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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 31 May 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 31 May 2015

:: National ::

Prasar Bharati’s autonomy violated yet again

As appointments to the Prasar Bharati Corporation go, there is nothing professional about them. On Friday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, headed by Arun Jaitley, appointed Veena Jain Director-General of Doordarshan News on the terms and conditions set by the Union government. Such appointments are the norm rather than the exception.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chairman of the corporation, both kept in the dark about the appointment, refused to offer their comments, though officials in the Ministry tried to make it sound like a routine affair.
In the coming days, a flurry of appointments to the Prasar Bharati Board can be expected. Currently, four posts have been lying vacant for long, sources said. Two names under consideration, though could not confirm it, are Ashok Tandon, who was media adviser to Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was Prime Minister, and singer Anup Jalota. If appointed, they will join Muzzafar Ali and Samir Kumar Barua, both appointed by the United Progressive Alliance government
The government has had a say in appointing the head of the corporation since its inception in 1997, and for all talk of autonomy, even tweets expressing concern at the lack of it by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his government has not shied away from exercising control over the affairs of the corporation.
With the government appointing Ms. Jain, the Prasar Bharati Board, which includes the Chairman, the CEO and full-time and part-time members, has been rendered ineffectual. The order announcing her appointment was not marked to the Board. All these lead to some attendant questions on the relationship the Board enjoys with the government.
Sources say CEO Jawhar Sircar has been facing a tough time in getting his proposals cleared by the Board and the Ministry, which bankrolls the budget of the corporation. Not all is well between Mr. Sircar and senior officials of the Ministry. But Mr. Sircar’s term is secured by the Act, and sources believe the appointment is just another way of sidelining him.
In not informing the CEO and the Chairman about the appointment, the government has not been true to the spirit of the Prasar Bharati Act, which says appointment of members of the corporation, including directors-general of All India Radio and Doordarshan, will be done by the corporation after consultation with the recruitment Board.
The Modi government could have acted differently by expediting the means to form a recruitment Board, which has not been announced since the inception of the corporation.
The corporation has a sizeable number of cadres drawn from the Information Services over which the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has control, the Programme Services and the Engineering Services. Faced with dwindling advertising revenue and a dip in viewership, the recent appointments will be watched for the ability to turn around the fortunes of the corporation. Autonomy can take a walk.

U.S. Defence Secretary coming

US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter will be on his first visit to India as Secretary on June 2 during which both sides will renew the Defence Framework Agreement (DFA) for another ten years and boost cooperation in carrier and jet engine technology.
The first agreement signed in 2005 is set to expire next month.
“And the 2015 U.S.-India Defence Framework I will sign next week will open up this relationship on everything from maritime security to aircraft carrier and jet engine technology cooperation,” Mr. Carter said while addressing the ongoing Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore .
Mr. Carter will visit Vizag, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command, before heading to Delhi for discussions with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar.

PUCL plea in SC questions delay in implementation

The Centre’s resolve to rid the country of hunger will be tested with a petition being filed in the Supreme Court challenging the year-long delay in implementing the Right to Food Act and validity of three administrative directions issued by the government, postponing food and cash entitlements from reaching the poor.
A petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), asks the Supreme Court to intervene with the government for the implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013, and publication of the ‘final lists’ of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 to identify priority and Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households under the Act.
The PUCL, represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, contended that the 2013 Act was supposed to be implemented by July 5, 2014, but three successive administrative instructions on June 30 and October 14, 2014, and March 24 this year had delayed it.
Besides, a period not exceeding 365 days was given to the State governments to identify the eligible households for foodgrain entitlements. This deadline expired on July 4, 2014.
The PUCL petition in 2001 for enforcement of the poor’s right to food had seen the Supreme Court pass repeated directions to the government to provide food security. The litigation had largely influenced the 2013 Act, according to the fresh petition.
The petition highlights several pitfalls for the apex court to consider in the government’s proposals to implement the Act.
Section 4(b) of the Act requires that pregnant and lactating women be paid a cash benefit of a minimum of Rs. 6,000 through the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY). The petition said a revised proposal for IGMSY is with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. As per the proposal, IGMSY would reach all districts only by 2016-17, and that too if financial resources permit.
In the second instance, the Act wants free meals to be provided through anganwadis to pregnant and lactating women and children up to the age of six years. The government proposes to do this through the existing Integrated Child Development Scheme, which has low coverage.
Again, the Act entitles children aged between six and 14 to have cooked meals at government schools. The government proposes to do this through the prevalent mid-day meal scheme. However, the petition said, 3.9 crore of the 13.9 crore children under this scheme are deprived of this entitlement.
It said both schools and anganwadi buildings suffer in terms of lack of basic infrastructure like kitchens, drinking water, sanitation facilities for proper implementation of the statute’s objectives.

