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THE HINDU SIMPLIFIED _FEB 2014
8 FEB 2014
GDP ESTIMATES FOR 2013-2014 RELEASED BY CSO = 4.9 % 2012-13 was 4.5 % April – Sept 2013 was 4.6 % and whole year is 4.9 % so economy is expected to grow at 5.4 % for second
half Manmohan singh had predicted this in a press conference last year by saying that “India’s own growth
momentum will revive” Credit goes to agriculture and allied sectors which will grow at 4.6% as compared to 1.4% last year
IMPORTED DEFENCE SYSTEMS chief of DRDO has said that the imported defence products come laden with snooping viruses and
malwares, this has lead to various serious threats on front of cyber security solution is India needs to get involved from the design stage itself, that is only possible in domestic
production
NGT BANS BURNING TYRES IN PUBLIC especially in agitations by political and religious groups. failing to comply can attract a penalty of up to 10 crore which may be extended to 25 crore and
imprisonment of 3 years
9 FEB 2014 East Nepal turning into safe haven for Indian criminals
Law and order in peril made eastern Nepal favorite hideout for Indian criminals especially insurgents of North
Bengal and nearby Northeast states
Indian outfits members in West Bengal, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland been taking shelter
Conflict also between Indian and Nepali police because of frequent unwarranted intrusion in their areas by
Indian Police
Shashastra Seema Bal and KLO should be searched for better understanding
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New Indian Ocean Exercise shows reach of China’s Navy China’s military exercises in Lombok strait have implications
First the exercises are outside the nine dotted line indirectly implying expanding Chinese hegemony
Second implications are for Malacca dilemma given by Deng
Third is for India as situated very near to Andaman
Search for type of military exercises and Indian military exercises in collaboration with foreign nations India for code of conduct in South China sea Amid the tension in South China sea India have pitched for code of conduct over South China sea for resolving
issues like Navigation
Other issue of coastal securities dealt by Naval head at the meet were fishermen crossing EEA and human
trafficking cases
Illegal migration by Rohingyas to other South east Asian nation from Myanmar also an important issue for
coastal security
FAA downgrade: paying the price for drift in safety norms Indian airlines have been downgraded to category 2 on safety norms by Federal Aviation Agency
Air India and Jet Airways now cannot increase their operations to the US until the status is restored
Khobragade issue can be the pretence to this Leprosy eradication India has highest number of cases followed by Brazil however China has controlled it to larger extent
Attacks nervous system, Mycobacterium leprae being the agent and no hereditary relation
Spread via nasal droplet, early signs needed to taken seriously and treated immediately
MDT a miracle treatment but innovation in Systematic contact surveys, moleculer diagnostics and
chemoprophylaxis required for better treatment of difficult cases
MDT and NLEP should be devoured for better understanding
10 FEB 2014
India’s Missing Women
Phrase “missing women” coined by Amartya Sen to highlight the declining sex ratio in developing world
‘boy preference’ and mistreatment of young girls was believed to be main reasons
Subsequent work by Anderson and Ray had showed that in these countries female mortality is more
universal phenomenon spanning across all age groups
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Road Toll
In news because of recent attacks by MNS
What’s the scenario?
Roads are being built by private investments and investors are given the right to collect toll for an agreed
period of time
Problem?
