Current Affairs 11th April 2015

Current Affairs 11th April 2015 - Important Points

• India elected to - four United Nations agencies

• Name the ballistic missile successfully tested by India - Dhanush

• Who has rejected Odisha government proposal to grant mining license to Posco - Union Government

• Who has passed a bill that allow use of nitrogen gas for executions - State legislature of Oklahoma

• Which country will chair Ninth Meeting of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council - India

• Who is appointed as CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) - Arun Kumar Jha

• Supreme Court ordered free treatment for - acid attack victims

Current Affairs 27th January 2015 - Details

India elected to - four United Nations agencies

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 8th April 2015, India was elected among the four important United Nations (UN) agencies. The four agencies include : The Governing Council of UN-Habitat, World Food Program (WFP), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). At the UN headquarters in New York, USA, India was elected to these bodies at the Coordination and Management Meeting (CMM) of UNECOSOC (the United Nations Economic and Social Council).

India was elected by a form of election that doesn’t use a ballot.

Results of Elections

• India was elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) along with thirteen other nations, for a period of 13 years starting from January 2016.
• India, along with 5 other nations was re-elected to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) for a period of two year starting from January 2016.
• India, along with 19 other nations was elected to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) for a period of three year commencing from January 2016. Saudi Arabia Austria, United States, France, Sweden, Iran and Pakistan are some of the other nations that were elected to CCPCJ.
• India, along with 13 other nations was re-elected to the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for a period of three year commencing from January 2016.

Name the ballistic missile successfully tested by India - Dhanush

Among the important National Current Affairs, 9th April 2015, from a naval ship off the Odisha coast, India successfully test-fired the Surface-to-Surface nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile. Dhanush is a naval variant of India’s indigenously-developed Prithvi missile.

The missile was fired from an Offshore Patrolling Vessel (OPV) of Indian Navy by the Strategic Force Command (SFC). SFC is a part of India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) which is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.

About Dhanush Missile

• It can hit both land and sea-based targets within 350 km range and is capable of carrying conventional as well as nuclear payload of 500 to 1000 kilogram.
• It is one missiles developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and is a single-stage, liquid-propelled missile.
• It can be used as an anti-ship weapon and can also destroy land targets depending on the range.

Who has rejected Odisha government proposal to grant mining license to Posco - Union Government

On 9th April 2015, The Union Government rejected the Odisha Government proposal to grant mining license to South Korean steel major Posco which needed mining license for its proposed 12 billion US dollar mega steel plant at Paradip in Odisha.

Union Government in response to the proposal, asked Odisha Government that Posco, like others, will have to take part in the open auction to get Khandadhar or any other mines.

Union Government declined the state government’s proposal in accordance to the Amendment of Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957. The amendment in the bill states that all contracts shall be accorded through auction by competitive bidding.

Who has passed a bill that allow use of nitrogen gas for executions - State legislature of Oklahoma

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 9th April 2015, use of nitrogen gas (nitrogen-induced hypoxia) as a method of execution has been passed by the state legislature of Oklahoma. The legislature passed the bill without a single dissenting vote.

The bill now awaits the governor's signature to become a law. Oklahoma will become the first state in the United States that will allow use of nitrogen for execution after the Governor’s approval.

The promoter of the bill affirm that it is more humane and painless way to die with poisoning through nitrogen-induced hypoxia.

Which country will chair Ninth Meeting of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council - India

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 10th April 2015, India was nominated to chair the 9th meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council which is to be held for two days starting from 10th June 2015 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates.

India will head the 21 member council meeting, which will guide the agency’s future programmes and activities and helps set the agenda for the meeting of the annual Assembly to be held in January 2016.

About IRENA

• On 26th January 2009, IRENA was established as an intergovernmental organization to supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.
• It serves as the platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy.
• India is a founder-member of the organization and it has 140 other members.
• IRENA has two main governing structures-IRENA Assembly and IRENA Council.
• The IRENA Assembly takes decisions at the macro level and gives overall policy direction to IRENA.
• It is the main Governing Body of the Agency, which is responsible for implementing decisions of the Assembly.
• Adnan Z. Amin, a national of Kenya is the Director-General of IRENA.

Who is appointed as CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) - Arun Kumar Jha

Among the important appointments, On 10th April 2015, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions appointed Arun Kumar Jha as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). Jha is a 1985-batch Indian Economics Service (IES) officer.

As the CEO of KVIC, Jha will look after the day-to-day functioning of the commission and report about its activities to the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Prior to this appointment, he had been working as the Director General of National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).

Supreme Court ordered free treatment for - acid attack victims

On 10th April 2015, The Supreme Court (SC) of India instructed all the private hospitals in the country to provide full and free medical treatment to acid attack victims.

The judgement was given by a social justice bench of the court comprising Justices UU Lalit and Madan B Lokur in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Laxmi vs Union of India filed under the Article 32 of the Indian Constitution.

The court, in its judgment, stated that the term treatment includes free medicines, bed, rehabilitation, reconstructive surgery and aftercare. The recent order is in continuation of a series of orders delivered by the court to deal with acid attack cases such as,

• Insertion of a special section to deal with issues related to acid attacks in IPC (Indian Penal Code). In February 2013, the Union Government inserted the Section 357C into the IPC.
• A minimum compensation 3 lakh rupees to the acid attack victims.
• Complete ban on over sale of acid.