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GS 2
‘RTI scrutiny will ruin judicial independence’
Opening up the “highly-sensitive” correspondence of the Supreme Court’s collegium and its workings to the Right to Information (RTI) regime would make judges and the government “shy” and “destroy” judicial independence, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal submitted on Wednesday.
Group chats: WhatsApp users get more control
The new privacy feature will allow its users to decide whether they want to get added to groups
SC rejects EPFO plea against HC verdict
The Supreme Court has dismissed a special leave petition filed against an October 2018 verdict of the Kerala High Court setting aside the Employees Pension (Amendment) Scheme (GSR609(E)) introducing various changes that have drastically reduced the pension eligibility of employees.
Proving a point on audit trail
Nizamabad has 185 candidates — it is an opportunity for the Election Commission to settle the EVM and VVPAT debate
Turf issues in fighting corruption
The corruption of public servants in India has become such a menace that something drastically new had to be tried, and appointing the Lokpal at least partially meets this crying need.
U.S. State Department approves $2.6 billion chopper sale to India
The proposed sale will provide India the capability to undertake anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions, says the DSCA
China protests parallel initiative to block Azhar
China on Wednesday raised its pitch against Washington’s parallel initiative to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, insisting that its diplomacy within the 1267 committee of the Security Council was yielding “positive results”.
GS 3
Skymet expects a ‘below normal’ monsoon
The key culprit, according to Skymet is El Nino—the warming of the central Pacific Ocean that is frequently associated with drying monsoon rains.
‘Air pollution shortened lifespan by 30 months’
The current high level of air pollution has shortened the average lifespan of a South Asian child by two-and-a-half years while globally the reduction stands at 20 months, according to a global study released on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court order quashing a circular issued by the RBI on resolution of bad loans is a setback to the evolving process for debt resolution. The voiding of the February 12, 2018 circular could slow down and complicate the resolution process for loans aggregating to as much as ₹3.80 lakh crore across 70 large borrowers, according to data from the ratings agency ICRA.
Using behavioral science in the design of cash transfers can make them more effective in the fight against poverty
With the Supreme Court quashing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular on loan defaults, the central bank and the government will now have to sit together and bring a new regulation to ensure financial discipline among borrowers, said NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant.
Why a rate cut won’t help lower lending rates
Linking of floating loan rates to an external benchmark not operational yet