FOR INVESTORS –
The projected traffic was much more than actual hence the rate of returns are much lower
FOR USERS –
No transparency in toll determination
Lack of alternative toll free roads ( other countries have these)
As cities expand toll roads which were outside become part of the city , causing excess cost for city
traffic
Toll collection sometimes starts even before toll roads are completed
11 FEB, 2014
Disabilities Bill
19 form of disabilities been defined including mental and psychic disabilities and many new which earlier were
not recognised
Changed definition will increase proportion of population under disability to 5% from 3
Proposal for proportion of CSR dedicated for welfare of disables
Important is the penal provision for non-implementation since “implementation is the Achilles Heel”
Inside the culture of covert killing
Issue of Doval vs Ishrat jahan case compared(one should have knowledge of Doval)
Failure of intelligence and CJS being main cause for such alternatives
Can be compared to war crimes of Nazi times or Soviet era
Killing is lot easier than building intelligence capabilities but such an alternative is insidious
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Retrograde avatar of repressive traditions
Support to idea of Khap is nothing but vote politics by party with difference AAP
Historically khaps have included peoples form all castes and communities but during British times there
relevance declined and later only people from jat community continued the practice of Khap
25% vote share of Jats in Haryana make them important for electoral gains
Cultural purpose of Khaps is questionable
Always have been against equal rights for women and dalits
India’s issues with US regarding Patents
US set to announce trade enforcement action against India
Case of Novartis being the precedent
Argues that Indian Patent policy is actually anti poor since Novartis providing 95% of its drugs at much
cheaper prices and such a patent policy will further make costly drugs out of reach of poors
Sanctions are even possible warned US since many other nations mimicking India creating issues of IP
protection
SEBI Amendment Bill
Anticipations are that this may not be passed winter session again
Gives power to SEBI to initiate recovery proceedings against unscrupulous promoters
Any investment scheme above 100 crore including Nidhi shceme, NBFCs, or chit funds
There are number of agencies for different financial frauds with no clear demarcations of tasks, often used for
chit funds type scams
12 FEB, 2014
POLIO FREE INDIA TO GET WHO CERTIFICATION
We have completed 3 years without any infection
“India has shown there is no such thing as impossible. This is likely the greatest lesson and greatest inspiration
for the rest of the world”
– Margaret Chan, Director General, WHO
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US : Journalists are using drones under pretext of “commercial purpose” to reach crime scenes or
accident scenes a relay the images of the victims.
This has raised the issues of ethics and sensitivity.
Memorial excesses
The Congress government in Maharashtra — sanctioned Rs.100 crore to build a grand memorial for
Shivaji – on an islet in the Arabian Sea, about 2.5 km off Nariman Point — approved this project in
2009
Originally planned a 94-m-tall Shivaji statue, is planning to increase the height significantly –(Patel
statue in Gujrat effect )
India, China discuss CBMs
India and China held a “very constructive” two-day meeting
Special Representatives of both countries — National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and
Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi
On the regional front, they discussed the East Asia Summit process and touched on the situation in
West Asia and the Middle East
13 FEB 2014
Disabilities Bill
Disabilities bill not as par basic tenets of the UN convention on right of persons with disabilities
Also not according to SC judgment regarding jobs for disabled as per the NGO
Disabilities bill details in previous posts
Syria long term solution
Another failure of UN led resolution to civil wars similar to that of Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo
Intellectual failure to understand sectarian rivalry fueled by SuadiA and Iran on the lines of Shia-Sunni
Lebanon offers solutions to how sectarian violence should be tackled
Reverse engineering should be done of what future desired in Middle east
Leaving to Syrian would be a cruel folly, SaudiA, USA and Russia Iran should draft a deal
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Decade of Indian Railway under UPA
Positives Negatives
1. Freigth have increased exponentially
2. Accidents decreased
3. No of trains increased by 712
4. 94%increase in passenger kms
1. Railway lags behind their vision 2020
2. 4 committees for improving work but reco not
taken
3. Cleaniness, punctuality, promptness, courtesy
and disaster management
4. Inadequate capacity for passenger
However increased profit claimed to be nothing but manipulation of accounting used by Railways
Sixth pay commission showed the mirror by the volatile situation in which railway dept is
Further addition of new services had almost ruined accounts of railway and projected major crisis will turn
around by 2016-17 with the effects of seventh pay commission reco
Railway Budget 2014:
Passenger friendly budget it is
Many new trains and services in running trains have been introduced with touch me not policy used for fares
There are charges that accounting have been manipulated and also no proper auditing done showing railways
in profit overall
Industrial production
General decline in Industrial output
Other than mining and electrical products there is decline in production
Industry asked RBI to cut key rates to revive manufacturing
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Boeing issue
Lithium batteries used being the main culprit
Thermal runaway called the phenomenon when heating goes uncontrolled damaging the system
However substitutes to electrolyte of battery responsible for thermal heataway have been found
Restrictive global governance system affects public health
Report by Lancet inspite of more than required production of food, 80 millions still hungry
Doha declaration of 2001 on TRIPS where countries agreed that nation can take initiative for public health
against international trade rules
Many positive initiatives have been taken particularly by India(Bayer Sorafenib cancer drugs) and for HIV
drugs in Brazil
However many countries are using this for benefits of private companies
Especially tobacco companies are indebting nations and then manipulating these leniency for their own ends
as per Lancet report
LAUNCH OF HIV SALVAGE THERAPY AND EXTENSION OF ART
What is salvage therapy?
