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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 7 May 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07 May 2015

:: National ::

Salman gets 5 years in hit & run case, but free for now as HC gives 2-day bail

A sessions court in Mumbai held Bollywood actor Salman Khan guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced him to five-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 25,000 in the 2002 hit-and-run case.
The 49-year-old actor was convicted of ramming a roadside bakery with his Toyota Land Cruiser on September 28, 2002, killing one person and wounding four others sleeping on the pavement outside.
The day, however, ended on a less grim note for the actor as the High Court granted him bail till May 8 when it will hear his plea against the conviction. Justice A.M. Thipsay granted bail on the ground that he had been handed only the two-page operative part of the sessions court verdict and not a detailed order .
“You are now free,” sessions judge D.W. Deshpande told Khan after receiving the High Court’s order.
Earlier, pronouncing the judgment in a packed courtroom, judge Deshpande convicted the actor under Section 304 II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC.
“Taking stock of the evidence, the court holds that you were driving the vehicle. The court also holds that you were under intoxication. All the charges against you are proved,” the judge told Khan , who stood in the box meant for the accused, clad in a white shirt and light-blue denim trousers. The court said the defence’s contention that a death in the case was caused owing to a crane was “not probable.”
Although Khan tried to put up a brave face, his reaction was evident as he stood with his head bowed and shuffled his feet.
When the court asked Khan what he had to say about his conviction, the actor replied, “Whatever you have said is correct.
I don’t want to say anything. I respect the court.” He told the court to take whatever steps it deemed suitable “in the interest of justice.”
His sisters Alvira Khan Agnihotri, who had attended the hearings, and Arpita Khan wept when the verdict was pronounced. They stood by their brother’s side after the verdict, along with brother Arbaaz Khan.

Cabinet clears amendment to Whistle Blowers Protection Act

Hours after Congress president Sonia Gandhi attacked the government for its false promises on transparency, the Union Cabinet met to approve an amendment that would effectively dilute the scope of the Whistle Blowers Protection Act of 2011. The amendment incorporates ‘necessary provisions’ to keep issues of national security out of its purview.
Anti-corruption activists have argued that the new provisions could weaken the fight against corruption in key sectors like defence. In the past, several dubious deals like the Bofors, Scorpene, Tatra truck and Agusta Westland scams have been exposed by whistle blowers.
Ms. Gandhi attacked the government in the Lok sabha for not notifying the Bill despite it getting the President's assent last year. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha, in December 2011 and the Rajya Sabha had passed it on 21 February last year and it received the President's assent on May 9.
During the last days of UPA rule, the BJP had proposed certain amendments to the Bill when it came up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha. One was to bar whistleblowers from seeking information on national security.
The Union Cabinet also gave approval to three major social security initiatives that will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9. The schemes — the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and the Atal Pension Yojana (APY)— will be launched in Kolkata where Assembly elections are due next year.
An official release said the decision on APY will benefit 2 crore subscribers in the first year, and that on the PMSBY and the PMJJBY will provide affordable personal accident and life cover to a vast population.
These initiatives, announced in the government’s budget, are aimed at providing a universal social security net that will be linked to individual user's bank accounts.
The PMSBY will offer a renewable one-year accidental death-cum-disability cover of Rs. 2 lakh for partial/permanent disability to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70 years for a premium of Rs. 12 per annum per subscriber.
The PMJJBY on the other hand will offer a renewable one year life cover of Rs. 2 lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, covering death due to any reason, for a premium of Rs. 330 per annum per subscriber.

‘1993 verdict of SC upset equilibrium of powers’

The Centre pressed its onslaught against the 1993 judgment of the Supreme Court, ushering in the collegium system of judicial appointments, saying the 22-year-old verdict created an imperium in imperio (empire within an empire) within the apex court.
The Centre said the 1993 majority judgment (Second Judges case) by a nine-judge Bench managed to upset the delicate “equilibrium” achieved by the Constitution makers by giving the CJI primacy over judicial appointments.
The apex court countered that the government had never been shy of “putting its foot down” all these years despite the collegium.
On the second day of arguments before a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice J.S. Khehar, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi persisted that a larger Constitution Bench should hear the batch of petitions challenging the National Judicial Appointments Commission, replacing the collegium system.
Having not yet begun to defend the legality of the NJAC law, Mr. Rohatgi instead focused his attack on the judgment of 1993 which, according to him, “thrust the pendulum” in favour of the CJI.
Mr. Rohatgi persisted with his argument despite Justice Khehar making it clear on Tuesday that even if he proves the 1993 judgment wrong, he would still not succeed as long as the government does not prove that the NJAC is as “equally independent” a mechanism for judicial appointments as the collegium system it substitutes.
The AG argued that the Second Judges case and the Presidential Reference of 1998 (popularly called the Third Judges case) effectively made the CJI the final word on judicial appointments.
“When the CJI says there is no ground to block an appointment, the executive, despite having objected, will have no further say,” Mr. Rohatgi said.
Justice Kurian Joseph, however, disagreed, responding that the executive had put its foot down whenever it wanted. “The executive had the power to say ‘no this appointment is wrong… it is violative of guidelines’,” Justice Joseph observed.
But the A-G argued that the 1993 judgment was oblivious to the checks and balances imposed by Parliament in the pre-collegium days.
Noting that separation of powers is flexible, Mr. Rohatgi pointed out how the executive plays a cardinal role in the appointment of important constitutional functionaries, including the Chief Election Commissioner.
“Can you say that just because the appointment procedure involves the executive, the post is susceptible to potential abuse? Independence comes after appointment. The pivotal feature of independence comes after a person is appointed a judge,” the A-G submitted. The Centre will continue arguments .

