9 PM Current Affairs Brief – 8th December, 2017

Hadiya mustn’t be in the dock  Context We need to fortify constitutional freedoms against sectarian challenges A prone constitution Seventy years after Independence, we may have legislated to give the country a common market, but there still seems doubt that the provisions of the Constitution may operate without a dominant sect seeking to subjugate them to… Continue reading Hadiya mustn’t be in the dock 

An Oversight Problem  Context For now, Parliament is ill-equipped to oversee economic issues in an integrated way Monitoring the economy Parliament uses two mechanisms for monitoring the national economy Debate Committee Debate The first is the most common way of highlighting issues. But there is hardly ever a focussed debate on the economy in Parliament… Continue reading An Oversight Problem 

On ‘populist steps’, tricky mandate for new Finance Commission (Indian Express) Context The primary remit of a Finance Commission is to work out the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the states and the central government, and the allocation among states Mandate of 15th FC This Commission has been mandated to recommend a fiscal consolidation… Continue reading On ‘populist steps’, tricky mandate for new Finance Commission 

No law provides change of woman’s religion after marriage: SC  Context The bench said it was only the woman who can decide about her religious identity by exercising her right to choice What has happened? A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra while dealing with a legal question whether a Parsi woman loses… Continue reading No law provides change of woman’s religion after marriage: SC 

A women doesn’t mortgage herself to a man with marriage, asserts CJI  What has happened? SC made certain observations while hearing a petition filed by a Parsi, who was barred by her community from offering prayers to her dead in the Tower of Silence for the sole reason that she married a Hindu under the… Continue reading A women doesn’t mortgage herself to a man with marriage, asserts CJI 

Capital crisis  Context By recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the U.S. has endangered the peace process Author’s contention President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite warnings at home and abroad, will worsen the Israel-Palestine conflict Jerusalem: At the heart of conflict Jerusalem, which houses holy places of all three Abrahamic… Continue reading Capital crisis 

Bizarre diplomacy Context Trump’s decision on Jerusalem has no redeeming features. Instability in West Asia, which it will fuel, is bad news for India A bad decision Trump has eliminated all prospects of an Israel-Palestine deal by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital No conditions: The decision is not conditioned on Israel stopping its programme of… Continue reading Bizarre diplomacy

World’s smallest Mona Lisa ‘painted’ with DNA  What has happened? Researchers from California Institute of Technology in the US developed an inexpensive method by which DNA origami self-assembles into large arrays with entirely customisable patterns, creating a sort of canvas that can display any image DNA Origami assembles itself Researchers from California Institute of Technology in… Continue reading World’s smallest Mona Lisa ‘painted’ with DNA 

World awaits ‘fair winds’ as Buenos Aires hosts trade talks  Context India is set to retain food security right and the protection of poor farmers and fisher-folk as top priorities at the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) highest decision-making body in Buenos Aires Ministerial conference The WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held… Continue reading World awaits ‘fair winds’ as Buenos Aires hosts trade talks 

‘FRDI Bill does not adversely alter depositor protection’  Context In an attempt to clear the air about bank deposit protection under the proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance  (FRDI) Bill 2017, the government on Thursday said the provisions in the Bill do not adversely modify existing protections granted to depositors at all, adding that the legislation… Continue reading ‘FRDI Bill does not adversely alter depositor protection’ 

Getting back on track  Context GDP data for 2nd quarter What has happened? The national income numbers for the second quarter of 2017-18 has come as a relief. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown at 6.3% year-on-year compared to 5.7% in the first quarter What are the encouraging signs flowing out of the data on… Continue reading Getting back on track 

Aadhaar link deadline a subsidies to be March 31  Context Aadhaar linking deadline What has happened? Attorney General of India K.K. Venugopal has submitted before the Supreme Court that the government intends to issue a notification on December 8, extending the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with services from December 31 to March 31, 2018 Extension… Continue reading Aadhaar link deadline a subsidies to be March 31