Author: ForumIAS

SC shuts the door on foreign law firms What happened? Keeping India’s legal market exclusively for Indians, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in the country either on the litigation or non-litigation side. What this means? This means overseas lawyers or firms cannot open offices… Continue reading SC shuts the door on foreign law firms

The French connections Context Growing partnership and cooperation between India and France Long relationship Both India and France share a similar world view Cooperation in the space sector has continued since the 1960s when France helped India set up the Sriharikota launch site, followed by liquid engine development and hosting of payloads France was the… Continue reading The French connections

Warming may ‘threaten’ half of species in 33 key regions Context The analysis commissioned by WWF and published in science journal Climatic Change What was the focus of the report? The report focused on 33 so-called “Priority Places” which host some of the world’s richest and most unusual terrestrial species, including iconic, endangered, or endemic plants… Continue reading Warming may ‘threaten’ half of species in 33 key regions

How much plastic is there in your packaged water? Context A worldwide study by Orb Media, a U.S.-based journalistic organisation Results of the study The study has found out that, A single bottle can hold dozens, or possibly even thousands, of microscopic plastic particles Contamination: Tests on more than 250 bottles from 11 brands reveal… Continue reading How much plastic is there in your packaged water?

Hawking, 1942-2018 Context Passing away of Stephen Hawking Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Stephen Hawking diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, an incurable motor neuron disease was given only two years to live His Breakthroughs Luckily, the type of ALS he had progressed slowly, and over time he made many discoveries that marked him among the great physicists… Continue reading Hawking, 1942-2018

A political choice Context The “surgical operation” earlier this month killing the mastermind of the Sunjuwan Army camp attack (Jammu) was lauded as a major victory for Indian security forces, but for some observers, it is surprising that such a seemingly provocative episode closed with such a measured response Author’s contention Authors contend that both… Continue reading A political choice

Curb misuse of social media, says Rajnath Context Social media posed a serious challenge to law enforcement agencies and the areas of concern included terrorism, financial frauds and victimisation of women and children, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Occasion Two-day Asia-Pacific regional conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) What are the… Continue reading Curb misuse of social media, says Rajnath

Urea subsidy extended till 2020 Context The Cabinet has approved the proposal by the Department of Fertilizers to continue the ongoing Urea Subsidy Scheme from 2017 to 2020 Benefit of the move The continuation of the urea subsidy scheme will ensure that adequate quantity of urea is made available to the farmers at statutory controlled… Continue reading Urea subsidy extended till 2020

‘RBI’s ban on LoUs may push up the cost of imports’ Context Interview with SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar What will be the impact of RBI’s ban on Letters of Undertaking (LoU)? The cost of imports will go up. What was happening was importers, through the route of LoU they were availing dollar funding which was cheaper… Continue reading ‘RBI’s ban on LoUs may push up the cost of imports’

‘LoU ban to hit importers as costs rise’ What happened? The Reserve Bank of India’s directive barring banks from issuing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) has brought the $85 billion buyers’ credit market — a key source of low-cost trade finance for the country’s importers — to an abrupt standstill. What is a LoU? Letter of… Continue reading ‘LoU ban to hit importers as costs rise’