1.Global pact on minimum corporate tax of 15% It will end ‘race to bottom’ among countries wooing MNCs A milestone global deal to ensure big companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15% and make it harder to avoid taxation has been agreed after Ireland, Estonia and Hungary signed up to an accord, which U.S. […]
1.Reflections on the ‘quasi-federal’ democracy Despite a basic structure, Indian federalism needs institutional amendment to be democratically federal Events coinciding with the jubilee of India’s Independence draw attention to the federal structure of India’s Constitution, which is a democratic imperative of multi-cultural India, where the constituent units of the sovereign state are based on language, […]
1. Seeding a data revolution in Indian agriculture But technology fixes and agri-business investments alone will not be enough to improve farmers’ livelihoods In June this year, two significant documents relating to the Indian agriculture sector were released. The first is a consultation paper on the India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA) from the Ministry […]
1.U.P. tops list of States emitting fine particulate matter: study Council on Energy, Environment and Water does analysis Uttar Pradesh is the largest emitter of PM2.5, the class of particulate matter considered most harmful to health, according to an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The council, a research body, looked […]
1.RBI microfinance proposals that are anti-poor The proposed guidelines will favour private credit institutions at the cost of public sector banks In June 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published a “Consultative Document on Regulation of Microfinance”. While the declared objective of this review is to promote the financial inclusion of the poor and […]
1.Taproots to help restore India’s fading green cover In forest restoration, the participation of local communities and adequate financing and incentives are essential Covering nearly 30% land surface of the earth, forests around the globe provide a wide variety of ecosystem services and support countless and diverse species. They also stabilise the climate, sequester carbon […]
1.Reimagining food systems with lessons from India With an alarming escalation in global hunger unfolding, reaching the goal of an equitable livelihood is a necessity The first and historic United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021 which was held in September this year, concluded after an intense ‘bottom-up’ process conceived in 2019 by UN Secretary-General […]
1.A tiny plant that can ‘digest’ low density plastic sheets From the murky waters of a lake in Chennai, researchers isolated an alga that breaks down low density polyethylene Researchers from University of Madras and Presidency College, Chennai, have isolated an alga species that shows promise as an agent of biodegradation of plastic sheets. It […]
1.NEET: OCI candidates can appear in general category Court says they need not be treated on a par with NRIs The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) candidates to participate in the NEET-UG 2021 counselling in the general category. A Bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari was hearing […]
1.A fund without a care for the RTI The Government’s claim that the PM CARES Fund is not a public authority is unacceptable It may not be an exaggeration to say that when it comes to seeking answers and information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is consistent in […]
1.Germany as a development actor in a post-Merkel era The new Chancellor must enable global cooperation policies for a sustainable future with India and the world The era of Angela Merkel, as Chancellor of Germany for the past 16 years, is coming to an end while the battle of a number of global crises is […]
1.ICRA raises FY22 growth estimate to 9% Potential third wave, efficacy of existing vaccines against possible new variants remain key risks: Nayar Rating agency ICRA has bumped up GDP growth forecast for 2021-22 to 9% from 8.5%, citing better prospects for the second half of the year due to a ramp-up in COVID-19 vaccination and […]
1.These investigations are a face without a heart There is no longer any respect for the citizen’s rights but only a single-minded assertion of unaccountable authority Gasping for breath — that is how our investigating agencies leave our citizens and now the press. Two recent cases clearly demonstrate that our investigating agencies are a face […]
1.India is the mother of all democracies, PM says at UNGA Targets Pakistan, China for exporting terror, ignoring rules-based global order Terming India the “mother of all democracies”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a defence of the state of democracy in India at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, referring to his own journey […]
1.When global firms disengage, employment suffers While inward FDI in India does create jobs, the magnitude and quality of job generation need scrutiny 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 […]
1.A disease surveillance system, for the future Diseases and outbreaks are realities and a well-functioning system can help reduce their impact A defining moment in the history of epidemiology was the removal of the handle of a water pump. This is a spectacular story. In 1854, when a deadly outbreak of cholera affected Soho area […]
1.This judicial selection needs more than a tweak The collegium system and the mysteries underlining its decision-making dilute the importance of the High Courts In recent weeks, the Supreme Court of India’s collegium has been busy. New judges have been appointed to the Court on its advice and long overdue vacancies have been filled up. […]
1.The big deal behind the ruckus over AUKUS China’s economic and military capacities as well as its belligerence have led to a shift in regional security paradigms The announcement of the new Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) trilateral security pact has naturally generated animated debate in strategic circles, coming as it does just days before the first in-person […]
1.Western Ghats offer major additions to flora Botanical Survey of India says 202 species were discovered across the country in 2020 The Botanical Survey of India, in its new publication Plant Discoveries 2020 has added 267 new taxa/ species to the country’s flora. The 267 new discoveries include 119 angiosperms; 3 pteridophytes; 5 bryophytes, 44 […]
1.IISc researchers find a way to substitute for single-use plastics By combining non-edible oils and cellulose extracted from agricultural stubble, the researchers made biodegradable, multiuse polymer sheets According to a report by Central Pollution Control Board of India, for the year 2018-2019, 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic waste are generated by Indians. The bad […]
Current affairs decide a large share of marks in UPSC Prelims, Mains and the Interview, and in TNPSC exams. Every morning our faculty publish the day’s important news from The Hindu, PIB, Indian Express and other sources — explained, organised by GS paper, and linked to the syllabus.
What each daily post includes
The key news of the day, grouped by GS Paper 1, 2, 3 and 4
Background and the static syllabus topic each story connects to
