Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 November 2014

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 November 2014

National

Question Hour shifted in Rajya Sabha to stop disruptions

• To preserve the sanctity of the Question Hour, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has decided to move it from the customary 11 a.m. to noon in the Upper House starting this winter session. If the experiment proves successful, it may be replicated in the Lok Sabha.
• The new rules will have to be presented and ratified by the Rajya Sabha when it convenes on November 24, but pending that, Mr. Ansari has issued directions for their implementation.
• In 2011, Mr. Ansari, exercised at the way the Question Hour was used by Opposition parties to raise issues meant for Zero Hour and disrupt the House, for a brief while moved it to the post-lunch session. But with most MPs objecting to the change in timing, it had to be reversed.
• Parliament sources said the 11 a.m. to 12 noon slot would effectively be Zero Hour, when political parties could raise issues of immediate concern, even as it would also be used for Special Mentions and for the laying of papers in the House.
• The expectation is that once the MPs have voiced their concerns, they will be ready for the more rigorous business of Question Hour.
• “It is actually the one hour when MPs, free of their party, can independently ask questions on the programmes and policies of the government and hold it accountable,” a Parliament official said.
• The Rajya Sabha will also sit for an additional hour till 6 p.m. as the Lok Sabha presently does. Samajawadi Party’s Naresh Agarwal, has objected to the change.

Annual Krishi Mela organised at UAS-Raichur

• The annual Krishi Mela organised by University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur (UAS-R), began on the university’s main campus.
• The three-day event, aimed at introducing new agricultural and allied technologies to the farming community, was flagged off by Sri Jayamruthyunjaya Mahaswamy, the head of Panchamasali Jagadguru Peetha, Kudala Sangama, by offering pujas to a cow.
• Thousands of farmers and agriculture enthusiasts from different places in Hyderabad Karnataka thronged the campus on the first day.
• Different agricultural and horticultural universities, government departments, non-governmental agencies, and private seed and fertilizer companies exhibited their products in over two hundred stalls.
• UAS-R too has made arrangements to put its products, especially two new seed varieties - SIRI-1253 (paddy) and DSB-21 (soybean), and e-Solution Against Agricultural Pests (e-SAP) technology under demonstration.
• The stall that provided information about e-SAP technology was one of the attractions in the first day. The students explained to the visitors as to how the e-SAP installed tablet would pictorially provide complete information about pest attack, virus infest and other diseases to specific crops at various stages of their development and step-by-step ways and means to address the issues for crop protection.
• Besides, information about the benefits of directing paddy seeding, use of mechanised paddy transplanter, precision farming, integrated farming, watershed development technology, drip and sprinkler irrigation methods, varietal and chawki rearing technologies in sericulture etc, were put on display.

Government launches modified DBTL scheme in 54 districts in 11 states

• For the benefit of lakhs of households, the Central government has launched a modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme in 54 districts in 11 states including all in Kerala starting November 15, 2014 whereby LPG consumers who have not yet availed the benefit will be able to get cash subsidy amount transferred into their accounts to buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders at market price.
• Every time they book a cylinder the government will transfer Rs 568 to the customers’ bank account so that the money would be there in the account before gas reaches their homes. Each household is entitled to get 12 subsidized cylinders a year. So those who have already exhausted the quota will not be get any subsidy this year.
• This scheme will be implemented in the rest of India on January 1, 2015. Post implementation of this scheme India’s LPG subsidy burden of Rs 48,000 crore is expected to come down by 15 per cent.
• “Consumers who had joined the scheme earlier and had received cash subsidy permanent advance of Rs 435 in their bank accounts do not need to do anything further.
• To confirm this, they should check their CTC (cash transfer compliant) status on www.MyLPG.in,” said George Paul, Executive Director (LPG), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd while briefing journalists on the new scheme.
• Under this scheme consumers who do not have Aadhaar number, can receive cash directly in their bank account without producing Aadhaar. However, as and when they get Aadhaar they need to shift to Aadhaar based cash transfer.
• “Consumers who are not CTC will get a three month grace period during which they would receive the cylinders at subsidised rate. After this, they will get an additional three month as parking period during which they will have to buy cylinders at the market rate.
• If the consumer joins the scheme within the parking period, the subsidy as per entitlement and consumption during parking period will be transferred to the bank account,” Mr Paul said.

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International

U. S. President Obama credits Modi for WTO deal

• United States President Barack Obama has commended the “personal leadership” role provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in finding a path forward on WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) reached between the two countries, a presidential spokesperson said.
• “The President had extensive discussions with Prime Minister Modi on this issue and appreciates his personal leadership in finding a path forward,” the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement after India and US announced that the two countries have reached an agreement on TFA.
• In Myanmar, where Mr. Obama met briefly the Prime Minister on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Daw described Mr Modi as a man of action.
• In a statement, Mr. Earnest said the important breakthrough reached between the United States and India will unlock progress toward the full and immediate implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, which will lower the costs of trade for developed and developing countries alike.
• “This breakthrough will also strengthen the multilateral trading system and give a boost to its ongoing work, including in the area of food security,” he said.
• “Combined with the recent announcement of a breakthrough on the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the agreement among Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Leaders that the end of those landmark negotiations is coming into focus, this has been a good week for expanding opportunities for American businesses and workers and for promoting growth around the globe,” Mr. Earnest said.

