9 PM Current Affairs Brief – February 23rd, 2018

Game-changer in quiet villages of Solapur Context: It is not before less than two years that woman in Waluj village of Mohol Taluka in Solapur district, 400 km from Mumbai, knew what a gram sabha was. The turning point: Before the onset of 2017 summer, over 50 women marched to the gram sabha demanding job… Continue reading Game-changer in quiet villages of Solapur

Saving lives Context: According to the recent Unicef Report “Every Child Alive”, India, with nearly 600,000 newborn deaths each year, accounts for a quarter of the global burden of neonatal deaths. It needs political will for India to bring down its shamefully high newborn mortality rate Highlights of the Report: Of the 184 countries, which… Continue reading Saving lives

An umbrella for the consumer Context: The Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 is a step towards providing ordinary consumers some protection of their interests and effective administration and settlement of disputes. Definition of consumer: The pending Bill, which will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, defines the “consumer” as a person who buys any good or… Continue reading An umbrella for the consumer

SC against disclosure of IAS prelims marks Context: The Supreme Court has held that details of marks — raw and scaled — scored in the Civil Services Exam cannot be “mechanically” disclosed under Right to Information. Background: The decision came on an appeal filed by the Union Public Service Commission against a Delhi High Court… Continue reading SC against disclosure of IAS prelims marks

Cannot annul marriage between adults: SC) Context: A Bench, led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, defined the limits of the court’s jurisdiction in the Hadiya case. Introduction: Ms. Hadiya, a 26-year-old homoeopathy student, had converted to Islam and then married a Muslim. The Kerala High Court had annulled Ms. Hadiya’s marriage to Shafin Jahan Her… Continue reading Cannot annul marriage between adults: SC

Two Benches refer land acquisition cases to CJI Context: A fight between two Benches of the Supreme Court has landed before the Chief Justice of India for final settlement What has happened? A three-judge Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur criticised another Bench for “tinkering with judicial discipline”. Justice Lokur’s Bench had… Continue reading Two Benches refer land acquisition cases to CJI

Pakistan moves against terrorists “superficial, reversible”: U.S Context: The Donald Trump administration is not satisfied with the measures taken by Pakistan in recent months to crack down on terrorist groups. What is in news? The U.S is concerned about tensions between India and Pakistan, “two nuclear armed states,” the onus is on Pakistan to create… Continue reading Pakistan moves against terrorists “superficial, reversible”: U.S

India is ignoring facts, says Maldives Context: India’s public statements regarding the suspension of democracy in the Maldives have ignored facts and ground realities, said the government of President Abdulla Yameen. Why is it in news? The public statements issued by the Government of India.. ignore the facts and ground realities with regard to the… Continue reading India is ignoring facts, says Maldives

India, Canada hold strategic dialogue Context: Ahead of India-Canada bilateral summit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland held a strategic dialogue here on covering a wide range of bilateral issues. Area of discussions: The two leaders “had wide ranging discussions on strengthening relations in trade and investment, security and cyber… Continue reading India, Canada hold strategic dialogue

Bilateral trade must benefit poor: Justin Trudeau Context: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said while the focus of his country’s relations with India has shifted from aid in the 1950s to trade today, it was important to ensure that greater bilateral trade and investment benefits all, especially the poor. Diversity spurs innovation: Terming democracy and… Continue reading Bilateral trade must benefit poor: Justin Trudeau

Talk like a South Asian Context: Watching South Asia, one senses India lacks of a sense of neighbourhood and region as a component of our imagination. Explanation: The similarities between India and Nepal are immense, and yet India lacks any comprehension of Nepal’s fierce sense of itself. India repeatedly displays a lack of sense of… Continue reading Talk like a South Asian

Canada, India red-faced over invite to Khalistan activist Context: Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office and the Modi government has faced a major embarrassment after it emerged that a convicted terrorist and Khalistan activist from Canada had been part of the delegation’s events in Mumbai and was personally invited to a reception by the… Continue reading Canada, India red-faced over invite to Khalistan activist

Planning for electric mobility Context: The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, published by the peer- reviewed Lancet medical journals in October 2017, attributed to air pollution an estimated 6.5 million premature deaths globally, with 1.1 million being from India. World Health Organisation’s urban air quality database: In 2014, the World Health Organisation’s urban air… Continue reading Planning for electric mobility

DoT’s plan to spur synergy among 7 PSUs Context: The government unveiled a ‘strategic plan’ to enable seven state-owned companies under the Department of Telecom (DoT) to work closely with an aim of promoting greater operational synergy among them. Introduction: These PSUs will also look at pooling in resources to address new business opportunities in… Continue reading DoT’s plan to spur synergy among 7 PSUs

The next innovation Context: The potential of blockchain to bring about substantial economic transformation is the mirror image of the way the Internet revolutionised commerce, media and advertising in the previous decade. Blockchain: Blockchain can be described as a way for people to share the extra space and computational power in their computers to create… Continue reading The next innovation