Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 05 September 2015

:: National ::

HC allows permanent commission for women in Navy

In a major relief for women naval officers, Delhi High Court on Friday allowed a bunch of pleas seeking permanent commission for them in the force, saying "sexist bias and service bias" would not be allowed to block progress of women.
The court, while granting their plea, said the "women are here to stay" and since they "work shoulder to shoulder" with their male counterparts, it would "frown upon any endeavour to restrain the progress of women".
While the Army and Air Force allow permanent commission for women, the Navy has limited women officers only to short service commission of 14 years.
A bench of justices Kailash Gambhir and Najmi Waziri also allowed the women naval officers' plea seeking retirement benefits like pension.
Women naval officers were not eligible for pension as it required 20 years of service.
The order came on the plea of several naval women officers, both retired and serving, from the logistics, education and air traffic control departments of the Navy.
The women naval officers in their pleas in the high court had sought similar rights as their counterparts in the other two wings of the armed forces.
They had also alleged gender discrimination, saying while women officers were only entitled to short service commission, men were entitled to both short service as well as permanent commissions.

:: India & world ::

India can’t compete with China on INDCs

As the world eagerly awaits India’s climate action, there is absolute clarity that the country’s intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) will not be similar to that of China.
The inter-governmental consultations on framing up the INDCs have shown that India is nowhere close to China on energy generation and consumption -- drivers for deciding a nation’s climate action.
China’s installed energy capacity is five times that of India; every household in China has access to electricity unlike 56% households in India and just a quarter of households in China use biomass for cooking as compared to 85% of rural homes in India.
When it comes to emissions, more than one-fourth of global emissions were by China as compared to just 6% for India in 2014. India’s per capita emissions are one-third of China’s.
These are some facts that energy ministries -- power, coal and new and renewable energy (RE) -- have conveyed to the environment ministry during consultation for firming up India’s INDCs. They have also highlighted why coal-based thermal power plants were necessary for India to continue high economic growth trajectory in the next 15 years or so.
Documents accessed by Hindustan Times show these ministries have strongly voiced their opposition towards any attempt to match China on INDCs as it could have implications on the country’s economic growth.
Former Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh too has strongly advocated against pushing renewable beyond a certain threshold to match China’s ambitious RE goal.
China has committed to generate 20% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030, reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels and limit power generation from thermal power plants.
Something similar could be disastrous for India, which is expected to submit its INDCs in September to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) after getting Cabinet’s nod.
China’s installed energy capacity is five times that of India, every household in China has access to electricity unlike 56% households in India and just a quarter of households in China use biomass for cooking as compared to 85% of rural homes in India.
When it comes to emissions, more than one-fourth of global emissions were by China as compared to just 6% for India in 2014. India’s per capita emissions are one-third of China’s.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: The man behind the Teacher's Day in India

Every year on September 5, we celebrate Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday as Teacher's day. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was India's first Vice President and second President, who was one of the most learned scholars and statesman.
Radhakrishnan taught in the University of Calcutta, the University of Oxford and the University of Mysore. He is credited for creating and shaping the contemporary Hindu identity and for connecting India to the West with his philosophies.

Some interesting facts about Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan that you must know:

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888 in a village near Thiruttani in Tamil Nadu
When Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan became the President of India, many of his students and friends wanted to celebrate his birthday at a national level. Instead Radhakrishnan asked them to celebrate 'Teacher's Day'.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a proud Hindu. He wanted the World to know about the Indian philosophy and therefore, he did a critical study on the Indian philosophy, especially that of Vedantas
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was married to a distant cousin, at the age of 16. He was married for 51 years, until his wife, Sivakamu died in 1956
He wrote his first book about the philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore. He believed that Tagore's philosophy was the true manifestation of Indian spirit
In 1931 during the birthday honours, King George V knighted Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. After the Independence of India, Radhakrishnan stopped using the title of 'Sir' and instead preferred the title of 'Doctor'
In 1939, Radhakrishnan served as the Vice Chancellor of Banarus Hindu University
After independence, Sarvepalli Radhekrishnan represented India at United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and later, he also served as the Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union
Former Indian cricketer, VVS Laxman was the great grandnephew of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan died at the age of 86 on April 17, 1975.

:: Sports ::

I-League and ISL merger possible after two-three seasons, says AIFF chief Praful Patel

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) finds itself in a tug-of-war for attention between Indian Super League clubs and I-League clubs: both tournaments spawned by the same organisation — but one which finds itself backed by big corporates, bollywood stars and Star Sports; and the other besieged by failing clubs, lack of marketing and almost negligible viewership.
Legacy and history are the only two things going for the I-League.
However, after a meeting with ISL organisers IMG-Reliance and I-League club representatives, AIFF president Praful Patel gave assurances that India's FIFA-recognised principal league is not going anywhere, at least for now.
A merger with the ISL has still been discussed and is very much in the pipelines, but it will take time.
That is no reason to stop the governing body of football to not listen to the grievances of I-League clubs.
Patel gave the example of I-League club Mumbai FC which had to play their home games outside of Mumbai because Cooperage was not ready to host matches — which made it extremely hard for the club to garner a following.
The Member of Parliament has also agreed that India play their World Cup qualifier against Guam in Mumbai at the Andheri Sports Complex, subject to organisers upgrading the turf, seating and other FIFA requirements.