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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 08 November 2014

National

Supreme Court sets aside order directing caste census

• The Supreme Court has set aside two orders of the Madras High Court, directing the Centre to conduct a caste-based census, holding that it should not have interfered in the domain of policy.
• Endorsing the instruction manual provision that referred to public participation in the census as a “true reflection of the national spirit of unity in diversity,” the Supreme Court said the High Court, while passing such a direction, had “tried to inject the concept of social justice” on its own.
• In its 23-page judgment, a Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra noted that the true objective of the Census was building a source of all welfare schemes, and not a “mere information-collection” exercise.
• The verdict comes on a special leave petition by the Census Commissioner against decisions of the Madras High Court in 2008 and 2010, directing holding of caste-wise census in a time-bound manner.
• “The High Court not only travelled beyond the list in the first round of litigation but also had really yielded to some kind of emotional perspective, possibly paving the adventurous path to innovate. It is legally impermissible,” Justice Misra wrote.
• The Supreme Court held that the government policy allowed enumeration of members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes but no other castes. In Census 2011, no question on enumeration of other castes had been included.

Persons in news

Robin Raphel

• The U.S. State Department has launched a counterintelligence investigation against Robin Raphel (67), a former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia who served in India and Pakistan, and also as an advisor on Israel, West Asia and as an analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency.
• Her 30-year service as a career diplomat, followed by five years as a top advisor to the State Department on Pakistan was brought to an abrupt end last month when her security clearances were revoked, her home in Northwest Washington DC was searched by officials, and she was placed on administrative leave after her contract with the federal agency was allowed to lapse.
• Ms. Raphel, a former Ambassador to Tunisia, was a controversial figure in India, where during her time as political counsellor since 1991 she described the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a “disputed territory,” and called for the dispute there to be resolved as per the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
• Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the investigation State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said, “We are aware of this law enforcement matter,” adding, “Ms. Raphel’s appointment expired; she is no longer a State Department employee.”
• Calls and messages to mobile and landline phone numbers of Ms. Raphel were not answered and numerous individuals who said that they knew her or her family personally declined to comment for this story.

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International

United Nation resolution aims to improve journalists’ safety

• Nearly 50 countries are co-sponsoring a U.N. resolution that condemns attacks against journalists and the failure to punish those responsible for killing, torturing, kidnapping and arbitrarily arresting media workers.
• The draft General Assembly resolution circulated urges the 193 U.N. member states “to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks” against the media. It calls for speedy and independent investigations of alleged attacks and prosecution of alleged perpetrators and those who aid them or cover up their crimes.
• The draft also urges the immediate release of members of the media who have been taken hostage and are victims of “enforced disappearances.”
• It expresses deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed in recent years “as a direct result of their profession.” It stresses that “impunity for attacks against journalists remains one of the biggest challenges to the safety of journalists.”
• According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 42 journalists have been killed so far in 2014 while 211 were imprisoned in 2013 and 456 have been exiled since 2008.
• The draft resolution must first be approved by the General Assembly’s human rights committee and then by the assembly itself.
• Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but if adopted they do reflect world opinion.

Nuclear Reactors to reactivate in Japan

• The Governor of Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture approved the reactivation of two nuclear reactors at the Sendai plant.
• Sendai was the first plant in Japan on which new regulations were imposed by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority after the accident at the Fukushima plant triggered by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
• The plant is expected to start its commercial activities from 2015 after the NRA completes its last security reviews in Sendai.
• The approval granted is almost the final step for the reactivation of the power stations, whose 48 commercial-use reactors are non-functional until they adopt the NRA norms.

India& Bhutan agree to collaborate on Nalanda University

• India and Bhutan agreed to collaborate on the “noble objectives” of the establishment of Nalanda University in Bihar to develop the institution as an international centre of excellence.
• The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard in Thimphu after President Pranab Mukherjee held talks with Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
• According to the MoU, signed by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and her Bhutanese counterpart Yeshey Dorji, Nalanda University will be located at Rajgir in Bihar and will have the power to confer degrees, diplomas and certificates.
• The MoU says the objectives and functions of the university include the establishment “of an international institution of learning that will bring together the brightest and the most dedicated students from all countries irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability, ethnicity or socioeconomic background.”
• According to the MoU, India will provide visa to students, faculty and staff for travel to India to study or work in the university.

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Sports

No minor boxer put through pregnancy test, says SAI

• A livid Sports Authority of India rejected reports that minor boxers were subjected to pregnancy tests in a camp for the World Championships this month, saying that the squad does not have a single under-18 in its ranks.
• “The minimum eligibility age for participation in the World Championship is 19. So where does the question of testing the minors arise,” SAI Director General Jiji Thomson said, adding the youngest member of the squad was born in 1994.
• Media reports had alleged that Boxing India forced the boxers participating in the World Championship, scheduled in Jeju Islands, South Korea from November 13, to undergo a pregnancy test and also went on to claim that some of those tested were minors.
• The World Boxing body (AIBA) has made it mandatory for all boxers participating in the World Championship to submit a non-pregnant certificate from a qualified medical professional before the weigh-in for the event.
• “Boxing India had conducted the test on the players selected for the world championship through SAI doctors after a formal request from the players and their coaches as the very purpose of conducting such a test is to ensure that there is no untoward incident of pre-natal death,” Thomson stated.
• “We were only following the guidelines of AIBA on the request of Boxing India and the players. Reports of minors being tested are incorrect and have no factual basis to them.

Science & technology

Comet flyby caused intense meteor shower on red planet: NASA

• NASA said comet Siding Spring, which buzzed past Mars on October 19, caused an intense meteor shower and added a new layer of ions, or charged particles, to the ionosphere.
• The effect of the comet on the Martian atmosphere was detected by two NASA spacecraft, including the MAVEN mission and a European spacecraft.
• The ionosphere is an electrically charged region in the atmosphere that extends about 120 kilometres to several hundred kilometres above the Martian surface.
• Using the observations, scientists were able to make a direct connection between the debris from the meteor shower to the subsequent formation of the transient layer of ions - the first time such an event has been observed on any planet, including Earth, said the MAVEN research team.
• “They call this comet encounter an once-in-a-lifetime event, but it is more like once-in-a-million years,” said Nick Schneider, scientist with the MAVEN mission and associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
• “The numbers suggest a Martian would have seen many thousands of shooting stars per hour - possibly enough to be called a meteor storm - so it must have been a spectacular event that night on Mars,” Dr. Schneider added.
• The comet travelled from the most distant region of the solar system called the Oort Cloud and made an approach within 139,500 kilometres of the Red Planet.

Exclusive drug controller to test Ayurvedic drugs: Health minister

• India will soon have an exclusive drug control department to facilitate testing of Ayurvedic drugs, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.
• The department will look after research and development, monitor quality control and standardise the manufacturing of medicinal products of Ayurveda and other traditional Indian treatment systems, the health minister announced at the inauguration of the Arogya Expo organised alongside the 6th World Ayurveda Congress in New Delhi.
• He said that under the newly-created AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) mission, the government would provide funding support to states wanting to set up manufacturing facilities and would create manpower for the traditional medicine industry.
• “The chief objective of the mission is to encourage integration of AYUSH with modern medicine and create a holistic healthcare system that can be emulated globally and which will achieve the universal goal of health for all,” he said.
• Harsh Vardhan said the government, which has allocated Rs. 5,000 crore to the AYUSH Mission in 12th five-year plan, is keen to partner with states in creating state-of-the-art research and development facilities, drug testing laboratories and herbal gardens that will help meet growing industry and market demand for quality raw material and products.
• “People across the world are talking about integration and holistic development. Yoga will be one of the greatest healers of the 21st century. That is the reason we have established the AYUSH mission,” he said, adding: “We are trying to promote all Indian systems of medicine on a big scale.”

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Business & economy

India’s inflation has a ‘Long way’ to go before it eases: H.R Khan

• India’s inflation has a ‘long way’ to go before it eases because of high input costs, while the reasons for elevated food price inflation remain ‘structural’, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor H. R. Khan said.
• Dr. Khan, in a speech here, also noted rural inflation was high because of supply chain issues.
• The markets have been pricing in an early rate cut from the RBI after consumer prices-led inflation slowed to 6.46 per cent in September, its lowest since the series was started in January, 2012.
• Dr. Khan also warned against too much complacency in markets, but he did not elaborate. Expectations for earlier-than-expected rate cuts, the stability in the rupee and hopes about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reform drive have been among the reasons for a rally in domestic markets this year.

