Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
S.NO. NEWS ITEM SYLLUBUS ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE
1. a) I.R Ahead of NSA a) As Pakistan upped the ante ahead of talks between talks, India & Pak Indian and Pakistani NSAs by raising the Kashmir issue in war of words and protesting against the bail granted to the Samjhauta (Pages 1 and 14) blast accused Swami Aseemanand.
2. a) I.R For a durable a) The announcement by Sartaj Aziz that he would be engagement (Page in New Delhi on Aug 23 for talks with NSA Ajit Doval is 12) welcome news.
3. a) I.R US backs Indias a) Restating that the US continues to support Indias UNSC claim, says candidature for a permanent seat, US Ambassador Ambassador (Page Richard Verma said that there has been no change in his 14) countrys position on the expansion of UNSC since 2009.
4. a) I.R The clincher that a) The India-US nuclear deal signed 10 years ago is an was the n-deal exemplar of Indias recognition of strategic patience and (Page 12) the importance of building partnerships and has brought in handsome returns.
5. a) I.R Utilise post- a) Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that India sanctions must take advantage of the new economic opportunities opportunities: Iran that will arise once sanctions on Iran are lifted. (Page 14)
6. a) I.R India, US push to a) In a fresh bid to tackle the mounting threats in tackle mounting cyberspace and from more traditional terrorist rivals such threats, online and as Pakistan-based LeT, senior officials from Indian and offline (Page 15) US govts came together this week to boost collaborative efforts under the aegis of 2015 US-India Cyber Dialogue.
7. a) International Kerry reopens a) US Marines raised the American flag at the embassy Havana embassy in Cuba for the first time in 54 years, symbolically (Page 16) ushering in an era of renewed diplomatic relations between the two Cold War era enemies.
8. a) International Greece approves a) Greek PM Tsipras faced the widest rebellion yet third bailout (Page from his leftist lawmakers as Parliament approved a new 16) bailout programme, forcing him to consider a confidence vote that could pave the way for early elections.
9. a) National Farmers may get a) In his second Independence Day speech, PM Modi
1 b) Social issue Modis I-Day gift is likely to announce a new crop income insurance (Pages 1 and 15) scheme for all farmers nationwide.
10. a) National Santhara in the a) Rajasthan High Court judgment which criminalised eyes of the law b) Social issue the Jain ritual of fasting unto death unwittingly bared the (Page 13) cultural divide between disparate end-of-life concepts.
11. a) Economy Yuan devaluation: a) The devaluation of Chinese yuan currency is a experts divided matter of concern and this could lead to a situation where over India trade China will start dumping its goods into India. But the competitiveness govt has assured that it will safeguard the sectors which factors (Page 17) are likely to be affected by the Chinese currency.
12. a) Economy Hopes of a) Inflation is under control, manufacturing and IIP economic stability figures are encouraging and there is growth in indirect tax (Page 17) revenues.
13. a) National Select ASI sites a) Tipu Sultans Summer Palace in Bengaluru is all set all set to come b) History to go beyond just being a tourist spot. The space will alive (Page 10) accommodate collaborative programmes from external agencies willing to join hands with the Archaeological Survey of India.
S.NO. NEWS ITEM SYLLUBUS BACKGROUND IMPORTANT POINTS
1. a) I.R a) India – Pakistan Ahead of NSA a) As Pakistan raised the stake relations talks, India & Pak ahead of talks between Indian in war of words b) Border disputes and Pakistani NSAs by raising (Pages 1 and 14) c) LoC Kashmir issue and protesting against the bail granted to the d) Kashmir issue Samjhauta blast accused Swami e) Terrorism Aseemanand, India restated that f) Lashkar-e-Taiba the only struggle in Kashmir (LeT) was Pak-sponsored terrorism. g) National b) High Commissioner Abdul Investigation Agency Basit said that Pakistan will (NIA) never abandon Kashmiris and their cause. His comments came on the day Paks NSA Sartaj Aziz confirmed that he would
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
lead a delegation for the talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval on Aug 23 and 24. While India has stressed that terrorism will be the main topic of discussions, Basits speech is an indication that the Kashmir issue will be brought up. c) Pakistan responded to Indias protest against bail to the 26/11 accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, by summoning the Deputy High Commissioner and lodging a protest over the NIAs decision not to oppose the bail to Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the 2007 Samjhauta blasts.
