Tag: times of india

News: The GoI notified the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 in August last year. It prohibits 20 single-use plastic items by 2022.  Contents1 About the rules 2021 2 Why is plastic a cause of concern? 3 Whether the nationwide single-use plastic ban beginning from today will be an effective counteraction?  4 What should be done? About the… Continue reading About the ban on single-use plastics: Plastic Challenge 

News: The government has launched the Semicon India program to secure a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India. It will make India self-reliant on key items such as semiconductors. Contents1 About the government initiative2 Decoding chips:3 What are the processes in the making of Semiconductors Device?4 Foundry Phase (only fabrication)5 Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT)… Continue reading Semiconductors: Heroes Of The New Digital World

News: Recently, the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench has ruled that a newspaper fairly reporting information in the public domain without insinuation or innuendo cannot attract defamation charges. What is the case on Criminal defamation? The case involved a Marathi daily that had reported on a police FIR in 2016. The person booked in the… Continue reading Shooting messengers: Criminal defamation must go from IPC. Effective civil libel law is enough for protecting reputations

Context: India has huge reserves of Rare Earth Elements, but is still dependent on imports. Rare Earth Elements are a group of 17 elements: scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium. Demand for Rare Earth Elements is on the rise for many critical applications… Continue reading Why India Should Become A Rare Earths Powerhouse

News: Recently, the US Supreme Court overruled the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision. It eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. Implications of the US Judgement Globally It will strengthen the feeling that women’s rights that are decades in the making can disappear overnight. The US At the level of US healthcare, around half the states… Continue reading American Tragedy – Right to abortion judgment

News: Bill Gates advocates “Outbreaks are inevitable but pandemics are optional.” According to him, the next outbreak may turn out to be even more deadly and destructive. He also mentions right now is the best time to start preparing for the next virus and prevent the next pandemic. Contents1 About the status of some infectious… Continue reading Can Data Surveillance Prevent The Next Pandemic?

News: Recently, Afghanistan has faced a severe earthquake, which is supposed to have killed around 1,000-plus people in initial estimates. Contents1 What are the major problems that are being faced in Afghanistan?2 Since Earthquake3 Why should India come forward?4 What are the challenges in giving aid to Afghanistan? What are the major problems that are… Continue reading Help Afghans

News: With record-breaking heatwaves hitting many parts of the world, scientific circles have been debating whether countries should prepare to deploy geoengineering technologies to deal with such climate emergencies or not. Contents1 What is Geoengineering?2 What are Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) technologies?3 What are Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies?4 What are the advantages and disadvantages… Continue reading Do We Need Geoengineering & What Are The Risks?

Context: Recently, India opened up the space sector, with the intention of gaining economic and strategic importance. However, reality has been different. India’s share in the $440-billion global space economy is only around 2%. In June, 2020, India announced reforms based on four pillars; 1) Freedom of innovation for the private sector, 2) Changing the… Continue reading We Have A Long Wait Before India Inc Gets Space-Ready