Morning Brief: Pakistan ‘Smart Fence’ By Next March; Cabinet Nod For Scrapping No-Detention Policy

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

‘Smart Fence’ For Pakistan Border By March Next Year: The Border Security Force (BSF) has said that sealing India’s border with Pakistan is one of the topmost priorities. Director General of BSF, K K Sharma, said ‘smart fence’ would be placed at the International Border (IB) along the Jammu sector by March next year. The technology-based fencing system, which would detect all forms of intrusion along the border, is being designed with the intent to curb the infiltration of Pakistani militants using the porous borders. When asked about the government’s plan for a similar ‘smart fence’ on the Indo-Bangla border, DG Sharma said it depends on the resources available before the BSF.

Cabinet Nod For Scrapping No-Detention Policy: Indian states will soon be able to conduct exams for students of Class V to Class VIII and detain them if they fail, as the Union Cabinet approved a proposal on Wednesday for scrapping the ‘no-detention policy’. Under the present provision of Right to Education (RTE) Act, students are promoted automatically to higher classes until class VIII. This is one of the key components of RTE Act which came into force on 1 April 2010. However, the students will have to be given a second chance to improve via an examination before detaining them. The bill will now be placed in Parliament for approval. Meanwhile, the Cabinet which had earlier deferred its decision for the creation of 20 world-class institutions in the country, gave its approval for it.

Cabinet Clears Proxy Voting For NRIs: The Union government will soon bring a bill that will amend the Representation of the People Act to make proxy voting for non-resident Indians (NRIs) a reality. This comes after the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to extend proxy voting to overseas Indians. Nearly 16 million NRIs will be then able to vote in Indian elections by appointing proxies residing in their constituencies to cast their votes. Presently, NRIs have to fly back to India to cast their votes, an option exercised only by 12,000 overseas voters. The only condition is that the proxy voter should be an ordinary resident of the constituency one is voting in.

Doklam Troop Reduction Claims Rejected: Rubbishing China’s claims, India on Wednesday said that there has been no reduction in Indian troops in Doklam Plateau, where armed forces of the two sides are locked in a face-off over the past two months. The Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday claimed that there are approximately 40 Indian soldiers facing off against the Chinese army in Doklam, down from 400 that had been in the area at one point. The Indian government has emphasised that information provided by China is incorrect and that 350 to 400 soldiers still remain deployed in the area from either side.

Loans May Become Cheaper Now: Property developers and consultants say that the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to cut repo rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday will lead to cheaper home loans and boost housing sales during the upcoming festival season. They expect banks to pass on this rate cut by lowering the interest on home loans. The RBI’s move gives banks the elbow room to reduce EMIs on home and car loans and lend more money to businesses. The cut in the repo rate by a quarter-percentage point was expected after retail inflation, led by softer food prices, fell to a more than five-year low in June. The repo rate now stands at 6 per cent. On Tuesday, the State Bank of India reduced interest rate on savings bank deposits by half percentage point, possibly on hopes that the RBI would cut lending rates.

Government Told To Frame Fresh National Mineral Policy: The Union government was directed by the Supreme Court on Wednesday to frame a fresh national mineral policy by 31 December in view of “rapacious” mining in Karnataka, Goa, Odisha and other parts of the country. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the National Mineral Policy 2008 seems to be only on paper and has not been enforced due to involvement of powerful vested interests. “Therefore, it is high time that the Union of India revisits the National Mineral Policy, 2008 and announces a fresh and more effective, meaningful and implementable policy within the next few months and in any event before 31 December 2017,” the bench directed.

Supreme Court Wraps Up Hearings On Right To Privacy: After hearings spread over a fortnight, a nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on whether the right to privacy should be deemed a fundamental right. The ruling will likely come before 27 August. The hearing was necessitated after the government argued while defending the Aadhaar identity scheme that citizens had no such fundamental right. Those opposed to Aadhaar had challenged its all-pervasive, mandatory nature as a violation of the fundamental right to privacy of a citizen. Congress-ruled states including Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka had argued in favour of declaring privacy a fundamental right, as did West Bengal. States ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party such as Maharashtra and Gujarat opposed it.

Trump Signs Russia Sanctions Bill: In a major move, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a legislation that imposes new sanctions on Russia amidst reports his administration was also mulling trade actions against China, which could escalate tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The US Congress voted last week by overwhelming margins for sanctions to punish the Russian government over interference in the 2016 presidential election, annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and other perceived violations of international norms. The Trump administration is also mulling an investigation into China’s intellectual property rights regime and related market access requirements that could potentially trigger punitive trade measures.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

RBI Monetary Policy Delivers No Surprises: In Indian context for assessing inflation expectations, it may be more prudent for RBI to assess them from financial market instruments. A rate cut by RBI was perhaps a foregone conclusion given that the global and domestic economy are both caught in a vicious cycle of low growth and low inflation.

The Sordid Tale Of Teacher Education In India: We are on the cusp of what may be a critical period in India’s teacher education history. The MHRD and NCTE have begun a complete and methodical overhaul of the teacher education system, from its regulatory to its educational aspects.

TRAI And CCI: No Turf Wars, Please: The highly technical nature the telecom sector mean issues such as the allegations of predatory pricing against Reliance Jio necessitate that CCI consults with TRAI, a specialised regulator. To ensure consumer welfare, a spirit of camaraderie between these two regulators – TRAI and CCI – is the need of the hour.

A Pay-Per-Publication System To Spur Research: The policy of rewarding individuals over institutions, particularly giving cash to researchers, has been criticised for reducing research into a mere publication-churning opportunity. China is giving researchers huge financial rewards to publish in reputed journals. This has Western academics worried.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Not Islam, Not Christianity, It Is The Left That Is Inimical To Hinduism: The Left has played a crucial ideological role in creating an anti-Hindu bias in Indian political discourse, and hence needs to be combatted both intellectually and politically.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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