9 PM Current Affairs Brief – February 20th, 2018

Plea seeks protection for ECs from removal Context: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India to file their responses on a plea pointing out the vagueness in the procedure for the removal of two Election Commissioners. Different views: According to the petition this affects the top poll body’s… Continue reading Plea seeks protection for ECs from removal

‘No info from Centre on Naga pact’ Context: The Assam government has said that it had not received any communication from the Centre on the Naga Framework Agreement Details: The Assam government has said that it had not received any official intimation from the Centre on the Naga pact.  The government has asserted that it… Continue reading ‘No info from Centre on Naga pact’

‘Intolerance in India affects Bangladesh’ Context: Bangladesh’s Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has said that religious intolerance in India affects Bangladesh Details: Mr. Inu has made this remark at a conference for media professionals According to him, Bangladesh and India are unique as the (largest) minority community of India is the majority community of Bangladesh.… Continue reading ‘Intolerance in India affects Bangladesh’

Maldives president seeks extension to state of emergency Context: The state of emergency in Maldives has been extended by 30 days. Details: The state of emergency in Maldives has been extended by 30 days after a key parliamentary committee approved President Abdulla Yameen’s request The approval was given to the Decree for State of Emergency… Continue reading Maldives president seeks extension to state of emergency

New Zealand seeks clarity on India’s military ambitions Context: As India expands its influence in southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean Region, New Zealand’s Chief of Defence Force Lt. Gen. Tim Keating has sought clarity on a probable military component to New Delhi’s ‘Act East’ policy. New Zealand seeks clarity: New Zealand wants to understand… Continue reading New Zealand seeks clarity on India’s military ambitions

Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit Context: The Khalistan issue, which kept India-Canada ties on ice through three decades from 1980, has re-emerged. “Khalsa day” parade: The seeds for the current tensions have been sown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015. A major breaking point came when Mr. Trudeau attended a… Continue reading Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit

A Nepal-India win-win Context: With the Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli sworn as Prime Minster of Nepal, he is tasked today to reset the relationship with India at a new normal. Background: India became progressively interventionist as Nepal got engaged in internal crisis during and after the Maoist ‘people’s war’, and as the hill-plain… Continue reading A Nepal-India win-win

Old friends: on India-Iran bilateral ties Context: In bilateral terms, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India was perfect in content. Major takeaways from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India: The visit came amid uncertainty over the U.S.’s next move on Iran, given the Trump administration’s line on the Iran nuclear deal. After his… Continue reading Old friends: on India-Iran bilateral ties

Vaccines can prevent TB infections in adolescents Context:   A clinical trial has provided encouraging new evidence that TB vaccines can prevent sustained infections in high-risk adolescents. Introduction: The results will be announced at the 5th Global Forum on TB Vaccines in New Delhi. The study was conducted to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the… Continue reading Vaccines can prevent TB infections in adolescents

Indices of a decent society Context: The recent report that ranks India 177 out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index is not just an indicator of pollution but is as much an indicator of our indifference. How did we arrive here? It is not just about pollution of nature but also of our… Continue reading Indices of a decent society

NGT seeks report on Ganga rejuvenation Context: The National Green Tribunal has sought a compliance report on the steps taken by the Centre, U.P. and Uttarakhand governments to clean river Ganga in the stretch between Gomukh and Unnao. Introduction: A Bench, headed by Justice Jawad Rahim, directed the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the… Continue reading NGT seeks report on Ganga rejuvenation

How regulation widens inequality Context: The government regulation is must to end the domination of big businesses and encourage the growth of smaller ones. Why a government regulation is important? To deal with the unintended effects of entry regulation for new businesses   The bridge the gap between big and small businesses.  Such sentiments are common… Continue reading How regulation widens inequality

Fixing delivery: on direct benefit transfer in fertilizers Context: Efficiencies of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in fertilisers would be increasingly visible as the pilot project expands to more states About the project: In 2017, committee set up by NITI Aayog decided to roll out the pilot on DBT in fertilizers in 16 districts. Since… Continue reading Fixing delivery: on direct benefit transfer in fertilizers

Rajasthan to come up with vision document on nutrition Context: National Nutrition Mission will be implemented in 24 of the 33 districts of Rajasthan What is in news? Rajasthan is gearing up for implementation of the National Nutrition Mission with a State Vision Document-2022 The document is being formulated to ensure convergence of work by… Continue reading Rajasthan to come up with vision document on nutrition

Bank bureau stares at uncertain future Context: The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) is facing an uncertain future with the tenure of its members coming to an end on March 31, 2018. Banks Board Bureau (BBB): The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) was set up in April 2016, under the government’s Indradanush programme to reform public sector… Continue reading Bank bureau stares at uncertain future

Consider privatising public sector banks: FICCI to govt. Context: Industry body FICCI has called for privatisation of public sector banks (PSBs) Details: Recently, FICCI President has said that the government should consider privatising public sector banks He added that the recapitalisation efforts by the government have had little effect on improving their health The statement… Continue reading Consider privatising public sector banks: FICCI to govt.

