Author: ForumIAS

Japan gives UN World Food Programme $69m Japan has donated $69 million to the United Nations World Food Programme to provide vital aid to 28 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, with the biggest share of the money being earmarked for Yemen and Iraq. Japan is one of WFP’s top donors and has… Continue reading Japan gives UN World Food Programme $69m

SC to hear plea to stay poll bonds on April 2 The Supreme Court has decided that it will hear on April 2 the petitions which have challenged the issuance of electoral bonds by the government. The petitioners have challenged the electoral bond scheme on the grounds that it (a)keeps the identity of the donor… Continue reading SC to hear plea to stay poll bonds on April 2

Shift to formal trade slower than expected According to a recent report, Goods and Services Tax (GST) which was introduced in 2017 has seen the Indirect tax collections increased. However, shift in trade towards a formal economy has been slower than expected. The report also said that under GST regime, the manufacturing sector witnessed an… Continue reading Shift to formal trade slower than expected

RBI receives aggressive bids, infuses ₹34,500 cr. liquidity The Reserve Bank of India has successfully concluded a forex swap auction intended to ease liquidity conditions. The central bank bought the targeted $5 billion as part of the long term Dollar/Rupee swap auction with a three-year tenor. In turn, Rs 34,561 crore was infused into the… Continue reading RBI receives aggressive bids, infuses ₹34,500 cr. liquidity

India’s carbon dioxide emissions up 5% A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has revealed that India’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by 4.8% in 2018 from last year. The growth in emissions was higher than that of the United States and China. The rise in emissions has been attributed to increased coal consumption. Globally,… Continue reading India’s carbon dioxide emissions up 5%

Stubble burning menace emerges in Kuttanad Stubble burning i.e. agricultural residue burning has emerged as a major problem in Kuttanad, which is popularly known as the “Rice bowl of Kerala”. Stubble burning is the practice of intentionally setting fire to residues which remains after the harvest of a crop. It is usually done to clear… Continue reading Stubble burning menace emerges in Kuttanad

Sharp rise in H1N1 cases Recently, there has been a sharp rise in cases and deaths from H1N1 influenza. The data on H1N1 cases has been collected by Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, National Centre of Disease Control, Delhi. Influenza is an infectious disease caused by an influenza virus belonging to the family Orthomyxoviridae. Influenza viruses… Continue reading Sharp rise in H1N1 cases

Is death by mosquito bite insurable? SC answers the question in a judgment The Supreme Court has observed that where a disease is caused or transmitted by insect bite/virus in the natural course of events, it would not be covered by the definition of an accident. The observation comes in the background of a case… Continue reading Is death by mosquito bite insurable? SC answers the question in a judgment

Coming soon — a robot to clean septic tanks A group of in IIT-Madras is developing a robot to clean septic tanks. Such inventions are particularly significant amidst frequent deaths of manual scavengers in India. According to the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) at least 1,470 manual scavengers died at work between 2010 and 2017. Manual… Continue reading Coming soon — a robot to clean septic tanks

Use of NSA in cow slaughter cases wrong, says Kamal Nath Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has said that the use of the National Security Act (NSA) by the Madhya Pradesh police in the cases of suspected cow slaughter was wrong and would not be repeated. In February 2019, MP government had invoked the National Security… Continue reading Use of NSA in cow slaughter cases wrong, says Kamal Nath