WBCS Current Affairs 03/05/2014 TO 15/05/2014

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1.China seems a little disturbed with India voicing its concern over the tensions in the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry said India need “not worry too much” about the issue.
The remarks from China came in response to India voicing its “concern” over the recent developments in the South China Sea where Chinese and Vietnamese ships had a tense standoff. These tensions have intensified with China’s oil rig’s attempts for oil exploration in the waters of disputed islands claimed by both countries.
China was critical of reactions by the US and Japan over the region last week. China objected to India’s ONGC participating in the drilling in the area specified by Vietnam which Beijing called disputed. Both Vietnam and the Philippines together with Malaysia and Brunei have serious disputes with China in the South China Sea and have been exhorting ASEAN to take a firm stand against Beijing on the issue. China also objected to the Philippines arresting 11 Chinese fishermen in the disputed waters.

2.Indian Railway released a book, titled ‘India Junction – A Window to the Nation’. The book has been brought out by Public Relations Directorate, Railway Board. The book has been edited by Ms Seema Sharma.

3.RBI has barred Indian companies from raising money from subsidiaries of Indian banks overseas via the External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) to refinance their rupee loans. Thus, Indian companies will not be allowed to raise ECB from overseas branches or subsidiaries of Indian banks for the purpose of refinance/repayment of the rupee loans raised from the domestic banking system.
In April 2014, the RBI also restrained the banks from issuing guarantees to offshore joint ventures and subsidiaries of Indian companies to avail foreign currency loans to repay rupee credit.

4.Five recognized nuclear weapon states- China, France, Russia, UK and USA inked the Protocol to the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty in New York, marking a major positive development in the global non-proliferation efforts. The treaty was signed on the sidelines of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee Meeting at the United Nations.
CANWFZ Treaty
The CANWFZ Treaty was inked on September 8, 2006 in Semipalatinsk by the five Central Asian nations – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It came into force on March 21, 2009. As chair of the CANWFZ Treaty, Kazakhstan has steered the negotiations with the five nuclear states on behalf of its Central Asian neighbors.

5.Oracle Corp won a suit against Google Inc. as an appeals court in the US gave Oracle permission to copyright parts of the Java programming language, which Google used to develop its Android smartphone operating system. Google’s Android operating system is the world’s largest-selling smartphone platform. Oracle filed a lawsuit against Google in 2010, claiming that Google had improperly used parts of Java into Android. Oracle seeks around $1 billion as its copyright claims.

6.Vietnam wants India to “rise quickly” in the South-East region as it expressed concerns over China’s rising assertiveness in the South China Sea. Vietnam Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy voiced his concerns at a round table meeting of Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), and said that Chinese navy was acting without provocation and that Chinese topmost leadership is behind in these decisions.
The meeting was held for the delegates to share information with Australian scholars around regional security matters such as US-China relations, maritime issues in the Indo pacific region and to talk about more extensively Australia’s engagement with Asia.

7.In the latest released Forbes ‘Global 2000’ list, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries leads the set of 54 Indian companies in the annual list of the world’s 2000 largest and most powerful public companies. The top three positions of the list is occupied by the Chinese companies.
The Forbes ‘Global 2000′ is a comprehensive list of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenues, profits, assets and market value.
Some notable points from Forbes ‘Global 2000’:
World’s top three biggest public companies and five of the top 10 are from China.
564 companies enlisted are from the US which marks its dominance as the country with the most Global 2000 companies.
Japan follows the US with 225 companies in total.
India is home to 54 of the world’s biggest companies.
Reliance Industries, with a market value of $ 50.9 billion and $ 72.8 billion in sales, ranked 135.
State Bank of India ranked 155 with a $ 23.6 billion market value.
Some other Indian companies making it to the list are: Oil and Natural Gas ranked 176, ICICI Bank (304), Tata Motors (332), Indian Oil (416), HDFC Bank (422), Coal India (428), Larsen & Toubro (500), Tata Consultancy Services (543), Bharti Airtel (625), Axis Bank (630), Infosys (727), Bank of Baroda (801), Mahindra & Mahindra (803), ITC (830), Wipro (849), Bharat Heavy Electricals (873), GAIL India (955), Tata Steel (983), Power Grid of India (1011), Bharat Petroleum (1045), HCL Technologies (1153), Hindustan Petroleum (1211), Adani Enterprises (1233), Kotak Mahindra Bank (1255), Sun Pharma Industries (1294), Steel Authority of India (1329), Bajaj Auto (1499), Hero Motocorp (1912), Jindal Steel & Power (1955), Grasim Industries (1981) and JSW Steel (1990).

