Author: ForumIAS

Office-of-profit issue: Delhi HC reinstates 20 AAP MLAs What has happened? The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed a notification issued by President Ram Nath Kovind disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries. HC Observed The opinion of the Election Commission of India to the President to disqualify the legislators… Continue reading Office-of-profit issue: Delhi HC reinstates 20 AAP MLAs

Myanmar, India mull building cross-border oil pipeline What has happened? India has proposed to build a pipeline from the country’s east coast to deliver oil products, mainly diesel, to Myanmar, a Myanmar government official said on Friday. Working group formed A working group has been formed by Myanmar and India to look at issues such… Continue reading Myanmar, India mull building cross-border oil pipeline

Donald Trump and the art of breaking a deal Context With anti-Iran people getting key posts in the U.S. President’s team, the nuclear deal with Iran becomes the target A difficult choice Under U.S. law, the deal has to be certified every 90 days by the President. Mr. Trump has grudgingly certified compliance twice since… Continue reading Donald Trump and the art of breaking a deal

Tibet is not a card Context Recent calling off major events of Tibetan community example, like cancellation of the 7th World Parliamentarian’s Convention on Tibet (WPCT), which had been planned for April 26-28 in Delhi Author’s view India shouldn’t use Tibetan refugees in India as a card in its relations with China Why using the… Continue reading Tibet is not a card

GSAT-6A to give armed forces a shot in the arm Context GSAT-6A, the second predominantly S-band communications satellite, is set to be launched from Sriharikota on March 29 Features of GSAT-6A For armed forces: It is designated for the use of the Armed Forces and will not add any transponder capacity for general uses Specialised… Continue reading GSAT-6A to give armed forces a shot in the arm

Controlling the machine Context Data protection Backdrop Government of India has constituted a committee of Experts udner the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Shri BN Srikrishna to study various issues relating to data protection in India Need for data protection Digital services in India by various companies like google, facebook and Amazon are expanding… Continue reading Controlling the machine

A legacy of greed Context How science is stepping in to save the northern white rhino from extinction Places where Northern white rhinos cold be found earlier Southern Chad The Central African Republic Southwestern Sudan Northwestern Uganda, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo Why were these rhinos hunted? They were hunted for their horns,… Continue reading A legacy of greed

Fighting forest fires Context The recent wildfire tragedy in Theni in Tamil Nadu, in which 20 trekkers lost their lives, once again brings into focus forest fires in India. Over the past few years, we have realised that these fires are not spontaneous; human beings set off fires. This tragedy raises several other issues —… Continue reading Fighting forest fires

Home truths Context India must stay clear of the US-China trade war, focus on reviving the domestic economy Backdrop US imposed tariffs on Chinese imports worth up to $60 billion after an earlier move to raise import duty on steel and aluminum products coming into the US China has retaliated imposing tariffs on US imports… Continue reading Home truths

Banks told to be vigilant on Aadhaar Context The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asked banks to provide Aadhaar-based onetime password (OTP) for opening of bank accounts only in the presence of the customer, in a banking outlet Backdrop There have been instances of misuse of Aadhaar while opening accounts like usage of… Continue reading Banks told to be vigilant on Aadhaar