Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

11 April 2016

:: National ::

Fire crackers incident killed more than hundred in Kerala

• In the worst-ever pyrotechnics tragedy to strike Kerala, 107 persons were killed and close to 400 injured, many of them grievously.

• Disaster struck the crowded precincts of the Puttingal Devi Temple at Paravur, when an entire dump of fire crackers meant to be burst to mark the conclusion of the Meena-Bharani festival exploded, killing over 40 persons instantly, maiming many more and causing extensive damage to nearby buildings.

• The State government has announced a judicial inquiry and a Crime Branch investigation into the disaster.

• The sparks reached the storehouse, igniting fireworks stored there. The explosion that followed brought down a building and caused damage to several structures in the vicinity.

• The explosion was followed by power disruption, which left the crowd clueless about the magnitude of the tragedy for some time. However, the locals swung into action, extricating bodies from the debris and pulling out the injured, many of whom did not survive the journey to hospitals.

• The Kollam district administration had denied permission for the fireworks display based on reports from the local police that the temple authorities planned to hold a competitive pyrotechnics display.

• However, the temple authorities went ahead with the display after giving much publicity to the event. People from neighbouring districts had converged on the temple to witness the show.

• The Paravur police have registered a case against the temple authorities and the fireworks contractor, who is stated to have suffered 80 per cent burns and is undergoing treatment at the medical college hospital.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled all his programmes and rushed to Kollam with a team of medical experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

• After a visit to the disaster spot and hospitals, accompanied by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and discussions with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, he announced all support for the State.

• At an emergency meeting, the State Cabinet announced ex gratia of Rs. 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs. 2 lakh to the seriously injured.

• Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister announced that the Centre would pay ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

A national conference on Kharif campaign to formulate crop strategy

• Realising the gravity of the agrarian situation after two back-to-back droughts, the Union government is all set to formulate a crop production strategy for the coming summer (kharif) season to ensure that the plan to double farmers’ income in the next six years gains momentum.

• A national conference on kharif campaign is being held in New Delhi on April 11 and 12 in which senior officials of agriculture and allied sectors from the Centre and States would review the performance of the preceding crop season and formulate a crop production strategy for kharif.

• The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, which is organising the conference, said that kharif campaign-2016 assumes great importance in view of the recent crop damage on account of moisture stress due to uneven and untimely rains, hailstorm across various States.

• Notably, the south-west monsoon during the previous kharif season was weak leading to a rain deficit of 14 per cent. Also, the rabi 2015-16 season had experienced less post-monsoon and winter rains.

Committee recommended 1304 crore to UP under NDRF

• A high-level committee headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has recommended Rs. 1,304 crore as a drought relief to Uttar Pradesh under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

• The State would disburse the relief amount directly into the bank accounts of farmers within a week.

• It was decided that the U.P. government will forward a memorandum for Rabi 2016 soon and the Ministry will examine the possibility, if an exemption can be given under SDRF on 25 per cent limit and continuation of distribution of food component beyond 90 days.

• The U.P. government, during the meeting, informed that a comprehensive contingency plan to address the drinking water situation in Bundelkhand region especially Mahoba, Chitrakoot and Banda districts of Chitrakoot division are ready and would be soon implemented, said sources.

• Centre approved a provision of extending man-days from 100 to 150 under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the Bundelkhand for financial year 2016-17.

• It was decided that to provide alternate source of income, National Rural Livelihood Mission would be strengthened and intensified and coverage would be extended to all the blocks.

• The government decided that water tanks, building of dug wells, farm ponds would be taken up on priority under various projects and schemes for Bundelkhand.

• CEO, NITI Aayog, in consultation with State government will explore the possibility of taking up fresh projects for drought proofing from the resources available under the package for Bundelkhand region.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Frustrated with Pak, US wants larger role for India

• The U.S. is now more open to a larger role for India in Afghanistan, partly due to its frustration over Pakistan’s failure or unwillingness to deliver on the promises it has been making with regard to the peace process.

