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Daily G.K. - Top Stories

29 Jan 2019

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

US, Taliban Agree in Principle to Afghan Peace Framework

  •  American and Taliban officials have agreed in principle to the framework of a peace deal in which the insurgents guarantee to prevent Afghan territory from being used by militant outfits like al-Qaida and Islamic State, and that could lead to a full pullout of US troops in return for larger concessions from the Taliban.
  • The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, said those concessions must include the Taliban's agreeing to a ceasefire and to talk directly with the Afghan government, issues that the insurgents have doggedly opposed in the past.
  • After nine years of halting efforts to reach a peace deal with the Taliban, the draft framework, though preliminary, is the biggest tangible step toward ending a two-decade war that has cost tens of thousands of lives and profoundly changed American foreign policy.
View Month Wise

ENVIRONMENT

India's Tiger Action Plan 2012-2018

  •  Protecting tiger habitat and tiger corridors is a priority for the country, according to India's tiger action plan (2012 to 2018). 
  • The latter is especially important because, while the country has seen an increase in total tiger population with numbers going up from 1,411 in 2006 to 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in 2014, it recorded a 12.6% decline in tiger occupancy in connecting tiger habitats outside tiger reserves between 2006 and 2010, the latest period for which this data is available.
View Month Wise

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Iran Eyeing Construction at Chabahar Port

  •  Close on the heels of the launch of a new shipping route connecting three Indian ports with Chabahar, Iran is eyeing the construction of a gas pipeline and a railway link to Zahedan to boost activities at the strategic port.
  • The first Indian container vessel operating on the new route set sail from Mumbai and called at Mundra and Kandla ports in Gujarat before berthing at Shahid Beheshti terminal of Iran's Chabahar port, whose operations are controlled by state-owned India Ports Global Limited. The vessel will continue to Bandar Abbas, the final port of call on the route.
  • As part of measures to boost infrastructure at the port and its free trade zone, Iran is looking at the construction of a nearly 200-km gas pipeline from Iranshahr to Chabahar and a railway link of about 500 km from Chabahar to Zahedan, which is close to the Afghan border.
  • As part of joint efforts to promote Chabahar port and attract investments, India and Iran will organise the "Chabahar Day" conference on February 26.
  • Delegates from central Asian countries, traders and freight companies are expected to attend the event.

Tata Steel to Sell Business to HBIS Group

  •  Tata Steel Ltd has agreed to sell most of its steel business in South-east Asia to China's stateowned HBIS Group as the Indian steel maker continues efforts to trim its massive debt and focus on its fast-growing home market.
  • Mumbai-based Tata Steel will sell a 70% stake to HBIS for $327 million in cash. It will retain a 30% stake.
  • Under the deal, TS Global Holdings Pte. Ltd (TSGH), an indirect wholly-owned unit of Tata Steel, signed definitive agreements with an entity controlled by HBIS to sell its entire stake in NatSteel Holdings Pte Ltd. and Tata Steel (Thailand).

3 ex-Tata Execs to Launch $1bn Fund with Quantum

  •  Three former Tata leaders, led by Mukund Rajan, will launch a $1-billion public equities fund in association with Quantum Advisors, a boutique asset management company.
  • The fund will invest mainly in listed midcap companies that are doing well on environment, social and governance (ESG) fronts.
  • Quantum will hold 50% in the fund, while the balance will be owned equally by the three former Tata veterans.
  • The venture will be chaired by Rajan, who used to be the Tata Group's brand custodian and a key member of the executive council during Cyrus Mistry's tenure as the conglomerate's chairman.
  • Rajan is joined by former Tata Capital honcho Govind Sankaranarayanan and ex-Tata Sons director Alan Rosling.
  • The fund plans to invest at least $40 million in a company in a bid to acquire a significant stake — to make a difference in terms of improving its governance standards. 
  • The proposed public equities fund by former Tata executives comes at a time when global sponsors (called limited partners or LPs in industry parlance) have turned cautious and selective in choosing Indian asset managers.
  • These sponsors — global pension and sovereign wealth funds, family offices, university endowments — are consolidating their India exposure behind local fund managers with a proven track record.
View Month Wise

