Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 28 May 2016

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 28 May 2016

:: National ::

The Indian Air Force test-fired a land-attack version of BrahMos, in the western sector

• The Indian Air Force successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, in the western sector.
• The flight-trial which took place in a firing range in the western sector, met its mission parameters, a BrahMos press release said. The missile destroyed a designated target.
• Its accuracy in mountain warfare mode was re-established during a campaign by the Army in the eastern sector last year and repeated last month.
• This brings to light that the IAF too has been equipped with the land-attack version of BrahMos, which flies at a supersonic speed of Mach 3. The Navy and the Army have already deployed the two-stage missile, which has a range of 290 km.
• The IAF had deployed the missile in the border areas to take out the enemy’s communication towers, runways, and radar in case of a conflict.
• The IAF is preparing to fire the air version of BrahMos from its Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft in the coming weeks.

Defence minister says Tejas would be the mainstay of the Indian Air Force

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas would be the mainstay of the Indian Air Force and would likely replace the entire MIG-21 fleet of almost 250 fighters.
• “LCA is mainstay. There will be seven squadrons of it. It is 3-4 times better than MiG-21s,” he told while giving an overview of the IAF modernisation plans.
• About 250 MiG-21s were in service, most of which would be phased out in the next 10-15 years, Mr. Parrikar said, adding that they would be “replaced by the LCA and another single-engine fighter.”
• Mirage and Jaguar upgrade programmes were currently under way which, Mr. Parrikar said, would add 10-30 years to their life.
• The improved version of LCA referred to as Mk-1A with four major improvements over the Mk-1 variant has been offered by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as an interim measure in view of the delay in LCA-MK2.
• However, the LCA being a single-engine, light-weight fighter, it has its limitations, which is why another twin-engine fighter would be needed other than the Rafale.
• Functionally, the LCA is better than many other foreign fighters. It reacts very smoothly, fly-by-wire, its turn radius is very good, manoeuvrability is very good but it has limitation in the sense that it is a light combatant.
• It cannot go into deep penetration… It is mostly good for dogfights in your own sky or to degrade the opponent Army’s command posts,” Mr. Parrikar observed

T.S.R. Subramanian committee submitted its report to the HRD Ministry (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

US President paid moving tribute to victims of the first atomic bomb

• Barack Obama paid moving tribute to victims of the first atomic bomb, offering a comforting embrace to a tearful man who survived the devastating attack on Hiroshima.

• In a ceremony loaded with symbolism, the first sitting U.S. President to visit the city clasped hands with one survivor and hugged another after speaking about the day that marked one of the most terrifying chapters of World War-II.

• Mr. Obama also chatted with a smiling Sunao Tsuboi (91), who had earlier said he wanted to tell the U.S. President how grateful he was for his visit.

• The trip comes more than seven decades after the Enola Gay bomber dropped its deadly atomic payload, dubbed “Little Boy”, over the western Japanese city.

• The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people.

• As expected, Mr. Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted that he would not revisit decisions made by Truman at the close of a brutal war.

• Shinzo Abe praised the “courage” of the visit, which he said offered hope for a nuclear free future.

Russian President in Greece to reinforce their relationship (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee promises to increase oil and gas production (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Science and Technology ::

New Biochip for cancer detection

• Scientists have created a hydrogel-based biochip with 3D cells to help diagnose colorectal cancer — the third most common type of cancer.
• Bowel cancer i.e. colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer and it develops with minimal clinical symptoms in the early stages. Despite doctors' efforts, the 5-year survival rate does not exceed 36%.
• Treatment is only effective, and patients only have a good chance of recovery, if the cancer is detected early.
• Diagnostic methods that are currently in use are not sufficient.
• Analyses carried out in vitro have low specificity and invasive studies such as colonoscopy are not only traumatic.
• they are also not always suitable for an early diagnosis, as they do not give a complete picture of the development and distribution of colorectal cancer.

:: India and World ::

US to support India’s bid to NSG

• The U.S. Senate is likely to pass an amendment to the 2017 National Defence Authorisation Act that seeks to ease defence trade with India to the level of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies and close partners of the U.S.
• The House of Representatives has already passed amendments similar to the proposed Senate Bill, but the details vary between the two.
• U.S. legislative process requires both Chambers to reconcile their individual versions of similar Bills, and pass a combined version before sending for the approval of the President.
• Once the President signs them into law, the amendments will enable defence trade between the U.S. and India on automatic route for a range of equipment, bypassing the bureaucratic and legislative hurdles in the existing case by case approval process.
• The amendment Bill incorporates provisions from the stand-alone ‘Advancing U.S.-India Defence Cooperation’ Bill moved earlier by Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn earlier this month.

:: Business and Economy ::

FDI inflow recorded $40 billion

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India increased by 29 per cent to a record $40 billion during in the financial year ended March.

• If re-invested earnings ($10 billion), other capital ($4.4 billion) and equity capital of unincorporated bodies ($1 billion) are taken into account along with $40 billion worth equity inflows, the total FDI flows in FY'16 is the highest-ever at $55.4 billion.

• The FDI equity inflows in March 2016 went up by 16.5 per cent to $2.46 billion, according to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

• Of the FDI inflows (equity) in FY'16, services sector attracted maximum investments of $6.88 billion followed by computer hardware and software ($5.90 billion), trading business ($3.84 billion) and automobile industry ($2.52 billion).

• Maximum inflows (equity) were from Singapore ($13.69 billion), followed by Mauritius ($8.35 billion), the US ($4.19 billion), the Netherlands ($2.64 billion) and Japan ($2.61 billion).

• The previous highest FDI inflow was in FY12 when the country received $46.55 billion, which was a 34 per cent increase over $34.8 billion it got in FY11.

• However, India recorded its largest-ever percentage increase in FDI when it received $22.8 billion in FY07, representing a 155 per cent increase over the $8.9 billion in FY06.

The Centre is set to regulate private employment agencies

• The Centre is set to regulate private employment agencies by amending the contract labour law of 1971.

• The agencies won't be allowed to take money from candidates for jobs and hiring agencies who “dupe workers' would soon be weeded out.

• The labour ministry would have to amend the contract labour Act of 1970. According to him, some quarters have looked upon contract workers as undesirable due to the industrial unrest in recent years, stemming from poor quality of jobs and the individuals being vulnerable to false hopes.

• There are several staffing agencies that dupe people in the guise of getting them employed after charging them hefty amounts.

• Trade unions are also in favour of the regulation. “The number of staffing agencies is growing and is largely unregulated and they mislead the workers.

• There is no official website to check the authenticity of a particular agency. We need transparency and trade unions are willing to make the regulation a success,” Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh general secretary said.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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