9 PM Current Affairs Brief – February 6, 2019

Spending on Government subsidy on rise Expenditure on subsidies is expected to be at 9.83% of total expenditure in 2019-20, up from the 9.65% in 2018-19. Spending on subsidy has been falling consistently from 18.2% in 2012-13 to 8.15% in 2017-18. However, the reason for reversal this year accounts to sharp rise in food and… Continue reading Spending on Government subsidy on rise

Taliban demands new Afghan Constitution In a meeting, held in Moscow, between Taliban and Afghan opposition political parties, which excluded Afghan government, the Taliban demanded a new Constitution for Afghanistan. For Taliban, current Afghan Constitution is a Western import and is an obstacle to peace. The new Afghan Constitution would be based on “inclusive Islamic… Continue reading Taliban demands new Afghan Constitution

Russia to develop new missile systems by 2021 US recently decided to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement, signed between US and Russia in 1987, as US believes that Russia has violated the treaty by discreetly developing missiles. Following US withdrawal, now, Russia has reciprocated that it would develop two new missile systems… Continue reading Russia to develop new missile systems by 2021

100% use of VVPAT for Lok Sabha polls: EC The Election Commission informed the Madras High Court that there shall be 100% use of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system during the upcoming Lok Sabha election in accordance with the directive given by the Supreme Court in 2013 to gain voter confidence. Earlier,… Continue reading 100% use of VVPAT for Lok Sabha polls: EC

A series of unfortunate missteps In the aftermath of Kerala floods, the Kerala government was prohibited by central government from accessing relief funds from foreign governments directly. To project itself as a global leader and worthy of permanent membership of UN Security Council India in 2004 decided to discourage inflow of donations from foreign countries… Continue reading A series of unfortunate missteps

Bullet train gets green light via flamingo haven, national park The Mumbai-Ahmadabad high speed train corridor has been granted wildlife clearance, by a committee headed by the Union Environment Minister The Bullet Train Project, an India-Japan Joint venture, was inaugurated in 2017 and is scheduled for its first run in 2022. With a track-length of… Continue reading Bullet train gets green light via flamingo haven, national park