9 PM Current Affairs Brief – January 9, 2018

Contested history Context The Lushai Expedition followed a devastating raid by Lushai tribesmen on the Alexanderpur tea estate in Cachar Lushai expedition The Lushai Expedition followed a devastating raid by Lushai tribesmen on the Alexanderpur tea estate in Cachar. Several were killed, including a planter, Winchester. The raiders also abducted Winchester’s six-year-old daughter, Mary Thereafter,… Continue reading Contested history

No material to probe Gandhi death again  Context There is no substantive material to justify a need to re-investigate the assassination of the Father of the Nation, amicus curiae AmarendraSharan said in his report to the Supreme Court on Monday British conspiracy Seventy years after the assassination on January 30, 1948, the Supreme Court had asked Mr.Sharan… Continue reading No material to probe Gandhi death again 

SC for larger warnings on cigarette packs  Context The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Karnataka High Court order reducing the size of pictorial warnings on packages of tobacco products to 40% of the package space Citizens’ health paramount The court foregrounded the health of citizens over the concerns of the tobacco industry and favoured a… Continue reading SC for larger warnings on cigarette packs 

Centre to review rules on anthem  Context The court had justified the playing of the anthem in cinema halls, seeing it as an opportunity for the public to express their “love for the motherland.” Bench had observed The Bench had observed that the protocol of showing respect and honour to the anthem was rooted in… Continue reading Centre to review rules on anthem 

Break silos of information  Context Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday asked the State police chiefs to share information with one another as “security cannot be achieved selectively, or alone, and for that breaking of silos and information sharing among States can help make everyone more secure” Backdrop Concluding day of the annual conference of DGPs… Continue reading Break silos of information 

Cybercrime victims can complian online  Context The Ministry of Home Affairs is set to launch a web portal where people who have faced online abuse and victims of cybercrimes like financial frauds can register complaints on a real-time basis. The Centre also plans to give access rights to banks on the portal to address cases… Continue reading Cybercrime victims can complian online 

Rainbow of hope for LGBT community Context The Supreme Court’s decision to refer to a larger Bench a writ petition to quash Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality, has brought a ray of hope for  LGBT community members and activists who have been fighting a long battle for their rights Expert… Continue reading Rainbow of hope for LGBT community

Larger bench to decide on Sec 377   Context The Supreme Court has referred to a larger Bench a writ petition filed by five gay and lesbian members of the LGBT community to strike down the colonial Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code of 1860, which criminalises homosexuality What has happened? A three-judge Bench, led… Continue reading Larger bench to decide on Sec 377  

Larger bench to decide on Sec 377   Context The Supreme Court has referred to a larger Bench a writ petition filed by five gay and lesbian members of the LGBT community to strike down the colonial Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code of 1860, which criminalises homosexuality What has happened? A three-judge Bench, led… Continue reading Larger bench to decide on Sec 377  

Tuting row resolved, says Army chief  Context Tuting row What has happened? India and China held a Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) last week to resolve the incident of road building by Chinese civilians at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh Backdrop In December last week, a group of Chinese civilians were noticed undertaking track alignment activity about… Continue reading Tuting row resolved, says Army chief 

Trump outburst deepens Sino Pak ties  Context Central bank has already announced that it will use Yuan to settle bilateral trade What has happened? After Mr. Trump’s tweet, Pakistan’s Central Bank swiftly announced that it would use the Chinese Yuan to settle bilateral trade and investment with China China: A more reliable ally The rise… Continue reading Trump outburst deepens Sino Pak ties 

Dark clouds across Asia  Context What awaits the Asia-Pacific in 2018? Prospects appear, if anything, bleaker than was the case in 2017. More disorder, coming with increasing signs of a breakdown in inter and intra-state relations, is perhaps on the horizon. The Asian region is nowhere near achieving the kind of equilibrium that the Concert… Continue reading Dark clouds across Asia 

Data theft: on UIDAI exposé  Context The UIDAI exposé is another reminderof the need for a robust data protection law The UIDAI exposé is another reminder of the need for a robust data protection law Undercover investigations or so-called sting operations occupy a complex and problematical ethical space in journalism, but it is impossible to… Continue reading Data theft: on UIDAI exposé 

Amended companies act notified  Context The government on Monday announced that it has notified the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017, which is set to ease the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 Changes to impact share issuance at discount, managerial remuneration The provisions of this Amendment Act shall come into force on the date… Continue reading Amended companies act notified 

Bharat Net covers 1 lakh panchayats Context The government on Monday said it had laid optical fibre in more than 1 lakh gram panchayats, completing the first phase of the BharatNet project that forms the backbone for the Digital India initiative. Govt. aims to lay fibre network by Dec. The delay-marred project aims to bring… Continue reading Bharat Net covers 1 lakh panchayats

The age of crypto- economics  Context The Finance Ministry recently issued a statement warning against investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (CCs). Likening CCs to ‘Ponzi schemes’, it linked them to terror-funding, smuggling, drug-trafficking, and money-laundering. The stern advisory came after three other warnings issued by the Reserve Bank of India Why the distrust? Two… Continue reading The age of crypto- economics 

India unveils Pratyush, its fastest supercomputer yet  Context India’s supercomputing prowess moved up several notches Monday after it unveiled Pratyush, an array of computers that can deliver a peak power of 6.8 petaflops. One petaflop is a million billion floating point operations per second and is a reflection of the computing capacity of a system.… Continue reading India unveils Pratyush, its fastest supercomputer yet