Also called third line therapy or rescue therapy, it is prescribed for people after failures first two lines of drugs.
It will be provided free of cost and this was announced at the launch of NATIONAL AIDS CONTROL
PROGRAM Phase IV (2012-17) by union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad
Extension of ART ?
Anti-Retroviral Therapy – the minimum CD4-count limit has been reduced from 500 to 350. The count is a
measure of viral load in the blood
HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 has been tabled in Rajya Sabha. It seeks to prevent the
spread of HIV and protect rights of people living with it.
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SOLAR IMPULSE : first solar powered aircraft that can fly day and night
It will land in India in april 2015
Scottish independence referendum, 2014
Scotland has been part of the United Kingdom since 1707, by virtue of the Acts of Union. Prior
to this, the Kingdom of Scotland had been a sovereign state for over 800 years.
Scottish devolution referendum in 1979, but resulted in no change
Scotland Act 1998 first elected on 6 May 1999.
the United Kingdom Government Scottish Independence Scottish Parliament referendum will be “Should
Scotland be an independent country?”
14 FEB 2014
PERSON IN NEWS
Award winning film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra, whose masterpieces such as ‘Azhiyatha Kolangal’, ‘Moondram Pirai’, ‘Veedu’, ‘Sandhiyaa Raagam’ and ‘Vanna Vanna Pookal’ left an indelible mark on the Indian film industry, died in Chennai
English Labour party leader Ed Miliband has postponed his trip scheduled for next week to India owing to the flood emergency in England
CPI(M)
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) has been ranked fourth among the top ten most active non-state armed groups in 2013, according to study released this week by a major defence and business risk think-tank.
Among other insurgent groups listed in the top ten rankings are the Taliban (second rank), al-Qaeda in Iraq (fifth), al-Shabaab (sixth), Colombia’s FARC (seventh) and Syrian Jabhat al-Nusra (ninth).
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15 FEB 2014
Spectrum of Success
Finally auction of 2G spectrum went little smoothly after two failed attempts
Two signs clearly visible
First operators were showing desperation because of delays
Second most of the operaotrs already under heavy debts therefore to bid for higher prices can be threatening
Totalising history, silencing dissent
Sec 295A of IPC talks about hearting religious feelings
Two ways cultural identity defined by editor
First set common believes and thoughts shared by all
And second recognised on the beliefs that there are similarities and differences, discontinuity and dispersal
forcing one’s views over other and not letting differences to emerge is like fascist or nazi strategy
Also editor pointed out that because author of An alternative Hindu History was a lady and also non Hindu
that she was an easy target
No land’s men and women
Related to issue of illegal immigration
Indonesia been known for emigration has become center of immigration of Afghan Hazara, Burmese
Rohingyas and Lankan Tamils
Further instances of illegal immigration of these non settlers to Australia through fishing boats led to many
other problems
Boat capsizing and issue of boat people have been a hot topic for Australian politics and election
China moots ‘maritime silk road’
Idea given by Xi jinping linking Indian and Pacific ocean
May be a response to string of pearls theory
BCIM is another initiative in such direction
Two main purpose it would serve for China: economic gains and security over SLOC
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16 FEB 2014
ISRAEL ISSUE
Hamas has said that it will oppose any international force ( peacekeepers ) in future palestine.
Hamas : rulers of Gaza, a part of future Palestine
Israel had demanded it retain presence in west bank for security reason, but Palestinian president
opposes this and but agreed for international peacekeepers
This statement by Hamas jeopardizes the talks for peace
TTP may announce ceasefire
TTP : Tehrik-e-Taliban – Pakistan chapter of Taliban
This insurgency has continued for over a decade and now TTP may announce ceasefire if their demands
are met.
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
These butterflies migrate to mexico to spend the winter. This phenomenon is little understood and the
numbers are decreasing.
Experts blame many things—extreme weather trends, reduction of habitat due to logging in mexico, GM
crops in US displacing milkweed on which the species feeds on .
