News: Recently, the Safe in India (SII) released CRUSHED 2021, which shows a grim reality of occupational safety and health in the auto sector. This article says that there is a need for a comprehensive review of labour inspection and the labour statistical system in India, as the Government is in the process of framing… Continue reading A dipping graph in occupational safety and health
Author: Ram Manohar
Breakthrough in nuclear fusion, and why it is significant
News: Recently Scientists in the Joint European Torus (JET) facility, United Kingdom have said that they have achieved a new milestone in producing energy from nuclear fusion. Why it is significant? One, it is major breakthrough because all current nuclear reactors are based on the fission process. In fission process, the nucleus of a heavier… Continue reading Breakthrough in nuclear fusion, and why it is significant
Living up to rocket boys’ dreams
News: The recent series named Rocket Boys on SonyLIV explores the friendship between the two legendary scientists — Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai. One is the father of the Indian nuclear programme and the other is the pioneer of India’s space research. This article discusses how far India has succeeded in fulfilling their aspirations. What… Continue reading Living up to rocket boys’ dreams
Big golden mahseer to small kudremukh barb, freshwater fish are richly diverse
News: In this article, Vidhyadhar Atkore while speaking to Times Evoke explained the river biodiversity and threat faced by it due to human interference. He has studied four major river basins, the Malaprabha, Mhadei, Tunga and Bhadra systems in Karnataka. What are some significant findings? One, the free-flowing riverine systems have nearly 50% more endemic… Continue reading Big golden mahseer to small kudremukh barb, freshwater fish are richly diverse
Taking a byte out of cyber threats
News: The cycle of cyber-attacks and the distrust will threaten the foundations of democratic society. The world was made aware of the threat posed by cyber weapons with the advent of the Stuxnet Worm in 2010. It resulted in damage to Iran’s centrifuge capabilities. In 2012, a bank of computers belonging to the Saudi Aramco… Continue reading Taking a byte out of cyber threats
Time to end employer criminalisation
News: The recent budget has prioritized Ease of Doing Business (EODB) 2.0. The article says that criminalization of employers has affected productivity of Indian economy, hence there is need to relook the jail provisions and simplify the laws. Why there is need to reconsider employer criminalization? One, the excessive criminalisation of employers has painful consequences… Continue reading Time to end employer criminalisation
An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture
News: The article suggests a different way of designing a minimum support price (MSP) to transform Indian agriculture. How the current price stabilization policy for food grains has evolved? The Essential Commodities Act in 1955 was passed to counter price rise due to speculative private trading, and then MSP came in the 1960s. Then, a… Continue reading An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture
A change of course on privatisation
News: Recently released India’s Budget 22-23 has signalled that the government will proceed cautiously on privatisation. The article says that the retreat on privatisation is a pragmatic economic policy. Why the Budget has changed the course of privatisation? The Budget has set a modest target for privatisation of Rs 65,000 crore. Also, much of the… Continue reading A change of course on privatisation
Income tax on our rich should’ve been rejigged
News: This article discusses the view of former Reserve Bank of India governor C. Rangarajan on taxation. The article says tax rules should be made easier for better tax collections. India needs direct tax reforms because tax relief is not enough. How the government missed the opportunity to simplify the tax rate? Pandemic has increased… Continue reading Income tax on our rich should’ve been rejigged
It’s time to take a relook at privatisation
News: This article discusses that privatization and the short-term gain associated with it should not overshadow the long-term interest. Hence, there is need to take a relook at privatization. Why privatization is being considered as panacea? India’s fiscal deficit (for the Centre) in FY22 is expected to be at 6.8% of the GDP and with… Continue reading It’s time to take a relook at privatisation
