Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

16 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Free WiFi at nine more stations

• Google, in association with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, announced the roll out of free WiFi services at nine more stations after Mumbai Central, bringing high-speed Internet access to about 1.5 million passengers.

• The companies are also looking at making the service, which is currently free for users, financially sustainable.

• The firms are in talks with multiple partners, including operators and advertisers, for potential revenue generation.

• Since the launch in Mumbai on January 22, more than one lakh users are seen every week. As people become more aware, this number will grow rapidly.

• The WiFi service is now available at Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulum Jn (Kochi) and Vishakhapatnam stations.

• Google and RailTel had collaborated to make WiFi network available across 100 stations to deliver high-speed Internet to 10 million Indians a day by the end of the year.

• The project will eventually be rolled out to cover 400 railway stations across India.

ISRO planning to put 21 commercial satellites

• While the seventh and last of the regional navigation spacecraft is due to be launched on April 28, space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has lined up a record-making feat towards the end of May.

• It will put in orbit 21 small and mostly foreign commercial satellites along with a larger Indian spacecraft.

• The primary passenger on the PSLV-C33 launcher will be the Earth observing, high-resolution Cartosat-2C, weighing around 700 kg.

• Offering a resolution of about 60 cm, Cartosat-2C is touted to be the best Indian eye yet in the sky.

• It will cater to the country’s military requirements. Its camera, among other functions, can spot objects that are 60 cm wide or long - roughly an arm’s length, from its orbit of around 600 km.

• As far as multiple launches go, the PSLV has launched 10 spacecrafts including eight small foreign ones in April 2008.

• Then, too, the main passenger was Cartosat-2A, another defence enabler, giving pictures of 80 cm resolution of the ground below. Last December, a PSLV took up six small Singapore satellites into orbit in one go.

• NASA holds the 2013 record for placing the highest number — 29 — of mostly small customer satellites in orbit on a Minotaur launcher.

• Multiple launches need multiple interfaces between the rocket and the spacecraft, and coordination with operators of each spacecraft.

• The launch team must ensure that one spacecraft does not get into the path of the other. The needs of each customer and its spacecraft must be accounted for.

• Such many-in-one flights add to ISRO’s capability to service more and more small satellites commercially.

• According to secondary sources, the small satellites are of masses ranging from one kg to 130 kg.

• Three are from Indian universities – the 12-kg NIUSAT from the Noorul Islam University in Kanyakumari; the 2-kgSathyabamaSat; and the 1-kg Swayam from Pune’s College of Engineering.

• According to the ISRO official, considering the global demand for launching small satellites, packing many of them into one PSLV optimises a globally scarce service.

• Otherwise, satellite operators would have to wait for the next PSLV or look for another launcher.

Within days of a request from ED, Govt suspends Vijay Mallya’s diplomatic passport

• After a request from the Enforcement Directorate, in connection with a money laundering probe in the over Rs. 900 crore IDBI Bank loan fraud case, the Ministry of External Affairs suspended Vijay Mallya’s diplomatic passport.

• It has also threatened to revoke it if he doesn’t appear before the Indian High Commission in London within a week.

• Section 10 A of the Act empowers the authorities to suspend passports or travel documents in certain cases. The suspension order is communicated to all the ports of entry or exit in India.

• The beleaguered NRI businessman, whose ordinary passport is also rendered invalid by a Ministry order, is now left with the sole option of returning to the country on an emergency certificate issued by the Indian mission.

• Mr. Mallya left India on March 2, flying out of Delhi on his diplomatic passport, and is believed to be in the United Kingdom.

• Mr. Swarup said Mr. Mallya was asked to respond within one week why his passport should not be impounded or revoked under Section 10(3)(c) of the Act.

• The provision is invoked if the passport authority deems it necessary to suspend the document in the interest of the country’s sovereignty, integrity or security and its friendly relations with other countries, or in public interest.

:: INDIA and WORLD ::

India sought changes in the U.N. Procedures

• India has sought changes in the U.N. procedures to designate a group or an individual terrorist.

• The demand for more transparency comes days after China blocked its bid to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a terrorist.

• The existing rules allow Security Council members to oppose any move in the sanctions committees in a clandestine manner and without offering any explanation.

• The sanctions committees can take decisions only unanimously, and this means any of the 15 members can veto a move.

