july2_2013
TRANSCRIPT
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July 11-20 2013 Current Affairs
Ireland Ireland passes legislation allowing Selective
Abortion
After intense two-day debate, the Irish Parliamentpassed a watered-down legislation allowing abortion
under limited circumstances.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013,
Ireland:
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013would permit abortion if the mothers life is in danger.
It would also extend to women who are deemed
suicidal if refused abortion.
Background:
It can be recalled that due to lack of such provisionsSavita Halappanavar, a young Indian dentist, died in an
Irish hospital last October after being refused abortion
despite apparent risk to her life. An inquiry found that
she could have been saved if doctors had agreed to
her request for termination. The incident was followed
by widespread outrage and protest.
Tag Savita Halappanavar, Ireland Abortion Bill
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Voting Survey to study voter behavior in LS elections
in Tamil Nadu
The Election Commission of India will conduct KABP(Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour and Practice of
Voters) Baseline Survey in the upcoming Lok Sabha
elections in all the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies of
Tamil Nadu.
The survey which will be conducted by the StateElections Department will seek to determine whatmotivates electors to exercise their franchise and what
deters them.
Tag KABP Survey, Voting patterns
Person in
News
Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corporation,
passes away
Amar Gopal Bose (83), Indian-American founder,Chairman and academic behind the revolutionary
sound systems of Bose Corporation, passed away in
Wayland, Massachusetts.
Tag Amar Bose, Bose Corporation
Polity Supreme Court says Persons in lawful custody
not entitled to vote/contest elections
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Upholding a 2004 judgement of Patna High court, theSupreme Court has held that persons in lawful custody
whether convicted in a criminal case or otherwise
cannot contest polls. However, the ruling does not
apply to those on bail.
Background:
The Chief Election Commissioner and others had fileda appeals against a Patna High Court judgement that
in 2004 had held that when a person in custody is
disqualified from voting he or she must be disqualified
from contesting in elections too. Calling the High
Courts decision right the apex court held that a
person who has no right to vote by virtue of the
provisions of Section 62 (5) of the Representation of
the People Act 1951 is not an elector and is therefore
not qualified to contest the election to the House of
the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State.
Besides, the court said A right to vote is a statutory
right, the Law gives it, the Law takes it away. Persons
convicted of crime are kept away from elections to theLegislature, whether to State Legislature or Parliament
and all other public elections. The Law temporarily
takes away the power of such persons to participate in
elections. To vote is a statutory right. It is a privilege to
vote, which privilege may be taken away. In that case,
the elector would not be qualified, even if his name is
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on the electoral rolls.
Tag Electoral reforms
Telecom ITU: 40% of global population is online
As per the International Telecommunication Union(ITU), nearly 40% of the global population or 2.7 billion
people are already online in 2013 while India still
stands far with around 13% Internet penetration with
roughly 160 million users.
As per ITU:
The percentage of people online in developing anddeveloped world is 31% and 77% respectively.
Europe, with 75% Internet penetration, is the regionwith the highest Internet penetration rate.
The US, with 61% penetration, is positioned at thesecond spot amongst regions.
Africa has nearly 16% of its citizens online only halfthe penetration rate of Asia-Pacific, where one out of
every three (33%) citizens has access to the Internet.
More men than women have access to the Internet,but the distinction is not sharp.
Globally, 37% of all women are online, compared with41% of all men.
The gender gap is more marked in the developing
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world, where 16% less women than men use the
Internet, compared with only 2% less women than
men in the developed world.
41% or nearly 750 million households are connectedto the Net by 2013.
Tag Internet Penetration
EnergyDiplomacy
Irans Gas Offer to India
India is thinking over Irans offer of Production SharingContracts (PSCs) in the energy sector, including one for
developing the prolific Farzad B gasfieldin the Farsi
block of the Persian Gulf.
This is the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolutionthat Iran has offered three Indian oil companies
ONGC Videsh Limited, Oil India Limited and Indian Oil
Corporation PSCs at a time of diminishing crude
purchases by India.
The offer marks a departure from Irans earlierpractice of offering Indian companies 15% fixed
returns under a buy-back arrangement with the
national oil company of Iran and also indicates
towards Irans intention of improving ties with India.
The PSCs offer the Indian companies a guaranteed
share of production. However, India would have to
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analyse the advantages and disadvantages before
accepting the offer, because of the sanctions the U.S.
and the European Union imposed on Iran, primarily
aiming its oil industry, to pressurize Tehran to give up
its nuclear programme.
Tag India-Iran, Energy Import
Person in
News
Zubin Mehta to get Tagore Award
Zubin Mehta, western classical music conductor ofIndian-Parsi origin, will be felicitated with the Tagore
Award for Cultural Harmony. A four-member jury
led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh andcomprising Chief Justice of India Justice Altamas Kabir,
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj
and former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi
unanimously selected Mr. Mehta to be the second
recipient of the awards 2013 instalment in
recognition of his outstanding contribution to culturalharmony.
Tag Zubin Mehta, Tagore Award
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Person in
News
Pran, veteran actor, passes away
Veteran Bollywood actor Pran, whose menacing eyesand powerful screen presence intimidated heroes and
heroines for decades, passed away. He was 93. The
ailing thespian, who acted in more than 300 films in a
five-decade career, was recently honoured with the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Born Pran Kishan Sikand into a Punjabi family in Delhi,Mr. Pran was credited with enhancing the importance
of the villain in Bollywood at a time when the bad guy
was very much one-dimensional.
In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, Indiasthird highest civilian award.
Tag Pran
Environment Dow, Monsanto ordered to pay Agent
Orange victims
South Koreas highest court upheld a ruling, orderingtwo U.S. Agent Orange makers to compensate 39
Vietnam War veterans in one of the countrys most
prominent lawsuits.
The Supreme Court (SC) recognised the epidemiologicalcorrelation between the toxic defoliant and skin
diseases for the first time, saying the 39 victims should
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receive a total of 466 million won ($415,000) from Dow
Chemical and Monsanto.
The veterans had complained that Agent Orange wasresponsible for their severe skin diseases.
Tag Agent Orange