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

'Superbug' Surfaces in Arctic

  •  An antibiotic-resistant gene first discovered in India has been found some 13,000km away in the Arctic region, triggering concerns about the speed with which superbugs can spread across the world.
  • Researchers found the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (blaNDM-1) gene, which helps bacteria produce an enzyme making it immune to one of the world's last line of antibiotic defence (carbapenems), in Svalbard, an archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
  • Encroachment into areas like the Arctic reinforces how rapid and far-reaching the spread of antibiotic resistance has become.
  • The findings were published in the journal Environmental International. The researchers analysed DNA from 40 soil cores at eight locations along the Kongsfjorden region of Svalbard, where a total of 131 antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) were detected.
  • The place where researchers recovered the samples is marked by rugged, remote terrain with temperatures varying from 3°C in summers to -20°C in winters, and have almost no population except for visiting research groups.

IIT-Mandi Finds New Treatment for Zika

  •  Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, have identified a drug target in the Zika virus that can bind with an existing antimalarial drug to inhibit the spread of the disease in the human body.
  • Zika is a viral disease transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquitoes that also transmit diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. It is a self-limiting disease that causes fever, rashes, joint pain and red eyes, but in pregnant women it has been associated with babies born with microcephaly (a small head and abnormal brain development).
  • The researchers found that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a drug that is used to treat malaria, can inhibit the NS2B-NS3 protease necessary for the replication of the Zika virus.
  • Giri's team worked closely with Indira Mysorekar from Washington University at St. Louis, USA, to study the enzyme kinetic studies. Earlier, Mysorekar's team had suggested that the use of HCQ can prevent the transmission of Zika from mother to foetus.

Eggs to Pave Way for Cancer

  •  Genetically modified chickens that produce human proteins in their eggs can offer a cost-effective method of manufacturing drugs widely used for treating cancer and other diseases.
  • The research, which initially focused on producing high quality proteins for use in scientific research, found the drugs work at least as well as the same proteins produced using existing methods.
  • According to researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, high quantities of the proteins can be recovered from each egg using a simple purification system and there are no adverse effects on the chickens themselves, which lay eggs as normal.
  • The findings, published in the journal BMC Biotechnology, provide sound evidence for using chickens as a cheap method of producing high quality drugs for use in research studies and, potentially one day, in patients. Eggs are already used for growing viruses used as vaccines, such as the flu jab.
  • This new approach is different because the therapeutic proteins are encoded in the chicken's DNA and produced as part of the egg white.
  • The team have initially focused on two proteins that are essential to the immune system and have therapeutic potential -- a human protein called IFNalpha2a, which has powerful antiviral and anticancer effects, and the human and pig versions of a protein called macrophage-CSF, which is being developed as a therapy that stimulates damaged tissues to repair themselves.
View Month Wise

SPORTS

Nepal Record First Overseas ODI Series Win

  •  Nepal's skipper Paras Khadka smashed his maiden One-day International century and propelled his team to a maiden overseas series win over United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the ICC Academy Oval. 
  • Khadka scored 115 runs off just 109 balls to become the first-ever Nepali batsman to record ODI ton before being trapped leg before. UAE, batting first, had hit 254 for six in 50 overs.
  • Nepal achieved the target in 44.4 overs losing six wickets. UAE 254/6 in 50 overs (S Anwar 87, M Boota 59, P Khadka 2/44) vs Nepal 255/6 in 44.4 overs (P Khadka 115, I Haider 2/50).

