Morning Brief: India Among Countries Where Trust In Government High: Survey At Davos; Nun Who Protested Against Rape Accused Bishop Gets Warning; And More

Good Morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news brief for today.

India Among Countries Where Trust In Government Remains High

Bucking the global trend of rising distrust in governments, India has found a place among countries in which the trust in government and optimism about the future remains high, a reputed survey has shown. The survey, called the Edelman trust barometer report, is released in Davos annually. According to reports, trust in institutions in India rose by four points to 72 in 2018. India was placed in the third spot, behind Indonesia and, surprisingly, China.

In a boost for Prime Minister Modi, trust in government in India rose four points to 74. In this category, it was ranked fourth after UAE, Indonesia and China. Trust in media, however, remained low despite an increase by three points to 63. Trust in NGOs remained high with the score rising four points to 72.

Fifth Nun Who Protested Against Rape Accused Bishop Gets Warning

Sister Neena Rose, one of the five nuns who had organised a protest against rape accused bishop Franco Mulakkal in Kochi last September, has received a warning letter from her congregation Missionaries of Jesus to shed her “rebellious attitude”. She has been asked to explain the reasons “for abdicating the basic tenets of religious life and resorting to activities which amount to sheer violation of congregation rules.” This development comes soon after four other nuns, who had participated in the protest, were asked to leave the convent and return to the vocations they were previously assigned.

Earlier, one of the nuns who took part in the protest received a warning from the congregation for leading a life “against principles of religious life”. The nuns had protested against bishop Franco Mullakkal of the Jalandhar diocese after a nun had accused him of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Democratic Front government of Kerala has been accused of not taking action against the bishop. It appointed a special prosecutor after the nuns threatened to resume protests.

China Has Cut Army’s Size By 50 Per Cent, Says State Media

China’s People’s Liberation Army “now accounts for less than 50 per cent of the total number of troops” and officer numbers had been cut by 30 per cent, the state news agency Xinhua has reported, according to the South China Morning Post. The move, a part of the army’s restructuring, has boosted other branches of the service such as the navy, air force, rocket force and the strategic support force.

This doesn’t come as a surprise as China has significantly cut down the size of its land forces in the last four decades – by nearly a million men in 1985, about 500,000 in 1997, 200,000 in 2003 and over 300,000 in 2015. Now, according to Xinhua, “almost half of our non-combatant units have been made redundant”. In 2013, the PLA had a total of 2.3 million servicemen. Out of the five independent branches, only 235,000 of these were of the Navy and 398,000 of the Air Force.

Central Universities To Add Up To Three Lakh Seats For 10 Per Cent Quota

The introduction of 10 per cent quota for the economically backward of the general category will add up to three lakh seats in centrally funded institutions in two phases over 2019-20 and 2020-21, the Times of India has reported. According to the daily’s report, the number of seats in IITs and IIMs will increase by 5,100 and 800, respectively, by 2021. Large institutions like Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University will add 16,000 and 346 seats, respectively.

The Centre has asked states to implement the quota. If the states go ahead, there will be a 25 per cent increase intake. "The addition of 10 per cent EWS seats will increase the intake by around 25 per cent. This will be around 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh seats in central-supported institutions," said a government official.

From Swarajya

In Modi’s Watch, Billionaire Raj Was Actually Brought Down A Peg

If there is one thing Narendra Modi can be proud of, it is in bringing down the cockiness of billionaires, who thought their billions will never melt away, never mind how badly they ran their companies.

RuPay Moves Towards Bhutan, India Towards Integrating South Asian Economies

Depending on the success of the financial switch integration with Bhutan, India will move towards similar arrangements with friendly nations in the region with which India has strong ties in trade and tourism.

Reality Check: Were Indian Farmers Really Robbed Of Rs 45 Lakh Crore?

The real story is not that the farmers have been plundered of Rs 45 lakh crore, but that the money intended to benefit them actually ended up ruining their future because politicians sought short-term electoral benefits.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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