Q. Why is this in News?A. A limit has been imposed on total rewards under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS).Q. What is Merchandise Exports from India Scheme ?A. Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) under Foreign Trade Policy of India (FTP 2015-20) is one of the two schemes introduced in Foreign Trade Policy of India 2015-20, as a part of Exports from India Scheme (The other scheme is Service Export... Read More...
Context:Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has analysed self-sworn affidavits of Rajya Sabha MPs and released a report. According to it , 24% of Rajya Sabha members face criminal cases.Q. What are key findings of report ?An analysis of 229 of the 233 Rajya Sabha seats that represent the States and Union Territories showed that 54 MPs or 24% had declared criminal cases.Out... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?Recently, the Global e waste Monitor 2020 Report was released. Q. What is E-Waste? It refers to all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been discarded by its owner as waste without the intent of re-use. According to Global e waste Monitor 2020 Report, in 2019, the world generated 53.6 Mt of e-waste, an average of 7.3 kg per capita, with 21% increase in just 5 years. It will increase by 38% between 2020 and 2030. ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. In efforts to have a single source for all non-financial disclosures by corporates, a government-appointed panel has made various proposals on business responsibility reporting, including putting in place two formats for disclosing information.Q. What is the Business Responsibility Report (BRR)?Business Responsibility Report is a disclosure of the adoption of responsible business practices by a listed company to all its stakeholders. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. 2020 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). Q. What is Global MPI?MPI is the product of the incidence of poverty (proportion of poor people)and the intensity of poverty (average deprivation score of poor people) and is therefore sensitive to changes in both components. The MPI ranges from 0 to 1 and higher values imply higher poverty. Read More...
Que. 1. How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West? (UPSC - 2014) [150 Words] Ans.: Secularism is a political or social philosophy that talks about separation of state from religious institutions. It is an ideology that emphasize on restriction of religious activities in public sphere like education, polity, economy etc. The Constitution of India stands for a secular state however, Indian notion of secularism is quite different from western notion like: Read More...
Que. 1. ‘Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation. Argue by giving suitable illustrations. (UPSC - 2018) [150 Words] Ans.: Communalism in the Indian context refers to the ideology which states that society is divided into different religious communities whose interests differ from, and at times oppose, each other. Historically, Indian society has been regarded as a melting pot of various religions that have been tolerant of each other. However, the British policy of divide and rule laid the foundations of communalism which the Indian state has found hard to tackle post-independen... Read More...
Q. What is a fiscal council?A. Fiscal councils are independent public institutions aimed at strengthening commitments to sustainable public finances through various functions, including public assessments of fiscal plans and performance, and the evaluation or provision of macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts.Fiscal councils are now part of the institutional fiscal apparatus of over 50 countries, including several emerging and developing economies.Q. What are their composition and how should they functi... Read More...
Q. What is the sub-categorisation of OBCs?OBCs are granted 27% reservation in jobs and education under the central government.The question of sub-categorisation arises out of the perception that only a few affluent communities among the over 2,600 included in the Central List of OBCs have secured a major part of this 27% reservation.The argument for sub-categorisation — or creating categories within OBCs for reservation — is that it would ensure “equitable distribution” of representation among all OBC communities. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news ?A. The Delhi High Court has stayed the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAPA) order directing Johnson & Johnson to deposit over ₹230 crore it allegedly profiteered by not passing on benefits of GST reduction in over 306 items, including baby products, through commensurate price cut.Q. What is National Anti-Profiteering Authority ?A. The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) has been constituted under S... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Election Commission (EC) officials are exploring the potential of using blockchain technology to enable remote voting. The aim is to overcome the geographical hurdles in voting especially even amidst this pandemic. Remote voting may take place in person somewhere other than an assigned polling station or at another time, or votes may be sent by post or cast by an appointed proxy.Q. What is Blockchain Technology? Read More...
Que. 1. Growing feeling of regionalism is an important factor in the generation of demand for a separate state. Discuss. (UPSC - 2013) [150 Words] Ans.: Regionalism is the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose by people within a specific geographical region, united by its unique language, culture, language, etc. In the negative sense, it implies excessive attachment to one’s region and a sense of discrimination and disliking for those who are considered outsiders. Therefore, it is a great threat to the unity and integrity of the country. Demand for separate state arises when a regional c... Read More...
Que. 1. ‘Globalization is generally said to promote cultural homogenization but due to this cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian Society. Elucidate. (UPSC - 2018) [150 Words] Ans. Globalization can be defined as increasing global interconnectedness. It is a process which tends to interconnect different parts of the world. This interconnectedness is primarily an exchange of social, economic, political, cultural and technological attributes. Globalization is promoting cultural homogenization i.e reduction in cultural d... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. UN Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Children released recently says almost 24 million children could drop out or not have access to school next year due to the economic impact of Covid-19.Q. What are few main findings of report?A. It talks about impact of Covid-19 on children : Impact: The Covid-19 pandemic will impact the ch... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Recently this 13th edition of Global Innovation Index released where India climbed 4 spots. Q. What is this index?A. The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation. The index is a leading reference for measuring an economy’s innovation performance.Q. Which is the organisation behind its ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news ?A. The Supreme Court allowed telecom companies 10 years’ time to pay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government while the government had proposed in court a 20 year “formula” for tele-companies to make staggered payments of the dues.Q. What is AGR issue?▪ The telecom sector was liberalised under the National Telecom Policy, 1994 after which licenses were issued to companies in return for a fix... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity is launched recently as a first step towards greening the Indian short term power market.Q. What is GTAM?A. It is an alternative new model introduced for selling off the power by the renewable developers in the open market without getting into long term Power Purchased Agreements (PPAs)Q. What are its key features? Read More...
Que. 1. Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India. (UPSC - 2015) [150 Words] Ans. Globalisation aims for the establishment of a borderless world. It means growing interconnectedness in world. Globalisation like other sectors has had social, political, economic and cultural impact on the lines of women in India and the world both positively and negatively. Effects of globalization on women in India: Positive Impacts Social sphere : Globalisation has pos... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. A recent study suggests that the “Wolbachia method” could be used to significantly reduce the incidence of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, in populations where the illness is endemic.Q. How it works?This method involves introducing Wolbachia, a type of bacteria, into populations of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading dengue. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news recently ?A. Congress chief whip in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has moved the Supreme Court against a State High Court direction to the Speaker to maintain status quo in the disqualification proceedings initiated against ousted MLAs under the anti-defection law.Q. What is a whip?A whip is an official of a political party who acts as the party’s ‘enforcer’ inside the legislative assembly or house of parliament. Read More...