GS2: Polity
- Explained: Why it is difficult to prosecute someone accused of match-fixing(IE) Match-fixing is not an independent offence in India and there are no laws covering it. After every match-fixing scandal, investigators, legislators and lawyers have called for reforms, arguing that the absence of laws makes it difficult for them to incriminate someone for match-fixing.
- Revise the law The setting up of a five-member expert committee by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to overhaul criminal laws in the country is a welcome step that is long overdue.
GS2: Governance
- Pandemic will increase India's malnutrition burden, says Unicef(Mint) Weight and height measurements by Anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse midwifes are of poor quality, leading to inaccurate classification of children’s nutrition status
GS2: International Relations
- India can amplify the Dalai Lama’s message(Mint) In the temporal sphere, he led until 2011 the Central Tibetan Administration, a government-in-exile with headquarters in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, which has held on to its dream of a Tibet free of Chinese rule even as New Delhi’s support for it has visibly wavered down the decades.
- What about WHO?(TH) WHO seems to be at the mercy of powerful nations while obtaining relevant information
- Lesson on de escalation from Doklam standoff(TH);The lesson for us in Doklam is that disengagement is not enough in order to declare an end to tensions at the LAC. It is necessary that we define end points up to where the troops must withdraw to and no understanding should be reached without the restoration of status quo ante,
GS3: Science & Technology
- There’s no one to fill Mahalanobis’s shoes(TH) In Kautilya’s Arthashastra, there is mention of the need for cross-checking by an independent set of agents for data collection: “Spies under disguise of householders (Grihapatika, cultivators), who shall be deputed by the Collector-General for espionage, shall ascertain the validity of accounts (of Gopas, the village officers and Sthanikas, the district officers) regarding the fields, right of ownership and remission of taxes with regard to houses, and the caste and profession regarding families...”
GS3: Economy
- Why has Indian Railways opened doors for private players?(TH) In 2015, the expert panel chaired by Bibek Debroy constituted by the Ministry of Railways a year earlier, recommended that the way forward for the railways was “liberalisation and not privatisation” in order to allow entry of new operators “to encourage growth and improve services.”
- Centre’s over-reliance on cesses, surcharges put state finances at risk(Mint) The Constitution allows the Centre to levy cess and surcharge which the Centre need not share with state governments. While cesses are imposed for specific purposes, surcharges are a tax on taxes, both meant to be temporary in nature.
GS3: Environment
- Before the next health crisis(TH) Spending on reducing air pollution and GHGs provides estimated health benefits of 1.4 to 2.5 times more than the cost of the actions. Delhi, set to overtake Tokyo as the most populous city by 2030, needs to deal with transport, responsible for two-fifth of the PM 2.5 in the skies.
- Assam government to upgrade Dehing Patkai wildlife sanctuary to national park(IE) The 111.942 sq km Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is located within the larger Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, which spreads across the coal- and oil-rich districts of Upper Assam (Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Sivasagar) and is believed to be the last remaining contiguous patch of lowland rainforest area in Assam.
