GS1: Culture
- First five re-printed volumes of Mongolian Kanjur Manuscripts released(PIB) Mongolian Kanjur, the Buddhist canonical text in 108 volumes is considered to be the most important religious text in Mongolia. In the Mongolian language ‘Kanjur’ means ‘Concise Orders’- the words of Lord Buddha in particular. It is held in high esteem by the Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual. Mongolian Kanjur has been translated from Tibetan.
GS2: Polity
- Owning up to criminalisation in politics The Court has asked the political parties to state “the reasons for such selection, as also as to why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates.” If a political party fails to comply, it would be “… in contempt of this Court’s orders/directions.”
- Is Internet freedom being sacrificed for national security? Section 69A [of the Information Technology Act], which has been used, is not a new power that the government is commandeering during a time of national security emergency. It must be a genuine national security risk, and the necessity of blocking the app must be very clearly made out by the government.
GS2: Governance
- Three NGOs linked to Congress under Union Home Ministry scanner - FCRA Panel to probe alleged violations of money laundering Act, Income Tax Act and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
GS2: International Relations
- India to take call on Australia’s inclusion in Malabar exercises The inclusion of Australia in the Malabar exercises would mark a major shift for India’s Indo-Pacific plans. Malabar began as a bilateral naval exercise between India and the U.S. in 1992, and was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
GS3: Economy
- ‘Centre won’t extend deadline for levy on foreign e-com firms’ - Equilisation levy The tax applies on e-commerce transactions on websites such as Amazon.com. Google in particular has been worried as the tax applies on advertising revenue earned overseas if those ads target customers in India.
