Current Affairs

28th April to 07th May 2013

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AprMay 2013

Current Affairs

28th to 07th
National, International, Bilateral, Science and Tech Issues Takehiko Nakao
 Takehiko Nakao on 27 April 2013 was appointed as the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by the Board of Governors at New Delhi.  His appointment to the post was unanimously accepted ahead of the annual meet of the bank.  He succeeded Haruhiko Kuroda, who resigned from his office in March 2013 to take up an assignment as the Governor of the Bank of Japan.

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Desertification
 A report submitted to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification by the Environment Ministry in fourth week of April 2013 described that one fourth of Indias geographical area is undergoing the process of desertification despite of the efforts made by it to combat the problem.  As per the findings of the report submitted to United Nation, desertification, land degradation and drought has hit about 8 lakh square kilometer of Indian Territory and covers almost all states and union territories of the country.  The basic reason for such a major challenge lies in the area of land use planning, management of waste and degraded land and efficient use of water resources.

Committee to Enhance MSME Exports

 The Union government keeping into consideration the widening trade gap, had set up a six-member inter-ministerial committee in third week of April 2013 under the chairmanship of Finance Secretary R S Gujral to suggest measures for enhancing MSME exports.  The committee will suggest short and long term measures to enhance exports from MSME sector.  It will submit its recommendations by mid-May 2013.  The other members of the committee include Commerce Secretary S R Rao, Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose, MSME Secretary Madhav Lal, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru and Chief Economic Adviser Raghuram Rajan.

India - Saudi Arabia

 A India-Saudi Arabia joint working group has been formed that will work toward minimising the fallout of the Kingdoms Nitaqat policy on Indians.

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AprMay 2013

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28th to 07th
 Headed by Saudi Arabias Deputy Minister for Labour Affairs Ahamed Al Humaidan and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy Sibi George, the group would hunt for solutions such as providing alternative jobs within Saudi Arabia and making the exit smooth for those who may have to leave the country.  Indian workers have been hit by the policy, which reserves a certain percentage of the workforce in commercial establishments for Saudi nationals.

 The Saudi authorities have embarked on an energetic employment drive for its citizens after the Arab Spring, which was fuelled by legions of unemployed youths in Egypt and Yemen.  With the Saudi authorities expressing their seriousness about generating more employment by declaring illegal those businesses that do not employ a set percentage of locals, there has been a race to find jobs for the displaced expatriates in companies where they can still be legally drafted.

Digital Krishi Card

 Goa has launched a digital Krishi Card that would help farmers make use of benefits such as subsidies and loans given by the State Government.  Around 10,000-15,000 farmers with clear land holdings would benefit from the card during the first phase, followed by landless agriculturists, the Chief Minister said.  The Goa Government plans to introduce similar cards for fishermen and dairy farmers; the cards have been conceptualised by the State-run Goa Electronic Ltd.

Istanbul Process
 The 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Istanbul Process (Heart of Asia Conference) was held in Almaty on 26 April 2013.  Foreign Affairs Ministers of India, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Russia, UAE and top officials from the other countries as well as representatives of international and regional organizations took part in the conference.  The Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for Secure and Stable Afghanistan was launched on 2 November 2011 at the foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul.  The first ministerial conference on the Istanbul Process was held in Kabul on 14 June 2012.

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 Analysts point out that the Indian side is not contesting Riyadhs decision to open up several more employment avenues for its nationals under the Nitaqat system, but is looking at maximizing the welfare of Indian citizens within these parameters.

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AprMay 2013

Current Affairs

28th to 07th
Deoghar Solar Power Project
 President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 14 mega watt Solar Power Project and laid foundation stones for Pilgrim Queue Complex and Deoghar Basukinath 44 km Solar Street Light Project in this district.  The Rs 38.37 crore Queue Complex near Babadham temple in Deoghar will accommodate over 12,000 devotees under a single roof.  The three-storeyed state-of-the-art complex will contain ultra-modern electronic gadgets like CCTVs and LCD, besides basic infrastructure like drinking water and a place for keeping Kanwariyas.

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Islamic Index
 The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched an Islamic equity index based on the wide-measure S&P BSE 500 index, providing a new benchmark for Islamic investors in one of the worlds largest stock exchanges.  The new index comprises the largest 500 companies in the BSE, out of more than 5,000 listed, which fit Islamic finance principles such as bans on investing in alcohol, tobacco and gambling-related businesses.  The countrys first Islamic index was launched in 2010, also by the BSE, tracking the 50 largest and most liquid stocks.  The Mumbai exchange had a total market capitalisation of $1.32 trillion as of January 2013.  Indias Islamic banking industry has progressed slowly because banking rules require lenders to declare the rates of interest they charge customers, putting it at odds with Islamic banks which base their products on profit rates instead.  In order to cater to an estimated 177 million Muslims in India, the largest Muslim minority population in the world, the industry is hoping to develop investment products that work around this requirement, but political and legal obstacles mean progress has been slow.

