CURRENT AFFAIR UPDATE 19 - 20 OCTOBER

1. Joko Widodo is the new Indonesian President

i. Joko Widodo was inaugurated as Indonesia's new President om Monday, facing the challenges of rebooting a slowing economy and working with a potentially hostile opposition that has already landed some early blows against his administration.

ii. Widodo, the first Indonesian president not to come from the ranks of the country's established political, business and military elite, took the oath of office in a ceremony at parliament in the capital, Jakarta, attended by regional leaders and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

iii. A former furniture salesman, the 53-year-old Widodo rose from humble beginnings to become Jakarta's governor before winning July's presidential election with 53 percent of the vote.

Note: Indonesia is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, and about 90 percent of its 250 million people are Muslims, more than any other nation.

2. WHO declares Nigeria free of Ebola

i. The World Health Organization declared on Monday that Nigeria is free of Ebola, a rare victory in the months-long battle against the fatal disease.

ii. Nigeria’s containment of the lethal disease is a “spectacular success story,” WHO Country Director Rui Gama Vaz told a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Nigeria reported 20 cases of Ebola, including eight deaths. One of those who died was an airline passenger who brought Ebola to Nigeria and died soon after.

iii. WHO said Nigeria had traced nearly every contact of Ebola patients in the country, all of whom were linked to the country’s first patient, a Liberian man who arrived with symptoms in Lagos and later died

iv. The disease continues to spread rapidly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and has claimed more than 4,500 lives.

3. BJP emerged as the largest party in the 2014 Assembly Elections of Maharashtra

i. Election Commission of India on 19 October 2014 announced the results of the 2014 Assembly elections of Maharashtra. The elections were held on 15 October 2014 for total 288 seats.

ii. Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) by winning 122 seats emerged as the largest party but none of the parties succeeded in securing a clear majority. 63.13 percent of the electorate voted in Maharashtra. The elections were held for 288 seats

4. BJP won the Assembly Elections of Haryana; secured majority for the first time

i. Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won the state assembly elections of Haryana. The results of the elections were announced by the Election Commission of India on 19 October 2014.

ii. BJP by securing 47 seats emerged as the largest party, with clear majority. The elections were held for total 90 seats on 15 October 2014. In this elections, Haryana recorded its highest ever turnout of 76.54 percent.

5. MP to celebrate 2015 as Tourism Year

i. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared that 2015 would be celebrated as Tourism Year in the State and said that during the year Madhya Pradesh’s tourism potential would be displayed before the world.

ii. The Chief Minister further said that Madhya Pradesh would be developed as pioneer State in tourism sector and added State had immense potential for tourism.

iii. The State Government had chalked out a pro-active policy. Impressive tourism infrastructures were being constructed in the State, he added.

iv. New tourist circuits were being developed. The State had also immense potential of religious tourism. Sanchi, Khajuraho and Bhim Bhetka were world heritage.

v. Madhya Pradesh has also a number of National Parks and sanctuaries. The state government wishes to develop tourism facilities for every section so that people can spend some peaceful time in present-day complex life.

6. Union Cabinet approved inter-governmental MoU to upgrade Chabahar port of Iran

i. The Union Cabinet on 18 October 2014 approved an inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran to upgrade the Chabahar port Phase-I.

ii. Under the Chabahar port Phase-I project India will set up a Joint Venture (JV) Company with an investment of 85.21 million US dollar and operate the port for 10 years, through a leasing agreement.

iii. The Company will equip two fully-constructed berths in Chabahar port within 12 months, one as a container terminal and second as a multi-purpose cargo terminal.

About Chabahar port

Chabahar port is located in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province on south-eastern coast of Iran, which lies outside the Persian Gulf and it is easily accessed from western coast of India. India can access to Zaranj in Afghanistan which is at a distance of 883 km by using Chahbahar port.

7. India set to become USD 2 trillion economy this year: IMF

i. India is poised to become a USD two trillion economy this year, while its GDP size would cross another milestone of USD three trillion after five years in 2019, according to IMF's latest world economic outlook.

ii. India's ranking would also improve to seventh largest economy in the world, while measured on "current prices" basis in US dollar, in 2019 from its tenth position currently.

iii. Latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that Indian economy is set to be worth USD 2.05 trillion this year, increasing its size from USD 1.88 trillion in 2013. Last year too, India was among the ten largest economies in the world.

iv. Going by the IMF, United States would remain the world's largest economy with a size of USD 17.42 trillion, followed by China at USD 10.35 trillion.

v. Meanwhile, India is all set to cross the USD 3 trillion milestone in 2019 with a size of USD 3.18 trillion, surpassing Russia, Brazil and Italy. This would also make India the world's seventh largest economy.

vi. The United States would remain the world's largest economy in 2019 with a size of USD 22.15 trillion, followed by China (USD 15.52 trillion) and Japan (USD 5.43 trillion).

