News: On March 11, the NCRB Foundation Day, the union home minister said that the second phase of the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) Project is going to be completed by the year 2026. Features & advantages of ICJS The system will include artificial intelligence, fingerprint systems and other tools of predictive policing. For example,… Continue reading Technology can make policing better — and also more dangerous
Tag: gs paper 3
Phasing out coal-based plants: The way forward
Context: The world including India is making plans to decarbonise in context of the looming threat of climate change Challenges in achieving 500GW non-fossil fuel generation capacity by 2030 There are questions on the availability of the sufficient demand in the economy Such a huge capacity of renewable generation needs grid stability. Renewable energy requires… Continue reading Phasing out coal-based plants: The way forward
Global uncertainties, India’s growth prospects
News: On February 28, 2022, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released India’s GDP data for Quarter 3 of 2021-22. The NSO also released Second Advance Estimates (SAE) for Fiscal Year 2021-22. India’s Growth performance As per the estimates, India’s real GDP and GVA growth are estimated to recover to 8.9% and 8.3%, respectively, in 2021-22… Continue reading Global uncertainties, India’s growth prospects
Green Bonds, digital currency hold promise
Context: The Budget had two major announcements pertaining to the issuance of sovereign green bonds and a central bank digital currency. These two launches will be a joint effort between the government and the RBI. What are Sovereign Green Bonds? It will be a part of the government’s borrowing program. The government undertakes borrowing to… Continue reading Green Bonds, digital currency hold promise
It may be time to revive Keynes’ idea of a global reserve currency
Context: The US has weaponized its financial power to pressurize Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. The result of sanctions is that Russia cannot access around half of its foreign exchange reserves. This has led to discussion that other countries will try to diversify their reserves away from the US dollar. Why is the US Dollar… Continue reading It may be time to revive Keynes’ idea of a global reserve currency
A blow to equitable access to essential medicines
News: In October 2020, India and South Africa tabled a proposal in the World Trade Organization (WTO) seeking temporary waiver from Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This was to ensure availability of affordable vaccines, medicines and other medical products. What are the reasons for such demand? This was based on the contention… Continue reading A blow to equitable access to essential medicines
Recycling heat generated by datacentres
News: Microsoft has partnered with Fortum, Finnish energy company to launch the world’s largest scheme to provide heat to homes, services and business in Finland with waste heat. Heat would be sourced from a new data centre region that Microsoft has planned to build in the Helsinki metropolitan area in Finland. How will this work? … Continue reading Recycling heat generated by datacentres
World Water Day: Are we ready for the thirsty future?
News: Notwithstanding, water scarcity and river pollution, we are making things worse for the conservation of the valuable resource. What is Water Scarcity? Water scarcity implies that either sufficient water is not available (because it does not rain, the water table has gone down, or the demands have increased) or water is inaccessible (because it… Continue reading World Water Day: Are we ready for the thirsty future?
Ask the right questions for Ease of Doing Business 2.0
News: In her budget speech, Finance Minister expressed the government’s resolve to launch Ease of Doing Business 2.0 and Ease of Living programmes. She highlighted that in recent years, over 25,000 compliance requirements were reduced and 1,486 Union laws repealed. Has the reduction of compliance requirements impacted Ease of Doing Business in India? It is… Continue reading Ask the right questions for Ease of Doing Business 2.0
India trails other countries in researchers
News: In this article, S Sridhar, the President of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) lists what can help consolidate India’s pharma industry’s advantages and help it touch $130 billion by 2030 from $42 billion in 2020. India is the world’s third-largest drug manufacturer in volumes and ranks 14th in value terms. However,… Continue reading India trails other countries in researchers