8.Rupay, India’s own payment gateway was launched to compete with networks such as Visa and Mastercard. The indigenous network will work on ATMs and merchant outlets and help in bringing down cash transactions.
The RuPay is a blend of two terms — ‘Rupee’ and ‘Payment’. It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is being used by certain banks such as ICICI, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, among others, for clearing and settlement. The RuPay, which works on three channels — ATMs, Point of Sales (PoS) and online sales, is the seventh such payment gateway in the world. A variant of the pre-paid RuPay card would be launched by IRCTC soon, which will help in booking railway tickets.
Benefits of RuPay platform:
Reduce the transaction cost
Support creation of more domestic products
Reach the unbanked sections
Reducing number of cash transactions
Availability at a cost much less than those of international cards.

9.The Supreme Court has given permission to Tamil Nadu to raise the height of a 116-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam from 136 feet to 142 feet quashing the objections raised by Kerala which opposed the move citing safety concerns of the dam and nearby areas.
The decision marks second consecutive defeat for Kerala as on February 27, 2006 the court permitted Tamil Nadu to raise the dam height and carry out necessary repairs setting aside Kerala’s objections on safety. A month after the judgment, Kerala passed a law — Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act 2006 fixing the full reservoir level of dam at 136 feet.
Tamil Nadu challenged the constitutional validity of this law that has now been declared null and void by the apex court. The court was fully satisfied that the dam was safe after an Expert Committee submitted its report assuring safety of dam from all aspects — hydrological, structural and seismic safety. Besides, it observed no change in circumstances since its earlier order of 2006. However, the court’s judgment would facilitate TN to divert more water for its agricultural purposes.

10.The Supreme Court put a ban on the use of bulls and bullocks in sports. These animals have been used in sports like Jallikattu (traditional bull fight of Tamil Nadu) and bullock-cart race (Maharashtra) for centuries. The court banned use of bullocks and bulls in these events on the ground that it amounted to cruelty against animals. Key observations of the Supreme Court:
Bulls cannot be used as performing animals, either for the Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races in the States of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere in the country.
The Animal Welfare Board is permitted to take disciplinary action against defaulters.
Parliament recommended raising rights of animals to that of “constitutional rights” to ensure observance of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act 1960.
As per PCA Act Section 3 and Section 11(1)(m), it is an offence against a person who incites any animal to fight with a view to provide entertainment.

11.India’s aviation regulator DGCA granted flying license or Air Operator’s Permit (AOP) to the new airline AirAsia India. AirAsia India plans to have a 10-aircraft fleet within a year of start of its operations and these planes would be drawn from A-320 family of aircraft ordered by the AirAsia Group. The air carrier would initially concentrate on connecting non-metro towns and imitate its low-cost, no-frills model that has seen substantial success in Southeast Asia.
The $30 million venture was the first airline to be launched after the FDI norms in aviation were relaxed in September 2012. While AirAsia owns 49% stake in the Indian carrier, Tata Sons has 30% and Telstra Tradeplace holds the rest.

12.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in its directives, has made it mandatory for airlines and private operators to track their aircraft’s flight on real-time basis and ensure that necessary devices are functional before take-off.
As per the instructions issue by the DGCA:
Indian scheduled and non-scheduled operators are required to track aircraft in real time using onboard Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) or Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B).
Airlines and private operators have to ensure that all essential devices are functional before take-off.
The instructions apply to both passenger and cargo planes.
DGCA will review implementation of the directives during surveillance inspections.
Backdrop:
The directives have been issued close on the heels of vanishing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which has been missing for two months now. MH370 which took-off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing disappeared on March 8, 2014.

13.As per the announcement made by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Robin Kumar Dhowan, the newly inducted aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, is now operationally deployed and its integral MiG-29K fighters have been fully integrated with the carrier. The 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier bought from Russia at a cost of $2.33 billion had arrived in India in January, 2014 and is positioned at Karwar in Karnataka.

