Must Read News Articles – February 12, 2018

Archives

GS: 2

International relations:

India, UAE to deepen strategic ties, counter terror(The Hindu)

India and the UAE will hold a bilateral naval exercise, the External Affairs Ministry announced on Sunday.

Let the chips fall where they may(The Hindu Opinion)

Dealing with the unfolding political drama in the Maldives requires a great deal of craft, patience and diplomacy.

Endgame in Bangladesh(The Hindu Opinion)

With the sentencing of former Bangladesh Prime Minister and chairperson of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Begum Khaleda Zia to five years rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case, the country enters into uncharted waters.

Indian Constitution and Polity:

Govt. ignoring the plight of children: SC(The Hindu)

The Supreme Court criticised the government for the “tardy, if not virtual non-implementation,” of juvenile justice laws and ignoring the plight of the “voiceless, if not silenced,” children of the nation.

GS: 3

Economy:

Why the fuss about fiscal deficit?(The Hindu)

To any layman watching India’s annual Budget jamboree, the entire exercise must seem very puzzling. After the Finance Minister has read out a long list of giveaways to farmers, small businesses, low-income earners and senior citizens in his speech, none of the beneficiaries seems entirely happy with their gifts.

Hardly a gamechanger(The Hindu Opinion)

The National Health Protection Scheme announced in this year’s Budget has generated a lot of debate. The government has committed itself to “providing coverage up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation” for 10 crore poor families, with approximately 50 crore people as beneficiaries.

‘Inflation to moderate to 5% for Jan.’(The Hindu)

Retail inflation is expected to moderate and print at 5% after rising consecutively for five months, helped largely by the seasonal dip in vegetable prices, while the trade deficit is also likely to have improved in January, said a foreign brokerage in a report.

New rubber policy soon: Alphons(The Hindu)

The Central government will soon come out with a new Rubber Policy which will ensure remunerative prices for natural rubber, Union Minister of State for Tourism K.J. Alphons has said.

Cryptocurrency: ‘trustless’ nature irks regulators(The Hindu)

Last October, the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) discussed the growing usage of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) to raise capital as an area of concern.

15 months on, RBI still processing returned notes(The Hindu)

The RBI has said that Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, returned to banks when the government demonetised high value currency 15-months ago, are still being “processed for their arithmetical accuracy and genuineness.”

States of health(The Hindu)

The NITI Aayog Health Index shouldtrigger a wider public debate

Turf war(The Hindu Opinion)

India’s stock exchanges are not too keen on the idea of competing with their global peers. Instead, they are happy to guard the home turf against foreign exchanges that do a better job of finding new clients.

Internal security:

Cyberspace shouldn’t help trigger terror: PM(The Hindu)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned the world against the misuse of cyberspace to ensure it did not become a source of radicalisation, asserting that technology should be harnessed as a tool for development, not destruction.

Environment:

Poachers kill rhino, escape with horn(The Hindu)

Poachers killed an adult rhino and escaped with its horn from the Western Range of Kaziranga National Park in Biswanath district, a senior forest official said on Sunday.