weekly current affairs update for ias exam vol 22 28th april 2014 to 4th may 2014

5/24/2018 Weekly Current Affairs Update for IAS Exam Vol 22 28th April 2014 to 4th May 2014

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Weekly Current

Affairs UpdateFor

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Agreements for assisting Cambodia in Water ResourcesManagement(Courtesy: http://www.mea.gov.in)

Two agreements, one on Study of Ground Water Resources of Kampong Spue Province in Cambodia and

the other on Development of Master Plan for Siem Reap River Basin in Cambodia, were signed today in

New Delhi between Shri Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Joint Secretary (South) in the Ministry of External Affairs

and Shri R.K. Gupta, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, WAPCOS Ltd. (a Government of India

undertaking).

The agreement on Study of Ground Water Resources in Kampong Spue is for the establishment of

hydrograph network stations. Shallow open and bore wells will be fitted with handpumps for better

efficiency and there will be monthly monitoring of water levels to maintain the ground water regime. The

agreement on Siem Reap River Basin involves preparation of Master Plan for water resources management,

land use management and environment management along with drinking water development in the area,

which is famous for the Ankor Vat heritage monuments.

India and Cambodia share excellent bilateral relations and India is a major partner of Cambodia in its socio-

economic development programme.

Indo-Myanmar Memorandum of Understanding on Border

Cooperation

India and Myanmar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Border Cooperation. The

MOU was signed by Mr Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Ambassador of India to Myanmar, and Major General

Kyaw Nyunt, Deputy Defence Minister of Myanmar, in Nay Pyi Taw.

The MoU provides a framework for security cooperation and exchange of information between Indian and

Myanmar security agencies. A key provision is that of conduct of coordinated patrols on their respective

sides of the international border and the maritime boundary by the Armed Forces of the two countries Both

sides have agreed to exchange information in the fight against insurgency, arms smuggling and drug, human

and wildlife trafficking. Both sides have also agreed to take steps to prevent illegal cross-border activities.

The level and frequency of meetings between the Armed Forces, Drug Control Agencies and Wildlife Crime

Control agencies have been spelt out in the MoU.

Ministry of External affairs
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It is expected that this MoU will lead to enhanced and tangible cooperation between Indian and Myanmar

security agencies in ensuring peace, stability and security along the long international land and maritime

border between the two countries.
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Gist of The Hindu Gist of Yojana Gist of Kurukshetra Gist of Press Information Bureau Gist of Science Reporter

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SCHEDULED CASTE SUB PLAN(Courtesy: http://planningcommission.nic.in

)

The Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, is previously named as Special Component Plan, concept was firstintroduced during the Sixth Plan to channelise the flow of benefits and outlays in physical and financialterms from the general sectors in the Plans of the States/Union Territories for development of SCs. These

plans are envisaged to help the poor SC families through composite income generating/welfare schemes.The system has evolved a useful mechanism to draw funds and physical benefits in various sectors forimproving the socio-economic and living conditions of the Scheduled Castes people.

Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) is prepared as an integral part of Five Year Plan/Annual Plan showingsector-wise scheme-wise outlays earmarked for Scheduled Castes and corresponding physical targets.

According to the guidelines received from Government of India, flow of funds to SCs in States and UnionTerritories should be equivalent to percentage of Scheduled Castes population to total population of theStates and Union Territories. As per 2001 census, the population of SCs in this territory is 1,57,771, which is16.19% of the total population of 9,73,345. Hence 16.19% of total Plan allocation should be earmarked forSCs in this Union Territory.

A good number of schemes are implemented in this Union Territory under various sectors wherein thebenefit of Plan schemes directly flow to SCs. It includes financial assistance for construction of houses,upgradation of existing houses, free distribution of housing sites, distribution of books, notebooks, uniforms,to school going children, distribution of bicycles free of cost to students of 9th Standard and above,distribution of agricultural implements, tractors at subsided cost, distribution of milch animals at subsided

cost, special incentives to start industries, training for upgradation of skills of SCs, financial assistance tobecome the member of the Cooperative societies, free distribution of clothing items, distribution of rice

during festival season, old age pension etc. Expenditure increased on these schemes may be shown underSCSP.

