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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 May 2014

Now kitchen gardens in Schools

Soon, vegetables grown in kitchen gardens by children in government schools will be used for cooking food under the mid-day meal programme — Akshara Dasoha — in the State of Karnataka.
Already, many government schools in Mysore district have developed gardens on their campuses and are growing vegetables that are used in cooking meals.
Some schools were even sharing vegetables and fruits with other schools at a nominal cost. Such schools have emerged as models for others to replicate.
The idea is not to minimise the expenditure on the meal programme but to develop a healthy ambience in the schools.

Replacement of JNNURM

It’s curtains for the UPA government’s flagship programme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The new Union Urban Development and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister (HUPA), M. Venkaiah Naidu, said a new mission would be launched soon in place of JNNURM.
The new mission would focus on the modern concept for cities based on GIS-based planning and would have solid and liquid waste management to develop clean cities.
As promised in the BJP manifesto, the Ministry will focus on initiating 100 new cities that will be enabled with the latest in technology and infrastructure.
The government would strive to reduce the interest rate on home loans to ensure housing for all and give a fillip to low-cost housing.

Three Akash missiles test fired

The Indian Air Force has test-fired three surface-to-air Akash missiles — two of them in ripple mode — from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Balasore district, Odisha.
All the three missiles tore apart their targets — a contraption called tow-body flown by the pilotless target aircraft (PTA) Lakshya. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed both Akash and Lakshya.
The IAF launched the next two missiles in ripple mode, that is, the second missile lifted off from its launcher five seconds after the first one did so.
The missile can engage targets such as fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters and cruise missiles, flying 25 km away.

Foreign currency accounts and RBI directive

The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks to convert credit balances in any inoperative foreign currency (FC) denominated deposit into Indian rupee if the former remains not in use for three years from the date of maturity of deposit.
Thereafter, the depositor shall be entitled to claim either the said Indian rupee proceeds and interest or the foreign currency equivalent of the Indian rupee proceeds of the original deposit.
The RBI further said in case of inoperative foreign currency denominated deposit not in use for three years and having no fixed maturity period, the bank should give three month notice to the depositor and convert the deposit from the foreign currency to Indian rupee.

RIL to hold arbitration

In a relief to Reliance Industries, the Supreme Court has allowed arbitration proceedings with the Centre to be held in London on the issue of payment of royalties and taxes relating to Panna, Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields.
Giving this ruling, a Bench of Justices S. S. Nijjar and A. K. Sikri, however, made it clear that arbitration proceedings would be held as per the Indian law and not as per the United Nations Commission on International Trade Laws (UNCITRAL) as sought by Reliance.
The Bench pointed out that in the production sharing contract, RIL and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had consciously agreed for arbitration to be held in London in case of any dispute.
The oil ministry on December 22, 1994, had entered into two production sharing contracts with Reliance and Enron Oil and Gas India (the predecessor to BG Exploration and Production India) and ONGC for the exploration and production of petroleum from the Tapti and Panna-Mukta fields. The two contracts were to be operative for a period of 25 years and would expire only in 2019.
In December 2010, differences arose on issues of payment and reimbursement of royalties, cess and service tax, and conduct of performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, following which Reliance invoked foreign arbitration clause.
In December 2009, the arbitral tribunal rejected the Centre's objection to arbitrability of the disputes. The government then moved the Delhi High Court challenging the arbitral tribunal’s December 2012 order and got a favourable verdict. The present appeal is directed against this order.

Big bets on FIFA

Sony SIX, official broadcaster for the FIFA, believes nearly 65 million viewers are expected to watch the tournament from the Indian sub-continent.
The broadcaster said that it will tap into the prime time slot featuring lives games from FIFA. It said that about 24 matches out of the total 64 matches will be telecast in the prime time slot of 9:30 pm across the Indian subcontinent.
Last time around, out of the total viewer demography in India, the tournament had attracted 38% viewership from the 15-34 year audience category presenting a unique opportunity for advertisers and marketers to invest in, the broadcaster said in a statement.
‎Besides India, the channel will also broadcast the tournament exclusively to audiences across Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives.