Newspaper Must Read Articles of The Day – 01 August 2015

Vaccine developed to fight Ebola: The Ebola virus is likely to be eradicated once and for all as a new vaccine developed against the disease by Public Health Agency of Canada has shown 100 % efficiency in a trial that was carried out in Guinea.

Centre to pump Rs. 70,000 crores into PSU banks: To boost investments in the economy, the Union government has declared that Rs. 70,000 crores will be infused into PSU banks over the next four years. The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) that is going to be set up will make equity investments of Rs. 20,000 crore every year in commercially viable long-term projects, and this is expected to kick-start the slowing economy. (The Centre will own 49 per cent of the NIIF, which won’t be answerable to Parliament nor audited by the CAG. It will be run on a commercial basis by managers, who will be paid globally competitive salaries).

Should we put a price on ground water, asks SC: The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Centre (and the Delhi government) on a petition for groundwater conservation. Now, the Ministry of Water Resources (and the Delhi government) have to respond to the Supreme Court on whether metering and putting a price on groundwater would help in reducing its alarming depletion.

Meet to discuss counter-radicalisation steps: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has called a high-level meeting for Saturday to discuss a counter-radicalisation strategy for youth in the country. Attraction to radical ideologies, such as those propagated by the Islamic State (IS), and how to prevent Indian youth from coming under the sway of extremist doctrines, would be deliberated at this meeting.

A right and the reality: The decision of the expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court to allow a minor who was raped, to undergo an abortion four weeks after the period of legal abortion has passed, is a welcome one. The petitioner had sought that a woman’s right to make reproductive choices is also a dimension of personal liberty as understood under Article 21. Invoking the “Right to Life”, it had been said that the term ‘life’ in case of a pregnant woman did not merely mean physical health, but also social and economic circumstances, physical well being, future life and mental health relevant for her to live her life to the fullest. (Click here for the original article).

Taliban transition: Must read. Outlines the realities of the Taliban today, and raises questions about the Pakistani hand in the Taliban.

Borders vulnerable beyond J&K: India has to look towards strengthening our borders in other states apart from J & K, with nulti-pronged systems in Punjab, and even in Rajasthan and Gujarat because, cross border terrorism backed by the ISI could create havoc in areas throughout the Indo-Pak border. Today, maintaining calm in J & K is taking all of our efforts. Imagine how difficult it will be tomorrow if the Indian army is forced to spread around and maintain peace in the Punjab region too.

The death of a ghost: The Taliban has become less coherent and more fluid, especially now after Mullah Omar’s declared death. On the one hand, it has engaged in a successful spring offensive, imposing massive casualties on Afghan forces and seizing key territories. On the other hand, it is in talks with the Afghan govt with Pakistan’s blessing. And with the Islamist State being the new competitor to the Taliban on Afghani soil, it is not inconceivable to believe that even in death, Mullah Omar could act as a unifying force for the Taliban.

Russia, China set to counter US-led ‘Asia Pivot’: Russia has released a new naval doctrine that singles out China as its core partner in the Pacific, signaling Moscow and Beijing’s push towards countering the Japan backed “Asia Pivot” of the United States. This is a response to Japan’s potential post-war doctrinal shift, that will allow Tokyo to deploy its armed forces overseas even without an imminent threat to Japanese territory or citizens. This shift can draw Tokyo into US-led conflicts around the globe.

Réunion Island wreckage from Boeing 777, confirms Malaysia: The part of an airplane wreckage recovered from an Indian Ocean island is almost certainly from the missing flight MH370, after Malaysian authorities confirmed it was from a Boeing 777. (There is only one Boeing 777 unaccounted for in the world, which is MH370).

Growth slows to 3% in June: Growth in the index of eight core industries slowed to three per cent in June compared to 4.4 per cent in May, underscoring the poor growth in economy as shown by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for May. The eight core industries (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity) comprise nearly 38 per cent of the weight of items included in the IIP.

Robust gold jewellery hallmarking vital: Currently, less than a third of Indian jewellery is hallmarked. The development of a more stringent system will deliver huge benefits, including increased trust amongst overseas buyers and financial markets that will result in a larger export market, a strong domestic market and job creation across the spectrum. It will also underpin the growth of gold jewellery exports under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Comments