Category: Featured Editorials

Context: The government has constituted a 5-member expert committee to recommend on the amount of compensation for patients who has suffered from faulty Johnson &Johnson hip-implants. Background of the Case: Deputy International Limited (DePuy), a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson had engineered a metal-on-metal (both the prosthetic ball and socket are made of metals- cobalt… Continue reading The Johnson & Johnson ASR Implant Case

Why in news? Tribal Rights activists have criticised the recently (March 2018) released Draft National Forest Policy on the grounds that it violates tribal rights over forest lands Need for New Policy         Issues with National forest Policy, 1988 Use of obsolete concepts: The principal aim of National Forest Policy, 1988 uses the concepts of ecological… Continue reading Draft National Forest Policy, 2018

context Recently, the RBI has formed Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Research Unit What is Blockchain technology? “A Blockchain is a digital, immutable, distributed ledger that chronologically records transactions in near real time.” In simple words, it is an interlinked and continuously expanding list of records stored securely across a number of interconnected systems. How does a… Continue reading Blockchain Technology

Why in news? Supreme Court imposed fines on some States and the Union Territory for not placing on record their respective policies under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 Basic Concepts: Waste: It is defined as any material that is not useful and does not represent any economic value to its owner, the owner being… Continue reading Solid Waste Management

Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror. George Wald Context A high-level South Korean delegation will fly to North Korea this week to discuss arrangements for an inter-Korean summit Background North Korea was formed in 1948 after the end of the Second World War. It… Continue reading North Korea Issue

Context: The Union Cabinet has approved the policy framework to permit exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons. Background of the issue: Unconventional hydrocarbons are sources of oil and gas which require methods for extraction which are not normally necessary in the conventional extraction of hydrocarbons such as Coal bed Methane, shale gas/oil, tight gas and… Continue reading Unconventional Hydrocarbons

Why in news? Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Government of India has released draft Clinical Trial (CT) Rules 2018 What are clinical trials? Clinical trials are scientific studies conducted to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose, or treat disease. The clinical trials are conducted to know the safety and… Continue reading Clinical Trials

Why in news? According to Economic Survey 2017-18 India’s spending on R&D in terms of % of GDP has been stagnant at 0.6 to 0.7% in the last two decades What is R&D? The UNESCO defines R&D as – ‘R&D is any creative systematic activity undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including… Continue reading R&D in India

Context Recently, civil aviation ministry has announced a policy and guidelines for drones What are drones? The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) defines drones or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) as an unmanned aircraft piloted from a remote pilot station. Classification of drones: DGCA has classified drones as: Nano: Less than or equal to 250… Continue reading Drone Regulations 1.0

Context Recently Supreme Court has directed centre to bring positive laws to end the stigma and discrimination against Leprosy. About Leprosy Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to man. East Africa is the more likely place of origin of leprosy. Leprosy also known as Hansen’s disease (HD), is a chronic infection caused by… Continue reading Leprosy in India