Detailed guidelines relating to the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan for the Scheduled Castes and Tribal Sub-Plan

for Scheduled Tribes have been issued by the concerned departments of the Central Government from timeto time.

The basic objective of both these sub-plans is to channelise the flow of outlays and benefits from the generalsectors in the Plan of States for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at least in

proportion to their population, both in physical and financial terms. The Mid Term appraisal of the Tenth

Plan has noted that several State Governments have not earmarked adequate funds to SCSP and STSP,proportionate to the share of SCs and STs in the population.

The Honble Prime Minister has again underlined the importance of the SCSP and TSP while addressing the51st Meeting of the National Development Council held on 27th June 2005. The Prime Minister had thenstated, in the mid-1970s, the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and the Tribal Sub-Plan were initiated. Tribal Sub-Plans and Scheduled Caste Sub Plans should be an integral part of Annual Plans as well as Five Year Plans,making provisions therein non-divertible, with the clear objective of bridging the gap in socio-economicdevelopment of the SCs and STs within a period of 10 years.

Planning Commission of Indi
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In this context, the following guidelines with respect to SCSP and TSP are once again reiterated so that thesame may be followed strictly in the preparation of the Annual Plan for 2006-2007.

Objective:

The following should be the broad objectives of the SCSP :

Substantial reduction in poverty and unemployment. Creation of productive assets in favour of Scheduled Castes to sustain the growth likely to accrue

through development efforts.

Human resource development of the Scheduled Castes by providing adequate educational and healthservices, and

Provision of Physical and financial security against all types of exploitation and oppression.Action Plan:

To fulfill the above objectives the following points may be taken into account for formulating SCSP :

1. Earmarking of funds for SCSP from total State Plan Outlay at least in the proportion ofSC population to the total population of the State / UT.

2. Scheduled Caste sub Plan funds should be non-divertable and non-lapsable.3. Making the Social Welfare Department/ the Department concerned with the welfare and

development of SCs as nodal department for formulation and implementation of SCSP.

4. Placing the funds earmarked for SCSP at the disposal of the nodal department concerned which inturn will reallocate the funds to the sectoral departments for implementing schemes directly relevant

to SC development.

5. Placing the funds earmarked for SCSP under separate budget head / sub-head for each developmentdepartment implementing SCSP. In this connection it may be noted that the List of Major and Minor

Heads of Account of Union and States as issued by the Controller General of Accounts provides

Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (789) may be opened as Minor Head below the functional Major Head /

Sub Major Head wherever necessary.

6. Special Central Assistance (SCA) for the SCSP is being extended by the Centre to the States as a100% grant meant to fill critical gaps and missing inputs for family-oriented income-generatingschemes and supporting infrastructure development with a special focus on BPL families. Guidelines

issued in this connection should be strictly followed.

The subject Formulation and Monitoring of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan has been transferred to the Adi-

dravidar Welfare Department from the Annual Plan 2007-08. The Adi-dravidar Welfare Department is the

nodal department and Secretary Welfare is the nodal officer for all matters relating to Scheduled Castes Sub-


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Plan (SCSP) which includes formulation, monitoring of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and channelizing the

funds allotted to Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan.


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Death penalty of LeT man

The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the death sentence of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terroristMohd Arif alias Ashfaq in the attack on the Red Fort in 2000 during which three people, includingtwo Army soldiers, were killed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha also issued notice to the Centre on Arif's plea seekingits direction for his release on the ground that he has already spent over 13 years behind bars and heshould not be hanged after such a long period.

He submitted that execution of his death sentence would amount to punishing him twice for thecrime as he has already spent over 13 years, which is nearly equivalent to life imprisonment.

1984 riots case

If it failed to find cause for cheer in Indias ongoing general elections, the Indian National Congresswas certainly buoyed by the decision of a federal judge in New York to dismiss and close a lingeringcase against the party for its alleged role in the 1984 riots that claimed the lives several thousandsmembers of the Sikh community.

Judge Robert Sweet granted the partys motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought against it by the Sikhsfor Justice (SFJ) advocacy group, which sought damages stemming from the Congress allegedresponsibility for the riots that engulfed New Delhi and other parts of the nation in violence

following the assassination of erstwhile Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In his opinion, Judge Sweet ruled against the SFJs claim to be legal representatives and thusplaintiffs in this case filed under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) of the U.S., as this required the groupand the individual complainants to be aliens, which they were not, given their U.S. residentialstatus.

