CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/16/2015
1.The Supreme Court has appointed Justice (Retd) Virendra Singh as new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
1.The Supreme Court has appointed Justice (Retd) Virendra Singh as new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
The first of its kind order given , the SC has invoked its constitutional power and appointed retired HC judge as UP Lokayukta after state machinery failed to appoint it. The order was given as per Article 142 of Constitution.
The Supreme Court observed that
The failure of constitutional functionaries to comply with the orders of the apex court of the country is deeply regretted and astonishing.
Expressed displeasure that Chief Minister, leader of opposition and Chief Justice of High Court failed to comply with its order. Justice (Retd) Virendra Singh is a native of western Uttar Pradesh.
He has served as Judge of Allahabad High Court from 2009 to 2011 and had superannuated in 2011.
Background
The Supreme Court’s order came after State Selection Panel of Lokayukta comprising Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, leader of Opposition (LoP) Swami Prasad Maurya and Chief Justice of Allahabad high court Justice DY Chandrachud could not reach on any consensus.
2.Supreme Court has banned the registration of all diesel SUVs (Sports Utility Vechiles) and luxury cars in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi.
The ban will be valid to SUVs, luxury cars with engine capacity of 2000 cc or more till March 31, 2016. The SC ruling aims at curbing the alarming pollution level in Delhi.
The Supreme Court ruled that
All trucks not bound for Delhi would be not allowed to enter the capital through National Highways 1 and 8.
Trucks carrying goods for Delhi will have to shell out a steep environment compensation charge (ECC).
EEC will be of 2,600 rupees for big trucks and 1,400 rupees for light commercial vehicles.
All the private cabs operating in Delhi should convert into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by March 1, 2016. Commercial vehicles registered before 2005 are banned from entering Delhi.
Delhi government and all civic bodies to stop burning of waste. Asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to enforce construction norms strictly to stop builders from polluting the NCR region.
Presently, over 23 percent (around 8.5 million) of the vehicles on Delhi roads run on diesel and more than 1,400 new cars are added every day. These diesel vehicles produce much more carcinogenic nitrogen oxide than petrol cars and are one main source of Particulate Matters.
The test of the missile was aimed at re-validating several design and technical parameters of the weapon system. However the location of the test was not disclosed by Pakistan Government. It is second nuclear capable missile test to be undertaken by Pakistan in December 2015. Earlier Shaheen-III surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 2,750 km was tested.
About Shaheen-IA ballistic missile
Shaheen-IA ballistic missile (In English means Falcon) is a land-based supersonic and short-to-intermediate range surface-to-surface guided ballistic missile.
It has been jointly designed and developed by the joint venture (JV) of NESCOM and the National Defence Complex (NDC).
The missile has optimal range of 750 km and is propelled by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor.
It is capable of carrying both conventional as well as nuclear warhead and is capable of striking targets deep within India.
4.Saudi Arabia has launched Islamic Military Coalition, a new military alliance of 34 nations mainly Muslim nations to fight terrorism.
It has been established in pursuance of the objectives and principles of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It calls for all member states to cooperate to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
About Islamic Military Coalition
The joint operations centre of the coalition will be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt as well as war-torn countries such as Libya and Yemen.
Member nations: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Turkey, Benin, Togo, Chad, Djibouti, Tunisia, Sudan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Somalia, Guinea, Comoros, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Cote d’Ivoire, Lebanon, Maldives, Libya, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Yemen.
The establishment of coalition comes amid international pressure on the Gulf Arab states to do more in the fight against so-called Islamic State.
The new alliance will co-ordinate efforts against extremists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.
5.International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons.
In this regard, IAEA Board of Governors have passed a resolution ending its long-running inquiry against Ian but allowing inspectors to continue to police the country’s nuclear programme.
Earlier IAEA has concluded that Iran had conducted nuclear weapons-related research until 2003 and to a lesser extent until 2009, but found no evidence was found.
The move is seen as a key step towards lifting UN, EU and US sanctions and a symbolic victory for Iran. Earlier in July 2015, P5+1 nations and Iran had agreed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to lift the sanctions.
Under the JCPOA, sanctions against the Iran would be lifted over a series of years in exchange for curbing its nuclear programme. However, Iran has strongly denied pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons programme. It has clearly positioned itself that its nuclear programme civilian purpose and not for military purpose.
About International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
It was established as an autonomous organization in 1957 through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute.
The IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
It is independent of the United Nations but reports to both the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Security Council (UNSC).
6.Combined Commanders Conference, an annual tri-services event chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was held on board INS Vikramaditya about 50 kms off Kochi coast. This is the first time when the conference was held outside New Delhi.
It was attended by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, all three services chiefs and other senior officers of three armed services.
Key facts
The Conference is also known as the Unified Commanders’ Conference (UCC). During this conference India’s defence policy, doctrine and operational challenges are discussed in detail.
Prime minister also reviewed exercise like firing of surface-to-surface missile by INS Nirghat during this conference. Prior to conference PM revived the tri-services guard of honour at Southern Naval Command.7.Senior revenue service officer Arun Kumar Jain appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Jain is Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer of a 1978 batch. Prior to this appointment he was serving as acting Chairman of the board following superannuation of Anita Kapur on November 30, 2015. He will have short tenure of two months as Chairman of CBDt till January 2016. Presently, he is also holding additional charge of Member (Personnel and Vigilance) in the CBDT.
About Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
CBDT is apex policy making body of Income Tax department in India and is the supreme body for framing policies related to direct taxes. It is a statutory authority established under The Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. The composition of CBDT includes Chairman and six members.8.The average temperature over Arctic land for the year ending in September 2015 was the highest on record indicating that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as other parts of the Earth.
It was revealed by the annual Arctic Report Card of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency of US for monitoring condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.
Key facts
The temperatures in areas at latitude 60 degrees north and higher i.e. over Arctic were 1.3 degrees Celsius above average for the year ending in September 2015.
The recorded temperature rise is the warmest since observations began in 1900. Due to temperature rise the ice in this region is growing thinner each year.
The sea ice coverage in the Arctic has reached its peak in February 2015 and marked the lowest extent since record-taking began in 1979.
The newly formed thin ice comprises about 70 per cent of the winter ice cover in the Arctic Ocean compared to about half that in the 1980s.
The rising temperatures are melting snow and ice cover in this region causing the ground and sea surface to absorb more heat.
9.Apurvi Chandela from Rajasthan has won a Gold medal in the 59th National Shooting Championship in Delhi.
She won the gold medal in 10-metre Air Rifle event in women’s category by shooting 207.8 score in the finals. She was followed by Geetakshi Dixit (Rajasthan) at second spot and Anjum Moudgil (Haryana) at third spot.
Winners of other Categories
Men’s 50-metre Rifle 3 Positions event: Chain Singh (Indian Army) won the gold medal. Gagan Narang (Air India) won the Silver medal.
Junior men’s 25m sports pistol: Achal Pratap Singh Grewal (Gold), Gurmeet Singh (Silver), Aadeithya Johal (Bronze).
Junior women’s 10m air rifle: Geetakshi Dixit (Gold), Prachi Pramod Gadkari (Silver) and Nupur Hagawane Patil (Bronze).
Youth: Nupur Hagawane Patil (Gold), Ayushi Podder (Silver) and Manini Kaushik (Bronze).
Read more at: http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/month/current-affairs-december-2015/page/11
No comments:
Post a Comment