Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

S.NO.

NEWS ITEM

SYLLUBUS

ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE

1.

Pak in a losing
a)
nuclear race (Page
12)

International a) Pakistans official position is that it needs more

nuclear weapons to counter Indias conventional arsenal.
Its expected to become the worlds third largest nuclear
power with as many as 120 warheads, behind the US and
Russia.

2.

Millions vote in
Myanmar polls
(Page 14)

a)

International a) Millions of citizens voted in Myanmars historic

general election that will test whether the militarys longstanding grip on power can be loosened, with Opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyis party expected to secure an
easy victory.

3.

Only democracy a)
can decide future
(Page 14)

International a) As Chinas top newspaper warned peace was at risk

if it opted for independence, Taiwans opposition leader
and presidential frontrunner said that only the people of
Taiwan can decide its future and will do so in elections in
January.

4.

Cameron says he a)
will not rule out
UKs exit from
European Union
(Page 14)

International a) After months without a breakthrough, David

Cameron will finally give more details of what reforms
he wants for Britain to stay in the European Union before
a looming referendum.

5.

Frances climate a)
warning: life on
planet is at stake
(Page 14)

International a) Frances top diplomat (who will preside over a yearend Paris summit tasked with inking a global pact to rein
in global warming) warned of a looming planetary
catastrophe.

6.

Pluralist vision
a)
triumphs in Bihar
(Page 10)

National

a) The clear mandate for the Grand Alliance of the

Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the
Congress in Bihar is not only a vote for social welfare
and economic development, but also a vote against all
1

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

forms of divisive politics of communal hate and religious

intolerance.

7.

Perils of being a
hegemon (Page
16)

8.

9.

S.NO.

1.

a)

Economy

a) Hegemony is defined as political, economic or

cultural dominance or authority over others. When
applied to the current global economy, hegemony refers
to the primacy of the American dollar in relation to other
currencies.

Mars Orbiter
a)
Mission is in good
nick, says ISRO b)
chief (Page 9)

National

a) Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman A.S.

Kiran Kumar said that the health of the Mars Orbiter
Mission or Mangalyaan was extremely good.

Amateur
a)
archaeologists
discover
b)
Mesolithic rock
paintings in
Kadapa (Page 9)

National

NEWS ITEM

Pak in a losing a)
nuclear race (Page
12)

S&T

Geography

a) Amateur archaeologists have stumbled upon

Mesolithic period rock paintings at Gandikota Fort in
Kadapa district.

SYLLUBUS

BACKGROUND

International

a) Pakistans nuclear
weapons programme
b) Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG)

IMPORTANT POINTS

a) According to The New

York Times, persuading
Pakistan to rein in its nuclear
weapons programme should be
an international priority. It said
Islamabads competition with
India (which is adding to its
own nuclear arsenal) is a losing
game.
b)

Pakistans official position

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

is that it needs more nuclear

weapons to counter Indias
conventional arsenal. Its
expected to become the worlds
third largest nuclear power with
as many as 120 warheads,
behind the US and Russia.
c) The NYT has also urged
the US to keep trying to reach a
deal with Pakistan aimed at
reining in its nuclear
programme.
d) The major world powers
spent two years negotiating an
agreement to restrain nuclear
ambitions of Iran, which does
not have a single nuclear
weapon. Yet there has been no
comparable investment of effort
in Pakistan, which (along with
India) has so far refused to
consider any limits at all.
e) The Obama administration
has begun talks with Islamabad
in this regard. But a nuclear deal
similar to the one with India is
not on the cards. US officials
are discussing what Pakistan
needs to do to justify American
support for its membership in
the 48-nation NSG, which
governs trade in nuclear fuel
and technology.
f) It is worth noting that the
NYT editorial comes at a time
when tensions are running high
between India and Pakistan. The
3

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

editorial also criticises PM

Modi for not doing anything to
engage Pak on security issues,
and he also bears responsibility
for current tensions.

2.

Millions vote in
Myanmar polls
(Page 14)

a)

International

a) Myanmar internal
issues

a) Millions of citizens voted

in Myanmars historic general
election that will test whether
b) National League for the militarys long-standing grip
Democracy party
on power can be loosened, with
Opposition leader Aung San
c) Union Solidarity
Suu Kyis party expected to
Development Party
secure an easy victory.
b) It was the first time even
for Suu Kyi, the epitome of the
democracy movement who had
defied the junta for decades.
c) Although more than 90
parties are contesting elections,
the main fight is between Suu
Kyis National League for
Democracy and the ruling
Union Solidarity Development
Party, made up largely of former
junta members.
d) Certainly, though, the
election will not bring full
democracy to this nation, which
spent nearly five decades under
brutal military rule and the last
five years under a quasi-civilian
government.
e) Myanmars constitution
guarantees 25 percent of seats in
Parliament to the military, and
4

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

was rewritten to keep Suu Kyi

(the countrys most popular
politician) from the presidency.
f) After taking power in 1962,
the junta first allowed elections
in 1990, which Suu Kyis party
won overwhelmingly. A
shocked Army refused to seat
the winning lawmakers, with
the excuse that a new
constitution first had to be
implemented, a task that ended
up taking 18 years.

