News: Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is aggravating rapidly, putting citizens through enormous hardship. Sri Lanka’s Consumer Price inflation is at 16.8%, and it must repay foreign debt totalling nearly $7 billion this year. Reason for the crisis Ever since the start of the pandemic, 1) Sri Lankan labourers in West Asian countries were left stranded… Continue reading Sri Lanka’s aggravating economic crisis
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When West Weaponizes Sanctions
News: Recently, the Indian PM pointed towards the domestic political stability in the face of external threats and challenges like global conflict, instability and mounting inflationary pressures. Consequences of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict and the economic sanctions The military campaign in Ukraine has destabilised the European security order. The western economic sanctions on Russia are… Continue reading When West Weaponizes Sanctions
Russia’s offer of cheaper oil is tempting, but India must be cautious
News: Global crude oil prices have now risen above $100 a barrel due to the Russia-Ukraine Conflict 2022. Impact of high crude prices on India Indian government is under tremendous pressures. It has to spend twice as much to import oil. It cannot pass on these high oil costs to consumers, and will have to… Continue reading Russia’s offer of cheaper oil is tempting, but India must be cautious
Amid Ukraine crisis, India does well to deepen ties with Australia and Japan, draw red lines vis a vis Beijing
News: The Chinese Foreign Minister attacked QUAD members. He mentioned that “No country should pursue its so-called absolute security at the expense of other countries’ security”. He stated this in wake of Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narender Modi’s summit-level meetings with the prime ministers of Japan and Australia. Accusation made by China on the west … Continue reading Amid Ukraine crisis, India does well to deepen ties with Australia and Japan, draw red lines vis a vis Beijing
The pandemic’s income inequality surprise
News: Recently, a study was done for analysing the changes in the poverty and income inequality in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic. What has been the impact of Covid-19 Pandemic? Macro level: Indian GDP fell sharply during the lockdown. It largely witnessed V-shaped recovery after the lockdown. Micro-level: During the lockdown: the poverty (income below $1.90)… Continue reading The pandemic’s income inequality surprise
TWO FREEDOMS AND THE HIJAB IN OUR MIDST
The Karnataka High Court recently ruled that wearing Hijab is not an essential practice in Islam. The judges held that neither the prescription of uniform in schools nor the Karnataka government’s order disallowing the wearing of hijab in schools was violative of Article 25 of the Constitution. Two concepts of freedom: In the debate around… Continue reading TWO FREEDOMS AND THE HIJAB IN OUR MIDST
Japanese PM’s visit reaffirms salience of bilateral ties with India at a time of geopolitical ferment
News: Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited India. It is significant that despite the recent developments in Ukraine, Tokyo and New Delhi have managed to present a united front vis-a-vis China. What is the significance of the visit of Japanese PM to India? First, it was the first bilateral state visit of Japanese Prime… Continue reading Japanese PM’s visit reaffirms salience of bilateral ties with India at a time of geopolitical ferment
Treating values of individual freedom as trifles
News: Recently, The Karnataka high Court has given its judgment in the hijab controversy case (or the Resham v/s State of Karnataka Case (2022), wherein a ban imposed on the use of hijabs by students in classrooms across the State (Karnataka) was upheld. What has the High Court said in its judgement? The High Court’s… Continue reading Treating values of individual freedom as trifles
United Nations votes are not black and white
News: Article highlights the finer details of the voting system followed at the UN and various other organs like UN Security Council. Nature of Voting in UN System The UN General Assembly: The member country has various options for voting like ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Abstention’, ‘present and not participating’ or ‘absent at the time of the… Continue reading United Nations votes are not black and white
Looming fertilizer shortage
News: The Ukraine war has disrupted the supplies of fertilisers in the international market. It could impact India too, as it depends heavily on imports for meeting their burgeoning requirement of fertilizers, For example, India’s import dependence is about 25% for urea, nearly 90% for phosphates, and 100% for potash. Contents1 Why the supplies… Continue reading Looming fertilizer shortage
