Must Read News Articles – March 15, 2018

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Society related issues:

‘Declare polygamy in Islam illegal’(The Hindu)

A fresh plea was on Wednesday filed in the Supreme Court seeking to declare as “illegal” and “unconstitutional” the practices of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ among the Muslim community.

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International relations:

Far short of the potential(The Hindu Opinion)

The India-Japan economic relationship remains underwhelming in relation to strategic ties

Explaining 1971(The Hindu Opinion)

India liberated Bangladesh in 1971. The Bangladesh freedom fighters were no match militarily for the Pakistan army and there was enough residual support for the idea of Pakistan in its eastern wing to preclude a clear-cut separation of the two wings. India’s intervention was altruistic only in small part. It was primarily based on realpolitik.

Indian Constitution and Polity:

Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill without discussion(The Hindu)

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill, 2018, with 21 amendments, some of which had to do with the controversial long-term capital gains tax on equity announced in the Budget speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and tax exemptions for start-ups.

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Economy:

In civic ranking, Pune is Maximum City(The Hindu)

The Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) 2017, which uses 150 parameters to judge 23 cities, has placed Pune at the top and Bengaluru at the bottom of the rankings. While Pune scored 5.1 out of a maximum score of 10, Bengaluru got just 3. But Indian cities lagged behind global cities like New York and London, which scored 8.8.

 ‘No bank regulator can catch all frauds’(The Hindu)

Amid criticism from several quarters, including the government, for failing to prevent banking frauds in the light of the recent Punjab National Bank scam, Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel said on Wednesday that no banking regulator can catch or prevent all banking frauds. “There has been a tendency in the pronouncements post revelation of the fraud that RBI supervision team should have caught it,” Dr. Patel said in a speech at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.

‘LoU ban to hit importers as costs rise’(The Hindu)

The Reserve Bank of India’s directive barring banks from issuing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) has brought the $85 billion buyers’ credit market — a key source of low-cost trade finance for the country’s importers — to an abrupt standstill.

‘RBI’s ban on LoUs may push up the cost of imports’(The  Hindu)

The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to ban Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) will raise costs for importers and will hurt export competitiveness.

Urea subsidy extended till 2020(The Hindu)

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal by the Department of Fertilizers to continue the ongoing Urea Subsidy Scheme from 2017 to 2020.

Internal security:

Curb misuse of social media, says Rajnath(The Hindu)

Social media posed a serious challenge to law enforcement agencies and the areas of concern included terrorism, financial frauds and victimisation of women and children, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.

A political choice(The Hindu Opinion)

The “surgical operation” earlier this month killing the mastermind of the Sunjuwan Army camp attack (Jammu) was lauded as a major victory for Indian security forces, but for some observers, it is surprising that such a seemingly provocative episode closed with such a measured response.

Science and Technology:

The man who traced the history of time dies(The Hindu)

Stephen W. Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist and best-selling author who roamed the cosmos from a wheelchair, pondering the nature of gravity and the origin of the universe and becoming an emblem of human determination and curiosity, has died at his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76.

Hawking, 1942-2018(The Hindu Opinion)

Few scientists manage to break down the walls of the so-called ivory tower of academia and touch and inspire people who may not otherwise be interested in science. Stephen Hawking was one of these few. Judging by the odds he faced as a young graduate student of physics at Cambridge University, nothing could have been a more remote possibility.

Cosmology’s worst gambler(The Hindu Opinion)

Stephen Hawking lost most of his bets, but beat all the odds to take physics forward and to the people

How much plastic is there in your packaged water?(The Hindu)

A worldwide study by a U.S.-based journalistic organisation suggests that the level of microscopic plastic particles could have implications for human health

Environment:

Warming may ‘threaten’ half of species in 33 key regions(The Hindu)

Global warming could place 25 to 50% of species in the Amazon, Madagascar and other biodiverse areas at risk of localised extinction within decades, a report said on Wednesday.

 Yesterday’s current affairs material by Forum IAS

7 PM Editorial: French President ‘fairly successful’ visit to India: important highlights

9 PM Current affairs brief:

10 PM Current affairs MCQs