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:: International ::

U.S. sounds caution as India inks port deal with Iran

In a deal of significant strategic importance, India and Iran signed an inter-Governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding India’s participation in the development of the Chabahar Port in Iran. This was signed by Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, Minister for Transport and Urban Development of Iran, and Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, during his visit to Iran.
“With the signing of this MoU, Indian and Iranian commercial entities will now be in a position to commence negotiations towards finalisation of a commercial contract under which Indian firms will lease two existing berths at the port and operationalise them as container and multi-purpose cargo terminals,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
To a question on the deal, Richard Verma, U.S. Ambassador in India, cautioned against “rushing in” with investments as the nuclear deal being negotiated was not final and said there was need “to maintain the international solidarity that has brought this hard fought diplomatic victory, but we are not over the finish line yet.”
Chabahar which is located close to the strategic Persian Gulf will impart significant strategic leverage to India giving it access to Afghanistan and to the energy-rich Central Asia bypassing Pakistan. It also cuts down transit time by a third accruing significant time and cost savings.
India, which has invested over $2 billion in Afghanistan, plans to link the Chabahar port with the Zaranj-Delaram road, the garland highway, India built in Afghanistan by upgrading the Chabahar-Milak road opening alternative access to sea port for Afghanistan’s connectivity to regional and global markets. India has already committed $100 million to develop the port.
Mr. Gadkari had earlier said: “We will complete the port in about one-and-a-half years... The distance between Chabahar and Gujarat is less than Delhi and Mumbai.”
The Chabahar deal has been long pending due to U.S. pressure on India in light of the severe sanctions imposed on Iran.

United Kingdom braces for another fractured mandate

Britain votes in a general election that is predicted to throw up a fractured result in which no party will get an absolute majority. A total of 3971 candidates — 26 per cent of who are women — will contest for 650 parliamentary seats.
The election brings to an end a hard-fought and colourful campaign marked by strong disagreements and illuminating engagement among parties and candidates.
Debates have raged and points scored in television studios and on public platforms over the economy; the future of the National Health Service; the impact on people’s welfare owing to cutbacks in social sector budgets; the question of immigration; Britain’s position and role in the European Union; and much else.
For all the choice on offer, voter preferences however have remained stubbornly the same over the last few months. The latest BBC Poll of Polls shows the Conservatives a point ahead of Labour at 34 per cent, Labour at 33, Liberal Democrats at eight, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) at 13, the Green Party at five, and Others (which include the Scottish National Party) at 6.
The seat forecast, however, in a first-past-the-post election is very different. For example, the SNP, with just four per cent of the vote-share is predicted to win over 50 seats, while the UKIP with 13 per cent vote-share is predicted to win just one seat.
The latest seat forecast, as published on the website electionforecast.co.uk shows the Conservatives winning 281, Labour 256, SNP 52, Green Party 1, UKIP 3, Lib Dems 28.
Records are expected to be broken. This election is likely to see the biggest historical decline in the vote share held by the two largest parties; Labour will receive its lowest ever share of the Scottish vote; and the election will see the largest ever swing to the SNP.
There are 93 Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BME) candidates standing from the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem parties, an improvement from the last election, though still not representative of the numbers of BME in the general population. There are 158 British-Asian candidates across all parties (111 men and 47 women).
Voting in England is still done the old-fashioned way of crossing a box with a pencil tied by string to a table (in case it is pocketed by a voter). Polling stations will remain open from 7 am (11:30 am IST) to 10 pm.
The results of the much-awaited exit poll — the largest of all the polls done so far with a sample size of 16000 — will be announced at 10 pm. The first result comes in by 11 pm with a big surge in results after 2 a.m. on May 8.

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:: Business and Economy ::

Supreme Court reserves order on national company tribunals

The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of provisions in the Companies Act of 2013 relating to setting up of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, concluded hearing on the Act, which gives power to the Centre to suspend and sack members and Chairpersons of NCLT and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The bench, also comprising Justices A. K. Sikri, Arun Mishra, R. F. Nariman and Amitava Roy, heard several pleas including the one filed by the Madras Bar Association challenging certain provisions of Chapter XXVII of the Act.
Senior advocate Arvind Dattar led the arguments against NCLT and NCLAT by referring to the recent verdict of a five-judge bench which had declared the National Tax Tribunal, set up to decide tax-related cases, as unconstitutional on the ground that the Act encroached on the ‘exclusive domain’ of superior courts.
The previous UPA government had proposed setting up of NCLT and NCLAT as specialized quasi-judicial bodies with the aim to help reduce the pendency of cases.
Mr. Dattar submitted that the Act is such that civil servants would be an overwhelming presence in the tribunal.
“In a galloping manner, one Tribunal after another is coming up. Judges are going out of Tribunals. Bureaucrats are going to discharge the function of High Court judges,” he said.
Additional Solicitor General P. S. Patwalia tried to dispel the apprehension by saying that the matter was not an adversarial litigation.

