Author: ForumIAS

Economic slowdown reflects an investment in India’s future:  Context India’s economic growth for 2017 and 2018 will be slower than earlier projections, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook. About IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries,Created in 1945 working to foster global monetary cooperation,… Continue reading Economic slowdown reflects an investment in India’s future: 

Council acts to ease cascading tax impact on petroproducts:  Context The Centre in the GST Council meeting has taken a decision to reduce the cascading effect of excluding petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas and crude oil from the purview of GST and to incentivize investment in the Exploration and Production sector. The decisions include cutting… Continue reading Council acts to ease cascading tax impact on petroproducts: 

Accountability, not armour plating:  Context: With rising atrocities in a democratic country like India, there is a need of debate on police reforms. What is the need of police in the democracy? Democracy is the only system of governance that, guarantees the freedom of people and the police as an only institution to protect and… Continue reading Accountability, not armour plating: 

SC to frame norms for drafting ‘living wills’:& The will to die:  Context If the medical board will affirm that the patient’s condition is beyond cure and irreversible only then advance directive to withdraw medical care to allow him to die with dignity should take effect, Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra made a statement… Continue reading SC to frame norms for drafting ‘living wills’:& The will to die: 

U.S., Israel quit UNESCO: Context The United States (U.S) has announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), accusing it of “continuing anti-Israel bias.” What is the major concern? UNESCO is the first UN agency to have admitted Palestine as a full member in 2011. As required by law, the… Continue reading U.S., Israel quit UNESCO:

If safety is not to be derailed:  Context Derailments on the tracks of Indian Railways have always been a big technical and management challenge. What makes train travel so unsafe in India? Derailment Derailment seems to be the most common cause of train accidents. Reports of the Railway Ministry for 2015 and 2016 list a… Continue reading If safety is not to be derailed: 

Living in denial:  Context Economic deceleration is real. Acknowledging it is the first step to recovery Reasons behind economic deceleration Freefall of rupee against dollar and other currencies Widening current account deficit (CAD) Soaring inflation Dampened GDP growth. Over-dependence on tertiary sector growth Various government policies Step required for recovery Acknowledge the slowdown and spend… Continue reading Living in denial: 

Averting disaster:  Recently, Category 5 hurricanes in the Caribbean and in the American mainland; record floods across Bangladesh, India, and Nepal; and drought emergencies in 20 countries in Africa have damaged these regions. These events reiterate the need to act on a changing climate. Reasons for frequent floods and droughts across the globe: Rising temperature… Continue reading Averting disaster: 

Why the economic slowdown, and how to fix it?:  Context: The ministry of finance is caught in a deficit fetishism that seeks to limit the fiscal deficit to 3.5% of GDP Introduction: The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) has plummeted by 3.5 percentage points in just six quarters, from 9.2% in January-March 2016 to… Continue reading Why the economic slowdown, and how to fix it?: 

World Bank cautions against protectionism: The World Bank has cautioned that a rise in protectionism and policy uncertainty could derail the fragile recovery of global economy. What is Protectionism? Protectionism refers to government actions and policies that restrict or restrain international trade Protectionism is often done with the intent of protecting local businesses and jobs… Continue reading World Bank cautions against protectionism: