Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 May 2017

:: National ::

Indian dholes to come to eastern ghats

Endangered and hard-to-spot dholes, or Indian wild dogs, will soon test their fortunes in the Eastern Ghats.
The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), running a conservation breeding centre for the species, plans to reintroduce a pack of 16 into the forests.
A team will monitor the released animals and their progress for a season. Before they enter the forest, we will radio collar them,” he said.
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad will map the genetic variability of the packs before they go into the wild.
If the Rs. 1.5-crore conservation project works, it will be the third such zoo effort for the recovery and long-term survival of an endangered species.
Earlier, Darjeeling’s Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park had a programme for the red panda and a Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme was undertaken in Assam.
Protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and listed as ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the dhole was adopted by IGZP in 2014 under the Central Zoo Authority’s mandate.
The Visakhapatnam zoo has, since, successfully bred wild dogs from two packs taking the number from just two to 40.
Dholes, with a cinnamon-coloured coat, bushy tail and an alert gaze, are aggressive pack predators, covering long distances on a hunt.

Kashmir security situation a concern

Even as intelligence inputs continue to warn that the situation in Kashmir is getting worse this summer, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security scene in the troubled State for the third consecutive day.
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Jain, and Research and Analysis Wing chief Anil Dhasmana attended the meeting.
While such meetings chaired by the Home Minister are a regular affair, the significance this time is that it comes against the backdrop of dramatic events that have unfolded in Kashmir and along the Line of Control in the recent days.
Over the past few days, the situation in the Kashmir Valley has taken a turn for the worse with the mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers, allegedly by Pakistani forces, and the killing of another seven people.
The incidents came close on the heels of a dramatic spike in protests and stone throwing by youth, even young girl students.

NITI Aayogrecommended that faculty at “world class” institutions prioritise research

The National Institution for the Transformation of India (NITI) Aayog has recommended that faculty at “world class” institutions prioritise research and be allowed to “reduce their teaching responsibility,” if required.
Such universities also ought to be allowed to recruit research staff from abroad and be encouraged to compete for research projects from industry.
The so-called ‘world class universities’ are part of a government-outlined plan to raise funding for 10 public and 10 private universities and mould them into institutions that rank among the world’s best.
The names of these institutions are expected to be made public later this year.
The NITI Aayog suggestions stem from a three-year vision document that outlines targets and goals the Ministries — from railways to environment — ought to achieve by 2020.
Universities ought to be ranked according to metrics such as teaching, research output and funding won from the private sector.
The NITI Aayog also pitches for a new ‘National Science, Technology and Innovation Foundation’ headed by a distinguished scientist.
This will coordinate with science and technology departments, ministries, governments and private sector bodies and deliberate on national issues and recommend interventions.
Given the government’s “limited funds” the NITI Aayog recommends research priorities to water management, agriculture, energy, waste management, health, connectivity and security.

NASA scientists have designed an inflatable greenhouse (Register and Login to read Full News)

HRD announces measures for J& K students (Register and Login to read Full News)

:: International ::

US says it may impose more sanctions on Venezuela

The Trump administration is warning that it might impose more sanctions on Venezuelan officials over President Nicolas Maduro’s push to rewrite the Constitution amid an escalating political crisis with near-daily demonstrations calling for his ouster.
The warning comes as pressure is building on the Trump administration from the U.S. Congress to act more forcefully to rein in Mr. Maduro.
Bipartisan group of senators said it will introduce legislation providing humanitarian assistance to Venezuela while toughening sanctions against corrupt officials, according to Senate aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The legislation also instructs the intelligence community to prepare a partly unclassified report on Venezuelan government officials’ involvement in corruption and drug trafficking.
Two people were killed overnight when the bus they were travelling in flipped when it tried to avoid a barricade set up by protesters, according to opposition activists who live near the accident site in Carabobo state.
The deaths bring to 32 the number of people who have died in the unrest over the past month.

:: Business and Economy ::

Govt cleared a package to resolve the persistent rise in non-performing assets

The government cleared a package to resolve the persistent rise in non-performing assets that is plaguing public sector banks and denting credit growth.
The package, which includes an ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 to empower the RBI to take more actions to check bad loans, is learnt to have been cleared by the government during the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
Bad loans in the Indian banking system have gone up sharply in the last one year.
According to Reserve Bank of India data, gross NPA, as a percentage of gross advances went up to 9.1% in September 2016 from 5.1% in September 2015.
During the same period, stressed assets (which is gross NPA plus standard restructured advances and write-offs), moved up from 11.3% to 12.3% and some estimates suggested it had doubled since 2013.
Public sector banks share a disproportionate burden of this stress. Stressed assets in some of the public sector banks have approached or exceeded 20%.
Some estimates suggest the total stress in the Indian banking system is about Rs. 14 lakh crore.
The economic survey of 2016-17 has pointed out the twin balance sheet problem — that is, stressed companies on one hand and NPA-laden banks on the other — and advocates that a centralised Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA) be established to deal with the problem of bad loans.
The Union Cabinet also kicked off the disinvestment process for hotels owned by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The government’s stakes will be offloaded in Ashok Hotels in Bharatpur, Guwahati and Bhopal.
The Cabinet approved also a policy to give “preference to domestically manufactured iron and steel products” for government’s infrastructure policy.
The Centre also approved a National Steel Policy 2017 aimed at attracting Rs. 10 lakh crore investments in the steel sector by 2030-31.
The policy projects creating crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes (MT), production of 255 MT and “a robust finished steel per capita consumption of 158 kg by 2030-31, as against the current consumption of 61 kg.”

The Centre may introduce changes to its regional connectivity scheme

The Centre may introduce changes to its regional connectivity scheme or UDAN to attract more players in the second round of bidding.
Allowing single-engine aircraft to fly under the scheme, increasing route exclusivity for airlines and higher subsidy for helicopters among others are some of the proposals which may be considered.
Airlines had asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to increase the exclusive flying rights on UDAN routes from three to five years.
The airlines had also asked the Ministry to allow them to operate single-engine aircraft on routes under UDAN. However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is not in favour of the proposal due to safety reasons, according to a Ministry official.