Detailed Current Affairs 11th July 2016 For UPSC

Dear Sehpaathians

We are here with the detailed current affairs of 11th July 2016 especially meant for UPSC examination scheduled to be held in August 2016

Indian Captain Radhika Menon Is First Woman To Get Bravery At Sea Award

Captain Radhika Menon, first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy will receive IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.

The 2016 International Maritime Organisation Award for Exceptional Bravery at Seawill be given to Captain Radhika Menon for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas in the Bay of Bengal in June last year.

About IMO:

The International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

It has 171 Member States and three Associate Members.
The IMO’s primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.
IMO is governed by an assembly of members and is financially administered by a council of members elected from the assembly.
The IMO’s structure comprises the Assembly, the Council, the Maritime Safety Committee, the Marine Environment Protection Committee, the Legal Committee, the Technical Cooperation Committee, and the secretariat, headed by a Secretary-General.

IMO council:

The IMO Council acts as the IMO’s Governing Body. It has a crucial role to play in deciding various matters in relation to the global shipping industry, including its work programme strategy and budget.

Members of the Council consist of 40 member states, elected by its Assembly including 10 members in category A with the largest interest in providing international shipping services; 10 members in category B with the largest interest in international seaborne trade and 20 members in category C with special interests in maritime transport or navigation.
India has been one of the earliest members of the IMO, having ratified its Convention and joined it as a member-state in the year 1959.

About the award:

The IMO award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea was started in 2007. It is an annual award given to persons who perform acts of exceptional bravery and courage “in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment,” often risking their own lives. IMO is the United Nations specialised agency, which is responsible for the safety of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. Captain Menon was nominated by the Government of India and the IMO Council, meeting for its 116th session in London, shared the decision that Captain Menon displayed great determination and courage in leading the difficult rescue operation.

India to seek help for services pact at UN

During the forthcoming Nairobi meet of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India is planning to press for endorsement by more nations for its proposal on a global pact to expedite the services trade flow.

About the pact:

It will officially be known as the ‘Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) for Services’ at the World Trade Organisation (WTO)-level.
The proposed pact, among other things, is aimed at making it easier for services professionals and skilled workers to move across borders for ‘short-term’ projects.
Its objectives include streamlining procedures for global services trade, besides ensuring recognition at the WTO-level for services as a tradable item by establishing a framework — for clarity on definitions and for settlement of disputes.

Trade facilitation:

In December 2013, WTO members concluded negotiations on a Trade Facilitation Agreement at the Bali Ministerial Conference, as part of a wider “Bali Package”. Since then, WTO members have undertaken a legal review of the text. The resulting final text is available here. In line with the decision adopted in Bali, WTO members adopted on 27 November 2014 a Protocol of Amendment to insert the new Agreement into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement. The Trade Facilitation Agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of members have completed their domestic ratification process.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.

UNCTAD:

UNCTAD has 194 member States and is the UN subsidiary looking at measures to boost trade and investment in developing countries.

Upcoming Nairobi (Kenya) meet will be the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 14th quadrennial ‘Ministerial Conference’.
The ‘Ministerial Conference’ is the Geneva-headquartered UNCTAD’s highest decision-making body, and is held every four years ever since UNCTAD was set up in 1964.

India signs five agreements with Tanzania

India and Tanzania have signed five agreements. The agreements were signed following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

Details:

According to one agreement, India will extend a line of credit of $92 million for the rehabilitation and improvement of the water supply system in Zanzibar.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on water resource management and development was also signed.
Another MoU seeks to establish a vocational training centre in Zanzibar.
An MoU was also signed on visa waiver for diplomatic and official passport holders.
An agreement was also signed between the National Small Industries Corporation of India and the Small Industries Development Organisation of Tanzania.

SC seeks review of law on advocates

The Supreme Court has asked the Law Commission to review “all relevant aspects” relating to the law governing the legal profession, including issues like professional misconduct by lawyers, in consultation with all stakeholders. Therefore, Advocates Act, under which lawyers are governed, will be reviewed.

The court has also asked the government to take appropriate steps in the light of report of the Law Commission within six months. The Central Government may file an appropriate affidavit in this regard within one month after expiry of one year.

The direction came in a verdict by which the apex court upheld the conviction of a Uttar Pradesh-based advocate for criminal contempt for intimidating and threatening a civil judge in Etah.

Farmer can’t be evicted even after lease expires: SC

The Supreme Court has held that a farmer, who is in possession of leased land even after expiry of the lease period, cannot be evicted if the owner either acknowledges the tenancy or is accepting the rent.

Referring to a provision of the Transfer of Property Act, a three-judge Bench, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, set aside the verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which ordered the eviction of a farmer after expiry of the lease period of the land.

The operation of Section 116 of the Transfer of Property Act would confer legitimacy to the possession of the tenant even after the termination or expiration of the deemed period of the lease so as to confer on him a status akin to that of a statutory tenant and hence protection from eviction as envisaged by the provisions of the Act (Punjab Security of Land Tenure Act) of 1953.

The Bench said there was no legal provision to evict the farmer as the eviction conditions laid down in the Punjab Security of Land Tenure Act 1953 and the Punjab Tenancy Act 1887 did not include a tenant whose lease had expired.

DAWN marks ice-bearing Ceres craters

Scientists with NASA’s Dawn mission have identified, on the dwarf planet Ceres, permanently shadowed regions most of which likely have been cold enough to trap water ice for a billion years. The findings suggest that that ice deposits could exist in these regions even now.

Key findings:

The conditions on Ceres are right for accumulating deposits of water ice. Ceres has just enough mass to hold on to water molecules, and the permanently shadowed regions identified are extremely cold — colder than most that exist on the moon or Mercury.
Permanently shadowed regions do not receive direct sunlight. They are typically located on the crater floor or along a section of the crater wall facing the pole. The regions still receive indirect sunlight, but if the temperature stays below about minus minus 151 degrees Celsius, the permanently shadowed area is a cold trap: a good place for water ice to accumulate and remain stable.

Dawn mission:

NASA’s Dawn mission will study the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, celestial bodies believed to have accreted early in the history of the solar system. The mission will characterize the early solar system and the processes that dominated its formation.

Preeti Singh