Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:22-03-15

S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE
1. / Time to make tough decisions on n-deal: Kerry (Page 12) / a) International / a) US Secretary of State John Kerry said talks with Iran had made genuine progress and the time had come to make hard decisions in reaching a deal to control Tehrans nuclear programme.
2. / Koirala, Nembang re-stress need for an end to impasse (Page 12) / a) International / a) Nepals PM Sushil Koirala asked the political parties to overcome their differences on the new Constitution so as to live up to peoples expectations.
3. / The porous walls of Indian jails (Page 10) / a) National
b) Polity / a) No jail reform committee has exclusively addressed the problem of security. May be it is time for that.
4. / Dont prisoners have rights? (Page 10) / a) National
b) Polity / a) The govt is slowly implementing some of the prison reforms suggested by human rights advocates.
5. / They are a silent minority and they deserve to live (Page 4) / a) National
b) Health / a) There is no national policy to tackle rare diseases (also called orphan diseases) which have affected 10 crore Indians.
6. / Rain lays low Konkans Alphonso (Pages 1 and 8) / a) National
b) Geography / a) Unseasonal rain in February and March has damaged the famous Alphonso mango crop of Konkan when the fruit was ready to be plucked.
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS
1. / Time to make tough decisions on n-deal: Kerry (Page 12) / a) International / a) US – Iran nuclear deal
b) P5+1 group / a) US Secretary of State John Kerry said talks with Iran had made genuine progress and the time had come to make hard decisions in reaching a deal to control Tehrans nuclear programme.
b) Speaking after week-long negotiations with Iran, Kerry said he would meet European counterparts in London to try to resolve remaining sticking points. He said talks will resume next week to see whether a deal was possible.
c) He said the P5+1 group (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China) would coordinate to reach an understanding on the major issues. As talks between Kerry and his Iranian counterpart broke after a week of negotiations, the sides appeared deadlocked over sensitive atomic research and lifting of sanctions.
2. / Koirala, Nembang re-stress need for an end to impasse (Page 12) / a) International / a) Nepals internal issues
b) New Constitution process
c) Peoples Movement of 2006 / a) Prime Minister Sushil Koirala asked the political parties to overcome their differences on the new Constitution so as to live up to peoples expectations.
b) He said it was important to institutionalise the gains made so far after the second Peoples Movement of 2006.
c) His remarks come a few days after the announcement of the second phase of protests by 30-party Opposition alliance.
d) Meanwhile, Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Nembang again urged top political leaders to hold meaningful talks on disputes related to the new Constitution.
3. / The porous walls of Indian jails (Page 10) / a) National
b) Polity / a) Jail Reforms
b) Dimapur incident
c) National Security Act
d) National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah)
e) National Crime Records Bureau
f) Human Rights Commission / a) On March 5, a large crowd broke in to the Dimapur Central Jail in Nagaland and dragged out Md Sarifuddin Khan (accused of rape) by overpowering the jail security staff.
b) Two militants of the Natonal Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) detained under the National Security Act were found missing when the authorities carried out a head count after the crowd had dragged out Sarifuddin Khan.
c) Experts said that prison authorities should draw lessons on strengthening structural security arrangements at the jail. The Gauhati High Court has since directed the Nagaland govt to provide security for all prisoners in the state.
d) That Dimapur is no exception is obvious when you look at security lapses in New Delhis Tihar Central Jail. One of its biggest embarrassment was the mysterious death of Nirbhaya gang-rape accused Ram Singh found dead inside his cell.
e) Experts observed that the standard inmate to prison official ratio is 1:3, currently not followed in any prison in India.
f) They said no jail reform committee has exclusively addressed the problem of security. May be it is time for that. Overcrowding has been one of the biggest concerns of these committees and ensuring the review and release in cases of unnecessary detentions.
4. / Dont prisoners have rights? (Page 10) / a) National
b) Polity / a) Prison reforms
b) National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommendations
c) Prison Act 1894
d) Model Prison Manual 2003
e) All India Prison Reforms Committee (1980)
f) R.K. Kapoor Committee (1986)
g) Justice Krishna Iyer Committee (1987) / a) Overcrowding and large numbers of undertrial prisoners are two worrying problems in our prisons.
b) Delay in providing justice, inadequate court infrastructure and inaccessibility of a large number of prisoners to legal help highlight the insensitivity of authorities and law enforcing agencies towards prisoners.
c) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said recently that despite prisons being a State subject, the Centre would provide funds for modernization of jails. Accoridingly, the Centre provided Rs.1800 crore to States and UTs.
d) The NHRC has made some key recommendations for prison reform. These include replacing the 1894 Prison Act with a new one, amending prison manuals keeping human rights in mind, reducing overcrowding, shifting foreign nationals to detention centres from prisons after their sentence is completed, till they are deported to their respective countries.
e) The recommendations have been circulated to the States and UTs, and the Home Ministry has already set up a committee of officers to suitably amend the Model Prison Manual 2003.
f) In the past, the Centre had set up various committees such as the All India Prison Reforms Committee (1980), the R.K. Kapoor Committee (1986) and the Justice Krishna Iyer Committee (1987) to make suggestions for improving prison conditions and administration. But progress has been slow and unimpressive.
5. / They are a silent minority and they deserve to live (Page 4) / a) National
b) Health / a) Rare diseases (Orphan diseases)
b) Asperger Syndrome
c) Juvenile Arthritis and Rheumatoid
d) Crohn Disease
e) Cystic Fibrosis
f) Parkinsons disease
g) Motor Neuron Disease
h) Alzheimers
i) Bells palsy / a) Orphan diseases are so rare and impact smaller populations that they are quite often neglected by drug developers, researchers, health care workers and even govts.
b) Experts estimate that rare diseases have affected close to 10 crore Indians, a majority of them being children. Close to 7000 different rare diseases exist and 80 percent of them are caused by genetic defects.
c) India is yet to adopt a definition or a policy for rare diseases. Our estimates suggest that out of Indias 120 crore population, there will be at least 10 crore people with rare diseases.
d) In the US, the rare disease is defined as an illness with prevalence in fewer than 2 lakh people, while in European Union it is one with prevalence in five among 10,000 persons. Some well-known examples of rare diseases will include Asperger Syndrome, Juvenile Arthritis and Rheumatoid, Crohn Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Parkinsons, Motor Neuron Disease, Alzheimers, Bells palsy, etc.
6. / Rain lays low Konkans Alphonso (Pages 1 and 8) / a) National
b) Geography / a) Alphonso mango crop
b) Rainfall
c) Temperature variations
d) Pollination / a) Unseasonal rain in February and March has damaged the famous Alphonso mango crop of Konkan when the fruit was ready to be plucked. The yield will be just half that of the previous year.
b) The rain caused black spots and fungus infections, damaging the ready crop and reducing supply. The situation will get worse as the rain has destroyed the tender mangoes.
c) Officials said variations in temperature also seem to be lowering the yield. Most trees produced male flowers. Hence, pollination did not take place and the yield was less.

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