INS Vikramaditya
A Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku.
Later rechristened as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India.
Russia sold the carrier to India after it became too expensive for the country to operate it on a post-Cold War budget.
Underwent extensive refurbishment and upgrade to a light aircraft carrier at the Sevmash Shipyard in the Russian city of Severodvinsk.
Initially scheduled to be delivered in 2008, but the deadline was repeatedly postponed.
Length: 284 metres
Displacement: 44,500-tonne
Speed: In excess of 30knots or 56km/hr
Range: 7000 nautical miles (13,000 km)

14.The Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra and several cabinet ministers have been ordered to resign by the Constitutional Court of the country. The court ordered that Ms Yingluck acted illegally when she transferred her national security chief Thawil Pliensri to another position in 2011. The order has come after months of political impasse. Anti-government protesters have been trying to topple Ms Yingluck regime since November 2013. The remaining cabinet members have nominated the commerce minister to replace Ms Yingluck. Ms Yingluck had been accused of abuse of power in improperly transferring Thawil Pliensri, her national security chief appointed by the opposition-led administration, in 2011.

15.The constitutional validity of Right to Education Act (RTE Act) has been upheld by the Supreme Court. RTE Act mandates that 25% seats in all schools be reserved for the economically disadvantaged children.
As per the Supreme Court decision:
The 93rd Amendment Act, 2005, inserting clause (5) in Article 15 enables the State to make special provisions for members of the SCs, STs and socially and educationally backward classes, for admission to all educational institutions, including private unaided institutions, but except minority institutions, did not violate basic structure of the Constitution.
The RTE Act will not be applicable to minority schools, whether aided or unaided. The minority aided educational institutions could not be compelled to provide free and compulsory education to children belonging to weaker sections.
Articles 15(5) and 21-A of the Constitution in so far as it relates to unaided educational institutions to provide compulsory education for children in the age group of 6 to 14 years are constitutional.
The 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2005, is in line with the socialistic aspirations mentioned in the Preamble and the directive principles of the Constitution and to ensure the progress of the weaker sections in the democratic state, aiming at the egalitarian ethos.
Provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, are valid.

16.As per a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the 5% deficiency in rains due to possible El Nino factor in this monsoon could impact India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1.75% in the 2014-15 fiscal, affecting lakhs of unskilled jobs. Rain deficit could also impact food inflation, which has always been a concern to policy makers. The loss to the GDP of about 1.75 % would be equivalent to around Rs 1,80,000 crore.
Indian agriculture in heavily dependent on rains as about 60% of net sown area of the country is rain-fed. With every 1% deficit in rains, the country’s GDP plummets by 0.35%. Therefore, a good agricultural output is a must for India to increase demand for services and industrial products.
India is forecasted to have below normal monsoon in 2014 with Meteorological department predicting 95% rainfall because of the El-Nino effect, which is generally linked with the warming of ocean water.

17.The Supreme court has ordered maintenance of status quo on India’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, which is on the brink of being converted into scrap. The court has issued notices to Ministry of Defence and other authorities concerned on the petition. The petition challenges the Bombay High Court decision which quashed the plea to preserve INS Vikrant by converting it into a maritime museum. The Indian Navy in March 2014 had auctioned INS Vikrant to the highest bidder, a Mumbai-based Ship breaking company — IB Commercial — for Rs 63 crore, much above its reserve bid of Rs 3 crore. As per the deal, the ship will be dismantled part-by-part and will be sold as lucrative scrap.

18.As per the guidelines issued by the RBI, minors above 10 years of age have been allowed to open and operate independently savings bank account and use other facilities like ATM and cheque books. The central bank has taken this step with a view to promote financial inclusion and bring uniformity in opening of such accounts in banks. Earlier, minors were allowed to open fixed and savings deposit bank account with mothers as guardian.
As per the modified guidelines by RBI:
All minors can now open a savings/fixed/recurring bank deposit account through either his/her natural guardian or legally appointed guardian.
The minors, who have attained 10 years of age, will be permitted to open and operate savings bank accounts independently.
The banks can also decide on the minimum documents which are required for opening of accounts by minors.
The minor would be required to confirm the balance in his/her account as he attains majority.
If the account is operated by the natural/legal guardian, fresh operating instructions and specimen signature of the minor will be obtained and kept on record for all operational purposes.

