Current affairs- Feb 28,2016
Muzri’s Project
· President Pranab Mukherjee
inaugurated the first phase of the Muziris Heritage Project at the
International Research and Convention Centre, KKTM College, Kodungalloor,
Kerala on Feb 27,2016
About
project:
Aim:
- · To boast about, be it in the area
of heritage, conservation or tourism.
The
Muziris project would open up to Indian and foreign tourists a new destination,
bringing economic benefits to the people of the region as well as knowledge and
enjoyment for the visitors.
UTERUS Transplant in U.S
- The first uterus transplant in the
United States.
- Announced by "Cleveland Clinic".
About
Transplant:
The operation, which took nine
hours, was performed on Wednesday using a uterus from a deceased organ
donor.
Purpose:
The procedure’s purpose is to
enable women born without a uterus, or who had theirs removed, to become
pregnant and give birth.
Details:
The patient will have to wait a
year before trying to become pregnant, letting her heal and giving doctors
time to adjust the doses of medication she needs to prevent organ
rejection.
- Then she will need in vitro
fertilisation to become pregnant. Before the transplant, the patient had
eggs removed surgically, fertilised with her husband’s sperm and frozen.
The embryos will be transferred into her uterus.
- The transplant will be temporary:
the uterus will be removed after the recipient has had one or two babies,
so she can stop taking anti-rejection drugs.
House panel seeks
higher defence outlay
- Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence has
expressed dismay over the government’s reluctance to commit to a minimum
percentage of its expenses for the armed forces, despite its
recommendations.
- The committee desire that this declining ratio should be arrested in the next financial year itself, so that the services are provided adequate funds, and hence they are not deprived of essential equipment and ammunition.
- The defence budget ishas
consistently been declining.
- In 2009-10, the defence
expenditure of Rs. 1,41,781 crore was 13.84 per cent of the total
expenditure.
- In 2010-11, the budget increased
in absolute terms, but in percentage terms, it came down to 12.87 per
cent.
- In 2011-12, the defence
expenditure rose to Rs. 1,70,913 crore, but in percentage terms, it was
merely 13.1 per cent of the government’s expenditure. Since then, it has
been sliding continuously.
- In 2012-13, the defence
expenditure was pegged at Rs. 1,81,776, which was 12.89 per cent of the
government’s expenditure. However, it further came down to 12.81 per cent
under the revised budget.
- India’s plans to acquire amphibious aircraft from Japan, in the
first big military deal between the two countries, is facing serious
challenges.
- Indicating at a longer waiting period for India’s plans to acquire
the amphibious aircraft, US-2, in a
deal involving 12-18 aircraft.
- During Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to
India in December 2015, the two countries had concluded
agreements on Transfer of the Defence Equipment and Technology, and,
Security Measures for the Protection of Classified Military Information,
aimed at deals such as the one on the US-2.
- The world's top economies are set to declare on Feb 27,2016 that they need to look beyond ultra-low interest rates and printing money if the global economy is to shake off its torpor, and renew focus on structural reform to spark activity.
- A draft of the communique to be issued by the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central bankers at the end of a two-day meeting in Shanghai reflected myriad concerns and policy frictions that have been exacerbated by faltering economic growth and market turbulence in recent months.
- "The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth" .
- "Monetary policies will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability ... but monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth."
- Geopolitics figured prominently,
with the draft noting risks and vulnerabilities had risen against a
backdrop that includes the shock of a potential British exit from the
European Union and the crisis over rising numbers of refugees and
migrants.
- There was no sign of any plan for specific coordinated stimulus spending to spark activity, as some investors had been hoping after markets nosedived at the start of 2016.
- The G20 policymakers "judge that the magnitude of recent market volatility has not reflected the underlying fundamentals of the global economy", the communique draft said.
- Divisions have emerged among major economies over the reliance on debt to drive growth and the use of negative interest rates by some central banks, such as in Japan.
- Germany had made it clear it was not keen on new stimulus, with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble saying on Friday the debt-financed growth model had reached its limits.
- "It is even causing new problems, raising debt, causing bubbles and excessive risk taking, zombifying the economy," he said.
- The G20, which spans major industrialised economies such as the United States and Japan to the emerging giants of China and Brazil and smaller economies such as Indonesia and Turkey, reiterated in the communique a commitment to refrain from targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes, including through devaluations.
- They pledged to "consult closely" on exchange markets.
Japan non-committal on supply of
strategic amphibious aircraft(US-2)to India
Look beyond ultra-easy
policy for growth: G20
DIVISIONS OVER DEBT, RATES
