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GS: 1
Society and Women related issues
Paltry sanction of Nirbhaya fund(The Hindu)
The Union government has released ₹20 crore for the Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) under the Nirbhaya Scheme to various States and Union Territories.
Improving the quality of education(The Hindu)
India has made good progress in education since the introduction of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education Act, which guarantees a child free education for eight years.
Ensuring healthcare for all citizens(The Hindu)
India enjoys a one-time demographic dividend of a young and growing workforce, which is expected to fuel its growth well into the future. However, this can only be leveraged if our young people are healthy and productive. Healthcare is a concern for all citizens and universal access, financial assistance and good facilities are what Indians need when illness strikes.
GS: 2
International relations:
Poaching in Sri Lankan waters to attract stiffer fines(The Hindu)
Sri Lanka has increased the fine on foreign vessels fishing in its territorial waters by amending its existing Fisheries Act of 1979
The lowdown on Doklam(The Hindu)
Several reports in recent days have spoken about the Chinese side beefing up its military presence in the disputed Doklam area, where Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a two-month stand-off in the summer of 2017.
Cambodia backs anti-terror efforts(The Hindu)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cambodian counterpart, Samdech Hun Sen, on Saturday held talks to boost ties in key areas of defence, security and counter-terrorism. The two leaders called for concerted global efforts to eliminate terrorism, including blocking sources of terror financing and dismantling terrorist bases.
Indian Constitution and Polity:
Bonding with political parties(The Hindu)
The proposal made in Budget 2017 to introduce electoral bonds for funding political parties fructified earlier this month. The Finance Ministry has released the details of the electoral bondscheme on January 2
2017 witnessed a 38% rise in social media URL blocking(The Hindu)
A total of 1,329 social media URLs were blocked or removed on the recommendation of a government committee to deal with “objectionable content” last year till November 2017.
GS:3
Economy:
In Lucknow a crop crisis of plenty(The Hindu)
Potato farmers in Uttar Pradesh have a twin crisis on their hands — they brought in a record production of the crop but that has led to a slump in rates.
Science and Technology:
IIT Kanpur team finds possible cause of neurodevelopmental disorders(The Hindu)
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) are secreted signalling molecules which are already known to regulate the production of neurons from neural stem cells.
Star molecule from IIT-M(The Hindu)
It is a marvel of synthetic chemistry that today we can build molecules pretty much like we make up structures with building blocks. Using this method for their science at Dillip Kumar Chand’s lab at the Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, researchers have made a molecule that looks like a five-pointed star with its tips truncated.
Health Ministry to study 2017 spike in vaccine-related adverse events(The Hindu)
The Union Health Ministry is to study a reported rise in “adverse events” following vaccinations in 2017 as compared to the two previous years.
Disaster management
Sensors in Andamans to monitor earthquakes(The Hindu)
The Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS) of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is in the process of setting up an elaborate system of sensors on the Andaman & Nicobar Islands for real-time monitoring of earthquakes.
Yesterday’s current affairs material by Forum IAS
