What is the News? A team of Indian scientists have developed a new technology platform for fluorometric detection of pathogens such as viruses by measurement of fluorescent light emitted. Background Viruses are a major global threat to human health, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 continues to inflict catastrophic effects on all aspects… Continue reading Scientists develop new technology platform to detect SARS-CoV-2 by fluorescence readout
Rights of the weak, duties of the powerful
News: Rights and duties of the citizens are correlative to each other, which means that rights have real meaning if individuals perform duties. What is the relationship between rights and duties? Rights and duties are complementary. If a person has a right to something, it necessarily implies that someone else has a corresponding duty. For example,… Continue reading Rights of the weak, duties of the powerful
Step up agri-spending, boost farm incomes
News: The present budget (2022-23) has increased allocation towards the agricultural sector by 4.4%. What is the issue with the current budgetary allocation for agriculture? First, the current rate of increase in budget is lower than the current inflation rate of 5.5%-6%. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, the government expenditure on… Continue reading Step up agri-spending, boost farm incomes
Why we ought to replace legalese with plain language
News: Recently, judges of India’s Supreme Court were unable to comprehend a judgement of Himachal Pradesh high court due to its dense legal language. Contents1 Why is there a use of such dense language in legal documents? 2 What are the consequences of this? 3 What is the situation in other countries? 4 What is the way… Continue reading Why we ought to replace legalese with plain language
Tax incentives for Philanthropy
News: Civil society plays a key role in development of the society. Hence, it is important to study various aspects that affect its functioning. Despite this, impact of tax incentives on charitable donations has not been systematically studied in the Indian context. Contents1 Is there any global in-depth research on the role of tax incentives… Continue reading Tax incentives for Philanthropy
Why opinion polls need regulation
News: Despite EC’s efforts, the broad consensus from political parties, opinion and exit polls continue to undermine elections. Contents1 What is the stand of the Election Commission of India on opinion polls?2 What are the other stakeholders who want a ban on the opinion polls?3 What is the viewpoint of the Supreme Court on opinion… Continue reading Why opinion polls need regulation
What arguments in marital rape case reveal about insecurity of patriarchy
News: Recently, hearings are going on a petition to criminalize marital rape. Must read: Explained: The debate over marital rape What arguments have been presented against marital rape? Some call it anti-civilizational law. The argument of its misuse is also presented. Many cases of false filing of cases of sexual abuse have been reported by… Continue reading What arguments in marital rape case reveal about insecurity of patriarchy
The case for easing our identity proof insistence
News: The government of India has informed the Supreme Court that it had provided covid vaccination to 8.7 million people without asking for identification. What are the steps initiated by the government of India? Apart from Aadhaar, the government allowed citizens to use eight alternative documents to register themselves on Co-Win, a website for vaccine allotment.… Continue reading The case for easing our identity proof insistence
Back to nature: Immense need for crop diversification and role of agroforestry
News: This article discusses how crop diversification can help in dealing with numerous issues faced by the Indian agriculture and how agroforestry can add to it. What are the issues associated with Indian Agriculture? One, farmers face numerous challenges and climatic vagaries during agricultural production, such as untimely rainfall, stone hail, drought, flood etc. Other… Continue reading Back to nature: Immense need for crop diversification and role of agroforestry
Reducing edible oil imports
News: Government has extended the stockholding curbs on oilseeds and edible oils. This may prove to be harmful for India’s vision of boosting the output of oilseeds to reduce dependence on imports for edible oils. Why is this step harmful for the economy’s health? Wrong signal to market: Economic Survey has also cautioned against such knee-jerk… Continue reading Reducing edible oil imports