• U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter’s visit to India emphasises the partnership between the countries, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson, indicates fresh U.S. thinking on India’s role in Afghanistan.

• However, the caveat is that India can never replace Pakistan in U.S.’s Afghanistan calculus, and the signalling may well be more to Pakistan than to India.

• Mr. Olson and Peter Lavoy, Senior Director for South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, met with senior Indian officials, including India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. They then joined Secretary of State John Kerry in Kabul on an unannounced visit.

• While the U.S. has never opposed or actively discouraged India from playing a significant role in Afghanistan, it has been very sensitive to Pakistan’s objections, particularly on security-related issues.

• The U.S. has welcomed India’s efforts in reconstruction, development and institution-building in Afghanistan that take place under the U.S security umbrella, but maintained ambiguity on its security role.

• At the same time, at Pakistan’s insistence, it has kept India out of the Afghanistan peace negotiations, which are now a four-nation initiative of the U.S., China, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• The U.S. is grappling with the increasing complexity of the situation in Afghanistan, even as it is planning to pull its troops out of the country by next year.

• Meanwhile, India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears less constrained by Pakistan’s views and more willing to enhance cooperation with Afghanistan on security issues.

• India and Afghanistan had signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2011, but security cooperation slowed as both sides sought not to antagonise Pakistan.

• However, Mr. Modi’s recent visit to Afghanistan and India’s transferring of three Mi-25 attack helicopters to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) recently indicate fresh thinking on the Indian side.

• Pakistan has so far not been able to get Taliban to the process, even as new challenges emerge. Last year demonstrated the vulnerability of the Afghanistan security forces.

• They briefly lost the city of Kunduz to Taliban. Casualties rose to an all-time high of more than 11,000.

• Meanwhile, Mullah Mansoor, who has succeeded Mullah Omar as Taliban chief, is struggling to consolidate power within the group, even as some Taliban factions are transmuting into those of the Islamic State (IS).

• Given this uncertainty, Mr. Kerry’s mission in Afghanistan was to demonstrate U.S.’s support for the unity government.

• Dismissing the notion that the current arrangement will be replaced by a new one, Mr. Kerry said the Ashraf Ghani-led government would continue for five years.

A 6.6-magnitude quake struck Afghanistan

• A powerful earthquake rocked large parts of South Asia, with one person killed by falling rocks and tremors felt in at least four countries.

• The 6.6-magnitude quake struck northeast Afghanistan at a depth of 210 km at 2:58 pm (1028 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

• It was felt for a few seconds in the Afghan capital Kabul, 282 km to the south, and in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where some residents evacuated apartment blocks after tremors shook ceiling fans and furniture.

• In Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan which borders northern Afghanistan, tremors were felt but there were no immediate reports of damage. One man was killed in Gilgit-Baltistan when he was hit by falling rocks in the town of Chilas.

• Authorities in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar said 28 people were brought to the government-run Lady Reading Hospital.

:: Science and Technology ::

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo ship arrived at International Space station

• SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo ship, carrying lettuce seeds, laboratory mice and an inflatable pop-up room, arrived at a crowded International Space Station where six spacecraft are now docked.
  • British astronaut Tim Peake reached out with the station’s robotic arm and grappled the Dragon, packed with 3,175 kilograms of supplies.
  • Four Russian spaceships — two Progress cargo carriers and two Soyuz capsules which ferry astronauts — are docked at the space station, along with Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo ship and SpaceX’s Dragon.
  • Not since 2011, during the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery, have there been six vehicles parked at the ISS at the same time, NASA said.
  • Included in the Dragon’s cargo is an expandable room that will be attached to the orbiting outpost.
  • The cargo also contains Chinese cabbage seeds which astronauts will grow in space, and lab mice that will test whether certain drugs can help prevent muscle and bone loss in microgravity.
  • The Dragon will remain at the station for a month before returning to Earth with science samples.

