Author: ForumIAS

Messy fix  Context: The President of India recently gave his assent to an amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that barred a majority of defaulting promoters from buying back their assets. Introduction: The changes via an ordinance made at least nine categories of persons ineligible for submitting a resolution plan for the indebted companies… Continue reading Messy fix 

Why don’t you trust PM, Law Minister asks judiciary  Context Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in his sharp criticism of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) judgment urges to appoint a “fair judge.” PM’s obligation Mr Prasad hard-pressed on the trust of the people of India on the Prime Minister with the obligation to… Continue reading Why don’t you trust PM, Law Minister asks judiciary 

Cleaning up oil spills  What has happened? A chemical compound (Meisenheimer complex) synthesised through a simple, single-step process of mixing two chemicals at room temperature has been found to be highly effective in removing fluoride and metal ions such as lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, and iron from drinking water. USP of the compound The compound… Continue reading Cleaning up oil spills 

Govt.working on new gas ‘standards’  Context The government is looking to prepare a unified testing methodology to ensure that all agencies that map air pollution use accurate instruments What has happened? The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is in the process of setting up ‘gas standards’, or reference samples of,… Continue reading Govt.working on new gas ‘standards’ 

India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms  Context Income Tax Department’s announcement geared towards improving Ease of Doing Business What has been done? Income tax department has issued a clarification saying that it would allow mutual agreement procedures (MAPs) and advance pricing agreements (APAs) with all countries, abandoning a stance that disallowed such agreements with major trade… Continue reading India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms 

PF in equities: How investors can now track their money  Context The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) decides ways to account for and disburse investments in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) How much of EPFO’s money is invested into ETFs? While the Fund invested five per cent of the annual incremental corpus in equities in 2015-16, it… Continue reading PF in equities: How investors can now track their money 

A Nation’s Conscience  Context It’s the Constitution that has checked Hindutva forces to a great extent November 26: Constitution Day On November 26, 1949, the Draft Constitution was placed before the Constituent Assembly. The assembly adopted the Constitution and India became a democratic republic in 1950. Constitution: Much more than a document The Constitution is… Continue reading A Nation’s Conscience 

What’s involved in courting the OBCs, one quota at a time  Context Giving the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Constitutional status and new powers involves far more detail than meets the eye What do observers have to say? Observers point out the move seems aimed at strengthening a voter base among the OBCs while, at… Continue reading What’s involved in courting the OBCs, one quota at a time 

Views sought on data protection law  Context The government has released a white paper looking into the scope of a data protection law, and opened up for public discussion till December 31, issues pertaining to its ambit, what constitutes personal data, what is sensitive data, and the international applicability of such a law BN Krishna… Continue reading Views sought on data protection law 

Naga talks still on, panel told  Context No deadline can be set for conclusion of peace deal, says interlocutor News Naga interlocutor, RN Ravi, was asked to appear before the parliamentary panel to explain the status of the Naga peace deal Interlocutor’s position He told parliamentarians that The “Government of India wanted to take all… Continue reading Naga talks still on, panel told