Current Affairs
Morning Brief: Parliament Set For Stormy Monsoon Session; Government To Infuse Rs 11,300 Crore In Five Banks; 12 Parties To Move No-Trust Motion
A view of Parliament on a cloudy morning, on 28 June 2018 in New Delhi. (Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.
Parliament Set For Stormy Monsoon Session From Today
The last monsoon session of the parliament in the present government’s term will commence today. The last session of parliament witnessed a complete washout due to constant protests by the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress. This session holds significance as important bills are pending in the parliament. The government is likely to push for constitutional status to National Commission for Other Backward Classes and the Triple Talaq bill.
Yesterday (17 July), Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an all-party meet and sought the cooperation of all parties for the smooth functioning of parliament. Some important bills pending in the parliament include Homeopathy Central Council Bill, DNA Technology Regulation Bill, Dam Safety Bill, Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill and Rights of Transgender Persons Bill. The session is spread over a period of 24 days and 48 items, including 46 Bills and 2 financial items.
Government To Infuse Rs 11,300 Crore In Five State-Run Banks
The Modi government will infuse over Rs 11,000 crore in five state-run banks in the next few days, Mint has reported. Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank and Andhra Bank will benefit from this move. While the first three have already been placed under the Reserve Bank of India’s prompt corrective action framework, the remaining two may soon follow due to weak capital adequacy ratios and high levels of bad debt.
Due to rising non-performing loans, most of which were given during the UPA rule, 19 of the 21 state-run banks reported losses amounting to Rs 63,000 crore in the quarter ended 31 March. In one year, these 19 banks lost Rs 87,000 crore, including Rs 90,000 crore infused by the government in 2017-18.
Opposition To Move No-Trust Motion Against Government
At least 12 opposition parties have joined hands to bring a no-trust motion against the government during the monsoon session of the Parliament, which begins today and ends on 10 August. Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India, and the Nationalist Congress Party are among those planning to bring the motion. According to reports, the Congress is working to move the motion on the first day of the session, which will have 18 sittings.
The list of issues to be made part of the no-confidence motion includes farmers distress, mob lynchings, unemployment, women safety, alleged tampering of EVMs, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the government's foreign policy.
India, US Hold Talks On Iran Sanctions
A US delegation on Tuesday held talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale over the sanctions on Iran, which will make importing oil difficult. India is the second largest importers of Iranian crude. In the last few weeks, the US has given indications that it may provide some countries exemption from sanctions. US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that Washington may consider providing waivers from the sanctions to some countries.
After withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran signed 2015, US President Donald Trump is planning to impose sanctions on Tehran’s energy sector. The move, which will make imports of Iranian oil difficult due to fear of sanctions from the US, has sent oil prices soaring. To bring the prices down, Trump has asked Saudi Arabia to increase the oil output by up to 2 million barrels per day.
Japan And EU Sign "Largest-Ever” Free Trade Agreement
Japan and European Union (EU) have signed a historic free trade agreement that could eliminate tariffs on nearly all products. The deal will affect nearly 600 million people and a third of the world's economy, CNN has reported. The deal will come into force in 2019. This comes in the wake of increasing protectionism in the United States under Donald Trump. Trump had earlier pulled out of Trans Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement that included Japan.
EU exports to Japan largely include dairy products, while Japan exports automobiles and electronics goods. President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called the deal as "largest bilateral trade deal ever." The volume of trade between the two partners amounts to $152 billion as per EU data.
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We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!
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