Category: Mains 2016 Initiative

GMO- Is an organism that has been transformed by the insertion of one or more genes (called trans-genes). The genes may be from a different kingdom(e.g. a bacterial gene into plant genetic material), a different species within the same kingdom or even from the same species. The subject of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food…

According to an oxford professor, gender equality has four dimensions: Redressing disadvantage Countering stigma, prejudice, humiliation and violence Transforming social and institutional structures Facilitating political participation and social inclusion. Facts- As per the National Crime Records Bureau Data – Reported cases of domestic violence in India went up from 50,703 in 2003 to 1,18,866 in…

Context: Government has recently declared that Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes would no longer be a legal tender. The decision has been taken in the context of curbing the black money and to tackle the challenge of terror financing and money laundering. Introduction: Money laundering and the financing of terrorism are financial crimes with…

Background: Before the establishment of ICANN, the function of administering registries of Internet protocol identifiers (including the distributing top-level domains and IP addresses) was performed by Jon Postel, a Computer Science researcher in USA. As the Internet grew and expanded globally, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated a process to establish a new organization to perform the…

Context: The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley proposed this Scheme to declare undisclosed income in his 2016 budget presentation. It has provided an opportunity to persons who had not paid full taxes in the past to come forward and declare their domestic undisclosed income and assets. Provisions: It was a scheme with 4 month…

Nearly 250 million people live in and around forests in India, of which the estimated indigenous Adivasi or tribal population stands at about 100 million, constituting about 8% of India’s population. Forest Rights Act (2006) and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (1996) -established a framework for local self-governance in demarcated (or “scheduled”) areas.…

Context: In a unique departure from the past, the government has stressed on the need to leverage co-operative & competitive federalism to achieve all round growth. What is Competitive Federalism? It is the concept where Centre competes with the states and vice versa, and states compete with each other with the ultimate aim to develop…

Context: The idea for simultaneous elections for all the states as well as for general assembly was pitched by some national leaders. Advantages of simultaneous elections: It would save public money and time of politicians that is wasted in campaigns for elections. It would encourage more focus on governance and policy making as winning elections…