National Urban Health Mission

 The Union Cabinet has approved the launch ofNational Urban Health Mission(NUHM) to reduce rates of infant mortality, maternal mortality and for universal access toreproductive health care.  The scheme, which will focus on theprimary health careneeds of the urban poor, will be implemented in 779 cities and in towns that have a population of over 50,000.  It will cover about 7.75 crore people.  The estimated cost of NUHM for a five year period is Rs.22,507 crore, with the Central Governments share of Rs.16,955 crore.

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AprMay 2013

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28th to 07th
 However for North Eastern states and other special category states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the funding pattern between Centre and State governments will be ninety is to ten.  Recognizing the seriousness of the problem,urban healthwill be taken up as a thrust area for the Eleventh Five Year Plan.  The NUHM will be launched with focus on slums and other urban poor. At the state level, besides the state health mission and state health society and directorate, there would be a state urban health programme committee.  At the district level, similarly there would be a districturban health committeeand at the city level, a health and sanitation planning committee.  For promoting public health and cleanliness in urban slums, the Eleventh Five Year Plan will also encompass experiences of civil society organizations (CSO) working in urban slum clusters.  It will seek to build a bridge ofNGO-GO partnership and develop community level monitoring of resources and their rightful use.

51% FDI in multibrand detail

 Supreme Court upheld the governments proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multibrand retail trade (MBRT) saying the move did not suffer from any unconstitutionality, illegality, arbitrariness or irrationality.  The court welcomed what it called the focus on benefiting the consumer by enlarging the choice of purchase at more affordable prices and by eradicating the traditional trade intermediaries/ middlemen to facilitate better access to the market [ultimate retailer] for the producer of goods.  The Bench also noted that the policy to allow FDI, up to 51 per cent in retail trade was only an enabling policy.  It said the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was empowered to make policy pronouncements and there was no merit in the contention that the Government of India had no authority to formulate the FDI policy.

Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill

 The Irish parliament unveiled the Protection of Life In Pregnancy Bill which clarifies when a woman can have a life-saving abortion.  Under the new bill, women can terminate a pregnancy when there is a significant threat to her life, including suicide.  In the case of an emergency, a single doctor can approve and perform the abortion.  In non-emergency cases, a woman would have to get the approval of two doctors that the pregnancy poses a significant threat to her life and abortion is the only option.

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 At the ward slum level, there will be a slum cluster health and water and sanitation committee.

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AprMay 2013

Current Affairs

28th to 07th
 In cases where a woman is suicidal, she must have the approval of a doctor and two psychiatrists that the threat of suicide is legitimate.  The bill will now be debated in committee.  Currently abortion in all cases is prohibited, including rape, incest, or severe, non-viable fetal abnormality.  The only except is when a womans life it at risk as a result of the 1992 Irish Supreme Court decision, known as the X Case.

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Zhongxing-11
 China, on 2 May 2013, successfully launched a communications satellite called Zhongxing-11 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest Sichuan province.  The satellite was launched into its present orbit from Long March-3B rocket. This marked the 176th launch of Long March series of rockets of China.  Zhongxing-11 has the lift-off mass of approximately 5000 kg as well as design lifetime of more than 15 years. Zhongxing-11 is based on DFH-4 platform and is manufactured by China Academy of Space Technology.  It features multiple high power fixed along with mobile beams as well as transponder switching capability.  Its application is mainly to provide services for the commercial communications and broadcasting.  The satellite is also responsible for meeting needs of digital broadband multimedia, streaming media for clients, Direct-to-Home as well as data transmission for the Asia-Pacific region.

Worlds tiniest movie

 IBM made the tiniest stop-motion movie ever by rearranging individual carbon monoxide molecules to make moving images.  Each frame measures 45 by 25 nanometers there are 25 million nanometers in an inch but hugely magnified,the movie is reminiscent of early video games, particularly when the boy bounces the ball off the side of the frame accompanied by simple music and sound effects.  The movie is titled A Boy and His Atom.

Robo fly
 Scientists in the US have created a robot the size of a fly that is able to perform the agile manoeuvres of the ubiquitous insects.  This robo-fly, built from carbon fibre, weighs a fraction of a gram and has super-fast electronic muscles to power its wings.  Its Harvard University developers say tiny robots like theirs may eventually be used in rescue operations.

