Insights into Editorial: Why we Must not Grudge them a Pay Hike + MINDMAPS on Issues 24 November 2015 Archives Many sections of the society are unhappy with the recommendations of the seventh pay commission. They are opposed to the increases in pay for Central government employees. But, when compared to pay increases and bonuses …
Insights into Editorial: Moving Back to a Regressive Tax System + MINDMAPS on Issues Archives 23 November 2015 The union government has decided to impose a 0.5% Swacchh bharat cess on all services. The proceeds from swachh Barat cess will be used for Swachh Bharat initiatives. A provision for levying a Swachh Bharat cess on …
Insights into Editorial: Planning for the Next Flood + Mindmaps on Current Issues Archives 20 November 2015 Record amounts of rain have hit Chennai and other parts of northern Tamil Nadu. A low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has meant that Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of Sri Lanka have been …
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Insights into Editorial: The case for the Rajya Sabha + Mindmaps on Issues Archives 19 November 2015 Both the government and opposition are bracing for a stormy winter session. Since the new government took over in May 2014, Parliamentary logjams have been common for it. With its minority tag in Rajya Sabha, the government …
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Insights into Editorial: A clean-up act with a short sweep + Mindmaps on Issues 18 November 2015 The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in its recently released report, has indicated that respirable particulate matter in the national capital has crossed hazardous limits. As per the analysis of data for last three years, PM10 has exceeded …
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Insights into Editorial: Making the Transition to a Cashless Economy + Mindmaps on Issues 17 November 2015 India continues to be driven by the use of cash; less than 5% of all payments happen electronically. Various studies have shown that India uses too much cash for transactions. The ratio of cash to gross domestic product …
Insights into Editorial: Fighting terror from Mumbai to Paris + Mindampas on Issues 16 November 2015 Archives Paper 3 Topic: Security challenges and their management, linkages of organized crime with terrorism. Fighting terror from Mumbai to Paris France has become victim of two ghastly terrorist attacks this year, this time with even more damage and loss …
Insights into Editorial: Does India really need a Start-up Act? + Mindmaps on Issues 14 November 2015 Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Start-up India and Stand up India campaign, announced in his Independence Day speech in August 2015, the central government has decided to introduce a policy framework aimed at easing the regulatory environment for …
Insights into Editorial: The Sum of Three New Gold Schemes + Mindmaps on Issues TO reduce India’s gold imports and mobilize the gold held by public, the union government recently launched three new gold schemes. The government has also periodically sought to limit gold imports by increasing the import duty on the yellow metal, but …
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Insights into Editorial: Don’t Dismantle MGNREGA, Reform it + Mindmaps The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It guarantees …
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Insights into Editorial: BoP Crisis and Rupee Devaluation + Mindmaps on Issues 11 November 2015 Source 1991 BoP crisis was one of the worst crises that India had to face. The then government was close to default, as RBI had refused new credit and foreign exchange reserves had been reduced to such a point that …
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Insights into Editorial: Beyond UDAY Scheme + Mindmaps on Issues 09 November 2015 The government of India recently unveiled its Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY). UDAY provides for the financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs), and importantly also ensures a sustainable permanent solution to the financial mess that the power distribution is …
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Insights into Editorial: China, India, and Closely Connected Dreams 06 November 2015 Historically, India and China have had relations for more than 2,000 years. Throughout history, the Chinese and Indian civilizations have maintained exchanges and learned from each other. The two nations have jointly erected powerful pillars for the civilization of the East, and contributed …
Insights into Editorials: Regulate, don’t Eliminate 05 November 2015 The government’s recent proposal to ban commercial surrogacy in India has sparked a heated debate in the country. Why, according to some such move would be disastrous? Over the years, the surrogacy industry in India has grown into a multi-crore industry. Such move would not just …
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Insights into Editorial: An Unfinished Agenda of Federalism 04 November 2015 Since the NDA government took over in May 2014, debate over promoting cooperative and competitive federalism has been going on. What is Federalism? Political analyst K.C. Wheare, in his book Federal Government, defines “federalism” as “the method of dividing powers so that the general …
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Insights into Editorial: Fast Forwarding to Thorium 03 November 2015 The critical shortage of fissile material has prevented the large-scale deployment of thorium-fuelled reactors in India. Due to this, the construction of the advanced heavy-water reactor (AHWR) has also been put off several times since it was first announced in 2004. India has very modest …
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Insights into Editorial: Reaching out to Africa 31 October 2015 The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit, which concluded recently in New Delhi, was the largest gathering of foreign dignitaries in New Delhi since the 1983 Non-Aligned Summit. 41 heads of state and government from 54 countries in Africa were present at the summit. This summit has …
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Insights into Editorial: For a Truer Decentralization 02 November 2015 Decentralization is not a new concept to India. The village panchayats as institutions of governance and justice existed for a long time. However, the founding fathers of the Constitution were not keen to empower the existing structures. Why? Dr. Ambedkar was apprehensive that in the …
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Insights into Editorial: NJAC – An anti-Constitutional Judgment? 30 October 2015 By striking down the 99th constitutional amendment, the Supreme Court of India has clearly indicated that NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) is not a credible alternative to the Supreme Court’s ‘collegium.’ However, some experts are not satisfied with the Court’s judgment. Why? They are …
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Insights into Editorial: Role of Civil Society Practitioners in Improving Relationship Between India and Pakistan 29 October 2015 Frequent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and exchange of fiery speeches between the two countries have once again put on hold the High level talks between India and Pakistan. This has given rise to a …
