Indian IAS Academy (iiA): (12.09.2014) Dear UPSC aspirants Todays Current Titbits: National News Make Swacch Bharat a mass movement,link it to economic activity: PM- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for making Swacch Bharat a mass movement in the country and linking it to economic activity.The Mission Swacch Bharat will be launched on 2nd October this year to fulfill Mahatma Gandhis dream of clean India by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. Chairing a high-level meeting on Mission Swacch Bharat in New Delhi last evening, Mr. Modi said, all government departments will actively participate in this mission. He said, government offices upto Panchayat level will be involved in a cleanliness drive which will start from 25th of this month and will continue till Diwali. Mr Modi said, the pursuit of cleanliness can be an economic activity, contributing to GDP growth, reduction in healthcare costs, and a source of employment. The Prime Minister said, if the people of the country clean their homes in due course around Diwali every year, why can this attitude not be extended to overall cleanliness and Swacch Bharat. He also stressed on change in governance attitude towards hygiene and sanitation. Linking cleanliness to tourism and global interest, Mr. Modi said, world-class levels of hygiene and cleanliness are required in Indias top fifty tourist destinations. He also reiterated his vision of solid waste management and waste water management through the Public Private Partnership mode in 500 towns and cities across the country. The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari besides Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary. International News Strong solar storm heading towards Earth : SPWC- Space Weather Prediction Center, SWPC says that two big explosions on the surface of the Sun will cause a moderate to strong geomagnetic storm on Earth in the coming days, possibly disrupting radio and satellite communications. SWPC is a laboratory and service center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration located in Boulder, Colorado. It said, the unusual storm is not likely to wreak havoc with personal electronics but may cause colourful auroras, or displays of the Northern Lights across the northern United States. The storm began with a minor solar flare on Monday, followed by a major X class flare, the strongest classification, on Wednesday. It said, these storm levels are likely to cause significant auroral displays across much of the northern US tonight.The US National Weather Service has alerted power grid operators and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Business News Global oil prices hit 2-year low on IEA demand cut- Global oil prices hit a two-year low today after the International Energy Agency cut its forecasts for world demand, with the market also weighed down by plentiful supplies, analysts said. In earlier London trade, Brent North Sea crude for October sank to USD 96.72 per barrel -- the lowest point since July 2, 2012. And US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery slid to USD 90.43 -- a level last seen on May1, 2013.The market has forged a series of multi-month lows this week on the back of abundant global crude supplies and gloomy demand growth forecasts. Prices plumbed the latest troughs today after the Paris-based IEA, which advises on energy policy to industrialised nations, cut its global oil demand outlook,citing weaker economic growth in both Europe and China. The IEA trimmed its estimate for oil demand this year to growth of 1.0 percent, or 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), from a previous estimate of 1.1 per cent or 1.0 million bpd.The news followed broadly similar demand forecast downgrades this week from both the US governments Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Sports News Davis Cup: India ready for tough battle against giant Serbia- The Tennis mega event, Davis Cup will begin today in Bangalore. India will face one of the most ferocious Davis Cup challenges at home as nothing less than their best will be required to challenge world number two Serbia, which will test skill and strength of the hosts even without world number one Novak Djokovic. Yuki Bhambri and Dusan Lajovic will open the proceedings, playing the first singles in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie between India and Serbia at 3 pm today. In the second singles today, Somdev Devvarman will go up against Filip Krajinovic at 6:30 pm.Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna will take on Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac in the doubles to be played tomorrow. The tie will conclude on Sunday with the two reverse singles where Devvarman faces Lajovic first and Bhambri meets Krajinovic.The nominations for the doubles and reverse singles can be changed up to one hour before the scheduled start. India last qualified for the elite 16-nation Group in 2010 but were knocked out in the first round by the Serbian team the next year in Novi Sad, where the visitors suffered a 1-4 rout.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 05:04:45 +0000