Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:23-03-15

S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE
1. / Border talks with China to resume today (Pages 1 and 10) / a) I.R / a) Special Representatives of India and China will sit down for the 18th round of talks on the border dispute, with a view to finalizing the framework for resolution.
2. / Mufti puts Pakistan on notice (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) While continuing to blame non-state actors for the recent militant attacks in the State, J&K CM said that Pakistan had to control in extremist elements for peace and friendship with India.
3. / India mulling defence exports: Parrikar (Page 11) / a) I.R / a) Union Defence Minister Parrikar said that as many as 38 countries are sending their defence personnel for training in India and is considering encouraging export of defence equipment to these countries.
4. / Pressure on Japan, US to join Asian bank (Page 12) / a) International / a) Japan now appears divided and US is being strongly advised to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, whose formation is beginning to be viewed as the growing of a multi-polar world.
5. / Nuclear negotiations at a delicate stage (Page 8) / a) International / a) Despite domestic hurdles in the current round of US-Iran negotiations on Irans nuclear capability, the end result will depend on how many centrifuges can sustain nuclear development in Iran without the country being subjected to causing sanctions.
6. / The nuts and bolts of skill development (Page 9) / a) National
b) Social issue / a) For any skill development effort to succeed, markets and industry need to play a large role in determining courses, curriculum and relevance.
7. / Jaitley denies rift with RBI (Page 1) / a) National
b) Economy / a) Differences emerged between the RBI and the Finance Ministry over the structure of a committee that will set interest rates and take monetary policy decisions – instead of the central banks Governor.
8. / Doubts notwithstanding (Page 8) / a) National
b) Economy / a) A new methodology (revealed toward the end of January by the CSO) presented an optimistic picture of the Indian economy than previously imagined.
9. / J&K getting a massive seismic station network (Page 7) / a) National
b) Geography / a) A massive network of seismic stations, accelerometers and GPS instruments is being established in the J&K region to assess areas more prone to severe earthquakes.
10. / Humayuns Tomb gets its finial back (Page 7) / a) National
b) History / a) The Humayuns Tomb in the national capital has got its architecture back, after a storm removed it last May.
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS
1. / Border talks with China to resume today (Pages 1 and 10) / a) I.R / a) India – China relations
b) Border disputes
c) Line of Actual Control (LAC)
d) Aksai Chin area / a) Special Representatives of India and China will sit down for the 18th round of talks on the border dispute, with a view to finalising the framework for resolution as well as prepare for PM Modis visit to China in May.
b) The talks come a year after the last round of SR talks and six months after Modi raised serious concerns about incidents of transgressions along the India-China border which overshadowed his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Delhi.
c) Modi said that clarification of the LAC would greatly contribute to our efforts to maintain peace and calm and I requested President Xi to resume the stalled process of clarifying the LAC.
d) The two parts of the border dispute (roughly 2000 km along Arunachal Pradesh and about 4000 km along the LAC in Ladakh, especially the Aksai Chin area taken by China in the 1962 war) will form the discussions between Doval and Chinese Special Representative.
2. / Mufti puts Pakistan on notice (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) India – Pakistan relations
b) Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)
c) Kashmir issue / a) While continuing to blame non-state actors for the recent militant attacks in the State, JK CM Mufti said that Pakistan had to control in extremist elements for peace and friendship with India.
b) Among anti-Pakistan slogans raised by the BJP MLAs and a walkout by the National Conference, both Houses criticised the recent attacks and urged the Centre to take up the issue with Pakistan
c) PDP chief spokesperson said these attacks are definitely intended to disallow the kind of atmosphere we want to build in the region and they will be used against any debate on issues such as the AFSPA.
d) The chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq met Pakistan High Commissioner to understand Pakistans stand at the recent Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, besides informing him of the ground situation in the State.
e) Before going for the meeting with the Pakstani High Commissioner, the Mirwaiz said his group was always in favour of finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue and act as a bridge between the two countries for building and consolidating peace in the subcontinent.
3. / India mulling defence exports: Parrikar (Page 11) / a) I.R / a) Indias defence exports
b) Somali pirates threats / a) Union Defence Minister Parrikar said that as many as 38 countries are sending their defence personnel for training in India and the country is considering encouraging export of defence equipment to these countries.
b) Without naming the countries for security reasons, he said that India is encouraging those countries and giving them more slots so that they depend on India for their defence preparedness.
c) Parrikar (who advocated a larger role for India in the Indian Ocean region that has a major share in the oil reserves in the world) said that India wants to maintain strong good relations with the neighbouring countries.
d) Responding to a query about threats from Somali pirates, he said the country was capable of dealing with such threats.
4. / Pressure on Japan, US to join Asian bank (Page 12) / a) International / a) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) / a) Japan now appears divided and US is being strongly advised to join the China-led AIIB, whose formation is beginning to be viewed as the growing of a multi-polar world.
b) Opposed to participation so far, the Japanese were emitting mixed signals about prospects for joining the bank. Japanese Finance Minister said Tokyo could consider participation in AIIB, provided a credible mechanism for providing loans could be guaranteed.
c) The Australians appear close to dropping their earlier opposition and are likely to formally announce their decision to join the bank.
d) Major European powers (Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland) have already broken the restrictions imposed by US against participation in the China-led lender, which earlier had emerging countries like India, as well as Singapore, Kuwait and Qatar in the list of founding members.
e) The story of the AIIB is turning into a diplomatic failure for the US. By setting up and then losing a power struggle with China, US has sent an unintended signal about the drift of power and influence in the 21st century.
f) With most allies already supporting or in the process of doing so, influential sections of Western media are arguing that instead of choosing conflict, US also should join the AIIB.