Govt. seeks RBI view on system faults Context: The Finance Ministry has sought the Reserve Bank’s view on the lapses in the banking system that led to the ₹11,500 crore fraud at the Punjab National Bank Details: Department of Financial Services has written a letter to the RBI to explain the shortcomings in the system… Continue reading Govt. seeks RBI view on system faults

PM calls for re-skilling existing workforce Context: The World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2018) or the ‘Olympics of IT’, coming to India for the first time. Introduction: The inauguration of the event held in Hyderabad, through video-conferencing. The three-day event comprises the Nasscom India Leadership Forum. Earlier, the Prime Minister unveiled FutureSkills platform, a… Continue reading PM calls for re-skilling existing workforce

Punjab to install micro ATMs in co-op institutions across the State Context: The Punjab government plans to install micro ATMs in all its 3,535 primary agricultural cooperative societies and district central cooperative banks under its rural financial inclusion plan. Introduction: NABARD has accepted a proposal sent by the cooperative department to extend the digital transaction… Continue reading Punjab to install micro ATMs in co-op institutions across the State

NIA expands Khalistan probe Context: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has expanded its investigation into the revival of the pro-Khalistan movement in Punjab to countries such as the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Italy and Pakistan. Background: On November 30th 2017, the Home Ministry handed over the probe into the murder of RSS member Ravinder Gosain… Continue reading NIA expands Khalistan probe

Plea seeks protection for ECs from removal Context: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India to file their responses on a plea pointing out the vagueness in the procedure for the removal of two Election Commissioners. Different views: According to the petition this affects the top poll body’s… Continue reading Plea seeks protection for ECs from removal

‘No info from Centre on Naga pact’ Context: The Assam government has said that it had not received any communication from the Centre on the Naga Framework Agreement Details: The Assam government has said that it had not received any official intimation from the Centre on the Naga pact.  The government has asserted that it… Continue reading ‘No info from Centre on Naga pact’

‘Intolerance in India affects Bangladesh’ Context: Bangladesh’s Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has said that religious intolerance in India affects Bangladesh Details: Mr. Inu has made this remark at a conference for media professionals According to him, Bangladesh and India are unique as the (largest) minority community of India is the majority community of Bangladesh.… Continue reading ‘Intolerance in India affects Bangladesh’

Maldives president seeks extension to state of emergency Context: The state of emergency in Maldives has been extended by 30 days. Details: The state of emergency in Maldives has been extended by 30 days after a key parliamentary committee approved President Abdulla Yameen’s request The approval was given to the Decree for State of Emergency… Continue reading Maldives president seeks extension to state of emergency

New Zealand seeks clarity on India’s military ambitions Context: As India expands its influence in southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean Region, New Zealand’s Chief of Defence Force Lt. Gen. Tim Keating has sought clarity on a probable military component to New Delhi’s ‘Act East’ policy. New Zealand seeks clarity: New Zealand wants to understand… Continue reading New Zealand seeks clarity on India’s military ambitions

Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit Context: The Khalistan issue, which kept India-Canada ties on ice through three decades from 1980, has re-emerged. “Khalsa day” parade: The seeds for the current tensions have been sown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015. A major breaking point came when Mr. Trudeau attended a… Continue reading Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit

A Nepal-India win-win Context: With the Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli sworn as Prime Minster of Nepal, he is tasked today to reset the relationship with India at a new normal. Background: India became progressively interventionist as Nepal got engaged in internal crisis during and after the Maoist ‘people’s war’, and as the hill-plain… Continue reading A Nepal-India win-win

Old friends: on India-Iran bilateral ties Context: In bilateral terms, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India was perfect in content. Major takeaways from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India: The visit came amid uncertainty over the U.S.’s next move on Iran, given the Trump administration’s line on the Iran nuclear deal. After his… Continue reading Old friends: on India-Iran bilateral ties