Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 30 March 2014

People urged to vote ethically by EC

Days after Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar stoked a controversy by his remark on casting “double ballots”, the Election Commission has exhorted the electorate to commit themselves to “ethical voting” in the general elections. The latest move by the poll panel comes after it put up posters urging voters to select pro-development candidates and dump criminals and the corrupt.
The Election Commission’s “pledge” asking people to vote ethically in the coming Lok Sabha elections is in the form of a letter written in Marathi for Maharashtra’s voters and in different regional languages for people from other parts. The letter asks voters to elect a candidate who will “meet the aspirations of the people and the nation as a whole.”
It asks voters to cast their ballots “without fail, fear or greed, and without keeping caste, religion and creed considerations in mind” and to “inspire and encourage friends and family members” to vote in this fashion.
The Commission has already put up posters and banners urging people to vote for candidates who are pro-development and well-educated and also asked voters to beware of those who offer bribes and inducements as such elements would indulge in corruption in the future.

Opinion polls unlikely to be restricted

The broadcast and publication of opinion polls is unlikely to be restricted in the coming months as Election Commission has told the Law Ministry that it will not take such a step using its powers under the Constitution and it wants the government to come out with a law on the issue.
Days after the Law Ministry suggested to the poll panel that it can restrict opinion polls using its powers under Article 324, the Commission has reverted to the government saying that bringing a law would be a better idea. The Election Commission feels that restricting opinion polls under Article 324 may not be “legally sustainable”. It told the Law Ministry that since exit polls were also restricted by law, it should follow similar procedure on opinion polls.
The poll panel had proposed that there should be a prohibition on publication and broadcast of the results of opinion polls starting from the date of notification of elections till the completion of the last phase of polls to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
Existing law allows EC to ban opinion polls just 48 hours prior to voting.
Earlier this year, the Attorney General had backed a proposal of the EC to altogether ban publication and broadcast of opinion polls between announcement of election schedule and final phase of polling.

Black box of crashed C-130J sent to U.S.

The black box of the C-130J transport aircraft that crashed near Gwalior has suffered damage and the Air Force has sent it to the U.S. to seek the assistance of its manufacturer Lockheed Martin in decoding the data.
The connectors of the Flight Data Recorder or the black box are damaged along with the card inside the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
The delay in decoding the black box data would also mean a delay in determining the cause of the crash.
The Super Hercules Special Operations transport aircraft crashed near Gwalior killing five crew members last after taking off from Agra.
The aircraft had apparently hit a hillock before crashing on the rocky surface on the banks of Chambal river near Gwalior.
India had recently inducted six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, which were bought from the U.S. at a cost of around Rs. 5,780 crore ($962 million) four years ago.
The home base of the 77 squadron ‘Veiled Vipers’ operating the aircraft is Hindon in Ghaziabad near New Delhi.
On the demands of the IAF, the Defence Ministry recently placed orders for six more such aircraft from the U.S.
The loss of such a big asset is considered a setback for the IAF.

Rehearsal for PSLV-C24 launch

The campaign for the lift-off of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C24) is gathering momentum. The rocket will blast off at 5.14 p.m. on April 4 from Sriharikota and put into orbit a 1,432-kg navigation satellite, called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1B).
Engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have stacked up the vehicle’s four stages in the first launch pad. The satellite, sheathed in the heat-shield, has been mated with the vehicle. The launch rehearsal was completed without hitch.
The IRNSS-1B is the second in a series of seven satellites. The IRNSS-1A was put into orbit on July 1, 2013. The PSLV will launch two more such satellites before the end of 2014.
The IRNSS-1B will be useful in terrestrial, aerial and sea navigation. It will beam back accurate information on the position of trucks, cars, battle tanks, aircraft, missiles, ships and submarines with precise timing reference.
Truck and car drivers, pilots of civilian or combat aircraft and ship captains can properly plan their route using the IRNSS satellites which will guide them towards their destination with the help of a receiver. The satellites will way-point the missiles to their targets.

RBI’s status quo on interest rate

For many reasons, the Reserve Bank of India’s forthcoming bi-monthly policy statement for 2014-15 will be unique. The idea to have a policy statement once in two months was mooted by the Urjit Patel Committee.
The RBI is signalling acceptance of some of the recommendations, which do not involve discussion with the government. However, the core recommendations of the Committee’s report involving inflation targeting and shifting the monetary policy’s anchor to CPI (retail ) inflation, instead of WPI, will be implemented only after a consensus is reached.
It is most likely that the RBI will spell out its approach to this important report but no major decisions can be expected. As of now, inflation targeting is not easily understood in the Indian context.
The RBI Governor has said that it will be flexible, which suggests that even when it is adopted formally, the central bank will have some leeway to adjust the target rate and or timeframe.
Two important issues confront the RBI. In the run-up to the elections — with the model code in force — how far could it go in deciding policy issues? Even on new bank licences, a subject that has taken a long time and is in the final stages, the RBI is not expected to announce the first few licensees.
Both WPI and CPI inflation have come down. CPI inflation is down by 300 basis points over the past three months. Without formally adopting it as the policy anchor, the RBI has shown its preference. However, no change in interest rate stance is expected.
A sharp fall in food prices has driven down inflation.
Yet with CPI inflation very close to the RBI’s March 2015 target of 8 per cent, the RBI will most probably talk of increased upside risks to justify its holding of rates in the forthcoming policy statement.

Retail sector’s long-term positive outlook

While the organised retail sector in India is going through a difficult phase, the long-term outlook for the sector remains positive. According to a report by CARE Ratings, this is on the back of rising incomes, favourable demographics, entry of foreign players and increasing urbanisation.
The current scenario includes high real estate costs, faltering domestic consumption, and limited infrastructural capabilities which curtail the potential for profitable growth, the report said.
The sector experienced overall single-digit revenue growth in FY13, and the near-term performance is expected to be on similar lines. “The Same Store Sales (SSS) have been declining indicating a slower growth in revenue from existing stores”.
The operating margins of retail companies are expected to remain under pressure in the short-to-intermediate term on account of increasing rentals, higher manpower costs and slower growth in SSS.
On the positive long-term drivers for the industry, the report said there was likely to be a steady increase in organised retail penetration with the mall culture fast catching up in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The government announced foreign direct investment (FDI) policy on multi-brand retail in September 2012. Indian retailers had launched several in-house brands spanning a presence across categories such as food, apparels, home care and beauty & personal care and the emphasis on private labels would boost profit margins.