Coal India to produce 1 billion tonnes in next 5 years: Goyal

• State-miner Coal India (CIL) is looking to double its production to a billion tonnes in the next five years, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said.
• “I see Coal India production doubling in the next five years. It makes about 500 million tonnes hopefully this year. We’ll do a billion tonnes in 2019,” Mr. Goyal said at the India Economic Summit.
• Mr. Goyal, who is also minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said a “huge investment opportunity” of nearly $250 billion beckons in the energy sector over the next four to five years, including $100 billion in renewables and $50 billion in transmission and distribution.
• “I see investments also coming into wind (energy) with the re-introduction of the fiscal benefits that were earlier available,” he said.
• “This government is sincere in giving power to all and this government will protect investments as we go forward,” the minister added.
• Emphasising that renewable sources of energy are one of the thrust areas of the government, Mr. Goyal said his ministry was taking measures to ensure that solar power generation would touch 100 GW by 2019.

FDI in construction, Govt is expected to issue clarifications soon

• After recently liberalising foreign direct investment norms for construction development sector, the government is expected to soon come out with some clarifications on the rules of the policy.
• “We will issue clarification on FDI in construction shortly...it would be out in next 2—3 days,” Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Amitabh Kant said on the sidelines of India Economic Summit.
• On October 29, the Union Cabinet relaxed rules for FDI in the construction sector by reducing minimum built—up area as well as capital requirement and eased the exit norms to boost to cash—starved real estate industry.
• In view of depleting FDI inflow in construction and real estate sector in last couple of years, the Cabinet decided to reduce the minimum floor area to 20,000 sq mt from the earlier 50,000 sq mt. It also brought down the minimum capital requirement to USD 5 million from USD 10 million.
• In case of development of serviced plots, the condition of minimum land of 10 hectares has been completely removed.
• It also permitted foreign investors to exit on project completion or 3 years from the date of final investment subject to the development of trunk infrastructure.
• The government had said that the relaxation was necessary as FDI inflows in the sector, which witnessed a steady rise during 2006—07 and 2009—10, have started declining.

Indian Rupee ends almost flat at 61.41 against US dollar

• The Indian rupee ended almost flat at 61.41 against the Greenback on alternate bouts of buying and selling.
• Despite a strong start, the rupee erased all its morning gains during intra-day due to sharp bouts of dollar demand from importers. However, it fell later before recouping losses to close almost flat at 61.41 on the back of fresh dollar selling from banks and exporters.
• Sustained capital inflows into equities also helped the rupee to cap the fall to some extend, dealers said.
• At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market (Forex), the domestic unit commenced higher at 61.35 a dollar from previous close of 61.40. It moved in a range of 61.34 and 61.49 before settling at 61.41, showing a marginal fall of one paise.
• Meanwhile, US dollar continued its strong rallying momentum against a basket of currencies in late Asian session trade in the wake of Republican wins during the mid-term elections as well as steady improvement in US data.
• The benchmark Sensex conquered yet another milestone of 28,000 for the first time briefly before concluding at a new closing peak of 27,915.88, a rise of 55.50 points of 0.20 per cent.
• In the forwards market, premium continued to fall on sustained receipts from exporters.
• The benchmark six-month premium payable in April declined to 218-220 paise from previous close of 226.5-228.5 paise.

Syndicate Bank net drops 33% in Q2

• Syndicate Bank saw its net profit plunge 33 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year. The total income, however, rose by a little over 17 per cent.
• According to the results, the net profit was Rs.315.60 crore as against Rs.470.12 crore posted during the corresponding period of 2013-14.
• The decline happened on the back of higher provisions and contingencies at Rs.537.79 crore (Rs.339.96 crore). The global net interest margin dropped to 2.57 per cent (2.90 per cent), while the domestic NIM came down to 2.96 per cent (3.38 per cent).
• The total income, at nearly Rs.5,681 crore (Rs.4,850.35 crore), was boosted by the 58 per cent surge in other income. From Rs.276.39 crore in the second quarter of previous fiscal, other income soared to Rs.436.95 crore in the period under review.
• The net NPA (non-performing asset) ratio increased to 2.20 per cent (1.66 per cent), while the gross NPA ratio was 3.43 per cent (2.88 per cent). The provision coverage ratio stood at 65.38 per cent (70.58 per cent).
• The bank, in a press release, said towards accelerate recovery of NPAs it had conducted two Bruhat Synd Adalats during the current fiscal. It proposes to conduct such adalats across the country on November 18.