GS1 Social Issues: Women
- ‘Command posts ruling will be followed soon’ The top court had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission and command postings.
GS1 Social Issues: Population
- BIHAR IS NOW A FERTILITY OUTLIER The Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR), or the births per 1,000 women categorised age wise, for the years from 2014 to 2018, shows a record low in the fertility — 122.4 — of women in the age group of 20-24. The fertility rate in 15-19 years, which was 27.3 in 2014, has also come down to 12.2 in 2018.
GS2: Polity
- Social Injustice Recently, the Supreme Court made another important decision on February 7. It ruled that reservation in job promotions was not a fundamental right. This ruling undermined the effect of an amendment to the Constitution that had been introduced by the Narasimha Rao government in 1995 and that had resulted in article 16(4A), a provision that circumvented a facet of the 1992 decision of the Supreme Court to allow reservation for SCs and STs in promotions. I
GS2: International Relations
- More sabre-rattling, more isolation India must also buttress the military capacity of the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command. According to one of its early Commanders-in-Chief, Lt. Gen. Aditya Singh, the manner in which the 368 islands, have been neglected “can only be termed as criminal.
- U.S. stance on CAATSA unchanged The U.S. President was given the authority in 2018 to waive CAATSA sanctions on a case-by-case basis as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019. However, U.S. officials across departments have repeatedly stated that India should not assume it will get a waiver. These remarks were made in the context of India’s planned purchase of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia for about $5 billion.
- In stand-off, keeping an eye on the nuclear ball It is arming its missiles with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) capabilities to neutralise America’s missile shield. China’s DF-31As, which are road mobile Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), are equipped with MIRVs and potent penetration aids.
GS2: Schemes
- Crisis of the future The pandemic has led to widespread economic distress. In such times, the need to strengthen food security programmes cannot be overstated, especially in Bihar — amongst the worst performers on child nutrition.
GS3: Economy
- Safety is the key as interest rates continue to fall Falling interest rates simply means that the segment of the population dependent on passive, fixed income—often senior citizens, will fall short of their required returns. This segment has the highest savings, with a lifetime of earnings behind them.
- India’s fiscal responsibility rules for states might need a relook The International Monetary Fund has shown that the Indian ratio of sub-national government expenditure as a proportion of total government expenditure is almost twice the global average.
GS3: Environment
- Developed countries must implement the financial and technological commitments under UNFCCC and Paris agreement: Shri Prakash Javadekar(PIB) India has achieved reduction of 21% in emission intensity of its GDP between 2005 and 2014, thereby achieving its pre-2020 voluntary target.Further, India’s renewable energy installed capacity has increased by 226% in last 5 years and stands more than 87 Gigawatt.
GS3: Agriculture
Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with Shri. Narendra Singh Tomar release ‘Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input and food products in India’(PIB) Compared to bulk form of chemical inputs in crops, use of nano-nutrients can reduce nutrient run-off into ground and surface water and thus can reduce environmental pollution.
