Current Affair 03-March-2013

Kenya Election: Uhuru Kenyatta won Kenya Presidency


Uhuru Kenyatta, the Deputy Prime Minister who faces trial for alleged crimes against humanity, clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency, on 9 March 2013.


Cabinet Committee on Security approved Flexible Use of Airspace


The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 8 March 2013 cleared Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) by civil and military users, which was unsettled for last few years...


BlackBerry’s India Managing Director Sunil Dutt resigned


Blackberry India Managing Director Sunil Dutt, who joined the company in December 2011, quit from the company....


Nicolas Maduro sworn in as the Interim President of Venezuela


Venezuelan Vice- President Nicolas Maduro on 8 March 2013 was sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president, despite the Opposition resistance as it is being considered to the violation of the country’s constitution....


World Bank Barred Larsen &Turbo for six Months over Forgery


The World Bank in the month of March 2013 barred Larsen & Toubro (L&T) from doing any business with it or the projects funded by it for a period of six months, as it found that a senior executive of the conglomerate indulging in fraud....


President of India Released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi


The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 8 March 2013 released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.


Smriti Mehra Won Second Title in Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2013


Smriti Mehra, the veteran golfer, on 6 March 2013 won her second title in the fourth leg of Hero Women`s pro golf tour 2013 in Mumbai.


Researchers Calculated Exact Distance to Our Closest Neighbouring Galaxy


Researchers discovered that the distance to our nearest neighbouring galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was 163000 light years away or 49.97 kiloparsecs.


Deborah from India Won a Bronze Medal in Asian Cycling Championship 2013


India’s Deborah won a Bronze medal in the final of women's juniors of 500m cycle event in Asian Cycling Championship on 7 March 2013 in New Delhi.


Barack Obama Signed Into Law the Violence against Women Act Reauthorization 2013


The US President, Barack Obama on 7 March 2013 signed into law, the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization 2013 in Washington.


International Women's Day 2013 Celebrated Across the World


International Women's Day is celebrated across the world on 8 March 2013. Nirbhaya to be honoured with Stree Shakti Award posthumously.


The Union Government of India approved Export of Additional 5 Million Tonnes of Wheat


The GoM approved export of additional 5 million tonnes of wheat from FCI. Private Exporters are only permitted to export the additional quantity of Wheat.


Half of Africa’s Lions Facing Extinction Threat: Study


The study by a team of lion biologists of University of Minnesota found that half of the wild lion population of Africa would extinct in coming 20-40 years.


Nagpur Is the Most Liveable Indian City; Nashik Best Tourist-Friendly City: Survey


At the ABP News-IPSOS Best City Survey and Awards 2013 event in New Delhi on 6 March 2013, Nagpur won the award for most liveable Indian city.


FIPB Cleared Investment Proposal of AirAsia to Enter India’s Aviation Sector


The Foreign Investment Promotion Board on 6 March 2013 cleared the investment proposal of AirAsia to launch the new airline in India.


India Ranked Third on the List of Spam Spewing Nation in the World


India ranked third on list of countries which distribute spam all over the world, after US and China, as per the new report of SophosLabs.


Arun Jaitley, Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav Selected For Outstanding Parliamentarian Award


The Parliamentary Award Committee selected Arun Jaitley, Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav for Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2010, 2011 and 2012 resp.


Cadbury India Ltd Slapped With 250 Crore Rupees Excise Duty Evasion Notice


Cadbury India Ltd, was slapped with a 250 crore Rupees notice by the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence on the grounds of excise duty evasion.


European Union Slapped 731 Million US Dollars Fine on Microsoft Corp


The European Union slapped a fine of 561 million Euros or 731 million US dollars on Microsoft Corp on 6 March 2013 for breaking its browser promise.


Committee Constituted to Check Harassment Allegations Made By AIR News Presenters


Ministry for Information & Broadcasting constituted a committee to check sexual harassment allegations made by the news presenters at FM Gold AIR.


Electronics Project Proposal System e-PPS launched by Kapil Sibal


Electronics Project Proposal System (e-PPS) was launched by Kapil Sibal. This system would ease the process of funding the R&D projects.


