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Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 25 February 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Agitations cannot hold the nation to ransom and be a reason to vandalise pub- lic property, the Supreme Court said. Organisers of such agitations will have to pay the cost.
The court’s resolve hit home after the widespread Jat quota agitation saw killings, burning and looting of shops, and mobs destroying canals supplying water to the National Capital.
The Haryana government reeled under losses worth several thousands of crores and the Army was brought in to protect public property.
The apex court had on January 14 asked the AG to assist it on the approach to be adopted in dealing with cases where public property was damaged on a large scale.
Hardik has claimed that the charges had been wrongly been invoked against him.

The Karnataka High Court lifted the stay on enforcement of new rules which enhanced the area for displaying health warning to 85 per cent from 50 per cent of the principal area on the packs of tobacco products.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently filed an application requesting the Court to vacate the stay by pointing out the direction issued by the Apex Court in 2009.
Ministry asked the High Courts not to interfere in the implementation of Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008, and the matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Justice Malimath pointed out that the legal issue related to the Rules of 2014 is also pending with the apex court as a litigant had sought a direction for the enforcement of the amended rules of 2014 by questioning the notification, which indefinitely deferred display of health warning on the packages of tobacco products.

Republican presidential aspirant Donald Trump had said a few weeks ago he would not lose a single vote even if he shot someone dead in full public view.
He is in fact getting more of them as he won a massive victory in the Nevada caucuses, leading his nearest rival Senator Marco Rubio by at least 22 points.
With three consecutive victories under his belt, Mr. Trump heads into Super Tuesday on March 1 — when 11 States will have their primaries or caucuses.
Going by the outcomes in four states that have voted, Mr. Trump’s support is now is geographically and demographically spread across the U.S.
As Mr. Trump continues with his triumphalism, his main rivals Mr. Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz, who finished third for a second time, are hoping that the more than 30 per cent undecided voters in the Super Tuesday states could be mobilised in their favour.
What gives them both hopes is the fact that still a majority of Republican voters believe, according to opinion polls, that Mr. Trump cannot be a winning candidates in the general election.

India added 27 new billionaires with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), emerging at the top with a personal wealth of $26 billion, according to Hurun Global Rich List 2016.
Cumulative Indian billionaires’ wealth stood at $308 billion, registering a 25 per cent growth over last year. Mr. Ambani, who is ranked 21st globally, was followed by Sun Pharma promoter, Dilip Shanghvi , with personal wealth of $18 billion.
India is home to 111 billionaires and most of them are from Mumbai, according to the report.
The rich in China overtook their U.S. counterparts to make Beijing, the `billionaire capital of the world’ for the first time, according to Hurun.

The Standing Committee on Finance recommended that state-owned banks make public the names of their respective top 30 stressed accounts involving wilful defaulters.
This will act as a deterrent and enable banks to with- stand pressure and interference from various quarters in dealing with the promoters for recoveries or sanctioning further loans, the committee said in its report tabled in Parliament.
Wilful defaulters owe PSU banks a total of Rs.64,335 crore or 21 per cent of total non-performing assets, (NPA), according to the report.
The sharpest increase in NPAs in the banking industrywas observed in mid size corporates (Rs.25 crore—Rs.100 crore exposure to commercial entities) as they rose to 9.7 per cent in September 2015 from 6.4 per cent in March 2014.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum insisted the time was right to quit international cricket despite hitting one of his best innings just days earlier.
It was not the way the 34- year-old wanted to retire, as Australia completed a 2-0 series sweep by winning the second Test by seven wickets.
But McCullum did mark his swansong in trademark fashion, setting records for the fas- test century and most sixes in Test history (107).