Yearly Archives: 2023

DUSTLIK 2023

The 4th edition of joint military exercise ‘DUSTLIK’ between the Indian Army and Uzbekistan Army commenced today in Foreign Training Node, Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand). 45 Soldiers each from Uzbekistan and Indian Army are participating in this exercise which is aimed at promoting positive relations between both the armies. The Indian Army …

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EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME

After the passing of the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill last December, the Centre is now in the final stages of notifying an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that will require polluting industries to achieve certain standards of energy efficiency and permit them to ‘trade’ these improvements. The notification specifying which sectors …

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MILITARISATION OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

Amid overlapping sovereign claims in the South China Sea, the Philippines and the U.S. are currently discussing conducting joint coast guard patrols in the strategic waterway. In this article dated July 8, 2020, former diplomat Jayant Prasad details China’s aggression in the South China sea and how the region has …

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MOON DUST TO SLOW DOWN GLOBAL WARMING

Spraying aerosols in the stratosphere, especially radiation-scattering ones such as sulphates, does have a cooling effect. However, scientists warn us about its unintended consequences There is some reason to believe that the ‘summerless year’ that followed the eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1816 inspired the novels Frankenstein and The Vampyre. A sufficiently powerful volcanic …

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AUTISM DISORDERS

‘Fix your gut, fix your brain’ used to be an underrated idea, but it is gaining in relevance today as more and more research throws light on the role of the community of bacteria living in your gut, that is, the gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is not a …

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‘DEMOCRATISATION’ OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

From the beginning, social media platforms have trumpeted that they have ‘democratised’ self-expression. In important ways, this is true. Social media platforms have facilitated the circumvention of elite and/or authoritarian gatekeeping and have brought new voices into the public sphere. This has had a decidedly mixed effect on the public …

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SLOW PROGRESS TO CREATING A SAFE WORKPLACE FOR WOMEN

The recent case of allegations of sexual harassment that some of India’s sportswomen (wrestling) are said to have faced have shocked us. Those affected had to sit in protest in the capital to make themselves heard. This shows that any internal complaints committee (if there is one) does not function. …

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GST REGIME’S FLAWS

Meeting in person after nearly eight months, the GST Council last Saturday reached a broad consensus on establishing GST Appellate Tribunals to resolve disputes under the tax regime launched in July 2017. After some fine print changes in consultations with States, the Finance Ministry hopes to include the legislative backing …

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RECOMMENDATIONS OF 49TH GST COUNCIL MEETING

The GST Council has, inter-alia, made the following recommendations relating to GST compensation, GST Appellate Tribunal, approval of the Report of Group of Ministers (GoM) on Capacity Based Taxation and Special Composition Scheme in certain Sectors on GST, recommendations relating to GST rates on Goods and Services and other measures for …

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ELECTRON’S MAGNETIC MOMENT WITH EXTREME ACCURACY

The Standard Model The Standard Model (SM) is the theory that describes the properties of all subatomic particles, classifies them into different groups, and determines how they’re affected by three of the four fundamental forces of nature: strong-nuclear force, weak-nuclear force, and electromagnetic force (it can’t explain gravity). In the …

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INDIA ADDRESS TOWARDS SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA

Sickle cell anaemia (SCA), a genetic blood disorder, found mention in the Budget this year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will work in “mission mode” to eliminate the condition by 2047. India is the second-worst affected country in terms of predicted births with SCA — i.e. chances …

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THE SC ON SEALED COVER JURISPRUDENCE

The Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud firmly refused the ‘suggestions’ offered by the government in a sealed cover on the formation of a proposed committee to enquire into the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group. This signals the Supreme Court’s acute awareness of how ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’ has begun …

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INDIA PLANS TO EXPORT SOLAR POWER

By 2026, Indian industry will be able to manufacture every year solar modules that can generate 100 gigawatts of power, and help the country be a net exporter of solar power. This will significantly aid India’s target of installing 500 GW of electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, Bhupinder …

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INS VIKRAMADITYA

As aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya gets ready to sail out of the dockyard after a long refit, the Indian Navy is finalising plans to repeat the order for an INS Vikrant-size Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)-2, with some modifications, which, given the long timelines, may be close to the time INS Vikramaditya leaves service, effectively becoming its replacement. While …

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A PICTURE OF ISLAM THAT IS QUITE DIFFERENT

Towards the end of 2022, a hugely significant moment in the post-Independence history of Indian Muslims slipped by under the radar. The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the oldest Muslim organisation in India, with its roots in the national freedom struggle, filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking reservation for …

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DISQUALIFICATION OF A POLITICIAN

The instance where the Kerala High Court, in January this year, suspended the verdict passed by the Kavaratti District and Sessions Court (in an attempt to murder case) in which the then sitting Member of Parliament (MP) of Lakshadweep and Nationalist Congress Party leader Mohammed Faizal P.P. was sentenced to …

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CHANDRAYAAN-3

The Chandrayaan-3 lander has successfully completed the crucial EMI-EMC (electro-magnetic interference/ electro-magnetic compatibility) test at the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre here. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Sunday that the lander for the Chandrayaan-3 mission underwent the test during January 31-February 2. According to the space agency, the …

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