Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 February 2015

:: National ::

India, Sri Lanka sign three pacts

Calling his visit to New Delhi a “remarkable milestone” in taking India-Sri Lanka relations to a “greater height,” President Maithripala Sirisena expressed satisfaction that the visit had “borne very fruitful results.”
Mr. Sirisena and Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the signing of three agreements on agricultural cooperation, a memorandum of understanding on Nalanda University and an agreement on cultural cooperation.
On the conflict between Tamil fishermen from India accused of trespassing into Sri Lankan waters, Mr. Modi said a solution must be found by the fishermen’s associations of both countries as it affected the livelihood of people in both countries.
While there was no direct mention of talks between the two leaders over devolution of powers to the Northern and Eastern provinces or on the reconciliation process for Tamils after the 2009 anti-LTTE war, sources said “all aspects of bilateral importance were discussed.”

:: International ::

China’s ‘Silk Road fund’ becomes operational

China has taken a firm step to implement its vision of the Silk Road Economic Belt — an initiative to integrate the economies of Asia and Europe along the Eurasian corridor — by putting into operation its $40 billion infrastructure fund for this purpose.
The fund, flagged in November last by Chinese President Xi Jinping, has started functioning on the lines of Private Equity (PE) venture. With China as the fulcrum, it is meant to finance development of roads, rail tracks, fibre optic highways, and much more, that would connect South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe along an integrated land corridor.
Funds can also be allocated for the Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which envisions development of ports and facilities, mainly in the Indian Ocean. These ports will be connected to the hinterland by a string of land arteries, which will eventually hook up with the main Silk Road Economic Belt at specific junctions.
Xinhua quoted President Xi as saying during the November meeting with officials from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan that the purpose of the fund is to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia.
The Chinese President had offered investors from Asia and beyond to join the Silk Road fund for the development of specific projects.
The $40 billion fund was in addition to the decision to establish a $50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is also meant to help finance construction in the region.
On Monday, the semi-official China Business News quoted Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), as saying the $40 billion fund “has already started operations, with registration on December 29 and the first board meeting on January 6”.
China has poured part of its foreign exchange reserves in the fund, which include investors such as the China Investment Corp, the country's sovereign fund, and China Exim-Bank.
Analysts point out that as its economy slows down from its earlier blistering pace, China has developed large overcapacity in construction material, including cement and steel. China’s “One Road, One Belt” strategy, aimed at establishing new “growth engines” along the Eurasian corridor, could well absorb some of this surplus.

:: Business & Economy ::

Aero India 2015 to focus on ‘Make in India’ (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Sports ::

Daredevils pick up Yuvraj for Rs.16 crore

Yuvraj Singh continues to be the leading draw at IPL auctions. After commanding a hefty Rs.14 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore last year, the all-rounder again emerged numero uno at the player auction held at the ITC Gardenia Hotel.
Delhi Daredevils, with deep pockets thanks to an initial purse of Rs. 39,75,00,000, aggressively pursued the southpaw and edged his former team to secure him at a whopping Rs.16 crore, which turned out to be the day’s highest bid.
RCB, which released Yuvraj in a bid to expand its purse, strangely bid for him up to Rs.15.50 crore before backing off. Once Daredevils drew him into its fold, Yuvraj tweeted: “Namaste Delhi! @DelhiDaredevils enjoyed playing for Rcb but now look forward to play under a very special man called gaza! @Gary_Kirsten.”
While Yuvraj was happy to link-up with his former India coach, Daredevils continued to be a big-spender, snapping up Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews at Rs.7.50 crore.