The Hindu Analysis 13 July 2018

            
 Justice Malhotra makes a case against Sec. 377

• Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman judge on the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court hearing the fight against Section 377 of the IPC, made a strong case against criminalisation of homosexuality
• Justice Malhotra, the junior-most member of the Bench of five led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said homosexuality is only a variation and not an aberration
• But the prejudice and stigma piled on the LGBTQ community has denied it even basic medical care in the country.  
• The community is so inhibited by societal scorn that it prefers to forego medical care, especially in rural and semi-urban parts of the country, Justice Malhotra said.
• On the third consecutive day of hearing, Justice Malhotra spoke of the pressure on homosexual people from within the home. They succumb to marry the opposite sex, leading to a life of mental trauma and bi-sexuality.  
• The judge spoke of how homosexuality is not against the order of nature and is nature itself. Hundreds of animal species show the same sexual orientation.

 Inflation now at a 5-month high of 5% 

• Retail inflation rose to 5 per cent in June, a five-month high despite easing food prices, government data showed on Thursday.
• The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.87 per cent in May. It was 1.46 per cent in June 2017.
• The earlier high was in January this year at 5.07 per cent.
• As per the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the inflation in the food basket was 2.91 per cent, compared to 3.1 per cent in May.
• The inflation in fuel and light category, however, went up to 7.14 per cent as against 5.8 per cent in May.
• The government has mandated the Reserve Bank of India to keep inflation at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
• The RBI Governor headed Monetary Policy Committee will be meeting later this month to review the interest rate regime. 

 Ladakh’s connectivity conundrum

• At a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday to discuss issues in the implementation of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP), an official from Jammu and Kashmir said connectivity was a major issue in the Ladakh region. 
• In areas bordering China, only Chinese telecom services were available, not those of Indian operators.
• The meeting was attended by the magistrates of 25 districts in 17 States, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.
• Leh Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa showed the satellite images of the development on the Chinese side. She briefed the Minister of the connectivity issues in the border areas.
• Under the BADP, the Union government plans to develop villages located 0-10 km from the international borders and make them “self-sustainable.” A Home Ministry spokesperson said 61 villages were identified for being developed as ‘model villages,’ with health centres, schools and drinking water supply, and Rs. 126 crore was released for this purpose.
• The governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal highlighted their achievements under the BADP, and the steps taken to improve the quality of life for the people in the border areas.

 

 ‘Costs of not adhering to the U.S. sanctions are quite stiff'

• The costs of not adhering to the U.S. sanctions on trade with Iran will be very high, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian said, adding that India stood to be negatively affected by the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing.
•  What is the likely impact of the ongoing trade tiff involving the U.S., China, and India?   Or is India too small compared to the other two?

• We wrote a piece where we were surprised at how strong the revenue performance has been in the first year. It’s the first time anybody has done this analysis since we have access to the data on the first nine months of the GST performance. We see about 11.9% growth, a buoyancy of 1.2 which is historically rarely seen for indirect taxes. At a time when growth decelerated and when major tariffs rate cuts were implemented, it is unprecedented.

• Second, consistent with my revenue neutral report and against what everyone said, the compensation requirements are only about Rs. 5,000 crore for the entire first year, in the first year of implementation for the entire country. So, what this means is that, sooner rather than later, if the compensation requirements are lower than expected, then the entire rate structure and the cesses can be rethought.

 


                                  A file photo of the inflatable Trump Baby in London. 
 Trump stokes Brexit turmoil 

• Shrugging off the plans for mass protests, which on Friday will include a giant baby-shaped blimp bearing Mr. Trump’s features, he said in Brussels: “They like me a lot in the U.K. I think they agree with me on immigration. “I think that’s why Brexit happened,” he told a news conference before flying to Stansted Airport north of London.
• Mr. Trump is doing his best to avoid the mass protests planned for his controversial trip, which will include talks with Ms. May, tea with Queen Elizabeth II and a private weekend in Scotland.
• Some 77% of Britons have an unfavourable view of Trump, according to a poll by YouGov with 1,648 respondents. The poll conducted this week said 63% found Mr. Trump racist, and 74% said he was sexist.
• London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who signed off on the so-called ‘Baby Trump’ blimp, defended the decision on Thursday, arguing the protests were not anti-American but emblematic of free speech.
• Despite a series of diplomatic spats between Britain and Mr. Trump, the British government is hoping for a quick trade deal with the U.S. after it leaves the EU.

 

Putin is not an enemy

• U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he sees his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as a “competitor”, not an “enemy”, days before they meet for a high-stakes summit.
• Mr. Trump said he would be discussing the civil war in Syria, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
• “I will be asking about meddling, your favourite question,” he told reporters. “All I can do is say ‘did you?’ and ‘don't do it again’. He may deny,” Mr. Trump added. The U.S. President was also asked if he would be prepared to recognise Crimea as part of Russia after it was annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014.
• “What will happen to Crimea from this point on? That I can’t tell you, but I’m not happy about Crimea.” He blamed Barack Obama “who allowed it to happen.”

 

 Wimbledon 2018: Kerber, Serena set to reprise 2016 showdown

•  Two former World No. 1-ranked players swept their way into the Wimbledon women’s singles final by making quick work of their opponents in two brutally short sets.
• Continuing her imperious march, Serena Williams blew away Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-2, 6-4. Earlier on Centre Court, another German, Angelique Kerber, overcame Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3.

 Hima Das brings home India’s first ever track gold at the Worlds

•  India’s long wait for a track gold at an IAAF World Championships is over. Hima Das, who virtually went into the final as the top seed, lived up to that billing taking the women’s 400m gold at the World under-20 athletics championships here on Thursday.
• The 18-year-old from Assam, who had clocked the fastest times in the two earlier rounds at Tampere, once again produced a strong finish to bring the historic gold in 51.46s.
• She was slightly behind around the 300m but as the others appeared to fade away, Hima – who personal best stands at 51.13s, proved that she had enough gas in the tank to take the medal that mattered.

 

 IND vs ENG: India rides on Kuldeep and Rohit’s brilliant performances

• Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled the English batsmen with a mesmerising spell before Rohit Sharma’s sublime century saw India cruise to an eight-wicket victory in the first One-Day Inetrnational here on Thursday.
• Kuldeep’s career-best figures of six for 25 allowed England to only score a modest 268 in good batting conditions.  
• The chase was a stroll in the park as the runs were knocked off in only 40.1 overs courtesy Rohit’s (137 not out). The opener’s 18th ODI hundred was complemented by skipper Virat Kohli (75) as the two added 177 runs in 25.1 overs to seal the issue.