Must Read News Articles – June 21th, 2019

Archives

GS-1

Japan’s ‘washi’ paper torn by modern life

Despite its UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage tag, the washi paper’s market value is dwindling

GS-2

President bats for simultaneous polls

President Ram Nath Kovind has asked the Members of Parliament to seriously ponder over the proposal of simultaneous polls, terming it “development-oriented”.

Bureaucrats to spend two days in J&K villages

As part of its unique outreach programme, ‘Back to the Village’, the Governor’s administration in Jammu and Kashmir has designated gazetted officers to all the 4,483 panchayats in the State to seek feedback and share knowledge on government schemes.

Misplaced priorities

The decision to form a committee to examine the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies is a significant step towards achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s objective of synchronising elections across the country.

Tension in the Persian Gulf

The U.S. administration’s strategy to counter Iran on the nuclear front is being met with an alleged new strategy that has left the global security community baffled in more ways than one.

GS-3

India’s first solar cruise vessel to be rolled out soon

Kerala is gearing up for the launch of the country’s premier solar-powered cruise boat by December.

Navy to build 6 submarines

The Navy issued an ‘Expression of Interest’ for shortlisting potential strategic partners for the construction of six P-75 (I) submarines costing nearly ₹45,000 crore

Himalayan Glaciers are melting twice as fast since 2000: study

Comparing data obtained by Cold War-era spy satellites with images from modern stereo satellites, scientists have shown that Himalayan glaciers have lost more than a quarter of their ice mass since 1975, with melting occurring twice as fast after the turn of the century as average temperatures rose

First song recorded from rare right whale

For the first time, scientists have recorded singing by one of the rarest whales on Earth

WHO writes new prescription to prevent misuse of antibiotics

Rx: Keep it simple. This is the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) prescription to combat the growing menace of antibiotic abuse and burgeoning resistance worldwide.

Is India overestimating its economic growth?

Former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian recently claimed in a paper that India’s GDP growth from 2011-12 to 2016-17 was likely to have been overestimated. In a conversation moderated by T.C.A. Sharad Raghavan , Pronab Sen and R. Nagaraj discuss the methodology in calculation of GDP growth.