19.The RBI has asked banks not to impose penalties on customers who don’t maintain a minimum balance in any dormant account as part of a consumer protection initiative. A number of banks, including the State Bank of India, do not levy any penalty if the minimum balance is not maintained in an inoperative savings account. In 2012, the RBI directed banks not to charge customers for non-operation or activation of basic savings bank deposit accounts.

20.Surging Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have rendered public sector banks such as State of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank unfit to take deposits from non-government Provident Funds (PF). As per the current rules governing investments by PFs, non-government Provident Funds (PF) are barred from being deposited in a commercial bank in case the NPAs of that bank exceed 2% of net advances. The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has requested the Union Finance Ministry to relax the norms pertaining to deposits by non-government provident funds and gratuity funds in scheduled commercial banks.
Conditions banks are required to meet for taking PFs deposits:
Continuous profitability for immediately preceeding three years
Maintain minimum capital adequacy of 9%
Have net NPAs of not more than 2% of net advances
Maintain minimum net worth of not less than Rs 200 crore

21.As per the Supreme Court, the legal provision which makes approval of competent authority mandatory for CBI to investigate a corruption case against an officer of joint secretary-rank or above is invalid and unconstitutional and has the propensity of protecting the corrupt. The judgement was delivered after the court examined Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPEA), which shields top bureaucrats from being probed in corruption cases without prior approval.
Key observations in the judgment by the SC:
The requirement of Central Government’s approval to probe corruption charges against officer of the rank of joint secretary and above under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), is invalid and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.
Equal treatment of corrupt public servants for the purpose of inquiry of offence under the PCA, irrespective of the rank they hold.
Prior approval under Section 6A would result, indirectly, in obstructing the probe and if the CBI is not allowed to carry on the preliminary inquiry how the investigation can proceed

22.Excavation activities which were being conducted by the Kerala Archeology Department to study the underground granite pavements, paths and artifacts at the Vadakke Nada (north entrance) of the treasure rich Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram have been suspended by the five-member temple management committee.
The panel, constituted as per instructions of the Supreme Court, put the excavations on halt because of security reasons.

23.Gary Becker (83), a professor in University of Chicago who was conferred the Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 1992, passed away. He is credited for his path-breaking approach to economics as the study of human behavior. Becker applied his economic analysis to a wide array of human behavior and interactions. He also studied issues such as marriage and divorce, crime and punishment, addiction and household decisions.

24.Indian Army conducted “Sarvada Vijay” combat drill in West Rajasthan as part of regular training aimed at honing war-fighting skills in temperatures as high as 45 degree Celsius. Composite infantry and mechanized forces practised swift manoeuvres as part of the air – land battle.

25.The existence of element 117- “Ununseptium (Uus)” has been confirmed by the scientists at the GSI accelerator laboratory in Germany, including those from India, who have created atoms of the element. This confirmation succeeds the original discovery, made in 2010 by a joint US—Russian team. The atoms were similar to the heaviest atoms ever observed, 40% heavier than an atom of lead. The discovery marks a significant advancement towards the capability to observe still more long-lived super-heavy nuclei, as expected to exist on the ‘Island of Stability’ of super-heavy elements.Super-heavy elements: Elements with atomic number greater than 104 are referred to as Super-Heavy Elements. Although super-heavy elements have not been found in nature, they can be created by accelerating beams of nuclei and shooting them at the heaviest possible target nuclei. Fusion of two nuclei – a very uncommon event – at times produces a super-heavy element. Those currently accessible generally only exist for a short time.

26.India tested its first indigenous air-to-air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) ‘Astra’ missile from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet, marking an important achievement in the development of complex BVR weapons. Astra will initially provide a 44-km range with “high single-shot kill probability”, while its Mark-II version will be able to hit hostile aircraft over 100 km away.
Astra v/s Brahmos Cruise Missile:
India is also likely to initiate testing the 290-km supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from the heavy-duty Sukhoi-30MKIs by the end of 2014. So, while Astra is being developed to smash enemy aircrafts, BrahMos will give incisive land-strike capability against hostile targets.

