The RBI makes a valid case against the proposal for a separate payments regulator The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union government are once again at loggerheads over the legitimate extent of their powers. In a rare gesture, the central bank last week made public its reservations against …
Read More »Monthly Archives: October 2018
The value of a health scheme
The challenges for the success of Ayushman Bharat are more than just at the financial and infrastructural level On September 24, the government launched the grand government-funded healthcare scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). While some see its ambitious goals as its main strength, others are sceptical …
Read More »Ripe for prison reform
Political will is crucial to reform India’s criminal justice system In an acknowledgment that the more than a century-old system of prisons in India needs repair, the Supreme Court, late last month, formed a committee on prison reforms. Headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Amitava Roy, it is to …
Read More »Populism confronts reality
With Pakistan seeking an IMF loan, Imran Khan will struggle to keep up his rhetoric It is two months since Imran Khan became Pakistan’s Prime Minister with the very partisan and public support and assistance from Pakistan’s military and its clandestine organisations, when his main opponent, Nawaz Sharif, and his …
Read More »The judiciary’s #MeToo moment
It is an opportunity to ensure that the defamation law is no longer used as a tool for harassment In Isaac Asimov’s famous Foundation novels, one of the protagonists often explains that “violence is the last refuge of the incompetent”. In India, the fallout of the #MeToo movement has recently …
Read More »NASA names gamma-ray constellations after Godzilla, Hulk
NASA scientists have devised a new set of 21 modern gamma-ray constellations and named them after fictional characters such as the Hulk and Godzilla. The constellations, constructed through its gamma-ray telescope, were devised to celebrate the completion of 10 years of operations of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Source : …
Read More »New hope for drug-resistant TB patients
A new treatment for a deadly drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis can cure more than 90% of sufferers, according to a landmark clinical trial whose results were revealed exclusively to AFP. Doctors in Belarus treated 181 patients with the new drug, bedaquiline, in combination with other antibiotics. Of these, 168 — …
Read More »‘Earth’s inner core is softer than thought’
The inner core of the earth is solid, and softer than previously thought, according to a study which could improve our understanding of how the planet was formed. Researchers at The Australian National University came up with a way to detect shear waves, or “J waves” in the inner core …
Read More »‘Blood vessels may be 3D printed in future’
Scientists have developed a 3D printing technique that can recreate the complex geometry of blood vessels, and could one day be used to produce artificial arteries and organ tissues. A study, published in the journal Nature Communications , outlines a layer-by-layer printing method that features fine-grain, programmable control over rigidity. …
Read More »‘Cockroaches of the ocean’ are eating away California’s underwater forests
The purple urchin is mowing down kelp forests that are crucial as a critical habitat and a source of food for a wide range of species Early on a grey summer Saturday, an unusual assemblage — commercial fishermen, recreational boaters, neoprene-clad divers — gathered for a mission at Albion Cove, …
Read More »A woman of many words
Will a “feminist dictionary” help men and women get a better understanding of contemporary rights movements and shift in laws — the #MeToo campaign and the ruling on Section 377, to name a few — that are changing the fabric of society? Women’s studies scholar H.S. Sreemathi thinks so. She …
Read More »That gut feeling on probiotics
Even before the microbiome craze — the hope that the bacteria in your gut holds the key to good health — people were ingesting cultures of living microorganisms to treat a host of conditions. These probiotics have become so popular that they are being marketed in foods, capsules and even …
Read More »Tejas wins Rs. 111 crore Indian Navy order
Tejas Networks, a maker of networking products, has received an Rs. 111-crore purchase order from Sterlite Technologies to implement Indian Navy’s country-wide next-generation digital communications network. Tejas Networks would supply its terabit capacity DWDM systems and high-performance layer-3 multi-gigabit ethernet switches for Navy’s pan-India network, according to a statement. Source …
Read More »Most equity funds underperformed benchmarks: study
As many as 88% of the large-cap equity funds underperformed their benchmarks over the one-year period ending June 30, according to the latest analysis by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Further, 62% of mid-cap/small-cap equity funds and 83% of government bond funds underperformed their respective indices as well in the same …
Read More »Panel for adopting UN model on cross-border insolvency
The model forms part of international best practices in dealing with such issues The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC), tasked with suggesting amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, has recommended that India adopt the United Nations’ model to handle cross-border insolvency cases. “The ILC has recommended the adoption …
Read More »Direct tax base widens sharply over 4 years, compliance rises
The direct tax base has significantly widened in the last few years, according to new back series data released by the government. The data showed a growth of more than 80% in the number of returns filed in the last four financial years from 3.79 crore in financial year (FY) …
Read More »China’s first private university inaugurated
China’s first private research university has been officially inaugurated in Zhejiang Province’s Hangzhou city, official media reported on Monday. Five Nobel laureates attended the founding ceremony of Westlake University in Hangzhou on Saturday. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/chinas-first-private-university-inaugurated/article25291881.ece
Read More »China asks U.S to ‘think twice’ before pulling out
China on Monday called on the U.S. to “think twice” about its decision to ditch the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. Two top Republican lawmakers backed President Donald Trump’s worries about China on Sunday, saying there are concerns that the treaty is holding the U.S. back while allowing China …
Read More »An African island’s troubled waters
A rounded, rocky outcrop covered with metallic shacks, Migingo Island rises out of the waters of Lake Victoria like an iron-plated turtle. The densely populated island is barely a quarter of a hectare large. There’s little else but a few bars, brothels and a tiny port. Nevertheless, for over a …
Read More »Bolton arrives in Russia for talks on nuclear treaty
White House National Security Advisor John Bolton on Monday began two days of meetings with senior Russian officials following Washington’s weekend announcement of its withdrawal from a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty. The Moscow visit by Mr. Bolton was planned before the Saturday announcement by President Donald Trump that the …
Read More »