When global firms disengage, employment suffers
Context: The most recent labour statistics, for August 2021, released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that the unemployment rate has increased from around 7% in July to 8.3% for August 2021. In absolute terms, around 2 million jobs were lost in one month. Relevance: GS-I: Indian Society (Population and its associated […]
Holding transnational corporations accountable
Context: Given the enormous power that transnational corporations (TNCs) wield, questions about their accountability have arisen often. There have been many instances where the misconduct of TNCs has come to light such as the corruption scandal involving Siemens in Germany. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy Dimensions of the Article: Issue regarding TNCs Background on holding TNCs […]
E-Shram needs some hard work to get going
Context: The Union Labour and Employment Ministry launched a portal aiming to register 38 crore unorganised workers in the country, eventually to help in the implementation of social security schemes. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth and Development of Indian Economy), GS-III: Industry and Infrastructure (Industrial Growth, Industrial Revolution) Mains Questions: The nuances of the unorganised […]
Religious composition of India: Pew Research Study
Context: According to a new study published by the Pew Research Center, a non-profit based in Washington DC India’s religious mix has been stable since 1951 and both Hindus and Muslims not only a marked decline but also a convergence in fertility rates. Relevance: GS-I: Indian Society (Demography, Social Issues, and Developments in Indian Society), […]
China passes three-child policy into law
Context: For the first time China allowed couples to have a third child in a further relaxation of family planning rules five years after a “two-child policy” largely failed to boost birth rates. CHina formally amended the country’s family planning rules to allow couples to have three children, also announcing a number of policy measures […]
The many shades of religious intolerance in India
Context: The Pew Research Center launched its report ‘Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation’. Relevance: GS-I: Indian Society (Demography, Social Issues, and Developments in Indian Society), GS-II: Polity and Governance (Constitutional Provisions, Fundamental Rights) Mains Questions: Does the concept of religious tolerance require the mixing of religious communities? Discuss. (10 marks) Dimensions of the Article: […]
Squaring up to India’s education emergency
Context: During the COVID-19 pandemic, India enforced among the strictest, most generalised and continuous school and university closures creating in the process the largest education emergency in the world. Relevance: GS-II: Social Justice (Government Interventions and Policies, Issues arising out of the design and implementation of Government Policies) Dimensions of the Article: What gave rise […]
India and 26 bilateral pacts to fight drug trafficking
Context: According to a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reply in the Lok Sabha – India has signed 26 bilateral pacts, 15 memoranda of understanding and two agreements on security cooperation with different countries for combating the drug trafficking problem. Relevance: GS-III: Internal Security Challenges (Organized Crime and Terrorism), GS-II: International Relations (Important International Agreements […]
Accepting radical otherness
Context: The U.S.-based Pew Research Center’s survey has thrown up an interesting finding on religious tolerance in India: Indians of all faiths, paradoxically, support both religious tolerance and religious segregation. Most Indians (84%) surveyed said that respecting all religions is very important to them and all religious groups must be allowed to practise their faith […]
An unproductive idea: On UP Population law
Context: Incentives and penalties form an integral component of the measures to control population growth, announced by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in July 2021. These steps are aimed at reducing U.P.’s total fertility rate (TFR), recorded as 2.7 by the National Family Health Survey-4 in 2016, a figure only lower than that of […]