Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Starred Articles

WTO adopts first global trade deal in its history after years of delay
World > World Trade Organization >27 Nov
The World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted the first worldwide trade reform in its history on Thursday, after 19 years of delay. As part of this trade reform, WTO will introduce new standards for customs checks and border procedures which will streamline the flow of trade around the world, adding as much as $1 trillion and 21 million jobs to the world economy. The trade deal is just a fraction of the original Doha Round of trade talks which began in 2001. There were disagreements on various aspects of the deal and ultimately the WTO decided to settle for a much smaller deal. Even that was blocked by a four-month standoff caused by India, which had vetoed adoption of the reform package on food security concerns as the original deadline passed at midnight on July 31. A compromise on wording recently reached by the U.S. and Indian governments broke the deadlock.

UK PM announces radical reforms to stem flow of EU immigrants
World > UK >28 Nov
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced new reforms to exclude EU migrant workers from Britain’s welfare state calling the new rules radical but reasonable. While accepting the contributions of immigrants, Cameron said that the volume of immigration was putting unparalleled pressure on public services and therefore he was reducing the “economic drivers” of immigration. He, however, did not limit the numbers of immigrants. Among the reforms, there will be a four-year qualifying period before EU migrants are eligible for in-work support such as tax credits and social housing. This would prompt around 400,000 EU workers to lose a part of their income currently receiving the benefits during their first four years in the country. Any EU migrant who had not found a job in Britain within six months would be eligible for removal, and child benefit will no longer be paid for workers’ children if they are living in their home country. Mr. Cameron also hinted at a possible EU exit if his demands for reforms are not met. The new reforms came after figures showed that net migration rose 43 percent during the past year to 260,000, breaking his Conservative party’s commitment to limit numbers to the “tens of thousands”.

Government launches e-visa for 43 countries
Tourism > E-visa >28 Nov
The government launched the e-visa or the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for 43 countries, which is to be applied online and can be obtained within a span of 72 hours. It has a fee of $62 and will be valid for a period of 30 days. The tourism sector will receive a major boost following this announcement, which was the prime purpose of the government. The facility will be made available at nine airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

Anil Kumar Sinha named new CBI chief
India > CBI >03 Dec
Anil Sinha, who was serving as second-in-command in the CBI, will take over from Ranjit Sinha the outgoing CBI director. Sinha is a 1979 batch IPS officer and was appointed after a meeting between the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition.


Others

Britain’s political parties strike deal to allow Scotland more autonomy
World > Scotland > 27 Nov
Britain’s main political parties have entered into a deal to grant more powers to Scotland in a bid to satisfy disappointed separatists who lost an independence vote two months ago. The deal involves the biggest transfer of powers to Scotland from the United Kingdom since 1999 when a Scottish parliament was set up. The deal would lead to a more powerful, accountable and autonomous parliament. The proposals include giving Scotland the power to set income tax rates, some influence over welfare spending, and powers to decide how the Scottish parliament and other devolved political structures are selected and run. Scotland would get the income from the taxes it raises with an adjustment in the spending currently made from London. It would also be given more borrowing powers after approval from the British government.

Energy accord signed at SAARC summit, next summit to be held in Islamabad
Politics > South Asia > 27 Nov
All the foreign ministers of the SAARC nations (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) have signed a framework agreement for energy cooperation. The agreement revolves mainly around the sector of electricity and would enhance cooperation among the countries in the power sector. The two day summit was held in Nepal. The next SAARC summit will be held in Islamabad in 2015 as Pakistan comes next in the alphabetical order of the eight member countries.

Sahara offers to pay the bail amount set by SC to free Subrata Roy
Business > Companies > 28 Nov
The Sahara group said on Friday that it is willing to pay the Rs. 10,000 crore bail amount set by the Supreme Court (SC) to free its chairman Subrata Roy.

Background:
In February this year, the Supreme Court of India ordered the arrest of Subrata Roy for failing to appear before it in connection with the Rs. 24,000 crore deposits his company has not refunded to investors.

Sanskrit row: SC tells Centre to retain German as third language for present academic session, make Sanskrit optional
Politics and Government > Sanskrit in schools > 29 Nov
In response to a petition by 22 aggrieved parents against the government’s decision to substitute German with Sanskrit as a third language in the middle of the academic session in classes 6 to 8 in Kendriya Vidyalayas, the Centre has filed an affidavit on 28th November clarifying that students in all the three classes will be taught entry-level Sanskrit in the current session to ensure that no undue stress or pressure is inflicted on students. However on Friday, the Supreme Court asked the government not to treat Sanskrit as a third language for the present academic session and instead retain German as the third language and make Sanskrit an optional language. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said he would revert to the court after taking instructions from the government.

