Author: ForumIAS

Substance and optics of the summit Context India-China relations have been under great stress in recent years. The 2017 military standoff at the Doklam tri-junction and the war of words that followed vitiated a relationship that was already reeling under a great deal of pressure. The Wuhan summit should be viewed in the context of… Continue reading Substance and optics of the summit

Scary, yet banal Context It is important to use different themes on tobacco products to shock users What has happened? India has come a long way from the small, meaningless and ineffectual pictorial warnings that were first used on tobacco products in May 2009. The size of the warnings was increased from 40% of the… Continue reading Scary, yet banal

People as auditors Context Social audits ensure a citizen-centric mode of accountability Democracy needs eternal public vigilance Democratic governance needs the citizen to be legally empowered to ask questions, file complaints, and be a part of the corrective process Jan Sunwais: a type of social audit experiment in the mid-1990s In the mid-1990s, the Mazdoor… Continue reading People as auditors

NASA mission to the ‘heart’ of Mars Context NASA’s first-ever mission to study the deep interior of Mars is on schedule to launch this week InSight & MarCO InSight: The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) is the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast of U.S. It… Continue reading NASA mission to the ‘heart’ of Mars

Heavy rain spells doom for baby turtles Context Olive Ridley turtles What has happened? Hundreds of thousands of Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings were found buried alive after four days of persistent thundershowers in Odisha’s Gahirmatha Sanctuary compacted their sand-pit nests Loose sand is helpful The emergence of hatchlings depends on how loose the sand is.… Continue reading Heavy rain spells doom for baby turtles

The cost of pollution Context Pollution is a challenge to developing countries which try to achieve rapid economic development without adequately managing the environment. In recent years, the pollution load has increased, sometimes beyond the carrying capacity of the environment. Though various measures have been adopted to manage pollution, significant progress has not been achieved… Continue reading The cost of pollution

Power Ministry feels no need to change electrification definition What has happened? The government had in September 2017 launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), aimed at covering the last-mile connectivity of taking electricity to the household level. The target for the scheme is March 31, 2019. “Electrified village” Village is declared… Continue reading Power Ministry feels no need to change electrification definition

AFSPA will continue in Nagaland: Rijiju What has happened? Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said AFSPA, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, will continue in Nagaland as it is a “special case” and the “peace agreement” hasn’t been finalised there yet. State to renew plea Nagaland’s Deputy Chief Minister Y. Patton said… Continue reading AFSPA will continue in Nagaland: Rijiju

Local democracy in disarray Context Twenty-five years after decentralised democratic governance was introduced, a look at why it has failed Social failure While the economic reforms that were launched almost simultaneously with the decentralisation reforms made tremendous headway, making India the fastest-growing economy in the world today, local democracy has not much to write home… Continue reading Local democracy in disarray

A dangerous incursion Context The opposition of the government to the elevation of Justice K.M. Joseph is on specious grounds What has happened? The government’s opposition to the elevation of the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, Justice K.M. Joseph, to the Supreme Court, as recommended by the Supreme Court collegium as far back… Continue reading A dangerous incursion