9 PM Current Affairs Brief – 18th December, 2017

Adding law to injury  Context New law criminalising triple talaq may not be in best interests of Muslim women. Solution lies elsewhere Unanswered questions The court order declaring triple talaq as unconstitutional left many questions unanswered like, What if, the judicial pronouncement notwithstanding, a Muslim husband goes ahead and utters the dreaded words “talaq-talaq-talaq”? Where does… Continue reading Adding law to injury 

SC push to public access for disabled persons  Context The Supreme Court has come out with a series of directions to ensure that public infrastructure is accessible to differently-abled persons and ordered that the June 2019 deadline set by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 to make all government buildings providing public services made… Continue reading SC push to public access for disabled persons 

Divorce as crime: on instant triple talaq  Context Triple Talaq Author’s contention Author contends that the Centre’s proposal to make instant triple talaq an offence punishable with three-year imprisonment and a fine is an unnecessary attempt to convert a civil wrong into a criminal act It is well established that criminalising something does not have any deterrent… Continue reading Divorce as crime: on instant triple talaq 

U.S. has failed to walk the talk on Pakistan: Hamid Karzai  Context PM had hosted an official dinner in Mr Karzai’s honour at Hyderabad House Karzai’s views India has the right to ask the U.S. questions on [continuing support to Pakistan], and it must think and rethink its policy in view of changes and developments… Continue reading U.S. has failed to walk the talk on Pakistan: Hamid Karzai 

UN to vote on draft nullifyng Jerusalem  Context Draft resolution by UNSC What has happened? The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution affirming that any change to the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be reversed, in response to the U.S. decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital Draft… Continue reading UN to vote on draft nullifyng Jerusalem 

Hambantota augury  Context Seven years after the China-built Hambantota Port was inaugurated with great fanfare by the then president of Sri Lanka, MahindaRajapaksa, as a symbol of his country’s rising geopolitical aspirations in Asia, the Sri Lanka government has taken the project to its logical and inevitable, if not the aspirational, conclusion Augury: a sign… Continue reading Hambantota augury 

Lone great white pelican a visual treat  Context Mingled with the thousands of winged guests is the lone great white pelican (Pelecanusonocrotalus) at Asia’s largest freshwater lake, Kolleru Lake, offering a rare visual treat to bird watchers Great White Pelican The feathered guest has been found spending the days with the grey pelicans and painted… Continue reading Lone great white pelican a visual treat 

Nanoparticles may help detect cancer early: study  Context Using light-emitting nanoparticles, scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have developed a highly effective method to detect tiny tumours and track their spread, potentially leading to earlier cancer detection. Better than MRI The study, published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, showed that the new method is better… Continue reading Nanoparticles may help detect cancer early: study 

A measured leap: on planetary system  Context Scientists have announced the discovery of two new exoplanets,   Kepler-90i and Kepler-80g. Exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, are routinely being discovered, with the number of those that have already been found now standing at 3,567. Why this is significant But this announcement by the National… Continue reading A measured leap: on planetary system 

Zealous frog fathers guard eggs against cannibals  Context Bush frogs breeding in bamboo stems don’t mind pulling off an all-nighter on protection duty What Male white-spotted bush frogs zealously watch over their eggs for 37 days, leaving only once tiny froglets emerge Why the protection? If the adults lower their guard even for a day,… Continue reading Zealous frog fathers guard eggs against cannibals 

What India’s student exodus means  Context Indian consumers may be tightening their belts on many counts. But one item of expense on which they’re certainly not skimping is their children’s education. Sprucing up our universities will bring in foreign learners and also help stem dollar outflows The latest Value of Education report from HSBC, after surveying… Continue reading What India’s student exodus means 

Pare stake in PSBs to 33%: CII to govt  Context The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) urged the Centre to dilute its majority stake in public sector banks (PSBs), from the current threshold of 52% ownership to 33% over the next three years, to complement its ₹2.11 lakh-crore recapitalisation plan for these banks. Stake in… Continue reading Pare stake in PSBs to 33%: CII to govt 

Ministry may face fund crunch for UDAN  Context Regarding UDAN Scheme News With more routes set to be operational under UDAN, the Civil Aviation ministry is likely to face paucity of funds in providing viability gap funding (VGF) to participating airlines What is VGF? The main constraint in India’s infrastructure sector is the lack of… Continue reading Ministry may face fund crunch for UDAN 

Bank insecurities Context Banking regulator should continue to handle bank failures, instead of the Resolution Corporation FRDI bill It is not often that the prime minister and the Union finance minister have to step in to publicly assuage retail depositors, and that too when there is no perceptible threat of any banks, public or private,… Continue reading Bank insecurities

The crisis of globalisation  Context Today’s so-called crisis of  globalization is nothing more than a new variable of the old battle between protectionism and free trade. On the one hand it is the tribalists while on the other it is the globalists. On one side there are the anti-Amazon, pro-retailers, losers of a global challenge, while… Continue reading The crisis of globalisation