As the world’s economy transitions into one where economic value is created by bringing about disruption, and consequently behavioural change, governments know they have to create ample runway space for startups to take off. With that in mind, five years ago, the central government took this into consideration and launched the Startup India Scheme on… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Five Years of Startup India Scheme

India battles on multi-layered fronts to counter cross-border terrorism. Our security forces are constantly engaged in creating an environment of security in the country.  They have been quite successful in diagnosing and executing them. The airstrike after the Pulwama attack and the earlier surgical strike made clear the zero-tolerance policy of India towards terrorism. Context… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Terrorism and the World

This December, we commemorated the 30th anniversary of the HDI. Out of 189 countries, India has ranked 131 on the Human Development Index 2020 prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). With an HDI value of 0.645, the country fell in the medium human development category. People are the real wealth of a nation.… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Three Decades of Human Development Index (HDI)

Our PM has inaugurated Rewari-Madar section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).  He also flagged off the world’s first double-stack long-haul 1.5-km-long container train hauled by electric traction from New Ateli-New Kishangarh. Last month, he had inaugurated a 351-km section between Khurja and Bhaupur in Uttar Pradesh for commercial operations. For years, freight trains suffered… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Dedicated Freight Corridors

Ethiopia has been on the brink of a civil war. On Nov 4 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war on the country’s Tigray region. The Tigray region is ruled by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The war was declared in response to the TPLF’s attack on a federal military base in Tigray. The… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Ethiopian Crisis and the Geopolitics

We owe it to the next generation who will have to bear the burden of climate change and pay off the debt of the recovery….. The international community, including the European Union (EU) and India, gathered at the Climate Ambition Summit 2020. The Summit was held on the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. This… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Five Years of Paris Agreement

The rising abuse of narcotic drugs in India has come to limelight after the alleged suicide of a notable actor due to depression induced by chronic drug abuse. Since then, the Narcotics Control Bureau has been making high profile arrests over drugs possession (notably the cannabis). And again in a contrary move, India surprisingly voted… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Substance Abuse in India

Universal vaccination programs have eliminated smallpox and reduced serious diseases including measles, mumps, rotavirus, and polio. But in the coming few months, India will witness another great event in its history — the great Covid vaccination exercise. This is vaccination going to be one of the most anticipated events in the country. This mass universal… Continue reading [Burning Issue] COVID-19 Vaccination Challenges

The ongoing stand-off between the Union government and protesting farmers does not show any signs of a resolution at the moment. Farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the three agriculture laws enacted by the central government. The situation is extremely volatile since the farmers are determined not to leave Delhi and… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Farmers Agitation

Dr. B R Ambedkar, in his lecture “Castes in India” in 1916 – “One of the most intrinsic characteristics of the caste system is endogamy, which prohibits marriage outside of caste and the maintenance of caste in India is premised on the enforcement of strict endogamy.“ Discourse on interfaith marriages in India at present involves diverse narratives ranging from opposition and resistance to… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Inter-faith Marriages and Related Issues

India is one of such paradises on earth where you can speak your heart out without the fear of someone gunning you down for that, or, it has been until now. Even if the situation of Indians is a lot better than that of their fellow citizens of other nations, the picture is not really… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Kerala’s Gagging Law

India’s decision to stay out of the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, Asia’s mega free-trade agreement (FTA), has been met both with a sense of approval and disappointment and divided economists on the issue. Context Last week, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed by 15 countries led by China, Japan, South… Continue reading [Burning Issue] India’s exit from RCEP

Early this year, our PM attended the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) virtual summit, after previously skipping two summits. Not attending that last few summits, had signalled India’s sudden departure away from NAM and having adopted the policy of multi-alignment. This has raised eyebrows of those who still believe in the true spirit of Non-Alignment of which… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Strategic Autonomy vs NAM

India and the US are the two largest democracies in the world but the electoral systems of the two countries are poles apart. While the Indian system is charmingly simple, the US system is extremely complex and confusing. Let’s have a look at that: A Brief about the US parliamentary system The senate of the US… Continue reading [Burning Issue] US and Indian Election System: A Comparison

“In an economy that is overleveraged to historic proportions, economic stimuli may not do the trick.” – Kenneth Eade Several governments across the world have announced fiscal stimulus measures to help their respective economies stay afloat. India, with large swathes of people facing the risk of infection, has nothing significant so far to show to… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Fiscal Stimulus & COVID

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has last month approved ‘Natural Gas Marketing Reforms’, taking another significant step to move towards a gas-based economy. What is Natural Gas? Natural gas is a fossil fuel source consisting primarily of methane. It is the cleanest fossil fuels among the available fossil fuels. It is used as a… Continue reading [Burning Issue] India’s push for a Gas-based Economy

Food has deep ties to culture, religion, ethnicity and most Indians regard food as sanctified or holy. We celebrate, mourn, express, entertain, donate and thrive on the food, boasting of countless regional delicacies, inherited recipes, as we continue to seek pride in our spicy curries and rich sugary deserts. The latest Global Hunger Index 2020… Continue reading [Burning Issue] India’s quest for Zero Hunger

The judiciary is weakened by the very act of publication when legal remedies are not accessed. When that happens, ‘We the People’ are the losers. Andhra Pradesh CM has stirred a hornet’s nest by writing to the Chief Justice of India complaining about a Supreme Court judge for allegedly influencing posting of cases in the… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Uproar over AP CM’s letter to CJI

“Information is the currency of democracy.” – Thomas Jefferson Fifteen years have passed since the Right to Information Act, 2005 was enacted.   With this Act, India took a step forward to move away from the colonial system of arbitrary government to an era of more transparent and accountable government. What led to the introduction… Continue reading [Burning Issue] 15 Years of Right to Information