Author: ForumIAS

Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit Context: The Khalistan issue, which kept India-Canada ties on ice through three decades from 1980, has re-emerged. “Khalsa day” parade: The seeds for the current tensions have been sown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015. A major breaking point came when Mr. Trudeau attended a… Continue reading Khalistan casts shadow over Trudeau visit

A Nepal-India win-win Context: With the Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli sworn as Prime Minster of Nepal, he is tasked today to reset the relationship with India at a new normal. Background: India became progressively interventionist as Nepal got engaged in internal crisis during and after the Maoist ‘people’s war’, and as the hill-plain… Continue reading A Nepal-India win-win

Old friends: on India-Iran bilateral ties Context: In bilateral terms, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India was perfect in content. Major takeaways from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to India: The visit came amid uncertainty over the U.S.’s next move on Iran, given the Trump administration’s line on the Iran nuclear deal. After his… Continue reading Old friends: on India-Iran bilateral ties

The politics of AI Context: An Artificial Intelligence that can match human intelligence in all respects is unlikely because it is impossible for AI technology to replicate that which makes human intelligence what it is. Worldwide spending on AI solutions: International Data Corporation, the market intelligence agency, estimates that worldwide spending on AI solutions will… Continue reading The politics of AI

Experts urge more funds to tackle Tuberculosis crisis Context: Tuberculosis (TB) has become a national crisis in India. At the opening day of the 5the Global Forum on TB Vaccines in New Delhi, Health Ministry assured the TB community that eliminating the disease by 2025 had the ‘highest level of commitment from the PM office.… Continue reading Experts urge more funds to tackle Tuberculosis crisis

ED grapples with severe manpower crunch Context: The Enforcement Directorate, which has in the past few days carried out searches at more than 100 locations in connection with the Rs. 11,500-crore fraudulent transactions case involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB), is grappling with a severe manpower crunch. Introduction: It is functioning with less than 50%… Continue reading ED grapples with severe manpower crunch

A deeper malady: on PNB fraud case Context: Just after few days after news of the ₹11,500 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank broke, another different scam of a ₹3,695 crore wilful loan default has surfaced. Why in news? The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against three directors of a Kanpur-based company,… Continue reading A deeper malady: on PNB fraud case

A Canadian project, inspired by India Context: Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, spoke of his country’s Smart City Challenge, something that has been inspired by India. Canada’s Smart City Challenge: According to Amarjeet Sohi, the way the challenges work is to call municipalities to identify problems and then use technology to solve… Continue reading A Canadian project, inspired by India

Cabinet committee clears several rail, road projects Context: The government recently approved several railway projects, including a 130 km-long Jeypore-Malkangiri project at a cost of ₹ 2,676 crore and another 425 km-long Jhansi-Manikpur and Bhimsen-Khairar line doubling-cum-electrification projects costing ₹ 4,956 crore. Introduction: The Jeypore-Malkangiri new line project, likely to be completed by 2021-22, will… Continue reading Cabinet committee clears several rail, road projects

Commercial coal mining opened for private sector Context: Opening up commercial coal mining for Indian and foreign companies in the private sector, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the methodology for auction of coal mines/blocks for sale of the commodity. Introduction: The government described the move as the most ambitious reform of the sector… Continue reading Commercial coal mining opened for private sector