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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 19 March 2014

India Human Development Survey

According to a survey conducted by the National Council for Applied Economic Research, four out of ten women in India still have no say in their marriage, eight out of ten need permission to visit a doctor, six out of ten practise some form of head covering, and the average Indian household gives over Rs. 30,000 in dowry.
The National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) conducts the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), the largest household survey in India after the government's Nation Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) surveys, and the NCAER is the only independent body that conducts such large-sample panel surveys.
The data shows that India has made progress in child marriage, with 48% of women over 25 reporting in 2011-12 that they were married before the age of 18 as opposed to 60% in 2004-5. The average number of children that women (over 40) reported they had had has also come down slightly to 3.55, indicating that fertility is falling. The practice of marrying a cousin or relative – more common in the south than the north – is becoming less common, but over 20% in Andhra Pradesh and Karnata still marry relatives.
However, women's autonomy remains severely constrained. 41% of women had no say in their marriage and just 18% knew their husbands before marriage, a statistic that has not improved. Women's say in marriage rose with their level of education, with income and with level of urbanisation and the southern states did better.
The average Indian family gives over Rs. 30,000 in cash as dowry and 40% admitted to giving large items like TVs and cars as dowry. The practise of giving large items as dowry was most common among forward caste Hindus and lowest among Muslims. Wedding expenses ranged from nearly Rs 1 lakh in the poorest village to Rs 1.7 lakh in small cities, a big jump over the 2004-5 survey. Kerala and Delhi had the most expensive weddings.

Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area

The draft notification of Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) covering about 56,825 sq. km has been put in public domain by the Union Environment and Forests Ministry. The notification has left the demarcation of the ESA in Kerala to the State authorities by banking on their evaluation of the Western Ghats boundaries.
This is slated to be the largest ESA declared under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 in the country. The draft notification signalled the penultimate round of a long lasting debate kicked off by the Union government when in 2010, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh set up the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil. The panel’s report created a stir in some of the six States, especially Kerala, and forced the Union government to set up a second high level panel to review the Gadgil report, this one under Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan.
Unlike the Gadgil report, the Kasturirangan panel took pains to delineate densely inhabited areas from forested patches and take a relative middle-path to balancing demands of development and maintaining the integrity of the biodiversity hotspot.
Jayanthi Natarajan, Environment Minister in 2013, passed orders implementing the panel’s report after the National Green Tribunal stepped in to pursue the case.
Under pressure, the UPA government at the Centre relented and permitted the State to redraw the boundaries of the eco-sensitive zone with the third Environment Minister grappling with the issue in UPA2, Veerappa Moily accepting the new demarcation days before the election model code of conduct coming into force.

Nuclear fuel complex

Following the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security, the country's second nuclear fuel complex will come up at Kota in Rajasthan. The Rs. 2,400-crore complex, next to the Rawatbhata nuclear plant, will have the facility to reprocess atomic fuel.
The Department of Atomic Energy has made the new arrangement, keeping in mind the growing demand for fuel required for nuclear plants. The complex will serve atomic plants which are proposed to be developed in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh; Haryana; Jaitapur in Maharashtra and Mithi Virdhi in Gujarat.
India's first nuclear fuel complex, developed at Hyderabad, does not have the capacity to meet the growing demands from reactors which will come up by the next decade. Also, under the 12th Plan, India aims to increase its nuclear energy generation capacity to over 17,300 MWe, from over 5,500 MWe now.

Accession pact signed

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty on Crimea’s accession to Russia after delivering a defiant speech defending his move and blasting the West for pursuing “containment” of Russia and flouting international law.
The treaty was also signed by the Crimean leaders who attended a special joint session of the Russian Parliament in the Kremlin. Mr. Putin said he was confident the Russian Parliament would ratify the pact.
Western accusations that Russia had invaded Crimea was denied. Russian “reinforcements” were in line with a treaty with Ukraine that allows Russia to have up to 25,000 troops at its Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea. Mr. Putin dismissed concerns that Russia could seize other regions in Ukraine.

India and China’s MOU on IT

India and China, signed a memorandum of understanding on IT cooperation, which,was a ‘formal recognition’ from the Chinese government to promote Indian software companies, which have largely struggled to obtain contracts from Chinese state-run companies. Both countries held their third Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) recently.
India also sought Chinese support in substantially raising the speed on three rail corridors and in developing modern stations.
China has rapidly modernised its rail network, which only three decades ago lagged behind India’s. The country has also built the world’s biggest high-speed rail network, where trains run at 350 kilometres per hour on 13,000 kilometres of newly-laid track, running entirely separately from the older rail network. India has sought assistance in raising speeds on three lines, between New Delhi and Agra, Kanpur and Chandigarh.
India has, however, asked Japan for assistance in carrying out a project report considering the possibility of building a high speed rail line between Mumbai and Vadodara. At the SED, both sides signed an MoU to push IT cooperation.
India has asked China to expand market access for software and pharmaceutical companies, and to take steps to narrow the record $35 billion trade deficit.

Indian shares upgraded

Goldman Sachs upgraded Indian shares to "overweight" from "marketweight" and raised its target on Nifty to 7,600, citing reduced external vulnerabilities, including a narrowing current account deficit, and potential for gains ahead of elections that conclude in May.

The investment bank added it favours cyclicals over defensives because of expectations of an improving economy and a bottoming out of earnings, according to a report .It also recommended investors to focus on potential election beneficiaries in these markets.

It upgraded auto stocks to "overweight", while retaining the same rating on IT and energy stocks.

Goldman said Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS), Coal India (COAL.NS), NTPC (NTPC.NS) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.NS) as public sector companies that could be key election beneficiaries.
Among private sector shares, ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), Larsen and Toubro (LART.NS), UltraTech Cement (ULTC.NS), JSW Steel (JSTL.NS), Indusind Bank and Voltas (VOLT.NS) were seen by Goldman as gaining from elections.

Ice loss in Greenland

According to a study , sea levels will probably rise more now that the last remaining stable portion of Greenland's ice sheet -- the world's second-largest -- is unstable.
Scientists have known Greenland's ice sheet has been thinning for decades, but for the first time, they've found that's even occurring in its northeast region that had been stable for 25 years. Since 2003, the northeast's ice loss has nearly tripled.
The decline of Greenland's ice sheet, which is second in size only to Antarctica's and covers 80% of Greenland's surface, has been a major contributor to global sea level rise over the past 20 years.

Restraining order against Zee

In a temporary relief to the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the High Court of Madras has directed two private television news channels not to telecast for a fortnight any news connecting him to the Indian Premier League (ILP) betting and fixing scandal.
The interim order was given on a petition Dhoni moved , which also sought Rs 100 crore from the television channels, Zee Group and News Nation, for damaging his reputation by airing malicious reports that linked him to the match-fixing and betting controversy, which had erupted after an IPS officer’s deposition to the inquiry committee became public.