India’s UN resolution on Yoga gets support of about 130 countries

• In an overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for commemorating an International Day of Yoga, about 130 countries have joined as co-sponsors to an India-led U.N. General Assembly resolution recognising yoga’s benefits.
• The draft resolution for an ‘International Day of Yoga’ was prepared by India and informal consultations were convened last month by the Indian mission in the U.N. General Assembly where views on the topic were expressed by other delegations.
• The draft resolution, known as the ‘L Document,’ was finalised with 130 countries co-sponsoring it, an all-time record for a resolution of such kind. The draft resolution, expected to come up for adoption in the General Assembly on December 10, would recognise that.
• Mr. Modi had asked world leaders to adopt an International Yoga Day, saying that by changing lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. “Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well being,” he had said.
• The resolution would also proclaim June 21 as the ‘International Day of Yoga’.
• It would recognise that wider dissemination of information about the benefits of practising yoga would be beneficial for the health of the world population and invite all member and observer states, organisations of the United Nations system and other international and regional bodies to observe the International Day in order to raise awareness of the benefits of practising yoga.

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Business & economy

Wholesale Inflation drops to 5-year low

• Slowing for the fifth consecutive month, wholesale inflation cooled to a five-year low of 1.8 per cent in October against 2.4 per cent in September. The decline was led by softening food prices and the favourable statistical effect of a higher base last year.
• Food inflation cooled to 2.7 per cent from 3.5 per cent in September, according to the official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released. Inflation in vegetables dropped to minus 19.6 per cent. Prices of wheat, vegetables, eggs, fish and meat fell in October, according to the official data.
• Industry chambers cheered the steep fall in the WPI inflation and made renewed calls for the Reserve Bank to slash interest rates. Economists, however, warned that the moderation in WPI inflation was in some part a statistical illusion and the trend could change post-December.
• “The lowering of inflation for the fifth consecutive month is indeed a positive sign for the economy... However, these numbers should be viewed with caution…. The base effect is pronounced and will be so in November too,” Care Ratings Chief Economist Madan Sabnavis in a report on the wholesale data.
• Inflation could pick up again post-December by when the favourable statistical effect of a higher base could peter off, Deloitte Economist Anis Chakravarty cautioned in a note. Inflation could also rebound if Agriculture Ministry’s forecast of a lower kharif output for cereals, pulses and oilseeds comes true, said Mr. Chakravarty.
• At 11.4 per cent, inflation in prices of milk remained elevated though its pace was slightly lower than in the previous month.
• For rice too, inflation remained high at 6.5 per cent despite being marginally lower than September’s level of 6.9 per cent. The moderation in the rate of price rise was only marginal in cereals, slowing to 3.3 per cent from 3.5 per cent in September.

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Science & technology

SFC of the Army test-fires Prithvi-II missile

• The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army test-fired The Prithvi-II missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.
• The surface-to-surface missile can carry a 500-kg nuclear warhead and attack targets 350 km away.
• It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and inducted into the Army in 2003. The missile splashed down into the Bay of Bengal about 350 km from the launching point.
• DRDO spokesman Ravi Kumar Gupta said it was the first missile to be developed by the DRDO under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. The single-stage missile uses liquid propellants.
• Dhanush, a naval variant of the Prithvi missile, was also launched on Friday. It reportedly covered a range of 350 km.

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Sports

Saina stood just 1 win away from China Open

• Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal stood just one win away from clinching her maiden China Open title after she stormed into the finals of the $700,000 Super Series Premier tournament in Fuzhou.
• In her sixth appearance in the prestigious tournament, Saina continued her rampaging run as she produced another good show to outclass World No. 17 Liu Xin of China 21-17 21-17 in the women’s singles semifinals that lasted 47 minutes at the Haixia Olympic Sport Centre.
• The World No. 5 Indian will take on the winner of match between fifth seed Bae Yeon Ju of Korea and Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, in the summit clash.
• Saina took time to get going initially as Liu opened up a slender 7-4 lead but the Indian soon clawed back and went into the interval with a narrow 11-10 lead.
• She came out all guns blazing after that to create a huge 19-13 gap. The Chinese girl reeled off four points to reduce the margin but the Indian soon pocketed the first game.
• In the second game, Liu once again marched ahead 5-2 but Saina didn’t take much time to draw level and entered the break with a two-point lead.
• Saina’s angled strokes had Liu struggling but the Chinese kept herself in close range after the Indian stumbled on some unforced errors. At 14-14, Saina hit long allowing Liu to take the lead.
• The Chinese then won an aggressive rally when Saina failed to connect and hit wide. However, Liu then fell pray to a series of unforced errors as Saina soon moved to a three-point cushion. Liu once again hit wide helping Saina clinch her place in the final.
• The last time Saina reached the finals of a tournament was at the Australian Super Series, where she defeated Spain’s Carolina Marin to win the title. The Indian had won the Syed Modi International Grand Prix gold early in the year.

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Persons in news

Johnson declared as ICC Cricketer of the Year

• It was double delight Mitchell Johnson as the Australian fast bowler declared ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test cricketer of the Year.
• The 33-year-old has won the coveted Cricketer of the Year award for the second time in his career while he is only third Australian after Ricky Ponting (2006) and Michael Clarke (2013) to win the Test Cricketer of the Year award.
• During the voting period between 26 August 2013 and 17 September 2014, Johnson claimed 59 Test wickets at an average of 15.23, with best bowling figures of seven for 40 runs against England in Adelaide last December.
• In ODIs, Johnson claimed 21 wickets in 16 games.
• Since the inception of the awards in 2004, Johnson is only the second player after compatriot Ricky Ponting to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy twice.
• While Johnson previously won this trophy in 2009, Ponting lifted it back—to—back in 2006 and 2007. Other winners include Rahul Dravid (2004), Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff (2005), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Jonathan Trott (2011), Kumar Sangakkara (2012) and Michael Clarke (2013).
• “Some of the greats of the game have been nominated and won this award, and it’s a very special honour,” a delighted Johnson said.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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