Author: Shantanu Apurva

‘Banks may risk losing ₹3,800 cr. from cards’: (The Hindu) Context As per the new report, the Centre’s digital payments push, mainly card payments through Point of Sale (PoS) machines, may leave already capital starved banks bleeding by Rs. 3,800 crore annually. What is the cause? Post November’s note-ban, the government has pushed banks into… Continue reading ‘Banks may risk losing ₹3,800 cr. from cards

VVPAT to be used in Gujarat polls: (The Hindu) Context: Use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) What is the news? The Election Commission of India will use Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) gadgets with Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat. Why is it important? This is the first… Continue reading VVPAT to be used in Gujarat polls

Hope in Darjeeling: (The Hindu) Context: almost 100 days after a near- total shutdown in Darjeeling hills demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung on Tuesday announced withdrawal of the bandh. Introduction: The development came hours after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh made a fresh appeal to Mr. Gurung… Continue reading Hope in Darjeeling

A modern police: (Indian Express, Editorial Context Government spending money on police infrastructure is only the first step. Modernisation  of police infrastructure : Statistics The government has finally put numbers to the speeding up the modernisation of India’s creaking police infrastructure. The cash on the table is substantial: Rs 25,000 crore over three years, of… Continue reading A modern Police

Centre to review flexi-fares on select trains: (The Hindu) Context The Union government will review the flexi-fare system introduced in premium trains last year. Reviewing flexi-fare system system The Railways were also planning to reset its timetable by reducing the travel time for 600-700 trains through rescheduling and increasing speed. Discussions were held to review… Continue reading Centre to review flexi-fares on select trains

FM urges CPSEs to spend ‘aggressively’: (The Hindu) Context Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday asked central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) to aggressively push capital expenditure and warned against any laziness as the government looks to boost growth through increased public spending. What were the demands? The minister asked CPSEs to give “liberal dividends” to… Continue reading FM urges CPSEs to spend ‘aggressively’

GST: small firms may get time to file returns: (The Hindu) Context: The union government is considering a proposal from the industry to allow small firms to file quarterly returns even as they pay taxes on a monthly basis under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Problems small firms are facing today: The small… Continue reading GST: small firms may get time to file returns

Search for a highly potent anti-snake venom: Context: Research on venom of snakes What is the news all about? The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) is researching the venom of snakes from different Indian regions in order to create a highly potent Anti Snake Venom (ASV). What is the importance of this project? Besides mortality,… Continue reading Search for a highly potent anti-snake venom

(The Hindu, Editorial) Context To achieve the mission of a clean India , there is a need to break the link between caste and occupation. Link between caste and occupation : Manual scavenging In India, there is an inexorable link between occupation and caste; the occupation of manual scavenging is linked with caste. We have… Continue reading Will Swachh Bharat Abhiyan be a success?