:: Business and Economy ::

Industry ready to provide greater market access to EU

• Indian industry is ready to grant greater market access to European Union firms in areas such as automobiles, wines and spirits in return for gains in garments, automobiles, automobile components and services sector in a bid to end a deadlock on the proposed EU Free Trade Agreement.

• During last month’s 13th India-EU Summit, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU leaders, both the side failed to reach an agreement on free trade and a specific date to restart talks.

• The leaders welcomed the re-engagement of discussions for furthering the proposed pact.

• India is open to giving greater market access to EU firms by lowering duties for automobiles, wines and spirits under the FTA provided it gets in return what it wants in other sectors.

• The automobile industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and the auto-component industry body Automotive Component Manufacturers Association are on the same page with the CII on this issue, he said.

• The talks on the FTA (officially known as the broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement) had commenced in 2007 and both the sides had held 16 rounds of negotiations till 2013.

• Though India and the EU had held one stock-taking meeting each in the last three months on the FTA, formal negotiations are yet to re-start.

• The talks have been stalled as the negotiators have so far been unable to come up with a compromise solution to address the key demands of the EU — that India lower or eliminate duties on automobiles and wines & spirits.

• India's main demands on data security status, easier temporary movement of skilled professionals and seamless intra-corporate movement.

• While India looks into reducing or eliminating tariffs in sectors such as auto and liquor, the EU should do away with their non-tariff barriers that seem to have been erected mainly to protect some of their local firms but not as much for better safety or quality.

• The EU is learnt to have asked India to substantially bring down the “high” duties on automobiles as a pre-condition for resumption of the FTA negotiations. India's import duty on cars are between 60 and 120 per cent as against the EU's 10 per cent.

• India has also sought agricultural market access in the EU as well as disciplining of Sanitary and Phyto-sanitar and Technical Barriers to Trade to ensure that the concessions in the FTA that would be given by the EU result in effective market access.

• Since 2013, when the FTA talks were stalled, India has unilaterally undertaken several reforms such as allowing 49 per cent foreign investment in insurance and pension, easing of foreign investments norms in the banking, defence sectors.

• It has also allowed 100 per cent FDI in telecom, single-brand retail and in the market-place model of e-commerce.

• These reforms were cited during the stock-taking meeting and the EU was asked about their internal reforms that would similarly benefit India.

• The FTA negotiations were slated to restart in August 2015, but India deferred them saying it was disappointed and concerned over the EU imposing a ban on sale of around 700 pharmaceutical products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences.

India is ready to invest in Iran’s petrochemical, fertiliser and LNG facilities

• India has offered to invest $20 billion in Iran’s petrochemical, fertilizer and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and in return sought cheap natural gas and land to set up the units.

• Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is in Iran with a delegation of industry executives for two days, discussed with his counterpart several outstanding issues related to the energy sector.

• He also urged Iran for a favourable treatment in the pricing of gas for India. The minister also wanted supply of gas at a competitive price and on a long-term basis for the life of the joint venture projects that Indian companies were interested in setting up.

• India was also keen to set up a gas cracker unit and a liquefied petroleum gas extraction unit in Chabahar and ways of transporting gas to India from Iran including through a planned Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline were discussed.

• The two sides also discussed the award of rights to Indian firms to develop Farzad-B gas fields and the pending payments by Indian refiners towards Iran’s oil purchases.

:: Sports ::

IPL chief says it's difficult to move matches in the eleventh hour

• Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajeev Shukla is confident the controversy over the usage of water for the matches scheduled in Maharashtra will be resolved soon.

• Mr Shukla said, “We will try to convince the court that it’s very difficult to move the matches outside the State in the eleventh hour, and that we will try all other options to make sure that water is not wasted and only non-potable water is used.

• The former Union Cabinet Minister is surprised that no one raised the issue during the ICC World Twenty20.

• Meanwhile, Rising Pune Supergiants skipper MS Dhoni felt one should look at long-term solutions to address the water scarcity in the State rather than finding a quick-fix solution for the duration of the IPL.

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