Newspaper Must Read Articles of The Day– 19 November 2015

The Hindu

Apex court nod for draft paper on appointment of judges: Justice Khehar explained that a secretariat would bolster efforts towards an “open-ended selection process.” “We will mine our minds together,” Justice Khehar told the top government law officer. These suggestions from the Bench were gleaned from over 15,000 pages of views which poured in from the public and legal communities across the country on ways to reform the opaque collegium system. The Bench undertook to reform the 21-year-old collegium system, which was restored after it struck down the NJAC. (Judiciary Development – GS Paper II)

Brazil keen on tie-up with India in nuclear energyThe nuclear ventures of Latin America have traditionally been stunted by the nuclear umbrella of the United States, but the Foreign Minister, who is in town to conduct India-Brazil Joint Commission meeting, says that Brazil is willing to explore the nuclear energy-related aspects. Brazil’s nuclear industry began in the 1950s. Brazil, which is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), has also been eyeing supply contracts for Indian nuclear majors.(Energy- GS Paper III)

CCEA approves 10 per cent stake sale in CIL: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a 10% disinvestment in Coal India, the third government stake sale in the company’s history. The CCEA also approved a 3% interest subvention scheme for SME exporters in a move to boost exports.(Indian Economy – GS Paper III)

Defining terror, evolving responses : Military action in Syria and Iraq by itself cannot decimate the IS just as drone strikes have not eliminated Al-Qaeda.Another key reason for the failure is that the people in the West and the international community did not feel the same solidarity when Beirut or Ankara or even Mumbai were subjected to terrorist attacks, though the Mumbai attacks have now become the preferred model adopted by the terrorists.(International Relations- GS Paper II)

Paris confirms IS’s weakness : ISIS is an expression and symptom of the political disenfranchisement and humiliation that many Sunni Arabs, feel in today’s world. Such feelings arise from a complex set of factors. Like Western intervention, such as the U.S. invasion of Iraq and its devastating effects on Iraqi society,decades long brutalization of, and the provision of a poor education for, Arab populations by their own governments, who also have not delivered on promises of economic development.(International Relations- GS Paper II)

In a spin over intolerance : Author G.Sampath says only those who wield power, such as the state, or those who enjoy the support of the state’s coercive apparatus, can exercise intolerance in a society governed by a state. Mr. Jaitley’s notion of “ideological intolerance”, therefore, makes no sense in this context. Or it makes as much sense as the slave’s intolerance of his master’s ideology.(Government Policy-GS Paper II)

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Moving back to a regressive tax system: The finance ministry has clearly depended on indirect tax hikes to support its revenues, which is one of the main reasons why the latest budget numbers for this year show a robust growth in indirect taxes compared to sluggishness in direct tax collections. Some of these tax hikes, especially on energy, are justified because they reverse some of the tax cuts by the previous government when global oil prices were shooting up, and because more expensive energy can help India meet some of its climate change commitments. (Economic Development- GS Paper II)

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