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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 14 April 2015

:: National ::

Government notifies NJAC, puts an end to collegium

Acting on its words in the Supreme Court that “the judges’ job is to judge cases and not to appoint their brother judges,” the Union government notified the National Judicial Appointments Commission law and effectively brought to an end the two-decades-old collegium system of appointing judges.
The notification brings into immediate effect the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014, and the 99th Constitution Amendment Act.
Now, the political class and civil society have an equal voice, along with the judiciary, in the appointment and transfer of judges in the highest judiciary.
The notification comes hardly 48 hours before a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court was to hear a batch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of the NJAC law on April 15.
But the notification was made possible by the Supreme Court itself on April 7.
While referring the petitions to a larger Bench, the court had refused to pass a stay order on the law coming into force.

Future Rafale deals will be direct, says Parrikar

The government indicated that it is ready to scrap the current project under negotiation for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar specified that any Rafale purchases in future would be through direct negotiations with the French government and not the manufacturers.
Mr. Parrikar said the direct announcement of purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft by Prime Minster Narendra Modi in France was a result of the earlier negotiations going into a “vortex.” “Negotiation under the existing Request for Proposal (RFP) had gone into a loop with no solution in sight,” Mr. Parrikar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to France had announced direct purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft through a government-to-government deal.

Panel to look into post-66A security concerns

In the wake of the recent Supreme Court directive striking down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, the Union Home Ministry has set up a committee to recommend measures for addressing national security concerns.
“After the apex court declared Section 66A of the Information Technology Act unconstitutional, security agencies raised concerns about activities on digital media that threaten national security and inciting violence. Accordingly, a committee headed by Special Secretary (Internal Security) Ashok Prasad has been set up,” said an MHA official, adding that online propaganda by terror outfits was one such concern.
The committee, comprising representatives of the Intelligence Bureau, the National Investigation Agency and the Delhi Police, is expected to submit its recommendations to the Information Technology Ministry in a month.
“One of the feasible ways to address the issue can be a suitable amendment to the Indian Penal Code,” said another official.
There was an urgent need to fill the “void” created in the legal space, the official said, adding, “the 2012 mass exodus of people from the North-East from different parts of the country due to rumour-mongering on the Internet and through mobile phone messages is a glaring example. We need to have laws in place for effective handling of such cases.”
The Supreme Court had on March 24 declared the “draconian” Section 66A of the Information Technology Act unconstitutional, observing: “It is clear that Section 66A arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately invades the right of free speech and upsets the balance between such right and the reasonable restrictions that may be imposed on such right.”

Modi, Kejriwal among 100 most influential people

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been voted among the 100 most influential people in the world in an online poll by readers of Time magazine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged the winner of this year’s Time 100 readers’ poll. He edged out rapper-singer CL to claim the number one spot with 6.95 per cent of the votes in the final tally.
Pop stars Lady Gaga (2.6 per cent), Rihanna (1.9 per cent) and Taylor Swift (1.8 per cent) rounded out the top five.
While the official list of the 100 most influential people in the world will be announced later this week, Time editors had asked readers to cast their vote online for people from politics, entertainment, business, technology, science, religion and other fields who “changed the world this past year, for better or worse.”
Mr. Modi, however garnered just 0.6 per cent of the votes cast, with only 34 per cent of the people voting in his favour and 66 per cent against.
Mr. Kejriwal got 0.5 per cent, with 71 per cent voters saying he should not be in the list.
BJP president Amit Shah was also on the initial list but failed to garner enough votes to make it to the top 100.
Other winners include Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, actress Emma Watson, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, Pope Francis, Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Chinese President Xi Jinping, rapper Kanye West, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yahoo CEO Marisa Mayer.

Ambedkar's 124th birth anniversary

On the 124th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, Google India has created a doodle with his caricature.
A noted jurist, economist and social reformer, Dr. Ambedkar campaigned against discrimination of Dalits, caste discrimination, and 'untouchability.'
As the free India's first Law Minister and Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, Dr. Ambedkar drafted the nation's constitution.
He was posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Political parties have planned year-long celebrations to mark his 125th birth anniversary year beginning today.
Dr B.R. Ambedkar, an eminent jurist and politician, was one of the prime architects of the Indian Constitution. He fought to secure constitutional guarantees for socially backward classes and eradicate untouchability, caste restrictions. He was Independent India's first Law Minister and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990.

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:: International :

Gunter Grass dead

Germany’s Nobel-winning author, Gunter Grass, who acted as a moral compass for many in the post-war nation but later provoked criticism over his own World War II past, died aged 87, his publishers said.

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:: Business and Economy ::

Fully support net neutrality, says Airtel

Telecom major Airtel , said it fully supports the concept of net neutrality and its ‘Airtel Zero’ platform is open to all on non-discriminatory basis.
The comments follow e-commerce major Flipkart’s decision to “walk away” from its proposed tie-up with Airtel that has been at the centre of a raging debate over a need to maintain equal Internet access for all.
“Airtel fully supports the concept of Net Neutrality. There have been some misconceptions about our toll free data platform — Airtel Zero. It is a not a tariff proposition but is an open marketing platform,” Airtel said in a statement.
Airtel launched the Zero platform last week that allowed customers to access certain mobile applications for free with charges being borne by app makers.
“The toll free platform is open to all content providers on a completely non-discriminatory basis and operates on the same principle as 1-800 toll free voice services,” it said.
Airtel said the statement made by Flipkart regarding their decision not to offer toll free data service to their customers is consistent with the telecom firm stand that Airtel Zero is not a tariff proposition.
“It is merely an open platform for content providers to provide toll free data services. The platform remains open to all companies who want to offer these toll free data services to their customers on a completely non discriminatory basis,” Airtel said.
Airtel Zero has come under attack with critics terming it as an attempt to restrict ‘free’ internet access to select platforms and against the net neutrality regime.
A government-appointed panel is looking into these concerns and is likely to submit its report next month, while the matter is being separately studied by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Free Internet advocates and start-ups see the move as a violation of net neutrality and one that could even “lead to monopolisation by a few and squeezing out of small companies”.

