Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 18 December 2015

:: NATIONAL ::

Future Androids versions might be named after Indian desserts

An Android version named 'Nankhatai' Google CEO Sundar Pichai thinks it is not a bad idea. After naming its Android versions lollipop, kit-kat, ice-cream sandwich and jellybean, Google might name the future generation of Androids after the names of Indian desserts

Borra caves

If the Survey and Construction (S&C) team of the Dandakaranya Balangir Kiriburu (DBK) Railway had not stumbled upon them, the Borra caves would not have become a major tourist attraction over the last four decades.
Though the caves, believed to be 150 million years old, were discovered by the British geologist William King in 1887, it was only after the construction of the DBK railway line, which then had its headquarters at Visakhapatnam, and the Borra railway station, that they gained immense popularity.
The 450 km-long K-K (Kothavalasa-Kirandul) line was constructed between 1960 and 1968 with Japanese financial aid mainly for transportation of iron ore from the Bailadila mines to the Visakhapatnam Port for export to Japan.

10th WTO Ministerial Conference- Nairobi

On the penultimate day of the Nairobi meet of the WTO, there was still no deal in sight to liberalise global trade.
India and other developing countries rejected the language in another draft text on the final Nairobi Ministerial Declaration.
Expressing “severe reservations” about the draft declaration on agriculture, India and the developing world have pointed out that it has not taken on board their demands , that they be given an effective tool to protect poor farmers' interests without any conditionality, and that the text mention a short deadline (of December 2016 or latest by December 2017) for arriving at a permanent solution for the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes.
As per the agriculture draft, the developing nations’ demand for an SSM (Special Safeguard Mechanism) would be accepted on the condition that these nations grant greater market access to farm goods through reduced tariffs.
The SSM will allow developing countries to temporarily hike duties to counter import surges and price falls of farm products.
India has said that an instrument similar to SSM is already available to a select few countries (mostly the developed countries) for over two decades, and therefore, the demand for SSM was reasonable and pragmatic.
The draft has taken note that the 'peace clause' -- as agreed during the 2013 Bali Ministerial Declaration and later made clear by the WTO General Council decision in November 2014 -- shall remain in force until a permanent solution in this regard is agreed and adopted
With this indefinite peace clause, the WTO member countries cannot challenge the agriculture subsidies given by nations saying they violate the provisions of the WTO norms.

‘Made Snana’ in Udupi (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Rs.40,000-cr. defence deal with Russia

A defence deal potentially worth Rs. 40,000 crore, one of the biggest of its kind to be approved by the Modi government, could be the highlight of Prime Minister’s visit to Russia
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared the purchase of five S-400 Triumf long-range air defence systems from Russia.
The S-400 missiles will enhance the national air defence capability and will help in warding off threats from long ranges
Mr. Modi government has been leveraging defence deals to reach out and further strategic cooperation with other nations.
During his visit to France last year, he surprised everyone with the announcement for the direct purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Security gave the final approval for the purchase of Apache and Chinook helicopters from the U.S. worth over $2.5 billion, in addition to other deals in the pipeline
The Army will also get 571 light bullet-proof vehicles to be used in counter-insurgency operations for Rs.310 crore, 120 trawls for T-72 and T-90 tanks for Rs.50 crore and two electronic warfare systems costing Rs.425 crore for the mountains to be developed by DRDO and produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
Hindustan Shipyard Limited is the designated shipyard to build them with foreign assistance of Rs.9,000 crore and these ships will be larger than the Deepak class tankers in service with on-board workshops.

Set up for Constitutional Assembly- Sri Lanka (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ::

Helixsafe to come to rescue

A wearable device that aims at automatically providing relief and summoning medical help for victims who are left unattended after serious automobile accidents has been developed by a student in Uttar Pradesh.
Seventeen-year-old Akshat Prakash, named his invention ‘HelixSafe’ and presented it at the Taiwan International Science Fair, 2015.
The device uses heartbeat variance as the key indicator to auto-detect grave injury during automobile accidents and auto- injects medicine to prolong the victim’s survival while informing the nearest medical facility for help. It provides life-prolonging support to accident victims as they wait for help to reach them.
Akshat has won ‘India’s First Whiz Kid’ award for Best Innovation, 2013, for the device. The award is given by Nurture Talent & Computer Society of India.

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:: BUSINESS ::

Maruti’s Gujarat plant gets nod for shareholders

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) minority shareholders have given a go-ahead for the proposal to let Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation develop and invest in its upcoming manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
The resolution has passed comfortably with 89.75 per cent of the minority shareholder who cast their vote voting in favour and 10.25 per cent voting against the proposal
Following the approval, the company will move ahead to transfer assets at the Gujarat plant, where it has already invested Rs.350 crore, to Suzuki's wholly owned arm Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt. Ltd.

Fed rate hike

The central bank raised the range of the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25 per cent and 0.50 per cent.
The US Federal Reserve has raised the interest rates by one quarter percentage, the first in seven years when America tumbled into a deep financial crisis with the collapse of the Wall Street.
This action marks the end of an extraordinary seven-year long period during which the Federal Reserve funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial crisis and recession since the Great Depression
Room for further improvement in the labor market remains and inflation continues to run below our longer run objective. But with the economy performing well and expected to continue to do so, the committee judged that a modest increase in the federal funds rate target is now appropriate. Recognising that even after this increase, monetary policy remains accommodative

Stocks surge as investors take Fed rate increase in stride

Investors shrugged-off the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first interest rate increase in almost a decade, with stocks surging and the rupee closing at a one-month high.
The Fed raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points and signalled it was in no rush to raise rates again.
The increase, which had been factored in by most market participants, ended the uncertainty over the U.S. central bank’s timing of its decision and helped the BSE Sensex climb almost 310 points.
As far as markets are concerned, the major uncertainty has gone and the focus will now shift to the fundamentals of India. While the emerging market space, as a whole, may look less attractive versus the U.S. economy, India is likely to stand out.
India is less dependent than several of its peers on commodity exports, and has thus not been negatively affected by the global rout in commodity price