9 PM Current Affairs Brief – 15th December, 2017

Looking for balance in power Context The Russia-India-China trilateral meet is New Delhi’s attempt to overcome challenges in ties with Moscow and Beijing Scope of talks The broader discussions, according to a joint communique of the 15th meeting, “took place in the backdrop of the political scenario in West Asia and North Africa, numerous challenges… Continue reading Looking for balance in power

ill prepared for future Context There is a grave lack of engineering skills. This impacts industry, affects programmes such as Make in India. The Great Indian Engineering Paradox India produces more engineers than China and the US combined Quantity over Quality But in the past seven years, several reports have pointed out that India’s engineering… Continue reading ill prepared for future

Govt. looking at JVs in ordnance sector Context The Defence Ministry is conducting a detailed performance audit of ordnance factories functioning under the Department of Defence Production, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Detailed performance audit under way The government is examining the ordnance factories to explore ways to boost their productivity, including through… Continue reading Govt. looking at JVs in ordnance sector

Why Criminalise? Context Centre’s draft law on triple talaq misreads the Supreme Court judgment  Ill-conceived The Centre’s move to criminalise instant triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) appears to be ill-conceived and thoughtless It completely ignores the significance of the August 22, 2017 Supreme Court judgment which rendered legally inutile the use of the formulaic expression “talaq-talaq-talaq” (in… Continue reading Why Criminalise? 

‘Parsi woman allowed to perform last rites’ Context A Parsi Trust on Thursday informed a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court that it will allow a woman, who married a Hindu under the Special Marriage Act, to pray at the Tower of Silence and take part in the ceremonies following the death of her parent.… Continue reading ‘Parsi woman allowed to perform last rites’

SC clears 12 special courts to try cases against politicians Context The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the green signal for the Centre’s scheme to set up 12 fast track courts to exclusively prosecute and dispose of 1,581 criminal cases pending against Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies within a year. Allocation of funds… Continue reading SC clears 12 special courts to try cases against politicians

Kalvari submarine a big step in defence preparedness: PM Context Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally commissioned the first of six Scorpene diesel-electric submarines into the Navy on Thursday. First of six scorpene-class diesel-electric vessels commissioned into the Navy This is the Navy’s first modern conventional submarine in almost two decades since the INS Sindhushastra was… Continue reading Kalvari submarine a big step in defence preparedness: PM

Whither disaster management after Ockhi? Context More lives of fisherfolk would have been saved if disaster management action plans were implemented properly. What is a Disaster? A disaster is an event causing extreme disruption in a society’s functioning. It results in widespread human, material, and environmental losses which are beyond the ability of the affected… Continue reading Whither disaster management after Ockhi? 

Haven’t declared Amarnath a silent zone, clarifies NGT:   Context The National Green Tribunal on Thursday clarified its orders on ‘maintaining silence’ around the Amarnath shrine and said that its previous order had not been “correctly reported in different quarters”. Only asked devotees to remain quiet in front of the shivling’ The only restriction that the… Continue reading Haven’t declared Amarnath a silent zone, clarifies NGT: 

Income share of top 1% surged: report  Context ‘Inequality rose substantially since implementation of 80s’ deregulation reforms’. World Inequality Report Income inequality in India rose rapidly since the 1980s to a situation where the top 10% of the earners accounted for 56% of the income earned in 2014, according to a new report by economists,… Continue reading Income share of top 1% surged: report 

WTO meet ends without consensus:  Context Member countries fail to reach agreement on food security right, centrality of development. Unable to reach an agreement The December 10-13 meeting of the World Trade Organisation’s highest decision-making body in this ‘city of fair winds’ ended becalmed with the WTO’s 164 members unable to reach a consensus on… Continue reading WTO meet ends without consensus: 

Aadhaar linking: CJI frowns upon hyperbole  Context Heading a five-judge Constitution Bench, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra refused to be moved by the “hyperbole and rhetorics” against Aadhaar linking. SC Observed Supreme Court had passed interim orders making Aadhaar voluntary before the Aadhaar Act came into existence in 2016. 139 Circulars The Chief Justice’s remarks came… Continue reading Aadhaar linking: CJI frowns upon hyperbole 

Revival risks Context The Centre’s bid to dispel the pall of gloom over the economy has been helped in recent weeks by a sovereign rating upgrade from a global agency and a sharp improvement in India’s rank on a World Bank index for ease of doing business. With prices rising and manufacturing slowing, the economy… Continue reading Revival risks