Important News That Missed The Headlines Amidst Extensive Coverage Of Sridevi’s Demise

Actress and Padma Shri awardee Sridevi passed away on the February 24. The sudden demise of the cinematic legend has left her fans grieving. There has been a vast media coverage over the actress’s death. Unnecessary details of her death have covered prime time news. Many news portals have been showing various conspiracy theory around Sridevi’s death. This extensive coverage has proved to be extremely insensitive towards Sridevi and her family.

This prolonged and in-depth coverage of Sridevi has put a smokescreen on various other important issues that have occurred in past few days. Here are the issues that we should have been talking about:

1) Huge protest against SSC: Aspirants for the Staff Selection Commission – Combined Graduate Level Examination (SSC CGL) 2017 staged huge protests over alleged paper leak and mass cheating. The SSC scam has impacted several students whose future is now at stake.

2) Syrian crisis: Airstrikes and bombings have killed about 500 civilians including 121 children in the Eastern Ghouta, a rebel enclave near Damascus. On February 24, the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations. The draft, however, said that the ceasefire would not include certain groups recognised as terrorist organisations.

3) Unemployment at an all-time high: A recent report published by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an independent think-tank, revealed that unemployment rose to 7.1% by February 25. This number is highest since October 2016. The report also says that February 2018 will see the highest unemployment rate in the last 15-16 months.

4) CMAT 2018: The Common Management Admission Test-2018 held on January 20 has raised several eyebrows as the exam, which was held across 75 cities at 177 centres, in the country had 70% toppers from the same exam centre.

5) About Rs 3 Lakh Crore Loans Of Banks ‘Irreversible’: Bibek Debroy, the chief of PM Modi’s economic advisory council, said that about 30% of bad loans in Indian banks may be irretrievably lost.

6) Haryana Human Rights Commission memberless: A report indicated that the post of the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) chairperson has been lying vacant for the last 19 months and the post of the two other members has not been filled for the past five months. Out of the 83 sanctioned posts, 34 posts were also lying vacant. The Gau Seva panel of the state, on the other hand, has 16 members.

7) TISS protests: The students at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have been protesting against the administration’s decision to withdraw fee waiver offered by the institute to SC and ST students eligible for the Government of India Post-Matric Scholarship (GoI-PMS). The students’ union has called for a bandh across TISS campuses.

The Registrar wrote in a notification that the fee waiver was extended when the institute was small, and this was not mandated as per rules of the GoI. Increase in size of student population and the cut in non-plan budget over the last decade “has made it unsustainable for the institute to offer such suo moto facility to the students.” The administration said that it has been making efforts to generate resources to meet the fund deficits.

8) 2007 Gorakhpur riots: The Allahabad High Court on February 22 dismissed a writ petition demanding a CBI investigation into the role of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s role in the 2007 riots in Gorakhpur. The justice bench headed by Justice Krishna Murari and Justice AC Sharma declined to entertain the petition by Parvez Parwaz and Asad Ayaz, which was filed in 2008.

9) 9 children killed and 20+ injured by Bolero allegedly driven by drunk BJP leader: A Mahindra Bolero allegedly driven by a drunk BJP leader lost control and rammed into a government school which is situated on the outskirts of Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The school is situated on NH 77. At least nine students were killed and more than 20 were injured. Initially, BJP distanced itself from Baitha and said that there is no office bearer from BJP with that name. The minister later surrendered.

10) Slashed airfare on ‘Haj’ pilgrims: Government introduced reduced airfare for people going on ‘Haj’. This reduction comes a month after the Haj subsidy was abolished. Union Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi called it a “major step”. He also said that this “historic step” had been undertaken under the motto of “Development with dignity” carried out under the leadership of Narendra Modi, as quoted by PTI.

11) The US to impose 25% tariff on steel imports: US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminium to protect US producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe and neighbouring Canada. President Trump wants to diminish Chinese steel imports in order to protect the US’s steel industry from overseas competition and improve the traditional blue-collar manufacturing jobs – a move that might prove disadvantageous for free trade.