News: Recently, the Government of India has announced the Agnipath Scheme for recruitment of soldiers, the majority of whom will serve for four years. Contents1 What is the Agnipath scheme2 What will be the process of recruitment?3 What was the need of such a reform?4 Argument Against What is the Agnipath scheme It will lead to recruitment… Continue reading Agnipath will lead to a leaner military, savings in pensions. But there are challenges beyond the bold step forward,
Biomass co-firing: Why India’s target for coal power plants is challenging
News: The unavailability of biomass pellets of agricultural residues is halting the implementation of co-firing biomass with coal in thermal power plants. Contents1 What is Biomass co-firing?2 What are the steps taken to improve Biomass co-firing?3 What are the benefits of Biomass co-firing?4 What are the challenges faced in Biomass co-firing in India?5 What should… Continue reading Biomass co-firing: Why India’s target for coal power plants is challenging
Patently false: WTO debate on waiving vax IPR misses the point. Equitable access needs quick tech transfer
News: The ongoing WTO ministerial conference in Geneva is discussing, among other things, a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights (IPR) on Covid vaccines. The genesis was an earlier India-South Africa proposal in October 2020. Since then, many other countries have backed the idea. Of course, as the draft says, India won’t benefit on account… Continue reading Patently false: WTO debate on waiving vax IPR misses the point. Equitable access needs quick tech transfer
Needed: A PM’s council for human development
Context: India’s goal should be to be in the top 50 nations of the world by 2047 in human development and at least a rank below 100 by 2030. These need a prime minister-led human development council under the NITI Aayog. The governing council/ National Development Council itself can be that body with exclusive meetings… Continue reading Needed: A PM’s council for human development
China wants a larger BRICS to challenge the existing international order
News: Recently, a virtual meeting of BRICS+ foreign ministers was held in which representatives of various countries participated and it was proposed to expand the BRICS membership. Contents1 What was proposed?2 Why is there a proposal for expansion of BRICS?3 Precedents4 What are the issues?5 Way Forward What was proposed? It was decided that this… Continue reading China wants a larger BRICS to challenge the existing international order
Malnutrition in India is a worry in a modern scenario
News: Even after 75 years of independence, India is still struggling to meet the nutritional needs. Contents1 Nutritional Indicators2 What is the finding of NFHS-5?3 What are the factors behind poor nutritional outcomes?4 Way Forward Nutritional Indicators Stunting is defined as low height-for-age Wasting is defined as low weight-for-height Anaemia is defined as the condition… Continue reading Malnutrition in India is a worry in a modern scenario
The way to end child marriage
News: Recently, the government has increased the age of marriage of women in India from 18 to 21 years, as a delayed marriage might offer significant public health dividends and substantive benefits at the individual and societal levels. Contents1 Benefit of increasing age of marriage2 State-wise pattern3 What are the ultimate factors?4 Is increasing the… Continue reading The way to end child marriage
An ideal approach to social media grievance redressal
News: Recently, the govt released a set of draft amendments to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Once enacted, digital intermediaries will have to ensure that the community standards to which they hold their users answerable comply with Indian law and India’s constitutional principles. This, the govt clarified, has become… Continue reading An ideal approach to social media grievance redressal
Dictates for doctors
News: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has published a draft of the regulations it proposes for the professional conduct of doctors and invited comments by June 22. The draft regulations have overlapping with the existing regulations of the erstwhile Medical Council of India. What are the constituents of the draft regulations? Chapters 2 to 6… Continue reading Dictates for doctors
9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – June 15th, 2022
Dear Friends, We have initiated some changes in the 9 PM Brief and other postings related to current affairs. What we sought to do: Ensure that all relevant facts, data, and arguments from today’s newspaper are readily available to you. We have widened the sources to provide you with content that is more than enough… Continue reading 9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – June 15th, 2022
