CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 Mar 2015
1. Coal, mines Bills cleared as govt. has its way
Despite an aggressive Opposition giving the NDA’s parliamentary managers a tough time during the first half of the budget session that concluded on Friday, the Modi government found reason to pat itself on the back………..
2. National policy for Upper Houses
The desirability of a bicameral legislature at the State level has been debated since the days of the Constituent Assembly, …….
3. The polluted air we breathe
In 2006, Al Gore broke down the complicated issue of climate change in “An Inconvenient Truth” to make it understandable to the public. In a similar manner, a month back, “Under the Dome” — a documentary …………
4. Unlocking growth through labour reforms
Over 25 per cent of the world’s workers are Indian. And 300 million young people are set to enter the labour force by 2025. With an average age of 29, India’s population is in the middle of a demographic boom. By 2020, …………
5. Black money Bill tabled in Lok Sabha
In a step towards delivering on the BJP’s poll promise of unearthing black money stashed abroad, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday introduced in the Lok Sabha the Undisclosed Foreign Income and …………
6. Thein Sein defends reform pace, army role
Myanmar’s President has rejected criticism that his government has stalled on crucial reforms and has defended the powerful army’s ………..
7. Coal imports help Eastern ports reach target
Thanks to stepped up demand for imported coal in the wake of Supreme Court-ordered cancellation of coal blocks, the ……
8. Split Opposition sees Coal, Mines Bills through
Ending the suspense, the Rajya Sabha cleared two key reform Bills — the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 and the Mines ………
9. Air pockets
Our politicians may believe that they are firmly in charge of making policy, but it is the bureaucracy which does the real work of framing laws, drafting rules and regulations and actually administering the policy. ………
10. Why Indian consumers aren’t splurging
For India-watchers who are already puzzling over the dichotomy between what the GDP data says and what’s really happening on the ground, here’s a new mystery. Consumer price inflation has been falling for over a year now. …….
11. Where has all the water gone
Water resources are under severe stress today. About one-fifth of the world’s aquifers have almost dried up and large number of traditional water bodies such as tanks, ponds and lakes are depleting at a frightening pace……….
12. Black Money Bill Moots 10-yr Jail
In a bid to unearth black money and illicit assets stashed abroad, the NDA government on Friday introduced a new bill that seeks to punish the offenders with rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years while the penalty will be 300 ………
13. Will appoint GST panel head after more talks: FM
At a meeting on Friday, the empowered committee on the goods and services tax (GST), comprising the Union finance minister and finance ministers of states, failed to arrive at a decision on appointing a new …………
14. T N Ninan: What's RBI smoking
A year ago, you could exchange a euro to get Rs 85; now you will get only about Rs 67. It’s a similar story with the British pound; ………..
15. One-time scheme to get black money back: Carrot and Stick, and a dose of pragmatism
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Current Affairs
