Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 July 2014

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 July 2014

UPSC row: Rajnath apprises Modi

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of measures being taken to address issues raised by civil services aspirants holding protests against the “discriminatory” Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).

• The Home Minister earlier held a high-level meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh and other senior government officials to explore all possible solutions.

• While angry students have been organising protests for the past several weeks, the situation turned violent two days ago after the UPSC issued admit cards for the preliminary examination scheduled to be conducted on August 24.

DoPT launches e-service record system for govt. employees

• With the objective to promote a paperless regime and better human resource management, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has launched an e-service record book portal for government employees.

• Earlier documented in paper files, the service record provides information on various portfolios and posts held by a particular government employee.

• In future, it would also prove to be of great assistance in an efficient management of human resource. The system can facilitate work allocation based on the skills and experiences of the employees under consideration for a particular post or department.

• The DoPT has also launched a Basic Leadership Skills Module for Central Secretariat Services officers at the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management. The module is expected to equip civil servants with the skills that help them function efficiently in a complex and challenging environment.

• A Learning Resource Centre has also been set up with a mandate to identify and adopt the leading national and international practices in the field of training techniques and technologies to strengthen the Trainers Development Programme, to develop a cadre of high quality trainers.

Panel suggests separate law to protect northeast people

• A separate law with specific provisions to protect people from the northeast living in different parts of the country along with amendment of sections of IPC has been suggested by M P Bezbaruah committee that was set up after increased attacks on citizens from the region.

• Committee had recommended a new law based on an observation by Delhi High Court which said one person from a State must not be discriminated in another State.

• The Bezbaruah Committee was set up after the death of Nido Tania, 20, following an altercation with shopkeepers and others at the Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi in January. Last week, another youth from Manipur, Akha Salouni (29), was killed after he was allegedly beaten by a group of five men in a suspected case of road rage in Kotla Mubarakpur in South Delhi.

Government mulls amendments to anti-dowry law

• Keeping in view the rising number of complaints regarding the misuse of anti-dowry law, the Centre is mulling to introduce penal provisions in the Act that will ensure punishment or penalty to those who make false charges.

• Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had directed the State governments to instruct police “not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of IPC (dowry harassment) is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters laid down flowing from Section 41 of Criminal Procedure Code.”

• The Apex court had expressed concern over the misuse of the anti-dowry law by “disgruntled” wives against her husband and in-laws and noted that the Act was being increasingly used to harass in-laws.

• The amendments may include widening the definition of ‘dowry’ by changing the words ‘in connection with marriage’ to ‘given before the marriage, at the time of marriage and at any time after the marriage’.

• Notifying the list of gifts exchanged during the wedding may also be made mandatory and failure to do so could invite heavy penalties including a three-year jail term not only to the bride and the groom but also to their parents.

Increase compensation for acid attack victims: SC

• The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to State governments on steps taken to enhance the rehabilitation and monetary compensation awarded to acid attack victims struggling to survive and get medical treatment.
• In February 6, 2013, the Supreme Court in another case had directed the government to draft appropriate regulations for sale of acid and rehabilitation of victims.
• “There is laxity on your part. Everyday, we have one or two such incidents of acid attack,” CJI Lodha observed.

Hamas agrees to 24-hour truce in Gaza

• Israel extended the humanitarian truce in Gaza for another 24 hours at the request of the United Nations, but Hamas resumed rocket fire and rejected the move saying no ceasefire is valid without Israeli tanks withdrawing from Gaza as conflict killed 1,050 Palestinians.

• Hamas later agreed to observe a 24-hour humanitarian truce as fighting resumed and the two sides wrangled over the terms of a lull the international community hopes can be expanded into a more sustainable truce.

Boko Haram: Ready for negotiations to free abducted girls, says Nigeria

• Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said the country is open to negotiations in order to secure the release of over 200 schoolgirls who were abducted in April.
• It is now more than 100 days after the schoolgirls were abducted by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno.
• According to the Human Rights Watch, Boko Haram has been responsible for the death of 2,053 civilians in 95 attacks during the first six months of this year.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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