Skip to main content

Current Affairs - Sep 6, 2018

current affairs 2018

CM KCR dissolved Telangana Assembly

  • Telangana Cabinet passed the resolution to dissolve first Legislative assembly of Telangana State.
  • Governor has accepted the recommendation of Chief Minister but asked him and his council of ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government
  • The Legislative Assembly of Telangana currently consists of 119 elected members and one nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community. And, it has 17 Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament) constituencies.
  • CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao is from TRS, and Congress is the major opposition party in Telangana.

Supreme Court Decriminalised Gay Sex

  • A five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Deepak Mishra, by the unanimous decision today decriminalised Section 377 making gay sex legal in India.
  • In 2013, the SC had overturned Delhi HC's 2009 judgement which had decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender.
  • Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay are some of other countries with this provision.

India-US 2+2 Dialogues

  • After being canceled twice in the last 14 months, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the 2+2 dialogue with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.
  • Both countries signed the long-pending Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US.
  • India-US to set up hotline between External Affairs Minister and Defence Minister with their American counterparts.
  • An Indian liaison officer will be deployed at the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), in charge of US naval operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the oil-rich Gulf countries.
  • USA reiterated its endorsement for the quest of India's NSG membership and agreed to speed up the process (Beijing is blocking India's entry saying India has not signed NPT).
  • Meeting also included topics like H1B visa, terrorism from Pakistan, maritime security, strategic defence partnership etc.

North America Free Trade Agreement

  • U.S. and Canada pulled back from a standoff regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
  • US NAFTA is a trilateral arrangement between US, Canada and Mexico. US has been accusing provision of agreement for the trade deficit with Mexico and American job loss, so wants to renegotiate the agreement with Mexico, but Canada is opposing.
  • US and Mexico have reached an agreement for a new deal but Canada is refusing to sign; thus the threat of excluding Canada out NAFTA raised.
  • In the new agreement, Canada is concerned about the protection of its Dairy, Movies, Media industries and also mechanism to settle trade disputes (US removed chapter 19 related to anti-dumping and countervailing duties before the committee but Canada wants to retain it).
  • Canada is the major export destination of as many as 36 US states, thus taking a tough stance against Canada is not going to be viable for US Congress, no matter what President Trump says.
  • Currently, negotiations are to continue.

One-Liners for Preliminary Tests

  • Rupee hits a new low, breaches 72 marks for the first time.
  • Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), a PSU, has bagged order worth Rs. 9,200 crore for supply of seven Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) systems to Indian Navy.
  • Asian Games gold-medallist Saurabh Chaudhary shattered the world record to claim the junior 10m air pistol gold at the ISSF World Championships.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IAS Exam Dates for 2023

Timeline for UPSC civil services competitive exam commonly known as IAS exam is expected to be as follows:  Registration and application form submission for IAS exam will start in February month and will be happening from 1st Feb to 21st Feb 2023. Preliminary exam is scheduled on 28th May 2023. Mains exam is expected to start from 15 September. IAS exam is considered one of the most toughest exam in India and also most rewarding for those who make their way to the final selection list.

Geography and Public Administration as Optional Subject

In my opinion, if you are starting the preparation of IAS Exam and still confused about optional papers don't opt either Geography or Public Administration. These papers are not high scoring papers in general; if you look at marks obtained by candidates in these two papers you won't find it worth the effort they put in while preparing. The number of guys opting these two papers are highest, and because of this bar is getting higher every year. For example, even after getting selected once for IRS with Public Administration, last year's topper Anudeep changed his optional paper in his attempt. I am not saying you must not choose these papers. In fact, you must opt any of it in case you like a lot, or you have some academic background related to any of these. But if you are equally bad in all the papers don't go for these two. Find a better alternative.

IAS Exam 2020 - UPSC to announce new dates

New dates for UPSC civil services exam, commonly known as IAS Exam 2020 is expected soon as NTA and CBSE have already announced their exam dates. The preliminary test of IAS exam was scheduled on 31st May but due to ongoing COVID crisis and lockdown, UPSC had to postpone the exam until further notice. Since the third phase of lockdown ends now many activities have begun in cities. It is expected from UPSC to let aspirants know expected duration if not final dates. Number of candidates in IAS Exams Every year more than 10 lakh candidates apply for the exam but only around 50 per cent of applicants appear in the exam. In 2006, these numbers were 3 lakh 83 thousand (applicants) and 1 Lakh 95 thousand (appeared candidates), now it has increased to approx 12-13 lakhs applicants in 2020. In the view of increasing competition, the governments (states/union) and few government universities have initiated preparation help program for candidates belonging to the weaker section