Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Starred Articles

Widow, mother can file for partition of joint family property, rules HC
India > Legal > Jan 15
Now a widow or a coparcener can get her share in the man's joint family property by filing a case for partition. The move came during the hearing of two appeals filed by family members against the partition suits filed by widows of their respective sons. The partition suits filed by the two women were partly allowed by trial courts and challenged by the in-laws in the high court.
The ruling jointly made by Justice A B Chaudhari stated that "when a right is given, the remedy has to be there to file a suit for partition, which can't depend upon the demand of other inheritors to partition the joint property.” This amends the 1956 act which ruled that “In the absence of any other coparcener in the family demanding partition of the joint property, the suit by her was not maintainable.” and empowers women to claim their position in the society.

US tells Pakistan to eliminate all terrorist groups including LET, that have threatened India
World > India-Pakistan > Jan 15
US Secretary of State John Kerry has appealed Pakistan to eliminate all terrorist organisations, including Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which are a possible threat to its neighbours and also the world at large. Pakistan has often been suspected of playing a double game by providing a safe haven to terrorist organisations, while simultaneously taking a stance against terrorism. John Kerry who was on an official visit to Pakistan also addressed the recent border disputes between India and Pakistan and appealed India to sort out differences and resume peace talks. The US Secretary of State gave the statement in a joint press meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister Sartaj Aziz.


IMF predicts India's growth rate to outdo China's in 2016
Economy > Growth Rate > Jan 20
Owing to the 'promising' reforms of the new government led by Narendra Modi, India is likely to cross China’s projected growth rate of 6.3 percent in 2016 as predicted by IMF. The International Monetary Fund released a World Economic Report update that said India’s growth rate in 2014 was 5.8 percent against China’s 7.4 percent and in 2016, India is projected to grow at 6.5%. The IMF is waiting to see the implementation of the economic reforms by Narendra Modi-led government in the coming days. The IMF reported that the growth forecast in India is broadly unchanged as the weaker external demand is compensated by the boost to the terms of trade from lower oil prices and an improvement in industrial and investment activity following the policy reforms by the Modi government.

India is the most malnourished country in South Asia
India > Malnourished Country > Jan 21
A report generated by the international organisation ACF has ranked India as the country with the highest rate of malnutrition amongst all south Asian countries. It also said that within India, scheduled tribes (28%), scheduled castes (21%) and other backward castes (20%) and rural communities (21%) constitute the population of malnourished. According to UNICEF, every year, 1 million children, under five, die due to malnutrition related causes in India which calls for adequate measures and need to recognize severe acute malnutrition as a medical emergency.
The reports bring into light the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition in the districts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh by analyzing the infant mortality rates and child deaths.


Others

DRDO chief sacked 16 months before the end of his tenure
India > Defence > Jan 15
The central government has sacked DRDO chief Avinash Chander 16 months before his retirement was due. The move comes on the back of the DRDO's shoddy performance and constant delays in delivering targets, which has increased overhead costs substantially. India also has the non-coveted tag of being the largest arms importer in the world, which the country wants to do away with. The move is aimed towards a revamp in the organisation for better functioning and pro-activeness in delivering targets.

Suspect behind Assam Adivasi massacre nabbed
India > Crime > Jan 15
A joint team of Assam Police and Army's Red Horns Division arrested Enon Bargoyary alias Erkhang, a major suspect behind the recent massacre of Adivasis in the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD). The arrest comes forth as a major success of the counter-insurgency operation against National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) faction.
According to the Army, Enon is the outfit's self-styled 2nd Lieutenant and was involved in recruiting and motivating NDFB-S rebels, including women, and sending them to various camps outside the country. Another seven militants of the outfit, including self-styled platoon commander of the Amteka area, Rinen Basumatary, alias Majhiwere, were also arrested in Chirang district near the Assam-Bhutan border.
Four weapons, including two AK-47s, two pistols and a large quantity of ammunition, were seized from them.

CBI to investigate ex-cabinet minister Salman Khurshid's NGO case
India > Others > Jan 15
The CBI will investigate the case of alleged embezzlement of government funds by an NGO, which was run by former minister Salman Khurshid and his wife Louise Khurshid. The case first came into the public glare in 2012 and created quite an uproar. The ministry of social welfare and development decided to hand over the case to the CBI after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) found that the NGO forged signatures of various officials in order to procure the funds.
Background:
A TV channel conducted a sting operation, which revealed that the Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, operated by Khurshid and his wife received money from the government to buy and distribute hearing aids and mechanized tri-cycles to physically challenged individuals by forging fake stamps and signatures.

Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes launched by government
Politics & Government > India > Jan 16
The government recently launched a scheme to support aspiring entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Castes. The scheme called 'Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes' was launched by Union Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot who called it a promising opportunity for people belonging to the SC categories. The members under this scheme will be aided with concessional finance to start new business ventures. According to Social Justice and Empowerment secretary Sudhir Bhargava, about 30 persons a year are estimated to benefit from this scheme, wherein each can avail loans up to Rs 15 crore.

Controversial book on Sonia Gandhi, The Red Sari released in India
India > Literature > Jan 17
An unauthorized biography of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, written by Spanish author Javier Moro was released in India. The book called The Red Sari tracks the journey of Sonia Gandhi from her childhood to her current status of being the only Indian politician to have refused the position of Prime Minister. The book also brings out the experiences of Nehru-Gandhi family through Bangladesh War, the Emergency, Operation Blue Star, and other events that have shaped modern Indian history. It was scheduled to release in 2010 but was stalled by the Congress, the then ruling party of India for depicting the life of Sonia Gandhi in poor light. The book speaks about the Italian roots of Sonia Gandhi, which the Congress has always tried to wipe off in order to maintain the party's image. Moro said that his mail box used to be flooded with threatening emails from Congress insisting Sonia is Indian. They feared that Sonia's Italian origin could be used against her by political opponents. However, the book was given a green light by the BJP government when it came to power in India and was published by Roli Books in India.

US warns Pakistan to not carry any terrorist activities during president Obama's visit to India
India > Foreign Affairs > Jan 18
The United States of America has warned Pakistan of severe consequences in case any terrorist attacks or cross-border firings occur in India, when US president Barack Obama visits the country. Obama will become the first US president in history to attend India's republic day ceremony as the chief guest. The warning comes in the light of Pakistan backed terrorist organisations indulging in frequent cases of cross-border firing, which coincide with high profile US visits to India. Nevertheless, both countries, India and the US, are taking various security measures to turn Rajpath, the main venue of the Republic Day celebrations, into an impregnable fortress.

200 Yazidi captives released by ISIS after five months
World > Terrorism > Jan 18
At least 200 Yazidis who were held captive by ISIS in Iraq for five months were released. The reason for their release is believed to be the inability of ISIS to manage the food and other expenses that came with the captives. Also according to the Kurds, the elderly and weak Yazidis were slowing the militants down and hence they were released. The released captives bore infections from insect bites and appeared too weak. Even their mental health appeared affected. The Yazidis, particularly women and children, were held captive in northern town of Tal Afar after the militants raided their towns last summer. They are being provided medical aid near the Kurdish regional capital of Irbil where they were dropped by ISIS and are now being held by the Kurdish authorities.

BJP names Kiran Bedi as the CM candidate for Delhi
Politics & Government > Kiran Bedi > Jan 20
After a BJP parliamentary board meeting, party president Amit Shah made an announcement that former top cop and India's first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi will be the party's CM candidate for Delhi. He also declared 62 of the 70 candidates, whom Bedi will lead during the polls. The former policewoman will contest from the Krishna Nagar seat in East Delhi, which is considered as a party stronghold.
After years of staying away from active politics, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi announced to join BJP citing Narendra Modi's charismatic leadership as an influence.

Islamic State demands $200 million ransom for two Japanese hostages
World > Terrorism > Jan 20
Islamic State militants have released a video threatening to kill two Japanese hostages if their demand is not met. The militants named the two hostages as Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa. Yukawa, from Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, went to Syria to fight with rebels last year after a series of personal misfortunes and Goto is a well-known author and journalist in his late 40s. The militants demanded $200 million in ransom within the next 72 hours from the Prime Minister of Japan. PM Shinzo Abe had earlier declared a financial aid of $200 million to nations fighting the Islamic State. In the video, the militants have criticized Abe for donating such a huge sum in order to kill their women and children and destroying the homes of the Muslims. Abe has vowed to save the lives of the two Japanese hostages but declined to say whether Japan would pay the ransom.

Government plans to levy tax on the Telecom sector to boost 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan'
India > Others > Jan 21
The government is planning to levy Swachh Bharat Cess on the Telecom sector in order to generate revenue for the Swachh Bharat campaign. The Department of Telecom (DOT) had sought the advice of the Attorney General on whether they can levy the tax legally. The AG stated that imposing the cess would be illegal as it would violate article 265 of the Indian constitution, however, the AG stated that the Telecom sector is covered by the Finance law, which makes it liable to pay service tax, education and higher education cess, and the act can be amended to include a third kind of cess. Although, the Telecom cess if implemented, would increase call and internet tariff of all the service providers and would be a burden on the general population.


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