Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Editorials are covered separately. HINDU NOTES are available free date wise| CLICK HERE 

Speed up trial of politicians, says SC

News:

• The Supreme Court asked the government to frame a central scheme for setting up special courts across the country to exclusively try criminal cases involving ‘political persons.’

Beyond News:

• In a determined effort to cleanse politics of criminality and corruption, the apex court said it takes years, probably decades, to complete the trial against a politician.
• A Bench of Justices ordered the government to place the scheme before it on December 13, the next date of hearing. It said the scheme should provide details of the funds required to set up such courts.
• Giving no quarter, the apex court directed the Centre to submit a report card by December 13 on the status of the 1,581 criminal cases pending against Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies at the time of the 2014 elections.

Nirmala flags Indian Ocean issues

News:

• Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed concern at the increased militarization in the Indian Ocean and the extra-regional nations setting up a “near permanent presence” in the region, in an apparent reference to the expanding Chinese presence in the region.

Beyond News:

• There is an “incremental yet steady” increase in numbers of warships operating in the region, this militarisation “increases the complexities for the countries of this region.”
• The GMC(Goa Maritime Conclave ) is intended to be held every year and aims to “bring together like-minded countries to evolve collective responses to challenges in the maritime domain.”

The Chinese Navy has maintained a steady presence of warships and submarines in the Indian Ocean under the garb of anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

Counter measures:

• the Indian Navy has now put in place a new concept of ‘mission based deployment’ to maintain round the clock surveillance on India’s vital areas of interest across the length and breadth of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Ajay Bisaria new envoy to Pakistan

News:

• Seasoned diplomat Ajay Bisaria, currently the Indian ambassador to Poland, has been appointed the country’s top envoy to Pakistan.

Beyond News:

The 1987-batch IFS officer will succeed Gautam Bambawale, who was last month posted to China.

Russia-India partnership second to none: Envoy

News:

• Russia’s partnership with India is “second to none” and cannot be compared with its relationship with Pakistan, Russian Ambassador .

Beyond News:

• He highlighted that there is no comparison between ties with India and Pakistan and that the purpose of the drills was counter-terror cooperation.
• Asked about China’s indication that it may once again block the U.S, France and U.K.’s bid to list Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a global terrorist

India, Bhutan security indivisible: President

News:

The security of India and Bhutan is “indivisible and mutual”, President  said  on Wednesday.

Beyond News:

• The first such statement on the subject since the Doklam standoff with China ended in August indicates a closer engagement between India and Bhutan after the months-long episode.
• President , thanked the King for his “personal involvement” in addressing the Doklam crisis, the first time a reference has been made to the King’s role during the tensions between Indian and Chinese troops.

In two statements issued on June 29 and August 29, the Bhutanese Foreign Ministry had said China was in violation of its agreements, but gave no statement on the Indian Army’s role there.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

India mulls national e-commerce policy

News:

• India is considering drafting a comprehensive national e-commerce policy to develop an ecosystem that would support exports and protect consumer interests.

Beyond News:

• The country is of the view that starting negotiations on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules in e-commerce would be premature at this stage as it was still unclear how they would benefit developing nations, including their companies and consumers.
• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) was working on a paper on e-commerce, which will soon be put in public domain for debates and comments. Inputs from the feedback could form the basis for a national e-commerce policy.
• The size of the Indian e-commerce market was just $30 billion.
• The varied arms of the Centre were trying to address the issues pertaining to their domain to help in formulating an overarching national policy for e-commerce.