Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 27-03-16

S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE
1. / Pak probe team to arrive today (Pages 1 and 13) / a) I.R / a) Nearly three months after the terror attack on the Pathankot air base in which seven securitymen were killed, a Pakistani team will arrive here on March 27 to survey the airbase and meet NIA officials to discuss the evidence collected so far.
2. / It was LeT that told me about Ishrat: Headley (Pages 1 and 12) / a) I.R / a) Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley told the special court that he didnot have any first-hand knowledge of Ishrat Jahan.
3. / India, Russia to conclude helicopter deals this year (Page 13) / a) I.R / a) India and Russia are on track to conclude two helicopter deals together worth over $ 2 billion by year end for which discussions are in an advanced stage. These include the final deal for Kamov utility helicopters and additional Mi-17 medium lift helicopters.
4. / Sri Lanka housing project hits a roadblock (Page 14) / a) International / a) The Sri Lanka governments ambitious project of building 65,000 houses in the civil war-hit Northern and Eastern provinces in five years is embroiled in controversy, much before it can gather momentum.
5. / Xis Czech visit to bring Central Europe into Silk Road plan (Page 14) / a) International / a) China is set to unveil another offshoot of its One Belt, One Road connectivity network by investing in a Grand Canal that would link landlocked countries of Central Europe with the sea.
6. / North Korea nukes US on propaganda video (Page 14) / a) International / a) North Korea released a new propaganda video showing a nuclear strike on Washington and then threatened South Korea with a merciless military strike for slandering leader Kim Jong-un.
7. / Indias rotavirus vaccine launched (Page 13) / a) National
b) Health / a) Inching a step closer to universal immunisation, the Health Ministry launched the countrys first, indigenous rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths.
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS
1. / Pak probe team to arrive today (Pages 1 and 13) / a) I.R / a) India – Pakistan relations
b) Terrorism
c) Pathankot terror attack
d) National Investigation Agency (NIA)
e) Special Investigation Team (SIT) / a) Nearly three months after the terror attack on Pathankot air base, a Pakistani team will arrive here on March 27 to survey the airbase and meet NIA officials to discuss the evidence collected so far.
b) The team has been given 15-day visas to complete its investigations. It will travel to Pathankot under NIA escort on March 28.
c) Official sources said the Pakistani SIT is being facilitated without a Letter Rogatory (LR) having been sent to India. An LR is a formal request sent by a countrys judicial officers asking for permission to take evidence in a foreign country.
d) Officials say India has already sent its LR to Pakistan, and hopes to receive an invitation to visit Pakistan to collect evidence soon. All courtesies that are being extended are on the basis of reciprocity.
2. / It was LeT that told me about Ishrat: Headley (Pages 1 and 12) / a) I.R / a) India – Pakistan relations
b) Terrorism
c) 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks
d) Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) / a) Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley told the special court that he didnot have any first-hand knowledge of Ishrat Jahan.
b) Testifying against Abu Jundal (an alleged plotter in the 26/11 attacks), Headley said the commander of LeT Zakhir-ul-Rehman Lakhvi had told him about Ishrat Jahan operation and he learnt from the media that it failed.
c) He said the LeT did not have a womens wing for combat but it had a wing for social purposes. He said the wing worked on womens issues like education and health. He said the wing took Quranic classes for women and took care of widows.
d) On the fourth and last day of his cross-examination, Headley said one of the reasons for the 26/11 attacks was his school was bombed by Indian planes in 1971. He said he believed that the US, Israel and India were enemies of Islam. He said it was not true that he wanted Islamic rule for India.
3. / India, Russia to conclude helicopter deals this year (Page 13) / a) I.R / a) India – Russia relations
b) Kamov utility helicopter
c) Mi-17 medium lift helicopter
d) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
e) Make in India initiative / a) India and Russia are on track to conclude two helicopter deals together worth over $ 2 billion by year end for which discussions are in an advanced stage. These include the final deal for Kamov utility helicopters and additional Mi-17 medium lift helicopters.
b) The two countries had signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement during PM Modis visit to Moscow in December last year for joint production of the Kamov-226T utility helicopter in India.
c) Russia has already selected HAL as the Indian partner for the deal. HAL has begun constructing a new helicopter manufacturing facility which will cater to utility helicopters.
d) The Inter-Governmental Agreement on manufacture of Kamov 226 helicopter in India is the first project for a major defence platform under the Make in India mission.
e) The Kamovs will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which have been in service with the military for several decades. Over 400 of these helicopters are in service in India.