2. a) I.R a) India – Pakistan For a durable a) The announcement by relations engagement (Page Sartaj Aziz that he would be in 12) b) Border disputes New Delhi on Aug 23 for talks c) LoC with NSA Ajit Doval is welcome news. d) SCO summit b) Once the visit is announced, e) SAARC summit it will give both countries an opportunity to work out a way to ensure a sustainable bilateral engagement. Evidence that India and Pakistan are working towards such an objective has been sorely missing. c) PM Modi got off to a good start by calling leaders of the neighbouring countries to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, but events since then have left much to be desired, and there has been a lack of meaningful follow-up where
3 Pakistan is concerned. d) By August, the Foreign Secretary-level talks had been called off at the eleventh hour on the rather unconvincing ground that the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi had met leaders of the Hurriyat Conference. e) It bears reiteration that when Modi and Sharief met again at Ufa where they attended the SCO summit, hopes for an honest bilateral engagement were once again kindled by a joint statement that promised meetings between NSAs, the Director-General of BSF and his counterpart from Pakistan Rangers, and the two Directors- General of Military Operations. f) On the issue of terrorism, neither India nor Pakistan has ever been short of talking points. The challenge that both Doval and Aziz will face will relate to how India and Pakistan should work to transform the relationship to something more meaningful and durable than one that is episodic. g) Their first task will be to have a working ceasefire going along the LoC. It would be best as a sign of serious intention if it could be put in place before Modi goes to Islamabad for the 19th SAARC summit.
3. a) I.R a) India – US relations US backs Indias a) Restating that the US
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
b) Defence ties UNSC claim, says continues to support Indias Ambassador c) United Nations candidature for a permanent (Page 14) Security Council (UNSC) seat, US Ambassador Richard Verma said that there has been no change in his countrys position on the expansion of UNSC since 2009. b) He said that the US would stand by President Obamas bilateral commitment that in the event of a vote on the issue, Washington would support New Delhi. c) The Ambassador marked out cooperation for protecting the global commons such as the high seas, skies, space and the Internet as emerging driver of India-US strategic cooperation. He said such cooperation could lay the groundwork for the next big development in bilateral relations. d) In a clear reference to contested Chinese claims in the Pacific, he said both India and the US were aligned to counter the use of intimidation or force to assert unfounded territorial or maritime claims. e) He voiced for expanding bilateral defence cooperation, and proposed that the US and India could build fighter aircraft together, pointing out that the country faced critical shortage of frontline fighter aircraft, limiting its capabilities to keep the skies patrolled and safe.
5 4. a) I.R a) India – US relations The clincher that a) In July this year, Iran and was the n-deal b) India – US civil the P5+1 countries reached a (Page 12) nuclear deal nuclear agreement, ending a c) Iran – P5+1 nuclear period of exclusion and deal sanctions of the West toward Iran. July also marked the 10th d) Irans nuclear anniversary of the iconic India- programme US civil nuclear deal. However, e) IAEA the objective and scope of the f) Nuclear Suppliers two deals could not have been Group (NSG) more different. g) Multilateral Export b) The Iran deal reduces and Control Regime (MECR) constricts Irans capabilities as a h) Pressurised Heavy nuclear power. On the other Water Reactors (PHWRs) hand, the India-US nuclear deal i) Light Water Reactors liberated India in many ways, (LWRs) effectively dismantled the complex of sanctions, and has resulted in India being recognised as a state with advanced nuclear technology. c) The Iran nuclear agreement weakened Irans nuclear programme, and denied it the capability of becoming a nuclear threshold state in the foreseeable future. Restrictions on Iran include a freeze on its nuclear research programme; preventing it from producing fissile material for a nuclear weapon at its nuclear facilities for at least 10 years; ensuring that it would not have recourse to advanced centrifuges for at least a decade; restricting its store of enriched uranium to levels below that needed for a nuclear device; and blocking its plutonium programme.