8. Union Home Ministry drafted a new counter-Naxal       doctrine

i. Union Home Ministry drafted a new counter-Naxal doctrine. In the drafted law, the ministry clearly demarcated the role of the state police and central paramilitary forces (CPMFs) in anti-Maoist operations.

ii. The ministry proposed to put state police forces in the lead, while tasking CPMFs with using their pan-Indian mandate for seamless operations across state borders and holding the counter-insurgency grid together.

iii. The policy proposed oversight committee at the national and state level. The national panel will comprise home minister, finance minister, tribal affairs minister, environment minister, rural development minister, panchayati raj minister and road & transport minister, besides chief ministers of all Naxal-hit states, and will meet bi-annually.

iv. The new counter-LWE doctrine pitches for making CRPF a world-class counter-insurgency force, with a sustained upgrade in its training, infrastructure, arms and financial powers.

9. ICC awarded global broadcast rights from 2015 to       2023 to Star India and Star Middle East

i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 10 October 2014 awarded the global broadcast agreement rights for ICC Events from 2015 to 2023 to Star India and Star Middle East.

ii. The agreement is said to be the biggest ever global broadcast partnership of Cricket.

iii.  The agreement included the eight-year period. During the period, 18 ICC tournaments, including two ICC Cricket World Cups (2019 and 2023), two ICC Champions Trophy tournaments (2017 and 2021) and two ICC World Twenty20 tournaments (2016 and 2020) will be held.

About Star India

i. Star India is one of India’s largest media and entertainment companies and is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, INC.

ii. The Star group has defined India’s broadcast media over two decades and today broadcasts more than forty channels in seven languages, reaching more than 650 million viewers every week across India and around 100 other countries.

About Star Middle East: Star Middle East is a wholly owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, INC. in the Middle East. It distributes 13 satellite cable television channels in the Middle East and Africa.

10. Five-yr-old Indian is the youngest to reach Everest   Base Camp

i. A five-year-old Indian boy, Harshit Saumitra, has become the youngest person to reach the Everest Base Camp (EBC).

ii. A class 1 student from New Delhi, Harshit took 10 days to cover the distance of 62km trek, many sections of which were covered by 5-7 inch of snow from the snowstorm

caused by the tail-end of cyclone Hudhud.

iii. “I felt very good. I unfurled the tricolor at the Everest Base Camp,” said Harshit after his return from the trek.

iv. He also climbed the Kalapathar (5550 m) peak, located near the EBC. With this, the child overtakes the record set by Aaryan Balaji, a seven-year old Indian boy who had reached the two peaks in May 2012.

v. “We were worried that Harshit might experience altitude sickness. But he didn’t face any problem,” said his father, Rajeev Saumitra, a mountaineer who had reached the peak of Mount Everest (8848 m) last year.

11. India juniors retain Sultan of Johor Cup title

i. Harmanpreet Singh converted two penalty corners to help India sucessfully defend its Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) U-21 hockey title, beating Great Britain 2-1 in a keenly-contested final on Sunday.

ii. Harmanpreet (45th and 90 minutes) slammed home two set pieces at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium to take his goals tally to eight in the tournament. For Great Britain Samuel French (55th minute) was the lone goal scorer.

iii. Great Britain, unbeaten in the preliminary round, came into the final with a psychological advantage over India having beaten them 2-0 in their round-robin clash.

iv. Malaysia had won the inaugural title with Germany winning in 2012 and India last year. And the young Indians duely achieved their goal with a late winner from Harmanpreet.

12. ICC rankings: Kohli claims 2nd spot,

i. Indian batsman Virat Kohli claimed number two slot in the ICC rankings while swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke into top-10 for the first time in his career.

ii. Kohli scored 191 runs, including 127 in the final match, in India’s 2-1 series win as he pushed South Africa’s Hashim Amla to number three in the list, topped by Amla’s compatriot AB de Villiers.

iii. Indian skipper MS Dhoni was the next best India at number six (unchanged) while Shikhar Dhawan lost a place to be eighth. Left-handed Suresh Raina gained three places to move to 15th.

iv. Bhuvneshwar took only two wickets in the series but he jumped seven places to number seven, just behind Ravindra Jadeja, who slipped to sixth from fifth.