India Proposed Hydrocarbon Pipeline from Kazakhstan


India in the month of March 2013 proposed the idea of a hydrocarbon pipeline with Kazakhstan that is intended to bring fuel through a five-nation route...


MRP Rao took charge as the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in NTPC


MRP Rao took over as the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on 5 March 2013.


James Strong, Chairman of Local Organising Committee of the 2015 World Cup Died At 68


James Strong, the chairman of local organising committee of the 2015 World Cup died at the age of 68 years on 3 March 2013.


Neiphiu Rio sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland


Neiphiu Rio 63, of Naga People’s Front (NPF) was sworn in as Chief Minister of Nagaland for the third straight term on 5 March 2013 along with 11 ministers by the Governor Nikhil Kumar at the Raj Bhavan in Kohima.


UPSC Changed the Scheme of Civil Services MAIN Examination 2013


UPSC changed the Syllabus and Scheme of MAIN (Written+Interview) Examination and introduced four general studies paper and omitted one optional.

Mukul Manda Sangma Sworn-In As the Chief Minister of Meghalaya

Mukul Manda Sangma of Congress was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second term on 5 March 2013. He took oath for the second term as 26th Chief Minister of the state. 

The Governor, R.S. Mooshahary administered him the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan premises in Shillong. 47-year old Mukul Sangma led the Congress with 29 seats, merely two seats short of the majority in a house of 60. He was sworn-in without the Council of Ministers. 

Announcement of the list of Council of Ministers will be made by Mukul Manda Sangma in the second week of March 2013.
 
About Mukul Manda Sangma

• Mukul Manda Sangma is a medical practitioner who left his job as Medical and Health Officer in Tura Health Centre to enter into elections in 1993. 
• He ran for the Ampatigiri assembly constituency in West Garo Hills and won the elections as independent candidate. He won elections for the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly from Ampatigiri constituency.
• He also held various positions as the Minister of Taxation, Information and Public Relations as well as others. 
• In 2005, he was also appointed as the deputy chief of Meghalaya.

Japan and US agreed on Free Trade Auto Exception

The two Pacific powers, Japan and US in the month of March 2013 agreed on exemptions for the auto industry in a thoughtful Pacific-wide free trade pact, with Japan showing its readiness to announce its entry into negotiations.

Both the Countries agreed in principle that the US will be able to keep tariffs on car imports — 2.5 per cent for passenger cars and 25 per cent on trucks — for at least five to 10 years under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

But the US auto sector is opposed to Japan’s entry, claiming Tokyo maintains non-tariff barriers on autos, and says a deal would give Japanese automakers unfettered access to their market, without allowing them the same chances. 

Japan’s agriculture lobby is also firmly opposed; fearing unprecedented foreign competition would devastate Japan’s small-scale farming sector and rural communities. 

Tokyo and Washington agreed in preparatory talks that there would be at least a five- to 10-year delay in the removal of import tariffs on autos — the moratorium agreed in a recently-enacted US-South Korea free trade agreement.

Significance of the Free Trade Auto Exception

• The emerging pact could boost growth and set rules to govern trade in the dynamic but unwieldy region, which includes much of East Asia, as well as some American countries.
• The participation of both Japan and the US, the world’s two largest developed economies, would mean the pact covers nearly 40 per cent of the world’s economy.

President of India Released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 8 March 2013 released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi on occasion of his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. 

Sahir Ludhianvi died on 25 October 1980 and was a renowned Urdu poet. He was known among the young for his poetry on beauty and love. Sahir Ludhianvi had converged Urdu poetry into the film songs as well. Also, he fought for recognition of lyric writers through the Film Writers Association. 

During the release of the stamp, various dignitaries were present and these included Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology as well as Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Smriti Mehra Won Second Title in Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2013

Smriti Mehra, the veteran golfer, on 6 March 2013 won her second title in the fourth leg of Hero Women`s pro golf tour 2013 in Mumbai. 

Smriti played a round of one under 64 and finished with an overall score of 194 at the Willingdon Sports Club. At the second position was Neha Tripathi who completed with the final round score of one over 66 and an overall score of 200. Sharmila Nicollet achieved third position with lowly six over 71 and a total score of 202.
 
