Across India’s agrarian plains, plantations and orchards, millions of birds, bats and insects toil to pollinate crops. However, many of these thousands of species may be in dangerous decline. How do pollinators help agriculture? Pollinators lead to huge agricultural economic gains. The annual economic value of the crops pollinated by animals worldwide is estimated to … Continue reading The role of pollinators.

What is HIV – AIDS? Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks cells in the immune system, which is our body’s natural defence against illness. The virus destroys a type of white blood cell in the immune system called a T-helper cell, and makes copies of itself inside these cells. T-helper cells are … Continue reading HIV and AIDS in India

Around 6th century BC, people of India were speaking and writing languages that were much simpler than classical Sanskrit. These vernacular forms, of which there were several, are called the Prakrits. The word Prakrit stands for a group of languages and does not refer to any individual language. Marathi (with all varieties), Bengali, Orisa, Assamese, … Continue reading The Emergence and Importance of ‘Prakrit’ in Ancient India

Organ donations for transplant in India has seen a recent surge. Total organ donations have gone up from 1,149 in 2014 to 2,870 in 2017. This includes a two-and-a-half times increase in kidney and liver donations, and a 6.5 times rise in heart donations. Some relevant data: Less than one in a million Indians donates … Continue reading Organ Transplant in India

The origins of the office of Governor Through the course of the early 20th century, the Indian nationalist movement managed to extract gradual and incremental reforms towards responsible government from the British rulers. These reforms culminated in the Government of India Act, 1935 which established provincial legislative assemblies elected from a limited franchise. However, in order … Continue reading The Office of the Governor

The Supreme Court of India recently acknowledged that the more than a century-old system of prisons in India needs reforms. In pursuance, the Supreme Court formed a committee on prison reforms headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Amitava Roy. Issues related to imprisonment in India: Sub-human living conditions - The prisons in India have … Continue reading Prison Reforms in India

About NHRC The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is the body responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights in India. The NHRC was established on 12 October, 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993 as amended by the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006. It is in conformity with … Continue reading National Human Rights Commission

What is Green GDP? The green gross domestic product (green GDP or GGDP) is an index of economic growth with the environmental consequences of that growth factored into a country’s conventional GDP. Green GDP monetizes the loss of biodiversity, and accounts for costs caused by climate change. Calculating green GDP requires that net natural capital consumption, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and protective and restorative environmental initiatives, be subtracted from traditional GDP.  … Continue reading Green GDP

The historical importance of the Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and its precursor, the Bandung Afro-Asian conference in 1955, were examples of soft balancing by weaker states towards great powers engaged in intense rivalry and conflict. As they had little material ability to constrain superpower conflict and arms build-ups, the newly emerging states under … Continue reading NAM and its contemporary relevance.

The University Grants Commission has long been charged on grounds of inefficiency and over-regulation without realising the outcomes. Thus, the Centre has decided to establish a Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) in the place of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The new regime separates the academic and funding aspects of higher education. takes away funding … Continue reading Higher Education Commission of India