Author: ForumIAS

Saving Afghanistan Context Global and regional powers must desist from playing the ‘Great Game’ and build peace Current situation in Afghanistan Violence escalated this year The new ‘South Asia’ policy hasn’t yielded any major results, as violence continues on the ground. The statement from the Taliban rejecting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of talks “without… Continue reading Saving Afghanistan

Nutritional politics Context After more than a decade of discussions, there is no agreement on what to feed children in anganwadis What has happened? Data on malnutrition should serve as a wake-up call for the government: 38% of children are stunted and 35.7% are underweight in India. About 21% of children under the age of… Continue reading Nutritional politics

Failed by design What has happened? Insurance companies collected premiums of Rs 22,180 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 24,454 crore in 2017-18, both directly from farmers and as government subsidy, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The issue Low claim payments (under PMFBY) defeats the whole purpose of insurance — which is to… Continue reading Failed by design

The elephant in the Patent Office Context Patents for trivial improvements on drugs, though statutorily barred, are routinely granted What has happened? India hit the headlines when it incorporated certain anti-evergreening provisions such as Sections 3(d), 3(e) and 3(i) into the Patents Act to restrict patentability of a host of secondary patents — essentially alternative forms of… Continue reading The elephant in the Patent Office

Collegium allotting cases will cause chaos’ What has happened? Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal on Friday differed with a plea by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan to have a collegium of Supreme Court judges collectively allocate cases in the court rather than leave the entire power in the hands of the Chief Justice of India in his… Continue reading Collegium allotting cases will cause chaos’

‘India should get sanctions waiver’ Context Mattis seeks changes in anti-Russia law What has happened? The Secretary of State should be allowed to grant waiver to countries such as India that will otherwise come under American sanctions under a new law that intends to target Russia, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told lawmakers on Thursday… Continue reading ‘India should get sanctions waiver’

Archaeologists find child sacrifice site in Peru What has happened? Archaeologists in Peru have found evidence of the biggest-ever sacrifice of children, uncovering the remains of more than 140 youngsters who were slain alongside 200 llamas as part of a ritual offering some 550 years ago, National Geographic announced in a study Ancient pre-Columbian people said to… Continue reading Archaeologists find child sacrifice site in Peru

Australia pledges half a billion to restore Great Barrier Reef What has happened? Australia pledged Aus $500 million ($379 million) in new funding to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef on Sunday, in what it said would be a game-changer for the embattled natural wonder Canberra criticised Canberra has previously committed more than Aus$2… Continue reading Australia pledges half a billion to restore Great Barrier Reef

Food first  Context There is no substitute for hot-cooked mealsto address poor child nutrition Attempts to commercialise Tinkering with the existing national programme of providing hot-cooked meals to children three to six years old, and take-home rations for younger children and pregnant and lactating mothers is fraught with danger Attempts to substitute meals or rations… Continue reading Food first 

Nutrition panel drops Maneka proposal Context Panel rejects idea to replace ready-to-eat food rations with energy-dense nutrient packets for beneficiaries What has happened? The National Council on Nutrition (NCN) has unanimously rejected Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD) Maneka Gandhi’s proposal to replace ready-to-eat food as take-home dry rations with energy-dense nutrient packets… Continue reading Nutrition panel drops Maneka proposal