• For instance, China put a ‘technical hold’ on action against Azhar, and India came to know only informally from members of the council.

• This amounts to allowing a “hidden veto” for every member of the council, Syed Akbaruddin, Permanent Representative of India to the U.N., said at an open debate.

• The Security Council has Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State Sanctions Committees that can mandate international sanctions, which will require countries to freeze the targeted group’s or individual’s assets, ban designated individuals from travelling and prevent the supply of weapons, technology and other aid.

• Earlier too, China delayed moves against the Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Jamaat-Ud-Dawa and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

:: Science and Technology ::

Greenland loosing ice cover faster than ever

• The seasonal melting of Greenland's vast ice sheet reached record levels this week, data from the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) showed.

• Around 12 percent of the ice sheet was melting, almost one month earlier than the previous top three dates for when more than 10 percent of the ice had begun to melt

• The record coincided with unusually warm weather in the Arctic territory, with temperatures at some weather stations on the ice reaching 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).

• The warm weather also affected regions outside the ice sheet: In Kangerlussuaq on Greenland's west coast, the mercury reached 17.8 degrees Celsius, one of the highest April temperatures in Greenland since records began in 1873.

• Rain and meltwater at this time of the year typically runs back into the snow and freezes again, but by warming the snow further down it reduces the amount of heating needed to prompt the melting to start again later in the season.

• The Greenland ice sheet, a potentially massive contributor to rising sea levels, lost mass twice as fast between 2003 and 2010 as during the entire 20th century, researchers said in December.

• Greenland ice loss contributed to a global average sea level rise of 25 millimetres (about an inch) between 1990 and 2010 -- mainly from surface melt.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

More civilians fled Syria due to fighting

• At least 30,000 civilians have fled fighting between jihadists and rebels in northern Syria in the past 48 hours, Human Rights Watch said, calling on Turkey to open its border to them.

• The watchdog accused Turkish border guards of shooting at some of those displaced in Aleppo province by fighting between the Islamic State (IS) group and rebels as they approached the frontier.

• “The whole world is talking about fighting IS, and yet those most at risk of becoming victims of its abuses are trapped on the wrong side of a concrete wall.” HRW said

Minorities including from India likely to vote for UK to stay in EU

• Ethnic minorities in the U.K., including those from India, are likely to vote for the country to stay in the European Union in the June 23 referendum in which roughly 43 million people are eligible to cast their vote.

• One reason is that the ethnic minorities are still pro-Labour. While one should not, of course, fall into the trap of assuming that all immigrants are pro-immigration, there is something on the edge of racism of people in the Leave campaign.

• In the political realignments that the referendum debate has effected, prominent Indian-origin Conservative cabinet minister Priti Patel — whom Prime Minister David Cameron had appointed the U.K. India Diaspora Champion — joined the group of Conservative members of Parliament, led by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, who support Brexit.

• The official campaign period for the June 23 referendum began on Friday, according to the U.K.’s Election Commission.

• In this period, which includes the referendum day, “the rules that campaigners must follow at the referendum on issues such as spending and working together come into force,” the release states.

• Spending limits for a registered campaigner is £7,00,000, for the designated lead campaigners £7 million, and for political parties a variable amount between £7,00,000 and £7 million based on the party’s share of the vote at the last United Kingdon Parliamentary General Election.

:: Business and Economy ::

Chinese growth within the planned growth for the year

• China recorded a growth rate of 6.7 per cent for the first quarter, slightly lower than the previous quarter’s figure but well within this year’s planned range, riding mainly on a fresh acceleration in the real estate and services sectors.

• Growth in the last quarter of 2015 was 6.8 per cent, but the marginal decline in the January-March quarter is in tune with the annual target of 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent GDP growth.

• Government is making transition from a low-end manufacturing and export-led model to a “supply-side” economy that focuses on consumption, services and manufacturing of hi-end products.

• There were other signs that the economy was moving into positive territory. On Wednesday, trade data released by the government showed that the import and export activity was higher than expected.

• Yet the surge in the real estate sector and a fresh dose of hefty lending partly explain the current expansion of the economy.

• The services sector expanded by 7.6 per cent till March, outpacing the 5.8 per cent GDP contribution by industry. However, services growth had dropped compared to its 8.3 per cent rise in the last quarter of 2015.

