Must Read News Articles –December 20

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GS: 2


International relations:

U.S. partnership vital in Asia-Pacific: India (The Hindu)

The Indo-U.S. partnership helps maintain stability in the Asia-Pacific region, the External Affairs Ministry said here on Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump announced the new National Security Strategy of the U.S. and described India as a “leading global player”.

India a leading global power, Pakistan needs to show it can be responsible for its nukes (Indian Express)

Almost a year in office and after two bilateral meetings between Prime Minister  Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, the US government on Tuesday marked out India’s emergence as a “global power” in its first National Security Strategy — a significant upgrade in Washington’s assessment of India in the last 15 years.

In Fact: Why it is time for New Delhi to make Nepal feel ‘India-open’ (Indian Express)

Nepal’s political leadership has often felt that India uses blockades of essential supplies to discipline the smaller country. With the China-leaning Left Alliance winning Nepal’s elections, India will have to work extra hard to repair the trust deficit.

Indian Constitution and Polity:

Privacy in cyberspace (Indian Express)

Protecting individual rights should be at the core of data protection legislation

Parliament gives nod to IIM bill (The Hindu)

Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed a Bill to grant the Indian Institutes of Management the power to grant degrees instead of post-graduate diplomas.

LS passes 2 bills to repeal 245 old laws                                                                                     

The Lok Sabha   on Tuesday passed two Bills to  repeal 245 obsolete and archaic laws, including the 158-year-old  Calcutta Pilots Act of 1859 and the 1911 Prevention of Seditious Meeting Act.

Govt. defends special courts for politicians (The Hindu)

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday defended the government’s decision to set up fast track courts for dealing with criminal cases against politicians  and said lawmakers should take the lead in setting an example.

Social issues:

Ensure level-playing field for the disabled in higher educational institutions: SC (The Hindu)

Higher educational institutions, both government ones and those who take government aid, should ensure a level-playing field for disabled persons or face action for discrimination, the  Supreme Court warned.

Centre examining health effects of e-cigarettes: Nadda (The Hinduu)

The government is examining the legal implications and health effects of e-cigarettes, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Internal security:

Seeing through a glass darkly: on combating terrorism (The Hindu Opinion)

To deal with the terror threat, there must be far greater sharing of intelligence among agencies worldwide

230% increase in ceasefire violations: govt. (The Hindu)

There was a 230% increase in ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) this year compared to 2016, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.


 GS: 3


Economy:

CAG picks flaws in Centre’s accounting (The Hindu)

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has highlighted several flaws in the Union government’s accounting procedures for the financial year 2015-16, which could have led to an understatement of the fiscal deficit and revenue deficit for that year.

Northeast policy to aid trade with ASEAN’ (The Hindu)

The new Industrial Policy being framed for the development of industries in the northeast would prove catalytic to the trade with southeast Asian nations, according to the government.

Need to bolster WTO process’ (The Hindu)

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) process needs to be strengthened and taken forward as India has a strategic interest in the functioning of the multilateral trade system, according to Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu.

Amendments to Companies Act passed; to ease compliance (The Hindu)

A bill to amend the companies law to strengthen corporate governance standards, initiate strict action against defaulting companies, and help improve the ease of doing business in the country, was passed by Parliament on Tuesday.

‘Centre planning strategy to boost services exports’ (The Hindu)

The government is formulating a new strategy to boost services exports by identifying new markets such as Latin America as well as services, including healthcare and financial services, which have tremendous potential in terms of exports and job creation, according to Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu.

Niti Aayog to set up Methanol Economy Fund (Indian Express)

Niti Aayog plans to set up a Methanol Economy Fund worth Rs 4,000-5,000 crore to promote production and use of the clean fuel. The government think is aiming at generation of the fuel by converting high ash content coal into methanol and such a plant is expected to be set up by Coal India.

Reveal, recognise, resolve (Indian Express)

Gap between global banks and Indian banks on bad loan recovery is set to narrow

UIDAI tightens norms for Aadhaar-bank account linking (The Hindu)

Following the  Airetel India- Aadhaar subsidy fiasco,the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Tuesday has tightened the norms for mapping Aadhaar number to a different bank account.

Transit gambit: on e-way bill mechanism for transport of goods (The Hindu Editorial)

The Centre needs to do more to ease the shift to e-way bills for transport of goods

Centre wants GST on fuel: Arun Jaitley (The Hindu)

The Centre favours including petroleum products within the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but it would want a consensus among the States before taking such a step, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.


Yesterday’s  current affairs material by ForumIAS


7 PM Editorial : Organized crimes in India: an overview

9 PM Current affairs brief:

10 PM Current affairs MCQs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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