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GS: 1
Society related issues:
Megalithic-era sarcophagus unearthed in Kerala (The Hindu)
A rare sarcophagus (stone coffin), said to be 2,000-year old from the Iron Age–Megalithic era, was discovered from a rock-cut cave at Viyur village of Kollam, near Koyilandy, in Kozhikode district on Monday.
36% rural youth cant name India’s capital, finds survey (The Hindu)
Fourteen per cent of rural youth in the age group of 14-18 failed to identify the map of India, says the 2017 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), brought out by Pratham.
1.2 lakh fewer deaths in under-5 category in 2016 (The Hindu)
India posted its sharpest, year-on-year decline in the under-5 infant mortality rate (u5) since 2010, according to figures from the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) made public this week. The u5, at 39 deaths per 1,000 live births, recorded a 5-point decline from the 2015 figure of 43.
Govt holds firm on disability pensions (The Hindu)
The Defence Ministry has no proposal to withdraw pending appeals against disability pensions and benefits. This was conveyed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a letter to Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Water scarcity may hit thermal power (The Hindu)
India’s thermal power plants, about 90% of which rely on fresh water for cooling, risk facing serious outages because of shortage of water, according to a new report by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
Online degree in non-tech courses (The Hindu)
The Centre would soon finalise regulations enabling universities with high National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) scores to offer degree, certificate and diploma courses for non-technical subjects in online mode.
All gore’ (The Hindu Editorial)
Regulating jallikattu remains an impossible challenge for district authorities in Tamil Nadu
GS: 2
International relations:
The people connection (The Hindu Editorial)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accompanied on his visit to India by a large delegation drawn from the defence, cyber, and agricultural sectors; he intends to boost trade, investment, and tourism between the two nations.
Open trafficking (The Hindu Opinion)
Employment opportunities should be created in Nepal to prevent cross-border trafficking between Nepal and India
No rohingya entry since 2014 (The Hindu)
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday that no Rohingya entered India since 2014 after the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power.
US deported 460 Indians in 2017 (The Hindu)
Tougher implementation of immigration laws in the U.S in the first year of Donald Trump presidency has resulted in 30 percent increase in arrests, compared to the previous year, but deportations have come down. While the overall number of undocumented people deported from the U.S in 2017 decreased from 2016, the number of Indians increased — 460 were deported last year compared to 353 in 2016.
Rohingya refugees to return in 2 years (The Hindu)
Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to repatriate 650,000 Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar’s crisis-hit Rakhine province, in two years, according to an agreement signed between the two countries.
Indian Constitution and Polity:
CJI meets judges, initiates dialogue (The Hindu)
As the Chief Justice of India met the four senior-most dissenting judges, political parties welcomed the initiative.
Govt to revisit Malimath report (The Hindu)
A 2003 report of a Committee on reforms in the criminal justice system that recommended admissibility of confessions made before a police officer as evidence in a court of law is being revisited by the Centre, a senior government official said.
Colour-coded passports draw flak in Kerala (The Hindu)
The Central government’s decision to issue orange colour passports to persons requiring emigration check has evoked an angry reaction from leaders and organisations cutting across political lines in Kerala.
Goa plea against Mahadayi dams misleading: karnataka (The Hindu)
Terming the Goa submission challenging Karnataka’s trans-basin diversion of Mahadayi waters into the Malaprabha reservoir as “misleading and contradictory”, State Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil said water has been shared with Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra from the Krishna basin by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) in the past.
Haj subsidies to be phased out: Naqvi (The Hindu)
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday announced the Centre would phase out subsidies for the annual Haj pilgrimage, two months after his Ministry had taken the decision.
Goa plea against Mahadayi dams misleading: Karnataka(The Hindu)
Terming the Goa submission challenging Karnataka’s trans-basin diversion of Mahadayi waters into the Malaprabha reservoir as “misleading and contradictory”, State Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil said water has been shared with Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra from the Krishna basin by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) in the past.
GS: 3
Economy:
Following the grain trail(The Hindu)
Many States have initiated ‘reforms’ of the public distribution system that are hurting millions of people
Centre to seel comments on farm export policy draft (The Hindu)
The Commerce Ministry will soon put out a draft Agricultural Export Policy for comments from the public, according to a senior official.
Environment:
Australia seeks rescue ideas for reef (The Hindu)
Australia is calling on the world’s top scientific minds to help save the Great Barrier Reef, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund research into protecting the world’s largest living structure.
Yesterday’s current affairs material by Forum IAS
7 PM Editorial: World Social Protection Report 2017-19
