Current Affairs - 21 October 2015

General Affairs

Hardik Patel Moves Gujarat High Court to Set Aside Sedition Charges

• AHMEDABAD:  A day after he was arrested, Patel quota agitation spearhead, Hardik Patel today moved a petition before the Gujarat High Court seeking to set aside the sedition charges filed against him in Surat.
  
  Hardik's father Bharat Patel moved the plea on behalf of his son through his advocate, BM Mangukiya. "No offence can be disclosed by spoken words of Hardik and no overt act can be attributed to him by those words, thus no offence has been made out," the plea said.
  
  

  The plea is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.
  
  Earlier, a case of sedition was filed against Hardik Patel for his alleged controversial remarks instigating his community youth to kill cops instead of committing suicide.
  
  The 22-year-old leader was detained by Rajkot rural police ahead of the India-South Africa One-Day International on Sunday, as he had threatened to disrupt the match. He was arrested yesterday for allegedly insulting the national flag.
  
  Just after he was granted bail last evening by a local court in the flag case, the Surat police had arrested him in the sedition complaint. The Deputy Commissioner of Police in Surat city, Makrand Chauhan had filed a complaint against Hardik in Amroli police station for advising a Patel youth to kill policemen.
  
  The sedition case was filed under section 124(A) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Amroli Police Station in Surat. Other IPC sections included against Hardik are section abetment of offence, promoting enmity between different groups, incite one community against another and criminal intimidation.
  
  The emerging Patel leader had on October 3 allegedly advised a Surat-based youth from his community to kill cops rather than ending his life.
  
  "If you have so much courage...then go and kill a couple of policemen. Patels never commit suicide," Hardik had allegedly told the youth Vipul Desai, who had announced that he would commit suicide in support of the agitation.
  
  Hardik had visited Mr Desai's house accompanied by a team of a news channel which had aired the conversation later.
  
  The quota stir leader has been hogging the limelight since the August 25 "mega-rally" of Patels in Ahmedabad and the subsequent violence across Gujarat in which 10 people were killed.
  

CO2 Emission Reduction Plans Not Enough to Meet Targets: International Economic Organisation

• PARIS:  Plans published by rich nations and major emerging countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions are not enough to limit a rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said today.
  
  The United Nations has set that increase in average temperature from pre-industrial levels as the ceiling to avert dramatic increases in heatwaves, droughts, floods and extinctions.
  
  But a report from the Paris-based think-tank analysed the past efforts and new pledges of its 34 members and 10 other partner countries including China and India, which together account for more than 80 percent of global carbon emissions.
  
  "Countries have made efforts but these are not sufficient to reach their own targets, let alone reach the 2 degrees Celsius objective," climate specialist Mikaela Rambali, who co-authored the report, told reporters in Paris.
  
  

  The study coincides with Monday's start of a week of talks among almost 200 nations in Bonn, Germany, the final preparatory session before a UN climate summit in Paris in December intended to produce an agreement to limit climate change beyond 2020.
  
  About 150 nations have so far submitted national plans for fighting climate change as building blocks of a Paris accord. But there is no agreed system to compare each nation's level of ambition.

Army Jawan Kills 4 Neighbours, Shot Dead by Police in Punjab's Sangrur

• SANGRUR:  An army jawan today killed four of his neighbours in indiscriminate firing before he was shot dead by police at Hassanpur village in Sangrur district of Punjab.
  
  Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pritpal Singh Thind said the sepoy, who was on leave, entered into three houses in his neighbourhood and killed four people and injured four others by opening fire.
  
  Later, police asked him to surrender but he did not heed the request and was shot dead by police.

World Kabaddi Cup Cancelled in Wake of Desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab

• CHANDIGARH:  Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced the cancellation of the sixth edition of the World Kabaddi Cup scheduled to be held in the state from November 14 to 28. This has been done in the wake of an incident of desecration of the holy book of Sikhs and protests over them in the state.
  
  Making the announcement in Chandigarh, the Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the sports portfolio, said he had taken the emergent decision to cancel the Kabaddi Cup in the wake of the recent incident of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.
  
  "Kabaddi symbolises the spirit of the Punjabis and their quest for excellence in rural sports. At a time when the entire Sikh community is shell shocked with grief at the ghastly manner in which Guru Granth Sahib has been desecrated, holding such a tournament is not appropriate," he said.
  
  Sukhbir Badal said the feelings of the entire Punjabi community had been outraged after the "ghastly incidents of sacrilege". "My feelings too have been outraged and my conscience is not allowing me to preside over a tournament at a time when the Sikh community in India and all over the world is in grief over the ghastly acts of sacrilege," he said.

