Author: ForumIAS

‘Greater Nagalim’ claims: As NSCN(IM) deal nears fruition, why three Northeastern states are agitated (Indian Express) Context: Center may concluding a final agreement with the NSCN(IM) before Christmas. It has arisen fresh apprehensions in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur that large chunks of their territories may be lost to a “Greater Nagalim”. Why is it… Continue reading ‘Greater Nagalim’ claims: As NSCN(IM) deal nears fruition, why three Northeastern states are agitated

WHO releases guidelines on responding to child sex abuse  Context: The World Health Organisation has formulated clinical guidelines on responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. Guidelines: The guidelines put forward recommendations for the frontline health care providers-general practitioners, gynaecologists, paediatricians, nurses and others-who may directly receive a victim of sexual abuse… Continue reading WHO releases guidelines on responding to child sex abuse 

A toolkit to think local  Context: Policymakers in India need reliable disease burden data at subnational levels. Introduction: The findings of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative will aid in decentralised health planning. Till now, a comprehensive assessment of the disease causing the most premature deaths and ill health in each State, the risk factors… Continue reading A toolkit to think local 

Messy fix  Context: The President of India recently gave his assent to an amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that barred a majority of defaulting promoters from buying back their assets. Introduction: The changes via an ordinance made at least nine categories of persons ineligible for submitting a resolution plan for the indebted companies… Continue reading Messy fix 

Why don’t you trust PM, Law Minister asks judiciary  Context Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in his sharp criticism of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) judgment urges to appoint a “fair judge.” PM’s obligation Mr Prasad hard-pressed on the trust of the people of India on the Prime Minister with the obligation to… Continue reading Why don’t you trust PM, Law Minister asks judiciary 

Cleaning up oil spills  What has happened? A chemical compound (Meisenheimer complex) synthesised through a simple, single-step process of mixing two chemicals at room temperature has been found to be highly effective in removing fluoride and metal ions such as lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, and iron from drinking water. USP of the compound The compound… Continue reading Cleaning up oil spills 

Govt.working on new gas ‘standards’  Context The government is looking to prepare a unified testing methodology to ensure that all agencies that map air pollution use accurate instruments What has happened? The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is in the process of setting up ‘gas standards’, or reference samples of,… Continue reading Govt.working on new gas ‘standards’ 

India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms  Context Income Tax Department’s announcement geared towards improving Ease of Doing Business What has been done? Income tax department has issued a clarification saying that it would allow mutual agreement procedures (MAPs) and advance pricing agreements (APAs) with all countries, abandoning a stance that disallowed such agreements with major trade… Continue reading India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms 

PF in equities: How investors can now track their money  Context The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) decides ways to account for and disburse investments in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) How much of EPFO’s money is invested into ETFs? While the Fund invested five per cent of the annual incremental corpus in equities in 2015-16, it… Continue reading PF in equities: How investors can now track their money 

A Nation’s Conscience  Context It’s the Constitution that has checked Hindutva forces to a great extent November 26: Constitution Day On November 26, 1949, the Draft Constitution was placed before the Constituent Assembly. The assembly adopted the Constitution and India became a democratic republic in 1950. Constitution: Much more than a document The Constitution is… Continue reading A Nation’s Conscience