Asia Cup Final

  •  Striker Yuya Osako scored twice in 11 second-half minutes to help send four-time champions Japan into the Asian Cup final with a 3-0 victory over tournament favourites Iran.
  • The Werder Bremen forward headed the first home in the 56th minute and added his second from the penalty spot to help set up a date with either hosts the United Arab Emirates or Qatar in final in Abu Dhabi.
  • Genki Haraguchi added a gloss to the scoreline with a powerful run and shot in stoppage time at the end of the match but the contest was already long decided.
  • Iran enjoyed the better of a competitive, if goalless, first half but were completely deflated by Osako's twin strikes.

Federer drops to 6th in ATP rankings

  •  Novak Djokovic strengthened his grip at the top of the men's ATP tennis ranking following his destruction of Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.
  • An outclassed Nadal, beaten in straight sets in just over two hours, held on to second spot in the rankings while Roger Federer slipped from third to six place. Federer, the defending champion, was eliminated in the round of 16 by Greek giant-killer Stefanos Tsitsipas.
  • Alexander Zverev replaces Federer in third position ahead of Juan Martin del Potro, fourth, who missed the Australian Open. Tsitsipas, eliminated by Nadal in the semifinals, jumped three places and is knocking on the door of the top 10 in 12th place. 
View Month Wise

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Lokpal Panel to Conduct its First Meeting on Appointments 

  •  The panel set up to recommend names for appointments to anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal will hold its first meeting on 29 January 2019. 
  • The government had in September constituted the eightmember panel to recommend names for the top anti-corruption ombudsman. Former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai is heading the panel.
  • The committee also includes retired bureaucrat Lalit K Panwar, former Allahabad high court judge Sakha Ram Singh Yadav, ex-State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash, Indian Space Research Organisation head A S Kiran Kumar, former Gujarat police chief S S Khandwawala and ex-solicitor general Ranjit Kumar.
  • As per the guidelines, the search committee would recommend the names for selection to a Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led panel.
  • According to the Lokpal Act, the Prime Minister's panel has the Lok Sabha speaker, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, chief justice of India or an apex court judge he nominates as its members.
  • The Lokpal will have a chairman and eight members. It can inquire into offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act including against the Prime Minister with specified safeguards.
  • Sitting and former Union ministers as well as current and former Parliament members also come under its purview.
  • The Lokpal can look into allegations of corruption against government employees and those of companies, societies or trusts set up by acts of Parliament or financed or controlled by the central government. Employees of associations of people receiving funding from the government or having received public donation or foreign funding up to Rs 10 lakh annually, too, come under the Lokpal's purview.

EC Wants Ban on All Party E-Ads 48 hrs Before Polls

  •  The Election Commission has sought an amendment to the law to prevent social media and other digital platforms from carrying political advertisements in the final 48 hours before elections.
  • While Section 126 of the Representation of People Act prevents electronic media from airing political advertisements in the 'silent period' before elections, the EC in 2015 brought in rules that made pre-certification mandatory for campaign material to be published in newspapers during the 48 hours.
  • Social media platforms, which are under scrutiny the world over for how they influence election outcomes, however, have been completely out of the purview of the pre-screening and prohibition rules.
  • The EC has written to the law ministry, suggesting to extend the provisions under Section 126 to digital and print media as well, keeping in mind the differential approach to print and electronic media, and the rising impact of social media on elections.
  • While Section 126 expressly bans television channels from broadcasting "political matter" during the period, lack of any backing by law has led to print media carrying political advertisements during the silent period despite the curbs imposed by the EC.
  • Accordingly, the EC suggested inclusion of 'print media' and 'other entities' within the ambit of Section 126 (1) (b). Other entities will pertain to all social media formats.
View Month Wise

PERSONS IN NEWS

Starbucks' ex-CEO Readies for US Prez Run

  •  Howard Schultz, the former chief executive of Starbucks and a self described "lifelong Democrat,"  is preparing to run for president as an independent and had already begun the groundwork required to be on the ballot in all 50 states.
  • Schultz said he planned to crisscross the country for the next three months as part of a book tour before deciding whether to enter the race. 
  • The possibility of Schultz's candidacy as an independent has drawn condemnation from Democrats, who said that an independent run would split the vote on Election Day 2020 and hand Trump a second term. 
View Month Wise

