9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 21st, 2018

SC/ST Act being used for blackmail, says top court SC’s observations on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 Observations The anti-atrocities law, which protects Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from casteist slurs and discrimination, has become an instrument to “blackmail” innocent citizens and public servants Instead of blurring caste lines,… Continue reading SC/ST Act being used for blackmail, says top court

Centre wants ‘humane’ AFSPA Context In a first admission that Centre was keen to water down the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir informed the Lok Sabha that it was considering a proposal to make the Act more “operationally effective and humane.” The AFSPA is… Continue reading Centre wants ‘humane’ AFSPA

SC gives State a month to submit revised seniority list Context The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied the Karnataka government six months to implement its February 9, 2017, judgment to revise the promotion list of employees after invalidation of a law granting reservation in promotion to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees One month given… Continue reading SC gives State a month to submit revised seniority list

Criterion for giving minority tag to educational groups tweaked What has happened? Making it easier for educational institutions to get the minority tag, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has tweaked the eligibility criterion to set up minority education institutions. New Rules The Karnataka Educational Institutions (Recognition of minority educational institutions terms and conditions)… Continue reading Criterion for giving minority tag to educational groups tweaked

39 Indians, abducted by IS in Iraq, are dead: Sushma What has happened? External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Rajya Sabha that the 39 Indians, who had been abducted in Iraq in 2014, are dead. DNA tests helped in identification Their bodies had been recovered from a mound in Badush, around 30 km from… Continue reading 39 Indians, abducted by IS in Iraq, are dead: Sushma

India joins Europe’s satellite data sharing pool Context India has joined Europe’s mega global arrangement of sharing data from earth observation satellites, called Copernicus What has happened? An agreement between European Commission and ISRO means data from a band of Indian remote sensing satellites will be available to the European Copernicus programme, while designated Indian… Continue reading India joins Europe’s satellite data sharing pool

World’s last male northern white rhino dies in Kenya Context Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has died in Kenya at the age of 45, after becoming a symbol of efforts to save his sub-species from extinction, a fate that only science can now prevent Backdrop When Sudan was born in 1973 in the… Continue reading World’s last male northern white rhino dies in Kenya

Awash in water crises Context As World Water Day draws closer (March 22), this year’s World Water Development Report makes it clear that nature-based solutions — which are also aligned with the principles and aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — can offer answers to our most pressing water-related challenges. Business-as-usual approaches to… Continue reading Awash in water crises

‘Move out, move up approach could ease India’s farm crisis’ Context View of the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ahead of release of annual global food policy report Views Indian must adopt policies that facilitate sections of farmers to ‘move out’ of rural areas to urban areas and the remaining ones… Continue reading ‘Move out, move up approach could ease India’s farm crisis’

New telecom policy almost ready: Sinha Context Union Minister Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday that the new telecom policy (NTP) was almost ready and would be brought in the next session of Parliament after Cabinet nod Information relevant for prelims Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana Under the scheme of SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby), it… Continue reading New telecom policy almost ready: Sinha

Centre clears Rs. 1,400 cr. for Polavaram Context The Union Ministry of Finance has directed NABARD to release Rs. 1,400 crore from the Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) to fund the Polavaram Project, State Water Resources Principal Secretary Shashi Bhushan Kumar has said Info relevant to prelims Polavaram project Polavaram is a multi-purpose irrigation project… Continue reading Centre clears Rs. 1,400 cr. for Polavaram