Domestic hazardous waste: Toxic ignorance: Most Indian cities way off segregating domestic hazardous waste

News: In the absence of a robust framework and infrastructure, segregation of domestic hazardous waste remains a distant dream for most Indian cities What are the concerns associated with handling domestic hazardous waste? No proper disposal: Harmful chemicals like sanitisers, power bulbs have become the norm. And often people don’t exercise care while disposing of them.… Continue reading Domestic hazardous waste: Toxic ignorance: Most Indian cities way off segregating domestic hazardous waste

Some unemployment puzzles

News: India’s unemployment problem is not reflected in its unemployment rate. Its problem lies in the low employment rate and its discouraged young female labor force. Why the unemployment rate is not India’s most important labor market indicator? The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in December 2021. This does not mean that the remaining 92.1… Continue reading Some unemployment puzzles

Pragmatism on investment

News: Recently, India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy was altered through a press note. But the government is re-examining extra scrutiny on Chinese investment. What was changed in FDI policy? Investment from countries with which India shared a land border would no longer be allowed through the automatic route. They have to be cleared in… Continue reading Pragmatism on investment

Early Harvest agreements: Explained: Why India is trying to seal a free trade agreement with UK

News: India and UK have formally launched Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, with the aim of concluding an early harvest trade agreement over the next few months. Read here: India’s FTA ambitions in perspective Contents1 What will be the benefit of FTA with the UK?2 What are Early Harvest agreements?3 What are the challenges associated with the… Continue reading Early Harvest agreements: Explained: Why India is trying to seal a free trade agreement with UK

Challenge arbitration awards carefully

News: Recent guidelines by the central government have asked its arms, including state-run firms to avoid appeal against every arbitration award, especially in the cases that have a low probability of success.  These guidelines are released to avoid project delays.  What are the implications of these project delays?  Project delays and cost overruns cause a lot of harm to the exchequer.  Government has to at the… Continue reading Challenge arbitration awards carefully

Friend in need: On India-Sri Lanka ties

News: In the visit to Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister assured to help Sri Lanka to overcome economic and other challenges that occurred because of the pandemic. What is the economic condition of Sri Lanka? Sri Lankan economy is in big crisis with a credit crunch, a slump in GDP, foreign reserves that reduced from $7.5… Continue reading Friend in need: On India-Sri Lanka ties

Account aggregators are ready to widen Indian access to credit

News: Complementing the PMJDY, India recently unveiled the account aggregator (AA) network to overcome the challenges of access to micro-credit for individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) The AA network along with Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) would help India formalize credit and boost economic growth in the post-covid era. What is… Continue reading Account aggregators are ready to widen Indian access to credit

How do SDRs help maintain balance of payments?

News:  In July-September 2021, India received $31.2 billion foreign exchange reserves. Out of this, $17.86 billion was by way of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) support received from the International Monetary Fund. SDRs being one of the components of foreign exchange reserves (FER) of a country, an increase in its holdings is reflected in the BOP.… Continue reading How do SDRs help maintain balance of payments?

The Cryptocurrency deception

News: Cryptocurrencies are neither a currency, nor an asset. They are a fraud which needs extensive scrutiny by the government agencies. Why Cryptocurrencies are not a currency? For any instrument to classify as a currency, it must have the following features: – One, it is a promissory note wherein the issuer is promising the bearer… Continue reading The Cryptocurrency deception

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