Context In an acknowledgement that the more than a century-old system of prisons in India needs repair. In this context, the Supreme Court formed a committee on prison reforms.  Headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Amitava Roy, it is to look into the entire gamut of reforms to the prison system. But this is not the first time that… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Need of Prison Reforms

Context President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Mr Wickremesinghe, replacing him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The President subsequently prorogued Parliament for over two weeks, deferring the possibility of a floor test until November 16. INTRODUCTION The recent political turmoil in Sri Lanka brings to the surface the debate on domestic issues vis-à-vis South Asian geopolitics. The… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka

Where India, Japan ties stand now and what is planned for the future Context The 13th India-Japan annual summit commenced with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe visiting a factory of FANUC Corporation, one of the largest makers of industrial robots in the world. The visit to the FANUC facility was important in the context of India’s… Continue reading [Burning Issue] India Japan Relations: Current Status, Future Prospects

Why in news? The Union Cabinet has cleared the National Medical Commission Bill, which does away with the Medical Council of India (MCI) The bill replaces MCI with a regulator that will do away with “heavy-handed regulatory control” over medical institutions Present structure Presently Medical education in India is regulated by the MCI The Medical Council… Continue reading [Burning Issue] National Medical Commission Bill

Context Since 2017, October 15 is celebrated as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas in India. INTRODUCTION Economic Survey 2017-18, says that with growing rural to urban migration by men, there is ‘feminisation’ of agriculture sector, with increasing number of women in multiple roles as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and labourers. Globally, there is empirical evidence that women have… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Feminisation of agriculture sector

Why in news? Recently, a loan agreement of US$ 125.00 million was signed between India and World Bank for a National Biopharma Mission’s project titled “Innovate in India (i3) for inclusiveness”. Need of Mission India has been an active player in the pharmaceutical industry and has contributed globally towards making life-saving drugs and low-cost pharmaceutical… Continue reading [Burning Issue] National Biopharma Mission

Why in News In November 2017, for the first time, the interlocutor for Naga Peace talks held talks with all the stakeholders. The issue Naga people demands a separate new country named the Greater Nagalim. Greater Nagaland consists of entire Nagaland + Naga inhabited parts of Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar. National Socialist Council… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Naga Peace Process

  Why in news? NITI Aayog is helping the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas draft a Cabinet note on methanol. Cabinet note on methanol It covers all aspects and issues that may pose an impediment for the implementation of methanol policy. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas, Fertiliser, and Coal among others are working… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Methanol as an alternative to fossil fuel

Why in news? Recently SC condemned the recent spate of lynchings as horrendous acts of mobocracy and told Parliament to make lynching a separate offence. What is Mob Lynching? Lynching is a premeditated extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor,… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Does India require an anti-lynching law?

Context India and the U.S. signed COMCASA agreement on the side lines of the inaugural 2+2 dialogue. India & US towards a strategic partnership The defense relationship between the United States and India, on a steady upward trajectory this decade, crossed an important milestone last week. During the first-ever “two-plus-two” meeting of the two countries’… Continue reading [Burning Issue] India-US COMCASA Agreement

Background The time difference between the westernmost part of India and the easternmost point is approximately two hours, the effect of which is that the sun rises and sets much earlier than it does in the rest of the country. Most Indians are not particularly worried about Indian Standard Time (IST), except for those who live in the Northeast where the… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Should India have Two Time Zones?

CONTEXT On October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin came to hold the India-Russia annual summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi Introduction  The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time, and that the ties would continue to scale new heights. Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been… Continue reading [Burning Issue] India-Russia Relations- “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”

Explaining Li-Fi   Light Fidelity or Li-Fi is a technology for wireless communication between devices using light to transmit data and position. It is based on visible light communication. In its present state only LED lamps can be used for the transmission of visible light. Components The main components of this communication system are :… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Li-Fi Technology

Sexual Harassment at Workplace – #MeToo movement Context Accusations of sexual assault have spread across India’s social media as the #MeToo movement took aim at prominent journalists, writers, editors and a comedian. Scores of women, many journalists, came out this week with accounts of sexual harassment from colleagues and editors, accusing them of indecent remarks, unwanted touches, demands for sex, and… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Sexual Harassment at Workplace

Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it Means, Why it’s being Discussed  CONTEXT CEOs, political leaders, social entrepreneurs, technologists and other global leaders are all at Davos to further the World Economic Forum’s mission of improving the state of the world. But, the big buzz at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this year is about… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Fourth Industrial Revolution

Why in news? CMIE and labour Bureau data indicates that India continues to face the jobless growth problem Jobs scenario in India Multiple data sources clearly show that job opportunities in India are, at present, limited, with the average annual addition to regular jobs during 2012-16 falling to 1.5 million from 2.5 million in 2004-12. Besides,… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Jobless growth in India

What is Island Development Agency (IDA)? The 1382 offshore-identified islands of India hold immense unexploited potential for fostering growth and achieving cohesive socio-economic development of the region in particular and also, the nation as a whole. They can significantly contribute to the GDP by leveraging the gains from promoting infrastructure and tourism on a large… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Island Development Agency

Context The Supreme Court upheld the validity of India’s ambitious biometric identity project, ‘Aadhaar’, saying it benefited the marginalized and poor, but sharply reined in a government push to make it mandatory for various services. What is Aadhaar? Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique-identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data. The… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Aadhar Card: SC verdict and surrounding debate

WHY IN NEWS IL&FS Group, a vast conglomerate that funds infrastructure projects across the world’s fastest-growing major economy, sent shock waves through credit markets when it began missing debt repayments. That’s caused concern not just for its myriad investors, including private individuals, who had regarded IL&FS debt as rock-solid. KEY TERMS Commercial paper is an unsecured,… Continue reading [Burning Issue] IL&FS Crisis

  What is the meaning of IoT? The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. A thing, in the Internet of Things,… Continue reading [Burning Issue] Internet of Things (IoT)