Daily Archives: July 16, 2019

Hurdles to reconciliation

The chances of reconciliation between the Prime Minister and the “Syndicate” over the Presidential nomination are being hampered by an almost conspiratorial atmosphere of crisis being built up by the busybodies on both sides on the eve of the Congress Parliamentary Party meetings this week-end. It was thought by some …

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Waiting for daybreak

Chandrayaan-2 missed this rendezvous with the moon, but the next date is not too far India’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, was pulled back from launch just 56 minutes before its scheduled liftoff on July 15. This was owing to a technical glitch in the GSLV Mark-III rocket launcher. No rescheduled …

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Closer than close

England did well to win the World Cup,but New Zealand did not deserve to lose Summit clashes of global sporting tournaments can often be underwhelming. One team revels in the occasion, the other wilts, and a lopsided climax occurs. But Sunday’s ICC World Cup final involving England and New Zealand …

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It no longer runs in the family

Political power in the Indian subcontinentseems to be drifting away from dynasties Ever since the British left the Indian subcontinent, most South Asian nations have seen dynastic leadership. India’s Congress Party, led by the Nehru-Gandhi family, has been in power for a better part of the country’s post-Independence modern history. …

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A WASH for healthcare

Without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene amenities, infection control is severely compromised Healthcare facilities are many and varied. Some are primary, others are tertiary. Many are public, some are private. Some meet specific needs, whether dentistry or occupational therapy, and some are temporary, providing acute care when disaster strikes. Whatever …

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Creating a fair digital payments market

Local firms will be at a disadvantage if big tech companies are given plum roles Since early last year, WhatsApp has busily piloted its payment system in India. WhatsApp Pay relies on the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system to facilitate inter-bank transactions. Regulatory approval that would allow its …

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A hand-to-mouth Budget

It is inescapable from the arithmetic that revenue expenditures and tax revenues are in need of serious corrections Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began a new practice in the Union Budget, presented on July 5, when she relegated the numbers, or the budgeting, to the fine print, in a break with …

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A test of law and justice

The challenges made to the 103rd constitutional amendment present a more difficult judicial examination than usual Constitutional challenges are often described as hard cases. This is, however, seldom true. Invariably, disputes possess a simple solution. We can debate over what theories of interpretation to apply and over whether the text …

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20 million children not vaccinated in 2018: UN

Flags ‘gap’ in efforts to prevent disease Almost 20 million children missed out on potentially life-saving vaccinations last year, the UN said on Monday, as surging measles cases highlighted “dangerous” gaps in efforts to shield children from preventable illness. Last year, 19.4 million children were “not fully vaccinated”, the World …

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WPI inflation eases to 2% in June

Wholesale price-based inflation declined for the second consecutive month to its 23-month low of 2.02% in June, helped by decline in prices of vegetables as well as fuel and power items, according to official data released on Monday. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was at 2.45% in May. It …

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RBI fines Union Bank, SBI for flouting norms

State Bank of India penalised Rs. 7 crore The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has penalised State Bank of India and Union Bank of India for violating certain regulatory guidelines. SBI was fined Rs. 7 crore for non-compliance with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset …

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Private carriers make hay post Jet closure

Augment capacity on international routes as Air India not very ‘aggressive’ After the closure of Jet Airways, the international segment continues to offer huge opportunity for Indian airlines, mainly private carriers, as Air India is shying away from aggressive capacity expansion. According to a report by ICICI Securities Ltd., Air …

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Trade deficit shrinks 8% in June

India’s trade deficit narrowed by nearly 8% to $15.28 billion during the last month, as against $16.6 billion in June 2018, according to official data released on Monday. In June 2019, merchandise exports fell nearly 10% to $25.01 billion as against $27.70 billion in the year-ago month, the Commerce Ministry …

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Trump targets Congresswomen again

President asks the four freshman lawmakers to apologise to him and ‘the people of Israel’ President Donald Trump on Monday increased his attacks on four first-term Democratic congresswomen and warned the party about uniting “around the foul language & racist hatred spewed” from the American women whom he recently told …

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Taxi registration drops for second year in a row

The registration of new taxis in the city has dropped for the second consecutive year. While it touched a peak in 2016-17 with 32,479 registrations, in 2017-18, it dropped to 16,595. The downward trend continued in 2018-19 with only 16,274 taxis being registered. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/taxi-registration-drops-for-second-year-in-a-row/article28460618.ece

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Use drones to identify waterlogging sites: HC

‘File status report before July 24’ The Delhi High Court has suggested use of drones to aid civic authorities in identifying sites where waterlogging takes place so as to tackle traffic snarls in the city during the monsoon. A Bench of Justices G.S. Sistani and Jyoti Singh further suggested setting …

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