Second, the judge found in favour of the argument that the ATS did not extend to corporatedefendants such as the Congress Party and that the SFJs claim constituted an impermissibleextraterritorial application of the ATS.

Pending cases remain against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.

Blast at Chennai Central Railway Station

Two explosions on a train killed a 24-year-old woman and wounded nine people, two of themcritically, at the Chennai Central Railway Station .

NATIONAL EVENT


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The blasts took place at around 7:15 am in two sleeper coaches of the Guwahati-Bangalore Express,which had just pulled into platform 9 of the station for a 10-minute stop.

One of the bombs exploded under the seat of a woman, Swati, who was killed instantly. A NationalInvestigation Agency team is going to Chennai to join the investigations. There has been tightsecurity across India as it nears the end of staggered voting for the national election.

The station was cordoned off after the blasts and scores of police personnel, along with sniffer dogs,checked the platforms and coaches.

The state government has announced compensation of one lakh for the family of the woman whodied, Rs. 55,000 for those who are critical and Rs. 5,000 for the others who were injured.

Top 100 Global Varsities

The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati has taken India into the world's top 100university rankings for the first time with an entry at No. 87.

IIT Guwahati is the only Indian educational institute in the 2014 league table of '100 Under 50'institutions released by the Times Higher Education magazine.

The IIT shares the 87th rank on the list with Portugal's New University of Lisbon and Australia'sUniversity of Western Sydney.

The annual evaluation of the world's top 100 universities under 50 years of age had a distinct Easternstance with South Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology topping the list for the thirdconsecutive year.

Indian missile Astra

Marking an important milestone, for the first time an Indian missile, Astra, was successfully test-fired from a fighter aircraft the Sukhoi-30 MKI from a naval range in the Western Sector .

The test-firing met all the mission objectives and the air-launch was captured by side and forwardlooking high-speed cameras and the separation was exactly as per simulation, according to a pressrelease from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Astra is India's first Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile and has been designed and developedindigenously by the DRDO. The 60-km plus range missile possesses high Single Shot KillProbability (SSKP) making it highly reliable.

Astra is an all-weather missile with active radar terminal guidance, excellent ECCM (electroniccounter-counter measures) features, smokeless propulsion and process improved effectiveness inmulti-target scenario, making it a highly advanced state-of-the-art missile.


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Amar Chitra Kathas digital debut

People can now read comics on personalities such as Akbar, Chanakya, Jawaharlal Nehru and JRDTata on smartphones and tablets, as Amar Chitra Katha has made the digital debut.

Amar Chitra Katha has launched ACK Comics, its official digital store app for across platforms Windows 8, iOS and Android giving users access to over 300 of its titles.

The app has been developed by App9 Digital Studio, the digital division of Ninestars InformationTechnologies.

Users will also get 10 comics to download for free including Chanakya, Ashoka, Akbar, JawaharlalNehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar, Birbal, JRD Tata, Subbulakshmi, Ganesha and the special title onDhyanChand.

Bhagat Singhs name not mentioned in FIR

Bhagat Singhs name was not mentioned in the FIR for the murder of a British police officer here in1928, the Lahore police have found, in a major boost to prove the legendary freedom fightersinnocence in the case 83 years after his execution.

Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, had filed a petitionseeking an attested copy of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against Bhagat Singh,Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing the then SSP John P Saunders.

Bhagat Singh was awarded the death sentence for killing Saunders and was hanged at ShadmanChowk in Lahore in 1931, aged just 23.

The High Court has referred the case to the Chief Justice for constitution of a larger Bench to hearthe case.


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Yemeni and US drone strikes targeted bases of AQAP, considered by Washington as the mostdangerous affiliate of the global jihadist network with links to several failed terror plots against theUnited States.

AQAP took advantage of the weakening of the central government in Sanaa after the nationwideuprising, establishing strongholds in the southern and eastern regions.

In June 2012, government forces backed by the Popular Committees drove militants out of majorcities in Abyan after they had been in control for around a year.

US drones frequently strike suspected militants in the country despite mounting criticism from rightsgroups concerned about civilian casualties.