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
d) As against this, the India- US nuclear deal was truly path- breaking in terms of its favourable impact. While India did not host any event to mark the deal, US brought together some of the movers and shakers from both sides, highlighting its transformational nature and how it was helping to shape the course of world events in the 21st century. The thrust was on how to further strengthen cooperation between the two largest democracies in the world, and sustain underlying spirit behind the deal. e) Criticism that the India-US deal had failed to deliver amounts to missing the wood for trees. Measuring outcomes based on a select laundry list of items (complaining that energy security remains vanishing, that many dual-use technologies remain out of Indias reach, and that entry into the MECR still avoids India) is misleading. It is because the real achievement is that nuclear deal has been the key to technology redemption. f) Energy security was one of main considerations underlying the deal, and considerable progress has been made in this direction, with much more to come. Equally important was the need to find ways and means to dismantle technology denial regime that obstructed Indias scientific, technological
7 and economic progress. While for US, strategic convergence was one of the imperatives, Indias focus was on energy and technology initiatives. g) With the nuclear deal, which has the imprimatur of the US and IAEA, together with an unconditional waiver given by NSG, India is well-positioned to violate the digital divide that restricts Western companies and govts from supplying us crucial technology. h) The civil nuclear energy sector has been biggest gainer. The lifting of restrictions on civil nuclear trade between India and the rest of the world has paved the way for uranium imports. Availability of imported uranium ensures that our PHWRs and LWRs can now operate at full capacity. i) Fast Reactor Programme can correspondingly be accelerated. Indias experiment with Fast Breeder Reactors should gain still further momentum. Spent fuel from PHWRs recycled in Fast Breeder Reactors after reprocessing, has the potential of increasing our energy quotient several-fold. As the Fast Breeder Programme advances, and attains a certain level of performance, we should also be able to utilise our extensive thorium deposits.
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
j) Linked to the nuclear deal are other changes, some of which are already evident. The US has effected certain changes to its export control laws, and with this, India and the US are today exploring co-production and co-development in defence technologies. After years of isolation, the US and Indian scientific communities are coming together in path- breaking joint research in several sectors. k) Possibly the most enduring impress of the India-US nuclear deal is in creating a new awareness across the world that Indias ancient wisdom is now decorated with new paradigms of thought, action and behaviour. Indias successful diplomatic initiative to win friends among the global community for the nuclear deal has helped many of them to view India from a totally new perspective. A new framework of relationships across the world has been established.
5. a) I.R a) India – Iran relations Utilise post- a) Iranian Foreign Minister sanctions b) Trade ties Javad Zarif said that India must opportunities: take advantage of the new Iran (Page 14) c) Iran – P5+1 nuclear economic opportunities that will deal arise once sanctions on Iran are lifted. b) He said that India should invest in Iranian infrastructure particularly, railway construction, while Iran would
9 look at oil investments in India as well. c) He is on a briefing tour of various countries to discuss the nuclear deal forged with the P- 5+EU countries in July, as well as future bilateral relations.
6. a) I.R a) India – US relations India, US push to a) In a fresh bid to tackle the tackle mounting b) US-India Cyber mounting threats in cyberspace threats, online and Dialogue 2015 and from more traditional offline (Page 15) terrorist rivals such as Pakistan- c) Cyber security based LeT, senior officials from cooperation Indian and US govts came together this week to boost d) Terrorism collaborative efforts under the aegis of 2015 US-India Cyber Dialogue. b) In a series of meetings on August 11 and 12, leaders from both sides appeared to define the cyber space threat in the broadest terms, including within its ambit enhanced cyber security information sharing, cyber incident management, combating cyber crime, Internet governance issues, norms of state behaviour in cyber space and cyber security cooperation in the context of Indian PM Modis Make in India initiative.
