9 PM Current Affairs Brief – 28th November, 2017

A looming threat   Context All children diagnosed with TB must get paediatric fixed-dose combination drugs What has happened? About 5,500 of over 76,000 children tested in nine Indian cities, under a study conducted under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme,have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, 9% of them with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB), highlighting the silent… Continue reading A looming threat  

Childhood foregone  Context It is a shame that the goal to eradicate child labour by 2025 seems elusive What is Child labour? As per ILO, The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development According… Continue reading Childhood foregone 

A Nation’s Conscience  Context It’s the Constitution that has checked Hindutva forces to a great extent November 26: Constitution Day On November 26, 1949, the Draft Constitution was placed before the Constituent Assembly. The assembly adopted the Constitution and India became a democratic republic in 1950. Constitution: Much more than a document The Constitution is… Continue reading A Nation’s Conscience 

What’s involved in courting the OBCs, one quota at a time  Context Giving the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Constitutional status and new powers involves far more detail than meets the eye What do observers have to say? Observers point out the move seems aimed at strengthening a voter base among the OBCs while, at… Continue reading What’s involved in courting the OBCs, one quota at a time 

Views sought on data protection law  Context The government has released a white paper looking into the scope of a data protection law, and opened up for public discussion till December 31, issues pertaining to its ambit, what constitutes personal data, what is sensitive data, and the international applicability of such a law BN Krishna… Continue reading Views sought on data protection law 

Naga talks still on, panel told  Context No deadline can be set for conclusion of peace deal, says interlocutor News Naga interlocutor, RN Ravi, was asked to appear before the parliamentary panel to explain the status of the Naga peace deal Interlocutor’s position He told parliamentarians that The “Government of India wanted to take all… Continue reading Naga talks still on, panel told 

Cant force govt. to frame a  law:SC  Context The Supreme Court has  said it respected the government’s “political compulsions” and would not compel it to ratify the UN Convention against Torture, or command it to frame a standalone anti-torture legislation What has happened? Former Union Law Minister had filed a petition urging SC to order… Continue reading Cant force govt. to frame a  law:SC 

N.K. Singh is 15th finance panel chief Context The Centre has announced that the Fifteenth Finance Commission would be headed by former Secretary to the government of India N.K. Singh Other members The panel, which is to make its recommendations for the five years beginning April 1, 2020, will include Shaktikanta Das, former Economic Affairs… Continue reading N.K. Singh is 15th finance panel chief

Sink your differences  Context A touch of pragmatism is what the judiciary and the executive need at this juncture What has happened? Union Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has raised following issues, The Supreme Court’s 2015 verdict striking down the law creating the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) reveals the judiciary’s distrust in the Prime… Continue reading Sink your differences 

A good augury  Context Nepal’s elections Importance This is the first election under the constitution promulgated in September 2015 Political instability Inconclusive elections in the past have been a reason for the political instability that has plagued Nepal since it embarked on the process to become a democratic republic Beyond political stability Political stability alone… Continue reading A good augury 

Cleaning up oil spills  What has happened? A chemical compound (Meisenheimer complex) synthesised through a simple, single-step process of mixing two chemicals at room temperature has been found to be highly effective in removing fluoride and metal ions such as lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, and iron from drinking water. USP of the compound The compound… Continue reading Cleaning up oil spills 

Govt.working on new gas ‘standards’  Context The government is looking to prepare a unified testing methodology to ensure that all agencies that map air pollution use accurate instruments What has happened? The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is in the process of setting up ‘gas standards’, or reference samples of,… Continue reading Govt.working on new gas ‘standards’ 

India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms  Context Income Tax Department’s announcement geared towards improving Ease of Doing Business What has been done? Income tax department has issued a clarification saying that it would allow mutual agreement procedures (MAPs) and advance pricing agreements (APAs) with all countries, abandoning a stance that disallowed such agreements with major trade… Continue reading India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms 

PF in equities: How investors can now track their money  Context The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) decides ways to account for and disburse investments in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) How much of EPFO’s money is invested into ETFs? While the Fund invested five per cent of the annual incremental corpus in equities in 2015-16, it… Continue reading PF in equities: How investors can now track their money