What is Article 355 of Indian Constitution?

Considering the law and order situation in West Bengal, some politicians demanded the invoking of Article 355 to ensure the State is governed as per the provisions of the Constitution. What is Article 355? It states that- “It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance… Continue reading

Mid day Meal Scheme

A parliamentarian has recently asked the government to re-start the mid-day meals in reopening schools and to ensure that the meals provided are cooked and nutritious. What is the Mid-Day Meal Scheme? The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal program designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide. It was launched in… Continue reading

Abel Prize awarded to American Mathematician

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Abel prize for the year 2022 to American Mathematician Dennis Parnell Sullivan, for his contributions to topology in its broadest sense, and in particular its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspects. Abel Prize The Abel Prize is a prize awarded annually by the King of Norway… Continue reading

[Yojana Archive] Reinventing Teachers’ Education

UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here) Context The National Education Policy’s stated goal is to reinstate teachers as the most respected members of our society. Evolution of Teacher Education (a) Colonial Period The current style of schooling and teaching emerged during the British rule in India. This system… Continue reading

[Sansad TV] Perspective: Nuclear Angle of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here) Context The battle between Russia and Ukraine continues for the 22nd day after Russia launched its offensive against its neighbor. Russia has put its nuclear forces on alert, calling it a special regime of combat duty; these include the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles… Continue reading

SC backs Centre’s OROP scheme

The Supreme Court has upheld the Centre’s one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme for the armed forces. What is the news? The Supreme Court has ruled that there was “no constitutional infirmity” in the way the government had introduced ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) among ex-service personnel. The scheme, notified by the Defence Ministry on… Continue reading

India ranks 136th in the World Happiness Report 2022

India ranks 136th in the World Happiness Report 2022, while Finland becomes the happiest country for the fifth consecutive year. One can definitely question the credibility of such reports whenever India is being grouped with some African countries that too below Pakistan. World Happiness Report The WHR is an annual publication of the UN Sustainable… Continue reading

[pib] Exercise LAMITIYE 2022

The 9th Joint Military Exercise LAMITIYE-2022 between the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) is being conducted at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), Seychelles. Exercise LAMITIYE Lamitiye, which in Creole means friendship, is a biennial training event being conducted in Seychelles since 2001. This year, it will feature a range of complex military drills, demonstrations… Continue reading

[Burning Issue] Kashmiri Pandit Exodus

UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here) Context Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the progress of the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants, including Kashmiri Pandits, during a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu. According to the Home Ministry, only 17% of the proposed accommodation for… Continue reading

Textile Industry in India

Context South Asia became a major player in the global textiles and clothing market with the onset of the third wave of global production. Textile industry in Bangladesh Bangladesh overtook India in exports in the past decade as Indian labour costs resulted in products becoming 20% more expensive. Bangladesh joined the league in the 1980s,… Continue reading

Indigenisation in defence technologies, manufacturing will ensure India’s strategic autonomy

Context Given its successive abstentions during votes on Ukraine in the UN Security Council and elsewhere, New Delhi has attracted criticism and even reproach from many quarters. While India’s abstentions may be hard to justify on moral grounds, they are certainly rooted in “realpolitik”. Reasons for India’s stance There is irrefutable logic in the argument… Continue reading

[Sansad TV] Perspective: India-Japan Ties

UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here) Context Japanese PM Fumio Kishida is on a visit to India. The bilateral summit was held amidst rising tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Japan and India are expected to enhance economic cooperation and share assessments on the crisis in Ukraine… Continue reading

What is the NPPA’s role in fixing drug prices?

Consumers may have to pay more for medicines and medical devices if the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) allows a price hike of over 10% in the drugs and devices listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), this coming month. Who regulates Drugs prices? The NPPA was set up in 1997 to fix/revise… Continue reading

Defining who is ‘Assamese’: Attempts, Challenges

Last week, the Assam government informed the Assembly that nearly 1.44 lakh illegal foreigners had been identified in the state this year based on the 1985 Assam Accord, and around 30,000 of them had been deported to their country of origin. Who is a foreigner under the Assam Accord? The Assam Accord was signed in… Continue reading

Kinzhal Advanced Hypersonic Missile

Russia said that it had unleashed hypersonic missiles against an arms depot in Ukraine, the first use of the next-generation weapons in combat. Kinzhal Missile It is a nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems. Kinzhal means ‘dagger’. The missile has a range of… Continue reading

What is POSH Act?

The Kerala High Court has asked organizations associated with the film industry to take steps to constitute a joint committee to deal with cases of sexual harassment of women, in line with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013. Why in news? During the #MeToo movement, a number… Continue reading

13% reduction in air pollution deaths due to UJJAWALA Scheme

Greater penetration and usage of LPG as a cooking fuel is estimated to have prevented at least 1.5 lakh pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019 alone, according to the first independent impact assessment of the government’s flagship Ujjwala program. About the PM Ujjwala Yojana Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in 2016, with… Continue reading

Caste-based NREGS Wages Payment System

Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to roll back the system of caste-based wages, under which NREGS workers are paid based on whether they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Others. Back in news: MGNREGA What is the caste-based payment system? Last year, the Rural Development… Continue reading

[Burning Issue] Debate over Capital Punishment

Context After a prolonged court case in Ahmedabad Serial Blast Case 2008, a special court pronounced the punishments for the convicted, with 38 given death penalty. This is the highest number ever given death sentence in any ruling in India. On July 26, 2008, a series of 21 bomb blasts hit Ahmedabad within a span… Continue reading

TB’s steep socio-economic cost to women

Context As India steadily steers its way through the pandemic to safer shores, we must foreground a disease which has been impacting our country for years, and disproportionately affecting women – tuberculosis. Toll of TB In India, the TB case fatality ratio increased from 17 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent in 2020.… Continue reading

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