Context: In an address delivered at the Delhi School of Economics recently, N.K. Singh, the chairperson of the 15th Finance Commission, warned about how the race to provide freebies to voters could be a “quick path to fiscal disaster”. He also noted that freebies could be harmful for the long-term economic growth of the country,… Continue reading Are freebies affecting the economic growth of India?
Tag: gs paper 2
Making room for the victim in the criminal justice system
Context: Victim of a crime should be given his due recognition as a critical stakeholder in the administration of criminal justice. Presently, his role has been reduced to that of a mere spectator in the entire battle fought b/w the prosecution and the accused. But, a recent decision of the Supreme Court in Jagjeet Singh… Continue reading Making room for the victim in the criminal justice system
From Bihar, the good news on banking: How Jan Dhan has deepened financial literacy among poor women, and in rural areas
Context: In Bihar, PMJDY has covered more than 5 crore beneficiaries, of whom more than 3. 67 crore are in rural areas. Since 2015, more than 3. 8 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued in the state. The reach of this scheme is indeed impressive. The authors of this article examined the account level… Continue reading From Bihar, the good news on banking: How Jan Dhan has deepened financial literacy among poor women, and in rural areas
Preventing harm: On judicial intervention against hate speech
Context: After the Supreme Court called for “corrective measures” against the peddling of communal hate from supposedly religious platforms, the authorities in Uttarakhand have prevented the holding of a ‘dharam sansad’ in Roorkee by imposing prohibitory orders against such gatherings. Recently, many such cases have come to the forefront wherein inflammatory speeches against particular communities… Continue reading Preventing harm: On judicial intervention against hate speech
Scrap sedition: There’s no point trying to mend this broken law. It’s an anti-constitutional provision that must go
News: The Supreme Court has resumed its hearing of petitions seeking the scrapping of the sedition provision in IPC. This comes at a time when this colonial era law is becoming a major threat to political and personal freedoms. Why sedition law must be scrapped? Section 124A IPC punishes words or actions that attempt to… Continue reading Scrap sedition: There’s no point trying to mend this broken law. It’s an anti-constitutional provision that must go
Building back to avert a learning catastrophe
News: Recently, a joint report by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank, ‘The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery’, was released related to the Covid-19 impact on school education. What were the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic? Schools in countries around the world were either partially or fully closed. This emerged… Continue reading Building back to avert a learning catastrophe
A look at child and adolescent healthcare systems
News: There are less than eight years to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. However, many child and adolescent health targets are off track. Therefore, there is a real risk that nations might completely fail to meet the United Nation’s sustainable development targets. Global status & achievements of children and adolescents’ health Globally, an estimated… Continue reading A look at child and adolescent healthcare systems
Ride Between East & West
News: Recently, the Group of Twenty (G20) was facing the heat of disruption. The G7 group of rich nations have ganged. Their leaders walked out of a meeting of G20 finance ministers demanding Russia’s ouster. The developed countries have threatened to prevent the convening of the World Trade Organisation’s 12th ministerial meeting. About G20 It… Continue reading Ride Between East & West
Atmanirbhar internet is about self-sufficiency, not protectionism
Context: The criticisms levelled against the IT Rules and the idea of an atmanirbhar internet are baseless. What are the arguments in favor of IT Rules? Read – Draft IT Rules for Social Media Firstly, it will strike a balance between the commercial interests of social media platforms and the rights of its citizens in… Continue reading Atmanirbhar internet is about self-sufficiency, not protectionism
“India as a democratic superpower
News: India is the world’s third-largest economy, at least in purchasing power terms. Further, it has been argued that India has emerged as a democratic superpower capable of providing the leadership that the world needs. What are the geopolitical and other challenges in front of the international community? Russia has launched an unprovoked war against… Continue reading “India as a democratic superpower