Study shows huge disparity among states on lowering of Infant Mortality Rate
India > Infant Mortality Rate > 01 Dec
A study of state-level Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) data from 2006-2012 by think tank Swaniti Initiative suggests that there is a growing national disparity in reduction of the IMR. Lowering of IMR or the rate at which children under the age of one die is a critical priority of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and part of the UN millennium development goals that India has committed to. In India, IMR has declined from 57 per 1,000 live births in 2006 to 42 per 1,000 live births in 2012. However, none of the poorly performing states were able to achieve a rate of decline in infant mortality close to what the best performing states have achieved. States like Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Maharashtra have improved rapidly on their already good performance in child health while poorer performing states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh have deteriorated more. This is despite the fact that NRHM provides additional funding to states with poorer outcomes. Swaniti attributes the disparity to multiple causes such as access to nutritional food, sanitation or good housing along with poorly-run district level health facilities and shortage of doctors.

Minister of state Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s objectionable speech sparks up tension in parliament
India > Hate speech > 02 Dec
Minister of state for food processing industries, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, has sparked up a controversy by allegedly using derogatory speech during campaigning for Delhi Assembly elections. She had said that the people of Delhi have to decide if they want a government of Ramzaadon (followers of Ram) or ‘haramzadon’ (illegitimately born). The BJP forced the Union Minister to seek an apology from both Houses but a combined Opposition demanded her resignation and registration of a case over her offensive remarks. While Lok Sabha later settled for the apology, Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for the day with the Opposition refusing to relent, insisting on action against the minister. PM Narendra Modi also expressed disappointment over the MP’s remarks and said MPs should refrain from statements that could embarrass the party and government.

Findings of a study claim – HIV is losing its potency
Medical Science > HIV > 02 Dec
Due to the extensive use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs, the HIV virus has become less virulent and is less likely to cause the disease, states a study conducted in Africa by Oxford University. The research was carried out with more than 2,000 HIV-infected women in Botswana and South Africa. The findings of the research are on the lines of a theoretical prediction of epidemiology, which states that the effects of a disease become less severe on new hosts as the pathogens evolve. The increase in drug treatment causes an acceleration in the evolution of HIV variants, which have a weaker ability to replicate and are thus, less harmful in nature.

Egyptian court sentences 188 people to death
World > Law and Order > 02 Dec
188 people were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court yesterday due to their involvement in the killing of 11 policemen last year. Further charges levied on the accused were- attempt to kill more policemen, damaging property including a police station and police vehicles. The court order has received a lot of international flak and criticism.
The incident was an immediate reaction to the security forces' eviction of two camps of the then president Mohammed Morsi, which killed hundreds of civilians.
Apollo Hospitals to invest Rs. 400 crore to build medical college and hospital in Kolkata
Corporate > Apollo hospitals > 02 Dec
Apollo Hospitals announced that it will invest about Rs. 400 crore to build a medical college and hospital in Kolkata. Pratap C. Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals, said that the medical college will admit 150 students initially, which can be scaled up to 200. The adjoining hospital will have 1,000 beds. This is the second such ‘Apollo Medical College and Hospital’ in the country, after Hyderabad, which admits 100 students per session and has a 550-bed hospital. Admissions to the medical college will start by June 2017 or 2018. It will have 21 courses.

UNGA calls for India, Israel and Pakistan to give up nuclear weapons
United Nations > Nuclear Weapons > 03 Dec
A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) appealed three nuclear powers - India, Israel and Pakistan to voluntarily give up nuclear weapons and the technique required to make the weapons. India backed by the support of the USA declined the proposal, which was also aped by the other two nations. The resolution eventually garnered 165 votes out of 193 in favour of the proposal. The move was perceived as harsh and favouring the nuclear weapons monopoly to five nations - US, Russia, China, France and Britain.

30 years after Bhopal gas tragedy, victims yet to receive compensation from government
India > Bhopal Gas Tragedy > 03 Dec
Even after 30 years of the Bhopal gas tragedy, many of the victims of the catastrophe are yet to receive compensation from the government. The irregularity has resulted due to the ambiguity over the death toll. Unofficial figures estimate the death of over 25,000 people whereas the official government figure stands at 5,295. There is also concern over the non-disposal of toxic waste, which resulted from the tragedy. 350 MT of toxic waste still lies at the now defunct chemical plant that is a cause of air and water pollution. A PIL filed by an NGO in the Madhya Pradesh high court regarding the issue is yet to yield results.

Background:

On the 2nd of December, 1984, a pesticide plant in Bhopal, Union Carbide India Limited, accidentally leaked Methyl Isocyanate (MIC). More than 500,000 people were exposed to the gas which caused many casualties and is regarded as one of the worst industrial disasters in the world.

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