State of (un)employment in India

Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that India’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) has fallen to just 40% from an already low 47% in 2016. What is LFPR? Before understanding LFPR, we need to define the labour force itself. According to the CMIE, the labour force consists of persons who are… Continue reading

SC Ruling on Sedition Law

The Supreme Court has fixed May 5 for final hearing of the petitions challenging the constitutionality of the sedition law and made it clear that it will not brook any delay in the form of requests for adjournment. What is the Sedition Law? Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code lays down the punishment for… Continue reading

‘Mission Antyodaya’ can help transform rural India

Context This article argues that given the right momentum, the ‘Mission Antyodaya’ project bears great promise to eradicate poverty in its multiple dimensions among rural households. Background of Mission Antyodaya The ‘Mission Antyodaya’ project was launched by the Government of India in 2017-18. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Rural Development act… Continue reading

Goan politician accorded Lifetime Rank of Cabinet Minister

Recently a politician in Goa was accorded the lifetime status of the rank of Cabinet Minister who was, a six-time Chief Minister of Goa and a legislator for a full 50 years. Hence a PIL has been filed in the High Court of Bombay at Goa. What is the “Lifetime Status of the rank of… Continue reading

Countries will have to ‘justify’ Veto Votes at UN

The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution requiring the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto. Why such move? The push for reform was driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measure is intended to make veto-holders United States, China, Russia,… Continue reading

Direct Tax collections surge in FY22

India’s net direct tax collections amounted to ₹14,09,640.83 crore for FY22, which is the highest collection ever. What are Direct Taxes? A type of tax where the impact and the incidence fall under the same category can be defined as a Direct Tax. The tax is paid directly by the organization or an individual to… Continue reading

[Sansad TV] Perspective: Dollar Dominance: Under threat?

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here) Context As per IMF’s first deputy managing director Gita Gopinath, financial sanctions imposed on Russia threaten to gradually dilute the dominance of the U.S. dollar and could result in a more fragmented international monetary system. To understand more on this and related… Continue reading

Anchoring inflationary expectations

Context The RBI released the Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) for March 2022 on April 8. The survey results present interesting behavioural insights for public policy, particularly from a gender perspective. Significance of inflation expectations The impact of inflation — the overall increase in the prices in an economy — is felt by everyone.… Continue reading

Effective and Efficient: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

Context The performance of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been under intense scrutiny. Basis for the criticism of IBC The Code has been mainly criticised on three counts: 1] Delay in resolution: There are inordinate delays in the resolution procedure. 2] Liquidation: There have been more liquidations than resolutions. 3] Low recovery amount:… Continue reading

EU member states agrees on Digital Services Act (DSA)

The European Parliament and European Union (EU) Member States announced that they had reached a political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA). What is DSA? DSA is a landmark legislation to force big Internet companies to act against disinformation and illegal and harmful content, and to “provide better protection for Internet users and their… Continue reading

India is now 3rd highest military spender

World military spending continued to grow in 2021, reaching a record $2.1 trillion despite the economic fallout of the pandemic, according to new data on global military spending published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Top defence spenders in 2021 The five largest spenders in 2021 were the U.S., China, India, the U.K.… Continue reading

Places in news: Kuril Islands

Japan has recently described the Kuril Islands (which Japan calls the Northern Territories and Russia as the South Kurils) as being under Russia’s “illegal occupation”. Note the Islands of Japan in North to South Direction: Hokkaido, Honshu , Shikoku, and Kyushu What are the Kuril Islands/ Northern Territories? These are a set of four islands… Continue reading

[Burning Issue] Demolition of Encroachments

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here) Context The recent anti-encroachment drive in northwest Delhi’s violence-hit Jahangirpuri has become the latest flashpoint between political parties in the national capital. The matter also reached the Supreme Court, which ordered a stay on the drive. However, dissidents has now put questions… Continue reading

Settling India’s COVID-19 mortality data

Context Over the last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been busy, in an unprecedented effort, to calculate the global death toll from COVID-19. Revision of Covid-19 death toll by WHO Globally from an estimated six million reported deaths, WHO now estimates these deaths to be closer to almost triple the number. The new estimates… Continue reading

Finding workable solutions to India-Sri Lanka fisheries issue

Context After a gap of 15 months, the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) on fisheries held its much-awaited deliberations (in virtual format) on March 25. Background of the issue As sections of fishermen from the Palk Bay bordering districts of Tamil Nadu continue to transgress the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), cases of many… Continue reading

Why reforming the system of free food is necessary

Context The release of two new working papers, one from the World Bank and the other from the IMF, has led to a renewed debate on poverty in India. A substantial decline in extreme poverty in India Both papers claim that extreme poverty in the country, based on the international definition of $1.90 per capita… Continue reading

Understanding the Olga Tellis Judgment

A 37-year-old Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court which held that pavement dwellers are different from trespassers. This may become a game-changer in the Jahangirpuri case. What is the Olga Tellis judgment? The judgment, Olga Tellis vs. Bombay Municipal Corporation, was given in 1985 by a five-judge Bench led by then Chief Justice of… Continue reading

Anti-Defection Law

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu said that there was a need to amend the anti-defection legislation in the country to plug existing loopholes. What did VP notice now? Stating that there was no clarity in the law about the time frame for the action of the House Chairperson or Speaker in anti-defection cases. Some cases are… Continue reading

Anatomy of communal violence in India

Context Communal violence, a complex phenomenon, has been over-simplified to suit a convenient political narrative. India’s syncretic traditions and impact of invasions For aeons, India has had syncretic traditions inspired by the Vedic aphorism, “Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti” (there is only one truth and learned persons call it by many names). Because of this… Continue reading

Rape laws are being misused today: Justice BN Srikrishna

Retired Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna has said that there is a blatant misuse of rape laws in the country. What did Justice BN Srikrishna say? Lesser convictions: Statistics show that even after the amendment of rape laws, there have been less number of convictions. Need for objective analysis: It is time that rape… Continue reading

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