9 PM Current Affairs Brief – 25th November, 2017

No fresh polls if NOTA votes exceed candidates’ Context Supreme Court rejects PIL petition, says elections are costly in the country Petitioners’ View If NOTA got the highest number of votes, it would amount to an expression of public dissatisfaction with the candidates in the fray. If this happened, the result should have to be… Continue reading No fresh polls if NOTA votes exceed candidates’

Rajnath to chair meet on Centre-State ties Context Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council (ISC)  to discuss the recommendations made by the Punchhi Commission on Centre-State relations. Punchhi Commission The Government of India constituted a Commission on Centre-State Relations under the chairmanship of Justice Madan… Continue reading Rajnath to chair meet on Centre-State ties

The mandates of natural justice Context Questions for the judiciary on the anniversary of India’s adoption of its Constitution Purpose in designating 26th November as Law Day (Constitution Day) To emphasise the role and importance of law in the life of our Republic To review the state of law and administration of justice, to suggest… Continue reading The mandates of natural justice

Plea contests jury trial in Parsi special courts Context Half a century after the case of a young Parsi war veteran, Commander K.M. Nanavati, sounded the death knell for the jury system in India, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up the case of a Parsi woman, who has challenged the jury system… Continue reading Plea contests jury trial in Parsi special courts

Who’s hiding behind Padmavati? Context The violent assertion of Hindu masculinity is masked as concern for a woman Sati being Evangelised All disputes about history and myth are about the present. Nearly two centuries after sati was abolished, the myth of a woman who embraced death to protect medieval honour is being evangelised by an upper-caste… Continue reading Who’s hiding behind Padmavati?

States of healthcare Context Data from Global Burden of Disease study will help states chart their individual trajectories. They need to beef up disease monitoring systems? The Global Burden of Disease study  It was initiated 26 years ago to chart the changing patterns of disease-related death and disability from 1990 onwards Since then, estimates are… Continue reading States of healthcare

Doval for cooperation on cybersecurity Context National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said all stakeholders, including States and the private sector, need to cooperate to mitigate the negative effects of cyberspace, especially amid emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence and internet of things Key Point Faster exchange of information key Suggestions The security agencies of… Continue reading Doval for cooperation on cybersecurity

Terror games Context Hafiz Saeed walks free again, posing another question mark on Pakistan’s commitment to tackle extremism Backdrop This was the seventh time that Saeed, head of the terrorist Jamaat-ud-Dawa/Lashkar-e-Toiba, was arrested, and the sixth time he was released by the Lahore High Court Saeed, who was designated under the UN Security Council’s 1267… Continue reading Terror games

Lest 26/11 come Context India needs to revamp its security architecture, reform and rejuvenate police forces India is the third most affected According to the US Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, India is the third most affected country after Iraq and Afghanistan in the number of attacks perpetrated on its soil It is estimated that… Continue reading Lest 26/11 come

The Chabahar Checkmate  Context Pakistan must abandon isolationism, worry more about trade and development Backdrop First Consignment: India sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar; in the following six months it will send six more Changing Relations: This will also take almost all the Afghan trade out of… Continue reading The Chabahar Checkmate 

India, Sri Lanka to expedite projects Context Expediting decisions on joint projects and “solving the problems that have emerged” was at the top of the agenda as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and President Ram Nath Kovind during his two-day visit to Delhi, officials… Continue reading India, Sri Lanka to expedite projects

The China plan — On Myanmar-Bangladesh deal on Rohingya Context The devil will be in the detail of the Myanmar-Bangladesh deal on Rohingya repatriation China’s 3 point Plan The agreement reached between Myanmar and Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya refugees suggests that the Chinese proposal has found some traction as a solution to the crisis Bilateral Talks: Under… Continue reading The China plan — On Myanmar-Bangladesh deal on Rohingya

Endgame in Syria  Context Unless the peace dividend is visible soon, regression to anarchy cannot be ruled out Backdrop: Flurry of political activity  Ceasefire: between government-allied forces and rebel groups Following the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) at Abu Kamal, its last Syrian redoubt, military activities are being framed by the tenuous ceasefire between… Continue reading Endgame in Syria 

World’s smallest tape recorder built from bacteria Context Researchers have converted a natural bacterial immune system into the world’s smallest data recorder, laying the groundwork for a new class of technologies that use bacterial cells for everything from disease diagnosis to environmental monitoring CRISPR-Cas The Team created the microscopic data recorder by taking advantage of… Continue reading World’s smallest tape recorder built from bacteria

Sagardhwani retraces historic Indian Ocean expedition routes Context Marine acoustic research vessel INS Sagardhwani is riding a wave of history that charted the course of oceanographic research in the Indian Ocean. What Research to look at impact of monsoon and human activity on marine resources INS Sagardhwani The Kochi-based ship, operated by the Navy and equipped with… Continue reading Sagardhwani retraces historic Indian Ocean expedition routes

No proof required: Making RBI accountable Context The first year of operation of the Monetary Policy Committee has imposed considerable costs on the economy with very few benefits. What explains its decisions? Facts today The CPI inflation this fiscal year, at 2.7 per cent, is the lowest in the last 40 years, real policy rates are… Continue reading No proof required: Making RBI accountable

Centre to seek 20,000 MW of solar bids  Context 2,000 MW of wind power auction announced; solar manufacturing EoIs coming What The government is planning bids for a total of 20,000 MW of solar energy plants projects in this financial year, of which 3,600 MW have already been completed The Ministry is planning bids for… Continue reading Centre to seek 20,000 MW of solar bids 

S&P stands pat on its rating Context Standard & Poor’s (S&P) retained its BBB- rating for India’s sovereign with a ‘stable’ outlook, belying expectations that it may take a cue from rival Moody’s, which upgraded the country’s credit rating for the first time in 13 years Factors cited by S&P S&P cited India’s low per… Continue reading S&P stands pat on its rating