9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 30th, 2018

Should gambling be legalised? Context Gambling is ubiquitous in Indian society: people bet on animal fights on streets, they make bets while playing cards and before cricket matches. As the Irish philosopher Edmund Burke correctly said, “Gambling is a principle inherent in human nature.” Existing law on gambling The primary law on which States have… Continue reading Should gambling be legalised?

Cabinet approves education reforms What has happened? Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar on Thursday announced that the Cabinet has approved a slew of reforms for school education in the country, in what could be considered as the SarvaShiksha Abhiyan-2 project Integrated Scheme Schemes to be integrated:The SSA, the Rashtriya MadhyamikShiksha Abhiyan and teacher… Continue reading Cabinet approves education reforms

Stay on trial will be valid only for six months: SC Context An indefinite freeze on corruption and criminal trials granted by constitutional courts, especially High Courts in the cases of the rich and powerful, have often led to delay and denial of the fundamental right to speedy justice, the Supreme Court has observed What… Continue reading Stay on trial will be valid only for six months: SC

Govt. to file review plea in SC against ruling on SC/ST Act Context Union Law Minister has said that the government is “preparing” to file a review petition against the top court’s ruling on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 that puts a stop to immediate arrests in complaints… Continue reading Govt. to file review plea in SC against ruling on SC/ST Act

Keeping contracts alive Context The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill 2017 Objective: to ensure completion of infrastructure projects What is the intended purpose of the bill? Project completion: The Bill intends to direct the courts away from the usual practice of closing a case after a grant of monetary damages to the injured party to the… Continue reading Keeping contracts alive

Tackling prejudice What has happened? Nearly a month after ShanaviPonnusamy, a transwoman from Tamil Nadu, wrote to the President alleging that Air India had denied her a cabin crew job despite her clearing the written exam, the Ministry of Social Justice sent a Bill on transgender rights to the Cabinet, with amendments as suggested by… Continue reading Tackling prejudice

Tamil Nadu to file contempt plea on Cauvery scheme What has happened? With the Central government not coming out with a scheme on the Cauvery issue within the six-week period stipulated by the Supreme Court — which ended on Thursday — the Tamil Nadu government has decided to approach the court with a contempt petition.… Continue reading Tamil Nadu to file contempt plea on Cauvery scheme

‘Cannot reveal Rafale details due to new pact’ What has happened? The Union government cannot disclose details of the Rafale deal as India and France had recently signed an agreement to protect classified information exchanged between the two sides, according to officials Govt. cites secrecy deal with France The government told Parliament this week that… Continue reading ‘Cannot reveal Rafale details due to new pact’

Seychelles says no to India’s proposal for naval base What has happened? India’s plans to get a foothold in the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles received a setback after its President Danny Faure told Parliament earlier this week that he will not take up the Assomption island project deal with India for ratification Why: Because… Continue reading Seychelles says no to India’s proposal for naval base

India and Japan commit to Indo-Pacific strategy What has happened? India is Japan’s “most important” partner in its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy,” said Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, as both countries agreed to step up cooperation in their “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” during annual consultations and exchanged yen loan agreements for $1.4 billion.… Continue reading India and Japan commit to Indo-Pacific strategy

Himalayas warmest on record: researchers What has happened? Recent decades have been the wettest and warmest on record in the Himalayas, say researchers who are alarmed that a “warming signature” has led to an overall rise in mercury level ‘Global warming impacting glaciers’ Rising temperatures in western Himalayas:They warn that the impact of global warming… Continue reading Himalayas warmest on record: researchers

GSAT-6A gives India bigger eye in the sky Context Launch of GSAT-6A by ISRO What has happened? The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully placed a communication satellite GSAT-6A in a geosynchronous transfer orbit. It was carried on board the GSLV F-08 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre A Communication Satellite Vikas Engine:The GSAT-6A is… Continue reading GSAT-6A gives India bigger eye in the sky

Major initiative to control BP, diabetes What has happened? The Health Department of Kerala is launching a major initiative as part of a national programme for developing a registry for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with focus on management of diabetes and hypertension The State government has now chosen to integrate this programme, announced by the Ministry… Continue reading Major initiative to control BP, diabetes

‘Bharatmala to hit 25 toll projects’ Context The 44 new economic corridors (EC) proposed to be built under the Bharatmala network, designed on the shortest possible route connecting the origin and destination, would impact the existing highway networks by directly competing with a few stretches, including some existing Build Own Transfer (BOT) (toll) road projects,… Continue reading ‘Bharatmala to hit 25 toll projects’