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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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