News: Election Commission has raised the expenditure limit of candidates to Rs 95 lakh (up from Rs 70 lakh) each for Lok Sabha elections, and up to Rs 40 lakh (up from Rs 28 lakh) for Assembly polls. Similarly, for smaller states the new limit is Rs 28 lakh, up from Rs 20 lakh. Contents1… Continue reading As parties get an EC raise, the high ambition and low reach of poll expense limits
Tag: gs paper 2
China’s new land boundary law fits in its expansionism
News: China has been over the years aggressively pushing for consolidating its claims on border territories disputed with India through various steps like building Border Infrastructure, modernising its armed forces etc. The latest in line of these measures is the introduction of a new land border law. Contents1 What is this new land border law? 2… Continue reading China’s new land boundary law fits in its expansionism
Extinguishing the tobacco industry’s main narrative
News: Tobacco’s detrimental impact on public health is well documented. It kills more than 13 lakh Indians every year, while casting an annual economic burden of more than 1% of GDP. Yet there’s been no significant tax increases on any of the tobacco products for the past four years since the introduction of GST in… Continue reading Extinguishing the tobacco industry’s main narrative
Japan-Australia defence agreement signals that middle powers are willing to play a more active role in the Indo-Pacific
News: Australia and Japan recently signed a defence treaty called the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) which has a great strategic significance for Asia and the Indo-Pacific. What is the significance of the recently signed RAA? It marks the move away from a US-centric outlook towards a greater focus on bilateral ties and regional groupings. It… Continue reading Japan-Australia defence agreement signals that middle powers are willing to play a more active role in the Indo-Pacific
What the pandemic has revealed about the arts in India
News: Pandemic has effected probably every sector of the world, but Art is one area where its impact and its effect doesn’t get the required attention. How has the pandemic affected art and the artists? Pandemic has brought the digital medium at the core of every sector and has made the content creation a more… Continue reading What the pandemic has revealed about the arts in India
Write laws for Bharat
News: In the year 2021 Indian Parliament passed laws that had themes ranging from surrogacy to transportation of cargo via rivers. Supreme court also passed around 866 judgements. These affect almost every aspect of a citizen’s existence, but despite affecting our life so deeply, they are hardly publicly discussed. Why are laws not a part… Continue reading Write laws for Bharat
Infrastructure power play at the India China border
News: Recently, Satellite images have revealed that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is constructing a bridge in eastern Ladakh connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Tso. This area has been one of the five stand-off points in the tussle between India and China, and would reduce the distance for Chinese forces by 140… Continue reading Infrastructure power play at the India China border
Muslim personal laws: Is it right to increase the age of marriage of women to 21?
News: Recently, the government introduced the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to raise the age of marriage for women from 18 years to 21 years. Some Muslim MPs in Parliament have called the Bill an attack on personal laws because it proposes that it will override the personal laws of Muslims, Parsis, Hindus… Continue reading Muslim personal laws: Is it right to increase the age of marriage of women to 21?
Liberalize the funding of non-profit ventures
News: Non-profit Organisations are subjected to strict norms in India. How strict regulations for NGOs is affecting their survivability? In 2015, The Centre amended the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, to require the renewal of non-profit funding permits every five years. This led to delicensing of many NGO’s. For instance, in 2015 and 2017, over 15,000… Continue reading Liberalize the funding of non-profit ventures
Worrying trends in nutrition indicators in NFHS-5 data
News: The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 data provides certain key data regarding the level of nutrition in the country. What are the findings of NFHS on nutrition? Must read: NFHS-5 and its findings – Explained, pointwise What are the challenges associated with the NFHS data? Read here: The nine lives of India’s National Family Health Survey… Continue reading Worrying trends in nutrition indicators in NFHS-5 data
