Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 22 September 2016

:: National ::

With the ambition of putting an end to the populism, the Union Cabinet has decided to bring the curtains down on the 92-year-old tradition of presenting a separate Rail Budget.
It has been decided to merge the Rail Budget and the General Budget. Railway Minister will not present budget for the year 2017-18. Instead, Finance Minister will present a “unified” budget.
The decision, taken on the recommendation of a NITI Aayog committee headed by its member Bibek Debroy, reflects the decrease over time in the relative size of the Rail Budget compared to some of the other components in the General Budget, such as defence and roads & highways.
Reform was intended to “deglamorise” the Railways portfolio and discourage the leveraging of the Rail Budget for handing out largesse to vote banks.
Decisions like that are commercially crucial but politically challenging, especially fare hikes would now become routine ones taken any time during the course of a year without as much public glare, said an official.

Intercropping of horticulture and floriculture crops in one field has not only enhanced profit for floriculturists but also ensured economic safety and better returns for them.
With improved technology, cross-cultivation of short and long-term crops — tomato and jasmine — in one acre of land has resulted in increased profitability and regular income throughout the year.
The farmer can also offset the loss that might occur in one crop with the profit in another crop. Small onion (shallot) can also be raised on bunds of irrigation channels. No additional water is necessary.
Adoption of simple technologies will also improve the quality of vegetables. After harvesting onion, cauliflower can be raised in the same field. Such cropping method will enhance the quality, colour and taste of the flower, he says.
Farming should be carried out scientifically, especially raising of hybrid crops as they were sensitive to climate, soil and water condition. Farmers should grow as many crops as possible to make agriculture remunerative.

The landmark Paris agreement on climate change moved closer to reality after 31 countries joined during the United Nations General Assembly.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced confidence that the accord, through which countries commit to take action to stem the planet’s rising temperatures, would come into force by the end of the year.
The accord requires all countries to devise plans to achieve the goal of keeping the rise of temperatures within two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
The countries that joined the accord included Latin American powerhouses Argentina, Brazil and Mexico as well as major fossil fuel powers Brunei and the United Arab Emirates.
To come into force, the Paris agreement needs ratification from 55 countries that account for at least 55 per cent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions.
A total of 60 countries have joined the Paris accord, meeting the threshold. But they account for just less than 48 per cent of emissions, according to UN figures.

India asked Pakistan to end the “persistent and growing violation” of its 2004 undertaking not to let its territory be used by terrorists, even the government is serious about punishing perpetrators of attack on the Uri Army camp.
“The attack in Uri only underlines the fact that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active. We demand that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against India,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“If the Government of Pakistan wishes to investigate these cross-border attacks, India is ready to provide finger prints and DNA samples of terrorists killed in the Uri and Poonch incidents,” the MEA spokesperson said.