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Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 30 January 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Recurrent insurgency, Chinese claims over Indian territory, a communal Chief Minister and a document signed by a “majority” 34 MLAs urging for President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh are factors listed by the Centre to justify the proclamation of emergency in the sensitive border State on Republic Day.
These are the highlights of a 316-page counter-affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Supreme Court.
The Centre said President’s rule was proclaimed in Arunachal Pradesh in the interest of the country.
It said political stability is imperative in Arunachal Pradesh as it is a strategically located State.
The Chief Minister and the Speaker pitted one particular community against the other tribes and “incited, provoked and fund- ed” communal politics against the Governor, referring to his “Assamese roots”.
The Centre highlighted how the Speaker had locked out the legislators, preventing them from entering the Assembly Hall between December 15 and 18, in order to conduct a floor test of the Tuki government’s majority.
This was done on the basis of a “source information” received by the Speaker that anti-social elements would try to burn down the Assembly building.

On the heels of the World Health Organization's warning on Zika virus, the government said it hasconstituted a special, technical group to monitor the spread of the virus in other countries.
Aedes mosquito which transmits dengue also transmits Zika virus. The government note emphasised an increased focus on prevention to control the spread of the Aedes mosquito that breeds in clean water.
The Zika virus has been associated with inexplicable spike in Brazil, of babies being born with unusually-small heads.
The virus has been detected in some people in the U.S. and the U.K. who have said they had travelled to South America.
There have been no reports of outbreaks of Zika in India though there is concern that given the ubiquity of air- travel, carriers of the virus may arrive in India.

With about 5,00,000 people expected to visit Brazil for the Olympics here this year, researchers are scrambling to figure how much of a risk the Games might pose in spreading the Zika virus around the world.
Infectious disease specialists are particularly focused on the potential for Zika to spread to the United States.
As many as 2,00,000 Americans are expected to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics in August.
When they return to the Northern Hemisphere and its summer heat, far more mosquitoes will be around to potentially transmit the virus in the U.S.
Brazilian researchers say they believe that Zika, which has been linked to severe birth defects, came to their country during another major sports event — the 2014 World Cup — when hundreds of thousands of visitorsflowed into Brazil.
Virus trackers here say that the strain raging in Brazil probably came from Polynesia, where an outbreak was rattling small islands around the Pacific.
As many as 1.5 million people are believed to have contracted the virus in Brazil since then, and the authorities are now investigating thousands of reported casesof babies being born recently with brain damage and ab- normally small heads.

The government reiterated its commitment to support public sector banks’ capital needs at a time when bad loans are eroding their capital and putting pressure on profits.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is forcing banks to clean up their balance sheet by asking the lenders to make adequate provisions for bad loans, which were unidentified hitherto.
The banking regulator has prepared a list of borrower accounts, whichhas to be classified as non- performing and provided for in third and fourth quarter of the current financial year.
The government said it would provide Rs.25,000 crore in this fiscal year and an additional Rs.25,000 crore next fiscal year.
There is a transformation process under way for IDBI Bank. The finance minister said IDBI will be transformed in a manner similar to the way Axis Bank was transformed. Government holding in IDBI Bank is 76.5 per cent.
When Axis Bank commenced business it was owned by UTI and a clutch of pub- lic sector insurance companies. Ownership was one hundred per cent in the public sector, and yet it was awarded a private sector bank license.
In February 2003, the UTI shareholding was transferred to the Special Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI).
Since then, the Government-as-Investor stance has characterised the control of the Bank, with SUUTI acting as a special purpose vehicle holding the investment on behalf of the Government.

In a perfect climax to their stupendous run, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis were crowned the Australian Open women’s doubles champions after they tamed the spirited Czech duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-6(1), 6-3 for their 36th win in a row.
It was the third consecutive Grand Slam title for Sania and Hingis, having won the Wimbledon and US Open in the 2015 season.
In an incredible feat, Sania and Martina have now extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches, winning eight titles in a row.