The United States has defended its use of drones against Al-Qaeda, saying they allow it to targetjihadists without sending soldiers into lawless areas where local authorities have little or no control.

US security deal with Philippines

Protesters have clashed in the Philippines as a 10-year agreement was signed ahead of PresidentBarack Obama's visit which will beef up military forces there.

The military will get greater access to bases across the region as an effort by Washington to counterChinese aggression.

The presence of foreign troops is a sensitive issue in the Philippines, a former American colony. The Philippine Senate voted in 1991 to close down U.S. bases at Subic and Clark, northwest of

Manila.

However, it ratified a pact with the United States allowing temporary visits by American forces in1999, four years after China seized a reef the Philippines contests.

Following the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, hundreds of U.S. forces descendedin the southern Philippines under that accord to hold counter terrorism exercises with Filipino troopsfighting Muslim militants.

However this time, the focus of the Philippines and its underfunded military has increasingly turnedto external threats as territorial spats with China in the potentially oil and gas-rich South China Sea

heated up in recent years.

Tornadoes strike central, southern US

A tornado system ripped through the central US and left at least 12 dead in a violent start to thisyear's storm season.

A tornado carved through several Little Rock suburbs. A separate tornado from the same stormsystem killed one person in Oklahoma.


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The large tornado outside Little Rock, Arkansas, stayed on the ground as it moved northeastward forat least 30 miles (48 kilometres).

Emergency workers and volunteers went door-to-door to look for victims. Law enforcement officerschecked the damaged and toppled 18-wheelers, cars and trucks on a stretch of Interstate 40, a major

thoroughfare in and out of the state's capital.

Tornadoes also touched down in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas, where dozens of homes inBaxter Springs were destroyed. Twenty-five people were injured and one person died.

Forecasters had warned for days that violent weather would strike over the weekend.

Security for World Economic Forum

Nigeria has assured that it will provide adequate security arrangements during the World EconomicForum on Africa, which begins May 7 in Abuja.

The government would provide adequate security for participants.His remark came after somecountries expressed concern over security issues, following a blast in Abuja, which left at least 19

people dead.


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Indias crucial reforms of security institutions

India, which has contributed 1.7 lakh peacekeepers to U.N. missions, has told the U.N. SecurityCouncil that it wants crucial reforms of security institutions to facilitate peace-building in theconflict-hit nations.

Indias Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Asoke Mukerji said in a U.N. SecurityCouncil debate on Security Sector Reform (SSR): Challenges and Opportunities that securitysector reform is an important element of post-conflict peace-building and should be part of theinternal political process of a nation emerging from conflict.

India has experience relevant to reform of a countrys security sector, having played an active role in43 U.N. peacekeeping missions in which almost 170,000 Indian peacekeepers have participated sofar.

Six peacekeeping operations and eight Special Political Missions have been mandated to do SSR. Outlining a few principles that must guide security sector reform, he said the most sustainable way

for effective reforms is by ensuring national ownership of the process.

The focus has to be on what is do-able and not on an agenda driven by priorities of donor countries.Claim on stolen idol

The National Gallery of Australia has surrendered to the Indian claim that a Chola-era Nataraja thatit acquired for (A) $5.6 million had indeed been stolen from a village temple in Tamil Nadu, pavingthe way for an early return of the idol to India.

The NGA, Australias foremost art institution located in the national capital of Canberra, had 30 daysto claim its ownership of the imposing bronze Nataraja after receiving a notice from the AustralianAttorney Generals Department under the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986. Thatdeadline expired on April 26.

The 1,000-year-old Dancing Shiva is central to the investigations against antiquities dealer SubhashKapoor who was arrested in 2012 and is being tried in Tamil Nadu for conspiring to smuggle the idol

and several others out of India. The return of the idol is expected to strengthen the case against him.

The NGA initially defended its purchase of the idol from Kapoor, but with its reputation scorched bythe international controversy that erupted over the provenance of the Nataraja, the Gallery seems to

have decided not to pursue any claim over the idol. Similarly, Sydneys Art Gallery of New SouthWales has not contested the notice it received at the same time as the NGA on an Ardhanareeshwarait bought from Kapoor, who was operating principally out of the United States.

INDIA AND THE WORLD


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This idol too is a subject of Tamil Nadu police investigations against the dealer, and the Indiangovernment had demanded its return along with the Nataraja.