China Defends Actions After Japan Says Jet Scrambles Up

• BEIJING:  China defended the actions of its air force on Tuesday after Japan said its scrambled fighter jets to prevent possible incursions by Chinese planes a record high number of times in the summer.
  
  Japan jets scrambled 117 times from July to September, up from 103 in the same period of last year, although it was lower than the all-time high of 164 times recorded in the final quarter of 2014.
  
  "The actions of China's aircraft in the airspace over the relevant sea are justified and legal," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing.
  
  

  "We call on Japan to cease all interfering actions targeting China and make constructive efforts to safeguard China-Japan relations and regional peace and stability."
  
  Japan has long been mired in a territorial dispute with China over a group of tiny, uninhabited East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
  
  Patrol ships and fighter jets from Asia's two biggest economies have been shadowing each other on and off near the islets, raising fears that a confrontation could result in a clash.
  
  Sino-Japanese ties, also plagued by the two countries' wartime past, concerns over Tokyo's bolder security stance and Beijing's increasing military assertiveness, have thawed a little in the last year.

Business Affairs 

Sensex ends 58 points down; Nifty holds 8,250 level; Vedanta top loser

• Snapping three days long gaining spree, the domestic markets ended the day in red, tracking muted trend seen in Asian markets as the commodity prices languished in the wake of China growth woes and dampened risk sentiment.

  The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day 58 points down at 27,306.83, while broader CNX Nifty held above its key support level of 8,250 after surging as much as 19 points to 8294.05 earlier in the day.

  Market breadth remained negative with 22 of the 30 Sensex stocks ending the day in red.

  Vedanta was the top Sensex loser, which closed at Rs 100.40, down 6.42 per cent, even as the company expects its iron ore exports from Goa to be much higher than its permitted mining capacity of 5.5 million tonnes in the fiscal year to March, as it bids for ore in government-run auctions.

  Investors turned wary as Standard & Poor's kept India's sovereign rating unchanged to lowest investment grade of "BBB-minus" and a "stable" outlook. The agency is unlikely to change country's rating this year or in 2016 based on its current set of forecasts. 

  The decision is bound to disappoint Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which has argued that India deserves a stronger rating on improving economic fundamentals.

  The sentiment in the market was also dampened due to crude oil falling about 4 per cent on Monday. A tumble in gasoline futures added pressure to a market slumping on slower growth in China. Signs that Iranian oil will return to the market soon following implementation of its nuclear deal also played on prices. 

  Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite ended the day 1.14 per cent higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed with a downtick of 0.37 per cent. Japan's Nikkei settled the day with an uptick of 0.42 per cent.

  Overnight, US stocks ended slightly higher as investors were cautious at the start of a heavy week of earnings, but advances in top tech names gave some support. The Dow and S&P 500 pared losses late in the session while the Nasdaq added to gains. 

  Lowdown on markets today:

  3:10 pm

  Sensex at 27,326.76, down 38.16 points 

  Nifty at 8,263.30, down 11.75 points

  1:30 pm

  Sensex at 27,429.57, up 64.65 points

  Nifty at 8,292.30, up 17.25 points

  11:45 am

  Sensex at 27,372.86, up 7.94 points 

  Nifty at 8,278.45, up 3.40 points

  10:45 am

  Sensex at 27,392.10, up 27.18 points

  Nifty at 8,283.10, up 8.05 points

  9: 30 am

  Sensex at 27,359.78, down 5.14 points

  Nifty at 8,269.30, down 5.75 points

Bharti Airtel sells 8,300 mobile towers in Africa for $1.7 bn

• Telecom firm Bharti Airtel said on Tuesday it has completed the sale of about 8,300 mobile towers in Africa for $1.7 billion (about Rs 11,000 crore), which will be used for reducing debt.

  "As on date we have completed the sale transactions in seven countries for approximately 8,300 towers representing close to 60 per cent of the total tower base," Airtel said in a statement.

  Bharti Airtel has around 14,000 mobile towers in Africa and has decided to exit the tower business.

  "The total value of proceeds from all the concluded transactions in these seven countries is over $1.7 billion and is being utilised for reducing the debt of the company," the statement said.

  The net debt of Airtel was Rs 68,134.5 crore at the end of June this year.

  The agreements to sell mobile towers have lapsed in four countries while the process is on in two countries, it added.

  Airtel said sales and leaseback shall continue to remain a strategic priority for the telco in all its operating countries across Africa and accordingly the balance towers will also be disposed over a period of time.