7. a) International a) US – Cuba relations Kerry reopens a) US Marines raised the Havana embassy b) Cold War American flag at the embassy in (Page 16) Cuba for the first time in 54 years, symbolically ushering in an era of renewed diplomatic relations between the two Cold War era enemies. b) The symbolic event took
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
place 8 months after Havana and Washington agreed to restore ties and nearly 4 weeks after the US and Cuba formally renewed diplomatic relations and upgraded their diplomatic missions to embassies. c) Critics of Obamas move (which seeks to end decades of US isolation and was announced last December in a landmark agreement with Cuban President Raul Castro) complain the Cuban govt has made no concessions in exchange for diplomatic ties.
8. a) International a) Greece debt crisis Greece approves a) Greek PM Tsipras faced third bailout the widest rebellion yet from his (Page 16) leftist lawmakers as Parliament approved a new bailout programme, forcing him to consider a confidence vote that could pave the way for early elections. b) He comfortably won the vote on countrys third financial rescue by foreign creditors in five years. That clears the way for Eurozone Ministers to approve the deal later. c) But the vote laid bare the depth of anger within Tsipras leftist Syriza party at austerity measures in exchange for €85 billion in aid, as 43 lawmakers voted against or abstained.
9. a) National a) Crop income Farmers may get a) In his second Independence insurance scheme Modis I-Day gift b) Social issue Day speech, PM Modi is likely (Pages 1 and 15) b) Pradhan Mantri to announce a new crop income
11 Jeevan Jyoti Yojana insurance scheme for all farmers c) Pradhan Mantri nationwide. It is expected to Suraksha Bima Yojana cushion them against deficient d) Atal Pension Yojana monsoon, inadequate storage facilities, lack of assured power e) Swachh Vidyalaya supply and restrictions on free campaign trade between States. f) Financial inclusion b) Govt expects the proposed g) Direct Benefit scheme to address inadequate Transfer (DBT) farm insurance cover. A report by RBI in June said that only 4 percent of the farmers were reported to have crop insurance cover and only 19 percent ever used any. The report recommended that the insurance cover be expanded. c) The top official said the scheme would be rolled out on the DBT platform, along the lines of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and the Atal Pension Yojana. The DBT will address the issue of delayed settlement of claims. d) But Modi can still claim to have delivered on some of the announcements he made last year - primarily, the financial inclusion initiative and ensuring that every school in the country has a toilet.
10. a) National a) Santhara Santhara in the a) When Samuel Huntington eyes of the law b) Social issue b) Jainism coined the phrase clash of civilisations its unlikely that the (Page 13) c) Section 309 and Section 306 of the Indian American political scientist was Penal Code (IPC) thinking of an emaciated Jain muni, peacefully awaiting death on a bed of dry grass after
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
weeks of starvation. But the angst that has gripped the Jain community following the Rajasthan High Courts verdict Aug 10 against Santhara (the centuries-old Jain practice of starving to death) reflects just such a conflict. b) Courts ruling on a 2006 public interest litigation petition against Santhara held that it would henceforth be treated as suicide and made punishable under Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) and Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of IPC. In its directive to the State that the latter shall stop and abolish the practice in any form and register any complaint against it as a criminal case - the court made its rejection of Jain philosophy underlying the practice unequivocally clear. c) As suicide is an act of extreme desperation fuelled by anguish and hopelessness, a Santhara practitioner has arrived at that decision after calm introspection, with an intent to cleanse oneself of karmic burdens and attain the highest state of transcendental well- being. For him, Santhara is an act of spiritual purification premised on an exercise of individual autonomy. d) Dietary abstinence as religious ritual is not unique to Jainism. But none of the others
