24 November 2015

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Multi-pronged approach to countering IS threat  –   (International Relation)

  • Against the growing tide of Islamic State violence and concerns about its possible domestic repercussions, India toughened its posture on terrorism with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asking that countries be held accountable for providing terror sanctuaries.
  • The contours of India’s multi-pronged response to the IS threat emerged even as the post-Paris global response was firming up despite fear writ across the world, from Brussels to the U.S. mainland, of fresh attacks.

 

 

Male child still preferred, show Census data   –    ( Social Issues)

  • New Census data indicate that two processes around the preference for a male child are going on simultaneously in India — prenatal sex determination and repeated pregnancies.
  • Data on family sizes and sex ratios released on Monday showed that at every family size, there were more boys born than girls. However as family sizes got bigger, the sex ratio within the family got much less skewed, indicating that families with fewer or no sons were the ones choosing to have repeated pregnancies.

 

All States but T.N. to roll out Food Security Act by April  –    (Governance)

  • Barring Tamil Nadu, all States are on board for implementing the National Food Security Act by April next, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Monday after a meeting with State food secretaries here.
  • So far, 22 States and Union Territories have rolled out the Act which covers up to 67 per cent of the population (75 per cent rural and 50 per cent urban) and gives with 5 kilogram of subsidised rice or wheat or coarse cereals per identified beneficiary.

 

Mistry, Mahindra for climate deal  –    (Economics)

  • The heads of these global firms believe an economically sustainable shift to a low-carbon future will create “jobs and growth” across the world.
  • In an open message, the corporate chiefs — representing a cross-sectoral coalition facilitated by the World Economic Forum that includes banking, manufacturing, construction and energy — extended “an open offer” to governments to co-design climate solutions ahead of the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris to be attended by leaders of 200 countries.

 

PM wants accountability for providing sanctuaries    –    (Economics)

  • In his address in Singapore, Mr. Modi cautioned that terrorism was a “global challenge, and a force larger than individual groups.
  • Its shadow stretches across our societies and our nations, both in recruitment and choice of targets. It does not just take a toll of lives, but can derail economies.”

 

Clarify stand on Ram Sethu, Supreme Court tells Centre  –   (Indian Polity)

  • The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to verify BJP leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s information that a Cabinet decision had been taken to “not touch” the ancient Ram Sethu, also known as the Adam’s Bridge, when implementing the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project.
  • A Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu scheduled November 26 to hear the government on the issue after Mr. Swamy urged that the apex court should verify the Centre’s stand and wrap up the litigation pending with it.

 

India, Malaysia vow to strengthen defence ties  –    (International Relation)

  • India and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen their defence cooperation, including improved maritime security and disaster response in the region.
  • “I am pleased that we have agreed to upgrade our joint exercises and set up the SU-30 Forum. We will do more in terms of level and complexity of exercises, and collaboration in training and defence equipment,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the end of his three-day visit to Kuala Lumpur.

 

The India Story, in word & deed   –   (International Relation)

  • On his visit to Kuala Lumpur to attend the ASEAN-India summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in familiar form, pitching India as an investment destination to the East Asian countries. Taking credit for turning the Indian economy around since his government “took office 18 months ago”, Mr. Modi outlined his plans for economic reform, which he said was a “way station on the long journey” to the transformation of India.
  • He also offered specific opportunities to ASEAN countries on investing in infrastructure in India, particularly in Metro Rail systems, housing, road, rail and waterways.

 

Pressing for free speech  –    (Indian Polity)

  • On November 16, a day marked as National Press Day, three newspapers made a statement in that cause by publishing blank spaces on their editorial pages. They were protesting against a notice served by the Assam Rifles to the editors of newspapers in Nagaland, warning them on coverage of the banned National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang).
  • The editors were told they could be violating the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

 

India’s carbon caution in Paris  –    (Environment)

  • As nations prepare to meet in Paris to strike a long-term climate deal, the gap between what the science demands that nations do and the actions that they are prepared to undertake has never been starker.
  • The parties to the climate convention are still arguing about what they can afford to do, rather than doing what it takes to deal with the problem.

 

Bad debts of banks at unacceptable level: FM  –   (Economics)

  • Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley said non-performing assets of Indian banks were at an ‘unacceptable’ level but the situation is expected to improve as the government and the central bank were taking steps to relieve stress in various sectors.
  • “The health of the public sector banks was a key subject, particularly in relation to the fact that a carried over problem of the past continues to persist. And that problem relates to the unacceptable level of NPAs,” Mr. Jaitely told journalists on Monday after a meeting with bankers to review their July-September performance.

 

India-focussed funds find equity risky   –   (Economics)

  • Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the prime drivers of the equity market, are increasingly reducing their exposure in India. Analysis by two global entities, in less than two weeks, has shown that overseas investors are bearish on India and are selling shares to exit the market.
  • After five consecutive quarters of net inflows, India-focussed offshore funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a net outflow of $2.2 billion in the quarter ended September 2015, according to a report by the U.S.-based investment research firm Morningstar. This was the highest quarterly net outflows that the category has witnessed after the third quarter of 2011, when it registered a net outflow of $2.5 billion.