Contents1 What is the News?2 What is the proposal of the US on Menthol Cigarettes?3 Which countries have already banned menthol cigarettes?4 What about India on Menthol Cigarettes?5 What will be the impact of the menthol cigarettes ban in India? What is the News? The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposal to… Continue reading Explained: Why US wants to ban menthol cigarettes, and what ‘racial justice’ has to do with it
Ukraine rethinks on hyper-globalisation. Nations need to de-risk against overdependence on few suppliers
News: Recently, Indonesia, the world’s largest producer and exporter of the palm oil has been experiencing domestic shortages of the same. This led to spike in the domestic palm oil prices in Indonesia and the world (including India). Therefore, Indonesia has announced to ban all exports. What is the concept of hyper-globalization? In a hyper-globalised… Continue reading Ukraine rethinks on hyper-globalisation. Nations need to de-risk against overdependence on few suppliers
India must use markets to decarbonise
News: Recently, in the Conference of Parties (CoP-26) of the UNFCCC held at Glasgow in November 2021 several partner countries were seen committed to concrete action plans to contain global warming under the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Why should India decarbonize? Climate change is bound to impact human lives and the global economy. This… Continue reading India must use markets to decarbonise
Funding woes haunts Indian Science
News: The Union Ministry of Science and Technology budgetary allocation in the current financial year (2022-23) has seen a drop from the last year. The 2022-2023 Union Budget has seen a drop of 3.9% from last year. Contents1 What is the significance of science and tech? 2 Status of India’s R&D expenditure 3 Some of the measures… Continue reading Funding woes haunts Indian Science
Desi commerce: GoI’s ecommerce network for small players is a good idea. Customer interface will be critical
Context: GoI’s quest to build an open digital ecommerce network for small businesses holds great promise. The proposed model can potentially be a game-changer for small retailers and new tech startups facing big ecommerce giants and their market dominance and commissions. It can also address sellers’ limitations of being tied down to one platform, and… Continue reading Desi commerce: GoI’s ecommerce network for small players is a good idea. Customer interface will be critical
A silicon waste alert for our creaky power sector
Context: India’s power crisis is best described by a disconnect between installed capacity and availability that must be sorted out. What are the major reasons behind the power shortage in the country? India has an installed capacity to generate almost 400 gigawatts of electricity, and about 40% of it cleanly. But a surge in peak… Continue reading A silicon waste alert for our creaky power sector
Invigorating the Ayush industry
Context: The Ayush industry in India can provide cost-effective healthcare to people across States. It has all the ingredients of success, to co-exist with the modern health systems, as a choice-based system of traditional medicine. The article lists out measures that can be implemented to reinvigorate the Ayush Ministry. Contents1 China’s example wrt its traditional… Continue reading Invigorating the Ayush industry
Revisit the Seventh Schedule to improve Centre-state relations
News: Recently, the Union government revoked the orders and guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005 after covid knocked on India’s doors. The DMA has been the backbone of policy interventions to fight covid. Contents1 What are the constitutional provisions with respect to invoking the laws? 2 How was the DMA 2005 used by… Continue reading Revisit the Seventh Schedule to improve Centre-state relations
The Delhi dual governance conundrum
Context: Delhi has been experiencing a prolonged confrontation on the relative powers of the territorial administration and the Union government. However, recently, the 2021 amendment to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act,1991 has been enacted. The aforementioned amendment is also under challenge before the Supreme Court. Contents1 Nature of Delhi in the… Continue reading The Delhi dual governance conundrum
Why Berlin Is A Key Partner For New Delhi
News: Indian PM is in Berlin for the biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations. The IGC invitation was initiated by Germany during the Ukraine crisis, indicating the importance of India as a global partner. This follows the visits of the UK prime minister and the European Commission president to India. The Nordic Summit will follow. PM’s stop by… Continue reading Why Berlin Is A Key Partner For New Delhi
