Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 May 2017
::National::
Army is fighting dirty war in Kashmir says Army Chief
- The Army is facing a “dirty war” in Jammu and Kashmir which has to be fought in “innovative” ways, Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said, defending the use of a Kashmiri as a ‘human shield’ by a young officer.
- He said the aim of awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, when a Court of Inquiry was finalising its probe into the incident, was to boost the morale of young officers operating in a very difficult environment in the State.
- “This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way. The rules of engagements are there when the adversary comes face to face and fights with you. It is a dirty war,” Gen. Rawat said.
- The Army chief’s commendation medal awarded to Major Gogoi, who had tied a man to an Army jeep and used him as a human shield from stone-throwers last month, was criticised by human rights activists, Kashmiri groups and a few retired Army generals.
- Talking about the complexity of the security challenge, he said it would have been easier for the forces had the protesters been firing weapons instead of throwing stones.
- Gen. Rawat, who had served in J&K extensively, said that if people in any country lost fear of the Army, the country was doomed.
- The Army chief said that just four districts in south Kashmir were
disturbed, and it was incorrect to say the entire Kashmir had gone out of
control” he said, asked about a solution.
PM Modi on four nation tour
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Berlin beginning a six-day, four-nation tour of Europe.
- He will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks to tackle issues such as the impasse in the India-EU free trade agreement, as well as developing a common strategy to counter China’s moves on connectivity and preserving the international “rules-based” system.
- From Germany, the Prime Minister will travel to Spain (May 29-30), Russia (May 31-June 1) and France (June 2-3).
- His meetings at each of these countries will also be significant given that all four are members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group that will meet in June to once again consider India’s membership application.
- Mr. Modi is to meet all the leaders once again in July at the G-20 summit in Hamburg (Spain is not a G-20 country, but is a permanent invitee).
- The leaders are expected to sign a number of MoUs on trade and investment, security and counter-terrorism, innovation and science & technology, skill development, urban infrastructure, railways, civil aviation, clean energy, development cooperation, health and alternative medicine.
- Germany is India’s largest trading partner in the EU, and Ms. Merkel will make a push for a resumption of the EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), that has been suspended for four years.
- Germany wants a commitment from India on either resuming talks with the EU or at least renewing the bilateral investment treaty that lapsed in March 2017.
- Mr. Modi will travel next to Spain for talks with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, expected to yield an agreement on counter-terrorism cooperation, which Mr. Modi referred to as a “common concern”.
- The Prime Minister will meet President Vladimir Putin for a “one-on-one” dinner on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
- India and Austria are the guest countries this year at the SPIEF, an investor’s conference called the “Russian Davos”.
- Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin are expected to announce a “series of agreements”, officials said, while an MoU to construct the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project’s (KKNPP) reactors 5 & 6 is in its “final stages” before being signed.
- The Prime Minister’s final stop in France will see his first meeting
with newly elected President Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders are expected
to review bilateral relations
including cooperation on nuclear and renewable energy, and defence cooperatio
Scientists have identified a unique gene variant that protects them from heart diseases
- Scientists have identified a unique gene variant in people living in isolated Greek villages that protects them from heart diseases despite enjoying a high-fat diet.
- The variant, rs145556679*, is associated with lower levels of both ‘bad’ natural fats and ‘bad’ cholesterol, the factors that lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, said researchers from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the U.K.
- The cardioprotective variant was found in Mylopotamos in northern Crete, where the population is isolated and live a long life despite having a diet rich in animal fat. Researchers made a genetic portrait of the population by sequencing the genome of 250 individuals.
- The team then used the results to give a more detailed view of about 3,200 people for whom previous genetic information was known.
- The genome sequencing results of a few thousand Europeans revealed a copy of this variant only in one individual in Tuscany, Italy.
- Researchers also found a separate variant of the same gene to be associated with lower levels of triglycerides in the Amish founder population in the U.S.
- Researchers also studied an isolated population from mountainous villages in the Pomak region of northern Greece.
- They looked at the genetics of about 1,700 people in the population and discovered four separate genetic variants that affect diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose levels, white blood cell count and haemoglobin levels.
Mark III is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites
- An indigenous rocket as heavy as 200 full-grown Asian elephants could well take “Indians into space from Indian soil”.
- Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk- III) — the heaviest rocket ever made by India that is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites.
- If all goes well with the maiden launch of the GSLV-Mk III (earlier named Launch Vehicle Mark-3) and subsequent flights, this rocket could be India’s vehicle of choice to launch “Indians into space, from Indian soil using Indian rockets” he said.
- The heavy lift rocket is capable of placing up to 8 tonne in a low Earth orbit, enough to carry India’s crew module.
- ISRO has already prepared plans of hoisting a two to three human crew into space as soon as the government gives it a sanction of about $4 billion.
- If the human venture materialises, India would become only the fourth country after Russia, the U.S. and China to have a human space flight programme.