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India
to grow faster than China after 2018 : IMF report
Economy
> Growth > Apr 14
A
report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that
India's GDP will grow at a faster rate than that of China's. The
reason stated by IMF is the slowdown that the Chinese economy is
facing. The forecast stated that China had its lowest growth of 7.4%
last year in two decades, which saw the Chinese economy become the
second largest in the world. It also predicted that the Chinese
growth will further decrease to 6.5% and then to a measly 6.3% its
following year and will eventually be overtaken by India's 6.4%
predicted by the IMF for the year 2018. However, the Chinese economy
supersedes the Indian one by a considerable margin, the Chinese
economy stands at $10.4 trillion compared to India's $1.877 trillion
as of 2013.
Modi
government notifies National Judicial Appointments Commission Act
with immediate effect
Politics
and Government >
National
Judicial Appointments Commission Act > Apr 14
With
a view to replace the collegium system for appointing judges to
superior courts with a more broadbased process in which the executive
will have a say, the Modi government notified the National Judicial
Appointments Commission Act with immediate effect. NJAC will be a
six-member body, comprising the Chief Justice of India and two of his
senior most judges, the law minister and two eminent people. Any two
of them can veto any candidature. However, this new body has been
opposed by many saying the veto power to non-judicial members over
judicial members, would damage the independence of the judiciary. A
three judge SC bench has referred the matter to a larger bench
without restraining the government from going ahead and formalising
the rule. The crucial hearing will be held in the Supreme Court on
Wednesday.
Outrage
and online protests over net neutrality
India
> Net
Neutrality > Apr 15
Internet users in India have
sent over 1.5 lakh emails to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) over the last week to demand net neutrality. Net
neutrality or the notion of treating all internet traffic on par came
under the spotlight after TRAI floated a paper on regulatory
framework for OTT Services asking for opinions of stake holders.
Wattsapp, Skype, Viber and Google Talk are examples of OTT Services.
Public outrage increased after Airtel launched its OTT – Airtel
Zero last week. By paying to be on Airtel Zero, companies can make
sure that their users get free access to their service. Airtel Zero
is widely perceived as a violation of net neutrality which could
potentially stifle innovation and startup growth Flipkart, the
first company to sign up for Airtel Zero, has backed out of the
partnership, citing its commitment to the larger cause of net
neutrality in India. Flipkart's move has been viewed as a major boost
for the cause of net neutrality in India.
Others
Nehru
government was spying on the relatives of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
Politics
& Government >
Netaji Snooping Controversy > Apr 11
Newly
declassified papers from the Intelligence Bureau,which are now with
the National Archives have proved that the Jawaharlal Nehru led
Congress government spied on the relatives of one of India's most
important leaders during the pre-independence era, Subhash Chandra
Bose. The controversy surrounding Bose's death still intrigues many
people, the official declaration was that the leader died in a plane
crash at Taiwan in 1945, which is doubted by many. Many governments
Congress or non-Congress after the Nehru era have tried to protect
the official government stand and refused to declassify sensitive
documents citing ties and relationships with friendly countries as a
reason. The government holds 87 files related to Bose. The leader's
grand-nephew Surya Kumar Bose met PM Modi at Berlin, Germany
regarding the declassification of the files and also urged the PM to
bring out the truth.
India
beat Korea to win bronze medal in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
Sports
> Hockey > Apr 12
India
beat Korea in the tie-breaker penalty shootout and won bronze by
coming third in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. The win is sure to
act as a morale booster for the Indian team, which is witnessing a
transition phase after new chief coach Paul van Ass took over from
Terry Walsh barely a month ago.
Sania
Mirza climbs to World No. 1 position
Sports
>
Tennis > Apr 13
Sania
Mirza became the first Indian women to reach the world No. 1 position
in the individual doubles ranking. Sania and her Swiss partner
Martina Hingis beat Australian Casey Dellacqua and Croatia's Darja
Jurak in the title round before claiming the No. 1 title. Sania
displaced the joint-No. 1s Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci to
claim sole ownership of the top spot of the individual doubles
rankings.
Hilary
Clinton announces her US presidential candidature
World
> US
Presidential Elections > Apr 13
US
attorney, senator and member of the Democratic Party, Hilary Clinton
announced her presidential candidature for the 2016 elections on 12th
of April, 2015. Hillary, the wife of former US president Bill
Clinton, also ran for the post of president in 2008 where she lost to
Barack Obama. The former Secretary of State has promised to fight for
the welfare of the average American, saying the people have fought
their way in through a tough economic crisis. Meanwhile, the
Wikileaks organisation has accused Hilary Clinton of stealing their
Twitter logo design for her 2016 presidential campaign.
2G
scam: CBI says former Telecom minister A Raja misled then PM Manmohan
Singh on policy matters
India
> 2
G Scam > Apr 15
The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the 2G scam, told a
special court that A Raja, the then Telecom minister, misled the
former PM Manmohan Singh on important policy matters. The court is
trying to separate the 2G case and the several cases, which arose
from the case. The CBI had earlier in the year decided to interrogate
Singh under tremendous pressure.
The
2G spectrum scam was an Indian telecommunications scam and political
scandal in which politicians and government officials undercharged
mobile telephone companies for frequency allocation licenses. In a
chargesheet filed on 2 April 2011 by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI, the investigating agency), the loss was pegged at
INR309845.5 million.
Government
to push for Rs. 40000 crore worth of tax from FIIs, says finance
minister
Economy
> FII
Taxation > Apr 15
After
the Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) lost a case filed by them
at a special court called as the Authority of Advanced Rulings
against a levy of 20% tax on all capital gains, finance minister Arun
Jaitley has announced that the government will push for a demand of
Rs. 40000 crore, the amount due as tax from the FIIs. The government
abolished Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) from the 1st of April, 2015
and Mr. Jaitley said the government is only demanding arrears, which
have accrued to such a substantial amount.
India
builds first smart city in Gujrat
India
> Smart
Cities > Apr 15
With
the urban population set to rise by a huge number, India faces mass
urbanisation. Many of its biggest cities are already bursting at the
seams and are facing over-population. So India plans to build smart
cities with modern facilities to aid growing urbanisation. In light
of this situation, India is building its first smart city on the
banks of the Sabarmati river in Gujarat. The city will boast of
modern infrastructure and will provide an array of amenities to help
aid urbanisation in India. India aims to build 100 such smart cities
by 2022 to attract foreign investment and create jobs.
Shiv
Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' says voting rights of Muslims should be
taken back and family planning should be implemented on Muslims and
Christians
Politics
& Government >
Shiv Sena > Apr 15
Earlier in the week, the
official mouthpiece of political party Shiv Sena, 'Saamna' published
an article, which said the voting rights of Muslims should be
withdrawn as Muslim votes are used for vote-bank politics. The
comment drew ire from various sections of the society and has
triggered a controversy. Just days after the controversial article
was published, 'Saamna' published another provocative editorial,
which mentions that family planning should be implemented within
Muslim and Christian families as their growing population may become
a threat for the majority Hindu population of India.
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