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:: Science and Technology ::

Pollution: particulate matter in India higher than WHO limit

In 2010, air pollution killed nearly 600,000 people in India, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The situation has not changed in the last five years. A recent study shows that a significant population of Indian subcontinent breathes air with much higher particulate matter that is lesser than 2.5 micrometre (PM2.5) in size than the limit set by the WHO. Outdoor air pollution as a whole, especially the particulate matter, has been declared as class-1 cancer-causing agent (carcinogen) in 2013 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the WHO. Besides, it causes other respiratory and heart diseases.
The PM2.5 is particularly dangerous and can cause adverse health effects owing to its greater penetrability into the human respiratory system and eventual accumulation in human organs and blood. Rural women, children and elderly population are more prone to diseases caused by air pollution. Rural women, in particular, face a greater risk from indoor pollution — locally made mud stoves fuelled by solid biofuel emit a far greater amount of finer particulate matter.
Air quality of any area depends on local emissions, long-range transport, local and regional weather patterns, and to some extent the topography of the region. Due to increased buoyancy and efficient ventilation in summer, pollution plumes rise effortlessly to the free atmosphere. This leads to a reduced level of surface level PM2.5 concentration in our breathing zone. The problem gets aggravated during winter. Adverse conditions during winter help trapping of pollution leading to elevated level of surface PM concentration.
Compared with peninsular India and coastal regions, the situation is far worse in the Gangetic Basin, especially during winter months. The Himalayas act as a barrier to dissipation of pollution plumes emanating from the cities located in the Basin. As a result, cities in the Basin are more prone to sustained bad air quality.
Evidence is emerging that shows a strong positive relationship between increased pollution levels and occurrence of dense fog episodes. This clearly demands far more stringent emission norms in the cities located in GB if we have to achieve air quality to prescribed National Index. Although water is acknowledged as a precious resource, the air that we breathe is still not given a similar importance. It is time that an Air Resource Board be created, to begin with in a specific affected region of the country, which is equipped with larger and well-trained staff, technologists and legal aids, and has advanced monitoring stations — stationary and mobile — under it.
The state of California was infamous for its worst air quality in the U.S. in early 1950s due to large emissions and valley-like topography that allows trapping of pollution. However, with science-based policies, appropriate technologies and strict regulations, residents of California enjoy better air quality today despite a steady growth in transportation sector and continued industrialisation.
The State made effective use of diesel particulate filter (DPF) that does not allow emission of PM2.5 into environment in vehicular exhaust system. Refineries were augmented to produce low-sulphur fuel, a necessity for DRF installation. Recent epidemiological studies show reduced mortality and hospital admittance due to air pollution. The level of soot (therefore PM2.5) in California has reduced drastically over the last three decades, as a recent study reveals.
India has begun taking steps in the right direction. The National Air Quality index, introduced recently, has created greater awareness of air pollution amongst the people. Recently, plying of diesel vehicles older than 10 years has also been prohibited.
But the situation demands more action in order to restore good air quality and clear visibility. The economic gain due to avoidable loss of human life is too huge to be ignored. Technical intervention through efficient cooking stoves can significantly improve the lives of rural women. Improved power situation, especially in cold days, together with better handling of municipal waste and trash, can also help in achieving better air quality in the cities. Securing clean air, without compromising development, is achievable and sustainable. Environment protection is a challenge that has to be addressed more comprehensively.
Central Pollution Control Board can be divested into various regional air boards that will be responsible for securing the environment in a more proactive manner. If mandatory, more laws need to be enacted and strictly enforced to accomplish these goals.

:: Sports ::

Khel Ratna: Gowda and Seema recommended

Commonwealth Games gold medallist discus thrower Vikas Gowda has been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the second time along with his female counterpart and CWG silver winner Seema Punia for the coveted award this year.
The names of Gowda and Seema, who won a gold in 2014 Incheon Asian Games, have been recommended by Athletics Federation of India.
Gowda, who won a silver in Incheon, was among those shortlisted for the Khel Ratna last year by the Sports Ministry though the selection panel ultimately decided not to name any sportsperson for the award.
The AFI also recommended quartermiler M.R. Poovamma, triple jumper Arpinder Singh, middle distance runner O.P. Jaisha and Seema for the Arjuna Award.
Besides Gowda and Seema, para-athletes H.N. Girisha and Devendra Jhajharia have also been recommended for the Khel Ratna.
Jhajharia, who was also among those shortlisted by the Sports Ministry, was recommended by the Rajasthan government while Girisha got the nod from the de-recognised Paralympic Committee of India.

Geeta wins bronze

Geeta Phogat won a bronze in the women’s 58kg freestyle at the senior Asian wrestling championship at Doha.
She defeated Vietnam’s Thi Loan Nyguen by fall verdict in the bronze medal play-off.