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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 09 March 2014

Agitation chart in 2012

Agitations by various sections over a range of issues recorded an increase of nearly 7 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011, with 78,444 protests and demonstrations reported all over the country.
At the State level, the maximum number of 21,232 agitations — including over 10,000 protests by political parties, 2,720 by government employees, 1,392 by labour and 1,281 agitations on communal issues — were reported in Tamil Nadu, as against 15,746 in 2011. The fewest number of protests (574) in the State involved students.
While 9,397 agitations were recorded in Madhya Pradesh, there were a total of 6,038 protests in Uttarakhand, reveals data recently released by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
The maximum number of agitations was political in nature (37.13 per cent), followed by protests on issues other than communal, student, government employees or labour-related (25 per cent). Communal agitations accounted for 4.95 per cent and student protests, about 9.41 per cent of the total number.
While Tamil Nadu recorded the maximum number of communal agitations (1,281), Maharashtra stood second with 1,261. It was followed by Karnataka (445) and Delhi (425). The BPR&D report states no communal agitation was reported from Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Manipur, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, the A&N Islands, D &N Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep.
The maximum number of student agitations was reported in Rajasthan (939), followed by 862 in Uttarakhand, 850 in Madhya Pradesh and 811 in Assam.

Demwe project

The controversial 1,750MW Demwe mega-dam project in Arunachal Pradesh could be in for more trouble with the Assam government stating that the project needed clearance from the State wildlife authorities as it would impact the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
The project on Lohit river got a wildlife clearance from the Environment Ministry in February 2012 and has been challenged in the National Green Tribunal at present.
The Assam government, in its affidavit before the tribunal, has contended that the project in the upper riparian State will alter the riverine ecology of the national park and therefore under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 requires a clearance from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State.
The Assam government has also said that the impact of the project further downstream of the Kaziranga National Park too requires an assessment by experts.

Memories of partition

Thousands of people from across the world have rallied to collect the moving stories of one of the greatest migrations after South Asia’s 1947 violent partition and the birth of two nations — India and Pakistan.
Helping to preserve the history of that tragic event is a small team of volunteers based at the University of California in Berkeley and their newly founded organization, The 1947 Partition Archive.
The group uses web-based “crowdsourcing” to record and preserve witness oral histories.
The 1947 Partition Archive collected $35,000 (Rs 21 lakh) through a crowdfunding campaign to equip itself for the task of documenting the witness accounts.
The ongoing project, which can be seen online at 1947 PartitionArchive.org, features an online Story Map showing where each person’s story originated.

Election in North Korea

North Korean state media reported that nearly all registered voters had cast their ballots to elect members of the Supreme People’s Assembly for the first time since Kim Jong Un took leadership of the authoritarian regime after his father’s death two years ago.
The Assembly is nominally the highest legislative power, but in practice only meets once or twice a year to rubber-stamp policies drawn up by the Workers’ Party.
At the previous election in 2009, 99.98 per cent of voters turned out, to vote 100-per-cent unanimously for their respective designated candidates.
One candidate was present in each constituency, leaving voters only the choice between voting “yes” or “no,” but observers of the isolated, communist regime were watching the designation of candidates for signs of change.
A shake-up of the top officials is thought to be under way in the reclusive country in the wake of the execution of Kim’s uncle and former mentor Jang Song Thaek in December.

High inflation and it’s adverse effects

Inflation is the biggest immediate challenge that the new government will face, according to Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group.
India had many challenges, but among the key ones, which had been bothering the nation over the past 2-3 years, was zero growth in manufacturing or close to zero industrial growth.
Control of food inflation would require even more attention because about 60 per cent of budget of most Indians went for food.
Besides the question of inflation in India , there are a few more puzzles around the world that sends mixed signals .
The European Union has been battling with debt crisis. Greece and many other countries have been struggling with sovereign debts, and their governments are indebted with no clear clue on repayments.
Standard & Poor downgraded the U.S. economy from AAA to AA on August 2, 2011 and in place of crashing , there was a huge bond rally in the U.S.
With debt crisis, Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 100 per cent or slightly above. Other countries such as Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal are also having debt-to-GDP ratios over 100 per cent. It is about 40 per cent for the U.S. and China. In India, it is 80 per cent. While there are concerns over sovereign debt crisis in the EU and other countries, there is, surprisingly, no mention about one country that has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world. It is Japan … and that has the ratio of about 350 per cent.

ICC Player Ranking: Virat Kohli is at number 1 spot

India’s Virat Kohli has reclaimed the No. 1 position in the latest ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, which were released recently after the conclusion of the Asia Cup.
Kohli had entered the Asia Cup, trailing No. 1 ranked South African batsman AB de Villiers by two ratings points.
Kohli’s tournament aggregate of 189 runs in three innings with 136 against Bangladesh as his series best earned him 12 ratings points, which has put him ahead of South Africa’s ODI captain by nine ratings points.
Kohli was last ranked No. 1 just before the ODI series against New Zealand in January.

World T20, 2014 host : Bangladesh

The World T20 2014 is all set to be held in Bangladesh between March 16 and April 6.
According to Mahbub Anam, Director, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and member of the local organising committee of the T20 World Cup, the tournament is the biggest in the nation’s history.
The BCB has also planned a concert featuring A.R. Rahman, Akon, and other local artistes on March 13 at the Bangabandhu Stadium.