Govt acts against pulses hoarders, seizes 5,800 tonne

• The government said on Tuesday action against hoarders and blackmarketeers has been stepped up and the state governments have seized over 5,800 tonne of pulses in five states over the last few months.

  This is basically aimed at boosting supply and bringing down prices of tur dal that have shot up to Rs 200 per kg.

  The Cabinet Secretary on Tuesday reviewed the prices, production, procurement and availability of pulses in a meeting with secretaries of Consumer Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce and other ministries.

  The meeting also reviewed the action taken by state governments to prevent hoarding of pulses, besides discussing about progress of sale of imported pulses at subsidised rates in Delhi and other states.

  "We had directed state governments to enforce the Essential Commodities Act more stringently. As a result, some state governments have carried out surprised inspections and seized large quantities of pulses," Consumer Affairs Secretary C Vishwanath said after the meeting.

  According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, over 5,800 tonnes of pulses have been seized in five states in the last few months.

  Of the entire amount, 2,549 tonnes have been seized from Telangana, 2,295 tonnes from Madhya Pradesh, 600 tonnes from Andhra Pradesh, 360 tonnes from Karnataka and 10 quintals from Maharashtra, the ministry's data showed.

  "Raids are being carried out even today at places like Mysore and Gulbarga in Karnataka and also in Tamil Nadu. These measures have started showing results," the official said.

  Stating that the Centre is closely monitoring the steps being taken against hoarders by state governments, the official said, "All these measures are expected to improve supply of pulses and moderate prices."

  Besides de-hoarding measures, state governments have started withdrawing stock holding limit exemptions given to pulse importers, exporters, licensed food processors and large departmental retailers, following the central government's direction.

  Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have already issued orders in this regard, another Consumer Affairs Ministry official said. 

Tata Steel says may cut about 1,200 UK jobs in restructuring

• Tata Steel, the biggest steel-maker in Britain, said on Tuesday that its planned restructuring is expected to lead to about 1,200 job losses.

  Tata Steel plans to halt production of steel plate, which would lead to about 900 job losses in Scunthorpe in northern England and 270 in Scotland, plus a small number at other sites, it said in a statement.

Government to buy more cotton from farmers as China trims imports

• The Centre will be forced to make large-scale government cotton purchases from farmers for a second straight year, following a cut in imports by top buyer China that has depressed prices, industry officials said.

  Government spent Rs 16,000 crore to buy 87 lakh bales of cotton at a government-set minimum support price (MSP) in the marketing year that ended on September 30, up from just 400,000 bales in the previous year.

  "During the peak supply season, prices will drop below the MSP (minimum support price) level since demand is negligible from China," said Dhiren Sheth, president of the Cotton Association of India (CAI).

  Government buying, aimed at supporting farmers, will prevent the dumping of cotton in overseas markets by the world's biggest producer at a time when global prices are near six-year lows.

  China has in recent years taken more than half of the country's cotton exports, propping up prices despite record output, but last year began cutting import quotas to stimulate demand for domestic cotton after it halted a state stockpiling programme.

  China's imports fell 42 per cent in the first nine months of the year to 1.16 million tonnes.

  Farmers have begun the cotton harvest, but prices are already running below the MSP in some southern spot markets, forcing the state-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to start buying at the support price of Rs 4,100 per 100 kg.

  "So far we have opened 50 procurement centres. We could open 300 centres across the country like last year," said B K Mishra Chairman and Managing Director of the CCI.

  "We haven't fixed any procurement target for the current year, but we will buy as much as farmers want to sell."

  CAI's Sheth said he expected the CCI would have to make aggressive purchases again this year as export demand was subdued and carry forward stocks were at record highs at an estimated 7.9 million bales.

  Mishra said this year's procurement was still likely to be lower than last year since production was set to drop 1.5 per cent to 37.7 million bales and consumption by local textile units has been rising.

  Demand from other Asian buyers like Vietnam and Bangladesh is also expected to improve this year, although it is unlikely to make up for China's lost buying.

  "The Chinese market is huge. No other country can make such large purchases," said Dharmesh Lakhani, an exporter based in western Gujarat state.

