1) Supreme Court Declares Right to Privacy as Fundamental Right
•The Supreme Court of India pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar ruled that the right to privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty, thus coming under Article 21, and comes under the various fundamental freedoms in PART III of the Indian Constitution.
•All the nine judges arrive at the same conclusion, though through different but concurring judgments, that right to privacy is intrinsic to right to life and liberty. With this now India has total seven fundamental rights.
2) Cabinet Renames SAMPADA Scheme as PMKSY
•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the renaming of the new Central Sector Scheme- SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) as "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)" for the period of 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle.
•The new Central Sector Scheme- SAMPADA was approved in May 2017 with same allocation and period. The objective of PMKSY is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste.
3) Sushma Swaraj to Inaugurate First Videsh Bhavan in Mumbai
•External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate the country's first Videsh Bhavan, assimilating all Regional Passport Offices under one roof, at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
•As a first pilot project, four offices of MEA - Regional Passport Office (RPO), Protector of Emigrants (PoE) office, Branch Secretariat and Regional Office of ICCR - have been assimilated and brought under one roof at the state-of-art office.
4) Andhra Pradesh First to Implement Bharat QR Digital Payments
•Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd. (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR.
•As part of the ‘Vizag less–cash city’ initiative underway between Visa and the Andhra Pradesh government, the state has witnessed a slew of initiatives aimed at increasing the rate of digital payment adoption across the masses.
5) Ashwani Lohani: New Railway Board Chairman
•Ashwani Lohani, the CMD of Air India has been named as the new Chairman of Railway Board, following the resignation on A.K. Mittal. Ashwani Lohani, an IRSME cadre has previously served as DRM, Delhi Division.
•Mr. Lohani holds four engineering degrees, has authored two books and is credited with the turnaround of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the India Tourism Development Corporation.
6) TRAI Signs Deal with Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission
•The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to jointly conduct capacity building exercises in the fields of broadcasting and telecommunications regulation.
•The agreement would help both regulators to work closely in enhancing mutual cooperation and bilateral relations.