13 takes fasting to the point of starvation and ultimately death as does Santhara. Since any kind of eating or drinking would result in a disruption of and add a burden to the ecology around them, orthodox Jains consider zero-consumption i.e. starvation unto death a la Santhara - to be the high-point among traditions of austerity and self-denial, and therefore the truest real-world act of ahimsa or non-violence, the fundamental belief of Jainism. e) A conspiracy of history, circumstance and expedient decision-making has resulted in our law-making and law- administering bodies being structured on the Westminster model of our colonial rulers, not to mention our judicial machinery and its key statutes (criminal laws) remaining largely untouched since the time they were first designed by the British and written with their colonial feather-pens. f) The IPC set the ball rolling for a fundamental discordance between the Western ideologies that created the institutions and procedures of the Raj, and the Eastern philosophies that shaped the world-view of the people those institutions were meant to serve. Instead of the earth, the quiet religions of sub- continent have thus inherited an ill-fitting legal template forged
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
in the smithies of the West. g) The Santhara case serves to highlight the seemingly irreconcilable difference in perspective on the specific issue of suicide. In contrast to a Christian believer who looks upon the human body as a God- given temple of the human soul and therefore, beyond the realm of willful and deliberate destruction by any human being, a devout Jain views that same body as a prison of the human soul, the fulfillment of whose needs corresponds to the accumulation of bad karma. h) This basic contradiction between a statute founded largely on a Christian-inspired bioethic and the essentially Eastern variant of the idea of spiritual advancement through abstinence and renunciation, rears its head whenever a religious practice like Santhara collides with contemporary law. i) Although the conventional idea of secularism in western democracies largely keeps religion out of governance, the influx of immigrants of various faiths in recent times and their assertive stance on their rights of religious practice has made these countries confront the problem anew. The issue of burqa-wearing in France manifests the same law-religion conflict. The unease over
15 Santhara may well be part of a global discontent.
11. a) Economy a) Yuan devaluation Yuan devaluation: a) The devaluation of Chinese experts divided b) Trade deficit yuan currency is a matter of over India trade concern and this could lead to a competitiveness situation where China will start factors (Page 17) dumping its goods into India. But the govt has assured that it will safeguard the sectors which are likely to be affected by the Chinese currency. b) The devaluation of yuan has put a special focus on the potential of the move eroding Indias trade competitiveness. Experts differ on the impact with some saying that the competitiveness factor were beyond currency movements, while others saying that India can maintain its competitiveness if rupee also declines. c) India has had a sustained trade deficit with China which touched nearly $50 billion in fiscal 2015. The risk for India comes from two ways: one cheaper imports from China affecting domestic companies and second it would affect Indias exports to other countries.
12. a) Economy a) Economic stability Hopes of a) Wholesale price inflation economic stability b) Inflation fell to -4.05 percent in July from -2.4 percent in June (a historic (Page 17) c) WPI inflation low) sparking hopes of a rate d) CPI inflation cut by RBI possibly even before e) Food inflation its next scheduled policy announcement on Sept 29.
Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 15-08-15
b) The July WPI data marks the ninth straight month of contraction in wholesale prices, and follows CPI inflation slowing to 3.8 percent in July from 5.4 percent in June. The contraction in WPI inflation (which measures price-rise in inputs primarily for factory production) can be attributed largely to falling food and global commodity prices. c) Finance Minister said the inflation is under control, the manufacturing figures, IIP figures are quite encouraging, the indirect tax revenue figures are extremely encouraging. d) Food inflation as measured in the CPI also slowed in July, from 5.5 percent in June to 2.15 percent in July.
13. a) National a) Archaeological Select ASI sites a) Official said ASI had Survey of India (ASI) all set to come b) History drawn up a long list of alive (Page 10) b) Tippu Sultans Palace monuments across the country c) Chitradurga fort for opening them for cultural events. That includes Tipu d) Hampi Palace in Bengaluru, the famed e) Ajantha & Ellora fort of Chitradurga in Central f) Khajuraho Karnataka, Hampi in Northern Karnataka, Mahabalipuram in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, Ajantha & Ellora in Maharashtra, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh and Taj Mahal in Agra.
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