August, 2017: Cabinet approves framework for merger of public sector banks

The Union Cabinet gave its in-principle approval for Public Sector Banks to amalgamate through an Alternative Mechanism (AM). The decision would facilitate consolidation among the Nationalised Banks to create strong and competitive banks.

Salient Features

The salient features of the approval Framework for Consolidation of Public Sector Banks are as follows:·

August, 2017: Supreme Court strikes down triple talaq

A five-judge constitutional bench by a 3:2 majority judgment said there is no constitutional protection for triple talaq as it is arbitrary and "whimsical" as it leaves no scope for conciliation and violates Muslim women's rights.

Justices Kurian Joseph, Rohinton Fali Nariman, and Uday Umesh Lalit held that triple talaq is not integral to Islam, is bad in law and lacks approval of the Shariat. Chief Justice J S Khehar and justice S Abdul Nazeer held triple talaq to be part of fundamental right to religion of Muslims and said it was not unconstitutional.

August, 2017: Supreme Court Declares Right To Privacy Is Fundamental Right Under Constitution

The Supreme Court pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty” and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution.

July, 2017: India ranks third in terms of terror attacks world over

India has witnessed the third highest number of terrorist attacks in 2016, more than Pakistan that has slipped to the fourth position, according to the latest data compiled by the US State Department.

Iraq with 2,965 terrorist attacks and Afghanistan with 1,340 terrorist attacks, were ranked first and second position respectively, followed by India that recorded 927 attacks and Pakistan at 734 attacks, the department said in its Country Report on Terrorism. The department said more than half of the terrorist attacks in India in 2016 took place in four states: Jammu and Kashmir at 19%, Chhattisgarh at 18%, Manipur at 12%, and Jharkhand at 10%.

July, 2017: IMF retains India’s GDP growth rate at 7.2%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained India's economic growth projections at 7.2 per cent in 2017-18, up slightly from 7.1 per cent in the previous year. However, the growth would accelerate to 7.7 per cent in 2018-19, IMF said while also maintaining the growth rate level projected in April.

June, 2017: Trump announces US withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement

President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement, an extraordinary move that dismayed America’s allies and set back the global effort to address the warming planet.

Trump’s decision set off alarms worldwide, drawing swift and sharp condemnation from foreign leaders as well as top environmentalists and corporate titans, who decried the U.S. exit from the Paris accord as an irresponsible abdication of American leadership in the face of irrefutable scientific evidence.

Trump, who has labeled climate change a “hoax,” made good on a campaign promise to “cancel” the Paris agreement and Obama-era regulations that he said were decimating industries and killing jobs. The president cast his decision as a “reassertion of America’s sovereignty,” arguing that the climate pact as negotiated under President Barack Obama was grossly unfair to the U.S. workers he had vowed to protect with his populist “America First” platform.