4. / Sri Lanka housing project hits a roadblock (Page 14) / a) International / a) Sri Lankas housing project / a) The Sri Lanka governments ambitious project of building 65,000 houses in the civil war-hit Northern and Eastern provinces in five years is embroiled in controversy, much before it can gather momentum.
b) A few days ago, when the countrys Parliament in Colombo witnessed a debate on the project, the Northern Provincial Council in Jaffna too discussed the Central govts initiative and CM Wigneswaran reiterated his reservations.
c) To be built through a prefabricated method, each house will have 550 sq. ft of total space. It will have facilities such as the provision of gas for cooking, solar panel, Wi-Fi and furniture. The unit cost is estimated at about Rs. 2.1 million.
5. / Xis Czech visit to bring Central Europe into Silk Road plan (Page 14) / a) International / a) Chinas One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative
b) Danube-Oder-Elbe Canal
c) North Sea
d) Black Sea
e) Baltic Sea
f) Szczecin port
g) Piraeus port / a) China is set to unveil another offshoot of its OBOR connectivity network by investing in a Grand Canal that would link landlocked countries of Central Europe with the sea.
b) If everything goes according to plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for the construction of the Danube-Oder-Elbe Canal during his visit next week to the Czech Republic.
c) The strategic canal (a pet project of Czech President Milos Zeman) would connect three major European rivers and provide ships an outlet to the sea. The Y-shaped canal would link with the North Sea at Hamburg. The Black Sea would be accessed at the Romanian port of Constanta, and Polands Szczecin port would provide an outreach to the Baltic Sea.
d) The construction of the Grand Canal would see the merger of the land and the maritime hubs of OBOR, which is rapidly advancing in Eurasia.
e) China has targeted infrastructure development in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries - its intent evident from its focus on constructing the flagship Belgrade-to-Budapest high-speed railway.
f) Once completed, the rail upgrade will dovetail with the Chinese plan to refurbish Greeces main port of Piraeus. Linked with the CEE railway, Piraeus would become the hub of Chinas trade with Europe, along a land-cum-sea corridor.
6. / North Korea nukes US on propaganda video (Page 14) / a) International / a) North Koreas nuclear arsenal
b) South Korea-US war games / a) North Korea released a new propaganda video showing a nuclear strike on Washington and then threatened South Korea with a merciless military strike for slandering leader Kim Jong-un.
b) Pyongyang has been ramping up the bellicose rhetoric and propaganda for weeks, since the launch of annual South Korea-US war games.
c) Seoul and Washington made the already large-scale joint drills bigger than ever this year in response to the Norths nuclear test in January.
7. / Indias rotavirus vaccine launched (Page 13) / a) National
b) Health / a) Rotavirus vaccine
b) Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP)
c) Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV)
d) Measles, Rubella (MR) vaccine
e) Adult Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine
f) Diarrhoea / a) Inching a step closer to universal immunisation, the Health Ministry launched the countrys first, indigenous rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths.
b) Diarrhoea caused by Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age. In India, between 80,000 to one lakh children die due to Rotavirus diarrhoea annually while nearly 9 lakh children are admitted to hospital with severe diarrhoea.
c) The vaccine was being introduced initially in four States (Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha) and would be expanded to the entire country in a phased manner.
d) The Rotavac is in addition to three new vaccines that have been introduced in Indias UIP including IPV, MR vaccine, and Adult JE vaccine.
e) With these new vaccines, Indias UIP will provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases, to 27 million children annually, the largest birth cohort in the world.
f) The IPV was introduced in six States from Nov 30 2015 for double protection against polio.

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