9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 16th, 2018

Haryana Assembly okays death penalty for child rape What has happened? The Haryana Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a Bill which provides for death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less. Third State to do so After Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Haryana has become the third State where the… Continue reading Haryana Assembly okays death penalty for child rape

Is active euthanasia the next step? Context The right declared in ‘Common Cause’ extends to active euthanasia in certain circumstances The observation If passive euthanasia is a guaranteed fundamental right, a rigid “active” versus “passive” euthanasia distinction (APD) is analytically unsustainable The problem It may unjustly deny a recognised fundamental right to those who need… Continue reading Is active euthanasia the next step?

CoA curtails powers of BCCI officials What happened? The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), steered by Vinod Rai issued fresh directives that conveyed to BCCI acting president C. K. Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry that their role would henceforth be very limited in the matter of running the day-to-day administration.… Continue reading CoA curtails powers of BCCI officials

The strategy of conflict Context India-Pakistan Kashmir dispute: Violence at the border increasing What has happened? More than 633 ceasefire violations (CFVs) by Pakistan have been reported by New Delhi Pakistan reported 415 CFVs by India which have claimed 20 civilian lives The calibre of weapons used on the border have also graduated from short-range… Continue reading The strategy of conflict

Arresting the drift Context India-Russia ties:India needs to re-engage with its ally Russia, which is getting closer to China and Pakistan Russia growing closer with Pakistan Russia signalling its support for Pakistan’s candidature to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Joint military exercises between Russia and Pakistan, of the kind held in October 2017, are another major… Continue reading Arresting the drift

U.S. announces expanded sanctions against Russians What has happened? The U.S. slapped sanctions on 19 Russian individuals and five groups, including Moscow’s intelligence services, for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and malicious cyber attacks Additional sanctions in the future There would be additional sanctions against Russian government officials and oligarchs “for their destabilising activities”.… Continue reading U.S. announces expanded sanctions against Russians

Pakistan asks its envoy to return for ‘consultations’ Context Alleged maltreatment of Pakistani diplomats in India What has happened? Pakistan on Thursday asked its envoy to return for “consultations” amid growing bilateral tensions over alleged harassment of its diplomats in India Cause of concern While the consultations are not unusual, the fact that the Pakistan… Continue reading Pakistan asks its envoy to return for ‘consultations’

Space travel causes changes to genes Context NASA’s Twins Study brought ten research teams together to accomplish one goal: find out what happens to the human body after spending one year in space Comparing the data Research includes data on what happened to Scott Kelly, physiologically and psychologically, while he was in space, and compared… Continue reading Space travel causes changes to genes

Antibiotic resistance: vultures wintering in India show pattern Context Escherichia coli, a pathogen seen in over 90% of Egyptian vultures that migrate to northwest India to spend the winter, tend to show significant difference in resistance to antibiotics within a single season, a study has found Study subjects A team studied vultures that arrived in… Continue reading Antibiotic resistance: vultures wintering in India show pattern

‘RBI norms may push power projects worth ₹2.5 lakh crore into bankruptcy’ Context RBI’s move: The RBI has recently scrapped all loan restructuring programmes and it’s recent guidelines on ‘Resolution of Stressed Assets — Revised Framework’ mandates the banks to classify even a day’s delay in debt servicing as default Impact More than 50,000 MW… Continue reading ‘RBI norms may push power projects worth ₹2.5 lakh crore into bankruptcy’

India likely to push for dropping ‘Asian premium’ on oil prices Context India is likely to lobby heavily for an end to the discriminatory “Asian premium” on oil prices and a “responsible” price mechanism, as it prepares to host a major conference for oil producing and consuming countries Backdrop International Energy Forum (IEF) April 10-12… Continue reading India likely to push for dropping ‘Asian premium’ on oil prices

MoF declines 3% GDP allocation for defence Context The Finance Ministry has declined a recommendation from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence to have a fixed allocation of 3% of GDP for the Defence Ministry, a report of the Committee has stated Rationale given by MoF MoF said that since government resources come with definite… Continue reading MoF declines 3% GDP allocation for defence

To seize and punish Context The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 What is the objective behind the bill? The bill aims to provide for measures to deter fugitive economic offenders from evading the process of law in India. It is a deterrent for those offenders who continue to stay outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts… Continue reading To seize and punish

U.S. challenges Indian export programmes at WTO Context Indo-US trade disputes What has happened? United States has challenged India’s export subsidy programmes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Backdrop The move comes after a recent string of statements accusing India of “unfair” trade practices, by President Donald Trump How this dispute is different from earlier… Continue reading U.S. challenges Indian export programmes at WTO

Credit tangle Context Aftermath of PNB fraud What has happened? In the wake of PNB fraud, RBI has decided to ban instruments like Letters of Undertaking (LoU) as well as letters of comfort issued by bankers to businesses for international transactions. It should be noted that LoUs are among the most popular instruments to secure… Continue reading Credit tangle