9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 15, 2019

Enforce ban on surrogate liquor ads, HC tells UP The Allahabad High court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government and its Excise Department to enforce the ban on surrogate advertisement of liquor on TV and in cinema halls, newspapers and other mass media. A surrogate advertisement is an advertisement that duplicates the brand image of… Continue reading Enforce ban on surrogate liquor ads, HC tells UP

Himachal avalanche: search ends with recovery of two more bodies The search and rescue operation for soldiers trapped by as snow avalanche in Kinnaur district Himachal Pradesh has been called off. Soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were buried under the avalanche at Shipki La near the Sino-India border on February 20. Shipki La is… Continue reading Himachal avalanche: search ends with recovery of two more bodies

‘Grounding to cost airlines $4 bn.’ Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm, has projected that grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes worldwide, could cost airlines a loss of $4 billion. A large number of countries have had decided to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes in the aftermath of Ethiopian Airlines crash. On 10… Continue reading ‘Grounding to cost airlines $4 bn.’

Gehlot govt. did not send data for PM Kisan The Rajasthan government has been accused of not providing requisite information about farmers eligible for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. The scheme was recently launched from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh and 1 crore farmers were provided with the first instalment of Rs. 2000. The centre had directed… Continue reading Gehlot govt. did not send data for PM Kisan

23 Opposition parties move court on EVMs and VVPAT Opposition parties have moved to the Supreme Court demanding the random verification of at least 50% Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) using Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in every Assembly segment or constituency. Opposition parties have argued that this would increase voter confidence and make the… Continue reading 23 Opposition parties move court on EVMs and VVPAT

Fire breaks out in Bandipur again Recently, a fresh outbreak of fire has been reported from Kundkere range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. In February, Bandipur Tiger Reserve had witnessed a major fire which spread to the adjoining Wayanad wildlife sanctuary. The Bandipur National park is located in Karnataka. It was established in 1974 as a… Continue reading Fire breaks out in Bandipur again

Despite objections, Bannerghatta National Park’s Eco-Sensitive Zone curtailed The 33rd ESZ Expert Committee meeting of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has recommended to finalize the draft notification which declared an Eco-sensitive Zone (ESZ) area of 168.84 sq.km around Bannerghatta National Park. Environment activists have strongly opposed the draft notification. In 2016, the government… Continue reading Despite objections, Bannerghatta National Park’s Eco-Sensitive Zone curtailed

Election Commission introduces mobile app for observers The Election Commission of India (ECI) have launched the Observer App,a mobile application. The election observers can submit the relevant document and material to election commission directly through this mobile app. The poll observers will also get all the important notifications and alerts through this app. It will… Continue reading Election Commission introduces mobile app for observers

Prices slashed for 463 cancer drugs The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has invoked powers under Drugs (Prices Control) Order,2013 and brought 463 non-scheduled cancer medicines under price control. This will reduce the trage margin of the drug. The trade margin is the difference between the price at which the manufacturers sell to trade and… Continue reading Prices slashed for 463 cancer drugs

RTI trumps Official Secrets Act, says SC The Supreme Court has reserved its order on whether it would examine the documents submitted by Petitioners to review its order on the Rafale deal. The government had argued these documents are privileged and cannot be produced in court without its permission. While, petitioners had said that everything… Continue reading RTI trumps Official Secrets Act, says SC

India wants visa-free travel to Kartarpur India has asked for a visa-free access from Pakistan during the meeting of Indian and Pakistan Officials to finalise the modalities of the proposed cross-border Kartarpur corridor. The meeting is being held to discuss the draft agreement which consists of(a)dedicated corridor that will allow pilgrims from India to visit… Continue reading India wants visa-free travel to Kartarpur

Wholesale price inflation quickens to 2.93% in February The  Wholesale price inflation has increased to 2.93% in February. The rise has been attributed to high food and fuel prices. Wholesale Price Inflation tracks changes in the price of goods in stages before the retail level i.e. goods that are sold in bulk and traded between… Continue reading Wholesale price inflation quickens to 2.93% in February