News: The government has recently announced eligibility conditions for the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). There is a noticeable difference between the CDS the government wanted in 2019 and what it seems to want today. It is disconcerting that the government has modified the eligibility criteria for appointment as CDS so early in… Continue reading CDS: Unsettled questions
Tag: gs paper 3
Avoiding the coal scarcity trap
News: In 2021, the Indian government gave instructions to generators to import coal while India was in the midst of a power crisis. It directed the power stations itself to import coal to the extent of 4% of their requirement and blend it with domestic coal. What are the causes of the power crisis? India… Continue reading Avoiding the coal scarcity trap
Fintech challenge is a fantasy
News: The government is poised to launch 75 digital banks soon. What will be launched are Digital Banking Units (DBUs). These are a new way of making available digital products of existing banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). If one thinks that a sleek set of new banks is going to challenge traditional banks, one… Continue reading Fintech challenge is a fantasy
Web3 is the business model of a decentralized new virtual world
News: Practical examples of Web 3.0 proved that it is like going back to early human settlements, with all transactions happening peer-to-peer with easy mutual trust and locally minted currency. Blockchains provide the decentralized foundation of trust for this new old world, and Web 3.0 is the business model driving it. Contents1 What is Web… Continue reading Web3 is the business model of a decentralized new virtual world
Moderation’s broken but this isn’t the way to fix it
News: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MEITY) has released a fresh draft of the amendment to the Information Technology(IT) Rules 2021. What are the draft new amendments to the IT Rules,2021? Read here: Union Govt seeks fresh comments on Draft IT Rules What are the issues associated with the draft amendments? 1) State oversight of moderation… Continue reading Moderation’s broken but this isn’t the way to fix it
Is the ban on wheat exports good policy?
News: Over the last month, the government has banned the export of wheat and imposed quantitative restrictions on outbound sugar shipments. The wheat export ban came within days of a push to enhance India’s wheat supplies to the rest of the world after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The government has argued that farmers have not… Continue reading Is the ban on wheat exports good policy?
Global hunger calls for a collective action
News: In a statement, the United Nations’ Secretary General, said that: Global hunger levels are at a new high. In just two years, the number of severely food insecure people has doubled from 135 million to 276 million. The present situation is pointing towards a global food shortage. It may push millions of people into… Continue reading Global hunger calls for a collective action
Explained: The RBI rate hike and its impact
News: Reserve Bank of India hiked the repo rate by another 50 basis points. RBI is moving on with the withdrawal of its accommodative policy, in the backdrop of increasing inflation in the country. The RBI had pumped huge liquidity into the system in 2020 to counter the impact of the pandemic. RBI has projected… Continue reading Explained: The RBI rate hike and its impact
International trade remains important
News: In 2022, international trade is being impacted by a continuing global pandemic, a European war, widespread economic sanctions, supply chains disruptions and sudden national bans and caps on exports of essential commodities. Global Trade The World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates that global goods trade has expanded by about 40 times (in terms of volume)… Continue reading International trade remains important
Look at per capita: on Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022 report
News: Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022 was released recently. Recently, Environmental Performance Index 2022 ranked India at the bottom of 180 countries. The findings of the index are not accurate. EPI does not generally accept information directly from governments. Data is used from multiple sources, including government data. Thus, the ranking does not accurately reflect India’s… Continue reading Look at per capita: on Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022 report
