‘AGRI PROFIT GROWTH MAY NOT AID RURAL DEMAND’
Focus: GS-III Agriculture, Indian Economy Introduction Agriculture is one of the few bright spots in an economy ravaged by COVID-19, with good rains expected to boost production and profits, especially in the paddy crop. However, economists said individual farmers are unlikely to see any hike in their own income. Arguments supporting why the income of […]
DRDO IDENTIFIES 108 SUBSYSTEMS FOR PRIVATE SECTOR
Focus: GS-III Internal Security Challenges Why in news? Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) provided a list of 108 systems and sub-systems to Defence Minister which have been identified for indigenous development only. Details DRDO will also provide its support to industries in this development process. This will pave the way for Indian Defence industry […]
CHINESE ADVANCED WARSHIP FOR PAKISTAN NAVY
Focus: GS-III International Relations Why in news? China has launched first of the four advanced naval warships it is building for Pakistan, amid deepening defence ties between the two all-weather allies. Details Pakistan-China defence ties turn a new chapter with the launch of the first ship of Type-054 class frigate. The Type-054 class, equipped with […]
QUESTIONS REMAIN OVER SUCCESS OF PMUY
Focus: GS-II Social Justice Why in news? The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, PMUY scheme was aimed at achieving a shift from polluting to cleaner methods of cooking, and it has overshot its target of giving 80 million free LPG connections. Details The data also shows that in the last four years (2016-2020), PMUY connections account […]
COVID CASES IN BONDAS TRIBAL COMMUNITY
Focus: GS-I Indian Society Why in news? The COVID-19 pandemic has reached the Bondas, a tribal community residing in the hill ranges of Malkangiri district in Odisha. Bonda people The Bonda (also known as the Bondo, Bondo Poraja, Bhonda, or Remo) are a Munda ethnic group who live in the isolated hill regions of the […]
DNA BILL CAN BE MISUSED, FLAGS DRAFT REPORT
Focus: GS-II Governance Why in news? The Bill that proposes DNA sampling and profiling of citizens accused of crime or reported missing and storing their unique genetic information for administrative purposes has some alarming provisions that could be misused for caste or community-based profiling, a draft report of the parliamentary standing committee on science and […]
INDIA’S INFLATION TARGETING RAISES TOUGH QUESTIONS
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy What is the new monetary framework? The new monetary framework was an outcome of the agreement between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the central government signed in 2015. The agreement explicitly made inflation targeting the objective of the MPC while using the repo rate as the instrument for it. […]
INDIA DOES NEED A FISCAL COUNCIL
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction The fiscal situation in India has been under severe stress even before COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus pandemic has only worsened it. While the prevailing exceptional circumstance warrants loosening of purse strings, it is necessary that the government must return to a credible fiscal consolidation path once the crisis gets […]
REVERSING HEALTH SECTOR NEGLECT WITH A REFORM AGENDA
Focus: GS-II Social Justice Introduction Two countries which lead in the COVID-19 cases tally in the world today, namely the United States (first) and India (third), are also the ones where the need for health-care reform post COVID-19 has been most keenly felt. This is due to the lack of effective universal health coverage (UHC) […]
THE CHALLENGE OF CATCHING ELUSIVE TAXPAYERS
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction India’s tax collection is set to decline sharply in 2020 because of the decline in national income and fall in employment due to COVID-19. Thus, the fiscal deficit in the budget is set to rise unless other expenditures are cut. However, there are committed expenditures which cannot be curtailed and […]