China parading Galwan soldier at Winter Games is indefensible

News: China paraded Qi Fabao, A PLA regiment commander who was involved in China’s Galwan Valley border confrontation with India. He acted as one of the torchbearers for the Winter Olympics. Read more: Explained: Why artificial snow needs to be pumped to pull off Beijing Winter Olympics Why the China move is problematic? China welcomed the… Continue reading China parading Galwan soldier at Winter Games is indefensible

India, heal thyself

News: National Medical Commission (NMC) has decided to replace the Hippocratic Oath in medical colleges with the Charak Shapath from the new academic session. The Hippocratic Oath is taken by medical students worldwide.  Why this move is not very appropriate?  Both the Hippocratic Oath and Charak Shapath (derived from Maharshi Charaka’s Charaka Samhita ) essentially… Continue reading India, heal thyself

Clearing the airways

News: New Government guidelines have allowed fully vaccinated passengers from 82 countries to skip the mandatory quarantine period. Also the requirement of compulsory on-arrival testing for passengers from certain countries identified as “at-risk” has also been removed.   Why is this relaxation being given?  There are sound epidemiological reasons for the decision. India’s daily trajectory… Continue reading Clearing the airways

‘Enmity Will Be With Your Kin Or Your Neighbour’

News: Historian Shruti Kapila explores the role of violence in 20th-century Indian political ideas in her book ‘Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought In The Global Age’. How India is different from the West on violence? The history of the west shows that the state was the legitimate author of violence. But the Indian story is different.… Continue reading ‘Enmity Will Be With Your Kin Or Your Neighbour’

India’s Employment problem predates COVID. The pandemic has deepened the faultlines

News: Data from the Periodic labour force survey (PLFS) suggests that urban unemployment during January-March 2021 had declined to the pre-Covid level of around 9%, after peaking at 20.8% during the first wave.   Various other estimates also point towards the same. However, it necessarily does not reflect an expansion of more productive forms of… Continue reading India’s Employment problem predates COVID. The pandemic has deepened the faultlines

How to expand India’s forest cover

News:  India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 recently released its report, which attracts many questions about the definition of forests and plantation. This article gives answers to all that queries. Read here: India State of Forest Report 2021 – Explained, pointwise About definition of forest India’s definition of forest cover is in sync with that… Continue reading How to expand India’s forest cover

Time to end employer criminalisation

News: The recent budget has prioritized Ease of Doing Business (EODB) 2.0. The article says that criminalization of employers has affected productivity of Indian economy, hence there is need to relook the jail provisions and simplify the laws. Why there is need to reconsider employer criminalization? One, the excessive criminalisation of employers has painful consequences… Continue reading Time to end employer criminalisation

An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture

News: The article suggests a different way of designing a minimum support price (MSP) to transform Indian agriculture. How the current price stabilization policy for food grains has evolved? The Essential Commodities Act in 1955 was passed to counter price rise due to speculative private trading, and then MSP came in the 1960s. Then, a… Continue reading An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture

Consolidate clearances-4 steps for effective green clearances 

News: Environmental Clearance to various developmental projects has been at the core of Environment- development debate. However both Environment and development are not the two different ends of a spectrum and can definitely coexist if some changes are made to our green clearance policy.   What will make the system more effective?  There is a… Continue reading Consolidate clearances-4 steps for effective green clearances 

A growth focused monetary policy

News: To maintain a desired growth rate, Reserve Bank has kept an accommodative policy stance despite the new risks from elevated crude oil prices and the possibility of aggressive policy measures by the US Federal Reserve.   What is accommodative policy stance and its impact?  An accommodative stance means the central bank is prepared to expand… Continue reading A growth focused monetary policy

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