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17 FEB 2014
More about Syria
Two factors failing talks again and again: first interpretation of conflict by both parties and second the rebels
themselves are deeply fractured
Syria contact group formed but later failed because of pressure from US and Russia
Earlier ardent supporters of Syrian rebel army have also pulled their legs away from this. Entry of Al Qaeda and
rising discontent and deaths making life easy fro Assad
Even in Geneva talks representative of FSA were hardcore islamists ISIS and Jabhat al-Nushra with little
appetite for consensus
Turn of events have even made neighbouring supporting nation of FSA against them
Reformaton of Syria contact group with Saudia, Egypt and Qatar along with Iraq, Iran could be an option for
future and further role of India and China could be important if they really pursue the idea of multipolar world
Auto Expo and challenges for automobile industry
With Industry on decline the Auto expo was quite a success
Bigger challenges for Automobile industry in near future is to bring fuel efficient vehicles as per the policy to be
implemented by 2017
Policies also required for managing traffic and number of vehicles in cities especially in metros
Singapore repatriation companies
Foreign workers unrest over working condition and unacceptable practices against them
Repatriation companies are hired by firms to forcefully repatriate workers whose terms are over
Human trafficking and labour issues in Singapore have been reported by US also
A village killed by isolation
Govt strategy to isolate villagers from resurgent groups backfired
Similar to one used by US in Vietnam aka strategic hamleting
Case study of village in CG named Jagargunda which changed from a
prosperous and able village to one fully depended over govt aids
Further source of income as well as employment and services all have halted according to the editor
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18 FEB 2014
Georgia
Former PM Vano Merabishvili was sentenced to 5 years jail for using state funds in elections
He became PM in july 2012 but in four month lost majority
He has served as interior minister for eight years
Venezuela
Three American diplomats who were allegedly found to be related to the violent actions that have gripped the
country since February 12 have been asked to leave Venezuela, authorities said.
He also said Venezuela is suffering from “the common scheme which has been developed in other countries in
the recent years, where violence is introduced and then the governments have to legally take actions against it,
but afterwards the governments are attacked and criminated, especially by the U.S.”
Syrian Hope
Geneva II conference ended in a standoff between President Assad and opposition leaders. This was expected
but it is still significant that the talks took place at all.
Technology
Guwahati schoolboy Afreed Islam on Monday launched his prototype of a computer system that uses a
microchip instead of a hard disk and is embedded with an operative system that allows dependencies on both
Windows and Linux-based software simultaneously
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NE dams
They will hit ecology and biodiversity as far away as Assam
proposed 44 dams, meant to establish a capacity of 18,293 MW
A report commissioned by the Central Water Commission has recommended scrapping of 15 of the 44
dams planned across the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh. It has also suggested stricter regulations for
the ones that are to be built in future.
19 FEB, 2014
Telangana bill passed in lower house
Kiran Reddy to form new political party leaving congress
There are provision to placate Andhra eg distribution of revenue villages, regarding 14th finance commission,
special package to backward areas and case of conflicting issues
Italy Marine case
Italy recalls their envoy due to delay in case
NIA charged Mr Latorre and Mr Girone under suppression of Unlawful Acts(SUA) anti terrorism maritime law
Apex court has asked centre whether marines should be tried under anti piracy laws or not
Italian govt and marines were challenging anti terrorism law against safety of maritime navigation and fixed
platform while apex court ordered proceeding to be done under IPC, CrPC and UNCLOS
Above politics
11 yrs delay since mercy petition first reached president of Rajiv Gandhi murderer’s
Ethno national angle given led to delay
However court defined life imprisonment defined as imprisonment till end of life
Might be a step towards abolition of capital punishment
Case of ethical dilemma under capital punishment topic
Gas Pricing conundrum
Questioned by AAP that while production cost being around one dollar per unit sold at 8 dollar per unit
There is no global rates defined for gas pricing depend on local demand and supply
Gas is used mainly in fertiliser, power industry and transport industry both are subsidy based so indirectly
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public money chunked to private sector by purchase of high priced gas
Reliance have failed to produce 80 mmscmd as promised by them all through 4 years and with further
increased cost of production in
KGD-6 is decreasing production and due to high demand increasing market price
Rangarajan formula should be devored through and gas pricing globally also should be searched(especially
three major methods)
Truth behind fancy numbers
Manipulation of stats to prove growth and success on economic front
Fanciful assumption over corporate and excise tax, also estimates regarding disinvestment, subsidies and
expenditure are too big, when compared to past experiences
Successor government will have to bear the burden of tax, subsidies and borrowings
Carbon disinvestment is a shining example
Recent extreme events pointing towards global warming phenomena
97% nation in IPCC believes human causing global warming
Estimates suggest that more than $1tn need to be invested in green tech to limit temperature rise by 2
Another point of view is that subsidy over non renewable fuels create a notion that they are cheap
20 FEB 2014
TAMIL NADU GOVT DECISION TO RELEASE CONVICTS IN RAJIV ASSASINATION
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said it had decided to release all the seven convicts in the Rajiv
Gandhi assassination case, including the three prisoners whose death penalty was reduced to life term by the
Supreme Court on Tuesday.Apart from the trio who were on death row until 24 hours earlier — Murugan,
Santhan and Perarivalan — the benefit will go to Murugan’s wife, Nalini, as well as Ravichandran, Robert Payas
and V. Jayakumar, the others serving life terms since their arrest in 1991.
