Aligning higher education with the United Nations SDGs
NEP 2020 and SDGs:
Areas requiring improvement:
Press Freedom in India
Press, the fourth pillar of democracy:
Problems faced by the Indian media companies:
Why media needs regulation?
Regulation of media in India:
Observations by the Judiciary:
TRAI can’t regulate OTT platforms
Why in the News?
India’s telecom appellate panel has held that Over the top (OTT) platforms like Hotstar are not in the jurisdiction of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
In what context did TDSAT pass this order?
Why is this order significant?
Why is the IT Ministry disagreeing with DoT over OTT regulation?
What is TRAI’s attempt at regulating OTT services?
Left-Wing Extremism in India
Why in the News?
The Home Minister has said that Left Wing Extremism (LWE) will be totally eliminated from the country in two years, in a meeting to review the security situation in LWE-affected States.
Incidence of LWE in India:
LWE affected regions in India:
The dynamics of Maoist insurgency:
Initiatives taken by the govt:
The Money Bill issue
Why in the News?
The Supreme Court has constituted a 7-judge bench to hear a challenge to the Centre’s use of money bills for passing important laws.
What is a money bill issue?
About:
Money Bill:
Financial Bill:
RBI’s Monetary Policy
Why in the News?
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained the status quo on interest rates during its review meeting in October.
The RBI prefers higher rates for longer periods for both domestic and external reasons:
About:
Surge in Retail Inflation:
What is Inflation?
It is defined as the ‘Persistent rise in general price levels in an economy over a period of time’.
Factors causing Inflation:
Demand pull Inflation Cyclic factors causing Inflation
|
Cost-push inflation Structural factors causing inflation
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Types of Inflation indexes:
|
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) |
Consumer price Index (CPI) |
1. |
Tracks inflation at producer level |
Tracks inflation at Consumer level |
2. |
Doesn’t capture changes in prices of services (only goods) |
Captures changes in prices of goods and services |
3. |
More weightage given to manufactured goods |
More weightage given to food items |
4. 4. |
Published by the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
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Four types of CPI are as follows:
first three are compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the fourth is compiled by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO)
|
5. |
Base year: 2011-12 |
Base year: 2012 |
6. |
Calculated monthly and weekly for primary goods, fuel and electricity |
Calculating monthly. |
How is Inflation calculated in India:
RBI measures to control Inflation:
Freebies ahead of polls
Why in the News?
A PIL has been filed at the Supreme Court alleging that tax payers’ money are misused by the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to lure voters which amounts to bribery under the law, ahead of the state elections.
What is a freebie?
Freebies refers to transfer of goods or services to people without any payment and may contain an element of allurement of voters for electoral benefits or/and acts as a positive step towards inclusive economic growth.
Status of Freebie culture in India:
What are the benefits associated with freebies?
For instance, the Tamil Nadu government scheme of free mid-day meals to children in government schools was a change-maker in increasing the enrolment of children at schools. This was later expanded to other states and finally pan-India after seeing its success.
Why is there a lot of opposition for freebies?
Rules governing freebies in India:
Challenges that remain:
How should governments strike a balance between fiscal deficit and welfare spending?
Global amphibian assessment
India Steel
Open Market Operations (OMO)