9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 23rd, 2018

Terms of separation Context The move to recogniseLingayats as a separate religion must be seen in a political and historical context Request of classification at the time of finalization of Indian Constitution The Lingayats were recorded as a caste within the Hindu religion for the first time in the 1881 census done in Mysore state… Continue reading Terms of separation

Preventing trafficking Context A proposed law on Human Trafficking Scope of the bill The Bill addresses, among other things, aggravated trafficking for forced labour, begging, trafficking by administering chemical substances or hormones to a person for the purpose of early sexual maturity, trafficking of a woman or child for the purpose of marriage or under… Continue reading Preventing trafficking

OALP gives an option to a company looking for exploring hydrocarbons to select the exploration blocks on its own, without waiting for the formal bid round from the Government. Under OALP, a bidder intending to explore hydrocarbons like oil and gas, coal bed methane, gas hydrate etc., may apply to the Government seeking exploration of… Continue reading Open Acreage License Policy

Cauvery row: Karnataka not to file review plea What has happened? In all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here on Thursday unanimously decided against filing a review petition challenging the final Cauvery verdict Dispute-resolution forum It was decided to impress upon the Centre to set up a dispute-resolution forum. Union Minister Ananth Kumar said… Continue reading Cauvery row: Karnataka not to file review plea

Yameen lifts Emergency in the Maldives Maldives President Abdulla Yameen lifted a 45-day State of Emergency on Thursday, after arresting dozens in that period, in a move that the opposition has accused of being politically motivated Emergency was against SC Ruling President Yameen imposed a State of emergency on February 5 for 15 days following… Continue reading Yameen lifts Emergency in the Maldives

Global lawmakers’ meet on Tibet called off Context Cancellation of the 7th World Parliamentarian’s Convention on Tibet (WPCT), which had been planned for April 26-28 in Delhi Reasons for cancellation: Resetting ties with China The decision reflects “sensitivities” over upcoming high profile meetings between the Indian and Chinese leadership An “informal summit” between Prime Minister… Continue reading Global lawmakers’ meet on Tibet called off

Pacific garbage patch is far larger than feared: study What has happened? The vast dump of plastic waste swirling in the Pacific ocean is now bigger than France, Germany and Spain combined — far larger than previously feared — and is growing rapidly, a study published on Thursday warned 80,000 tonnes of trash float as… Continue reading Pacific garbage patch is far larger than feared: study

One app, 1,000 services: mKeralam What has happened? Kerala, which last year became the first State to declare Internet a basic human right, has notched up another first by launching mKeralam, an app that will serve as a single window for accessing thousands of government services. Background The two-day #FUTURE conclave, Kerala’s first-ever Global Digital… Continue reading One app, 1,000 services: mKeralam

Dubious journals abound: study What has happened? A systematic study of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) approved list of journals has confirmed what scientists have long suspected. The white list contains a huge number of dubious or predatory journals which publish substandard papers for a small fee with very little peer-reviewing, if at all. Methodolgy… Continue reading Dubious journals abound: study

Cockroach DNA reveals mighty little secrets Context Genome sequencing may throw light on the insect’s ability to heal itself in the most harshest of environments American Cockroach The American cockroach is the largest common house cockroach, about the length of a AA battery. Also called the water bug, it can live for a week without… Continue reading Cockroach DNA reveals mighty little secrets

Indigenous technology tested on BrahMos What has happened? The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was on Thursday successfully test-fired with an indigenous seeker for the first time. So far the seeker, a critical technology in missiles, came from Russia. Seeker’, a critical technology, used to come from Russia The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired… Continue reading Indigenous technology tested on BrahMos

Not equipped to detect deep Maoist mines: Home Ministry What has happened? The Home Ministry has told a parliamentary panel that forces were “unable to detect deep planted mines” with the technology presently available in the areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Background The Committee of Estimates headed by senior BJP leader MurliManohar Joshi… Continue reading Not equipped to detect deep Maoist mines: Home Ministry

EU leaders to push for privacy protection What has happened? European Union leaders will on Thursday press tech giants to protect personal data in the wake of the scandal over information harvested from Facebook, draft summit conclusions said. Move comes amid the Facebook row The Brussels summit is tackling the row over the misuse of… Continue reading EU leaders to push for privacy protection

CA, Facebook &you Context The recent Facebook controversy is a wake-up call to press ahead with a robust data protection law Issues highlighted Involvement of Elections and politics Need of a policy: Regardless of whether what Facebook and CA did was legal or not, something is broken in a policy environment in which the data… Continue reading CA, Facebook &you

Protecting our data What has happened? After the Cambridge Analytica crisis exploded, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned Facebook against the misuse of Indians’ data and any attempt to influence the electoral processes of this country. Dangers abound Creating Psychological Profiles: Data mined from Indian users of social media may be used for purposes… Continue reading Protecting our data

Face ID’ from July 1 for Aadhaar authentication What has happened? The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it will introduce ‘Face ID’ on July 1 to enable Aadhaar holders to authenticate their identity to access services, benefits and subsidies. Advantage of authentication via Face ID The Face… Continue reading Face ID’ from July 1 for Aadhaar authentication

Trump orders curbs on Chinese goods, investments What has happened? President Donald Trump on Thursday directed imposition of tariffs on Chinese products, and restrictions on Chinese investments in America in a move that officials described as “historic” and is meant to push back against “economic aggression” Special review The measures follow the completion of a… Continue reading Trump orders curbs on Chinese goods, investments

10 missions on anvil to boost exports’ What has happened? The Union Cabinet is likely to approve 10 new market development missions to aid exports, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu said on Thursday. Imports outpacing exports: a matter of concern Exports are growing this year because the base has… Continue reading 10 missions on anvil to boost exports’

Is the economy back on track? Context Disturbances on account of demonetisation and GST were purely short term Positive indications Employment-generating sectors like construction, the worst hit by demonetisation, have already started reviving — demand is picking up because of falling prices and this is obviously due to minimum exposure to black money There are… Continue reading Is the economy back on track?

UIDAI chief defends safety of Aadhaar data before SC What has happened? CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Ajay Bhushan Pandey, was given the unique opportunity to conduct a PowerPoint presentation in a courtroom of the five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India DipakMisra. According to him It would take… Continue reading UIDAI chief defends safety of Aadhaar data before SC