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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 19 May 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 19 May 2015

:: National ::

In coma for 42 years, Aruna Shanbaug dies

Aruna Shanbaug (67), a former nurse at Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial Hospital who spent the last 42 years on a bed in a vegetative state after a sexual assault by a ward boy in 1973, died .
She was diagnosed with pneumonia last week and put on ventilator support. Doctors said her condition improved slightly, but she continued to remain on life support. “She suffered a cardiac arrest ,” said Dr. Avinash Supe, Dean, KEM. “Our staff tried everything possible to save her, but we could not. It’s a terrible loss to the KEM staff, who have been treating her for so long. She was part of our family.”
Shanbaug’s condition had been deteriorating for the last few years and she had difficulty swallowing food. The staff was feeding her nutrition powder through a tube (Ryle’s tube).
On November 27, 1973, Shanbaug, then a junior nurse at KEM, was brutally assaulted and raped by a ward boy-cum-sweeper Sohanlal B. Valmiki. He throttled her with a dog chain, cutting off the supply of blood and oxygen to key parts of her brain. She has been in a vegetative state ever since, confined to a bed at the hospital where nurses and staff took care of her.
After her death , a controversy erupted when her family members reached the hospital to claim the body, which the staff and nurses opposed.
“No one was here when we took care of her. How can someone come suddenly and claim the body? We will do the last rites,” said Namrata Kasabe, a nurse at KEM.
Later in the evening, a compromise was reached and she was cremated at the Bhoiwada crematorium. Dr. Supe and her family members collectively performed the last rites.

Clean Ganga project seeks corporate, NRI participation

The Rs. 20,000 crore Namami Gange project is spread over five years and covers 41 tributaries of Ganga. Rs. 7272 crore has been set aside for interventions in existing, defunct projects while Rs. 12,728 crore has been allocated for new initiatives. This is a four-fold increase since the new government came to power. Since 1985, Rs. 4168.55 crore has been spent on cleaning the river.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga that has been assigned the task of cleaning the river, is focussed on abatement of pollution and has designed its interventions around this. However, it is seeking partnerships and is tailoring its projects so that state governments, local municipalities and panchayats have a stake and take ownership of the projects for sustainability. To speed up the process of cleaning the river, the Mission has sought the participation of institutions, donors, overseas Indians, business and corporate houses to donate their might and money for projects or sponsoring projects to clean up the river . Already pilot projects have been launched in eight cities. The challenge is to set up a drainage system in thickly populated cities.
The urgent need is to bring down lean season BOD levels in the river to 10 mg/litre/day, the Total Suspended Solid levels to 10 mg/litre/day and Total Faecal Coliform to 100 mg/litre/day. These levels run into over lakhs at present.
“Stopping pollutants from coming into the Ganga are a priority,’’ say senior officials of the Mission. Donors and philanthropist agencies can take their pick in tackling surface pollution and can contribute, say, for river surface cleaning equipment which range from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 12 crores. They can sponsor improved electric or wood-based crematoriums .

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:: International ::

Wigneswaran calls for maximum devolution

For the first time since the end of the Eelam War-IV six years ago, Tamils paid homage openly to those who died during the War.
On the Mullivaikkal beach in Mullativu district where the last stage of the War was fought, the Northern Provincial Council organised a function in which lamps were lit and a five-minute silence was observed.
Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran and Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi president Mavai S. Senathirajah attended the function.
“This time, there were no restrictions on us in paying tribute to the dead. The area surrounding the beach is under the control of the security forces. We informed them in advance, though we did not seek any permission. The event went off smoothly,” Kandiya Sivagnanam, Chairman of the Council, told .
The Mullativu Magistrate had issued an order on Saturday banning functions that commemorate the role of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), even as it allowed people to remember their relatives who died in the War.
Addressing the function, the Chief Minister urged the Sri Lankan government and international community to take a decision on the Tamil question. “This in turn could usher in peace and dignity among various communities in Sri Lanka,” he said. He added, “The environment is now much more positive. Without delay, we must work towards the all important goal of maximum devolution for the Tamil speaking people”
Mr. Wigneswaran also explained why the Council had adopted a resolution, in February, accusing successive governments in the island of committing ‘genocide’ against Tamils. Truth should be brought to light and the guilty punished, he said.
According to Ruwan Gunasekara, Assistant Superintendent of Police and media spokesperson, people in Mullativu, Jaffna (both under the Northern Province) and Batticaloa (Eastern Province) took part peacefully in commemoration functions for their relatives. Asked whether there was any report of the LTTE getting hailed, the spokesperson replied in the negative.
At the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa criticised the LTTE for having murdered former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was instrumental in establishing Provincial Councils to enable devolution of powers. It was because of the army that the people in the Northern Province were leading their lives peacefully, he said, adding that no government should be allowed to go soft on separatism.