The Idol Wing unravelled the role of an international network in the theft of 18 ancient bronzesculptures from two temples in Suthamali and Sripuranthan.

Indian developmental assistance in Afghanistan

The US Pentagon, in a report to the Congress has praised the Indian contribution in the peacefuldevelopment of Afghanistan.

India continues to support Kabul believing a secure and stable Afghanistan will benefit the regionand facilitate economic corridors into Central Asia.

India and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership declaration in 2011, which formalisedcooperation on governance, economics, commerce, education, public administration, andsecurity/law enforcement.

In its report, the Pentagon also praised the Afghan national security forces for their conduct in therecent presidential elections.

According to the Pentagon, the Taliban-led insurgency failed to achieve its stated operationalobjectives over the reporting period.


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Samsung infringed patents of Apple?

A California jury awarded Apple $119 million far less than it demanded in apatent battle withSamsung over alleged copying of smart phone features, and the jury made the victory even smaller

by finding that Apple illegally used one of Samsungs patents.

The verdict was a far cry from the $2.2 billion Apple sought and the $930 million it won in aseparate 2012 trial making similar patent infringement claims against older Samsung products, mostof which are no longer for sale in the United States.

The jury found that Apple had infringed one of Samsungs patents in creating the iPhone 4 and 5.Jurors awarded Samsung $158,400, trimming that amount from the original $119.62 million verdict.

Samsung had sought $6 million.

Unlike the first trial in San Jose federal court in 2012, Samsung lawyers made Google a central focusof their defence. Google makes the Android software that Samsung and other smartphonemanufacturers use as their operating systems. Samsung argued that Google was Apples real target.

More than 70 percent of smartphones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc.has given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers

The verdict marked the latest intellectual property battle between the worlds top two smartphonemakers. Apple and Samsung have sued each other in courts and trade offices around the world.

Apple and Samsung are locked in a bitter struggle for dominance of the $330 billion worldwidesmartphone market. Samsung has become the leader of the sector with a 31 percent share after beingan also-ran with just 5 per cent in 2007. Apple, meanwhile, has seen its market share slip to about 15

per cent from a high of 27 per cent three years ago.

Japans jobless rate

Japans unemployment rate was flat at 3.6 per cent in March. The number of jobless declined in March for the 46th consecutive month, falling by 340,000 from a

year earlier to 2.46 million people,according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Manufacturers added 190,000 jobs to reach 10.61 million on payrolls, and medical and welfareservices saw an increase of 210,000 employees to 7.48 million, while transport and mailingindustries eliminated 110,000 positions to 3.32 million.

IPR laws defended by India

Stressing that its IPR regime complies with international laws, India bluntly said it will not take partin any unilateral investigation by the US on its intellectual property rights.

ECONOM


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A day after the US Trade Representative (USTR) released its Special 301 report, which kept Indiaout of the Priority Foreign Country list, Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said all issues between thetwo countries, including those related to IPR, should be discussed at the Trade PolicyForum. The US-India Trade Policy Forum is the principal platform for dialogue betweenthe countries, with focus groups on agriculture, investment, IPR, services and tariff and non-tariff

barriers.

India has clearly conveyed to the US that the government of India will not subject itself to theinvestigations. The secretary said India has addressed all concerns of US pharma companies withregard to compulsory licenses (CL), ever-greening of patents, data exclusivity and patent linkage.

The US industry had raised the matter of Indias rejection of patents for Bristol-Myers SquibbsSprycel and Novartis AGs Glivec.

Pressure on Switzerland to disclose bank info

India has strongly objected to Switzerlands denial of information about account details of certainIndians at HSBCs Swiss bank branches, in whose cases incriminating evidence of tax evasionhave been found .

In a strongly-worded letter to his Swiss counterpart, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has alsowarned that an effective exchange of tax-related information was extremely important for

economic co-operation between the two countries and Switzerland must honour its rights andduties agreed to in their bilateral Direct Tax Avoidance Convention (DTAC).

Mr. Chidambaram also said that the interpretation made by Switzerland that it can not shareinformation as per Indias request was not in accordance with international standards.

Under global pressure, Switzerland has agreed to ease its banking secrecy laws in recent years and italso signed a revised tax treaty with India in 2011 to facilitate greater flow of information aboutalleged black money.

