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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 06 March 2014

The Indian state rich in marine sand

The offshore areas of Kerala hold enough sand resources to meet the requirements of the construction industry in the State for about 50 years,according to a study by the Geological Survey of India.
The authors, including A.C. Dinesh, P. Praveen Kumar, N.M. Shareef and C. Jayaprakash of the Marine and Coastal Survey division, GSI, have identified five sectors in the offshore waters of Kerala, namely Ponnani, Chavakkad, Alappuzha, Kollam North, and Kollam South, with an estimated resource of 2,030 million tonnes of sand suitable for construction industry.
The study came in the wake of resistance by fisherfolk to a proposal by the State government to exploit sea sand resources as a substitute for river sand to feed the construction industry.

India is looking for an undersea route to source gas from Iran, bypassing Pakistan in the process, that is called “Peace Pipeline”. This pipeline, was now technically feasible after the success of the North Sea undersea pipeline.
If Iran was looking at the cheapest way to get gas to customers, it would prefer European customers. But what Iran had in mind was providing spillover benefits of the surface pipeline to the region it passes through, especially the Makran Plateau common to both Pakistan and Iran and where poverty has fuelled subversive tendencies.
And, the sources suggested that the future of the IPI pipeline was entwined with the Chah-bahar port as Iran was keen to ensure that this town and the surrounding region of Sistan-Baluchistan Province also gained from the availability of gas.
Just 72 km from the Pakistani port of Gwadar being built with Chinese help, the first phase of developing the Chah-bahar port is nearly over.
India and Iran have held several rounds of talks on sharing operations and developing the port.
The biggest problem is despite deep energy and civilisational links, India and Iran are unfamiliar with each other’s processes and systems of doing business in other areas.

The model code of conduct, a set of legally binding dos and don’ts, became operational with immediate effect with the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule recently.
The code bars Ministers from combining official visits with electioneering work and bans the use of official machinery for electioneering and advertisements at the cost of the exchequer for partisan coverage of political news.
There can be no announcement of financial grants or promise of roads and water supply.
Transfer of officials is banned.

The state cabinet of Kerala has decided to provide a reprieve in ecologically fragile land (EFL) status to those holding land up to two hectares. Land falling under such category which was taken over by the forest department will be returned to the original owners.
If the land is found to be necessary for protecting the forest, then adequate compensation will be given to the owners.
Under EFL category, in cases of land acquired above two hectares and up to 15 acres, the owners will be compensated with two hectares of land. If this is not possible, adequate compensation will be given. If the land belonging to tribal people has been acquired, it will be given back. However, if their habitat is getting affected due to the EFL laws, then it will be resolved.
The cabinet also decided to provide reservation in admission to students of 30 backward communities.

The recent NATO airstrike in Afghanistan’s central Logar province killed 5 Afghan National Army soldiers and wounded another 17.
If it turns out that a NATO strike killed ANA troops, it is likely to set Afghan President Hamid Karzai on another attack against U.S. and NATO soldiers in his country. The President has been deeply critical of civilian deaths by international forces.

India is projected to be home to the fourth highest number of billionaires in the world by 2023, according to a report which said wealth creation will accelerate in the country over the next decade.
The 2014 Wealth Report, an annual global perspective on prime property and wealth by property management firm Knight Frank, projected that the number of billionaires in India will grow by an exponential 98 per cent to 119 in the year 2023 from 60 billionaires last year.
India will rank fourth after US, China and Russia in 2023 and will have more billionaires than the UK, Germany and France, according to the report.
The report said that by 2024, Mumbai is also projected to figure in the top 10 global cities.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal emerged as the lone survivor at the $400,000 All England Championship, thrashing Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour in straight-games to reach the second round even as compatriot P.V. Sindhu fell by the wayside.
The 23-year-old notched up an easy 21-15 21-6 win over Gilmour in a women’s singles match to bring some smiles back to the Indian camp after men’s singles players Parupalli Kashyap, Kidambi Srikanth and mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the opening round.
World No. 10, Sindhu too found the going tough and her debut at the All England was spoilt by Sun Yu of China in another women’s singles match.

Sports minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated the National Cycling Academy at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and launched a project to create swimming pools at three separate stadiums in the capital.
At an estimated cost of `907.50 lakhs, the project of creating swimming pools will come up at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and Karni Singh Shooting Range.
On the occasion, Singh also launched a Community Connect Scheme to include sports and recreational facilities in the JNS, IGSC and the SP Mukherjee Swimming Complex.
The academy will be financed by the Union government, and the sports ministry through SAI with a long-term perspective of making it a top notch institution, which is financially independent and a self-sustaining venture.