Current Affairs FEB 14, 2014

Current Affairs FEB 14, 2014

International Affairs

1.  Bahrain King to visit India next week

i. King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is paying a state visit to India February 18-20, during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on bilateral, regional and global issues. 

ii. The visit -- his first to India -- is at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee.

iii. King Hamad will meet President Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari and also hold delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister, said a ministry of external affairs statement. 

iv. India and Bahrain have close and friendly relations, characterised by shared interests, mutual trust and unique people-to-people contacts, the statement said. 

2. World’s largest Solar-Thermal power plant, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, opens in Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA.

It is owned by NRG Energy Inc., Google Inc. and BrightSource Energy and can produce nearly400 MW of energy.

It uses "solar-thermal" technology where computer-controlled mirrors reflect sun’s rays on to water containing boilers atop towers therefore producing steam which then moves turbines to generate electricity.

These are different from rooftop solar, or photovoltaic panels (the kind we have in India).

3. Mount Kelud, a major Volcano, erupts in Surabaya (Indonesia's 2nd largest city and East Java province's capital).

5,680-feet Mount Kelud is among 130 active volcanoes in archipelago of Indonesia which is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes as it is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

"Ring of Fire": its a series of fault lines in a ring shape, stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Earlier in February Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province erupted leading to evacuation of thousands of people.

4. Governments of India and China has designated the Year 2014 as the "Year of Friendly Exchanges"

5.  Belgium became second country to allow Mercy Killing for Children

i. Parliament of Belgium on 14 February 2014 legalised death to terminally ill children of any age.

ii. The Parliament took the decision despite of opposition from the Church and some pediatricians. This action of legalizing death for the children came 12 years after the country legalised euthanasia for adults.

iii. This ground-breaking legislation was adopted by 86 votes in favour. 44 votes were against the legislation with 12 abstentions.

iv. This legislation had given a chance of euthanasia to children in a hopeless medical situation of constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be eased and which will cause death on a short-term.

v. Under the approved legislation by the Parliament, a young child will be allowed to end their life with the help of a doctor. The legislation has not fixed any age limit for minors suffering from a terminal illness to opt for the death by use of a lethal injection.

Other European countries that allows active euthanasia are

1. Luxembourg, which permits active euthanasia for over 18 years in age
2. Switzerland lets doctors to help adult patients to commit suicide

National Affairs

6. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned today after failing to table the jan lokpal bill, which was defeated in the introduction stage itself. This decision ends Aam Aadmi Party government’s 49-day run in power. Kejriwal had earlier threatened to quit if he failed to push ahead with the Jan Lokpal bill aimed at curbing corruption in high places. With this, Delhi assembly will be dissolved now and fresh voting will happen again. Aam Aadmi Party can now fully focus on National level election for the upcoming general election.

7. Delhi Police has introduced a new helpline number 1093 for people of North East residing in Delhi to register their complaints. The number 1093 will allow the north-eastern people to register all sorts of complaints including racism and harassment directly to the police. The number will have 5 direct lines and all calls will be received at the central police control room (CPCR) situated at Delhi Police headquarters. Meanwhile, the Delhi police is also planning to launch a Facebook page and a Twitter account for people from the northeast where they can post complaints and suggestions.

8.  Justice Mudgal named chairman of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council

i. Former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal will take over as the new chairperson of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), a self-regulatory body for non-news channels. 

ii. A statement said the board of directors of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) had approved the appointment of Justice Mudgal as chairperson of BCCC. 

iii. Justice Mudgal, who had chaired a committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into Indian Premier League match-fixing allegations, succeeds Justice (retd) Ajit Prakash Shah, who demitted office after being appointed chairperson of the 20th Law Commission in November 2013.
iv. Mudgal had become chief justice of Punjab and Haryana HC on December 5, 2009 and retired on January 3, 2011. He also chaired a committee set up by the I&B ministry to propose changes in the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

9. Government bans retail sale of Oxytocin hormone drug by pharmacies to prevent its misuse by farmers and dairy owners.

Farmers injects Oxytocin to fruits and vegetables which increases its size while Oxytocin injection to cattles by dairy owners helps increasing milk output.

Oxytocin is a hormone present naturally in humans and helps in Milk production beside child birth. Therefore those consuming oxytocin injected fruits and milk were at the danger of irreversible hormonal imbalance.

Now bulk drug manufacturers can sell only to licenced units which can supply directly only to veterinary hospitals. Also to avoid its bulk sale, injections will be packed only in single unit packs.

Schedule H (Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1954) : Distribution of a particular drug based on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner only. 

10. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) unveils new "global standard for automatic exchange of information between tax authorities" aiming at greater tax transparency to combat blackmoney.

India is already a signatory to this standard and would also acceed to these new protocols once it is endorsed by the finance ministers of G-20 group in a meeting scheduled in Feb. 2014.

These new standards are expected to tacle, more effectively, offshore tax evasions and illegal stashing of money besides simplifying automatic exchange procedures.

Banking Awareness

11.  Inflation cools to 5.05 per cent in January

i. Wholesale inflation eased to a seven-month low of 5.05 per cent in January, on decline in the rate of price rise in food articles, mainly vegetables.

ii. This is the second straight month of decline in wholesale price based inflation. The WPI was at 6.16 per cent in December.

iii. During January, inflation in food articles came down sharply to 8.80 per cent as against 13.68 per cent in the preceding month, according to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released on Thursday.

iv . The rate of price rise in onion eased to 6.59 per cent in January, from 39.56 per cent in December. Inflation in potato stood at 21.73 per cent in January.

v. The Reserve Bank factors both retail and wholesale price based inflation data in its monetary policy.

12.  SEBI approved the new Corporate Governance norms

i. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) board approved the new corporate governance norms in a meeting held in New Delhi on 13 February 2014. The new corporate governance norms would become applicable for all listed companies with effect from 1 October 2014.

ii. The new corporate governance norms issued are in line with the global practices and in accordance with the Companies Act, 2013.

iii. The board also approved a long-term policy for mutual funds to tax breaks on investments up to 2 lakh rupees.

iv. The SEBI board also approved new Know Your Client Registration Agency (KRA) Regulations which will make easier for the investors to comply with Know Your Client (KYC) requirements across various segments of the capital markets.

Sports

13. All India Football Federation (AIFF) awards 2013: Player of the Year: Sunil Chhetri (winner in 2007 and 2011 also); Woman Player of the Year: Oinam Bembem Devi; Emerging Player of the Year: Jeje Lalpekhlua.

Other Awardees: Best grassroots development program: Mizoram FA; Award for long-time contribution to Indian football: Tata Football Academy.

14. Former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal will take over as the new chairperson of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), a self-regulatory body for non-news channels. Justice Mudgal succeeds Justice (retd) Ajit Prakash Shah, who left office after being appointed chairperson of the 20th Law Commission in November 2013.

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