9 PM Current Affairs Brief – January 8, 2018

Dont divest AI, give it 5 years to revive: panel Context This is not the appropriate time to divest government stake in Air India (AI), which should be given at least five years to revive and its debt written off, a Parliamentary panel is likely to tell the government ‘Must not be evaluated solely from… Continue reading Dont divest AI, give it 5 years to revive: panel

Standing up for human rights In his new year message, UN Secretary-General AntónioGuterres referred to the pervasive and large-scale infraction of human rights across the world as a global challenge that defies our vision of a humane and just world order. The message is particularly relevant for us. India must hasten to bring in an… Continue reading Standing up for human rights

Re-examine the Bill Context The winter session of Parliament saw more political positioning than appraisal of a legislation to make instant triple talaq a criminal offence. With the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, the best option would be to refer it to a select committee to help bring about a consensus… Continue reading Re-examine the Bill

Sushma urges NRIs to come back Context Setting the tone for the government’s outreach to the Indian diaspora, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday urged people of Indian origin to take advantage of India’s projects for connectivity to Southeast Asian countries. Asks people of Indian origin to take advantage of connectivity projects Speaking in… Continue reading Sushma urges NRIs to come back

US couldntforsee North Koreas strides At the start of Donald Trump’s presidency, U.S. intelligence agencies told the new administration that while North Korea had built the bomb, there was still ample time — upward of four years — to slow or stop its development of a missile capable of hitting a U.S. city with a… Continue reading US couldntforsee North Koreas strides

Willing to talk to Kim, says Trump  Context U.S President Donald Trump said talks between North Korea and South Korea scheduled for next week was an outcome of his “firm stance” and he could talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the phone. “Absolutely I would do that. No problem with that at… Continue reading Willing to talk to Kim, says Trump 

FRDI: depositer trust is the key to banking Context The banking system of any country is built on an edifice of trust that depositors have in their banks. The confidence that money is safe, keeps depositors away from withdrawing their funds unless they really need it. Meanwhile, it allows banks to lend out the money… Continue reading FRDI: depositer trust is the key to banking

On way to insolvency, firms scout for fronts Context A number of insolvency-bound companies, reeling under huge unserved loans, are scouting for front entities to buy them out in a distress sale under an ’asset reconstruction’ model with the help of ‘friendly’ IRPs, but have landed themselves under the regulatory scanner ‘ARC start-ups’ According to… Continue reading On way to insolvency, firms scout for fronts

A sum of contributions  Context The Emissions Gap Report 2017, released last year ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, underlined that fulfilment of national pledges related to carbon emission reductions under the Paris Agreement would be inadequate to keep global warming below 2°C. Thus, a renewed focus on climate governance is imperative. Routine engagement of… Continue reading A sum of contributions 

The problem of land hoarding Context The government owns more land than it admits, large swathes of which are unused or underutilized The government owns more land than it admits, large swathes of which are unused or underutilised The Centre, by its own admission, does not know exactly how much property it owns. Imagine what… Continue reading The problem of land hoarding

Evidence of fragility Context Underwhelming growth estimates come amid worrying data on agriculture Underwhelming growth estimates come amid worrying data on agriculture Five months after Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian predicted that economic growth was likely to be closer to 6.5% in the current fiscal year, the Central Statistics Office has forecast that the gross domestic product… Continue reading Evidence of fragility

Mankidia denied habitat in Simlipal  Context Mankidia, one of the 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) in Odisha, were denied habitat rights inside the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) under the historic Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, as the State Forest Department has objected on grounds that  tribals  could… Continue reading Mankidia denied habitat in Simlipal 

Food poisoning, a common outbreak in 2017  Context Recent data put out by the Union Health Ministry’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) has indicated that food poisoning is one of the commonest outbreaks reported in 2017. This is apart from acute diarrhoeal disease (ADD). Incidence high in areas where food is cooked in bulk According… Continue reading Food poisoning, a common outbreak in 2017 

Jaitley bats for electoral bond scheme  Context Stressing that the electoral bond scheme is a “substantial improvement” in transparency over the present political funding system, Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley on Sunday said the government is open to suggestions to further cleanse the process The electoral bonds are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations… Continue reading Jaitley bats for electoral bond scheme 

UIDAI under fire for FIR against scribe  The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which has filed an FIR against a journalist who exposed a breach in its Aadhaar database, denied that it was trying to gag the media or whistleblowers. Reporter exposed breach in Aadhaar database; no gag on media: Authority Facing widespread criticism… Continue reading UIDAI under fire for FIR against scribe 

INS Arihant left criopled after accident 10 months ago  Context Indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant suffered major damage because of possible human error and has not sailed now for months, according to Navy sources Arihant is the most important platform within India’s nuclear triad covering land-air-sea modes. Nuclear submarine was damaged when water entered its propulsion chamber Arihant’s… Continue reading INS Arihant left criopled after accident 10 months ago