G-20 discussions set to focus on impact of yuan devaluation – (Economics)
- The Indian government on Thursday said competitive devaluation of currency is a major threat to the stability of the global economy. The statement was made in the release announcing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s departure to Ankara in Turkey for a meeting of G-20 Finance Ministers and central bank governors.
- Ankara meet will review global economic scenario.
Greenpeace India’s registration cancelled – (Governance)
- Five months after it suspended its licence to receive foreign donations, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India on Wednesday.
- The measure under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), means that the NGO, part of an international network by the same name, would not be able to receive any kind of foreign donations from now on. Sources said the decision came in the wake of “prejudicially affecting the public interest and economic interest of the state,” which violates the conditions of grant of registration.
India, UAE resolve to combat radicalisation – (International Relation)
- New Delhi and Abu Dhabi on Thursday discussed steps to check radicalisation and deal with terror threats from transnational organisations, even as they conferred on how to enhance bilateral trade and investment at the 11th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting.
PM concerned over upswing in ‘barbaric’ violence – (Governance)
- Addressing the “Global Hindu-Buddhist initiative on conflict avoidance and environment consciousness” here, the Prime Minister expressed concern that conflict resolutions mechanisms had “severe limitations”, which were “becoming more and more obvious”.
- Even as he called for significant, collective and strategic efforts to prevent bloodshed and violence, he red-flagged the conflict between nature and man and the problem of climate change, which he described as a “global challenge”.
SIT seeks Centre’s response on black money – (Economics)
- The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money on Thursday pressed for a response from the Centre on its recommendations to curb the menace, including a key one relating to identifying final beneficial owners of Participatory Notes (P-Notes).
Smart City has to be compact: experts – (Governance)
- For the first time in India’s urban governance, mayors will be given powers to design their cities.
- Since a smart city needs to be built on land, several mayors said the process of acquisition would be tricky. They wondered if the Central government would roll out additional funds to help them purchase land. They were told no such funding would be provided.
Police can’t take a moral stand, says HC – (Indian Polity)
- The Bombay High Court on Thursday wanted to know under what provisions the police raided hotels in suburban Malvani recently and detained several couples. The police cannot take a moral stand without the backing of the law or legislative policy, the court said.
- Last month, in a controversial move, the police raided hotels and lodges in the Aksa and Mudh island area and rounded up 40 couples. The widespread outrage this triggered forced Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria to order an investigation.
Welcome step on oilfields – (Economics)
- The government has taken a refreshing and progressive approach with respect to the unutilised natural resources locked away in the 69 small and marginal oilfields lying with the state-owned exploration agencies.
- The Union Cabinet has not only approved the auction of these oilfields to private, and even foreign, companies, but also initiated a new approach in the licensing and proceeds-sharing mechanisms.
- The first step was to move from a profit-sharing mechanism to a revenue-sharing one.
EU under pressure to open doors to refugees – (International Relation)
- The crisis has divided east and west European countries, and the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are meeting on Friday to put together a common response against what they see as pressure from Germany on the issue of quotas, and on the possibility of the EU slashing their subsidies to these countries if they did not accept more refugees.
India relatively insulated against deflation: Sinha – (Economics)
- India is relatively insulated from deflationary tendencies due to strong demand trends, but there is still a need to be watchful, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said on Thursday.
- “These are powerful deflationary forces that are at work in the global economy. India of course remains a very bright spot in the global economy because we have growth, we have some inflation and we have robust underlying demand trends,” Mr. Sinha said on the sidelines of the 55th annual session and national conference of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India.