General Awareness

Sports Terms

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    In this article we are dealing with the sports terms associated with each of the sports games.Read this topic and enhance your knowledge.Given below list contains the important terms associated with each sports

    
    

    Name	Terms
    Athletics	Baton,Bell lap,Cross country,Decathlon,Discus throw,False start,Field,Foul,Hammer Throw,Heptathlon,High Jump,Hurdles,Javelin,Lane,Lap,Long Jump,Marathon,Middle distance,Pole vault,Photo Finish,relay,Record,Shot put,Sprint,Starting blocks,steeplechase,Track,Track and field,Triple jump
    Badminton	Alley,  Back Alley, Base Position, Baseline, Center Line, Center Position, Divorce Area, Forecourt, Long Service Line, Service Court, Short Service Line, Side Alley, T (T-Junction), Tape, Test Mark, Tramline,Angle of Attack, Angle Of Return, Attack, Back and Front, “Bird On”, “Clear”, Deception, Defense, Diagonal, Doubles, First Serve, Footwork, Free Point, Front and Back, Game Point, Hand In, Hand Out ,”Help”, “Hit”, Level Doubles, Match Point, Mixed Doubles, Offense, Patty-Cakes, Placement, Rally, Receiving Side, Rotation, Second Serve, Serving Side, Setup, Side by Side, “Sides” Singles, Unforced Error, “Touch”, Toss, “Up”,Ace, Air-Shot, Attacking Clear, Kill, Backhand, Block, Carry, Clear, Closed Face, Cross Court, Cut (Slice), Dab, Danish Wipe, Defensive Clear, Double Hit, Drive, Drive Serve,  Drop, Drop Serve, Flick, Flick Serve, Forehand, Hairpin, Halfcourt Shot, Holding a Shot, Jump Smash, Lift, Lob, Long Serve, Net Shot, Offensive Clear, Open Face, Pace, Passing Shot, Pop-Up, Push Shot, Round-The-Head, Serve, Short Serve, Smash, Slice (Cut), Sling, Spin Serve,  Stroke, Throw, Toss Serve, Wood Shot,Backhand Grip, Backswing,  Balk, Dead Bird, Fault, Feint, Flexible Wrist, Flight, Follow-Through, Foot Fault, Forward Swing, Frying Pan Grip, Hammer Grip, Home,  Let, Locked Wrist, Love (Luv), Lunge, Match, On-Guard Stance, ,  Player, Poaching, Rush A Serve, Setting, Stance, Straight Games, Sweetspot, Thumb-Up Grip, Tipping, Turnover, Waist
    Baseball	Balk,Battery,Bunt,Change-up,Cleanup,Count,Diamond,Double Play,Error,Fly ball,Foul Ball,Full Count,Ground ball,Hit and run,Hit for the cycle,Lead Runner,Load the bases, On-deck,Pinch hitter,Pinch runner,Pitch around,Pitch out,Position Player,power hitter,Relay,Reliever or relief pitcher,Runners at the corners,Scoring position,Strike Zone,walk,
    Basketball	assist,alley-oop,backboard,,buzzerbeater,cherry-picking,double,fast break,field goal,full -court press,key,pick and roll,posting up,run-and-gun,sixth man,triple threat,turnover,hops,beat,dime,bounce,bounce pass,wing,downtown,triple-double,strongside and weakside,elbow,baseline,brick,power dribble,chickenwing,draft,lay up,MVP,no look pass,overhead pass,slam dunk,
    Billiards	Angle Shot ,Backspin ,Bank Shot,Bed of Table,Break Shot,Bridge ,Call Shot, Chalk,Clean the Table,Cue Ball,Curve Shot ,Cushion ,Diamonds,Foot Spot ,Frozen Ball , Head Spot ,Hug the Rail ,Jump Shot ,Leave,Open Table,Rack ,Run the Table ,Scratch,Shaft,Sharking,Sights,Slate,Snooker,Solids,Stripes,Cannon,Baulk,long jenny,short jenny,frame,spider,short and long rest, in-off
    Boxing	Knock out, Round, Ring Stoppage, Punch, Upper-cut, Kidney punch, Timing, Footwork, technical knockout,sucker punch,standing eight count,southpaw,rabbit punch,parry,neutral corner,lowblow,knockdown,jab,hook,holding,head-butt,fist,cross,counterpunch,clinch,bout,block,bare-knuckled
    Chess	Gambit, stalemate, move, resign, checkmate, international master, Grand master ,accept,active defense,advantage,attack,back rank,backward pawn,badbishop,berserker,castle long,castle short,centre break,check,checkmate,chessmen,cross-check,double attack,double check,draw,knight on the rim,master,mate,minor piece,rank,