Bajaj launches Pulsar AS 200 and AS 150

Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto, launched its new range of sports bike Pulsar Adventure Sport priced between Rs.79,000 and Rs.91,550 (ex-showroom Delhi).
“These new generation bikes are a winning combination of easy handling in traffic and raw brutal power,” said Eric Vas, president, motorcycles business, Bajaj Auto.
“We have always led on product initiatives and have continuously expanded the Pulsar range to cater to the various consumer preferences in the sports segment,” Mr. Vas added.
The new range comprises of two variants — Pulsar AS 200 and AS 150. The Pulsar AS 200 is powered by a 199.5 cc triple spark, 4-valve liquid cooled DTSi engine while the Pulsar AS 150 runs on a 149.5 cc twin spark, 4-valve air cooled DTSi engine.
The Pulsar range sells 57,000 units every month in the domestic market.

India’s GDP growth rate to reach 8% by 2017: World Bank

The World Bank has predicted a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent for India by 2017 and said that a strong expansion in the country, coupled with favourable oil prices, would accelerate the economic growth in South Asia.
In India, GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.5 per cent in fiscal year 2015/16. It could reach 8 per cent in FY 2017/18, on the back of significant acceleration of investment growth to 12 per cent during FY 2016-FY 2018, the bank said in its semi-annual report.
The country is attempting to shift from consumption to investment-led growth, at a time when China is undergoing the opposite transition, it said.
The bank’s twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus report projected steady increase in regional growth from 7 per cent in 2015 to 7.6 per cent by 2017 on grounds of strong consumption and increasing investment.
Given India’s weight in regional Gross Domestic Product, the projections reflect to a large extent India’s expected growth acceleration, driven by business-oriented reforms and improved investor sentiment.
The decline in oil prices has been reflected in the domestic prices of oil products to different extents across the region. The pass-through exceeded 50 per cent for most oil products in Pakistan, but was nil in Bangladesh, it said.
Together with favourable food prices, cheaper oil has contributed to a rapid deceleration of inflation. South Asia went from having the highest inflation rate among developing regions to having the lowest in barely one year.
In March 2013, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the region had increased by 7.3 per cent year-on-year compared to 1.4 per cent in March 2015, the report said.
“The biggest oil price dividend to be cashed in by South Asia is one yet to be earned, but it is not one that will automatically transit through government or consumer accounts,” said World Bank South Asia Chief Economist Martin Rama.
“Cheap oil gives the opportunity to rationalize energy prices, reducing the fiscal burden from subsidies and contributing to environmental sustainability,” he said.
The report noted India has already taken encouraging steps to decouple international oil prices from fiscal deficits and to introduce carbon taxation to address the negative externalities from the use of fossil fuels.
The challenge will be to stay the course in the event of oil price hikes, something that may well happen in the medium-term.
“Savings from reduced subsidy bills could be used to address the crying needs of the region in terms of infrastructure, basic services and targeted support for the poor,” said World Bank Vice President for South Asia Annette Dixon.
The report shows that households in the region stand to gain from lower oil prices, both directly through lower energy spending and indirectly through faster growth. But except for kerosene, richer households spend more in oil products, and stand to gain more.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Mars might have transient liquid water

After finding strong evidence supporting the presence of lake, river and glacier once upon a time on Mars, scientists have now found indirect evidence to support the presence of transient liquid water brine (very salty water) on Mars.
The brine is likely to be present in the uppermost 5 cm of the Mars soil from sunset to sunrise during winter and for shorter windows of time during other seasons.
At night, some of the water vapour in the atmosphere condenses as frost. Calcium perchlorate salt, which is globally present on Mars, absorbs the frost and forms brine by reducing the freezing temperature of water.
The inference of transient liquid water on the red planet was based on the analysis of relative humidity, air temperature, and ground temperature data collected by Curiosity from the Gale Crater over one full Martian year. The results were published on April 13, 2015 in the journal Nature Geoscience .
The authors state that the water activity and temperature are “probably low” to support any form of terrestrial life. Also, the transient nature of water is not conducive for the replication and metabolism of terrestrial micro-organisms.
Since the data collected by Curiosity is from the equator, the driest and warmest region of the red planet, the possibility of abundant brines in other regions of the planet is high due to greater atmospheric water content in the form of humidity and lower temperature. The presence of brine also affects the solubility of other salts in the uppermost 15 cm of soil.

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:: Sports ::

Allan Donald quits as South Africa bowling coach

Fomer fast bowler Allan Donald, stepped down as South Africa’s bowling coach after four years with the team.
Donald said it was the right time to move on following last month’s World Cup, where South Africa lost in the semi-finals.
Donald joined as bowling coach under former head coach Gary Kirsten in 2011. The 48-year-old former fast bowler played 72 tests and took 330 wickets, fourth on the list of South African wicket-takers.
Cricket South Africa said it had not yet appointed a replacement.