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GS: 1
Art and Culture:
Archaeologists find child sacrifice site in Peru(The Hindu)
Archaeologists in Peru have found evidence of the biggest-ever sacrifice of children, uncovering the remains of more than 140 youngsters who were slain alongside 200 llamas as part of a ritual offering some 550 years ago, National Geographic announced in a study.
GS: 2
International Relations:
‘India should get sanctions waiver’(The Hindu)
The Secretary of State should be allowed to grant waiver to countries such as India that will otherwise come under American sanctions under a new law that intends to target Russia, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told lawmakers on Thursday.
Indian Constitution and Polity:
‘Collegium allotting cases will cause chaos’(The Hindu)
Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal on Friday differed with a plea by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan to have a collegium of Supreme Court judges collectively allocate cases in the court rather than leave the entire power in the hands of the Chief Justice of India in his administrative capacity as “master of roster”.
‘Primacy of collegium violated’(The Hindu)
As Justice Indu Malhotra took oath as Supreme Court judge and the fate of Justice K.M. Joseph’s elevation remains uncertain, former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha on Friday said the segregation of their names by the government was a challenge to the primacy of the Supreme Court Collegium in judicial appointments.
GS: 3
Economy:
The elephant in the Patent Office(The Hindu Opinion)
India hit the headlines when it incorporated certain anti-evergreening provisions such as Sections 3(d), 3(e) and 3(i) into the Patents Act to restrict patentability of a host of secondary patents — essentially alternative forms of already existing patented drugs aimed at further extending their term of protection.
Government Policies and Schemes:
Failed by design(Indian Express)
Insurance companies collected premiums of Rs 22,180 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 24,454 crore in 2017-18, both directly from farmers and as government subsidy, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Yesterday’s current affairs material by Forum IAS
7 PM Editorial: India’s renewed Interest in Common Wealth – An Overview