AnSI study says Shompen women outnumber men – (Environment)
- The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) has come up with the first authentic demographic database of the Shompen tribe — one of the least known particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The study is the result of over 40 days of intensive fieldwork undertaken by AnSI researchers in the Great Nicobar Island. One of the most significant findings is that contrary to the earlier belief that Shompens are a homogeneous tribe, the study revealed that the group is heterogeneous with even differences in their dialect (the spoken language is known as Shompenese).
End vigilante acts, says Rajan – (Indian Polity)
- A day after Moody’s Analytics asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in his party members or risk losing global credibility, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Saturday called for an end to vigilante acts to enforce bans, saying they would stifle economic progress.
- “Indeed, if what you do offends me but does not harm me otherwise, there should be a very high bar for prohibiting your act. After all, any ban, and certainly any vigilante acts to enforce it, may offend you as much, or more, than the offence to me. Excessive political correctness stifles progress as much as excessive licence and disrespect,” Dr. Rajan said, delivering the chief guest’s address at the convocation at the IIT-Delhi.
Multiplicity is India’s power, says Pranab – (Indian Polity)
- Relentless in his espousal of tolerance and understanding, President Pranab Mukherjee has said multiplicity is India’s “collective strength which must be preserved at all costs”.
- His remarks coincide with protests from writers and scientists demanding that the Modi government take seriously the threats to the country’s secular fabric.
“No one can meddle in judges’ appointments” – (Indian Polity)
- Close on the heels of the Supreme Court striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said no one could meddle in the process of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts.
- He called for adopting the “highest standards of probity” in the process for appointments.
West targeting Sudan over oil, says Bashir – (International Relation)
- India has stood by Sudan in “defying” the International Criminal Court’s warrant against him, Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir has said.
- In an exclusive interview to The Hindu at the conclusion of the third India-Africa Forum Summit, he said India had rejected the “legal colonialism” of western countries that “targeted Sudan” because they had been ousted from the oil business there.
Database to help get a fix on the big cat – (Environment)
- A database of genetic profiles of tigers from across India is not only aiding in nabbing poachers but also in establishing whether the big cat is a suspected man-eater in cases of animal-human conflict.
- The database being set up at LaCONES (Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species), an annexure of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), has genetic profiles of tigers from central India, Western Ghats and the Northeast.
Africa makes outreach beyond China – (International Relation)
- The India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) ended with a globally relevant declaration. But following the summit, an obvious question has emerged over the larger message that the summit sent out.
- Though India and African countries meet often in international platforms, IAFS 2015 will remain unique because it was the first time that India appeared before Africa speaking the language of pure economic development and finance capital, in a departure from the ideology-dominant days of Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s.
Where Space drives life on Earth – (Science and Technology)
- At a recent meeting of navigation satellite users in Bengaluru, an idea given by R. Advay, a school boy from Chennai, called ADVAY, , provided a likely answer to one of India’s most frequent maritime issues with its neighbours.
- His idea — of using satellite navigation devices to keep fishermen within Indian waters — won the top award for students. That apart, two college students came up with another award-winning idea to safeguard women and children in distress: another growing concern these days across the country.
Series of attacks on Bangladeshi writers – (International Relation)
- Arefin Dipan, a publisher hacked to death in Dhaka on Saturday, ran a publishing house ‘Jagriti Prakashani’, which published slain writer Avijit Roy’s book Biswasher Virus (The Virus of Faith).
- The publishing house ‘Shuddhashar Prokashani’ of Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, who was also attacked, published Roy’s book Shunya Theke Mahabishwa (From Zero to Great Universe).
India eyes bankruptcy reform to ease decades of gridlock – (Economics)
- group of government-appointed advisors has recommended sweeping changes to India’s outdated and overburdened bankruptcy system, aiming to modernise a process that takes several years and costs investors and taxpayers billions.
- The changes would be the most ambitious overhaul to date of rules governing the liquidation or revival of companies in India, a country with no single bankruptcy code and where competing laws, unclear jurisdictions and inadequate resources can leave cases languishing for decades.