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES

Kerala Temples Prasadam to be Approved by FSSAI

  •  Temples in Kerala are set to offer prasadam [offerings made to deities] approved by the country's food regulator, the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) — a decision that has been taken in the wake of a series of food poisoning incidents in some Karnataka temples that killed more than a dozen people in the past two months.
  • To begin with, at least 10 major temples will implement the new policy for hygienic preparation of
  • prasadam from March 1.
  • All offering packets will carry manufacture and expiry dates, contents and FSSAI licence number. All prasad vendors will have to obtain an FSSAI licence.
  • Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have implemented BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God), a project conceived in 2017 that mandates food safety licence for all offerings, including free food serving (anna danam) and pooja prasad. 
View Month Wise

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION

CBSE to Lay Stress on Practicals in Humanities

  •  The 2020 Class XII CBSE exams will see the introduction of practical and project work in the evaluation of humanities subjects on the lines of economics and science.
  • CBSE's move to bring about changes in subjects for which theory-based learning has been the norm will also coincide with more objective-type questions in the board examination.
  • The objective is to make exams more relevant and practical-based instead of theory-heavy which promotes rote learning. There is a plan to introduce practical or project work in subjects such as languages and social sciences. 
  • There could also be an increase in marks allotted to practicals in subjects where they are already part of the examination system. The revamped scheme is likely to be in place for the 2019-20 academic session and 2020 board exams. School teachers may also have a greater say in award of marks for practicals and projects being considered by the CBSE.
  • Currently, practicals for board exams are conducted in schools, but the marking is done by an external examiner deputed by CBSE.
  • As per the reforms being considered, school teachers will be allowed to award a certain percentage of marks. While it is yet to be finalised, school teachers could have a say in 15 marks, while the external examiner decides the other 15.
  • This will be a balanced assessment as teachers who have worked with students would know their strengths and weaknesses better.
View Month Wise

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

HT Remains Undisputed Leader in Delhi and NCR

  • Hindustan Times continues to be the undisputed No. 1 English-language newspaper for the 18th time in a row in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) with 1.7 million readers, the latest Indian Readership Survey shows.
  • Published by HT Media Ltd, HT has also retained its spot as the second most read English newspaper in the country, with 3.2 million readers. The closest competitor in Delhi-NCR is The Times of India, trailing at 1.4 million readers.
  • HT continues to strengthen its presence in Punjab and has emerged the No. 1 newspaper of the region again, with a readership of 352,000. In Mumbai, HT is a strong No. 2 with a readership of 859,000.
View Month Wise

ART AND CULTURE

Sangam Music App to Raise Heritage Awareness

  •  Sangam Music, made an appearance on the App store and the Playstore. Featuring devotional songs and classical compositions by musicians such as the late M S Subbulakshmi, the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the late Gangubhai Hangal, and several contemporary stalwarts, the app isn't the brainchild of a record company.
  • Sangam Music is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, through the National Cultural Audiovisual Archives of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, an autonomous body under the ministry.
  • The app has not been officially launched yet. It is still undergoing testing for feature enhancements and user interface refinements. The idea is to make people, especially young people, familiar with the diverse classical and folk music heritage of the country.

Ghalib's Mural Unveiled at Mumbai

  •  There couldn't have been better ambassadors for legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib (1797 – 1869) than eminent poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar and scriptwriter Javed Siddiqui.
  • After unveiling India's first mural of Ghalib (42X10ft) at Nagpada junction in Mumbai, Akhtar and Siddiqui, along with BMC officials, politicians, including corporator Rais Shaikh who initiated the project, moved to the massive Jijamata Udyan (Zoo in Byculla) to remember Ghalib's singular contributions to India's culture.
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