INS Vikrant undocking postponed

Siltation and a minor technical glitch in lowering the building bay dock gate, which was last operated when the maiden indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was taken in post-launch for the second phase of work a year-and-a-half ago, have forced the Cochin Shipyard to defer the undocking of the carrier.
The aircraft carrier was to have been undocked on completion of structural work.
Flooding of the dock and ballasting of the carrier, weighing about 26,000 tonnes minus the ballast, had begun.
However, unfavourable tide and a bit of siltation at the dock mouth besides a minor glitch with the dock gate forced the undocking to be put off. Sources said the carrier would continue to be outfitted for over a year-and-a-half after undocking when the second phase of construction would draw to a close.
The yard considers this to be the most challenging phase during which cabling, piping, accommodation facility, air conditioning and ventilation systems would be done.
Once complete, the carrier will have some 2,300 compartments.

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:: International ::

Ex-Governor enters presidential race

Former Maryland Governor and Democratic Party heavy-hitter Martin O’ Malley threw his hat in the ring for the 2016 race to the Oval Office, emerging at this point as the strongest intra-party challenger to Hillary Clinton.
Although Ms. Clinton is considered to be the Party’s frontrunner, Mr. O’ Malley is a nationally recognised figure and has built a reputation for strong State and local-level governance as the two-term Governor of Maryland, between 2007 and 2015, and also as the Mayor of Baltimore between 1999 and 2007.
He is likely to be a proponent of traditional Democratic Party values, arguably further to the left of Ms. Clinton, who is viewed as a centrist candidate.
Announcing his candidature from Baltimore this weekend while simultaneously releasing a campaign video on YouTube, Mr. O’ Malley said, “I declare that I am a candidate for President of the U.S. and I am running for you.”
He added that the urgent calling for Americans today was to “rebuild the American dream in our time… [for] a nation of immigrants”.
Mr. O’ Mally also hit out at the candidacies of Ms. Clinton, a former first lady and U.S. Secretary of State, as well as former Florida Governor and brother of former President George W. Bush, Jeb Bush.
Addressing Wall Street chief executives who he blamed for their role in the 2008 financial crisis, he said, “The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families.”

Need to encourage U.K. Indians to join politics

The appointment of Keith Vaz, the senior Labour Party leader as vice-chairman in charge of the party’s BAME (Black Asian Minority Ethnic) engagement is a sign of the growing realisation across political parties of the ever-increasing weight of minority groups in deciding electoral outcomes.
Mr. Vaz was re-elected for the seventh time in the 2015 elections from his constituency of Leicester East.
The 2015 elections returned 41 Members of Parliament from the BAME grouping, a significant rise from 27 in the 2010 elections, and just four in 1987. This apart, BAME voters are also a sizeable voting group in the constituencies from where white British candidates stood and won.
In 2013, India (followed by Poland and Pakistan) was the country of birth of the highest number of foreign-born U.K. citizens, accounting for 9.4 per cent of the total.
According to a survey conducted by Survation for the think tank British Future, nearly one million minority votes (out of an estimated three million minority voters) helped the Conservative Party return to power in the 2015 elections.
An interesting finding of the survey provides quantitative evidence for what has long been noticed by commentators, namely that the shift to the Conservatives is taking place largely among Asians, of which grouping Indians are by far the largest component.
Fifty per cent of Asian voters support Labour and 38 per cent support the Conservatives. By contrast, 67 per cent of Black voters support Labour and only 21 per cent support Conservatives.
Therefore Indians clearly are the largest and most empowered grouping within BAME. It was to articulate the concerns of this group vis-à-vis both the British establishment and the government of India that a round table of leading representatives of U.K. Indians, organised by Lord Bhikhu Parekh and Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar , Britain’s largest Asian newsweeklies, was held on May 27 in the House of Lords.
Mr. Vaz emphasised the need to encourage young Indians to enter U.K. politics. “Breaking down barriers, making this a profession worth considering, is extremely important and healthy for the psyche of the people from ethnic backgrounds,” he said.