13. Batra elected unopposed as HI president, Ahmed is gen-secy

i. Narinder Batra was elected unopposed as the president of the Hockey India while Mohammed Mushtaq Ahmad and Rajinder Singh were elected as new general secretary and treasurer respectively at the 4th Hockey India Congress, in New Delhi on Monday.

ii. Batra completed his four-year term as the secretary-general and with no opposition in the HI ranks did not face any problems during his elevation to the top post.

iii. Talking about his new role, Batra said,"Also, being appointed as an unopposed President, I feel overwhelmed with the trust and faith that the members have showed in me. I shall strive to live up to the new role that I am stepping into and hoping to justice to it."

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IAS 2015 – NOTIFICATION, ELIGIBILITY, SYLLABUS AND MORE

Eligibility for 2015 IAS Prelims

(i) Nationality

(1)
For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.

(2) For other services, a candidate must be either:—

(a) a citizen of India, or

(b) a subject of Nepal, or

(c) a subject of Bhutan, or

(d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India,

or

(e) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.

Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (b), (c) and (d) above will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.

A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him/her by the Government of India.

(ii) Age Limits :

(a) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on 1st August, 2015, i.e. he/she must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1985 and not later than 1st August, 1994.

(b) The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable :

(i) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.

(ii) upto a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

(iii) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st day of December, 1989.

(iv) upto a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof.

(v) upto a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commission Officers and ECOs/ SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service and have been released (i) on completion of assignment otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or (iii) on invalidment.

(vi) Upto a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.

(vii) upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped persons.

NOTE I : Candidates belonging to the  Scheduled Tribes,  Scheduled Castes and the Other Backward Classes who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(ii)(b) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen, persons domiciled in the State of J & K, blind, deaf-mute and orthopaedically handicapped etc. will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both the categories.

NOTE II : The term ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as ex-servicemen in the Ex-servicemen (Reemployment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time.

NOTE III : The age concession under para 3(ii)(b)(v) and (vi) will not be admissible to Ex-Servicemen and Commissioned Officers including ECOs/SSCOs who are released on own request.

NOTE IV : Notwithstanding the provision of age-relaxation under para 3 (ii) (b) (vii) above, a physically disabled candidate will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if he/she (after such physical examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) is found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services/posts to be allocated to the physically disabled candidates by the Government.

SAVE AS PROVIDED ABOVE THE AGE LIMITS PRESCRIBED CAN IN NO CASE BE RELAXED.

The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University, which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate.

These certificates are required to be submitted only at the time of applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination.

No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, service records and the like will be accepted.

The expression Matriculation/Secondary Examination Certificate in this part of the instruction includes the alternative certificates mentioned-above.

NOTE 1 : Candidates should note that only the Date of Birth as recorded in the Matriculation/Secondary Examination Certificate or an equivalent certificate as on the date of submission of applications will be accepted by the Commission and no subsequent request for its change will be considered or granted.

NOTE 2 : Candidates should also note that once a Date of Birth has been claimed by them and entered in the records of the Commission for the purpose of admission to an examination, no change will be allowed subsequently (or at any other examination of the Commission) on any grounds whatsoever.

NOTE 3 : The candidate should exercise due care while entering their date of birth in column 3 of the Application Form for the Preliminary Examination. If on verification at any subsequent stage, any variation is found in their date of birth from the one entered in their matriculation or equivalent Examination certificate, disciplinary action will be taken against them by the Commission under the Rules.

(iii) Minimum Educational Qualifications :

The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University Under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

NOTE I : Candidates who have appeared at an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s examination but have not been informed of the results as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite examination with their application for the Main Examination failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination. The applications

for the Main Examination will be called sometime in the month of August/September, 2015.

NOTE II : In exceptional cases the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who has not any of the foregoing qualifications as a qualified candidate provided that he/she has passed examination conducted by the other Institutions, the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies his/her admission to the examination.

NOTE III : Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the examination.

