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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 February 2015

:: National ::

Mufti, Modi to seal deal

Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to formally seal the PDP-BJP deal to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources confirmed that the swearing-in ceremony will be held in Jammu on March 1.
After reports of last-minute hitches between the two parties, there were rumours that the Mufti-Modi meeting might be rescheduled, but PDP and BJP sources confirmed that all issues have been sorted out.
The two parties, formerly seen as poles apart, have decided to come together on an ‘agenda of alliance.’
Both the parties have climbed down from their stated positions to form the alliance amid criticism from various quarters.
More than the BJP, it is the PDP that has been criticised in the Valley for first asking the people to vote against the BJP and then allying with it.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under the Governor’s rule for almost two months now, and with the new coalition, the BJP will taste power in the State for the first time.
While Mr. Sayeed will be the Chief Minister for the entire term of six years, BJP’s Nirmal Singh is likely to be the deputy Chief Minister.

Govt. digs in heels on land ordinance

A day after Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari sought to make out a case for the government’s land ordinance at a press briefing, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a spirited defence of the land reforms that have been denounced as “anti-farmer” and “pro-corporate” by a united Opposition and civil society groups.
Mr. Jaitley’s speech in the Rajya Sabha is being read as the government’s definitive stand, the position that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to take on this controversial issue.
Sources said Mr. Modi is absolutely clear that he will not allow major changes to what he sees as one of his key reforms.
In discussions with Cabinet colleagues on how to tackle the dissent, Mr. Modi indicated that an all-party meeting would serve little purpose since the Opposition had shown no signs of softening.
Worse, BJP allies Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and Lok Janshakti Party also expressed their reservations. Now it is learnt that another NDA partner, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, is poised to do the same.
Against this backdrop of a hardened stand, Mr. Jaitley made a frontal attack on the Congress, under whose watch the Land Acquisition Act — that this government is seeking to amend — was enacted in 2013.

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:: International ::

China’s draft anti-terrorism law high on privacy and human rights

China is drafting an ambitious counterterrorism law, which seeks to address concerns over privacy and human rights, without losing the sting to target international terror groups.
The draft law has taken into account the Charlie Hebdo terror incident in France, the Copenhagen strike, as well as the essence of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) led by the United States.
Besides, the legislation has been sensitised by last year’s deadly terror attack, at Kunming station, in the country’s Yunnan province, which left 29 people dead, and scores injured
The draft advocates establishing mechanisms that would ensure that access to private phone and Internet records goes through a strict approval procedure.
The information that is gathered should also be used solely for the purpose of counterterrorism and not otherwise. A similar approval must also be obtained to inquire into, seal up, seize or freeze assets.
The new law is being drafted at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has been calling for firmly implanting the rule of law as the anchor for China’s national rejuvenation.
Chinese state-media has been reporting that the President has been advocating, “Four Comprehensives” — a moderately prosperous society, reform, rule of law, and Party discipline — as the blueprint for China's future.
It challenges the western narrative on counterterrorism and human rights by pointing to a more rational Chinese alternative.
Besides, it hopes to shore up CPC’s legitimacy, especially among China’s cyber connected youth. President Xi is well aware of the dangers of a widening legitimacy gap in his country.

Britain misses targets on immigration control

The British government has missed its targets on immigration control, which was a key pledge by Prime Minister David Cameron. He had promised in 2011 to cap immigration at 100,000 by the end of the current Parliament.
The figure for net migration (inflows minus outflows) stood at 298,000 for the year 2014 till September, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics.
According to opinion polls, immigration has emerged as a key issue for voters — ahead of the National Health Service, the economy, unemployment and crime — in the run-up to a closely-fought general elections this May.
However, while immigration into the United Kingdom has substantially risen, there is no evidence to suggest that this has had a negative impact on jobs, wages, housing and other public services for the U.K.-born.
This are the findings of a study done on the latest U.K. immigration statistics by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)of the London School of Economics, and the first in a series of background briefings by the CEP on important policy issues in the run up to the general elections.
The report ‘Immigration and the U.K. Labour Market’ by author Professor Jonathan Wadsworth finds that rising immigration in the last 20 years means that there are now around 7.8 million individuals – and 6.5 million adults of working age – living in the U.K. who were born abroad.
Indeed, the doubling of the share of immigrants among working age adults in the U.K. between 1995 and 2014 – from 8% to 17% “is not particularly different from many other rich countries in terms of its share of immigrants,” he argues.
European Union (EU) countries account for one-third of the total immigrant stock, and new inflows of EU immigrants are almost as large as inflows from outside the EU. While EU arrivals are for work-related reasons most non-EU arrivals are for study-related reasons.
While 30 years ago 30 per cent of all immigrants came from just two countries, Ireland and India, today these two countries account for just 13 per cent of all immigrants.