Pallavi Jain came at the fourth position with par 65 and an overall score of 205. At the fifth position were Vani Kapoor and Saaniya Sharma who tied at a total score of 209. 

The winners were as follows:

• Smriti Mehra-194 (67, 63, 64)
• Neha Tripathi-200 (70, 64, 66)
• Sharmila Nicollet-202 (63, 68, 71)
• Pallavi Jain-205 (65, 75, 65) 
• Vani Kapoor - 209 (73, 68, 68)
• Saaniya Sharma- 209 (74, 67, 68)

Researchers Calculated Exact Distance to Our Closest Neighbouring Galaxy

Researchers working on the accurate calculation of the distance of Milky Way to the nearest galaxy, led by Grzegorz Pietrzynski of the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile and Warsaw University Observatory in Poland, found the exact distance to our nearest galaxy. The nearest galaxy to Milky Way is called Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and it was found that it lies at a distance of 163000 light years away or exactly 49.97 kiloparsecs.

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)

• Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the dwarf galaxy which floats in the space around our galaxy, Milky Way. It floats in a similar trend like that between the Earth and the Moon. 
• Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) encompasses huge clouds of gas in it, which gradually collapse, thereby forming new stars. These new stars are brightened in the colours which are actually visible in the images that are taken by Hubble Space Telescope. 
• LMC also includes Tarantula Nebula which is the brightest stellar nursery in the cosmic neighbourhood. 

Importance of the findings

The findings about the distance of LMC from Milky Way are crucial because they can help in determining the scale of our universe, which has remained a mystery ever since its inception. These findings could also be used for determining the rate of expansion of the universe. This rate of expansion of the universe is called Hubble Constant, which is named after an astronomer Edwin P Hubble who discovered in 1929 that the Universe was growing continuously. 

Determination of the Hubble Constant is highly important for finding out the age as well as size of the universe. Exact distance of Milky Way to LMC has always remained one of the hugest uncertainties which affected the past measurements. 

How was the research made?

Lead researcher Grzegorz Pietrzynski declared that they would now work on improving the accuracy of the measurements even more. The calculations of the distance were made by observation of the rare close pairs of stars which are called eclipsing binaries.

Eclipsing binaries are actually bound to each other gravitationally. Once per orbit, the overall brightness from this system of stars drops as one of these stars eclipses its partner. It is possible to find out the hugeness of the stars as well as information of their orbits by tracking changes in the brightness carefully as well as by measuring orbital speeds of stars. 

By combining this with the measurement of apparent brightness, it is possible to determine absolutely accurate distances.
 
In the study, a sample of stars that had extremely long orbital periods was observed for 16 long years. These extremely long orbital periods are absolutely perfect in order to calculate the precise distances. New measurements are useful for decreasing the uncertainty of calculating Hubble Constant to 3 percent while improving it to uncertainty of 2 percent in years to come.

Deborah from India Won a Bronze Medal in Asian Cycling Championship 2013

Deborah from India won a Bronze medal in the final of women's juniors of 500m cycle event in Asian Cycling Championship on 7 March 2013 in New Delhi. 19-year-old Deborah helped India claim its second medal in the Asian Cycling Championship 2013 which is ongoing. 

Deborah finished 500 meter time trial finals in 37.841 seconds. Gold medal was won by Korea's Jang Yeonhee and Yu Shiou Cheng of Chinese Taipei won the silver medal. The two remained ahead of Deborah with 37.159 and 37.834 seconds respectively. 

Earlier, India’s Jashanjit Kaur qualified for bronze medal match of the 2km-Individual Pursuit, thereby giving a good start to India in the ongoing Asian Cycling Championship 2013.

Barack Obama Signed Into Law the Violence against Women Act Reauthorization 2013

The US President, Barack Obama on 7 March 2013 signed into law, the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization 2013 in Washington. 

The Violence Against Women Act was first passed in 1994. Reauthorised since then, the new Act offers support to the organisations which serve to the victims of domestic violence. Usually, the local authorities are responsible for criminal prosecutions of abusers, but now the Act made a stricter sentence for stalking under the federal law. 