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:: Business and Economy ::

HDFC Bank, Apollo Hospitals join hands

HDFC Bank, in association with Apollo Hospitals, has launched a co-branded pre-paid card called HDFC Bank Apollo Medical Benefits Card, which will enable corporates to easily disburse medical allowance to their employees without waste of time and incurring any cost.
Corporates can load the specified allowance on to the card of each employee every month, which can be used by employees for medical expenditure at pan-India VISA/MasterCard outlets. “This card offers an easy and convenient way for corporates to save costs and eliminate administrative issues while disbursing medical allowances,” said Parag Rao, Senior Executive Vice-President and Business Head, Cards Payment Products and Merchant Acquiring Services, HDFC Bank.
“The Medical Benefit card is a win-win for employees, who benefit from cashless transactions for healthcare with unmatched savings, and the employer in terms of transparency, compliance and transaction cost saving. All companies and their employees will benefit and shift to this card in the future,” Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., said in a statement.
This first-of-its kind card offers employees access to additional benefits such as discounts and facilities, including free ambulance services. The card comes with a free accidental death insurance and accident hospitalisation insurance, and discount at Apollo Network (Apollo Hospitals, Apollo Pharmacies, Apollo Clinics and Apollo White Dental) across India.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Military modernisation picks up pace

In one year of the Narendra Modi government, military modernisation has gathered pace, especially in the last couple of months, with some quick decisions taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). However, major policy formulations, in particular, revision of Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) and a separate policy for ‘Make in India’, are still awaited.
The government’s election pitch of ‘One Rank One Pension’ for armed forces personnel has been cleared in principle and the final sanction is expected shortly.
The biggest decision of the NDA government in the field of defence was the termination of the long-running Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft contract for 126 jets and the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France in a government-to-government deal.
Apart from that, in a move with long-term implications, the government rightfully downsized the new mountain strike corps meant for the eastern border from 90,000 to 35,000 troops due to finance obligations.
The DAC has cumulatively cleared defence deals worth over Rs. 1,00,000 crore. The recent decisions on Avro replacement programme and Kamov helicopters, which involve industry in a big way, will help develop aerospace ecosystem in the country.
While some are long-pending deals, others are approvals to initiate the procurement process which involves long timelines. The need is to take things to the logical conclusion minus the time and cost overruns typical of our procurement process.

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:: Sports ::

ICC committee recommends removal of batting PowerPlay

The ICC Cricket Committee recommended the removal of batting PowerPlay besides allowing five fielders outside the circle in the last 10 overs.
The committee, headed by former India captain Anil Kumble, discussed the ODI playing conditions, code of conduct as far as player behaviour is concerned, illegal bowling actions, use of technology and helmet safety among other issues.
The Cricket Committee will recommend to the Chief Executives Committee that there should be three changes to the ODI fielding restrictions: the requirement to have two compulsory catchers in the first 10 overs be removed, the batting PowerPlay be removed and that five fieldsmen be allowed outside the circle from overs 41-50 instead of four.
In an attempt to strike a balance between bat and ball, the ICC will not introduce a regulation about the size of bats, but it will provide input on this issue to the MCC through the consultation process ahead of the re-drafting of the Laws of Cricket in 2017.
The committee reiterated its previous edict that boundaries at international venues needed to be set-up to the maximum size at each venue. The committee asked ICC to investigate ways in which no balls can be reviewed quickly upon the fall of a wicket and also recommended that all no-balls in ODI and T20I cricket should result in a free hit.
The committee supported the stronger stance being taken against inappropriate player behaviour, and was concerned at the increasing number of send-offs.
There was also strong support for the current practice of suspending captains for over rate breaches.
There was a discussion on the performance of DRS and the use of technology in umpiring.
There was a presentation on helmet safety, particularly the development of the new British Standard for cricket helmets, and the increasing number of manufacturers that now make helmets that are certified to this new standard.
Whilst the committee did not believe the wearing of helmets should be mandatory at international level, it did strongly recommend that all helmets worn by international players should be certified to this new British Standard.
The Cricket Committee's remit is to discuss cricket-playing matters and to make recommendations to the ICC Chief Executives' Committee and the ICC Board that will meet in Barbados during the apex body's annual conference week, from June 22 to 26.
“We have enjoyed two very productive days of meetings in which the committee discussed a wide range of issues affecting the global game through practical examples and illustrations,” said Kumble, the committee’s chairman.