Table of Contents:
A. GS1 Related:
B. GS2 Related:
1. China to export electric power along the New Silk Road
C. GS3 Related:
1. World figures named in massive offshore investment leak
2. Govt. lowers freight target for ports
D.GS4 Related
E.Important Editorials : A Quick Glance
1. Towards restorative criminal justice
1. The Indian Express: Philippines launches world’s first mass dengue vaccination
2. The Economic Times: Indian Navy’s first training squadron deployed in Phuket
3. The Business Line: An ‘eye-opening’ stem-cell technique
F.Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:
G.Fun with Practice Questions 🙂
H.Archives
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Useful News Articles
A. GS1 Related
– Nothing here for today folks! –
B. GS2 Related
1. China to export electric power along the New Silk Road
Topic: International Relations
Category: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
Location: The hindu, Page 14
Keypoints:
- China is positioning itself as a formidable energy exporter, targeting markets that span from Germany to India along the New Silk Road
- Factors driving Beijing’s ambitions:
- China is already a surplus power producer following a decade of continuous investments at home in all forms of energy
- China has mastered ultra–high voltage (UHV) technology which has allowed it to transmit electricity from production centres in West — in places such as Xinjiang — to coastal industrial centres in the faraway east
- With Xinjiang in western China as the hub, China has the proven technological heft to transmit electricity as far as Germany
C. GS3 Related
1. World figures named in massive offshore investment leak
Topic: Economy
Category: Black Money
Location: The hindu, Page 14
2. Govt. lowers freight target for ports
Topic: Indian Economy
Category: Infrastructure
Location: The hindu, Page 15
- The Shipping Ministry scaled down the target for 2016-17 to 644 million tonnes from the 695 million tonnes fixed for 2015-16
- Reasons:
- A global slowdown affected cargo volumes
- European economic crisis
- ban on export of iron ore by some states
- A drop in imports from China
- Decrease in industrial output in India
D. GS4 Related
E. Important Editorials: A Quick Glance
The Hindu
1. Towards restorative criminal justice
Topic: Polity
Category: Judicial System
Keypoints:
- Ways for the reform of the judicial system :
- Recommendations by the ‘committee on criminal justice reforms’
- Divide the Penal Code into 4 codes:
- Social Offences Code
- Correctional Offences Code
- Economic Offences Code
- Indian Penal Code
- Victim-centric criminal justice
- Restorative Justice
- Role of state to be reduced and the participation of communities encouraged
- Crime and violence constitute a major impediment for development and social integration for a plural society like India
- What is needed is a change of mindset, willingness to bring victims to the centre stage of criminal proceedings and to acknowledge that restoring relationships and correcting the harm are important elements of the criminal justice system
2. A balancing act in Riyadh
Topic: International Relations
Category: India – Saudi Arabia
Keypoints:
- Saudi Arabia has been a traditional source of energy and of remittances for India
- Bilateral ties had acquired a security dimension with both countries stepping up cooperation in counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing
- This is a particularly good time to deepen ties when there are differences between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia over Iran
- The joint statement issued by India and Saudi Arabia has an oblique reference to Pakistan as it calls on all states to dismantle terror infrastructure “where they happen to exist”
Causes for worry:
- Even though the joint statement denounces all kinds of terrorism, the Saudis are accused of funding extremist groups in West Asia, particularly in war-torn Syria
- There are some fundamental weak spots in India-Saudi ties, ranging from concerns about Indian workers in the kingdom to its funding of Wahhabi groups elsewhere, including in India
- the aggressive role Riyadh is playing in regional geopolitics
Conclusion:
- There have to be mechanisms to address the flaws as well, without which the grand diplomatic overtures may not bear fruit.
- India would be wary of appearing partisan at a time when the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is at its peak
Others:
1. The Indian Express: Philippines launches world’s first mass dengue vaccination
Topic: Social Justice
Category: Health
Keypoints:
- Philippines launched the world’s first licensed vaccine against a mosquito-borne disease that the World Health Organization estimates infects 390 million people a year globally
- The Philippines had the highest dengue incidence in the WHO’s Western Pacific region from 2013 to 2015
- Dengvaxia vaccine is awaiting regulatory reviews in Europe and dozens of non-European countries, as well as prequalification by the WHO
2. The Economic Times: Indian Navy’s first training squadron deployed in Phuket
Topic: International Relations
Category: Security
Keypoints:
- Indian naval ships Tir and Sujata, and sail-training ship Sudarshini along with Indian Coast Guard’s Varuna, reached Phuket in Thailand today as part of an overseas deployment during spring
- The primary aim of the Squadron is to impart sea training to naval and Coast Guard trainees
- The Indian Navy has also been providing training to personnel from friendly foreign countries for over four decades, wherein more than 13,000 personnel from more than 40 countries have been trained
- India and Thailand have a close, long-standing relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions, which have strengthened over the years
3. The Business Line: An ‘eye-opening’ stem-cell technique
Topic: Technology
Category: Health
Keypoints:
- A technique called Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplantation (SLET) is simple, avoids the number of hospital visits for patients, brings down costs
- It is an effective as a stem cell-based medical treatment
- It eliminates the need for laboratory-based processing. Hence, the procedure will hold minimal risk of contamination compared to using lab-grown stem cells
- At present there are two methods of using stem cells to treat blindness:
- to transplant stem cells onto the damaged eye
- to cut small pieces of the limbus — which contains the stem cells — grow them in the laboratory and transplant them
- The success rate is close to 80-per cent
F. Concepts-in-News: Related Concepts to Revise/Learn:
- India-West Asia
- Stem Cell Technique
- Dengue
- India-Thailand
- Indian Judiciary
- Black Money
- New Silk Road
G. Fun with Practice Questions 🙂
Question 1:Consider the following statements regarding ‘National Investigation Agency’,
- At present NIA is functioning as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in India.
- A State Government may request the Central Government to hand over the investigation of a case to the NIA, provided there is reasonable ground to suggest the commisision of a scheduled offence under the NIA Act in the said crime.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Question 2:Which of the following countries does the ‘Tropic of Cancer’ pass through?
- Mexico, Saudi Arabia, India, U.A.E, Vietnam
- Mexico, Niger, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Question 3:Which of the following countries does not share an international border with Thailand?
a) Malaysiab) Vietnam
c) Laos
d) Myanmar
Question 4:Which of the following vector borne diseases are included in the ‘National Vector borne Disease COntrol Programme’ ?
a) National Anti – Malaria programme and Kala – Azar Control Programme
b) National Filaria Control Programme and Japenese Encephilitis Control Programme
c) Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever
d) All of the above
Question 5:Which of the following statement is true with regard to the types of Ports?
a) Ports of Call: These are the ports which originally developed as calling points on main sea routes where ships used to anchor for refueling, watering and taking food items they developed into commercial ports
b) Packet Station: These are also known as ferry ports. These packet stations are exclusively concerned with the transportation of passengers and mail across water bodies covering short distances
c) Entrepot Ports: These are collection centers where the goods are brought from different countries for export. Singapore is an entrepot for Asia
d) All of the above
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H. Archives:
You can check out some more recent News Analysis sections to build even more context
04th April 2016: Daily News & Current Affairs Analysis
03rd April 2016: Daily News & Current Affairs Analysis
02nd April 2016: Daily News & Current Affairs Analysis
01st April 2016: Daily News & Current Affairs Analysis
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