3.

Only democracy a)
can decide future
(Page 14)

International

a) China Taiwan
relation
b)

One China policy

a) A day after Chinese

President Xi Jinping and Taiwan
President Ma Ying-jeou held
historic talks in Singapore, Tsai
Ing-wen (leader of Taiwans
independence-leaning
Democratic Progressive Party)
said the leaders meeting had
done nothing to make Taiwans
people feel safer.
b) As Chinas top newspaper
warned peace was at risk if it
opted for independence, he said
that only the people of Taiwan
can decide its future and will do
so in elections in January.
c) Referring to the rule of the
China-friendly Ma, sources said
that progress over past seven
years has been possible due to a
joint political will to oppose
Taiwan independence and
accept there is one China, albeit
5

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

it with different interpretations.

4.

Cameron says he a)
will not rule out
UKs exit from
European Union
(Page 14)

International

a)

European Union

a) After months without a

breakthrough, David Cameron
will finally give more details of
what reforms he wants for
Britain to stay in the EU before
a looming referendum.
b) He also highlighted that
there would have to be four
months between any deal being
agreed and the vote being held.
In recent weeks, European
partners have put increasing
pressure on Cameron to lay out
in more detail what kind of
reforms he wants.

5.

Frances climate a)
warning: life on
planet is at stake
(Page 14)

International

a) Paris Climate summit a) Frances top diplomat (who

2015
will preside over a year-end
Paris summit tasked with inking
b) Greenhouse gas
a global pact to rein in global
(GHG) emissions
warming) warned of a looming
planetary catastrophe.
c) Global warming
b) With the key UN conference
just three weeks away, he also
announced that Russias
President Putin would attend the
Nov 30 opening. Russia (a
major oil producer) is seen as a
deal-maker or breaker in the
years-long attempt to negotiate
the worlds first truly universal
pact to rein in global warming
by curbing climate-altering
greenhouse gas emissions.

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

c) He added that there is

absolute urgency in chasing UN
goal of limiting global warming
to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6
degrees Fahrenheit) over preIndustrial Revolution levels.
d) The Paris agreement will
be the first uniting all nations in
curbing GHG emissions.

6.

Pluralist vision a)
triumphs in Bihar
(Page 10)

National

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Bihar politics

a) The clear mandate for the

Grand Alliance of the Janata
Janata Dal (United) Dal (United), the Rashtriya
Janata Dal and the Congress in
Rashtriya Janata Dal Bihar is not only a vote for
social welfare and economic
Congress
development, but also a vote
against all forms of divisive
BJP
politics of communal hate and
religious intolerance.
b) Between the Lok Sabha
election of 2014 and this years
Assembly election, politics in
Bihar saw unprecedented
churning, bringing together
parties of different ideologies
and social bases in the face of a
rising tide of aggressive
majoritarianism stirred up by
the BJP.
c) As a matter of fact, the
seeds of the BJPs defeat in
Bihar in 2015 were sown even
before its spectacular victory in
2014 Lok Sabha election. As
Modi became the national face
of the BJP in 2013, the prime
7

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

mover of the JD(U) (CM Nitish
Kumar) was quick to recognise
the social cost of his political
alliance with the saffron party.
d) After his attempt to emerge
as the sole alternative to BJP
ended in failure, with the RJD
and the Congress occupying the
political space for a secular
opposition, Kumar pieced
together the Grand Alliance
with his long-time political foes.
Thus Lalu Prasad became his
principal ally against a
marauding BJP, which was
feeding into a highly divisive
communal agenda.
e) But it was not just the
electoral arithmetic that worked
against the BJP. In the months
since the Lok Sabha election,
the party pushed the Hindutva
agenda very hard even while
paying lip service to growth and
development.
f) Kumar must now use the
mandate to scale up his vision
for Bihar and build on efforts to
improve governance. A lot was
done in the last 10 years to alter
Bihars image as one of the most
backward States in the country,
but he needs to do more. But
most importantly, the new govt
in Bihar will need to counter the
socially disruptive agenda of
Hindutva elements. After all,
the vote is for a pluralist vision
of India, for an idea of Bihar
8

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

that is both inclusive and
progressive.

7.