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:: Business and Economy ::

New secretarial standards for corporates

The new Secretarial Standards, recently specified by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), on board of directors meetings and general meetings of corporates, approved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, will be coming into effect from July 1, 2015, according to Atul H. Mehta, President, ICSI.
Briefing reporters here, Mr. Mehta said these Secretarial Standards provide detailed procedures on issues such as agenda of the meeting, notice convening the meeting and maintenance of the minutes. “These are mandatory to listed and private companies,” he said. “Around eight lakh companies in India will have to comply with these Secretarial Standards to be fully compliant under Companies Act 2013,” he said.
Mr. Mehta was here to inaugurate Capital Markets week, an initiative by ICSI towards creating awareness among investors and to promote good governance in capital markets. The theme of the programme was ‘Capital Markets – The Engine for Economic Growth’.
Speaking at the event, S. Krishnan, Tamil Nadu Principal Secretary (Planning & Development), said capital markets played an important role in mobilising finance for the corporate sector. “Developed, dynamic and vibrant capital markets immensely promote economic growth,” he said.
Mamta Binani, Vice-President, ICSI, said the role of company secretaries was gaining importance after the market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) had mandated in November 2014, the appointment of Company Secretaries as compliance officers in its listing regulations.

:: Sports ::

Title wins for Jeevan and Prarthana

Prarthana Thombare and Harriet Dart survived three match-points to beat Nicha Lertpitaksinchai and Nudnida Luangnam of Thailand in the doubles final of the $25,000 ITF women’s tournament in Balikpapan, Indonesia.
The Indo-British pair, which had got off to a flier in the first set when it led, eventually converted the sixth matchpoint in the long-drawn super tie-break.
It was the tenth doubles title in the ITF pro circuit for the 20-year-old Prarthana, and the first at this level.
Prarthana has had a few impressive doubles results of late, and her confidence seems to be at a different level since winning the women’s doubles bronze with Sania Mirza at the Incheon Asian Games last year.
In the $10,000 ITF Futures tournament in Tumon, Guam, top seeds Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Yuichi Ito of Japan won the doubles title beating Masakatsu Noguchi and Masaki Sasai of Japan in the final.
The Indo-Japanese pair had lost its way after being up in the first set. They jumped to a lead in the second by breaking the opponents in the second game.
In the match tie-break, Jeevan and Ito reeled off four points on the trot to jump to an lead which proved handy in finishing it off.
This was Jeevan’s 19th doubles title on the professional circuit. The 26-year-old had won the Kolkata Challenger with Somdev Devvarman earlier this year. Jeevan has accomplished title wins with ten different partners, and will hope to break into the top-200 in doubles with his latest triumph.
Ankita Raina went down fighting in three sets to top seed Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand in the $50,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Xuzhou, China.
After having lost tamely in all her three earlier meetings against Luksika, the 22-year-old Ankita, finalist at the Incheon Asian Games, played some of her best tennis to make it a memorable contest that spanned two hours and 20 minutes.
Luksika eventually prevailed, but it was a case of missed chances as the gutsy Ankita could convert only two of 10 break-points.
In contrast, the crafty Luksika converted five of 14, and was particularly sharp in the second and third sets when she broke serve twice each.
The 29 WTA points should do a world of good in helping the 229th ranked Ankita climb the slippery ranking ladder.