NOTE IV : Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S. or any other Medical Examination but have not completed their internship by the time of submission of their applications for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be provisionally admitted to the Examination provided they submit along with their application a copy of certificate from the concerned authority of the University/ Institution that they had passed the requisite final professional medical examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview original Degree or a certificate from the concerned competent authority of the University/Institution that they had completed all requirements (including completion of internship) for the award of the Degree.

(iv) Number of attempts:

Every candidate appearing at the examination who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six attempts at the examination.

Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts will not apply in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates who are otherwise eligible.

Provided further that the number of attempts permissible to candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes, who are otherwise eligible shall be seven. The relaxation will be available to the candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

Provided further that a physically handicapped will get as many attempts as are available to other nonphysically handicapped candidates of his or her community, subject to the condition that a physically handicapped candidate belonging to the General Category shall be eligible for seven attempts. The relaxation will be available to the physically handicapped candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

NOTE :

(i) An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Examination.

(ii) If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made an attempt at the Examination.

(iii) Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.

(v) Restrictions on applying for the examination :

A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service on the results of an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination.

In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS/IFS after the Preliminary Examination of Civil Services Examination, 2015  is over and he/she continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2015 notwithstanding his/her having qualified in the Preliminary Examination, 2015.

Also provided that if such a candidate is appointed to IAS/IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2015 but before the result thereof and continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be considered for appointment to any service/post on the basis of the result of this examination viz. Civil Services Examination, 2015.

(vi) Physical Standards :

Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination, 2015  as per guidelines given in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.

IAS 2015 Prelims Pattern and Syllabus

The prelims will consist of two papers common to all.

General Studies Paper I

Maximum marks : 200

Number of Questions : 100

Total Time : 120 minutes (02 hours)

SYLLABUS

1. Current events of national and international importance

2. History of India and Indian national movement

3. Indian and World Geography – physical, social, economic geography of India and the world

4. Indian Polity and governance – Constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.

5. Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.

6. General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change – that do not require subject specialization

7. General Science

General Studies Paper II

Maximum marks : 200

Number of Questions : 80

Total Time : 120 minutes (02 hours)

SYLLABUS

1. Comprehension

2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills

3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability

4. Decision making and problem solving

5. General mental ability

6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. – Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level)

7. English language comprehension skills (Class X level)

Books for 2015 IAS Prelims

After the change in Prelims pattern and syllabus the focus is entirely on General Studies. These books for Prelims are highly recommended if you want to crack the Prelims in the very first attempt.

Tips on Filling the 2015 IAS Preliminary Form Online

Apply for the exam early as examination centre allocation is on first come first served basis and except for some centres, there is a limit to the maximum number of candidates allotted against each centre. So if you want your preferred centre, close to your location, apply as quickly as possible.

Fill in the correct details. Be very sure of your name and date of birth as entered in the Matriculation/SSC certificate. Date of birth once accepted by UPSC cannot be altered.

Make sure your photo and signature scan are clearly visible as these will be printed on the hall ticket to be issued by UPSC later.

You must enter a valid email as the registration details from Part I will be mailed to this email.

Don’t worry about optional selection at this stage as you don’t have to choose any optional in the Prelims application form. That will come later when applying for the Main exam.

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CURRENT RATES ACCORDING TO RBI GUIDELINES

Policy Rates

Repo Rate	8.0%
Bank Rate	9.0%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate	9.0%
Reverse Repo Rate	7.0%

Reserve Ratio

CASH RESERVE RATIO(CRR)	4.0%
STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO(SLR)	22.0%

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NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS 2014

About Nobel Prize -

Nobel Prize, any of the prizes (five in number until 1969, when a sixth was added) that are awarded annually from a fund bequeathed for that purpose by the Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel. The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards given for intellectual achievement in the world. 

For Medicine and Physiology: 

John O’Keefe, May-Britt Monser and Edvard I. Monser

Prize Share - 1/3

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 was divided, one half awarded to John O’Keefe, the other half jointly to May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Monser “for the discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.”

For Physics: 

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, Shuji Nakamura

Prize Share - 1/3

They were jointly awarded the prize for the invention of "efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.”

For Chemistry: 

Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, William E. Moerner

Prize Share - 1/3

The Nobel Prize was awarded to them “for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy”

For Literature:

Patrick Modiano

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 was awarede to Patrick Modiano “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation”

For Peace:

Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai

The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 was awarded jointly to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”

For Economics: 

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2014 was awarded to Jean Tirole "for his analysis of market power and regulation

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