• The government may have to scale up financial stimulus, since higher housing and real estate demand is unlikely to push the economy to achieve the annual projected 6.5-7 per cent growth, according to some observers.

• Already, new bank loans and other forms of credit in March rose by $351 billion—an amount that was surpassed by record lending in January. Rapid accumulation of debt is adding to the urgency of structural reforms in order to avoid a hard-landing in the future.

• There are signs of China’s economy “bottoming out”, but analysts warned of a persisting downward pressure on account of uncertainty in the global economy coupled with the difficulties in the country’s structural shift to consumption-driven growth and entrepreneurship.

Change is PF rules under consideration

• The Provident Fund office, following protest from trade unions, is considering to amend its new rules that restrict employees from taking out their entire PF balance till they turn 58, according to an official.

• Subscribers could be allowed to withdraw their entire savings in specific cases such as their own marriage, studying professional courses and illness.

• According to a February notification, EPFO subscribers can withdraw only their own share of PF deposit and the balance, comprising the employer’s contribution, only after the employee attains 58 years of age.

• The employer’s share will continue to earn interest as the EPFO had recently approved a plan to credit interest even on inoperative accounts (those with no deposits for three consecutive years).

• The decision to place restrictions on withdrawing PF money was taken after it was found many workers took out all the money from the account immediately on quitting their jobs.

• However, this was opposed by the trade unions and over 1.2 lakh people signed an online petition to oppose the restrictions on withdrawals before retirement.

• The central trade unions had unanimously opposed the move at EPFO’s Central Board of Trustees meeting held on March 29.

• At present, EPF accounts are mandatory for firms hiring 20 employees or more and are funded by employees paying 12 per cent of their salary to the EPFO with employers making a similar contribution.

Firm turnaround seen in the mining sector

• India’s mining sector appears to be on a firm turnaround path after years of tumult with production of metallic minerals growing by nearly 20 per cent in the first eleven months of 2015-16 and total mineral output rising by 8.2 per cent, official data showed.

• While the value of the mineral production is lower than previous years owing to lower global prices, the recovery in quantum of output signals a higher demand for raw materials and augurs well for a sustainable industrial recovery.

• Mining sector output had contracted for three successive years till 2013-14, and made only a marginal recovery in 2014-15 as output of non-metallic minerals like limestone continued to shrink.

• In 2015-16, both metallic and non-metallic minerals reported robust growth. Mining has an over 14 per cent weightage in the Index of Industrial production or IIP, which has registered a 2.6 per cent growth between April 2015 and February 2016.

• Industrial output grew 2 per cent in February, after three months of contraction, largely driven by 10 per cent rise in the production of electricity and a 5 per cent increase in minerals.

• “Metallic minerals’ output has grown from 14.24 crore metric tonnes to 17.05 crore metric tonnes between April 2015 and February 2016.

• Iron ore output has risen significantly as many of the mines that were shut in recent years have started opening again, in states like Goa and Odisha.

• The government expects mineral output to rise further in 2016-17 as six new mines allotted via auctions could start operations.

• Several more mines would be auctioned and some of the mines affected by the Supreme Court embargo could come back into production.

• Most blocks that didn’t get any bids in the first round of auctions pertained to limestone mines.

• In 2011, the Supreme Court had banned all 168 iron ore mines in Karnataka for violating the law and damaging the environment.

• In 2013, the court allowed 117 mines involved in minor violations to re-start and cancelled licences for 51 mines where serious violations took place, requiring their permits to be auctioned.

• The state had told the SC that it will auction the permits for 15 such mines by 2015-16.

• The biggest growth in output was seen in chromite (36.1 per cent), lead concentrate (33.7 per cent), copper concentrate (31 per cent) and Bauxite (27.4 per cent).

• Non-metallic minerals output grew 2.1 per cent in the first eleven months of 2015-16, with phosphorite production rising nearly 12 per cent and limestone growing over 2 per cent, after years of decline.

:: Sports ::

India reached Azlan Shah cup finals

• India produced an inspiring performance to beat host Malaysia 6-1 in a must win match.

• This assured India’s seventh appearance in final of the sultan Azlan shah hockey tournament.

• India’s opponent in the title encounter will be World champion Australia, which prevailed 3-0 over Canada to complete an all-win record in the preliminary league.

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