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GS: 1
Social issues
Understanding Bhima Koregaon (The Hindu)
Hindutva forces are worried by the conspicuous politicisation of Dalits
WHO okays Bharat Bio typhoid shot (The Hindu)
Bharat Biotech has received a pre-qualification from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Typbar Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine.
GS: 2
International relations:
Money talks (The Hindu Editorial)
Pakistan is worried less by U.S. withdrawal of aid than the overall downslide in ties
Indo-Pacific quad may soon have a gaping hole as China re-engages Japan (The Hindu)
The much-talked-about quad group of India, Japan ,Australia and the United States in the Indo-Pacific may soon have a gaping hole as Tokyo and Beijing appear set to revamp ties in 2018.
Chinese road building team enters Arunachal Pradesh, India seizes equipment (Indian Express)
The Chinese track construction was first observed by residents of the area, who informed the ITBP. The ITBP and Army sent a joint patrol on December 28, which asked the Chinese workers to return to their territory.
India calls off missile deal with Israel (The Hindu)
India has called off an order to buy Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel’s state-owned defence contractor Rafael, the company said on Wednesday.
Behind the enemy line (The Hindu Opinion)
The closer you get to the border in J&K, the greater the yearning for an end to ceasefire violations
A new plateau (The Hindu Opinion)
In more ways than one, 2017 marked a turning point in India-China relations. If it began with India taking a strong stance against China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it ended with China tightening its grip on South Asia. And in between was the Doklam stand-off which underscored the challenges in this bilateral relationship in ways that few would have anticipated in recent years.
Expect specific action on Pak. this week says US (The Hindu)
Some specific actions on Pakistan ,which is in the cross hairs of U.S. President Donald Trump for sheltering terrorists, could be expected in the next one or two days, the White House said on Tuesday.
Indian Constitution and Polity:
Panchayat secretarys cerificate is no proof (The Hindu)
Certificates issued by the ‘gaon’ or village panchayat secretary/Executive Magistrate is no proof of Indian citizenship.
Mahadayi row: objection only to transfer from deficit basin, says Parrikar (The Hindu)
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Wednesday that no State can object to another drawing water from a river that traverses through three States, and that Goa is only objecting to “Karnataka’s plans for transfer of water from the deficit basin of Mahadayi to Malaprabha”.
Citizen count (The Hindu Editorial)
The draft of Assam’s National Register of Citizens is a first step, but it opens up concerns
Inserting new Section in IPC was discussed (The Hindu)
Before the government introduced a bill for a separate law to make instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a criminal offence, the Centre deliberated on including the violation under Section 498A(b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that pertains to “cruelty by husband or a relative of the husband”. Another option was to insert a new Section 498B in the IPC, making instant triple talaq an “offence for adultery”.
Spat over Hindi as official language at UN (The Hindu)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday engaged in a war of words in the Lok Sabha over making Hindi one of the official languages at the United Nations.
GS: 3
Economy
Clearing the air on the bail in clause (The Hindu)
The government on Tuesday issued another clarification on the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill in a bid to clear the air about the many misgivings about the proposed Bill’s most notorious clause: the bail-in.
Telecom policy 2018: TRAI seeks comments (The Hindu)
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday released a consultation paper inviting stakeholder comments on the new National Telecom Policy that is expected to be finalised by March this year.
Govt. nod for revised PPP port concessions (The Hindu)
The government on Wednesday approved a revised model concession pact for projects based on public private partnership (PPP) design at major ports to make the investment climate more investor friendly.
‘Disruptive move on H-1B will hit India, U.S.’ (The Hindu)
Any disruptive move on the visa front would be detrimental for both India and the U.S., with reports suggesting that Washington may be mulling new rules to prevent H-1B visa extensions, software body Nasscom has said.
Key ministries disagree over CAMPA fund rules (The Hindu)
Differences between the environment ministry and the finance ministry have become a roadblock to the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
Centre approves ₹5,369 cr. for waterway project (The Hindu)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the more than ₹5,369 crore Jal Marg Vikas Project for development of fairway on National Waterway-1 with the technical and investment support of the World Bank.
Science and Technology
Towards a genomics revolution (The Hindu Opinion)
India has the scientific resources for genetic research — all it needs is the vision at the national level to leverage them
Yesterday’s current affairs material by ForumIAS
7 PM Editorial: An updated analysis on Freedom of Speech and Expression
