Daily Updates - 15 November 2014

Current events of national and international importance

The President of India inaugurates 34th India International Trade Fair 

1.       The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 34th India International Trade Fair 2014 on (November 14, 2014) at New Delhi. 

2.       The IITF is a celebration of India’s intrinsic strength, especially when the country is striving to become a manufacturing hub of the world.

3.       Since inception, this event has been showcasing India’s socio-economic progress. 

4.       It has also played a significant role in catalysing commercial convergence of technology with social and economic issues of the South-Asian region.

5.       It has been a successful launching pad for a large number of consumer products such as – cars, electronics and electrical appliances.

6.       Fair is visited by around 2 million people every year including domestic visitors from across the country and all over the world.

7.       He also complimented ITPO for selecting ‘Women Entrepreneurs’ as the theme of this fair and earmarking an exclusive area at concessional rates for highlighting the achievements of women entrepreneurs.

Modified DBTL scheme for LPG to be launched in 54 districts spread across 11 states –

1.       In the modified DBTL scheme, LPG consumers in 54 districts of 11 states will be able to get cash subsidy to buy the cooking fuel at market price.

India successfully test-fires Dhanush ballistic missile

1.       India has successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile from a naval ship off the Odisha coast. 

2.       The surface-to-surface Dhanush was test fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal at about 7.40 Friday night by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force.

3.       Dhanush is a naval variant of India's indigenously developed 'Prithvi' missile.

Boxing India granted permanent membership by International Boxing Association, AIBA

1.       Completing India's rehabilitation into the international boxing fold.

2.       AIBA Friday unanimously gave permanent membership to the recently elected Boxing India during its quadrennial congress in Jeju Islands, Korea.

3.       India was provisionally suspended in December 2012 for alleged manipulation in the erstwhile Indian Amateur Boxing Federation's elections.

4.       Boxing India was earlier granted provisional recognition by AIBA after the elections but is still to get the approval from the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association. 

China Offers $20 Billion in Loans to ASEAN

1.       Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in Myanmar for the China-ASEAN Summit, the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, and Korea) meetings. 

2.       Li pledged $20 billion in loans to Southeast Asia for regional infrastructure development. That’s in addition to $3 billion for the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund.

3.       This funds infrastructure and energy investments in ASEAN member countries, and $480 million to help fight poverty in Southeast Asia. 

4.       China also promised preferential treatment to ASEAN investors under an expanded China-ASEAN free trade agreement.

Motive of China –

1.       The financial push is part of a plan to reassure ASEAN member states that China’s rise is beneficial for its neighbors and for the region as a whole.

2.       Several ASEAN members, most notably Vietnam and the Philippines, have long-standing territorial disputes with China.

3.       When it comes to maritime issues, China is attempting to deflect the focus from territorial disputes to areas with potential for cooperation. 

4.       Beijing and ASEAN have declared 2015 the ASEAN-China Year of Maritime Cooperation.

5.       China is hoping that its offers of loans, investment, and preferential trading treatment will be enough to demonstrate its softer side to its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Implication of this move –

1.       To the extent that China’s emphasizing on maritime cooperation, it will mean more communication between maritime law enforcement agencies as well as setting up a hotline between foreign ministers for use in case of maritime emergencies.

2.       The Wall Street Journal dubbed this China’s “carrot-and-stick approach,” with massive investments tied to China’s Silk Road project as the “carrot.”

3.       The “stick,” reserved for neighbors, who infringe on China’s territorial interests, involves economic snubbing as well as more forceful military and paramilitary patrols of disputed regions.

G-20 Summit begins at Brisbane in Australia

1.       G-20 Summit has begun at Brisbane in Australia.

1.     Top leaders of 19 advance and emerging economies including USA, Russia, China, Britain, Japan and India and the head of European Union are participating in the event. 

2.       The leaders will discuss a wide range of global economic issues and to use their collective power to improve people’s lives.

Economic Development

Inflation drops to 5-year low

1.       Slowing for the fifth consecutive month, wholesale inflation cooled to a five-year low of 1.8 per cent in October against 2.4 per cent in September.

2.       The decline was led by softening food prices and the favorable statistical effect of a higher base last year.

3.       Industry chambers cheered the steep fall in the WPI inflation and made renewed calls for the Reserve Bank to slash interest rates. 

4.       Economists, however, warned that the moderation in WPI inflation was in some part a statistical illusion and the trend could change post-December.

5.       “The lowering of inflation for the fifth consecutive month is indeed a positive sign for the economy.

6.       Inflation could pick up again post-December by when the favorable statistical effect of a higher base could peter off.

