News: Recently, India refused to condemn Russia’s military invasion, and decided to continue trade with Russia. It has abstained from voting on United Nations resolutions. In this context, a number of diplomats, officials, and ministers from across the globe visited India. This has raised India’s role in global politics. What are the ongoing challenges in… Continue reading Beijing’s move, India’s turn
Category: 9 PM Daily Articles
Fortifying nutrition
News: The government’s decision to supply fortified rice across the country in phases by 2024 is a welcome move to address malnutrition. At present, fortified rice is being supplied through the Targeted public Distribution System (TPDS) in one district each of 11 states under a pilot project running since 2019. Must Read: Food Fortification in… Continue reading Fortifying nutrition
Solving India’s idol theft problem
Context: Article, citing a CAG report, shines a light on the issue of the antiquities being stolen from monuments/sites and from Site Museums in India. What were the findings of the CAG report? The 2013 report on “Preservation and Conservation of Monuments and Antiquities”, by the CAG found that 131 antiquities were stolen from monuments/sites… Continue reading Solving India’s idol theft problem
Why time banking is a crucial tool to empower women
Context: Unpaid work is crucial for development of the society and economy, but is often invisible. Women perform 75% of the world’s unpaid care work. The largest source of women’s unpaid labor is domestic work. These include household chores like grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning as well as caregiving to the children, elderly and infirm. Contents1… Continue reading Why time banking is a crucial tool to empower women
Big Tech’s privacy promise to consumers could be good news — and also bad news
News: Recently, Facebook accused Apple of abusing its market power. It has been criticized for introducing a new AppTrackingTransparency feature on its app store, which aims to enhance the user’s privacy. However, in the name of enhancing privacy, it has been alleged to cause disadvantages to competitors. Contents1 What is the new feature? 2 Why the… Continue reading Big Tech’s privacy promise to consumers could be good news — and also bad news
A merger to better manage the Indian Railways
News: Recently, the government issued a Gazette notification regarding the creation of the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). It has been created after merging 8 out of 10 Group-A Indian Railway services, and marks a paradigm shift in the management of one of the world’s largest rail networks. What is the significance of this… Continue reading A merger to better manage the Indian Railways
When lack of data gets in the way of affirmative action
News: Recently, in two separate judgements, the Supreme Court (SC) of India has struck down the reservations that were awarded by the Maharashtra government and Tamil Nadu government. Both judgments identified the same problem – a lack of evidence-driven policymaking by the state govt for reservations. What observations have been made by the Supreme Court… Continue reading When lack of data gets in the way of affirmative action
A model struggling to deliver
Context: National Education Policy, 2020, envisions universalizing Early Childhood Care and Education through Anganwadis. However, the events linked to COVID-19 led to an abrupt halt in the progress. What are Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)? AWCs fall under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. Preschool is one of the six services provided in this package. AWCs are… Continue reading A model struggling to deliver
The process of electing India’s President
Context: The tenure of the current President is set to end in July this year, which is also when the 16th Indian Presidential election will be held to elect his successor. How is the President elected? The Indian President is elected through an electoral college system, by proportional representation by a single transferable vote. The… Continue reading The process of electing India’s President
HOPS as a route to universal health care
Context: The basic idea of Universal Health Care (UHC) is that no one should be deprived of quality healthcare for the lack of ability to pay. In the Bhore Committee report of 1946, a case was made for India to create its own National Health Service (NHS) type health care system. How UHC can be… Continue reading HOPS as a route to universal health care
