9 PM Current Affairs Brief – November 14, 2018

Four corners: on the Quad’s agenda Article Quad officials are scheduled to meet at Singapore to discuss their common agenda. Important Analysis Quad stands for ‘Quadrilateral’ grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the U.S. Its objective is to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region. Quad was established in 2007, following cooperation… Continue reading Four corners: on the Quad’s agenda

Sri Lanka court stays dissolution, snap elections News: Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court (SC) stayed President Maithripala Sirisena’s dissolution of Parliament and restrained the Election Commission from preparing for snap elections. Important Facts: Background: President Sirisena’s on November 9 decided to dissolve Parliament after his party publicly admitted to lacking a majority in the House, heightening… Continue reading Sri Lanka court stays dissolution, snap elections

Is crop insurance scheme losing steam? News: According to a reply to an RTI application, more than 84 lakh farmers (around 15% of the total farmers) insured in the first year of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna in 2016-17, withdrew themselves from the scheme in 2017-18 Important Facts: About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna… Continue reading Is crop insurance scheme losing steam?

After IL&FS, SEBI tightens norms for raters News: SEBI has tightened disclosure norms for credit rating agencies after they failed to warn investors in time about the deteriorating credit profile of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS). Important Facts: SEBI Guidelines: The credit rating agencies (CRAs) will now have to take into account various… Continue reading After IL&FS, SEBI tightens norms for raters

New index to check ease of doing agri-business News: The ministry of agriculture is planning to come out with its own index to rank states on ‘ease of doing agri-business’. Important Facts: Background: This proposal comes barely two years after NITI Aayog launched the first index to rank states on the basis of marketing and… Continue reading New index to check ease of doing agri-business