NITI Aayog has launched a report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’.   Who are gig workers? Gig workers can be broadly classified into platform and non-platform workers. Platform workers are those whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms while non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers, working part-time… Continue reading India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy

Amid China’s aggressive push to increase its Pacific sphere of influence, the US and its allies — Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom — have launched a new initiative called ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ for “effective and efficient cooperation” with the region’s small island nations.   What is Partners in the Blue… Continue reading Partners in the Blue Pacific

IndianOil and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas have developed an indigenous indoor solar cooking system named “Surya Nutan”.   Details – Surya Nutan is a stationary, rechargeable, and always kitchen-connected indoor solar cooking. This is a patented product designed and developed by IndianOil R&D Centre, Faridabad. It works on a Hybrid Mode (i.e. can… Continue reading Surya Nutan

U.S. President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders formally launched in Germany the Partnership for Global Infrastructure (PGII).   Details – PGII aims to fill a huge gap left as communist China uses its economic clout to stretch diplomatic tentacles into the furthest reaches of the world. This partnership plans to raise $600 billion for… Continue reading Partnership for Global Infrastructure

The Department of School Education and Literacy has released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2018-19 and 2019-20 which assesses the performance of school education system at the District level by creating an index for comprehensive analysis.   What is ‘Performance Grading Index’ (PGI)? First published in 2019 with reference year 2017-18, Performance… Continue reading Performance Grading Index

In the context of Maharashtra crisis, references have been made to the landmark judgment in ‘Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu And Others’ (1992), in which the Supreme Court upheld the sweeping discretion available to the Speaker in deciding cases of disqualification of MLAs.   What is the ‘Kihoto Hollohan’ case? The law covering the disqualification of… Continue reading Kihoto Hollohan Case

The government is considering transferring the administration of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) and Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988 from the finance ministry to Ministry of Home Affairs to bring all issues related to narcotics under one department.   Background – Currently,… Continue reading Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act

Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers called ‘NIPUN’ i.e. National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers.   What is it? The project NIPUN is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal… Continue reading NIPUN Initiative

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug – Crenezumab – aimed at slowing or preventing cognitive decline in people at risk of developing the disease early has failed in clinical trials, landing a blow to efforts aimed at finding a treatment to the neurodegenerative disease.   What is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disorder that slowly… Continue reading Alzheimer’s Disease

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has published draft guidelines to regulate child protection within the entertainment industry.   What are the guidelines? Increases the scope of the guidelines — The Guidelines to Regulate Child Participation in the Entertainment Industry were issued by the Commission in 2011. However, the recent draft… Continue reading Protection of children working on OTT platforms