Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
S.NO. NEWS ITEM
SYLLUBUS
1.
Modi for forming a) I.R
a strong grouping
around Indian
Ocean (Page 14)
2.
PM likely to raise a) I.R
China, devolution
in parleys (Page
14)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
China banks on a)
innovation and
start-ups (Page
16)
Insurance Bill
a)
passed with Cong.
Support (Pages 1 b)
and 14)
Retail inflation
a)
edges up (Page
17)
Rhino numbers a)
rise in West
Bengal (Page 22) b)
Rocky grains stir a)
theories of life on
Saturn moon
b)
(Page 13)
Astronauts back a)
on Earth from ISS
(Page 22)
b)
ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE
a) PM Modi made a serious appeal for peaceful
resolution of maritime issues and respect for
international maritime rules and called for forming a
strong grouping around the Indian Ocean.
a) In his visit to Sri Lanka, PM Modi is likely to take
up the growing influence of China in the island, matters
relating to devolution of powers to the countrys war-torn
North and East and the fisheries conflict.
International a) China is banking on private initiative, innovation
and start-ups to regain its economy, which will have to
provide for a larger social security bill in the future.
National
Polity
a) The Congress extended its support to pass the long
pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015 in the
Rajya Sabha.
Economy
a) Consumer Price Inflation moved up to 5.37 percent
in February from 5.11 percent in January.
National
a) A State Forest Department survey said that West
Bengal is now home to the second highest population of
the one horned rhinoceros in the country after Assam.
a) Scientists said that grains of rock emitted into deep
space suggest a small moon of Saturn has hydrothermal
holes, boosting theories that it may harbor microbial life.
Geography
S&T
Geography
S&T
Geography
a) Two Russian cosmonauts and an American
astronaut returned to Earth aboard a Soyuz space capsule
after spending six months at the International Space
Station.
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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
S.NO. NEWS ITEM
SYLLUBUS
1.
Modi for forming a) I.R
a strong grouping
around Indian
Ocean (Page 14)
BACKGROUND
a) India – Mauritius
relations
IMPORTANT POINTS
a) In Mauritius, PM Modi
commissioned the Indian-built
coastal patrol vessel for the host
b) Cooperation among nation in the presence of its PM
Indian Ocean countries and touched upon the need for
cooperation among Indian
Ocean countries.
c) Indian Ocean
Regional Association
b) He said we will follow this
(IORA)
with new effort in the years
d) Security and Growth ahead, adding there could be no
better place to host the IORA
for All in the Region
than Mauritius.
(SAGAR)
e)
South China Sea
c) He said those who lived in
the region had the primary
responsibility for peace,
stability and prosperity in the
Indian Ocean.
d) As China tries to gain a
foothold in the Indian Ocean
region, he said India recognised
that there were other nations
with strong interests and stakes
in the region.
e) He said we seek a future
for Indian Ocean that lives up
to the name of SAGAR.
2.
PM likely to raise a)
China, devolution
in parleys (Page
14)
I.R
a) India – Sri Lanka
relations
f) He made a serious appeal
for peaceful resolution of
maritime issues and respect for
international maritime rules in
comments that have come
against the backdrop of China
seeking to apply influence in
the disputed waters of the South
China Sea.
a) Both Colombo and New
Delhi have indicated the
importance they place on the
PM Modis visit that sought to
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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
b)
Fisheries issue
c) Devolution of
powers
d)
13th Amendment
e)
IRCON
upgrade Indo-Lanka relations,
which soured during former
President Rajapaksas term.
b) Sources said that PM
Modi is likely to take up the
growing influence of China in
the island, matters relating to
devolution of powers to the
countrys war-torn North and
East and the fisheries conflict
that has proved a major strain
on Indo-Lanka ties the past few
years.
c) Among the agreements to
be signed during his visit are
MoU relating to customs
cooperation, youth
development, visa exemptions
for diplomatic passport holders
and the construction of an
auditorium named after
Rabindranath Tagore in the
southern Sinhala-majority
Matara district.
3.
China banks on
innovation and
start-ups (Page
16)
a)
International
a) Chinas economic
growth
d) In the Tamil-majority
Northern Province, he will lay
the foundation stone for a
Jaffna-based cultural centre
being built with Indian
assistance, in addition to
flagging off the final leg of the
islands restored railway line in
the north, built by IRCON.
a) China is banking on
private initiative, innovation
and start-ups to regain its
slowing economy, which will
have to provide for a larger
social security bill in the future,
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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
as early signs of an aging
population in the country begin
to show.
b) PM Li said that twin
engines of popular
entrepreneurship and mass
innovation (alongside increased
supplies of public goods and
services) should drive the
economy of the future.
4.
