9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 24th, 2018

Muslim parties want review of 1994 ruling What has happened? Almost 24 years after the Supreme Court said a mosque has no “unique or special status” and is not an essential part of the practice of Islam and namaz, Muslim parties involved in the Ramjanmabhoomi title dispute want the court to first reconsider its stand… Continue reading Muslim parties want review of 1994 ruling

Office-of-profit issue: Delhi HC reinstates 20 AAP MLAs What has happened? The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed a notification issued by President Ram Nath Kovind disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries. HC Observed The opinion of the Election Commission of India to the President to disqualify the legislators… Continue reading Office-of-profit issue: Delhi HC reinstates 20 AAP MLAs

Myanmar, India mull building cross-border oil pipeline What has happened? India has proposed to build a pipeline from the country’s east coast to deliver oil products, mainly diesel, to Myanmar, a Myanmar government official said on Friday. Working group formed A working group has been formed by Myanmar and India to look at issues such… Continue reading Myanmar, India mull building cross-border oil pipeline

Donald Trump and the art of breaking a deal Context With anti-Iran people getting key posts in the U.S. President’s team, the nuclear deal with Iran becomes the target A difficult choice Under U.S. law, the deal has to be certified every 90 days by the President. Mr. Trump has grudgingly certified compliance twice since… Continue reading Donald Trump and the art of breaking a deal

Tibet is not a card Context Recent calling off major events of Tibetan community example, like cancellation of the 7th World Parliamentarian’s Convention on Tibet (WPCT), which had been planned for April 26-28 in Delhi Author’s view India shouldn’t use Tibetan refugees in India as a card in its relations with China Why using the… Continue reading Tibet is not a card

Listen to the survivor What has happened? At the recent End TB India Summit in New Delhi, India’s prime minister declared its intention of eliminating the disease by 2025 —five years ahead of the global target. While the world applauded, those on the frontlines of India’s tuberculosis (TB) epidemic wondered if this indeed was possible anytime… Continue reading Listen to the survivor

Centre issues notice to Cambridge Analytica What has happened? The government has sent a notice to U.K.-based Cambridge Analytica — accused of misusing data of 50 million Facebook users — asking it to disclose if data of Indian users was used, and to name the entities that used their services Accused of misusing data of… Continue reading Centre issues notice to Cambridge Analytica

Escalation of U.S.-China trade war may hit recovery’ Global economy has much at stake, says Raghuram Rajan Global economic recovery could be hit if the trade war between the U.S. and China escalates, renowned economist and former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday. Better to stay away from trade war Dr.… Continue reading Escalation of U.S.-China trade war may hit recovery’

Rising risks What has happened? This week the Fed raised its benchmark short-term interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.50-1.75%, the highest in a decade. While this is only the sixth rate increase since the financial crisis of 2008 — which pushed central banks to cut interest rates to historic lows — it portends… Continue reading Rising risks

Task force seeks import curbs on rubber What has happened? The first meeting of the joint task force set up to study the problems faced by rubber farmers in Kerala has decided to work on increasing the production incentive for farmers and curbing the import of rubber Call for Centre’s help The meeting also called… Continue reading Task force seeks import curbs on rubber