9 PM Current Affairs Brief – February 26, 2019

Banks may set repo rate as benchmark The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a major change in the way banks price their loans. It said that banks will now have to link the interest rates charged by them on different categories of loans to the external benchmarks instead of the used internal benchmarks.… Continue reading Banks may set repo rate as benchmark

Meghalaya rathole mine tragedy: SC questions need to go on with rescue work but agrees to one ‘last-ditch effort’ The Supreme Court has questioned the need to continue with the rescue operations for trapped miners in a rathole mine in Meghalaya. A coal mine in Meghalaya East Jaintia Hills had collapsed which threw light on… Continue reading Meghalaya rathole mine tragedy: SC questions need to go on with rescue work but agrees to one ‘last-ditch effort’

Two crore jobs created in 16 months to December 2018: CSO According the payroll data of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), nearly 2 crore jobs were created during the period from September 2017 and December 2018. The ESIC data is one of payroll numbers released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its reports.… Continue reading Two crore jobs created in 16 months to December 2018: CSO

Supreme Court to hear challenge to Article 35A from Feb 26-28 The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the plea challenging the validity of the Article 35-A, that gives special rights and privileges to the Jammu and Kashmir natives. Article 35-A was incorporated in the Constitution in 1954 through Presidential order. It gives the Jammu… Continue reading Supreme Court to hear challenge to Article 35A from Feb 26-28

IL&FS accounts can’t be NPAs without NCLAT nod The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has said Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) accounts will not be declared as non-performing assets (NPA) without approval from the appellate tribunal. The order comes after the NCLAT said that subsidiaries of IL&FS would be divided into three categories… Continue reading IL&FS accounts can’t be NPAs without NCLAT nod

Warming imperils clouds that deter ‘hothouse’ conditions According to a recent research published in the journal Nature Geoscience, stratocumulus clouds could disappear if the amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere increases threefold. This could result in steep increase (by about 8 degree Celsius) in Earth’s temperature in addition to the global warming that comes from increased… Continue reading Warming imperils clouds that deter ‘hothouse’ conditions

U.K. should hand over Chagos islands to Mauritius: ICJ The International Court of Justice has ruled that the United Kingdom should hand over the administration of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius in order to legally complete its decolonisation. The British government ruled Mauritius from 1810 to 1968. But, under an agreement… Continue reading U.K. should hand over Chagos islands to Mauritius: ICJ

Banks may set repo rate as benchmark The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a major change in the way banks price their loans. It said that banks will now have to link the interest rates charged by them on different categories of loans to the external benchmarks instead of the used internal benchmarks.… Continue reading Banks may set repo rate as benchmark

Droughts less probable this year: Skymet According to private weather forecaster Skymet, there is unlikely to be a drought in 2019. This is because the El Nino is expected to diminish gradually by the beginning of monsoon. Recently, the U.S. National Climate Centre had issued a forecast that an El Nino had formed and would… Continue reading Droughts less probable this year: Skymet

Modi opens War Memorial Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the National War Memorial. It is located near India Gate in New Delhi. The memorial has been built in remembrance of soldiers who sacrificed their lives while protecting the country, post-independence. It also commemorates the soldiers who participated and made the sacrifice in Peace Keeping… Continue reading Modi opens War Memorial