GS-III

Morocco has been named the second best performing country after Sweden in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). The North African country significantly increased the share of renewables over the past five years and increased new renewable energy capacity. Sweden is in top position, followed by Morocco and Lithuania in …

The Indian economy is projected to be the fastest-growing major economy in the current year and upcoming fiscal 2019-20, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday, while emphasising that the government has taken several steps to boost investors’ confidence. The average growth of the economy between 2014-15 and 2017-18 was 7.3%, …

The RBI has appointed an eight-member expert committee headed by former SEBI chairman U.K. Sinha to comprehensively review and propose long-term solutions for revival of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. Other members of the panel are Ram Mohan Mishra, Additional Secretary, Development Commissioner MSME; Pankaj Jain, Joint …

Major Asian indices shed 1-3%; Sensex loses 520 points intraday; rupee slumps 1% against dollar A weak trend in the global equity markets on the back of disappointing economic data from China led to the Indian benchmarks shedding 1% on Wednesday as investors became jittery over the near-term outlook on …

The entry of two women into the Sabarimala temple on Wednesday has sparked off a debate in Karnataka as well. Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt said on Wednesday that his stand on the issue of women’s entry into Sabarimala temple was neutral and the ‘shastras’ per se do not …

The Bill also makes it clear that anyone not offering Aadhaar cannot be denied any service, be it a bank account or a SIM card. The Bill seeks to amend the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and …

Any form of exclusion based on concepts of ‘impurity and pollution’ amounts to untouchability Closure of the Sabarimala temple’ssanctum sanctorumon Wednesday to perform ‘purification rites’ after two women of menstruating age managed to enter may amount to using the concept of impurity and pollution to violate the women’s right against …

At a time when multiple agencies are involved in the rescue of 15 miners trapped in a rathole mine in Meghalaya, data tabled in the Lok Sabha earlier this week revealed that 377 workers involved in mining of coal, minerals and oil were killed in accidents between 2015 and 2017. …

The closing of the Sabarimala temple for purification rituals following the entry of two women of menstruating age on Wednesday has cast the Tantri of the shrine in the spotlight. It has triggered an acrimonious war of words between various quarters over religious tradition and law. Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu …

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of a high-level committee for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord which provides for constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of Assam. It also recommended reserving Assembly seats for …

The boards of Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, on Wednesday approved the share swap ratio for the proposed merger. Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank shareholders will get 402 and 110 shares of BoB, respectively, for every 1,000 shares held. The Union Cabinet approved the amalgamation of …

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has rejected Vedanta Ltd.’s request for renewal of consent to operate the Sterlite Copper smelter at Thoothukudi. Citing an appeal filed by it and the State government in the Supreme Court on Wednesday against the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order in the matter, …

The government on Wednesday introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha that will allow individuals to voluntarily offer biometric ID Aadhaar as a means of identity verification for obtaining services like opening a bank account and getting a mobile phone connection. The Bill, which seeks to amend three separate laws …

Two young women entered the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala under police cover in the early hours of Wednesday, triggering anti-government protests across the State. The women in their 40s — Bindu from Kozhikode and Kanakadurga from Malappuram — reached the foothills around 1.30 a.m. at Pampa, from where they …

It is dedicated to Urdu writer Razia The second edition of Parallel Literature Festival (PLF), which started last year as an answer to the Jaipur Literature Festival, will be organised here from January 27 to 29 to provide a forum to distinguished personalities from the fields of literature, art, culture …

Start-up uses artificial intelligence to identify behavioural changes to improve employee satisfaction Technology companies like to promote artificial intelligence’s potential for solving some of the world’s toughest problems, like reducing automobile deaths and helping doctors diagnose diseases. A company started by three former Google employees is pitching AI as the …

‘Project Trinitea to create better value’ Recognising the rising importance of small tea growers (STG) in the supply chain, tea estates in North India are testing a project called ‘Trinitea,’ which aims at providing support to the STG at the farm and market level. A MoU was signed between the …

It is now cheaper than petrol, diesel Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices have been cut for the second month in a row by a record 14.7% for the month of January 2019, according to a notification issued by Indian Oil Corporation and other State-owned oil marketing companies. Jet fuel will …

Poor consumer sentiment hurts sales Maruti Suzuki sold more than 1.19 lakh passenger vehicles (PVs) in the domestic market in December 2018, an increase of 1% from the over 1.18 lakh units sold in the year-ago month. The company said while the sales of mini segment cars (Alto and Wagon …

Loans of up to Rs. 25 crore eligible for relaxation of provision Following a demand from the government for a debt recast package for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed the provisioning norms for lenders for restructuring loans of up to Rs. …