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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 25 July 2014

India, U.S., Japan joint naval exercise in Pacific

India, the United States and Japan are embarking on joint naval manoeuvres in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday as part of the Malabar series of exercises. The exercise, in which 800 personnel from the Navy will participate, follows the U.S.’s strategic pivot to Asia — a doctrine that will result in the shifting of a bulk of American naval assets in the Asia-Pacific over the next decade.
The shift in the U.S. military posture is seen as part of a new initiative to contain China. However, Indian officials say that India will exercise its “strategic autonomy” but will not participate in a U.S. led counter-China policy with Japan and Australia as partners.
The Navy is fielding a frigate, a destroyer, and a supply vessel in the week-long exercise meant to focus on anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations. The three countries earlier participated in joint exercises in 2009, and Singapore and Australia were also part of the manoeuvres in 2007. This exercise follows the Indra-14 drills that India and Russia held in the Sea of Japan.

The world was closely watching the new government in India and needed India to succeed in order to end extreme poverty by 2020, According to Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group.
He also mentioned, If the ranking of India in Doing Business Report(DBR) was based just on Gujarat, [the country] would improve 50 places. So our hope is that what Mr. Modi did in Gujarat in improving the business environment is scaled to all of India, if that does happen, India will rise very quickly in the DBR rankings.
WB will provide financial support to India worth $15-18 billion over the next three years.
He added, “The world needs India to succeed. If India reaches its economic goals, several million people will be lifted out of poverty in a generation’s tim. This represents an historic opportunity [which is] critical not only for India but for the world if we are to end extreme poverty by 2020.”

India expressed “deep concern” over the escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine. India also reiterated its joint stand — with IBSA and BRICS partners — to promote dialogue and understanding in Palestine and Israel.
In a statement made at the 21st special session of the UNHRC — on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory — India urged for an immediate ceasefire and called on both sides to resume dialogue.
The solution to the “Palestine issue,” India said, should be based on relevant U.N. resolutions, the Arab Peace Plan and the Quartet Roadmap resulting in a “sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine within secure and recognised borders side-by-side at peace with Israel and with East Jerusalem as its capital”.

The government proposes to adopt radiation technology developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for improving the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables especially onions, potatoes and tomatoes to address the issue of supply side shortage that often results in price rise.
Radioactive technology had been available in the country for some time and already in use in Maharashtra, though on a small scale, Safety concerns should be taken care of as existing norms do not permit radiation above a permissible limit.
Food irradiation is a physical process in which food and farm commodities, in pre-packed form or in bulk, are exposed to controlled radiation energy to prevent sprouting, delay ripening, kill insects, pests, pathogenic and spoilage micro-organisms.

According to the 2014 UNDP Human Development Report, India’s human development index has improved very slightly but remains among the median countries in terms of human development, just seven places above Bangladesh.
The Human Development Index is a composite index that measures income, education (average years of education completed by adults, and expected years of education for children entering school) and health (life expectancy).
With an HDI value of 0.586 out of a maximum possible 1, India is ranked 135. India’s human development index improved slower in the 2000s than it did in the 1980s despite much faster economic growth.
When inequality is factored in, India loses nearly 30% of its HDI value. India’s human development indicators are also substantially different for men and women; the HDI for men alone is much higher at 0.627, while the HDI for Indian women alone is just 0.519.
The report cites ILO estimates that a “basic social floor - universal basic old age and disability pensions, basic childcare benefits, universal access to essential health care, social assistance and a 100-day employment scheme” would cost India less than 4 per cent of its GDP.

An Air Algerie flight carrying 116 people from Burkina Faso to Algeria’s capital Algiers disappeared from radar over northern Mali after heavy rains were reported, nearly half of the passengers were French.
The plane sent its last message around 1.30 a.m. GMT (9.30 p.m. EDT), asking Niger air control to change its route because of heavy rains in the area.
Northern Mali fell under control of ethnic Tuareg separatists and then al-Qaeda-linked Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012. A French-led intervention last year scattered the extremists, but the Tuaregs have pushed back against the authority of the Bamako-based government.

China is planning the construction of two railway lines in Tibet that will extend up to the border with India and are expected to be completed by 2020.
The railway lines will run from the town of Shigatse, which next month will be connected to the Qinghai-Tibet railway line that extends to Lhasa.
Railway line will be further extended during the 13th five year plan period (2016-2020), running to two regions near the border with India: Yatung, a trade centre close to Sikkim and Bhutan, and to Nyingchi in the east, near the Arunachal Pradesh border.
A third railway line will be build to Gyirong, where there is a trade and border checkpoint connecting Tibet’s Yatung county and Nepal.
It will accelerate transportation of the mineral products, which could only be transmitted through highways that often risk being cut off during rainy seasons or see vehicle turnovers, the bargaining chips will be increased on the Chinese side if people in the South Tibet region see better economic development in southwestern Tibet.