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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 30 September 2014

National

Taking decisions on moral grounds by trial courts has become a fashion: HC

• It has become “a fashion” in recent years for trial courts to convict those accused in criminal cases on the moral grounds and individual perceptions of the presiding officers rather than strictly on the sound legal principles, the Madras High Court Bench has observed.
• Justice P.R. Shivakumar also said that taking decisions on the moral grounds was the job of those in “cassocks and saffron clothes” and not judges wearing black robes as they “are expected to act strictly in accordance with the principles and provisions of law.”
• The observations were made on a criminal appeal filed by an individual in 2006 to set aside the conviction and 10 years rigorous imprisonment imposed on him by a Mahila Court in Tiruchi district.

Centre identified 287 outdated laws to be repealed in the winter session

• Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government has identified 287 obsolete laws to be repealed in the winter session of Parliament.
• Mr. Prasad said the Centre has already written for urgent feedback to various departments concerned in whose jurisdictions the outdated amending laws continue to exist.
• In the previous session, the government had introduced the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014, to repeal 36 obsolete laws. The Bill is currently pending.
• Mr. Prasad said the government is also acting on a September 12 report submitted by the Law Commission of India, identifying 72 antiquated statutes, which have to be immediately axed.
• These 72 laws are part of 261 statutes, the oldest one of them dating back to 1836, which “prima facie require repeal as they are inconsistent with modern times” as per the Commission report.
• He also informed that the Centre is considering a proposal to repeal 700 Appropriation Acts. Every Parliament passes around 12 Appropriation laws each year to be used whenever the government decides to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India. After every such withdrawal, the particular Appropriation law becomes infructuous.

Komagata Maru centenary observed on 29th September

• A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the immigrant community of the United States, a year-long centenary commemoration of the Komagata Maru incident — in which 19 Canada-bound Indian immigrants were killed in police firing on September 29, 1914 near Kolkata — was launched here on Monday.
• The commemoration was launched by Union Minister of State for Culture Sripad Naik in the presence of three granddaughters of Baba Gurdit Singh who was among the leaders of the 376 immigrants aboard the ship that had been turned away from Canada and forced to return to India. The British imperial government saw the men on the ship as dangerous political agitators, and sent the police to arrest Singh and others. While Singh escaped arrest, 19 men were killed in the firing.

Government buses can’t display election ads: Election Commission

• As Maharashtra and Haryana go for Assembly polls in October, the Election Commission ruled out allowing display of election advertisements on government transport buses, saying the party in power can use it to its advantage and disturb the level playing field.
• In a communication to Chief Electoral Officers of all states, the EC referred to the issue of allowing election related advertisements on state road transportation and municipal corporation buses.
• “Level playing field envisaged under the Model Code of Conduct is a very vital aspect for ensuring free and fair elections. A party should not be in a position to take undue advantage on account of it being in power in the government.... the buses of the SRTC are virtually under the control of the state government concerned....,” the EC said.
• Using powers vested to it under Article 324, the EC has directed that State Road Transport Corporation buses and buses owned by Municipal Corporations and other government-owned vehicles “shall not be used” for display of political advertisements during the period when the model code is in force.

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International

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu briefs Modi on IS

• In the first meeting between Indian and Israeli Prime Ministers in more than a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Benjamin Netanyahu to explain Israel’s perspective on the Islamic State.
• According to the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, the two leaders discussed the situation in West Asia. “Given that Israel is well placed in that region, the Prime Minister requested and was given a briefing of their understanding of the situation.”
• The conversation assumes significance as it came before Mr. Modi’s dinner meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, and the Prime Minister’s address to the Council for Foreign Relations to outline his government’s foreign policy objectives.

India-US expected to announce Renewable energy pact

• While India and the U.S. are at an impasse over the nuclear deal, they are expected to announce an agreement on reneweable energy when Prime Minister Modi and President Obama meet.
• U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal said India-U.S. ties were in for “transformational growth,” and identified solar energy and other clean energy initiatives as a key area. “Clean energy is a subject very close to President Obama’s heart and I know that India’s government has made this a priority too,” said Ms. Biswal.
• The U.S. “welcomed” the government’s decision to allow an anti-dumping proposal on solar energy technology to lapse, which would let India import solar panels and technology more easily.
• The proposed new agreement between New Delhi and Washington would also look at assisting wind power technology, where energy giant General Electric (GE) is the biggest player.

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Sports

17th Asian Games – India on Day 10

• Sanam Singh could not add a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal to his kitty as he and Saketh Myneni settled for a silver after losing the hard-fought final in straight sets to Korea’s Yongkyu Lim and Hyeon Chung, in Incheon.
• It was mission accomplished for Sania Mirza. She won the mixed doubles gold with Saketh Myneni in the Asian Games at the Yeorumul Complex. The second-seeded Indian pair did not give much of a chance for the top-seeded Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei in winning 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

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Science & technology

Students developed low-cost, portable Braille printer

• In a bid to make technology affordable and accessible to visually-impaired persons, Sandeep Konam, a B. Tech. final-year ECE student at IIIT, Idupulapaya, and a group of IITians are engaged in not only developing a low-cost portable Braille printer that could cost as much as an average Android mobile but also in integrating graphics, tables and images in Indian language
• Mentored by Elliott J. Rouse, Post-Doctoral Associate of Biomechatronics Group, MIT Media Lab, and assisted by premier institutions such as L.V. Prasad Eye Institute Innovation Centre, Cyient (formerly Infosys) and the Tata Centre for Technology and Design, the low-cost Braille printer, a counterpart to ink printers, using solenoids to control the embossing pins, could revolutionize the facility for the visually impaired and persons with a low vision.

Orbiter sent picture of dust storm activities on Mars

• India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) sent a picture of regional dust storm activities over the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
• “Regional dust storm activities over northern hemisphere of Mars - captured by Mars Colour Camera on-board Mars Orbiter Mission”, ISRO said.
• It said the image was taken at an altitude of 74,500 kms from the surface of Mars. MOM spacecraft had sent its first images of the planet on Thursday, a day after creating history by becoming the only such Endeavour so far to have met with success on the maiden attempt.
• MOM aims to study the Martian surface and mineral composition and scan its atmosphere for methane, an indicator of life.
• The spacecraft is equipped with five instruments, including a sensor to track methane or marsh gas, a colour camera and a thermal-imaging spectrometer to map the surface and mineral wealth of the planet.
• The spacecraft was launched on its nine-month-long odyssey on a PSLV rocket from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on November 5, 2013. It had escaped the Earth’s gravitational field on December 1 and was placed in the Martian orbit on September 24.

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Business & economy

NTPC is not certain on fate of coal blocks

• The fate of NTPC’s five coal blocks allocated between 1993 and 2010 hangs in the balance.
• The Supreme Court on September 24 ordered de-allocation of blocks, except those given to ultra mega power projects and Central Government public sector units where there are no joint ventures. In question are 218 coal blocks, of which 12 were with ultra mega power projects and 10 belonged to NTPC.
• Confusion arose with the Court specifically saving four blocks, including NTPC’s Pakri Barwadih. NTPC had 10 coal blocks, of which one that was not de-allocated is set to commence operations soon.
• The company had got four blocks recently, while six were awarded earlier. Of the six, one was exempted from de-allocation by the apex court.
• While NTPC has decided to wait for clarity from the Coal Ministry, the Ministry, in turn, plans to seek legal opinion on the matter.
• The Coal Ministry has also decided to look into how the miners that were allocated coal blocks for captive use are handling the surplus. The case in point is Anil Ambani’s ultra mega power project in Sasan.