(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 January 2015

:: National ::

SC asks government for update on ‘Ganga clean-up projects’

The Supreme Court asked the NDA government if there was any chance of cleaning up the Ganga river during its current term in power. Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar submitted that a consortium of IITs was preparing a road map for cleaning the river.
He said the government was proposing a total of 80 sewage treatment plants (STPs) which would process, in a day, 368 million litres of water flowing into the river in the five river basin States.
The court directed the government to present the status of 31 ongoing projects of STPs and 15 others which were in the bidding stage.
The hearing primarily focused on the domestic sewage flowing into the river. In October 2014, the Bench had referred to the National Green Tribunal the responsibility of monitoring and inspecting industrial units along the river and even cut off their water and power connections if they were found to be polluting.
The Supreme Court has been hearing this petition since the early 1980s. Numerous orders have been passed by it, directing the authorities to protect the river. The petition was filed by lawyer M.C. Mehta highlighting the alarming state of the river and its depletion owing to pollution.

:: Persons in News ::

H.S. Brahma to be new CEC

H.S. Brahma, the seniormost Election Commissioner, will succeed V.S. Sampath as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India. Mr. Sampath will demit office after turning 65.
Mr. Sampath paid a farewell visit to President Pranab Mukherjee. In just under six years in the Election Commission, first as EC then as CEC, he helped conduct two Lok Sabha elections and at least one round of Assembly elections in every State.
A 1973-batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, he held several important positions in the Union government, including as Secretary, Rural Development and Power, before being appointed an Election Commissioner in March 2009.
Mr. Brahma, who hails from Assam, is also an IAS officer from the 1975 batch of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Like Mr. Sampath, he too held the post of Power Secretary before being appointed Election Commissioner in August 2010.
He will hold office for only a very short period, until he turns 65 on April 19 this year. Mr. Brahma has also held posts such as Joint Secretary (Border Management) in the Union Home Ministry. He also worked as Special Secretary & Additional Secretary in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

:: International ::

Japan approves its largest defence budget

Japan approved its largest-ever defence budget for the next fiscal year, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks to strengthen surveillance of territorial waters in the face of a continuing spat with China.
For the year to March 2016, Tokyo will spend 4.98 trillion yen ($41.97 billion), the government said, rising for the third straight year.
“This is the largest budget ever,” said a defence ministry official, adding the highest allocation previously was 4.96 trillion yen earmarked in 2002.
The trend reflects Mr. Abe’s wish to build a more active military, with an eye on a possible escalation of tensions with China.

Global economy to expand by 3% in 2015 (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business & Economy ::

Jaitley hailed decision of RBI to cut interest rate

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hailed the decision of RBI to cut the interest rate, saying it is positive for the Indian economy and will certainly help in reviving the investment cycle the government is trying to restore.
“The RBI decision to cut the interest rate will lead to more money in the hands of the consumer for greater spending," Mr. Jaitley said.
“It is positive for the Indian economy and it will certainly help in reviving the investment cycle the government is trying to restore,” said Mr. Jaitley who has been nudging the central bank to ease the interest rate to lower the cost of capital.
Earlier in the day, the RBI cut interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent.

RBI decided to cut repo rates by 25 basis points

Encouraged by softening inflation, the RBI decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent with a view to boost growth. The decision to reduce repo rate comes a fortnight ahead of the scheduled date of monetary policy announcement on February 3.
“It has been decided to reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 8.0 per cent to 7.75 per cent with immediate effect,” Reserve Bank said in a statement.
The RBI has been keeping the benchmark interest rate at elevated level at 8 per cent since January 2014. The RBI, however, has decided to keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the portion of deposits which the banks are required to have in cash with the central bank, unchanged at 4.0 per cent.
Following reduction in the repo rate, the reverse repo rate has been adjusted to 6.75 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and Bank Rate to 8.75 per cent.
The RBI said that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been easing since July 2014 and was below the expected trajectory and the government has reiterated its commitment to adhering to its fiscal deficit target.

WPI inflation almost flat at 0.11% in Dec.

