HUMSA-NG (new generation) was also developed and the Navy had placed orders for its installation on different platforms such as destroyers, frigates and corvettes, Dr. Rao said.

Business & economy

Tax-free bonds 2013 are still a good investment

• Stock investors may be celebrating, but even those who invested in tax-free bonds have got reasons to cheer. Tax-free bonds issued in 2013 and earlier this year has churned out terrific returns of up to 25%.
• The 20-year tax-free bond from the National Housing Bank (NHB), which hit the market on 30 December 2013, is quoting at Rs 6,225, a return of 24.5% on its issue price of `5,000. Other bonds issued around the same time have also given good returns.
• A combination of factors has led to the rally in these long-term bonds. First, there is no new supply of tax-free bonds because the 2014 Budget did not allow new tax-free bond issues. Second, the Budget also changed the tax rules for debt mutual funds, which drove more high net worth investors to tax-free bonds.
• Lastly, the recent fall in inflation have raised hopes of an early rate cut by the RBI and this pushed up bond prices in the secondary market.
• The 22-24% rise in bond prices may prompt many investors to book profits, but experts think there is still some steam left in these bonds. The September 2014 retail inflation number was down to 6.46%, way below the RBI's target of 8% for January 2015 and close to its 6% target for January 2016.

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Sports

Sardar singh to lead hockey squad for Australia tour

• Sardar Singh will lead a 21-member Indian men’s hockey squad for the four-match Test tour of Australia to be held in Perth from November 4 to 9.
• Post bagging the gold medal at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, the tour of Australia is being organised as part of preparation for the upcoming FIH Champions Trophy 2014, to be held in Bhubaneswar December 6-14.
• Besides the four Tests, India will also play a training game against Australia A on November 1 at the Perth Hockey Stadium.
• The 21-member squad was selected by Hockey India selectors B.P. Govinda, Harbinder Singh and Arjun Halappa along with chief coach Terry Walsh, coach Jude Felix and physiotherapist Jince Thomas Mathew on the basis of their performance in the recently-concluded selection trials at at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
• Goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh has been named Sardar’s deputy for the tour. Harjot Singh has been named as the second custodian in the squad.
• The first Test between India and Australia will be played on November 4, followed by matches on November 5, 8 and 9.

Misbah-ul Haq record ton leads Pakistan

• Australia lost two quick wickets chasing a mammoth target of 603 runs to beat Pakistan in the second test after captain Misbah-ul Haq matched the record for the fastest century in Tests and broke that of the fastest fifty.
• At tea, Australia reached 36 for the loss of two wickets. Opener David Warner on 24 not out and captain Michael Clarke on two were at the crease.
• Left-arm orthodox bowler Zulfiqar Babar took both the wickets to fall opener Chris Rogers (2) tried to work him around the corner and edged to Asad Shafiq at leg slip, while Glenn Maxwell (4) was trapped leg before wicket after a decision review.
• Misbah reached his century in 56 balls, matching the record set by West Indian great Sir Vivian Richards, who achieved the feat against England in 1986.
• Earlier, the 40-year-old reached his 50 in just 21 deliveries with the last ball before lunch, turning Mitchell Starc toward the mid-wicket boundary for three runs, eclipsing the previous record of fastest 50 from 24 balls by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis against Zimbabwe at Newlands in 2005.
• It was only the second time that two teammates made centuries in both innings of a test match. The previous occasion was in Wellington in 1974 when Australian brothers Ian (145, 121) and Greg Chappell (247 not out, 133) managed to do it.
• Misbah got to his fifty in just 23 minutes, and took a further 34 balls and 51 minutes to reach his hundred. In all, Misbah slammed five sixes and 11 fours.

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Science & Technology

Virgin Galactic spacecraft appears to have broken apart in flight

• The head of the federal agency examining fatal crash of a Virgin Galactic passenger spaceship during a test flight in California's Mojave Desert confirmed that the vehicle had broken apart in flight.
• "The debris field indicates an in-flight breakup," Christopher Hart, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told Reuters.
• "We'll know that for certainty when we look at all the sources we have," he said.
• The NTSB is leading the investigation into Friday's crash of SpaceShip Two, which was undergoing its first powered test flight since January when it crashed, spreading debris over a 5-mile (8 km) swath of the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles.
• Citing a source familiar with the nascent investigation, the report said video and early data was focusing on "aerodynamic forces" that could have led to its downing.

The Antarctic ozone hole stands steady: scientists

• The Antarctic ozone hole reached its peak size in September, stretching to 24.1 million square kilometres, almost the same size as last year’s peak, scientists say.
• The ozone hole, which forms annually in the August to October period, had peaked to 24 million square kilometres in September last year.
• In comparison, the largest ozone hole area recorded to date on a single day was on September 9, 2000, at 29.9 million square kilometres.
• The ozone layer helps shield life on Earth from potentially harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation that can cause skin cancer, damage plants and phytoplankton — the top of the oceanic food chain.
• “The good news is that our measurements show less thinning of the ozone over the South Pole during the past three years,” said Bryan Johnson, a researcher with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.
• “However, the rate at which ozone thins during the month of September has remained about the same for the past two decades. A decrease in this rate will be an important sign of recovery,” said Johnson.
• South Pole balloon-borne ozonesonde observations measured a minimum amount of 120 Dobson Units of ozone this year on September 29. Ozonesonde measurements of 250 Dobson Units in August are common just before the rapid destruction of ozone in September, researchers said.