Ms. Jayalalithaa noted that while commuting the death sentence of the three prisoners, the Supreme Court had
suggested that the State government could exercise its power under Sections 432 (power to remit sentences)
and 433A (which deals with releasing of prisoners sentenced to death or life) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The State government has decided to invoke Section 432, considering the fact that they had already spent 23
years in jail. Ms Jayalalithaa also said that as the case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation,
it was mandatory for the State government to consult the Centre under Section 435 of the CrPC.
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POINT TO BE NOTED :
ART 72 – POWER OF PRESIDENT TO PARDON , RESPITE, REPRIEVE, REMIT
ART 161 – Power of Governor to PARDON , RESPITE, REPRIEVE, REMIT
but there are also section 432 to 435 of CRPC tht give the APPROPRIATE govt right to PARDON ,
RESPITE, REPRIEVE, REMIT. Although some restrictions are there.
Many people have said that this step by TN govt is illegal as state govt is not Appropriate govt.
MANMOHAN SING : said the attack on Rajiv Gandhi was attack on India’s soul, so TN govt should not
go ahead with this
Ghulam Nabi Azad launches indigenous ELISA for Ferritin estimation kit
An indigenously manufactured food and water-borne pathogen detection kit
It will detect five pathogens — Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio
parahaemolyticus
Prepared by the National Institute of Nutrition, the technology has been transferred to Bio-Serve
Biotechnologies, which is experienced in dealing with molecular reagents.
Cabinet approves continuation of nano-science mission
The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its clearance for the continuation of the National Mission on
nano-science and technology in its second phase in the 12th plan period at a cost of Rs. 650 crores.
Launched in May 2007, the mission has been working to help scientists, institutions and the industry in
terms of promoting basic research
India has moved from the fourth position to the third in the world in terms of scientific publications in
nano-science and technology.
21 FEB, 2014
Telangana bill passed in Rajya Sabha Backroom negotiations between Congress and BJP facilitated smooth passage of bill Along with other provision to pacify Seemandhara there are appropriate provision for special power to governor for security and safety of the residents of Hyderabad Special package for backward regions of the successor state of Andhra Pradesh on lines of KBK Go through previous post for details on issue
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Issues over remission State govt should have consulted Court as well as while giving remission, also 3 days deadline for central govt to send their reply is unreasonable Will hurt federal polity and also the case of abolition of capital punishment since arbitrary release of convicted prisoners Challenges with bad loans Problem of increasing NPAs specially with PSBs Issue with them is they cannot recapitalize through dilution of ownership above a limit even following the international capital adequacy norms and investors are also not showing interest, so they have to depend on government for recapitalisation Also there is less flexibility in dealing with recovery of bad loans LiFi Why alternative: radio spectrum overcrowded, so much interference, light is a big pipe for wireless connectivity Security benefits are also there, since light blocked by walls it cannot be intercepted outside Amendment to narcotic drugs bill NDPS(amendment) bill,2011 passed in LS will ease the transportation, generation and production of morphine used during treatment of Cancer patients
22 FEB, 2014
WHISTLER FELLOWSHIP ALLIANCE A new organization to help whistleblowers setup in London. Will provide emotional and legal assistance. Founded by Gavin Mcfayden.