Wholesale inflation inched up to 0.11 per cent in December from 0 per cent in November on the back of a surge in food prices, raising hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in its next Monetary Policy Review, scheduled to be held on February 3.
Wholesale inflation in food, according to official data released on Wednesday, shot up to 5.2 per cent, a five-month high. It was 0.63 per cent in November. Inflation in pulses, vegetables and fruits was higher in December over the previous month.
The rise in food prices is attributed to the increase in prices in vegetables, fruits, pulses, onion and potatoes. Inflation as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI) has been on the decline since June.
The sub-1 per cent WPI inflation figure soon comes after the latest retail inflation data, released, at 5 per cent, too showed a marginal increase, and yet remained below expectations. With global crude now below $50 a barrel, fuel inflation continued to fall.
Wholesale inflation for fuel fell to minus 7.82 per cent in December against minus 4.91 per cent in November. Commenting on the WPI inflation, Confederation of Indian Industry Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said that the December figure was much more favourable than anticipated.
The CII hopes that the conducive inflationary situation would spur the RBI to move away from its inflation-centric approach to policy making and focus on rejuvenating growth in the economy and industry, in its forthcoming monetary policy, he said in a statement.

Infosys announces $250 million ‘Innovate in India Fund’ (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Government likely to sell 10% stake in IOC this fiscal (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Coca-Cola to cut jobs in India (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Sports ::

Brett Lee announced retirement from all forms of cricket

Former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee announced his pending retirement from all forms of cricket after a 20-year career.
The 38-year-old pacer quit international cricket in July 2012, but had been a Twenty20 regular, both in the Indian Premier League and the domestic competition in Australia.
Lee, who made the announcement at the Sydney Cricket Ground, remains the equal leading wicket-taker for Australia in ODIs with Glenn McGrath, with 380 in 221 appearances. Lee also took 310 wickets in 76 Tests for Australia.

:: Science & Technology ::

Playing music benefits the brain: research

More than a decade ago, there was great buzz in the press and media on something that was tantalizingly referred to as “The Mozart Effect”. Some researchers claimed that school students performed better in tests as they were listening to music by the great European classical music composer Mozart.
Compared to them, another set of students (control group, same age, same background and so forth) who took the same tests, but with no Mozart in the background, did less well.
This news spread like wildfire and parents began playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to their children with the hope of elevating their performance, and hopefully IQ values as well.
Several questions were raised about this Mozart effect, both in the professional and popular press. Is it reproducible (not always, low sample size)? Does listening to music only calm the mind and focus it to the task on hand? Why Mozart, why not Beethoven, Bach or Beatles? Why only western music, and not Carnatic, Hindustani, Japanese or even soothing chants? Is the effect temporary or long-lasting? Do lullabies make infants smarter, besides sleep-inducing?
Many of these questions were attempted to be answered by a variety of experiments — amateur and professional — and the overall consensus appears to be that music is good for you, but as far as the Mozart Effect goes, the jury is still out.
A more scientifically challenging question here is whether music makes noticeable change in your cognitive abilities, and affect and alter the brain in perceptible ways.
Is listening to music as a passive recipient sufficient, or should one actively engage in music — singing solo or in groups, playing an instrument, and improvising more effectively? Note that in the latter case, you are actually exerting and exercising your brain. In other words, listening to Mozart, or to play Mozart — which would be a better or true “Mozart Effect”?

Researchers identified Mutations causing abnormal heart muscle protein

An international team of researchers have sought to identify genetic mutations that produce abnormal forms of a key heart muscle protein. As a result of the mutations, the heart muscles weaken and produce a condition known as ‘dilated cardiomyopathy.’
The increased strain that is then put on the heart can lead to heart failure where the organ is unable to pump the requisite quantities of blood.
Changes to titin, a protein that is part of the mechanism muscles use to contract and relax, have been implicated as a cause for dilated cardiomyopathy.
Titin is the largest human protein and is produced by a gene whose genetic information exists as 364 separate segments, known as exons. Variations in how the genetic data from these exons are assembled mean that the protein can exist in a variety of forms.
A 2012 study carried out in severe and familial cases of dilated cardiomyopathy found that disruptive mutations in the gene, resulting in truncated titin variants being produced, were the commonest genetic cause for the ailment.
Researchers who carried out that study have gone on to examine titin gene sequences from over 5,200 individuals, with and without the condition, as well as scrutinising 150 heart tissue samples collected from patients who underwent heart surgery.