Bio – Diversity & Climate Change

1.       U.S. President Barack Obama formally announced a $3-billion U.S. contribution to an international fund.

2.       To help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change.

3.       The contribution doubles what other countries had previously pledged ahead of a November 20, 2014 deadline.

Science & Technology

NASA tests 3D-printed rocket engine parts

1.       NASA has successfully tested 3D manufactured copper parts for rocket engines and found they could withstand the heat and pressure required for space launches.

2.       Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) at NASA’s Glenn Research Centre in partnership with NASA 

3.       Successfully completed the first hot-fire tests on an advanced rocket engine thrust chamber assembly using copper alloy materials.

4.       This was the first time a series of rigorous tests confirmed that 3D manufactured copper parts could withstand the heat and pressure required of combustion engines used in space launches, NASA said.

5.       In all, NASA and AR conducted 19 hot-fire tests on four injector and thrust chamber assembly configurations.

6.       Exploring various mixture ratios and injector operability points and were deemed fully successful against the planned test programme.

7.       “The successful hot fire test of subscale engine components provides confidence in the additive manufacturing process.

Milky Way black hole producing mysterious particles: NASA

1.       The giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way may be producing the mysterious high-energy neutrinos, NASA scientists have found.

2.       This would be the first time that scientists have traced neutrinos back to a black hole.

1.       Neutrinos are tiny particles that carry no charge and interact very weakly with electrons and protons.

2.       Unlike light or charged particles, neutrinos can emerge from deep within their cosmic sources and travel across the universe without being absorbed by intervening matter .

3.       The Earth is constantly bombarded with neutrinos from the sun. However, neutrinos from beyond the solar system can be millions or billions of times more energetic.

4.       Scientists have long been searching for the origin of ultra-high energy and very high-energy neutrinos.

5.       Because neutrinos pass through material very easily, it is extremely difficult to build detectors that show exactly where the neutrino came from.

Google joins fight against illegal fishing

1.       Technology giant Google has taken the battle against illegal fishing online

2.       With the company unveiling a tool in Australia that harnesses satellite data to track thousands of boats in real time.

3.       A prototype interactive tool, which is developed in conjunction with environmental activists SkyTruth and marine advocacy group Oceana.

4.       The tool is the latest salvo from environmentalists against illegal fishing, which is currently estimated by the Global Ocean Commission to cost the world economy up to $23.5 billion a year.

5.       The tool uses data points from the Automatic Identification System network, which picks up GPS broadcasts of a vessel's location to map movements.

6.       The prototype has tracked just over 3,000 fishing vessels, with a public tool set to be released down the track.

Editorial - (The Hindu)

Rivals turn the tables on climate

Wednesday’s deal between the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) raises the prospect of a robust international agreement in Paris next year. Although the two countries account for over one-third of global GHG emissions, the U.S. and China have for the best part of the last 20 years been hostage to economic arguments to act decisively on global warming. Now, the U.S. has promised to cut emissions by an extent of 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025, which would mark a near-doubling of the current pace of reductions. As for China, President Xi Jinping has pledged that the country’s emissions would peak by around 2030; by that time, solar and wind power would account for 20 per cent of overall energy sources. This is based on projections of a slowdown in economic growth, a phase-out of obsolete power plants and a rise in the share of renewables. In the absence of further details, environment experts and activists remain unsure of the full implications of the latest agreement. But the political significance of the agreement is clearly beyond doubt. The latest announcements represent a huge advance over the entrenched positions held by the two countries until recently. Washington did not ratify the lone legally-binding global pact to cut emissions — the 1997 Kyoto Protocol — as it opposed the view that developed and developing countries had differentiated responsibilities on countering global warming. Beijing was exempted from the requirements of the Protocol in view of its status as a developing country.

The proposals presented by the U.S. and China follow the announcement last month of a 40 per cent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 for the entire European Union. Together, the package from these three main players would create the momentum for other major high carbon footprint countries to come up with matching commitments ahead of upcoming talks in Lima and a final deal in Paris. Notable among these are India, Indonesia, Australia and Brazil. In the meantime, President Barack Obama would have to sell the deal to a Republican-dominated Congress, with its share of climate-sceptics. The leaders of the Group of 20 countries meeting in Brisbane this weekend should act on their commitment to reduce subsidies for the further exploration of oil, gas and coal. The September 2014 report of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate also makes a strong case against the prevailing high subsidies regime. Beijing and Washington should exert their considerable clout to realise this objective at the earliest. Such an effort would be consistent with their pledge to increase reliance on renewable energy.

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