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:: Business & Economy ::

White Paper outlines challenges of Railways

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tabled a white paper before presenting the budget .
The paper delineates the challenges before the Railways — how it is “perched on a precipice but is capable of flying off and attaining great heights.”
A plan for the ‘railways of tomorrow’ has been outlined.
The organisation has suffered from considerable under-investment during the last several years, said Railway Minister Mr. Prabhu in the paper. As a consequence, capacity augmentation has suffered and so has the quality of service.
Resources have been insufficient for improving customer satisfaction and introducing technological improvements. Investments in safety have also been insufficient.
The status paper is the first in a series of three documents.
The budget, being the second, lays down a five-year action plan of the Ministry in bringing about a turnaround.
Finally, during the course of the current year, Indian Railways will bring out a Vision 2030 document which will contain a blueprint of the long-term development.
Prabhu proposed a paradigm change with faster trains, swanky stations and skilled staff and flagged areas in need of ‘urgent attention’ such as cleanliness, punctuality of services, safety, terminal quality, capacity of trains, food quality, passenger security and ease of booking tickets.
The five-year plan is to undertake measures to ensure delivering safe and punctual services, increasing average speed by 50 per cent and increasing loading to 1.5 billion tonnes.

Highlights of Railway Budget 2015

The key themes of the Budget were in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives - Swachch Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India.

The most-expected part about this year's Railway Budget - there is no increase in passsenger rail fares.
Rs.8.5 lakh crore will be invested in Railways in next 5 years.
'Operation 5 mins', wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5 minutes.
Bio toilets and airplane-type vaccum toilets in trains.
Surveillance cameras in select coaches and ladies compartments for women's safety without compromising on privacy.
Rail tickets can now be booked 120 days in advance.
Speed on nine railway corridors to go up to 200 km per hour.
Wi-Fi in more stations, mobile phone charging facilities in all train compartments.
Facility of online booking of wheelchair for senior citizens.
Satellite railway terminals in major cities.
Centrally managed Rail Display Network is expected to be introduced in over 2K stations over the next 2 years.
All india 24/7 helpline - 138 from March 2015 ; Toll free No.182 for security.
917 road under-bridges and over-bridges to be constructed to replace 3,438 railway crossings; at a cost of Rs. 6,581 crore.
Four Railway Research Centres to start in four universities.
Details about new trains and increased frequency will be announced later in this session of Parliament after review.

What is the investment plan?

The Railway Budget envisages an investment of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore in next five years.

How is it going to be mobilized?

The Minister suggested that the money could be raised from multiple sources - from multilateral development banks to pension funds.

What is the action plan in the sphere fund raising?

Go in for partnership with key stakeholders - States, PSUs, partner with multilateral and bi-lateral organizations other governments to gain access to long-term financing. Also, get technology from overseas. The private sector could be roped in to improve last-mile connectivity, expand fleet of rolling stock and modernize station infrastructure.

What is the thrust?

The thrust will be on revamping management practices, systems, processes, and re-tooling of human resources.

What is the proposal on capacity augmentation?

De-congesting networks with basket of traffic-generating projects will be the priority
Priority to last-mile connectivity projects
Fast-track sanctioned works on 7,000 kms of double/third/fourth lines
Commissioning 1200 km in 2015-16 at an investment of Rs. 8,686 crore, 84% higher Y-O-Y.
Commissioning 800 km of gauge conversion targeted in current fiscal.
77 projects covering 9,400 km of doubling/tripling/quadrupling works along with electrification, covering almost all States, at a cost of Rs. 96,182 crore, which is over 2700% higher in terms of amount sanctioned.
Traffic facility work is a top priority with an outlay of Rs. 2374 crore .
Award of 750 km of civil contracts and 1300 km of system contracts in 2015-16 on Dedicated
Freight Corridor (DFC); 55 km section of Eastern DFC to be completed in the current year.
Preliminary engineering-cum-traffic survey (PETS) for four other DFCs in progress.
Acceleration of pace of Railway electrification: 6,608 route kilometers sanctioned for 2015-16, an increase of 1330% over the previous year.

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:: Sports ::

Shenwari inspires Afghanistan to historic win

Afghanistan posted its first-ever victory at the World Cup with a nail-biting one-wicket win over Scotland, chasing down a target of 211 with just three balls to spare.
The loss left Scotland still seeking a first win at a World Cup, with its overall record now standing at 11 defeats from as many matches over three campaigns at the tournament.
The Scots were all out for 210 off the final ball of the 50th over at Dunedin’s University Oval after being sent in to bat.
Afghanistan’s decision to bowl first paid dividends on a green wicket as left-arm paceman Shapoor took four for 38 in his 10 overs.
Several of the Scottish batsmen made starts but could not convert them in the face of Afghanistan’s spirited bowling effort. It was a 62-run stand for the ninth wicket that took Scotland past 200 for the first time at a World Cup.