    Cricket	Toss, Run, Wicket, Pitch, Stump, Bails, Crease, Pavilion, Gloves, Wicket Keeper, Over, Maiden over, Follow On, Rubber, Ashes, Catch, Bowled, Stump out, Run out, L. B. W; Hit Wicket, Not out, No ball, Wide ball, Dead ball, Over Throw, Bye, Leg by, Cover drive, Late cut, Hook, Glance, Stroke, Shot, Pull, Sixer, Follow Through, Turn, Googley, Spin, Yorker, Bouncer, Hattrick, Round the wicket, Over the wicket, Seamer, Boundary line, Slip, Square leg, Runner, Cover, Gully, Long on, Silly point, Midwicket, Mid on, Forward short leg, Deep/mid-wicket, etc.
    Cycling	Sprint, Time trial, Point race, Track Race,attack,blocking,bonk,breakaway,bridge the gap,criterium,drafting,drop,field sprint,gap,jump,kick,hammering,take a flyer,stage race,pull off,pull,pull thorough,nep-pro,hook
    Football	Goal, Kick, Head, Penalty kick, Dribble, Off side, Hattrick, Foul, Left out, Right out, Stopper, Defender, Move, Side Back, Pass, Baseline, Rebound, Comer bick, back pass,attacker,free kick,goal line,goal kick,kick off,midfielder,yellow card,wingers,volley
    Golf	ace, albatross, double eagle, all square, approach putt, apron, ball mark, ballooning, beach, birdie, blind shot, bogey, bunker, caddy, chip, Claw grip, condor, dogleg, dub, flag, Four-Ball, Mulligan, off the deck, peg, sand trap, tee shot ,bail out,birdie,caddie,chop shot,divt,duffer,jungle,par,sand wedge,snake,
    Gymnastics	Aerial, Back Handspring, Back Somersault, Double Back, Double Twist, Flyaway, Front Hip Pullover, Front Pike Somersault, Front Split, Front Walkover, Gienger, Handstand, Hip Circle, Miller, Pike, Rudi, Straddle, Swedish Fall, Tsukahara, Tuck, Whip Back
    Hockey	Centre, defender, forward, half, penalty-stroke, penalty corner, push-in, free-hit, striking circle goal, goal-line, touch-line, goalkeeper, offside, foul, stick, carry, dribble, tiebreaker, trapping, etc
    Polo	Mallet, bunker, chukker, handicap, goal, sixty yarder, etc.
    Shooting	Bag, bull’s eye, marksmanship, plug, skeet
    Swimming	Add Up, Anchor, Approved Meet, Backstroke, Banner, Beep, Bonus Heat, Bottom, Breaststroke, Bullpen, Bulletin, Cap, Carpool, Cards, Check-In, Check-Out, Course, Dryland, False Start, Freestyle, Gun Lap, Heats, Jump, Lane Lines, Paddle, Parka, Pool, Pull Buoy, Relays, Split, Stroke, Yardage etc.
    Table Tennis	Backhand, Backspin, Block, Chop, Closed, Dead ball, Doubles, Drive, Drop shot, Expedite rule, Forehand, Inverted, Let, Lob, Long pips, Loop, Match, Medium-long, Open, Penhold, Pips-in, Pips-out, Push, Receive, Seemiller, Serve, Set, Shake Hands, Short, Sidespin, Skunk, Smash, Topspin etc.
    Tennis	smash, cross-court, passing shot,backhand, forehand,slice, topspin,serve, drop shot, lob, down-the-line, deuce, tie-breaker, set, game, grand slam, ace, volley, etc.
    Volleyball	Assist, Attack, Attack line, Back row attack, Block, Block assist, Campfire defense, Carry, Center line violation, Chester, Coach kill, Cover the hitter, Cut shot, Deep dish, Dig, Facial, Fish, Floater, Friendly fire, Free ball, Heat, Husband-and-wife-play, Jedi defense, Just, Jump serve, Kill, Kong, Line shot, Lollipop, Mintonette, Monument valley, Net violation, Paint brush, Pancake, Pepper, Prince/Princess of whales, Quick set, Rainbow, Red card, Redwood, Roof, Screening, Service ace, Set, Shank, Side out, Six-pack, Sizzle the pits, Spike, Strong side, Stuff, Tandem, Tip, Tool, Trap set, Tuna, Whale, Yellow card etc.
    Weight Lifting	Bulking, shredded, Six pack, Feeling the Burn, Power Rack, Smith Machine, Muscle Memory, Pump and Toners, Cardio Bunny, Plateau, Vascularity, Supersets, Drop Sets/Strip Sets, Periodization, Pyramiding, Standard Plates and Bars etc.
    Wrestling	Freestyle, Hal Nelson, Point, Heave, etc.