Like us on facebook. Please visit: www.facebook.com/EXAMS.CORNER CURRENT AFFAIRS: JANUARY 2012 NATIONAL AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS State of Education Report Dutch government approves burqa ban According to the Annual Status of Education On January 28, 2012, the Dutch Report (ASER), 2011, the grim tale of India’s government approved a ban on face- school education has got grimmer, with new covering clothing, such as a burqa, a niqab, evidence surfacing to show that families a forage cap, or a full face helmet. People across rural India have been ignoring the going on the streets with one of these now guaranteed Right to Education to seek risk being fined for up to 380 euros ($499). private paid education. “It is very important that people in an open Though a whopping 96.8 per cent children society meet each other in an open way,” aged 6 to 14 years (the age group the RTE Minister of Interior Affairs Liesbeth Spies Act covers) are now enrolled in school, said after the cabinet meeting. children’s attendance is declining and so is their ability to read simple text and do In April 2011, France had introduced a simple mathematical calculations. burqa ban and become the first European country to ban people from concealing their Almost half (48.1 per cent) of India’s rural faces in public in any manner. primary school students are either attending private schools or seeking paid IMF seeks $500-billion boost to lending tuition. Across the nation, private school resources enrolment for children aged 6 to 14 years The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is rose from 18.7 per cent in 2006 to 25.6 per proposing to raise its lending capacity by cent in 2011. $500 billion to insulate the global economy against any worsening of Europe’s debt The survey, which covered 6.5 lakh children crisis. in 16,000 villages of 558 districts, found that one in every four rural children was The Washington-based lender currently has attending private schools. In Kerala and about $385 billion available to lend and Manipur, over 60 per cent children go to wants to lift that to $885 billion after private schools. The percentage of students identifying the potential for a $1 trillion going to private schools is 71.1 for Manipur; global financing gap in the next two years. 39.6 for Punjab, 43.4 for Haryana, 37.7 for To incorporate a cash buffer, that means Jammu and Kashmir and 29.6 for Himachal. asking its membership for $600 billion. In UP, 45 per cent students were found to The Washington-based lender is pushing be going to private schools in 2011, as China, Brazil, Russia, India, Japan and oil- against 22 per cent in 2005. In Tamil Nadu, exporting nations to be the top 35 per cent are attending private schools as contributors. against 16 per cent in 2005. And the percentage of students seeking paid tuitions Options for raising the IMF’s resources Like us on facebook. Please visit: www.facebook.com/EXAMS.CORNER is rising. The figure was 22.5 in 2010 and is include opening a trust fund or not rolling 23.3 per cent today. back a 2009 increase. The ASER report further found levels of DO YOU KNOW reading abilities to have declined in several States. Except in Punjab, Gujarat and Tamil Latest data shows that an Indian girl Nadu, reading abilities declined pan India, child aged 1-5 years is 75% more likely where the percentage of fifth graders able to die than an Indian boy, making this to read Class II text dropped across the the worst gender differential in child nation from 53.7 per cent in 2010 to 48.2 mortality for any country in the world. per cent in 2011. Except in Himachal, Standard III children showed decline in India’s per capita income grew by 15.6 ability to read Class I text across India. per cent to Rs 53,331 per annum in 2010-11, crossing the half-a-lakh mark In arithmetic, the situation is worse. As for for the first time. Per capita income is the nation, the percentage of Class III the earnings of each Indian if the graders who can do two-digit subtractions national income is evenly divided with borrowing dropped from 36.3 per cent among the country’s population of in 2010 to 29.9 per cent in 2011. The around 120 crore. decline was seen everywhere except in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where Based on 2004-05 prices, the Indian the situation improved. The percentage of economy expanded by 8.4 per cent in Class V children who can solve subtraction 2010-11. The GDP at constant (2004- problems declined from 70.9 in 2010 to 61 05) prices in 2010-11 has been this year. estimated at Rs 48,85,954 crore, as against Rs 45,07,637 crore in 2009-10. SC sets deadline for government nod for prosecution of civil servant India’s agriculture sector recorded a 7 In a landmark verdict, Supreme Court, on per cent growth in 2010-11. The January 31, 2012, upheld the right of a services sector grew by 9.3 per cent in private citizen to seek sanction for the same year, while construction prosecution of a public servant for sector grew by 8 per cent and corruption, while setting a deadline of four manufacturing grew by 7.6 per cent. months for the government to decide the issue of giving sanction for prosecution of According to the 2012 Environmental public servants facing corruption charges. Performance Index, India is ranked a lowly 125th in addressing pollution A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and and A.K. control and natural resource Ganguly said, “There is no provision either management challenges. Switzerland in the 1988 Act (Prevention of Corruption has been ranked number one. Act) or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) which bars a citizen from filing Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck a complaint for prosecution of a public Shinawatra was the Chief Guest at the servant who is alleged to have committed Like us on facebook. Please visit: www.facebook.com/EXAMS.CORNER an offence.” 2012 Republic Day parade. The two judges also turned down the argument that the issue of sanction for On January 24, 2012 the Reserve Bank prosecution of a public servant arises only of India (RBI) infused more liquidity at the stage of taking cognizance of the case into the system by lowering the cash by the court. reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent. While prescribing a four month time-limit for deciding whether to grant sanction for The Union government has fixed the prosecution of a public servant, Justices import duty on gold at 2 per cent of Singhvi and Ganguly, who wrote separate the value, instead of the earlier Rs 300 judgments, said sanction would be deemed per 10 grams. Excise duty has been to have been granted if the competent fixed at 1.5 per cent of the values, as authority failed to take a decision within the against the fixed rate of Rs 200 per period. gram earlier. Silver will now attract import duty of 6 per cent, as against Rs The order coincided with a growing feeling 1,500 per kg earlier. Diamonds too will that sanction for prosecution of public now attract an import duty of 2 per servants facing corruption charges are cent. deliberately delayed to kill the probe. “Yarwng” is the name of a 95-minute 100% FDI in single-brand a reality now feature film made in Kokborok, the On January 11, 2012, the Union government most popular tribal language in notified the rules allowing 100% foreign Tripura. “Yarwng” means roots in direct investment (FDI) in single-brand English. retail, paving the way for international furniture maker Ikea and several fashion The first nuclear materials security brands such as Louis Vuitton to set up index, compiled by a US nuclear think- stores in the country, and also boost tank Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and sourcing from local manufacturers. Before Economic Intelligence unit (EIU), is a this, 51% FDI was permitted in this segment rating and ranking of the security of retailing which was opened to foreign framework in 32 nations that possess players almost six years ago. one kg or more of weapons-usable nuclear materials. It ranks India a poor Apart from the entry of new players into the 28, just above Iran, Pakistan and North market, the decision is also expected to Korea. Australia is ranked one. result in several existing players, who are operating via tie-ups with Indian companies, National Youth Day is observed on to convert their existing ventures into January 12. wholly-owned subsidiaries. National Girl Child Day is observed on Visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh January 24. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Like us on facebook. Please visit: www.facebook.com/EXAMS.CORNER Wajed, during her visit to Agartala on January 11, 2012, urged the Indian National Electorate Day is observed on government to be liberal in the efforts to January 25. resolve water issues between the two countries, as well as to remove the World Hindi Day is observed on prevailing bilateral trade imbalance. January 10, to mark the first Hindi conference held in Nagpur in 1975. Addressing the India-Bangladesh conclave, Hasina, said, “Improved bilateral trade Martyrdom Day is observed by India relations hold the key to remove poverty, on January 30 every year.