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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 September 2014

National

The Kerala government submitted before a Bench of the Supreme Court that the right to sell liquor was not a fundamental right.
Government counsel Kapil Sibal, arguing against a petition challenging the decision to close 730 bars in the State, said the decision to close the bars was a policy decision. Bar licences could be cancelled any time.
In an urgent mentioning to stop the State from enforcing the policy, a battery of senior counsel appearing for the bar owners termed the policy “discriminatory.”

The government has decided to reconstitute the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) after the Supreme Court stayed decisions of its newly constituted standing committee in August for violating provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act.
The new committee is in keeping with the legal provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act which prescribes 10 non-official members and five independent NGOs and representatives from 10 States or Union Territories.
The Supreme Court on August 25 had in response to a petition put on hold the over 100 proposals approved by a truncated standing committee of the Board notified on July 22 which had only two non-official members and one government organisation on board, apart from a representative only from Andhra Pradesh.
The government did not constitute a full fledged Board.
The apex court while staying the August 12 decisions of the standing committee, said they were not in consonance with section 5 A the Wildlife Act, 1972.
The Bench directed that none of the orders passed by the standing committee would be given effect to until the next date of hearing after two weeks from August 25.
The order came in response to a petition filed by Pune resident Chandra Bhal Singh.

Hundreds of people paid their last respects to Nazrul Sangeet legend Firoza Begum who died at the age of 84.
The body of the eminent singer, who had mesmerised Bengalis with her voice for seven decades, was brought to the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital where people from all walks of life paid homage. The singer had been ailing for a long time.
Born in 1930, Firoza Begum was educated in Calcutta in undivided India and was closely linked with rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, who is now Bangladesh’s national poet.

Singapore banned a local documentary about nine dissidents living in exile, saying its contents undermined national security.
The film To Singapore, with Love , directed by Singaporean director Tan Pin Pin, features interviews with the former activists and student leaders who fled Singapore from the 1960s until the 1980s.
The 70-minute documentary was released in December last year and has been screened at film festivals in Germany, Dubai, South Korea and the United States.
Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement it had “assessed that the contents of the film undermine national security because legitimate actions of the security agencies… are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals”.
Malaysia gained independence in 1957 and Singapore in 1965, both from Britain, after brief periods of self-rule. The Southeast Asian city-state famous for strict social controls has relaxed censorship rules in recent years, but maintains strict regulations on films that discuss local politics. — AFP

Czech car maker Skoda, launched its new face-lifted sports utility vehicles (SUV), the Yeti, at a price of Rs.18.63 lakh for the 4X2 variant while its 4X4 variant is priced at Rs.20.14 lakh (prices ex-showroom, Maharashtra).
Both variants are powered by a 2.0 TDI diesel engine.
The new Yeti is being offered at a slight premium to the existing variant and will feature cruise control, KESSY system and Light Assist.

In a significant move, the board of TVS Motor Company has appointed Sudarshan Venu, son of Venu Srinivasan, as the Joint Managing Director of the company.
As a whole-time director, Mr. Venu has already been very active in the affairs of the company.
In view of this, the board has chosen to elevate him to the position of Joint Managing Director.

Vijayan Rajes has been elected President of United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI) for 2014-15.
Mr. Vijayan owns MSP Plantations, Yercaud, and has been serving on the Executive Committee of UPASI since 2002-03.
N. Dharmaraj has been elected Vice-President, an UPASI release said. — PTI