SAM Akash SUCCESSFUL TEST FIRE
from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha It’s a surface to Air missile developed by DRDO Range = 25 Km
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GREEN INDIA MISSION
Approved by govt 13000 crore project centrally sponsored Aim – increase forest cover in the country Gram sabha and committees manated by gram sabha will oversee the implementation at village level
SEAWEED AND SUNDERBAN
The slimy green seaweed can help combat malnutrition and also provide extra income to the farmers of sunderban region.
These findings have been disclosed in an Asia pacific network study conducted by Jadavpur university. At present, poor farmers take life threatening risks to venture into the prohibited zones to collect
firewood and honey for survival.
23 FEB, 2014
TELANGANA ISSUE
Govt’s assurance that the Seemandhra region will be granted special category State status for five years has put the government in a piquant situation as the region does not qualify for it under National Development Council (NDC) criteria.
Only the Council can amend or relax the criteria, the criterias are(just for reminding) : “
hilly and difficult terrain, low population density and/or sizable share of tribal population, strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries, economic and infrastructural backwardness, and non-viable nature of State finances
ICMR redefines stem cell use to curb malpractice
From now on, any use of stem cell in patients will be considered research, and not therapy, according to fresh national guidelines.
Stem cell use in patients must be done only within the purview of an approved and monitored clinical trial with intent to advance science and medicine
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New device reads books aloud
A device named Finger Reader is developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Media Lab
It reads text aloud as users run their fingers over each word. The device may be useful for visually impaired people
No tall promises, EC tells parties
In its July 5, 2013 verdict, the Supreme Court said that though promises made in manifestos could not be construed as corrupt practices as per law, the distribution of freebies of any kind “influences” all people.
Election Commission has issued fresh, comprehensive guidelines for political parties on their conduct and manifestos, cautioning them against making tall promises because in reality distribution of freebies of any kind “influences all people” and “shakes the root of free and fair elections to a large degree.
UN resolution on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria
The United Nations Security Council has passed a unanimous resolution on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria
the decision flowing from a consensus that the government and the armed opposition would be held responsible for providing relief to the people entangled in the bloody conflict, which has already claimed over 100,000 lives.
To enable the flow of humanitarian supplies, the 15-member Council called for an immediate end to all forms of violence in the country
Regulating genetic modification
First issue is that of ethical concerns being the application of recombinant DNA technology for reproductive cloning while not the same with therapeutic cloning ( for details use Google)
Bill pending in Parliament for regulation lapsed after end of session will give stakeholders more time to discuss
Swaminathan also argues for GMO since moratorium period of 10 years have passed and its necessary for inflating population pressure
He also argues for involving private sector for developing hybrid variety of seeds
Biofortification should also be searched Promoting research for translational purpose, in organic farming and biodiversity should also be taken
care of
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26 FEB 2014
‘Cyber thieves blamed for Bitcoin heist’
• A gang of cyber criminals, using an army of infected computers, made off with at least $220,000 worth of
Bitcoins and other virtual currencies
• The news comes amid growing use of virtual currencies such as Bitcoins, which have been developed by
cryptographic experts as a way to move money at lower costs than tradiDonal finance systems. While many
uses of Bitcoins are legiDmate, the virtual currencies have also been Ded to money laundering and drug
trafficking.
With sanctions on Iran eased, India to hold dry run in transport corridor
With the partial lifting of sanctions on Iran, India will conduct dry runs next month in a multination corridor
that would sharply cut transportation between India, and Central Asia and Russia, Iran being the pivot.
BACKGROUND INFO The International North–South Transport Corridor is the ship, rail, and road
route for moving freight from South Asia to Europe through Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Russia. The route
primarily involves moving freight from India to Iran by ship; from Iran to Armenia and Georgia by rail and
road; and from Georgia to Russia and Europe
Leadership programme to transform schools
Amid increased concern over quality outcome in schools, the government is launching an iniDaDve aimed at
capacity building of principals and teachers.
The ‘school leadership programme,’ to be launched by Human Resources Development Minister M.M.
