Author: ForumIAS

Don’t want India to become the refugee capital of the world, govt. tells SC Context The Union government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it does not want the country to become the refugee capital of the world. The Centre was responding to a submission by Rohingya refugees that the BSF was “pushing back”… Continue reading Don’t want India to become the refugee capital of the world, govt. tells SC

Graduates from IIT, NIT to teach in rural areas Context More than 1,200 youngsters with Ph.D and M. Tech degrees from institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and National Institutes of Technology will spend the next three years teaching at 53 government engineering colleges in rural areas of districts lagging… Continue reading Graduates from IIT, NIT to teach in rural areas

Stone tools offer insights into history of human evolution Context Based on the study of over 7,200 stone artefacts collected from the archaeological site at Attirampakkam in the Kortallayar river basin about 60 km from Chennai, researchers suggest that hominins in India may have developed a Middle Palaeolithic culture phase around 3,85,000 years ago and… Continue reading Stone tools offer insights into history of human evolution

‘Indus script was written from right to left’ Context Two scientists working at The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, (IMSc) have figured out a way to computationally estimate whether a language is written from left to right or otherwise. Most interestingly, they have studied the Indus script and calculated that it must flow from right to… Continue reading ‘Indus script was written from right to left’

Fiscal glide path pushed back to 2021 Context The last full budget of the Narendra Modi-led Bhartiya Janata Party government before the general elections due in 2019 missed the fiscal deficit target of 3.2% for 2017-18 Bond yields rise as the government misses deficit target of 3.2%; analysts expect yields to remain elevated Why?: This… Continue reading Fiscal glide path pushed back to 2021

The question of credibility  There were considerable expectations from the Budget. Given that this is the last full-year Budget by this government and the first one after the revenue uncertainties arising from implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) reform, there were apprehensions about the slippages as well. Indeed, there are electoral budget cycles… Continue reading The question of credibility 

Promise and delivery: on Union Budget 2018  Context If the Union Budget is construed as an annual tug-of-war between populism and fiscal prudence, arguably it is the latter that prevailed in the past four budgets tabled by the NDA. Arun Jaitley’s Budget will be judged by whether it can bridge the gap Armed with a… Continue reading Promise and delivery: on Union Budget 2018 

Goodbye to fiscal consolidation  What is meant by fiscal consolidation? Fiscal consolidation is a reduction in the underlying fiscal deficit. It is not aimed at eliminating fiscal debt Fiscal deficit data Year Target Actual 2017-18 3.2% 3.5% 2018-19 3.3% 2020-21 3%   Revenues healthy Capital receipts are expected to exceed the budgetary estimate thanks to record disinvestment revenues of ₹100,000… Continue reading Goodbye to fiscal consolidation 

A shot in the arm for Urban Rejuvenation Mission Context In a boost to infrastructure development in cities, the total outlay for the Urban Rejuvenation Mission, which includes projects under AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission, will be Rs. 12,169 crore, according to the Budget proposals for 2018-2019 Smart Cities Mission The Smart Cities Mission, will… Continue reading A shot in the arm for Urban Rejuvenation Mission

Ayushman Bharat: the big budget scheme Context Two major initiatives in health sector announced as part of Ayushman Bharat programme Aim: Making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both prevention and health promotion National Health Protection Scheme Health and wellness centres National Health Protection Scheme 5… Continue reading Ayushman Bharat: the big budget scheme