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
Tag: gs paper 2
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. Why the supplies of… Continue reading Looming fertilizer shortage
Why next FATF review is critical for India?
News: The evaluation of India by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) could start by the September-October year, followed by an on-site visit in February 2023. What is FATF and what is its objective? FATF is an inter-governmental body that Sets standards, and develops and promotes policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Generates… Continue reading Why next FATF review is critical for India?
Our weak educational outcomes have a wide set of societal causes
Context: There are various societal reasons due to which children are not achieving appropriate learning outcomes in schools. This article describes the societal reasons. Overall governance and administrative culture Low prioritization of education – as manifested in budget allocation and human resources. Failure to recognize that education is a matter of deep expertise: Key decisions… Continue reading Our weak educational outcomes have a wide set of societal causes
Towards inclusive education
News: Recently, the draft accessibility guidelines and standards for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Universities were released by the Universities Grants Commission (UGC). How can the guidelines be further improved Correction of Procedural flaw: The public notice preceding the guidelines was inaccessible to persons with visual disabilities. The document was poorly scanned, instead a digital… Continue reading Towards inclusive education
