Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 20 February 2016

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 20 February 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Kalikho Pul sworn in as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh

• The dissident Congress leader, Kalikho Pul, was sworn in as Chief Minister in the night.

• Prior to this, both factions of the Congress, one headed by Mr.Pul and the other by former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, staked their claim to form a new government in the State.

• At present, the dissenting Congress faction consists of 21 leaders.

• Since they have the support of 11 BJP MLAs, they have the numerical majority in the 50- member Assembly.

India welcomes Pakistan move to file case for Pathankot attack

• In a clear hint of the two countries holding the Foreign Secretary-level talks soon, India welcomed Pakistan’s move to file a case against an unnamed extremist group suspected of executing the January 2 attack on the Pathankot airbase.

• India’s response came a day after the Pakistani police filed a case against a suspected terror group under the strict Anti Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Penal Code.

• Immediately after the attack, India pointed the finger at the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has its headquarters in Gujranwala, but did not receive a favourable response even after providing technical evidence of the involvement of members of this group.

• But the press release from Pakistan indicated that the police had filed the case against the terror group, though an official confirmation is expected.

BCCI to point out difficulties in implementing Lodha committee recommendations

• The BCCI’s full, associate and affiliate members, without going deep into the report of the Supreme Court- appointed Lodha Committee on ‘Reforms In Cricket’, authorised secretary Anurag Thakur to file an Affidavit in the court.

• Affidavit will point to the “anomalies and difficulties” in implementing the recommendations.

• Constitutional lawyer K.K. Venugopal will appear for the BCCI before the Bench on March 4.

Successful hotbed test of cryogenic engine makes ISRO upbeat (Register and Login to read Full News..)

SC declined to hear the bail plea of Kanhaiya Kumar (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Haryana government gave assurance about Jat reservation (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: INTERNATIONAL::

New sanctions imposed by U.S. on North Korea

• U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law a piece of legislation passed by Congress imposing new sanctions against North Korea for testing a nuclear device on January 6 and launching a satellite on February 7 using ballistic missile technology.

• New unilateral sanctions by the U.S seek to sharpen and expand the scope of existing sanctions against the North, but with its neighbour and closest ally China opposed to it, the efficacy of the move remains ambiguous at best.

• Despite intense U.S diplomatic efforts, including a visit by Secretary of State John Kerry to China in January last week, there has been no agreement between the two countries on the nature of the measures to be taken against a defiant North.

• As a result, negotiations at the UN for new multilateral sanctions are stuck. China has opposed the unilateral sanctions announced by the U.S.

• The new sanctions regime will require the President to mandatorily investigate and designate persons and entities for violations.

• The law will also give more tools to the administration to enforce secondary sanctions — which are restrictions on a third country from doing business with the North.

• The law also provides for $50 million to support humanitarian programmes and transmit radio broadcasts into the North.

• North Korea’s main supply lines are from China, which has been unwilling to be harsher with sanctions.

• U.S.’s unilateral push could further add to the tensions with China, heightened in recent days over disputes in South China Sea.

Membership talks between U.K. And E.U. To continue some more time (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: INDIA and WORLD ::

Nepal’s PM on visit to India

• Aiming for Nepal’s recovery from more than five months of economic blockade, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who arrived on a six-day visit to India on afternoon, is expected to seal crucial bilateral agreements.

• This visit is a confidence- boosting step. It’s not just about agreements and accords.

• Mr.Oli’s visit, however, began on a dramatic note when 40 Madhesi students from Nepal were detained by the Delhi police near the embassy of Nepalwhen they were trying to reach the public reception organised by the ambassador of Nepal.

• Earlier, another group of Madhesi students staged a protest outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

EU-India summit to be held after the gap of four years (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: BUSINESS and ECONOMY ::

Historically low solar tariffs could dent operating margins

• Low tariff bids for recent solar projects could prove risky for developers as any slight changes in costs could dent operating margins.

• Developers are banking on the fact that module prices have been falling and so will fall in the future, then this could work adversely for them since module prices have already started plateauing.

• Solar tariffs hit a historic low of Rs 4.34 per unit in January following the bid for a 70 MW project in Rajasthan by Finnish solar power company Fortum Energy.

• At the time, many experts said that the tariffs are moving too low and that they would dissuade private lenders from giving loans for solar projects.

• The key to boosting rooftop solar adoption — something that has been sluggish so far—is to make the power distribution companies (discoms) more financially secure.

• At a time when the health of the discoms is so poor, they don’t particularly favour people going for rooftop solar and buying less from the grid.

• The renewable energy sector in India, though benefiting from the huge push by the NDA-government, still needs some incentives- —both in policy and in the upcoming Budget—for the sector to take off.

• At the moment, the country has 34 GW of operating wind capacity and 4 GW of operating solar capacity.

• Going by the bid processes in the last year, an additional 2 GW should be under construction in each of the sectors.

Competitive prices and shorter shipping distances makes easier to import from OPEC (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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