Insurance Bill
a)
passed with
Cong. Support
b)
(Pages 1 and 14)
National
a) Insurance Laws
(Amendment) Bill 2015
Polity
b)
FDI
c)
Lok Sabha
d)
Rajya Sabha
c) The State Council has
subsequently announced that
China will pilot online crowd
funding, which would be
equity-based. Besides, banking
and financial institutions would
be encouraged to provide loans
in order to support small
businesses.
a) In a major relief to the
NDA govt, the Congress
extended its support to pass the
long- pending Insurance Laws
(Amendment) Bill 2015 in the
Rajya Sabha even as a number
of Opposition parties staged a
walkout.
b) The Bill (which replaced
an ordinance enacted in Dec
2013) was passed by a voice
vote after a walkout by the
Trinamool Congress, the DMK,
the Janata Dal (United), the SP
and the BSP.
c) The BJPs ally (Shiva
Sena) did not oppose the bill
but did register reservations that
it had over certain provisions
that allow an increase in the
FDI cap from 26 to 49 percent.
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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
5.
Retail inflation
edges up (Page
17)
a)
Economy
a)
Retail inflation
b)
Food inflation
c)
Inflation
d) The passage of the Bill is
being considered a key reform
likely to help the govts efforts
to strengthen the investment
sentiment and business
confidence in the country.
a) Rising for the third straight
month, consumer price inflation
moved up to 5.37 percent in
February from 5.11 percent in
January.
b) Food inflation rose 6.8
percent during February with
relatively higher rates of rise in
prices of fruits, vegetables,
spices, pulses, meat and fish
and pre-packed food products.
c) In a recent agreement, the
Centre and the RBI agreed to a
6 percent inflation level target
for Jan 2016.
6.
Rhino numbers a)
rise in West
Bengal (Page 22) b)
National
Geography
d) While a higher number
was expected (especially on the
food side), the unseasonal rains
in February-March need to be
evaluated in terms of impact on
prices in the coming months
a) Rhinoceros
a) West Bengal is now home
to the second highest
b) Jaldapara National population of the one-horned
rhinoceros in the country after
Park
Assam, with the number
c) Gorumara National growing to 250 in the State.
Park
b) A State Forest Department
d) Kaziranga National survey in Jan has revealed that
the Jaldapara National Park in
Park
the State has nearly 200 of
these endangered animals and
Gorumara National Park has 50.
c)
Jaldapara now has the
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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
7.
Rocky grains stir a)
theories of life on
Saturn moon
b)
(Page 13)
S&T
a) Enceladus (Saturns
moon)
Geography
b)
Enceladus sea
c)
Lake Superior
d)
Tidal heating
e)
Solar system
f)
Cassini
second highest population of
them after the Kaziranga
National Park in Assam, which
has over 2000.
a) Scientist said that grains of
rock emitted into deep space
suggest a small moon of Saturn
has hydrothermal holes,
boosting theories that it may
harbour microbial life.
b) Astrophysicists in the US
offered a solution to a decadeold mystery over dust streaming
from Saturns rings.
c) They suggested that the
grains are emitted from a
mineral-rich pleasant sea under
the planets ice-crusted moon
Enceladus.
d) It is the first indication of
ongoing hydrothermal activity
beyond Earth, a possible clue to
the existence of warm, waterrich conditions conducive to
life beyond our planet.
e) It is very exciting that we
can use these tiny grains of rock
to tell us about conditions on
and under the ocean floor of an
icy moon.
f) Enceladus looks like a ball
of ice (500 kms in diameter) its
mostly smooth exterior marked
by a few shallow, wavy ridges
and small pockmarks from
space impacts.
g) At its south pole,
Enceladus emitted fountains of
ice crystals from what is
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Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:13-03-15
thought to be a sub-surface
ocean about 10 km deep - about
the size of Lake Superior, the
second largest freshwater body
on Earth.
h) One theory is that the
water can exist in liquid form,
despite the deep chill of the
outer Solar System, thanks to a
phenomenon called tidal
heating. The guts of Enceladus
are compressed and released by
the gravitational pull of Saturn,
causing friction and thus
warmth.
i) The unmanned US probe
Cassini found nano-sized grains
streaming out of Saturs socalled E ring, which is believed
to comprise Enceladus crystals.
8.
Astronauts back a)
on Earth from
ISS (Page 22)
b)
S&T
Geography
j) Based on measurements
from Cassinis onboard
instruments of the grains
chemical signature, the team
concluded they were likely
grains of silica (the mineral
found on Earth in quartz and
sand) from the Enceladus sea.
a) Soyuz space capsule a) Two Russian cosmonauts
and an American astronaut
b) International Space returned to Earth aboard a
Soyuz space capsule after
Station (ISS)
spending six months at the ISS.
b) They will stay at the
research outpost for an entire
year, collecting valuable
biomedical data that will inform
future deep space, longduration missions.
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