Must Read News Articles – July 2, 2018

GS: 2

Bhima-Koregaon and the fault in our laws

The UAPA authorises the government to ban “unlawful organisations” and “terrorist organisations” (subject to judicial review), and penalises membership of such organisations. The problems begin with the definitional clause itself. The definition of “unlawful activities” includes “disclaiming” or “questioning” the territorial integrity of India, and causing “disaffection” against India.

Gearing up for space wars

The fundamental difficulty of a space corps is that the physical environment of space is not conducive to the conduct of military operations without incurring serious losses in the form of spacecraft and debris.

Seychelles template

New Delhi has clearly opted for a charm offensive in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The red carpet laid out for the visiting Seychelles President Danny Faure last week came against the backdrop of setbacks in the bilateral relationship owing to the Assumption Island agreement being put on hold.

Row over U.K.-India meet postponement

India had proposed a three-day window for a brief bilateral in June during the U.K.-India week, sources in London and New Delhi confirmed. However, due to scheduling difficulties, Britain’s Ministry of Defence declined the meeting for proposed dates.

GS: 3

The dream of being an AI powerhouse

In a recent discussion paper, NITI Aayog has chalked out an ambitious strategy for India to become an artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse. AI is the use of computers to make decisions that are normally made by humans.

Still thriving

There is a growing feeling amongst the larger Asian countries that the West is passé. The news coming out of there, especially since the 2008 financial crisis, is of declining populations, big layoffs and economic meltdowns in several countries of the European Union (EU), Italy being the latest.

Risky recourse

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has approved a proposal to allow the Life Insurance Corporation of India to increase its stake in the ailing state-owned IDBI Bank to 51%.

GST monthly revenue will exceed Rs. 1.1 lakh cr: Goyal

Revenue from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will exceed Rs. 1.1 lakh crore monthly, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday, adding that he expects about Rs. 13 lakh crore of revenue from the new tax regime over this financial year.

Tax department launches ‘instant’ PAN card service

The Income Tax Department has launched an ‘instant’ Aadhaar-based PAN allotment service for individuals seeking the unique identity for the first time.

Agni-V to be part of nuclear arsenal soon

India’s longest-range ballistic missile, Agni-V, will be inducted into the nuclear arsenal very soon, according to official sources.

FDI growth hits 5-year low

India has done ‘considerably’ well in terms of moving up the ranking for ease of doing business; however, it needed to reach a level that creates enthusiasm for overseas investors, he added.

GST helped moderate retail inflation: CII

A survey of more than 200 businesses on the one-year of GST has said 83% respondents see the new indirect tax regime as a step in the right direction and 65% are satisfied with its overall implementation, despite some ‘teething problems.’

Immunotherapy a ‘turning point’

Immunotherapy is one of two major categories of drugs against cancer. The best-known is chemotherapy, which has been used for decades and aims to kill tumours but is so toxic that it also attacks healthy cells, leading to major side effects like weakness, pain, diarrhea, nausea and hair and weight loss

‘Govt. banks must boost monitoring, training systems’

Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) was set up in February 2006 as a collaborative effort by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and banks to define benchmarks for banking services.