Author: ForumIAS

Explaining 1971 Context India’s intervention was altruistic only in small part but was primarily based on realpolitik (a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.). Why India’s liberation of Bangladesh was a practical move? Eliminating a two-way front: The Bengali uprising provided India with the “opportunity of the… Continue reading Explaining 1971

Far short of the potential Context Indo-Japan ties:The India-Japan economic relationship remains underwhelming in relation to strategic ties The bright side Japan currently ranks as the third largest investor in India Japanese investment in India totalled $4.7 billion in 2016-17, up from $2.6 billion the previous year Japanese investment in India’s first bullet train Regular… Continue reading Far short of the potential

‘Declare polygamy in Islam illegal’ What happened? A fresh plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to declare as “illegal” and“unconstitutional” the practices of polygamy and ‘nikahhalala’ among the Muslim community What is NikahHalala? ‘Nikahhalala’ is a practice intended to curb the incidence of divorce, under which a man cannot remarry his former wife… Continue reading ‘Declare polygamy in Islam illegal’

Space travel causes changes to genes Context NASA’s Twins Study brought ten research teams together to accomplish one goal: find out what happens to the human body after spending one year in space Comparing the data Research includes data on what happened to Scott Kelly, physiologically and psychologically, while he was in space, and compared… Continue reading Space travel causes changes to genes

Antibiotic resistance: vultures wintering in India show pattern Context Escherichia coli, a pathogen seen in over 90% of Egyptian vultures that migrate to northwest India to spend the winter, tend to show significant difference in resistance to antibiotics within a single season, a study has found Study subjects A team studied vultures that arrived in… Continue reading Antibiotic resistance: vultures wintering in India show pattern

‘RBI norms may push power projects worth ₹2.5 lakh crore into bankruptcy’ Context RBI’s move: The RBI has recently scrapped all loan restructuring programmes and it’s recent guidelines on ‘Resolution of Stressed Assets — Revised Framework’ mandates the banks to classify even a day’s delay in debt servicing as default Impact More than 50,000 MW… Continue reading ‘RBI norms may push power projects worth ₹2.5 lakh crore into bankruptcy’

India likely to push for dropping ‘Asian premium’ on oil prices Context India is likely to lobby heavily for an end to the discriminatory “Asian premium” on oil prices and a “responsible” price mechanism, as it prepares to host a major conference for oil producing and consuming countries Backdrop International Energy Forum (IEF) April 10-12… Continue reading India likely to push for dropping ‘Asian premium’ on oil prices

MoF declines 3% GDP allocation for defence Context The Finance Ministry has declined a recommendation from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence to have a fixed allocation of 3% of GDP for the Defence Ministry, a report of the Committee has stated Rationale given by MoF MoF said that since government resources come with definite… Continue reading MoF declines 3% GDP allocation for defence

To seize and punish Context The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 What is the objective behind the bill? The bill aims to provide for measures to deter fugitive economic offenders from evading the process of law in India. It is a deterrent for those offenders who continue to stay outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts… Continue reading To seize and punish

U.S. challenges Indian export programmes at WTO Context Indo-US trade disputes What has happened? United States has challenged India’s export subsidy programmes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Backdrop The move comes after a recent string of statements accusing India of “unfair” trade practices, by President Donald Trump How this dispute is different from earlier… Continue reading U.S. challenges Indian export programmes at WTO