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Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 27 September 2015

:: National ::

An expert committee has been formed by the government to examine various issues related to age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of civil services examination to select IAS and IPS officers.
Based on the report of the committee, further changes in the civil services exam pattern will be contemplated with the primary objective of providing a level-playing field to aspirants from diverse streams of curriculum like mathematics, engineering, medicine or humanities, he said.
Till such time as the recommendations of the committee are received and the government subsequently takes a decision on the same, Singh said that the General Studies Paper-II (also known as CSAT) in the civil services preliminary examination will remain a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33 per cent.
Meanwhile, the government's decision taken last year to exclude the English portion consisting of 22 marks in the General Studies Paper-II of the civil services preliminary examination from tabulation also continues to remain in force, he told PTI here.
The panel has been formed as follow-up to the decision taken by the government in May this year to form such a committee, said Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, said.
The panel will be headed by former Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer BS Baswan and consist of leading academicians, technocrats and senior bureaucrats, officials said.

Skirting the demand of G4 countries, including India, to speed up reforms in the UN security council by expanding its permanent members, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday called for global efforts to defend authority and role of the UN.
On the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UN, the international community should reaffirm the commitment to multilateralism, defend principles and purposes of the UN Charter, safeguard authority and role of the UN, Xi said in his meeting with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines UN general assembly.
The member states demonstrated their support and expectations for the UN to play a bigger role in world affairs with their leaders gathering in New York, Xi noted.
He urged the global institution and its security council to draw useful experiences from how the Iran nuclear issue was handled.
The Chinese leader expected the UN to play a leading role in addressing global issues, adding the world body is the most ideal platform for international anti-terrorism cooperation.

With the government deciding to exempt the foreign companies that have no permanent establishment in India from the 18.5 per cent minimum alternate tax demands, all foreign investors have got full relief from the controversial MAT.
The finance ministry's clarification this week puts the MAT controversy to rest as all foreign investors without business presence in India — foreign portfolio investors and companies — are now exempt from MAT, irrespective of whether tax treaties exist between India and other countries where these firms may be domiciled.
Technically, the ministry of finance has decided to amend the Income Tax Act, 1961, with effect from April 1, 2001, in a manner that provisions of Section 115JB shall not apply to a foreign company if it is a resident of a country which has a double taxation avoidance accord with India.

Pankaj Advani outplayed Peter Gilchrist of Singapore to win the World Billiards Championship on Sunday.
This was Advani’s 14th world title.
Advani left the spectators spellbound with his prolific display as he downed his opponent by 1168 points after the match ended after the maximum allotted time of 300 minutes.
Sunday’s victory also came as sweet revenge for Advani as he had lost the final of the point format championship to Gilchrist last week.