Under the original Violence Against Women Act, following issues are dealt with:

• Acid throwing 
• Breast ironing 
• Bride burning 
• Dating abuse 
• Domestic violence 
• Domestic violence and pregnancy 
• Dowry death 
• Honor killing 
• Female genital mutilation 
• Gishiri cutting
• Infibulation  
• Foot binding 
• Forced abortion 
• Forced pregnancy 
• Forced prostitution 
• Human trafficking 
• Marital rape 
• Murder of pregnant women 
• Rape Pregnancy 
• Sexual slavery 
• Sexual violence 
• Violence against prostitutes

Violence Against Women Act of 1994

• The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 is primarily a US Federal Law which was signed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. 
• The Act established the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice. 

Signing of Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization 2013

The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization 2013 was passed on the vote of 286 to 138. 199 Democrats joined 87 Republicans in the support of this reauthorization act of 1994 law. 

Changes incorporated

• The new Act creates as well as expands the federal programs for helping local communities for the purpose of law enforcement as well as helping the victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. 
• The most important feature was offering protection to the transgender, bisexual and gay victims of the domestic abuse.

International Women's Day 2013 Celebrated Across the World

8 March 2013: International Women's Day

International Women's Day is celebrated across the world on 8 March 2013. The theme for 2013 International Women's Day is- A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.

On this day, the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee laid emphasis on the monumental role of women in designing the country.

Nirbhaya to be honoured posthumously

The Para-medical student, popularly called Nirbhaya, who was gang raped in Delhi on 16 December 2012, will be honoured posthumously with the Stree Shakti award on the occasion of International Women's Day.

It was decided by the Women and Child Development Ministry that fighting spirit of Nirbhaya should be honoured with Stree Shakti awards which are conferred upon outstanding women of India. Pranab Mukherjee will give away the award to Nirbhaya’s family.

In order to mark the International Women's Day, various seminars and events are conducted across India.

The Union Government of India approved Export of Additional 5 Million Tonnes of Wheat

The Union Government of India on 7 March 2013 approved export of extra five million tonnes of Wheat from its Godowns. The group of ministers in its meeting also decided that the added quantity of 5 million tonnes of wheat shall be exported by the private traders. It also cleared that the public sector trading firms will not be a participant in export of the additional quantity of wheat. 

The GoM (Group of Ministers) have also decided that bidding process would be used by the Private traders to export the 2011-12 crop and the floor price decided for per quintal is 1480 rupees. 

For the present fiscal, the permitted export of wheat from the godowns of the Food Corporation of India now stands at 9.5 million tonnes.

Half of Africa’s Lions Facing Extinction Threat: Study

The study conducted by a team of lion biologists of University of Minnesota in the first week of March 2013 found that around half of the wild lion population of Africa would decline to almost extinction over the period of coming 20-40 years if conservation measures were not undertaken. 

It was estimated that at present, less than 30000 lions remain in Africa in around 25 percent of natural habitat. The study led by Professor Craig Packer as well as co-authored by a whole team of lion biologists made use of the field data from 11 different African countries. In the study, the cost for managing the fenced as well as unfenced habitats was examined. Also, in the study, the lion population densities along with the trends were studied. 

In the report, it was found that the cost of conservation in the reserves which are secured by wildlife-proof fences was lower in comparison to unfenced ecosystems, while the size as well as densities of the lion population was higher. 

It was also found out that the lions living in the unfenced reserves were prone to higher degree of dangers from the human communities. Lions in the unfenced reserves faced threats such as retaliatory killing by the herders, fragmentation and habitat loss as well as overhunting of the lion prey. 

In context with the study, Panthera, a US-based wild cat conservation organisation declared that the study highlighted the degree of lion conservation crisis as well as the limited choices for safeguarding their future.

The lion biologists declared that fencing or some kind of alternative physical boundary like intensely managed buffer zones was important to separate lion population from humans in order to ensure the survival of the species. There was a need for decreasing the lion-human conflict.

India Ranked Third on the List of Spam Spewing Nation in the World

India ranked third on list of countries which distribute spam all over the world, after US and China, as per the new report of SophosLabs. SophosLabs is the Sophos’s global network of threat analysis centres. 