Pallam Raju on Wednesday, seeks to transform schools into centres of excellence
It envisages a one-year engagement with follow-up provisions for review and feedback as an integral part of the
programme.
Colombo rejects UN call for probe
Sri Lanka has rejected U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s call for an internaDonal
inquiry into the allegaDons of rights abuse and war crimes in the country, saying it has a “preconceived,
poliDcised and prejudicial agenda.”
800 turtles dead in Nellore
More than 800 Olive Ridley turtles, which came to lay eggs on the beaches of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, have
died.
The deaths were caused mainly by the use of trawl nets by fishermen. Since local fishermen used only gill nets,
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which did not pose a threat to the turtles.
Fishermen had been advised to use the turtle-excluding device to reduce the death of Olive Ridleys.
Delhi records highest infant mortality rate
The National Capital had the worst Infant Mortality Rate among the four metropolitan ciDes between 2010 and
2012.
Award for Indian scientist at Cambridge lab
• Chennai-born M. Madan Babu
• won the Protein Society’s Protein Science
Young Investigator Award for 2014
• The award recognizes an important contribuDon to the study of proteins by a scienDst sDll in the early stages
of an independent career.
More days of work under MGNREGA
Barely a week ahead of the announcement of general elecDon, the UPA government plans to provide an
addiDonal 50 days’ employment under the Mahatma Gandhi NaDonal Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) for tribals who have been granted land rights, provided they have no other private land and they
have already completed 100 days of work under the Act in that financial year.
Cover Naxal areas in phase-I, govt. urges EC
In the wake of intelligence inputs indicaDng a spurt in Naxal violence in the run-up to the general elecDon, the
Union Home Ministry has recommended to the Elec9on Commission that polls in 33 districts be conducted in
the first phase itself to facilitate maximum possible deployment of security forces in the rebel strongholds. The
Naxal-hit districts, listed in a leier to the EC, are in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhaksgarh, Andhra Pradesh
and Maharashtra.
Heritage status for camels in Rajasthan
The Rajasthan government plans to accord heritage status to the camel, even as it has expressed concerns over
the animal’s depleDng populaDon. Taking a serious note of slaughter and smuggling of the “ship of desert”, the
State is contempla9ng legislaDon to protect the animal.
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27 FEB 2014
Thousands of ‘land modifications’ spotted along Vembanad Lake
Over 10,000 instances of “land modifications,” the majority of which are deemed to be violations of Coastal
Regulation Zone (CRZ) guidelines, have been identified along the banks of the Vembanad Lake.
CESS prepared an indicative list of land modificaiton along protected coastal region
Region under CRZ(Coastal regulation zone) and any modification in wetlands is violation of guidelines
Ramsar convention and CESS regulation of wetlands should be gone through for further details
The inevitability of South Asia
Similar ancestry of India and its neighbor
Jingoistic and xenophobic aspect more popular in newborn nation states keeping neighbours away
SAARC one such step in removing cooked up facts
Why extended nationalism required: arc of poverty, subnationalism across boundaries(Punjab, Bengal,
Singh-Rajasthan-Gujarat)
Vision of Manmohan Singh removing these artificial boundaries and also rulers of past who connected India
with neighbours
CAR issue
After French successful intervention to solve problem of Mali there is reluctance to intervene in CAR
Problem here is also ethno religious war with Christian majority and Muslim minority
Christian fundamentalists targeting muslim minorities
Problem is that geographical feature of CAR is tough to wage a war especially by western troops and also
CAR is land locked unfavorable for trade and commercial gain so west is giving less importance
Rising tensions in the Pacific
Chinese assertion over South China sea
Trying to assert as the big brother which will be beneficial for neighboring nation
Senkaku-Diayou and nine dash line
US stand would be to go with their conventional cooperation with Japan
GS-TODAY Gs_Today Page 22
THE HINDU SIMPLIFIED _FEB 2014
Delay in Italy Marine cases
Confusion is because of no clarity over the jurisdiction
NIA earlier filed for a case under SUA which will declare Italy as an enemy state which SC later ruled out
that neither NIA nor Kerala Police can investigate in this case, central govt have only jurisdiction
Due to delays marines have even filed a case against NIA and diplomatic pressure requires it to be shorted
out quickly