Our mythology is replete with instances of warrior women who were revered, worshipped like the `Shakti’, consort of Shiva the Destroyer, mother of all warriors, and who manifested herself as Durga the warrior goddess, to fight and destroy evil. The Greek Goddess Athena, the Roman Diana, the Nordic Valkyries and the Amazons are cases in… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Women in Armed Forces

      Land acquisition in India refers to the process by which the union or a state government in India acquires private land for the purpose of industrialization, development of infrastructural facilities or urbanization of the private land, and provides compensation to the affected landowners and their rehabilitation and resettlement. Land acquisition is governed… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Supreme Court judgment on Land Acquisition Act

      The government has embarked on a mission to amalgamate about 40 labour laws into four Labour Codes with a view to rationalise and simplify the provisions and facilitate ease of compliance. The Code on Social Security, 2019 was introduced last year in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Labour and… Continue reading [Burning Issue] The Code on Social Security, 2019

The fragile peace deal between the United States and the Taliban appeared to hang in the balance as the U.S. Defense Department announced its first airstrike against Taliban forces in 11 days and bitter disagreements between the radical Islamist movement and the Afghan government, as well as internal divisions in Kabul, threatened to nullify the… Continue reading [Burning Issue] The US-Taliban Peace Agreement

    Surrogacy in India and Indian surrogates became increasingly popular amongst intended parents in industrialized nations because of the relatively low costs and easy access offered by Indian surrogacy agencies. Before commercial surrogacy was banned in 2015, India was a popular destination for surrogacy. The economic scale of surrogacy in India is unknown, but… Continue reading [Burning Issue] The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020

    Donald Trump’s visit to India continues a trend of more and more frequent visits by US Presidents. He is the first US President to visit India on a stand-alone visit in the seven decades of Indo-US diplomatic ties. US Presidents who came to India before him, from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama, all… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Trump in India

  Nearly nine decades after the 1932 Poona pact between B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi that initiated reservation for backward classes, the debate on social justice is only getting shriller. In the latest, a February 7 Supreme Court order, that states that reservation is not a fundamental right, has sparked an intense political debate and… Continue reading [Burning Issue] SC judgement on Reservation not being a Fundamental Right

    Key recommendations in the first report (2020-21 period) include:   Devolution of taxes to states The share of states in the centre’s taxes is recommended to be decreased from 42% during the 2015-20 period to 41% for 2020-21. The 1% decrease is to provide for the newly formed union territories of Jammu and… Continue reading [Burning Issue] 15th Finance Commission and its recommendations (Part II)

  Context The Finance Commission is a constitutional body formed by the President of India to give suggestions on centre-state financial relations. The 15th Finance Commission was required to submit two reports. The commission’s chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh. The first report,… Continue reading [Burning Issue] 15th Finance Commission and its recommendations (Part I)

  Estimates Prominent themes of the Budget 2020     Agriculture A budget allocation of ₹2.83 lakh crore for the sector comprising agriculture and allied activities. Doubling farmers incomes by 2022. Agri-credit availability set at ₹15 lakh crore for 2020-21. Comprehensive measures for 100 water stressed districts. Provide 20 lakh farmers to set up standalone… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Highlights of the Union Budget 2020

  Context Finance Minister has said that the government will sell a part of its holding in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) through an initial public offering (IPO). The government owns 100 per cent of LIC. The government’s move is a part of efforts to push through an aggressive disinvestment and asset monetisation programme.… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Divestment of LIC

Context With West Asia Peace plan the US plans to revive the stalled two-state talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Israel has consistently been encroaching more and more in the West Bank through its settlements. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who had earlier spoken against the two-state solution, has accepted the Trump plan. Background After… Continue reading [Burning Issue] West Asia Peace Plan

  The MHA, the Assam government and the Bodo groups have signed an agreement to redraw and rename the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) in Assam, currently spread over four districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri. Several Bodo groups led have been demanding a separate land for the ethnic community since 1972, a movement… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Comprehensive Bodo Settlement Agreement

  An outbreak of a new Coronavirus that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan has already killed at least 106 people in China. Infections have been confirmed in many other countries. But of the 4,500 people who have so far contracted the virus, the vast majority live in China. With crumbling health infrastructure due… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Outbreak of Coronavirus

  Context The recently released ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) is an annual survey released by NGO Pratham. It aims to provide reliable annual estimates of children’s schooling status and basic learning levels for each state and rural district in India. It is the largest citizen-led survey in India and is also the only… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Annual Status of Education Report 2019

The Ministry of Home Affairs has presided over the signing of an agreement between Union Government, Governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives to end the 23-year old Bru-Reang refugee crisis. 37,000 people of the Bru (or Reang) community were forced to flee their homes to neighbouring Tripura due to severe ethnic clashes in… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Bru– Reang Repatriation Agreement

  Nowadays, India is widely considered to be a world leader in cutting off access to the Net. Yet, there are no detailed official data on Internet shutdowns in India. Taking a serious note of the situation, the Supreme Court has for the first time set the stage for challenging such suspension orders before courts.… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Internet Shutdowns in India

Context In an attempt to attract investments in coal mining, the Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020. With this India has opened up the coal sector completely for commercial mining for all local and global firms after easing restrictions on end-use and prior experience in auctions. The move is sought… Continue reading [Burning Issue] The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020

Context Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court in a recent judgement has held that the state is well within its rights to introduce a regulatory regime in the “national interest” to provide minority educational institutions with well-qualified teachers in order… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Regulation of Minority Institutions