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AprMay 2013

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28th to 07th
 It also has the fly-like agility that allows the insects to evade even the swiftest of human efforts to swat them.  This comes largely from very precise wing movements.  By constantly adjusting the effect of lift and thrust acting on its body at an incredibly high speed, the insects (and the robots) wings enable it to hover, or to perform sudden evasive manoeuvres.

 The researchers achieved this wing speed with special substance called piezoelectric material, which contracts every time a voltage is applied to it.  By very rapidly switching the voltage on and off, the scientists were able to make this material behave like just like the tiny muscles that makes a flys wings beat so fast.  The main goal of this research was to understand how insect flight works, rather than to build a useful robot.

Special vaccination programme

 In a bid to promote vaccination, the Union Government has launched its four-week special immunisation programme in high-risk areas across the country.  The vaccination sessions, which started in April, will be held for a week each in June, July and August. Though full immunisation prevents approximately 4 lakh deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in the under-five category every year ,  Government data suggests close to 75 lakh children miss childhood vaccinations each year.  Globally, every fifth child is not immunised. The year 2012-13 has been declared as the Year of intensification of routine immunisation.  Intensification efforts saw the expansion of the Pentavalent vaccine to six more states, after Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Japan UAE
 Japan on 2 May 2013 concluded a deal with the United Arab Emirates for transferring the nuclear power technology.  It is the first transfer of the nuclear power technology since 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Persian Gulf state on the third leg of a weeklong overseas trip. Shinzo Abe met UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on 2 May 2013 in order to conclude the nuclear deal.

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 And just like a real fly, the robots thin, flexible wings beat approximately 120 times every second.

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AprMay 2013

Current Affairs

28th to 07th
 The nuclear deal was concluded with an agreement to promote bilateral investments and economic exchanges. Shinzo Abe also explained about Japans plan for holding the ministerial-level strategic talks on a regular basis with six Gulf Arab states, known as the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Syzygium travncoricum
 Syzygium travncoricum, a tree endemic to Kerala, is no longer critically endangered as classified on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Field studies conducted by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) in the wake of the IUCN classification suggest that the tree can now move to the endangered list.  Known locally as kulavetti or vadhamkolli, the tree entered the IUCNs critically endangered list on the basis of a Conservation Assessment Management Plan (CAMP) workshop conducted under the Biodiversity Conservation Prioritisation Project India in 1998.  The IUCN had then suggested periodic updating of the classification based on information provided by authoritative agencies.  Based on the CAMP study, the IUCN estimated the population of the tree at less than 200 and attributed habitat destruction as the prime cause for it.  Most of the last of these trees were seen in the southern parts of the State.

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17th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting

 The 17th Session of the India-Iran Joint Commission was held in Tehran on May 4, 2013.  The two sides discussed bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. They discussed Indian participation in Chahbahar Port project which will provide connectivity with Afghanistan and will give an impetus to Afghanistans economic development. They also discussed the developing situation in Afghanistan and agreed to remain in regular contact.

 They reaffirmed their support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.  The two sides also reiterated the importance of greater connectivity between Russia, Central and South Asia through the International North South Transport Corridor(INSTC).  The two sides reiterated importance of enhancing cooperation in expanding trade and banking relations.  The two sides agreed to study the prospects of joint investment in both countries. The two sides, while noting their capabilities in the industrial sector, agreed to diversify their cooperation in this regard.  On developments in Syria, the two sides strongly expressed deep concern on the continuing and unabated violence and called upon all sides in Syria to abjure violence and resolve all issues peacefully through discussions taking in to account the aspirations of people of Syria.  In this regard, they supported the Geneva Communiqu which includes the 6-Point Plan of Kofi Annan and welcomed the efforts of Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. the two sides also signed the following Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs):

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AprMay 2013

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28th to 07th
 MOU between Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Islamic Republic of Iran (ISIRI) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).  MOU between the Foreign Service Institute, Ministry of External Affairs, Republic of India and School of International Relations,Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Iran.  MOU between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Islamic Republic of Iran on cooperation in the field of water resources management.

Kashmir Festival 2013

 The festival will be held at different places in Jammu & Kashmir.The festival will take place at various places such as Sonmarg, Lolab Valley, Gulmarg, Doodhpathri, Manasbal, Yousmarg, Pahalgam and Srinagar.The festival will involve various activities such as Horse Races, Swimming Competition, Painting, Para Gliding, River Rafting, Canoeing, Cycle Races and Shikara Races.  The Kashmir Festival 2013 will put forward culture of Jammu & Kashmir through performances by the cultural troupes of the State.

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 The Union Minister of Tourism K. Chiranjeevi on 4 May 2013 announced major initiative for the promotion of tourism in Kashmir Valley, in the form of Kashmir Festival 2013 which will be held for a fortnight from 13 May 2013 to 29 May 2013.