1) Triple Talaq Bill Passed in Lok Sabha
•The Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017 making instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband. As per the Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, the government has to bring a bill because the practice of instant triple talaq has continued despite the Supreme Court order terming it illegal.
•The proposed law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’ and give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking subsistence allowance for her and minor children. The bill will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha for passage before it is forwarded to the President for signing it into law.
2) India Ranks 5th in List of Countries with Highest NPA Levels
•India has the highest level of non-performing assets (NPA) among BRICS countries and is ranked fifth on a list of countries with the highest levels of NPAs, as per the report by CARE Ratings.
•The only countries ranked higher than India on the list are Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland. All these countries, along with Spain, are commonly referred to as PIIGS, and have been victims of sovereign debt crises in recent years.At 9.85 percent, India’s NPA ratio is over 400 basis points higher. Spain is the only PIIGS country ranked lower than India on the list, with an NPA ratio of 5.28 percent.
3) Indo-Maldives Joint Exercise ‘Ekuverin’ Concludes
•The two-week long eighth edition of the Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, ‘Ekuverin’, came to an end atBelagavi, Karnataka. ‘Ekuverin’ means ‘friends’ in the Maldivian language.
•The bilateral annual exercise was a 14-day joint military training between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). The exercise has been held alternatively in India and Maldives since 2009.
4) Prince Harry Named President of African Conservation Group
•Prince Harry has been named the president of African Parks, a conservation group that manages a dozen wildlife areas across the continent.
•As per the environmentalist organisation, Prince Harry will contribute to its effort to protect Africa's natural heritage and support both wildlife and communities, who live in and around conservation areas.
5) Bank of Baroda Enters into MoU with POORTI Agri Services Pvt. Ltd
•Bank of Baroda has entered into MoU with POORTI Agri Services Pvt. Ltd to enable the farmers to purchase agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, seeds etc. provided by POORTI. This is a Platform for Online Ordering & Rural Transformation of India known as “POORTI”.
•Poorti is a well-established company providing multi-party mobile commerce platform for easy ordering of fertilizers, pesticides, seeds by farmers with loans given by banks.
6) Viswanathan Anand Wins World Rapid Chess Championship
•India’s ace chess player Viswanathan Anand won the World Rapid Chess tournament title in Saudi Arabia by beating Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break.
•Saudi Arabia hosted the world chess tournament for the first time. The women’s title was won by China’s Ju Wenjun.Dronavalli Harika was the best-placed Indian, finishing 19th.
