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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 April 2015

:: National ::

Fabindia voyeur identified: police

The Goa police said they have zeroed in on the Fabindia employee who is alleged to have tampered with the CCTV cameras at its outlet in Candolim in Goa in a case of voyeurism, which came to light after Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani raised an alarm over a camera peeking into the trial room last week.
A charge sheet would be filed soon, police said. The offender, Crime Branch sources said, was one of the four Fabindia employees — Prashant Naik, Karim Lakhani, Raju Payanche and Paresh Bhagat — who were initially arrested and later granted bail.
Crime Branch Superintendent of Police Karthik Kashyap confirmed that they had “solved the case” and “zeroed in” on the person believed to be the culprit.
Meanwhile, seven Fabindia officials, including the MD and CEO, were on Thursday granted interim bail till April 23 by a local court, which however, ordered them to remain present before the Crime Branch for inquiry.
The outlet’s manager Chaitrali Sawant was also granted anticipatory bail earlier this week.
The iconic brand with an annual turnover of Rs. 760 crore, 187 stores in 75 cities and eight stores abroad, finds itself defending a hard-earned reputation, built carefully over the last four decades.
The brand is known for its scrupulous business practices and for employing a large number of women employees, well above the industry average. Fabindia is also famous for creating products using craft-based skills and techniques.

India seethes as Lakhvi is freed

The Lahore High Court has freed Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, on bail, striking down the detention orders against him, officials in Islamabad said.
Lakhvi was released, according to an official at Adiyala Prison in Rawalpindi, close to Islamabad.
Lashkar-e-Taiba’s charity wing Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), confirmed Lakhvi’s release. “Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi has been released from jail. He is free now and in a secure place,” a senior JuD official said. “We can’t say exactly where he is at the moment for security reasons.”
Reacting sharply to the grant of bail, India sent its High Commissioner in Islamabad to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry to register a protest. “This has reinforced the perception that Pakistan has a dual policy on dealing with terrorists and those who have carried out attacks or are posing a threat to India are being dealt with differently, and emphasised that this is a most negative development in so far as bilateral ties are concerned, ” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
In Paris, Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Lakhvi’s release was discussed at the delegation level, and French President Francois Hollande had shared India’s concerns over its impact.
Pakistan’s spokesperson blamed India for what she called “inordinate delays in cooperation” that “weakened the prosecution.”

SC orders free treatment for acid attack victims

In an order likely to have far-reaching effects, the Supreme Court ruled that private hospitals could neither “turn away” victims of acid attack nor wash their hands of after providing first aid.
The court made it mandatory for these hospitals across the country to provide full and free medical treatment to the victims.
The order said the term “treatment” included reconstructive surgery, free medicines, bed, rehabilitation and aftercare.
The order came on a public interest litigation petition filed by Laxmi, an acid attack victim, following nine years of fighting for the rights of victims.
The court directed that the first hospital to treat a victim should provide a certificate attesting that the patient was an acid attack victim. This certificate is meant to ensure the victim future benefits and medical care.

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:: International :

Hillary set to announce bid for White House

The former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will announce, her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination race in 2016, according to sources close to her campaign here.
Speculation on when and how Ms. Clinton would unveil her intentions has reached fever pitch in Washington and across the nation, even as several prominent Republicans such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky have thrown their hat in the ring.

Syrian peace talks in Moscow end in disarray (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business and Economy ::

Stricter outsourcing norms mooted for NBFCs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) should ensure that their outsourcing arrangements neither diminish their ability to fulfil their obligations to customers and RBI, nor impede effective supervision by the central bank.
While releasing its draft guidelines on Managing Risks and Code of Conduct in Outsourcing of Financial Services by NBFCs, the RBI said, “NBFCs should not engage in outsourcing that would result in their internal control, business conduct or reputation being compromised or weakened.”
NBFCs should not outsource core management functions including internal audit, compliance function and decision-making functions like determining compliance with KYC norms for opening deposit accounts, according sanction for loans and management of investment portfolio.
Moreover, the apex bank said, service providers should not be located outside India.
The RBI said that NBFCs would be responsible for the actions of their service providers including direct sales agents / direct marketing agents and recovery agents and the confidentiality of information pertaining to the customers that is available with the service provider.
Further the RBI said that outsourcing arrangements should not affect the rights of a customer against the NBFC, including the ability of the customer to obtain redress as applicable under relevant laws.
“NBFCs need to have a robust grievance redress mechanism, which in no way should be compromised on account of outsourcing,” said the RBI.
The service provider, if it is not a subsidiary of the NBFC, should not be owned or controlled by any director or officer / employee of the NBFC or their relatives.
The RBI also said that the NBFCs must ensure that they have the ability to access all books, records and information relevant to the outsourced activity available with the service provider;
Controls to ensure customer data confidentiality and service providers' liability in case of breach of security and leakage of confidential customer related information should be incorporated in the contract with the outsourcing agency.
Public confidence and customer trust in the NBFC is a prerequisite for the stability and reputation of the NBFC, said RBI, adding, “Hence the NBFC should seek to ensure the preservation and protection of the security and confidentiality of customer information in the custody or possession of the service provider.”
The RBI also said that suggestions/comments on the draft guidelines may be sent to it on or before May 8, 2015.

:: Science and Technology ::

India to buy 36 Rafale jets in ready condition

Marking a breakthrough in the protracted talks for striking the French Rafale jet deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would buy 36 of the fighter planes in flyaway condition, citing critical operational requirements of the Indian Air Force.
Mr. Modi made the announcement at a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande after their summit talks at Elysee Palace.
“Keeping in mind the critical operational necessity of fighter jets in India, I have talked to him [Hollande] and requested for 36 Rafale jets in flyaway condition as quickly as possible under a government-to-government deal,” he said.
An agreement on proceeding forward on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra was among the 17 pacts signed after the talks between Modi and Hollande.
The Jaitapur project, where French company Areva is to set up six nuclear reactors with a total power generation capacity of about 10,000 MW, has been stuck for long because of differences over the cost of the power generated.
The agreement between India’s Larsen and Toubro and France’s Areva is aimed at cost reduction by increasing localisation and to improve the financial viability of the Jaitapur project.
The original deal was for 126 fighter aircraft under the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft contest, which began in 2007.
Dassault Rafale was shortlisted in 2012 after rigorous evaluation but negotiations have been stuck over pricing and delivery guarantees for the aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) in India.
A direct purchase will drive down the costs as there is no technology transfer involved and the delivery of aircraft will be faster.

:: Sports ::

Australia beats NZ, enters the final

World champion Australia’s title defence continued in the right earnest as it defeated New Zealand 3-1 to register its fourth straight win in the Azlan Shah Cup hockey.
In the last match of the day Korea beat host Malaysia 3-2 to stay in the hunt.