However, it has refused to share information with India about the accounts mentioned in the so-called HSBC list which India had received from France through a bilateral treaty.

Exim Banks PDC in Africa

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) plans to set up a project development company (PDC) inAfrica, with the participation of State Bank of India (SBI), IL&FS and African Development Bank.

The new company will essentially look to bring infrastructure projects in Africa to a bankable stageand facilitate exports from India to Africa. This is the first time Exim Bank is looking to set up aPDC and also the first time in Africa.

Meanwhile, the bank announced a net profit of Rs. 710 crore during the financial year 2013-14. Thebank restructured assets worth Rs. 1,400 crore in 2013-14 and it said that it has assets worth Rs. 400crore in the restructuring pipeline.


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These acceptable levels were based on studies of how various life forms survive exposure to therigours associated with space travel, researchers said.

Spore-forming bacteria are of particular concern because spores can withstand certain sterilisationprocedures and may best be able to survive the harsh environments of outer space or planetarysurfaces.

Spores of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 have shown especially high resistance to techniques used toclean spacecraft, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation and peroxide treatment.

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Over time, bacteria genetically mutate to enable them to produce enzymes that render antibiotics inactive, or

they might eradicate a particular drugs target. Initially, there may not be too many such bacteria, but

eventually, selective advantage will allow resistant bacteria to dominate the population, if enough of them

repeatedly encounter the antibiotic. So when drugs are used too often and incorrectly, or when they are used

in animal feed by the meat industry to buff up livestock, antibiotic resistance is promoted.

The tendency to indiscriminately prescribe antibiotics, especially by its poorly regulated private healthcare

sector, has meant that India is identified as a country with growing antibiotic resistance. Public

misinformation on the proper use of antibiotics is also an issue for instance, a 2011 WHO study showed

that 53 per cent of Indians were taking antibiotics without a doctors prescription. But this is far from an

Indian problem, as the WHO report found. Among the WHOs concerns is a lack of incentive for

pharmaceutical companies to develop a strain of drugs that are to be used briefly and sparingly, although

tackling resistance will require a new stream of antibiotics. Compounding this is the absence of a

standardised way to assess and share information on drug-resistant infections. Increasing global coordination

and treating antibiotics as a public good are a must to grappling with the spectre of going back to the past inpublic healthcare.

Like flies, people can be affected by too much Information(Courtesy: The Economic Times)

Before depriving Europeans of their seasonal fix of Indian mangoes, not to mention aubergines and gourds

this summer, the EU and the relevant European governments should have taken note of a study by

Newcastle University of the villainous illegal migrant that has prompted this particular agri-produce ban: the

whitefly.

The main fear is of infestation, compounded by apprehensions about the repercussions of the chemical

cocktail that would be needed to combat the voracious invading bug.

But research has shown that a rather innocuous solution is all that's needed: a summer vegetable punch of

beans, zucchini, cucumbers, cabbages, watermelons and watercress smells.

This heady concoction of aromas sends whiteflies into such a sensation overload that they forget to continue

their chomping spree entirely.

The discovery that the "sensory confusion" effect wherein a surfeit of information causes the stymieing

of normal activities is as applicable to human beings as insects, of course, could have unintended

benefits. All it would need are some appropriate scale-up adjustments.

After all, the public reaction to the sheer volume and variety of the material being spewed out by theprolonged Indian election process is evidence enough that humans are as susceptible as whiteflies toinformation overkill.


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:: INDIA AND THE WORLD ::

Q1.

i) Bronze statue of Nataraja that apparently belonged to Chola era was handed back to India byUS.

ii) India, has contributed around 1.7 lakh peacekeepers to U.N. missions.Which of the above statement/statements is/are true?

a) only ib)

Only ii

c) Both i and iid) Neither i and ii

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Q2.

i) The United States that used drones against Al-Qaeda, defended it by saying that allow it to targetjihadists without sending soldiers into lawless areas where local authorities have little or no

control.ii) White House recently passed the U.S. minimum wage bill with majority votes.

Which of the above statement/statements is/are true?

a) only ib) Only iic) Both i and iid) Neither i and ii

MCQ


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weekly current affairs update for ias exam vol 22 28th april 2014 to 4th may 2014

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