Daily Archives: January 2, 2023

SAME-SEX MARRIAGES

A recent statement by a Member of Parliament that same-sex marriages are against the (so-called) cultural ethos of India has once again stirred up the debate on marriage equality. This is amidst a petition for marriage rights of same-sex couples (under the Special Marriage Act, 1954) pending before the Supreme …

Read More »

‘FOE TRADE’ AND AN AGGRESSIVE CHINA

The year 2022 can perhaps be best summarised by a quote by Vladimir Lenin: ‘There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.’ The year began with the ostensible vanquishing of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the remarkable collective vaccination efforts of science, business and governments …

Read More »

CORE SECTOR OUTPUT RISES 5.4%

The output growth of India’s eight core sectors rebounded to 5.4% in November from a revised estimate of a 0.9% uptick in October, the slowest in 20 months. This was despite the fact that overall production levels in November 2022 remained the same as in the previous month. The recovery …

Read More »

INDIAN PHARMA SECTOR AND ISSUES

December 2021 and December 2022 could not have been more contrasting for India’s pharmaceutical industry. Last year, it was hailed for developing vaccines that inoculated billions against the coronavirus and underlined its moniker as the ‘pharmacy of the world’. This year, two Indian drug-manufacturing firms stand accused by two countries …

Read More »

BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE IN BUTTERFLIES

In a five-year study, scientists of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru have discovered secrets of a long evolutionary game through which butterflies come to warn, fool, and escape their predators using traits such as wing colour patterns and even flight behaviour. The study conducted by Ph.D. …

Read More »

PROBLEM OF BAD LOANS IN INDIA

In December 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that banks had written off bad loans worth ₹10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years. A National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. (NARCL) was announced in the Union Budget for 2021-2022 to resolve stressed loans amounting to about ₹2 lakh crore …

Read More »

THE DANGER OF DEEPFAKES

What are deepfakes? Deepfakes are digital media – video, audio, and images edited and manipulated using Artificial Intelligence. It is basically hyper-realistic digital falsification. Deepfakes are created to inflict harm on individuals and institutions. Access to commodity cloud computing, public research AI algorithms, and abundant data and availability of vast …

Read More »

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 8.3%

India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.3% in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8% in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Sunday. The urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09% in December from 8.96% in the previous month, while the rural unemployment …

Read More »

INDIA AND AUSTRIA TO SIGN MIGRATION AND MOBILITY AGREEMENT

Close on the heels of similar mobility agreements with France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Finland, India will sign a “Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement” (MMPA) with Austria on Monday during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Vienna. While India has been keen to finalise these agreements with …

Read More »

INDIA-CHINA: BETWEEN PRE-1962 AND NOW

The clash between Indian troops and the Chinese PLA at Galwan in 2020 and the recentaltercationbetweentroops at Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh have served to highlight the lingering boundary dispute as well as the complex Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is tempting to examine the parallels in India-China relations in …

Read More »
Get Free Updates to Crack the Exam!
Subscribe to our Newsletter for free daily updates