Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 January 2017
:: National ::
All applications challenging Jallikattu to be heard on Jan 31
The Supreme Court said all applications filed to challenge Tamil Nadu’s amendment of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960, allowing jallikattu to be held in the State, will be heard on January 31, 2017.
Centre has filed an application seeking to withdraw its notification, bringing bulls back into the stable of performing animals under the 1960 Act in the light of the new law passed by the Tamil Nadu State Assembly.
Government’s application would also be heard along with the applications filed by Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, other animal rights organisations and activists.
23rd edition of CII Partnership started
The 23rd edition of CII Partnership Summit and the second Sunrise Andhra Pradesh Investment Meet began on a grand note with 128 MoUs signed for an investment of about Rs. 4.25 lakh crore.
This could lead to generation of as many as 5. 5 lakh jobs. About 2,000 delegates with representatives from 50 countries attended the first day of the two-day summit.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised hand-holding for AP to become most developed State due to injustice done to it during bifurcation.
CM N. Chandrababu Naidu announced development of Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati as mega cities, 14 smart cities and creating economic cities in 100 to 300 acres in all the 110 municipalities.
Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre had high regard for AP and it would continue to extend special treatment to the State in sanctioning of various projects.
Rural economy impacted due to drought and demonetisation
Drought and demonetisation of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 currency notes appear to have cast a spell on rural credit in Tamil Nadu.
Fewer farmers have taken short-term crop loans through primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACSS) during the current financial year.
As on December 31, 2016, the number of farmers who availed themselves of loans was around 5.44 lakh, about 3.25 lakh lower than the previous year on the corresponding day.
Between April and December 2016, a sum of Rs. 3,028 crore was disbursed, whereas 8.69 lakh farmers had taken loans to the tune of approximately Rs. 4,712 crore during the corresponding period in 2015.
The successive failure of two monsoons — southwest and northeast — has affected several sections of farmers.
A few days ago, the Union Cabinet decided to provide a waiver of 4 % interest upfront to those who took loans between April 1, 2016 and September 30, 2016.
In Tamil Nadu, those who make prompt repayment of loans do not have to pay interest as the Central government provides 3 % rebate and the State government 4 % subvention.
Thanks to the State government’s recent scheme of waiver of agricultural loans, those who have not been benefitted by this move may have defaulted in their payments, rendering them ineligible to get fresh loans.
Supreme court says asks centre and states to explain farmers death (Register and Login to read Full News)
Nalanda University gets new Chancellor (Register and Login to read Full News)
:: International ::
US determined to implement protectionist policies
As President Donald Trump appears determined to implement his protectionist campaign promises, the U.S. could be headed for a trade war with partners.
The White House said that a 20% tariff on imports from southern neighbour Mexico is among the ideas under consideration to fund a border wall between the two countries.
Mr. Trump crossed swords with his Mexican counterpart on Twitter, in a first. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the cancellation of his first meeting with Mr. Trump, which was scheduled for next week, on Twitter.
The wall and the tariff proposal have outraged Mexico, many U.S. leaders, including Republicans, but Mr. Trump is unfazed. The order was issued without any calculation of costs or timeline.
The U.S.-Mexico border is 3,200 km long and nearly one-third of it has barriers of some sort. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he would force Mexico to pay for the wall. Mexico has rejected the idea.
After questions were raised, the White House initially said a 20% tariff on Mexican imports to the U.S. would fund the wall. It later clarified that a tariff was one of the several proposals on the table.
Imports to the U.S. from Mexico in 2015 were valued at $316.4 billion.
:: Science and Technology ::
Human organs can be grown in pigs after some time
For the first time, biologists have succeeded in growing human stem cells in pig embryos, shifting from science fiction to the realm of the possible the idea of developing human organs in animals for later transplant.
The approach involves generating stem cells from a patient’s skin, growing the desired new organ in a large animal like a pig, and then harvesting it for transplant into the patient’s body.
The human-organ-growing pigs would be examples of chimeras, animals composed of two different genomes.
They would be generated by implanting human stem cells into an early pig embryo, resulting in an animal composed of mixed pig and human cells.
The Salk team’s report was published in Cell and the Stanford-Tokyo team’s in Nature. The two reports together establish the feasibility of trying to grow replacement human organs in animals, though such a goal is still far off.
Many technical and ethical barriers have yet to be overcome, but the research is advancing alongside the acute need for organs; some 76,000 people in the U.S. alone are awaiting transplants.
Mr. Belmonte’s and Mr. Nakauchi’s teams have both pursued a strategy of directing the human donor cells to generate specific organs in the recipient species. This is desirable for both technical and ethical reasons.
The result provides proof of principle that Type 1 diabetes can be treated by growing a pancreas from an individual’s cells in another animal, Mr. Nakauchi and colleagues conclude.
Indian Navy has launched a global hunt for a multi-role fighter aircraft
After declaring the naval version of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas unfit for operating from aircraft carriers in its “present form,” the Indian Navy has launched a global hunt for a carrier-based multi-role fighter aircraft.
Last month, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the “present LCA does not meet the carrier capability required by the Navy.”
He said the service would continue to support its development but “at the same time we will seek aircraft elsewhere which can operate on the aircraft carrier.
The Navy currently operates Russian Mig-29K twin engine fighters from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
These will also fly from the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant once it enters service. The Navy has procured 45 Mig-29Ks in two batches.
The RFI says the aircraft are “intended as day-and-night capable, all-weather, multi-role, deck-based combat aircraft which can be used for air defence, air-to-surface operations.
The IAC-II which is currently at the design stage can handle twin engine, heavy aircraft, greatly extending the area of operations.
This narrows down the selection to two aircraft now available in the global market — Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet and Dassault Rafale, 36 of which the Indian Air Force has contracted.
The F-35 fifth generation aircraft of the U.S. is also an option.