Author: ForumIAS

India-US deepen engagement   Context Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads home after concluding his three-day visit to the Philippines where he attended the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits. United approach Mr. Modi also held expansive talks with Mr. Trump during which the two leaders carried out a “broad review” of the strategic landscape in Asia, signalling… Continue reading India-US deepen engagement  

Post-Doklam, India asserts itself in China’s backyard  Context With the new quadrilateral grouping with U.S., Japan and Australia, India addressed an array of issues ranging from the tension in the Korean peninsula to freedom of navigation and sought a crackdown on chemical weapons during the ASEAN and the East Asia summits. New Delhi’s position post… Continue reading Post-Doklam, India asserts itself in China’s backyard 

Burden of disease shifts to non-communicable ailments  Context: The ‘India State Level Disease Burden’ report, prepared as part of the Global Burden of Disease(GBD) Study 2016 published in Lancet. Introduction: The Indian States Disease Burden Initiative is a joint initiative of Indian Council of Medical Research, Public Health Foundation of India and Institute for Health… Continue reading Burden of disease shifts to non-communicable ailments 

Labelling versus outcomes  Context The article talks about the scope and importance of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) What is the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan? Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India’s cities, smaller towns, and rural areas The objectives of Swachh Bharat include eliminating open defecation  through the… Continue reading Labelling versus outcomes 

Bonn climate change conference: Big win for India and developing countries, key demands on ‘pre-2020 actions’ likely to be met Context India and developing countries scored an important victory at the climate change conference as key demands on ‘pre-2020 actions’ was agreed What is the significance of ‘pre-2020 actions? The ultimate objective of the United… Continue reading Bonn climate change conference: Big win for India and developing countries, key demands on ‘pre-2020 actions’ likely to be met

Sweet Success Context: West Bengal has been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) for “Banglar Rasogolla” (Bengal rasogolla). In the backdrop, Odisha claims the origin of the sweet. What is the debate between Odisha and West Bengal about?   For long there has been a tussle between Odisha and West Bengal about the origins of the… Continue reading Sweet Success

Money can’t always buy votes Context: There is a widely held belief that voters in India, especially the poor, sell their votes in exchange for cash or other briberies. Thus, the supply of cash and consumption of liquor increases during elections remains unexplained. What does recent research says about briberies during election? Recent research says… Continue reading Money can’t always buy votes

Rajasthan conversion Bill returned by Centre Context: The Religious Freedom Bill passed by the Rajasthan Assembly in 2008, aimed at banning forcible religious conversions, was returned by the Union government as it deviated from the national policy. Introduction: According to the Rajasthan government, the Bill was sent back for “further clarifications”. The Bill, called Rajasthan… Continue reading Rajasthan conversion Bill returned by Centre

Zimbabwe Army seizes power, President Robert Mugabe ‘confined to his home’  Context Zimbabwe is under the control of the military after its army chief warned President Robert Mugabe against purging the ruling party’s senior ranks. What happened? Armoured personnel carriers and troops were deployed onto roads leading towards Harare on Tuesday, a day after army… Continue reading Zimbabwe Army seizes power, President Robert Mugabe ‘confined to his home’ 

After the tsunami: how the ‘Quad’ was born Context India’s full capabilities came as a surprise to the world the Indo-Pacific during Tsunami crisis as India had naval capabilities of scale to move in urgently further leading to the formation of QUAD. How did it start? The shocking death toll from the tsunami led to… Continue reading After the tsunami: how the ‘Quad’ was born