5. / Nuclear negotiations at a delicate stage (Page 8) / a) International / a) US – Iran nuclear deal
b) P5+1 group
c) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
d) UNSC / a) The agreeable weather in Lausanne (Switzerland) may have helped but an agreement may still avoid the Iranian Foreign Minister and the permanent members of the UNSC and Germany in the current round of negotiations on Irans nuclear capability.
b) Israeli PM Netanyahu and some Republican Senators (who called into question the ability of US President Obama to deliver on his part of the deal even if an agreement is reached) could share the responsibility for the deadlock.
c) Netanyahu appeared at the US Congress in response to an invitation extended to him by the Republicans in Jan without the knowledge of White House to issue a serious warning.
d) Taking a cue from Netanyahu, the Republicans went over the head of the President to send a message to the Iranians, alerting them to the possibility of the Congress rejecting any recommendation from Obama to lift sanctions.
e) The interim deal forged in Nov 2013 (named Joint Plan of Action) which needs to be shaped into binding commitments by July 2015 came after more than 10 years of Iran playing a cat-and-mouse game with the IAEA. The Iranian strategy had always been to express readiness to cooperate fully with the IAEA.
f) The IAEA could neither certify that Iran was not on a nuclear weapons path, nor could it give it a clean chit. Even after the issue went to the UNSC, the uncertainty remained. The IAEA continues its investigations to resolve the questions about past activities, even as the political dialogue continues.
g) After extending the Joint Plan of Action twice, the P5 and Germany (supported by the sanctions) have been engaged in shaping a comprehensive resolution. At the core of the proposed agreement is a set of restrictions on enrichment of uranium beyond the requirements of generating power.
h) Although the UN resolutions ban any kind of enrichment, the agreement expects minimum enrichment for a specified period.
i) For the Americans, the alternative to an agreement is war and that is the reason why Obama accused the Republicans of rushing to war, as advocated by Netanyahu. Obama had exercised great restraint in the long negotiations, keeping in mind the objective of ensuring that Iran did not make nuclear weapons.
j) The possibility of a comprehensive agreement with Iran is particularly objectionable to the Republicans because of reports that Obama had given an assurance to the authorities in Iran even before he became President that he would be more generous with Iran than former US President George Bush.
k) Iran has maintained that the limited amount of plutonium produced at some of its reactors cannot be used for weapons without a reprocessing plant and that Iran has no intention to acquire reprocessing capability. Obama is inclined to accept terms that would allow Iran to enrich uranium as long as it kept nuclear weapons out of reach for Iran.
l) The negotiations have completed 13 rounds after the Joint Plan of Action was approved and indications are that a comprehensive agreement is within reach. The new Republican position has cast a shadow on the current round even though Iran itself has dismissed it as being inconsequential.
m) Separately, discussions have already begun in New York among the permanent members to prepare the ground for removal of UN sanctions if an agreement is reached in Geneva. The sanctions unilaterally imposed by the US and the EU in the energy and banking sectors are also under discussion. These measures are aimed at countering the threat posed by the Republicans to block the lifting of sanctions authorised by the Congress.
n) For its part, India was always apprehensive about an Iranian bomb. On one occasion, Iran issued an initiative in Delhi when the Indian delegation in Vienna refused to endorse a set of amendments to the IAEA resolution, which went beyond the Indian position. Our vote in favour of referring the entire matter to the Security Council angered the Iranians even more as it was considered to be under American pressure.
o) India would naturally be relieved if there is an agreement, which will prevent war on the one hand and the emergence of a nuclear weapon power in its neighbourhood on the other.
p) Despite domestic hurdles in the current round of US-Iran negotiations on Irans nuclear capability, the end result will depend on how many centrifuges can sustain nuclear development in Iran without the country being subjected to causing sanctions.
6. / The nuts and bolts of skill development (Page 9) / a) National
b) Social issue / a) Skill development
b) National Skills Mission
c) Make in India
d) National Skill Development Policy
e) Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE)
f) Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)
g) National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
h) Labour Market Information System (LMIS)
i) National Skill Development Agency (NSDA)
j) Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
k) Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) / a) The Union Budget 2015 paved way for the launch of a much-awaited National Skills Mission to complement PM Modis Skill India and Make in India pushings. However, much work needs to be done on the ground.
b) The magnitude of the problem has been analysed by numerous experts - for a country that adds 12 million people to its workforce every year, less than 4 percent have ever received any formal training. Our workforce readiness is one of the lowest in the world and a large block of existing training infrastructure is irrelevant to industry needs.
c) The govt already spends several thousand crores every year on skill development schemes through over 18 different Central govt Ministries and State govts. The need of the hour is to improve resource utilisation and find solutions that can address the systemic and institutional bottlenecks constraining the sector.
d) Keeping in mind the revised National Skill Development Policy due to be announced in a few months that will also outline the forms of National Skills Mission, we present an analysis of three priority areas that the govt needs to address.