9 PM Current Affairs Brief – January 20, 2018

Websites for special needs  Context To empower persons with disabilities, 100 websites of the State governments and Union Territories under the Accessible India Campaign were launched by the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot at the national conference on “Improving accessibility” here on Friday Significance As per government, websites would help persons… Continue reading Websites for special needs 

Freedom supreme  Context The apex court’s order on ‘Padmaavat’ underlines truths which are conveniently forgotten, to the unholy glee of the mob The Real issue While Indian governments have perfected the art of the ban on the convenient fear of public disorder, the Supreme Court has returned the focus of the debate over the suppression… Continue reading Freedom supreme 

A poor prognosis  The National Medical Commission Bill is unlikely to provide a dynamic new thrust to medical care in India Lack of clarity The fundamental flaw in the proposed Medical Commission is the lack of clarity on its function.  Complex tasks assigned to the commission Unfortunately, in the National Medical Commission Bill, 2017 in… Continue reading A poor prognosis 

Office of profit: EC wants 20 AAP MLAs disqualified  Context The Election Commission of India (ECI) is learnt to have recommended to President Ram Nath Kovind that 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs be disqualified on the office-of-profit charge. The President is bound by the Commission’s recommendation. Seven MLAs move Delhi High Court against the recommendation.… Continue reading Office of profit: EC wants 20 AAP MLAs disqualified 

U.S asks Pakistan to prosecute ‘terrorist’ Saeed  Context The U.S. said on Friday that it has told Pakistan clearly that Hafiz Saeed is a “terrorist” and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, reacting strongly to Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s remarks that there was no case against Saeed State Department… Continue reading U.S asks Pakistan to prosecute ‘terrorist’ Saeed 

Sign of geopolitical whirlwind  Context With a New Year tweet from his handle accusing Pakistan of “lies & deceit” in return for “33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years”, U.S. President Donald Trump ‘appears’ to be radically resetting his administration’s Pakistan policy, with implications for the rest of South Asia. A clever… Continue reading Sign of geopolitical whirlwind 

On a new keel  Context With Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, India and Israel have fully normalised bilateral ties Start in 1992 That process began in 1992 when India established diplomatic ties with Israel, with major milestones in 2003 when Ariel Sharon became the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India, in 2015 when President Pranab Mukherjee… Continue reading On a new keel 

India admitted to Australia Group Context India on Friday joined the Australia Group saying that the membership will be mutually beneficial What is Australia group? The Australia Group (AG) is an informal forum of countries which, through the harmonisation of export controls, seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical… Continue reading India admitted to Australia Group

Navy confident of commissioning aircraft carrier Vikrant in two years  Context After several delays, the Indian Navy is confident of commissioning Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) Vikrant, currently under construction at Kochi, by October 2020 Hold-ups in procuring major parts resolved The IAC-I project has been delayed due to hold-ups in procurement especially of 18 major equipment related to… Continue reading Navy confident of commissioning aircraft carrier Vikrant in two years 

Ease of data access is driving compliance  Context Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the ease with which corporate data is available online had put pressure on companies to ensure compliance. It was also helping in preventing improprieties due to the fear of the possibility of such wrongdoings being detected, he… Continue reading Ease of data access is driving compliance 

Cut the confusion  Context Decisions taken by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have recently attracted a lot of attention. The renewed focus on monetary policy has arisen due to a few factors Key equation Real interest rate = Nominal Interest rate – Inflation Repo rate cut is too little Author states that repo rate cut… Continue reading Cut the confusion 

Soon, you can make calls while flying  Context Flyers in India, as well as those flying over the country, may soon be able to make voice calls and remain connected to the Internet even when on board an aircraft as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday recommended allowing in-flight connectivity in Indian airspace.… Continue reading Soon, you can make calls while flying