Must Read News Articles – May 7, 2018

Archives

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Society related issues:

‘Return of child to place of habitual residence may not be in best interest’(The Hindu)

A committee set up by the Centre to prepare a report on the issue of inter-country parental child abduction has questioned one of the basic principles of the Hague Convention by arguing that the return of the child to his or her habitual residence may not necessarily be in the best interest of the child.

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International Relations:

Panel for revamp of Indo-Nepal treaty(The Hindu)

The final report of a bilateral committee — appointed to advise governments in Delhi and Kathmandu — is likely to suggest that the 1950 India-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty should be revised.

Indian Constitution and Polity:

Adult couple can live together, says SC(The Hindu)

The top court held that live-in relationships were now even recognised by the legislature and they had found a place under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

Defying the logic of democracy(The Hindu Opinion)

Intent on creating a unified India through the adoption of one language, one dominant religion, one culture, one nation, one tax, and now one poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party seeks nothing less than the renegotiation of the basic terms of the political contract that inaugurated democracy in the country.

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Economy:

GST’s complicated(The Hindu Opinion)

The new compliance system and a proposal for cess on sugar send the wrong signals

Continental ambition(The Hindu Opinion)

In recent years, intra-regional commerce as a share of Africa’s overall trade has risen to 15% from 8% in 2011, points out Moody’s, the ratings agency. But then exports within Africa accounted for a mere 18% of the continent’s total exports in 2016, compared to 59% and 69% of intra-regional exports in Asia and Europe, respectively, according to the Brookings Institution.

Rupee is dancing to more tunes this year(The Hindu)

The Indian currency has been facing some selling pressure for the last 4-5 weeks, chiefly on the back of rising crude price. The rupee fell against the U.S. dollar by a little over 2.5% in April, and 4.3% since the beginning of the year, making it the worst-performing Asian currency.

Environment and Ecology:

When NECTAR turned poison for bamboo(The Hindu)

Bamboo farmers and entrepreneurs in the Northeast got a flicker of hope when Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated Rs. 1,290 crore in Budget 2018 for a restructured National Bamboo Mission (NMB).

Government Schemes:

Partial success for Gram Swaraj Abhiyan(The Hindu)

At the end of a three-week drive to bring seven flagship schemes to 16,850 villages with a high number of poor, SC (Scheduled Caste) and ST (Scheduled Tribe) households, less than 30% of the target households received an electricity connection, while less than 40% got a gas connection, according to government data.