13.December.2015

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Biggest 2016 risk may be the one just behind us: oil  –   (Economics)

  • The biggest financial risk in 2016 may be the one that’s been on stage all year.
  • In Britain’s popular Christmas pantomime shows, audiences scream out “He’s behind you!” as a warning to the hero whenever the villain appears.

 

Historic Paris climate pact puts world on green path  –   (Environment)

  • The stage is set for all countries to move to a low carbon pathway with the Paris Agreement on climate change adopting a goal of “well below 2 degrees C” for temperature rise, and instituting a regime of financing of developing economies to help make the transition.
  • Nations are to pursue efforts to aim at the more difficult objective of pegging temperature rise under 1.5 degrees C.

 

Defence ties reset as Japan joins Malabar naval exercises  –   (International Relation)

  • Charting a new course, India and Japan on Saturday announced a series of military and strategic agreements and understandings.
  • Unveiling the new bilateral military cooperation, visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, “We have created a new chapter in India-Japan relationship with important defensive initiatives.”

 

TAPI is a dream come true for India: Ansari    –   (International Relation)

  • Turkmenistan is confident of overcoming security challenges to the TAPI pipeline project, Vice-President Hamid Ansari said after meeting President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov here.
  • “The President of Turkmenistan is very confident and he thinks it can be done,” he told The Hindu in response to concerns about Taliban attacks in Afghanistan and the situation in Pakistan.

 

Modi hosts Abe at ‘Ganga aarti’     –   (International Relation)

  • Patrons swear they have never seen such a spruced up Dashaswamedh Ghat in a long time. The occasion was historic as the Prime Ministers of two nations came together to witness the finest ritual that Varanasi has to offer.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, wearing a brown Nehru jacket, looked in sync and displayed a great deal of camaraderie as they sat together on a chahbutra,a raised platform converted into a stage, with the Ganges to their right.

 

Climate change actions must respect rights, equity: Paris pact   –   (International Relation)

  • The preamble to the Paris Agreement says climate change is a common concern of humankind, and when countries take action, they must respect, promote and consider their obligations on human rights, right to health, rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations, the right to development, gender equality, empowerment of women and inter-generational equity.

 

When the CJI felt like Raj Kapoor  –   (Indian Polity)

  • Highlighting India’s ability to use Bollywood and yoga to woo hearts and minds across the oceans, Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur said on Saturday that it was not tanks, guns and nuclear arsenal that make a country powerful but a persuasive approach, using cultural and economic influences.
  • “China and Russia are mighty nations in this area, but it is not tanks, guns and nuclear weapons that make the difference; it is soft power.

 

Govt. seeks nod to spend Rs. 56,256 crore more  –    (Governance)

  • In the second supplementary demand for Rs.56,256.32 crore for 2015-16 tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday, the Narendra Modi government sought to enhance its social and rural sector allocations.
  • It sought Rs. 106 crore for the Department of AIDS Control, Rs. 3,000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Rs. 2,500 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.

 

Gene editing on a roll, but safe to clear the way?  –    (Science and Technology)

  • A green translucent test tube, with a baby floating in it, greets you at the entrance of an in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic in one of Bengaluru’s leafy neighbourhoods.
  • Spanning two storeys of the building, it is a rather literal interpretation of the test tube baby, and perhaps also a celebration of humankind’s triumph over infertility.

 

Invest in our girls  –   (Social Issues)

  • Two reports released on Thursday, The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) and India Health Report on Nutrition, 2015 (IHR), offer a critical analysis of the state of nutrition in India.
  • The first report, the India Health Report: Nutrition 2015(IHR), provides easy-to-understand, State-wise data dashboards that give a comprehensive view of nutrition and its determinants.

 

Latest FDI reforms could hit Make in India  –   (Economics)

  • The latest changes to the country’s foreign direct investment or FDI policy could end up hurting the government’s ambition to make India a global manufacturing hub, as they have introduced an element of uncertainty over manufacturing investments where none existed before.
  • The new FDI policy announced by the government ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Kingdom and the G20 summit in Turkey last month, entailed liberalising norms for 15 sectors, including defence, construction, civil aviation, FM radio, single brand retail, private banks and manufacturing.

 

India’s fight for farmers, food security at WTO gets U.N. experts’ backing  –    (Economics)

  • Days ahead of the coming Nairobi meet of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for negotiations on a deal to liberalise global trade, United Nations (UN) human rights experts have backed the developing countries, including India, in their fight to protect the interests of poor farmers and traders as well as to shield food security programmes.
  • Significantly, the human rights experts opposed the attempts of certain developed countries to ensure that the ongoing Doha Round — with a ‘development’ agenda — is brought to a premature end at the December 15-18 Nairobi meet, and to replace it with a new Round incorporating “new” issues of interest to the rich world.