The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill,2019 has been passed in the Parliament. The bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967 providing special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, individuals and groups that foster terrorism in India. The bill empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists if (a)the person commits or participates in acts of… Continue reading UAPA Bill gets Rajya Sabha nod
Author: ForumIAS
In letter to Law Minister, CEC Sunil Arora pushes for pending poll reforms
Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) has written a letter to the Law Minister.He has highlighting eight pending reform proposals. CEC has sought the government’s intervention in limiting the number of seats from which a candidate can contest polls to one.At present one candidate can contest from two seats. He has also asked the government to amend the… Continue reading In letter to Law Minister, CEC Sunil Arora pushes for pending poll reforms
BIS to set up Pashmina testing centre in Leh
Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) would set up a Pashmina testing centre in Leh in partnership with the lab of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council(LAHDC),Leh. The pashmina products will also get a code from the Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) certifying their genuineness and quality. Pashmina is a fine type of cashmere wool.Cashmere wool has strong, light,soft… Continue reading BIS to set up Pashmina testing centre in Leh
New molecule promises to address drug resistance
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science(IISc),Bangalore have designed an antimicrobial protein called Omega 76. This protein promises to kill multidrug-resistant bacterium called Acinetobacter baumannii. The bacterium is among those responsible for most of the infections in hospitals and other healthcare settings and is fast becoming resistant to available antibiotics. The protein was developed using… Continue reading New molecule promises to address drug resistance
World Breastfeeding Week
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1st to 7th August.It aims to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. This is organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), in association with WHO and UNICEF.The theme for 2019 is “Empower Parents,Enable Breastfeeding”. Breastfeeding is important because (a)It prevents… Continue reading World Breastfeeding Week
Giving voice sample to police does not violate privacy, rules top court
The Supreme Court has ruled that a judicial magistrate can order an accused to give his voice samples even against his consent in the course of a criminal investigation. The judgment came on an appeal filed by petitioner against a 2010 order of a magistrate court in Uttar Pradesh allowing police to get his voice… Continue reading Giving voice sample to police does not violate privacy, rules top court
Affordable housing gets a ₹10,000-crore booster
The National Housing Bank(NHB) has decided to infuse an additional Rs 10,000 crore into housing finance companies(HFCs) to improve liquidity in the sector. This move would enable the HFCs to provide individual loans for affordable housing. The government has also approved the budget proposal on one-time partial credit guarantee to public sector banks for purchase… Continue reading Affordable housing gets a ₹10,000-crore booster
India seeks unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav
India has sought an unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.This comes after Indian Government had said that it was evaluating Pakistan’s proposal to grant consular access to him. There are a number of issues on which discussions are being held between Indian and Pakistan such as (a)will officials from Pakistan be present (b)will there be… Continue reading India seeks unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav
China threatens to retaliate against Trump tariffs
China has warned of retaliation against U.S. President announcement on imposing a fresh 10% tariff on another $300bn of Chinese goods. Tariffs are a tax on imports.They are typically charged as a percentage of the transaction price that a buyer pays to a foreign seller. The US had already applied tariffs of 25% on $250bn… Continue reading China threatens to retaliate against Trump tariffs
‘Slowdown evident, may be temporary’
HDFC Chairman has said that the economic slowdown in India which has been due to weakness in consumption demand is temporary in nature and will pick up at the onset of the festive season. According to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO),India’s quarterly GDP growth has declined to 5.8% in the January-March 2019… Continue reading ‘Slowdown evident, may be temporary’