Perils of being a a)
hegemon (Page
16)

Economy

a) Global economic
situation

a) Hegemony is defined as
political, economic or cultural
dominance or authority over
b) Global financial
others. When applied to current
system
global economy, hegemony
refers to the primacy of the
c) Reserve currencies
American dollar in relation to
d) Currency devaluationother currencies.
e) Current account
deficit

b) Whether justified or not,

the primacy of the dollar over a
long period of 70 years has
brought about a degree of
stability to the global financial
system and by extension to the
global economy. The dollar has
remained the superpower of the
financial and monetary system.
c) According to the Statistics,
there are seven major reserve
currencies. Apart from the
dollar, the reserve currencies are
the euro, British pound,
Japanese yen, Swiss franc,
Canadian and Australian
dollars. About 62 percent of
international currency assets are
held in US dollars, 23 percent in
euros and 4 percent in yen and
sterling. Almost two thirds of
Indias forex reserves are said to
be in dollars.
d) To qualify as a reserve
currency, the country must run a
large current account deficit
which will be easily financed by
9

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

other countries desiring to park

their reserves in that currency.
For most parts, the dollar has
been the first choice of central
banks to invest their reserves.
e) Yet and not for the first
time doubts have been raised as
to the stability of the system
presided over by the dollar. This
is because the dollars
supremacy rested on a strong
US economy. The USs share of
global GDP is 23 percent and its
share of global merchandise
trade is 12 percent.
f) Those are impressive
numbers but not sufficient to
reinforce its number one
position when one considers
that 60 percent of the global
output lies within a de facto
dollar zone (currencies are
either pegged to the dollar or
move in tandem with it).
g) The USs share of global
corporate investment has been
declining. However, it is Wall
Street that has an overreaching
influence over stock markets
everywhere.
h) As the Economist puts it
succinctly the costs of dollar
dominance are starting to
outweigh the benefits. As seen
in India too, currencies and
stock markets suffer wild
gyrations. A miniscule rise in
10

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

the American interest rate or

even a talk about it is enough to
cause huge reverse flows of
dollars invested elsewhere.
i) Second, there are limits
beyond which the US can make
up for liquidity shortage in the
global financial system which
has grown enormously. Three,
Americas political system is
seen to be dysfunctional. The
question needs to be asked for
how long countries will tie their
financial systems to vagaries of
US politics. Finally, the US is
not averse to using its financial
clout to achieve political
objectives.
j) The case for one or more
currencies sharing the burden
with the dollar looks strong.
However, over the years no
other currency, not the euro not
even the much touted yuan can
occupy that place.
k) The yuan particularly has a
strong backing in India and
other emerging market
countries. Sooner rather than
later the yuan will acquire
reserve currency status.
However the recent slowing
down of its economy as well as
series of currency devaluations
have lent some opacity to
Chinas macro management. A
very recent report from China
talks of accelerated financial
11

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

reforms which will inter alia

allow the currency to trade
freely by 2020.

8.

Mars Orbiter
a)
Mission is in
good nick, says b)
ISRO chief (Page
9)

National
S&T

a) Mars Orbiter Mission a) ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran

(MOM)
Kumar said that the health of
the Mars Orbiter Mission or
b) Chandrayaan-2
Mangalyaan was extremely
good.
c) Astrosat
d)

Aditya

e)

GSAT-15

f)

ISRO

b) He said all five payloads

of MOM were sending data on a
regular basis. It is completing
one revolution around the Mars
roughly in two and a half days.
The satellite is expected to last
for quite some time.
c) He said Chandrayaan-2
would carry a lander and a
rover. It would help in having a
controlled landing on surface of
the moon. The rover would
move on the surface of the
moon. It would collect data and
send it to Earth. Chandrayaan-2
was likely to be launched in
2017 or 2018.
d) The ISRO was planning to
launch Aditya, (the satellite)
which would help in studying
solar eclipses on continuous
basis and also other aspects of
the Sun.
e) All the five payloads of the
Astrosat (the dedicated multiwavelength space observatory
launched by the ISRO in Sept)
12

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 09-11-15

were functioning well.

f) In the immediate future, the
ISRO planned to increase its
launch frequencies. GSAT-15 (a
communication satellite) would
be launched on Nov 10. There
would be a launch every month
from Dec 2015 to March 2016.

9.

Amateur
a)
archaeologists
discover
b)
Mesolithic rock
paintings in
Kadapa (Page 9)

National

a) Mesolithic rock
paintings

Geography
b)

Gandikota Fort

c)

Penna river

d) Archaeological
Survey of India

a) Amateur archaeologists
have stumbled upon Mesolithic
period rock paintings at
Gandikota Fort in Kadapa
district.
b) They found the paintings
on the rocky surface at
Peddakona (also known as
Dongalakona), located next to
Farah Bagh area on the way
from the Anantapadmanabha
temple of the fort to the gorge
of the river Penna.
c) The paintings representing
geometrical designs are seen on
a big boulder executed in red
ochre. The lines painted in the
shape of rectangles, triangles
and circles denote abstract
forms of some animals.
d) They inspected the site and
confirmed that the rock
paintings belong to the
Mesolithic period datable to
10,000-8000 B.C.

13