27.As per India’s stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), a newly created class for overseas investors, will be able to invest up to $81 billion (close to Rs 4 lakh crore) in government and corporate debt securities in India.
This would include investments up to $30 billion in government debt and up to $51 billion in corporate debt securities under the new FPI regime, which would come into force from June 2014. FPIs would also be allowed to invest in unlisted non-convertible debentures or bonds issued by corporates in the infrastructure sector. Furthermore, FPI can invest in privately placed bonds if it is listed within 15 days.

28.Businessman Ahmed Maiteeq (42) of Libya’s National Conference has been elected as the new Prime Minister. Maiteeq defeated his rival Omar al-Hassi, a university professor. It comes three weeks after former PM Abdullah al-Thinni resigned from the post.
Libya has been grappling with instability since armed groups threw out Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. Maiteeq will have to tackle the lawlessness and insecurity currently destabilizing the country. He is the fifth Prime Minister to be appointed to lead the country in the past two and a half years.

29.Party funding law:
Poll expenditure upto Rs 70 Lakhs for each Lok Sabha constituency in bigger states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka, etc.
Poll expenditure upto Rs 54 Lakhs for each Lok Sabha constituency in smaller states like Goa, hilly and north eastern states, etc.
Poll expenditure upto Rs 70 Lakhs in Delhi and uniform at Rs at Rs 54 lakh for all other UTs

30.The UK has launched world’s biggest scanning project- UK Bio-bank imaging study in which 100,000 British volunteers are participating to undergo a detailed imaging of their brain, heart and vital organs to help researchers study a wide range of common, chronic and life-threatening illnesses like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. DNA has been collected from all the volunteers who will be compared and cross-referenced with the scans.

31.The Namibian government has purchased 3,400 India-made Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for its presidential polls. Previously, India-made EVMs have been used by other countries in Asia to conduct smooth and fair elections.
The EVMs have been bought at a cost of Namibian $10 million (approx $948,000) from Bengaluru-based public sector unit, Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL). The South African nation Namibia, which had ordered 1,700 EVMs in 2013, placed another order earlier this year, is the first African country to use such machines in any of its polls.Earlier, Nepal, Bhutan, Namibia and Kenya bought BEL manufactured EVMs for conducting their polls. India is only supplying the EVMs not its technology with any of the countries.

32.India successfully test fired indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash missile as part of a user trial from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha.
Akash Missile:
Developed by: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme
Type: Surface-to-Air
Range: 25 km, medium range
Warhead Capacity: 60 kg
Comparative advantage: Compared with American MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system, Akash has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles.

33.Hijras or Transgenders are no longer forced to write male or female against their name as the Supreme Court has given them the status of the “third gender”. This is for the first time that the third gender has got a formal recognition. The apex court passed the judgment on a PIL filed by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) requesting the court to give separate identity to transgenders by recognizing them as third category of gender.
Key directions and observations from the Supreme Court:
Centre has been asked to treat transgender as socially and economically backward.
Transgenders to get admission in educational institutions and employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category.
Absence of law recognizing hijras as third gender should not be continued as a ground to discriminate them in availing equal opportunities in education and employment.
OBC status to third gender and educational and employment reservation as OBCs.
States and the Centre asked to formulate social welfare schemes for third gender community and start a public awareness campaign to wipe off social stigma.
States advised to construct special public toilets and departments to look into their special medical issues.
If a person surgically changes his/her gender, then he or she is entitled to her changed gender and cannot be discriminated.
The court observed that trangenders were respected earlier in the society but situation has changed and they now face discrimination and harassment. Section 377 of IPC is being misused by police and other authorities against them and their social and economic condition is far from satisfactory.

34.India’s Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) in a tie-up with Alankit Assignments launched “Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana” Scheme in UAE. The implementation of this scheme will be facilitated by the UAE Exchange.It is intended to introduce its services to all 17 ECR countries that include the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Malaysia.
What is Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) and what are the objectives of this Scheme?
Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY)is a Pension and Life Insurance fund scheme introduced by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for the Overseas Indian workers having Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports.