Tag: business standard

Context: At present, Russian invasion of Ukraine is facing a lot of criticism from the international community. It seems Russia is not going to win the war. This is going to be very similar to the Russian and US failures in Afghanistan, and their failed interventions in West Asia.  Contents1 Why is Russia not going… Continue reading The march of folly 

Context: Recently, the World Bank and the other by the International Monetary Fund published two different papers to assess the level of poverty in India. They concluded that poverty in India had declined considerably in recent years. In this backdrop, the government has done well to restart the consumer expenditure survey process because the survey… Continue reading Data-dependent policy 

News: Recently, a report was released by the Parliamentary Standing Committee which draws a comparison of India’s defence sector spending on research and development with the US and other countries.   What are the findings of the report?  According to the report, India spends too little on research and development (R&D) in the defence sector.  The… Continue reading Rethinking innovation in defence

News: Recently, the European Union (EU) has approved landmark legislation known as the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).   What are the issues with social media platforms?  They are being used for spreading disinformation and hate speech to influence elections, racist violence etc.   The major problem lies in revenue models of the social media platforms. They… Continue reading On EU’s Digital Services Act: Responsible content 

Context: Ever since it was announced by the prime minister in October 2021, the Gati Shakti mission has been billed as one of the most transformational projects in the country. Successfully planning and executing large scale infrastructure projects in India have always been a nightmare, leading to significant cost and time overruns. Gati Shakti is… Continue reading On Gati Shakti Mission: Plugging the infra gaps

Context: Recently, the NITI Aayog released a draft battery-swapping policy pertaining to two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and e-rickshaws. The draft policy aims to address some key concerns within the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem.   What is the objective of the draft policy? It will promote adoption of EV. It would lower dependencies on fossil fuels and reduce the… Continue reading On Electric Vehicle adoption in India: The right push 

News: Recently, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visited India. Further, the president of the European Commission is scheduled to visit India in the coming days. Therefore, India-EU relations become the centre of debate  What are the various challenges for India to increase its integration with the EU? The EU comprises a mammoth bureaucracy. It… Continue reading A new indispensable power 

Context: Concept of Metaverse is promising immersive environments where we can do pretty much anything. Users will utilise avatars and gear like virtual/augmented reality helmets or glasses (more options will surely develop) to dive in. But whatever the global pace of development may be, India may well be behind the curve Must Read: What is… Continue reading Behind the curve on Metaverse

News: Recently, a Standing Committee of the Rajya Sabha in its 112th report has recommended to the Union government to recruit more Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers. What are the issues with the IAS? There is a huge shortage of more than 1,500 IAS officers in the country. For example, the gap between the sanctioned strength… Continue reading The Indian Entitled Service