9 PM Current Affairs Brief – 22nd December, 2017

For a wider food basket Context While under-nutrition remains high in India, over-nutrition too is becoming an emergency High level of under-nutrition Despite hunger (as measured by under-nutrition) decreasing, the level of under-nutrition remains unacceptably high in the country India ranks 114th out of 132 countries in stunting among children aged less than five and… Continue reading For a wider food basket

Should adultery be a crime?:  Context The criminalisation of an act that breaches the sanctity of a pure social institution such as marriage, by way of deceit and lies, is facing challenges in the past few decades Article looks at the views of experts on the following question: whether adultery should be a crime or… Continue reading Should adultery be a crime?: 

Scam, or folklore? on 2G case verdict:  Context 2G acquittals call into question the political and investigative narratives of the past decade. Questions Raised? What is illegal from the point of view of administrative law may not necessarily be an offence from a criminal court’s perspective. Backdrop The Supreme Court declared in 2012 that the… Continue reading Scam, or folklore? on 2G case verdict: 

Overseas votes  Context The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill of 2017, introduced by the government during the winter session of Parliament, proposes to allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) to emerge as a decisive force in the country’s electoral politics on their own terms Amendment Change in Sec 20A: The amendment paves the way to remove an… Continue reading Overseas votes 

Manipur Assembly demands peace agreement disclosure:  Context The Manipur Assembly passed a resolution to demand disclosure of the contents of the framework agreement signed between the Union government and the NSCN(I-M) Backdrop The agreement was signed at the residence of Prime Minister NarendraModi on August 3, 2015, between the government’s interlocutor, R.N. Ravi, and NSCN… Continue reading Manipur Assembly demands peace agreement disclosure: 

India-China border talks today Context India and China negotiations on the border issues News India and China will hold the 20th round of negotiations on the border issues on Friday Backdrop The meeting, comes four months after the forces of the two sides confronted each other at the Doklam plateau, will be headed by special… Continue reading India-China border talks today

Arab outreach works, as India votes for negotiated settlement of Jerusalem: Context Israel-Palestine dispute What has happened? Reiterating its traditional policy on the Israel-Palestine dispute, India on Thursday voted for a negotiated settlement of the Jerusalem issue at the UN General Assembly with 127 other member countries Backdrop The dramatic vote came a day after a… Continue reading Arab outreach works, as India votes for negotiated settlement of Jerusalem:

Now, private banks face bad loans heat Context Rise of NPAs in private sector banks What has happened? Private sector banks registered a 40.8% year-on-year increase in gross non-performing assets as of September 30, 2017, according to latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) In comparison, gross NPAs at public sector banks… Continue reading Now, private banks face bad loans heat

GST, a work in progress Context We need to immediately move towards three tax slabs, and eventually two Concerns The introduction of the Goodsand  Services  Tax  (GST)raised  much  hope  that  itwould herald the emergence of a‘good and simple tax’ with ‘one nation, one market, one tax’ However, there  has  been  considerableconcern with the new tax,… Continue reading GST, a work in progress

Black money: India-Swiss data sharing from Jan. 1 Context India signed an agreement with Switzerland on Thursday that would allow automatic sharing of tax-related information from January 1 next year, the CBDT said Backdrop The policy-making body for the Income Tax Departmentsaid  the  agreement was signed by CBDT chairman SushilChandra  andSwiss Ambassador to IndiaAndreas Baum… Continue reading Black money: India-Swiss data sharing from Jan. 1