26 August 2015

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Muslim population growth slows  –   (Social Issues)

·         India’s Muslim population is growing slower than it had in the previous decades, and its growth rate has slowed more sharply than that of the Hindu population, new Census data show. The decadal Muslim rate of growth is the lowest it has ever been in India’s history, as it is for all religions.

·         The Muslim population still grows at a faster rate than the Hindu population, but the gap between the two growth rates is narrowing fast

Land Ordinance to go; Gadkari says Modi wants States to frame law   –   (Economics)

 

·         Highway projects worth Rs. 1,00,000 crore this year, Rs. 5,00,000 crore in next four years.

·         Average of 14 Kilometers of highways constructed per day, target is 30Km a day by 2016.

 

 

Shadow-boxing to what avail?  –   (International Relations)

·         The cancellation of the NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan is an indication that India’s foreign policy establishment has taken a back seat. While security issues remain paramount for the country, external relations are best coated with some amount of diplomacy.

·         The LoC ceasefiremust be revived…. Indian troops and villagers living along the LoC should not have to pay the price for political tensions between the two countries.

Hollow promise of ‘special status  –   (Governance)

 

·         The Centre claims that following the increase in tax devolution to States from 32% to 42% of divisible pool of central taxes, there is no further need to give ‘Special Category’ status to any State.

·         The Rajan committee has suggested that states would find their need for special attention better met by a basic allocation and categorization as ‘least developed’.

 

 

China cuts interest rates   –    (Economics)

·         China has cut interest rates for a fifth time in nine months in a fresh effort to boost growth in the real economy following the stock market rout, which extended into Tuesday.

·         The central bank said on Tuesday that the benchmark rate for a one-year loan will be cut by 0.25 percentage point to 4.6 per cent. The one-year rate for deposits will fall by a similar margin to 1.75 per cent.

TAC suggested a rate cut while RBI kept the rate unchanged   –   (Economics)

 

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Tuesday, said that four of the seven members recommended a reduction in the policy repo rate in the last third bi-monthly monetary policy on August 4.

·         However, the RBI Governor RaghuramRajan kept the rate unchanged at 7.25 per cent.