Author: ForumIAS

Artefacts of ‘pre-Iron Age’ excavated in Odisha Context Archaeological Survey of India, which has been excavating a mound at Jalalpur village of Odisha’s Cuttack district, has now come across stone and bone tools believed to be of early Iron Age. ASI discovery in Jalalpur includes stone tools, potteries The discovery includes faunal remains, carbonised grains… Continue reading Artefacts of ‘pre-Iron Age’ excavated in Odisha

TB elimination goal advanced by five years       What happened? India’s TB elimination goal advanced by five years ahead of the global target by the Prime Minister Background He was speaking at the inauguration of the Delhi End TB Summit Launched “TB Free India Campaign” The Prime Minister also launched the TB Free India… Continue reading TB elimination goal advanced by five years      

First, the basic sciences Context Investment by India in scientific enterprise Are Indians investing enough in science, and how should this investment be divided? As per data provided by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, India invests about 0.8% of its GDP on research and development, and supports 156 researchers per million of population China: The… Continue reading First, the basic sciences

An urgent prescription Context Declining public sector capacity for manufacture of essential drugs and vaccines Why public sector is needed for manufacture of essential drugs and vaccines? Affordable cost: Public sector capacity for manufacture of essential drugs and vaccines is very much needed to ensure that our population is not denied access to drugs that… Continue reading An urgent prescription

ICMR wins the 2017 Kochon Prize for TB research Context The 2017 Kochon Prize was awarded to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi for building a tradition of excellence in TB research and development Kochon Prize The $65,000 Prize is awarded annually by Stop TB Partnership to individuals and/or organizations that have… Continue reading ICMR wins the 2017 Kochon Prize for TB research 

What was the 20:80 gold import scheme? Context The Centre on Monday announced its intention to probe the circumstances behind the extension of the 20:80 gold import scheme, previously restricted to banks and PSUs, to private parties in the final days of the previous government’s term in 2014 What prompted the scheme? In response to… Continue reading What was the 20:80 gold import scheme?  

‘Laws on location services shouldn’t hit innovation’ Context Geospatial Information Regulation Bill or GIRB New features rolled out by Google Multilingual voice navigation: Google rolled out new features to aid easier navigation using Google Maps, including voice navigation in six languages – Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam Plus Codes: It also unveiled ‘Plus… Continue reading ‘Laws on location services shouldn’t hit innovation’

CAG flags Railways’ parlous finances Context High Operating Costs of Indian Railways Wrong value reported in 2016-17 The reported operating ratio of 96.5% in 2016-17 Correct Value 99.54% if the actual expenditure on pension payments was taken into account, according to the CAG report tabled in Parliament. What does this mean? An operating ratio of… Continue reading CAG flags Railways’ parlous finances

Post-scam, RBI stops issue of LoUs What happened? In the wake of an escalating controversy over the Nirav Modi-centred scam at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to discontinue the practice of providing guarantees by issuing letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of comfort (LoCs) for trade credits… Continue reading Post-scam, RBI stops issue of LoUs

Aadhaar link deadline extended indefinitely What happened? In a relief for citizens, the Supreme Court indefinitely extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile phones, tatkal passports and for opening bank accounts from March 31, 2018 till the Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra pronounces its final verdict on the validity… Continue reading Aadhaar link deadline extended indefinitely