Newspaper Must Read Articles of The Day– 28 September 2015

The Hindu

National

• Modi boots up ‘Digital India’ with high-profile Silicon Valley show – Following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Silicon valley ,the heads of top tech firms like Qualcomm,Google, Apple and Tesla  have agreed to contribute to our Digital India and Make in India programs mostly in the form of funding start ups and increasing broadband connectivity in villages and remote areas. (International Relations -GS paper II)

• Ministry plans independent panel to decide MPs’ salary – Reacting to the public outcry and media criticisms of MP’s deciding their own emoluments, the parliamentary affairs ministry is all set to create an Emoluments commission which will be empowered to determine the salaries and allowances for MP’s. (Parliament and State Legislatures- GS Paper II)

• Centre forms expert committee to review civil services exam pattern – An expert committee has been formed by the government to examine various issues related to age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of the civil services examination to select IAS and IPS officers. (Civil Services Exam related )

• ‘Promote green credit’ – In Carbon credit mechanism a polluter get rid of blame of pollution by paying for just the emission, but pollution to environment are in many forms with emission being one among them. Citing this Minister for Environment has mooted the idea of a holistic Green Credit. (Environment- GS Paper III)

International

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Business

• For farmers, by farmers – It is an example of best practises in farming community, where a number of farmer have come together to start a company which looks into their needs of farming and provide intervention for better yields at targeted time. (Social Empowerment- GS Paper I)

• A rate cut will add to the misery – In the wake of recent demand for rate cut by RBI the RBI governor categorises people into savers and lender. The savers who are in majority are silent spectators while the lenders who are in minority are vociferously asking for a rate cut. RBI governor speaks of protecting the interest of savers before mooting any rate cut. The article also looks at the travails of senior citizens not just in the context of falling deposit interest rates.(Indian Macro economy- GS Paper III)

• Forward Markets Commission to merge with SEBI today – FMC (Forward Markets Commission) which looks into commodity exchange market, will merge on Monday with the younger but much bigger capital markets watchdog the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to create a unified regulatory body. FMC’s merger with the market regulator was aimed at streamlining the regulations and curb wild speculations in commodities market, while facilitating further growth of the market. (Indian Economy- GS Paper III)

• DoP seek Cabinet nod to set up Payments Bank – Department of Posts (DoP) is expected to seek Cabinet nod within two months for raising Rs.292 crore from public investment board to set-up Payments Bank, for which it has already got the RBI approval. The DoP expects to roll out Payment Bank services by March 2017. There are no major infrastructure issue with the department. Only there is need to set up a data centre and disaster recovery center.(Indian Economy- GS Paper III)

Opinion-Editorial

• Hemmed in by the safety net – While there is a demand from RBI for a rate cut in coming monetary policy announcement, the article looks into why RBI might be averse to doing so. The article states that any further cut in rates depend upon inflation expectation, monsoon and whether the earlier cuts have been passed on by banks to consumer. Also, with new monetary policy framework, RBI is to be held accountable for breach in inflation targets, make RBI more risk averse as there is no incentive for it. (Indian Macro economy- GS Paper III)

• For a win-win bilateral trade diplomacy – The article looks into the positive impact of Prime Minister’s second visit to US and also how the Indo-US bilateral trade relations can be improved in the near future.(International Relations -GS paper II)

• The message from New York – Emphasizing the achievements of the recent Prime Minister’s US visit the article also enumerates the challenges ahead in establishing a strong bilateral relation with US while furthering India’s Global ambitions.(International Relations -GS paper II)

• The challenge of skills and jobs – Citing the official data that reflects the lack of formal vocational training received by the Indian work force, the author emphasizes the need for urgent creation of access to affordable and appropriate skill training to both urban and rural youths. It also laments that the job creation has not kept pace with Indian demographic momentum which in future might pose serious threat for skilled workforce too. (Human Resources -GS Paper II)

Indian Express

Editorials & Columns

• From plate to plough: Losing the pulses – The shortfall in pulse production in the country due to deficit monsoon has led to shooting prices of this significant source of protein. Citing the archaic measures taken by bureaucracy to tackle this issue the author exposes the irrelevance and ineffectiveness in the same. (Issues of buffer stock and food security- GS Paper III)

• Diplomatic impunity – According to the  recent Saudi diplomat controversy requires some serious checks to prevent diplomats from abusing their special privileges. The author speaks about the working of the Vienna convention and how the local police force needs special training in such issues to avoid violations.(International relations- GS Paper II and GS Paper IV)

• Bonfire of justice – The proposed GCTOC (Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime ) bill has raised concerns that it might institutionalize police brutality rather than capacity building. He cites the instances where such laws in the past have been misused and the need for bringing about more Police accountability in criminal justice systems. (Security Issues – GS Paper III)

LiveMint

• The last of RBI’s rate cuts for now? – Speculating the possibility of  rate cut in the quarterly monetary policy by RBI due to the drop in inflation the author examines the  reasons for having and at the same time for not having a rate cut. (Indian Macro economy- GS Paper III)