Indian writer Annie Zaidi was announced as the 2019 winner of Nine Dots Prize. She won the award for her book ‘Bread, Cement, Cactus’. The Nine Dots Prize is a prize for creative thinking that tackles contemporary societal issues.The aim of the Prize is to promote, encourage and engage innovative thinking to address problems facing… Continue reading Indian writer wins USD 100000 global book prize
Author: ForumIAS
Haryana farmers win compensation for defective seeds sold by IFFCO
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has granted Haryana farmers compensation of ₹5 lakh from Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO). This compensation was granted after the IFFCO had sold to farmers defective guar seeds that led to 70% crop failure. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), India is a quasi-judicial commission in India… Continue reading Haryana farmers win compensation for defective seeds sold by IFFCO
WHO drops being transgender from list of mental disorders
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to no longer categorize being transgender as a “mental disorder”. According to the newly-revised version of the International Classification of Diseases (known as ICD-11), “gender identity disorders” have been reframed as “gender incongruence.” Gender incongruence is defined as a marked and persistent incongruence between a person’s experienced gender… Continue reading WHO drops being transgender from list of mental disorders
RBI extends RTGS transfer timings
The Reserve Bank of India has increased the Real Time Gross Settlement(RTGS) time window for customer transactions from 4.30 pm to 6 pm. The RTGS is an online fund transfer system supported by the RBI which enables transmission on a real-time basis. Real time means the beneficiary bank receives the instructions for fund transfer immediately… Continue reading RBI extends RTGS transfer timings
US removes India from its currency monitoring list
United States has removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners. It has also removed Switzerland from the list but added Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. In 2018,India along with China, Japan, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea was placed in the bi-annual currency watch list. The watch list contains the names… Continue reading US removes India from its currency monitoring list
Telangana priming for tech glory with first Blockchain district
Telangana Government has announced a draft blockchain policy to offer regulatory and policy support for blockchain startups based in Hyderabad. The policy was announced with an aim to make Hyderabad as one of the top 10 Blockchain cities of the world. It has also decided to create India’s first Blockchain district within Hyderabad. The Blockchain… Continue reading Telangana priming for tech glory with first Blockchain district
Supreme Court agrees to examine power of authorities to arrest individuals for GST evasion
Supreme Court has decided to examine the power of the government officials to arrest persons for Good and Services Tax (GST) evasion. The court observed that different high courts had taken different views in granting anticipatory bail to individuals accused of GST evasion and therefore, it needs to decide the question of law on the… Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to examine power of authorities to arrest individuals for GST evasion
RBI forms task force on corporate loans
The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a task force on the development of secondary market for corporate loans under T N Manoharan. The task force has also been asked to make recommendations for creation of a loan contract registry to remove information asymmetries between buyers and sellers ownership structure and standardisation of loan information,… Continue reading RBI forms task force on corporate loans
Pakistan extends airspace ban till June 15
Pakistan has decided to extend the closure of its airspace along its eastern border with India until June 15. Pakistan had closed the airspace after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot. Pakistan lies in the middle of a vital aviation corridor and the airspace restrictions impact hundreds of… Continue reading Pakistan extends airspace ban till June 15
SpaceX satellites pose new headache for astronomers
Astronomers have raised concerns about Space X’s Starlink. According to astronomers, Starlink satellites may threaten the view of the cosmos and adversely affect scientific discovery. The newly launched each Starlink satellite contain a single solar array, which both captures and bounces sunlight off the satellites and, as a result, can sometimes be seen from Earth.… Continue reading SpaceX satellites pose new headache for astronomers