In the study, US was single highest ranking country, but Asia ranked at number 1 position in the list of the continents with 36.6 percent of overall spam of the world. US sent 18.3 percent of the junk emails overall in the world. In last few months of 2012, India topped the spam spewing nations’ list, but eventually fell back to the third position. Second position was held by China. 

In the study, the spam sent from December 2012 to February 2013 was tracked. China and India took second and third positions respectively with 8.2 percent and 4.2 percent of the spam of the world. 

Other countries which ranked high included South Korea, France, Italy and Peru. Peru was ranked at fourth position with 4.0 percent of the spam. With 3.4 percent each, France, South Korea and Italy ranked fifth. Russia and Taiwan shared eighth position with 2.9 percent. At tenth, eleventh and twelfth position were Spain (2.8 percent), Germany (2.7 percent) and Iran (2.6 percent). 

In order to prevent spamming, the PC users can keep the anti-virus software updated and regularly run the malware checks. Apart from this, updating passwords regularly can also help.

FIPB Cleared Investment Proposal of AirAsia to Enter India’s Aviation Sector

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on 6 March 2013 cleared the investment proposal of AirAsia, the Malaysian budget carrier to launch the new airline along with Tata Group and Arun Bhatia's Telestra Tradeplace.
 
Crucial points to note:

• AirAsia has plans to own 49 percent in newly formed airline through its investment company AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL). Rest of the stake would be held by two Indian firms. 
• After the deal, AirAsia will become the first foreign carrier that will enter the aviation sector of India after the Government altered rules in September 2012 to allow foreign carriers to have 49 percent stake in the domestic airlines. 
• Tata Sons will have 30 percent stake in joint venture without any operating role in airline. Telestra Tradeplace will have 21 percent stake in the venture. 
• AirAsia would set up a joint venture in the ratio 49:30:21 with Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace in order to launch the airline. 
• AirAsia, Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace would invest 9 million US dollars in order to establish this venture. Initial investment by AirAsia-led joint venture would amount to 80 crore Rupees. 
• After approval of FIPB, the newly established JV Company would write application to aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the purpose of getting Air Operators Permit. 

AirAsia plans to start the operations from June 2013. 3-4 planes would have headquarters in Chennai. The focus would be to provide connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Proposed airline has no plans to fly on the international routes. The airlines that have completed 5 years of domestic operations and also have a minimum fleet of 5 aircrafts are allowed to operate on the international routes, as per the present rules.

Nagpur Is the Most Liveable Indian City; Nashik Best Tourist-Friendly City: Survey

At the ABP News-IPSOS Best City Survey and Awards 2013 event in New Delhi on 6 March 2013, Nagpur won the award for most liveable Indian city. Delhi was declared as the best city for primary education and roads.

Nagpur won the award for most liveable Indian city for top health care services, green cover as well as best public transport. Rajkot was declared as the city with the best law and order. This city also ranked at the top most position in terms of cleanliness and sanitation as well as women safety.

The city with best traffic management was Pune. Madurai was adjudged the city with most affordable housing. Nashik became the best tourist-friendly city while Mumbai was adjudged as the city with best power availability.

India’s 20 most Liveable Cities: 

In the list, the most liveable cities were Nagpur, Bhopal, Varanasi, Rajkot, Agra, Madurai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Surat, Pune, Patna, Nashik, Amritsar, Jaipur, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata.

About The ABP News-IPSOS Best City Survey and Awards 

The awards were given for the first time. These awards were based on the surveys which evaluated as well as identified cities that have a population of more than 10 lakh. These cities were adjudged on 13 main parameters which are as follows:

• Affordable Housing
• Public Transport
• Roads
• Power Availability
• Efficient Traffic Management
• Health Care Services
• Cleanliness & Sanitation
• Law & Order
• Green City
• Primary Education
• Women Safety
• Tourist Friendly City
• Overall Best City to live in

The Awards given were as follows:

Name of the Indian City	Award
Nagpur	Most Liveable Indian City
Delhi	Best City For Primary Education And Roads
Rajkot	City With The Best Law And Order
Pune	City With Best Traffic Management
Madurai	City With Most Affordable Housing
Nashik	Best Tourist-Friendly City
Mumbai	City With Best Power Availability
Nagpur	The Greenest City
Rajkot	Best City for Women Safety