Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 January 2015

:: National ::

Government allows direct sale of bio-diesel by manufacturers

In a bid to augment supply of environment friendly fuel, the government allowed private manufacturers of bio-diesel to sell it directly to consumers like Indian Railways.
Till now, only state-owned oil firms and only those private firms investing Rs 2,000 crore in oil infrastructure were allowed to retail petrol and diesel. Bio-diesel, which is to be doped in diesel before being used to fire automobiles, too was clubbed under this rule.
“The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for amending the Motor Spirit (petrol) and High Speed Diesel (diesel) control order for Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices dated December 19, 2005,” said an official statement.
“The amendment will allow private bio-diesel manufacturers, their authorised dealers and joint ventures of oil marketing companies (OMCs) authorised by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) as dealers and give marketing /distribution functions to them for the limited purpose of supply of bio-diesel to consumers,” it said.
Also, the Rs 2,000 crore investment “will also be relaxed and a new clause added to give marketing rights for bio-diesel to the private bio-diesel manufacturers, their authorised dealers and JVs of OMCs authorised by the MoP&NG for direct sales to consumers”, it said.
The amendment was made because users faced problems in sourcing bio-diesel. State-owned firms had their financial consideration because cost of bio-diesel was more than the refinery-gate price of diesel.
With the relaxation, bulk users like Railways can buy bio-diesel directly from manufacturers and dope in diesel for running locomotives. “This decision will encourage the production and use of bio-diesel in the country,” the statement said.

:: Business & Economy ::

Decision by RBI to cut rate to help revive realty market sentiment

The decision by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent, although small, will boost the overall sentiment in the real estate market, the industry felt.
The liquidity-starved industry has seen increasing non-performing assets (NPAs) and banks have been wary of increasing their exposure to it.
The rate cut is also an indicator that inflation is now under control and that the government is keen on initiating steps to boost economic growth, felt experts.
“It is a small step but reflects positive intent and sends the right signals,’’ Lalit Kumar Jain, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) said, adding, ``currently the effective rate is around 10.25 per cent as banks are not passing on the rates fully.
The industry cannot sustain business at a rate above 8 per cent and we are sure the rate will be brought down further.’’ The move is expected to instill hope and confidence in the real estate industry.
"However, the impact of this move on the real estate sector will be manifested only when commercial banks lower their lending rates. Leading banks may actually lead the obvious reduction,’’ said Sanjay Dutt, executive MD – South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate consultancy. He expected demand from end-users to take a bit longer to actually transform into active buying.
Mr. Jain said a reduction of 200 basis points within a short span is needed. "RBI should look at the housing sector favorably given its linkages. It needs a policy for project funding to developers and has to take into consideration the market’s cyclical nature.’’

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:: Persons in News ::

Shrivastava is new BSNL chairman and managing director

Anupam Shrivastava has been appointed the chairman and managing director (CMD) of state-run BSNL from January 15, a company statement said.
Mr. Shrivastava has been appointed CMD of BSNL for a period of five years or till the time of superannuation at the age of 60 years, it said.
“Government is focusing on connecting unconnected people with telecom services including high-speed broadband. As BSNL CMD, it will be my top propriety to work with government in connecting people at affordable cost, expeditiously and at turning around BSNL into a profitable venture,” Mr. Shrivastava said after assuming the office.
“I will take up important pending project of NOFN (National Optical Fibre Network), mobile service in Maoist-hit areas,” he added.
Prior to this posting, Mr. Shrivastava has served as director (consumer mobility) BSNL. He has also worked as senior general manager at Jodhpur, Ajmer and Jaipur in Rajasthan Telecom Circle.

:: Science & Technology ::

Britain's "Beagle 2" spacecraft found on Mars

Britain's infamous "Beagle 2" spacecraft, once dubbed "a heroic failure" by the nation's Astronomer Royal, has been found on Mars -- 11 years after it went missing searching for extraterrestrial life.
Beagle 2, part of the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission, had been due to land on Mars on Christmas Day 2003, but went missing on December 19, 2003. Until now, nothing had been heard from it since then.
But in an announcement made to a packed news conference at London's Royal Society scientific institution, space experts said the tiny Mars lander has been found on the surface of the red planet.
"Beagle 2 is no longer lost," said David Parker, chief executive of the UK Space Agency. He said scientists now had "good evidence" that the spacecraft successfully landed on Mars on the date it was due -- December 25, 2003 -- but had only partially deployed.
"This find shows that the entry, descent and landing sequence for Beagle 2 worked and the lander did successfully touch down on Mars on Christmas Day 2003," the UK space agency said in a statement.
Beagle 2 -- which measures less than 2 metres across -- was named after the ship Charles Darwin sailed when he formulated his theory of evolution. It was built by British scientists for about 50 million pounds ($85 million)
The plan was for it to report back from the Mars' surface using instruments designed to help search for signs of life, but nothing was heard after it was dropped off to make its landing.

:: Sports ::

Advani to meet Sitwala in National billiards final

Six-time champion, Pankaj Advani, will take on PSPB teammate Dhruv Sitwala in the 82nd National billiards championship final at the BRC.
Advani overcame Siddharth Parikh of Railways 4-2 and Sitwala, looking to win his maiden crown, registered a thrilling 4-3 victory over B. Bhaskar of Karnataka for the third entry into the title round.
Advani took three hours to tame Parikh. An unfinished break of 148 gave Advani the first frame at 150-37 and two small breaks of 50 and 66 ensured 2-0 lead (150-87).
Parikh compiled an unfinished 107 to neutralise Advani’s lead of 114 to take the frame at 114-150. The 12-time world champion hit back with vengeance in the fourth.
A lead of 52 disappeared as Advani showed his cueing prowess with a terrific unfinished 154 to make it 3-1. It was a close fifth frame when Pankaj missed a fairly easy canon at 140-138 and Parikh ensured 2-3 in his favour.
The master of green baize, however, proved his class with two good breaks of 70 and 53 to take the frame at 150-45. “I am glad that even on a day when I was not at my best I managed to pull it off,” Advani said.
“Full credit to Siddharth who has come into top four after ten years. I am happy that I am through to the final,” a relieved Advani said.