Current Affairs
Morning Brief: Enforce Dalit Quota Or We Will: SC Panel To AMU; Government Mulls Military Training For 10 Lakh Youths Every Year; China Moves WTO Against US
Bab-e-syed, the gateway to AMU.
Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.
Enforce Quota For Dalits Or We Will: Scheduled Caste Panel Warns AMU
Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Ram Shankar Katheria, has said that the body will pass an order on the implementation of quota for Dalits in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) if the institution fails to comply. According to Katheria, AMU had sought time after it received a notice from the commission earlier this month and the university’s deadline ends on 3 August.
On Monday, Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar also commented on the issue, confirming that his ministry had written to AMU seeking "justification" behind denying quota to eligible students. The issue of reservation for Dalits at AMU came to light after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked way quota was not being implemented.
Government Mulls Military Training For 10 Lakh Youths Every Year
The Modi government is holding discussions on a plan to provide military training to 10 lakh young men and women every year to instil nationalism, discipline and self-esteem. The programme, which will be named National Youth Empowerment Scheme, is aimed at “optimising the Indian demographic advantage”. The government will also provide incentives to the participants, including a fixed stipend for 12 months. According to reports, a meeting on the proposed scheme was called by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Apart from military training, those enrolled will be taught vocational and IT skills, disaster management, yoga, Ayurveda and ancient Indian philosophy. To fund the programme, the government may tap into the existing budget meant for the National Cadet Corps and the National Service Scheme.
China Challenges US Tariffs At WTO
China has decided to challenge US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on goods worth $200 billion in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The move came one week after the announcement of the plan by United States Trade Representative (USTR ). The US had initially imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from China worth $34 billion, according to estimates. China had responded to this move by imposing tariffs on goods worth an equal. USTR’s announcement came in the wake of Chinese retaliation to Trumps tariffs.
Due to trade imbalance between the US and China, the latter has only $80 billion worth of imports to impose any tariff if the US goes ahead with its decision. The US has said that China is hurting companies by stealing or pressuring them to hand over technology. In addition to this move, China is trying to enlist European nations, South Korea and other trade partners on its side.
IMF Marginally Cuts India's Growth Rate
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India's growth rate projections by 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent for 2018 and 2019 respectively. However, it has projected that India will continue to be the world's fastest-growing major economy. It has projected a growth rate of 7.3 per cent for 2018 and 7.5 per cent for 2019. The cut in projections is due to the higher oil prices.
Projections have also been revised downwards for Eurozone, Japan and the United Kingdom. Growth projections for other developing economies like Argentina and Brazil have also been cut. Projections for oil-exporting countries have been strengthened, as these nations will benefit from higher oil prices. China will grow at 6.6 per cent and 6.4 per cent in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
India Tests BrahMos Cruise Missile Under Extreme Conditions
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8, was successfully tested on Monday from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur under extreme conditions. The success of this test is being seen as the validation of the missile’s performance under a possible war scenario. This development comes after India successfully tested the missile with an Indian-made seeker in Rajasthan’s Pokhran in March.
Last year, India successfully test-fired an air-launched version of the missile, called BrahMos-A, from a Su-30MKI fighter over the Bay of Bengal. India plans to modify Su-30MKIs to carry the BrahMos missile. Efforts to arm MiG-29s, Rafale jets and Indian Navy’s MiG-29Ks are also underway.
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We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!
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