The Daily Brief – 13th September, 2016

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• The Supreme Court, on hearing Karnataka‘s appeal against the order requiring water release to Tamil Nadu, has refused to stay the order. Instead, the Court ordered Karnataka to release 12,000 Cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu until the 20th of September. Following this, large scale violence erupted in several parts of Karnataka as well as Tamil Nadu.
• The Union Government has issued model guidelines for states to regulate direct selling and multi-level marketing businesses to protect consumers from Ponzi frauds. These model guidelines titled the Direct Selling Guidelines 2016 were released by Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in New Delhi. A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud where investors are promised large returns for small investments with minimal risks.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give a major push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the signing of the Bilateral Technical Arrangement (BTA) between India and Switzerland on the identification and return of Indian and Swiss Nationals and its implementation. The BTA aims to formalise the existing procedure for cooperation on return of irregular migrants between the two countries without introducing any additional obligations or exacting time frames.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Kenya on cooperation in the field of National Housing Policy Development and Management (NHPDM). The MoU was signed between both countries in July 2016 at Nairobi during the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 5 African nations.
• India and France have reached a deal regarding the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets. The deal, expected to cost just under $8 billion, was announced by Mr. Modi in Paris last year.
• The Union government has rolled out a helpline for India Post consumers to register complaints about postal services. The toll-free number ‘1924’ will be operational from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. initially on working days.
• China and Russia began their first naval exercises in the South China Sea, setting the stage for a deeper military and political engagement. This is despite the ICJ’s ruling rejecting China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

• Australian authorities have announced that Great Barrier Reef has almost fully recovered from the worst coral bleaching ever known in recent history.

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