Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 25 September 2016

PM talked directly to the people of Pakistan

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi s first public speech after the terror attack in Uri did not disappoint in the sharpness of its message to Pakistan.
• He invoked the people of Pakistan in a direct dialogue, urging them to fight common socioeconomic ills that alict both neighbours, while warning that country's leadership that any threat to India's security will be strongly met.
• Speaking at a well-attended public meeting on the Kozhikode beach on Saturday on the sidelines of the BJP national council meet, Mr. Modi also accused Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of reading from a script prepared by terrorists at the United Nations General Assembly last week, in his serenade to Kashmir .
• Taking forward his Balochistan speech at the Red Fort on August 15, Mr. Modi reminded Pakistan of its own internal strife in Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit.
• The rally, held on the first day of the national council meeting, was expected to contain a strong message to Pakistan and address the outrage both in the country and Sangh cadre.

PMO intervenes on rail tariff regulator issue

• The Prime Minister’s Office has asked the Railways to apply the brakes on its ambitious fast track plan to set up an independent regulator for freight and passenger tariffs
• The PMO has asked the Ministry to follow the legislative route to create the regulator rather than push it through an executive order.
• The Ministry had proposed Rail Development Authority by issuing a notification through an executive order and subsequently strengthen its powers through the legislative process, in a bid to bypass possible hurdles in Parliament.
• After decision to merge the rail Budget with the general Budget, Railway Minister had cited setting up of an independent regulator to determine tarif as per the market demand as the topmost priority for the Railways.
•  The legislative route may be a major setback for the Railways on this front, as it was banking on creating the independent regulator this year in order to perk up its worse-than-expected financial performance in the first half of this fiscal year.