Newspaper Articles- 16th Aug 2016

The Hindu

National

Drones better than satellites to gauge crop loss, says panel : The government’s objective is to increase the number of insured farmers from the current 20 per cent to 50 per cent within three years. A panel that submits its report to the Niti Ayog says that use of drones will help assess crop loss better. The current satellite system – even those with resolution of 10 meters fails because of cloud cover on some days.

International

‘Sri Lanka-India economic pact may soon be a reality’ : India-Sri Lanka bilateral trade stood at $4.6 billion last year, of which Indian exports were valued at about $4 billion, said the diplomat. Nearly 60 per cent of Sri Lankan exports were making use of the FTA whereas 90 per cent Indian exports did not use the channel. An economic pact between India & Sri Lanka is on the cards.

Business

Gold import plunges 52.5% in April-July : Gold Imports have halved in the last four months , keeping in check the current account deficit. Can you answer why?

Steel Ministry wants review of policies affecting producers : India wants to promote domestic steel production. So the government did something – curb the import of steel. Now the industry says – domestic steel production wont happen because of two reasons – clean energy cess and railway freight policy. Read more.

Editorial

Finding the right measure : The discretion on spending public funds must go. A union Minister says he spent most of his funds on creating 100 Hindu crematoriums. Is this justified?

Not only the mother’s responsibility : The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 11, is a shallow attempt at protecting maternity, and one that does not adequately embrace a human rights approach, says Swagat Raha.

Source:: Forumias