Newspaper Must Read Articles of The Day – 10 September 2015

Front Page/National

• Australian panel gives conditional nod for N-deal : India – Australia N-deal though approved in principle there are many technicalities that needs to be worked out. Australian parliamentary committee has recommended more safeguards to India’s nuclear program before complete approval from Australia; like sign Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and setting up independent national regulator to oversee the movement of uranium.

• India in no position to meet SDGs :  Aiming at global systemic reform, the first seven SDGs are an extension of the MDGs; Starting 2016, India will have to implement the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals and its 169 associated targets. But neither does the country have adequate data to frame relevant policy, nor the sort of financial resources necessary to meet these global development targets.

• Godavari comes to Krishna : Godavari water reaching Krishna District is brings one step closer to the interlinking of the Godavari and the Krishna rivers.

• States get notice for laxity in aiding acid attack survivors : Four states have failed to submit a comprehensive program for the rehabilitation and treatment of acid attack survivors as directed by Supreme Court. SC has taken this failure as a contempt of court and sought replies from four states.

• Make CAG accountable to Parliament: PAC : A recommendation for legislative change in 1971 Act which governs Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG ) is being mulled by Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Mooted during 15th Lok Sabha aims at making CAG responsible to legislature in the same way as being followed in United Kingdom and Australia.

• U.N. probe sought into ‘rights abuses’ in J&K : A demand by Human Rights group from United Nations to appoint a Special Rapporteur to investigate the crimes allegedly committed by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The report, ‘Structures of Violence’ claims that between 6.5 lakh and 7.5 lakh personnel are stationed in Jammu and Kashmir. It documented 1,080 “extra-judicial killings,” 172 “enforced disappearances.”

• Call for conservation of Himalayan ecosystems : ‘Himalaya Diwas’ being observed by activists since 2010, this year, ‘Himalaya Diwas’ was a call for the conservation of the Himalayan ecosystems to be taken up as a public campaign.

• Honour for ISRO : Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recieves Gandhi Peace Prize

Opinion/Editorial

• The starkness of being nowhere : The article deals with the racial differences in Assam in the wake of ongoing preparation of National Register of Citizens in the state. The article deals with partition of Bengal; Assam coming into existence and plight of Bengali speaking population who are termed infiltrators or illegal migrants in the state.

• Dealing with hate speech, effectively : The article is an Q&A with the author giving her views on the relationship between internet and dangerous speech ( also termed as hate speech or counter speech)

• They are refugees, not migrants : The article explores into how European politicians and media houses have preferred the  term economic migrants to refugee for incoming people to Europe from West Asia; to incite nationalistic tendencies and to portray the refugees as a threat to standard of living of society in European countries. Labeling them as migrant takes away the right to protection under international law otherwise available if termed refugees.

• Irrational violence : The article looks into the murder of rationalist whose works has provoked religious fanatics and sectarian elements in a deeply conservative society thus leading to criminal activities against them. It explores a little regarding Art. 25 of the Indian Constitution.

• The bias against women keeps countries poorer : The article explores into discriminatory laws that are holding women back in economic arena. The link between the fight against poverty and gender equality is strong, which is why there is a need for many countries to tackle gender-based barriers.

International/World Affairs

• Asylum regime set for revamp : The article looks into an announcement of a drive by EU aimed at radically overhauling dysfunctional and fragmented immigration policies in Europe, urging a common regime of EU border guards, the opening of legal channels to coordinate arrivals to Europe, as well as binding and permanent systems for absorbing the refugee wave fairly across the continent.

• Tamil question is not just an economic issue: Mano Ganesan : The article looks into development of Tamil dominated northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka; leaders were quotes that economic entitlements will not be enough to improve condition of Tamil population in Sri Lanka.

• Australia boosts refugee intake : Australia to increase the number of intake of refugees as well as to join United States in air strike against Islamic State.

Economy/Business

• Govt. no longer certain about April 2016 deadline : Government which was sure up till now on introducing Goods & Services Tax by April 2016, seems shaky on its decision owing to chaos in parliament; constant protest by opposition has seen hardly any bill pass through parliament.

• Cabinet approves much awaited guidelines : The Union Cabinet approved spectrum trading guidelines that will allow telecom companies to buy and sell spectrum. This is expected to help address the problem of shortage of spectrum, leading to better quality of services for mobile phone users. In a separate decision, the Union Cabinet also gave its nod to the policy for offshore wind energy. The approval paves the way for offshore wind energy development, including setting up of offshore wind power projects and research and development activities

• Government clears two gold schemes : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved two schemes — the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and the Gold Monetisation Scheme. Through the Gold Monetisation Scheme, gold in any form can be deposited with banks for a period of one to 15 years. This gold will earn interest and redemption will be at the prevailing market value at the end of the tenure of deposit. The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme is aimed at customers looking to buy gold as an investment. Under the Scheme, “there will be no need to buy actual gold as customers can buy gold bonds which will be relatable to the weight of gold

• Stocks rally on Chinese fiscal stimulus measures : Global relief rally sponsored by reforms and stimulus measures by the Chinese government has led to stocks rallying globally.

• Bankruptcy code will be finalised shortly: Mundra : Bankruptcy code is needed to bring about a sound discipline for borrowers for obtaining humongous size of capital from financial institutions with covering their risks factor. It is unlikely the bankruptcy law will come in the next session of Parliament, although the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly finalise suitable guidelines for putting in place the bankruptcy code