UPSC Key | Buffer stock, PLI, NATO and more

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Express Network

To boost shelf life of onion buffer stock, govt plans to expand irradiation process

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: GS-III: Agricultural Marketing, Agricultural Pricing, Buffer Stocks & Food Security

What’s the ongoing story- The Union government is planning to significantly scale up the irradiation of onions this financial year to increase the shelf life of its buffer stock, a senior official said. This low, regulated dose of radiation — which poses no health risk — stops sprouting in onions, making them less perishable.

Prerequisites: 

— What is irradiation?

— What is the Price Stabilisation Fund?

— What are the roles of the National Consumers’ Cooperative Federation (NCCF) and the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED)?

Key takeaways: 

— As per data from 2020-21, India grew a total of 26.64 lakh metric tonnes of onion over 16.24 lakh hectares. Maharashtra is the leading onion-producing state, followed by Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar.

— The NCCF and NAFED have already started procurement operations.

— The procurements are happening under the Price Stabilisation Fund, which is used to build up the country’s buffer of key food commodities and release the stocks in the market when prices rise.

For Your Information: 

— Onion is perishable and storing it for a long period is a challenge. During storage, sprouting of onions takes place, which causes losses. As per some estimates, the post-harvest losses in onions can be up to 40 per cent. This is the reason the government is increasing its use of irradiation. In India, irradiated food is regulated in accordance with the Atomic Energy (Control of Irradiation of Food) Rules, 1996. The irradiation costs may range from `0.5 to 1.0 per kg for low-dose applications, such as sprout inhibition in onions.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the relationship between buffer stock and food security?

—- What are the challenges with maintaining buffer stocks?

—- What does the government take the initiative to tackle inflation of onion?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements:

1. The Price Stabilisation Fund is maintained by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Famers Welfare (DAC&FW).

2. Buffer stock of onion is maintained under Price Stabilisation by procuring onions from farmers/ Farmer Producer Organizations.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Onion prices soar in retail markets despite record buffer stock, calibrated release

Southeast Asia origin of at least 45% cyber frauds targeting Indians: Official

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Polity and Governance, Rights Issues.

Mains Examination: GS-III: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.

What’s the ongoing story- Analysis of data by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has revealed that around 7,000 cyber-related complaints on average are registered with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) daily and most of the frauds have origin in three Southeast Asian countries — Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

Prerequisites: 

— What is cybercrime?

— What is NCRP?

— What is the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)?

— Map work: Location of Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos PDR, 

Key takeaways: 

— “I4C has observed a significant rise in the number of cybercrime incidents targeting India, and about 45% of them originate from the Southeast Asian region, mainly Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos PDR,” Chief Executive Officer (I4C) Rajesh Kumar said.

— “There are four types of scams — digital arrest, trading scam, investment scam (task based) and romance/dating scam. We found that Indians lost Rs 120.30 crore in digital arrest, Rs 1,420.48 crore in trading scam, Rs 222.58 crore in investment scam, and Rs 13.23 crore in romance/dating scam,” he said.

— According to Kumar, cyber crime operations based in these countries employ a comprehensive array of deceptive strategies, including recruitment efforts by exploiting social media to lure Indians with fake employment opportunities.

— On May 16, a high-level inter-ministerial committee under the chairpersonship of Special Secretary (Internal Security) was constituted to coordinate with relevant ministries and departments for implementing comprehensive measures aimed at mitigating cybercrime originating from Southeast Asia,” he said.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the Budapest Convention? Is India a party to it?

— What is the Global Cybersecurity Index?

— What are the challenges related to cyber security in India?

— What measures can be taken to combat cyber crimes in India?

— What are the initiatives taken by the government to tackle the cyber crimes in India?

(Thought Process: Know Cyber Security initiatives in India- Computer Emergency Response Team – India (CERT-IN), Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative, National Cyber Security Coordination Centre (NCCC), Cyber Swachhta Kendra, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Cyberdome (Kerala))

Post Read Question:

Prelims

In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents? (UPSC CSE 2017)

1. Service providers

2. Data centres

3. Body corporate

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Mains

What are the different elements of cyber security? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy. (UPSC CSE 2022)

Economy

Mobile PLI may be extended beyond 2026

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Economy

What’s the ongoing story- Smartphone PLI (production-linked incentive), the most successful of all 14 such schemes, may be extended by a couple of years beyond 2025-26 when it officially ends.

Prerequisites: 

— What is the current account deficit?

— What are production-linked incentive schemes (PLI)?

— What is the global value chain?

— What is the play and plug model?

Key takeaways: 

— The five-year PLI scheme, which started in 2020 ends in 2026, and each company has the flexibility to choose any five consecutive years. While Apple has chosen the period of 2021-2026, for Samsung it’s between 2020-2025.

— Therefore, the thinking in the government is that a component scheme should replace the PLI in the sector. While the current smartphone PLI is for the finished products, the component-incentive scheme will be for inputs, which today are largely imported, adding to to the current account deficit.

— Broadly the component scheme will be on the lines of plug and play model and aim at domestic production of printed circuit boards, electronic components such as resistors, diodes, camera modules, lens, metallics, etc.

— Under plug and play model, the government will acquire land and build factories. Global companies manufacturing such products can then install machinery and use the facilities to roll out the identified items.

— Countries like China, Thailand and Vietnam, which are competing economies for India as far as electronics trade is concerned and where most of the component manufacturers are located, have trade surplus.

— The domestic electronics manufacturing was at $102 billion in FY23 and has risen to around $115 billion in FY24. The government has set a target of achieving $300 billion by 2025-26. In FY24, India’s electronics goods exports jumped 23.6% to $29.12 billion, even as the country’s total exports contracted by 3%.

For Your Information: 

— As a part of the National Policy on Electronics, the scheme provides incentives of 4-6 per cent to electronics companies that manufacture mobile phones and other electronic components such as transistors, diodes…

— According to officials, the scheme aimed to attract significant foreign investment in the sector while encouraging domestic mobile phone makers to expand their units and presence in India.

Points to Ponder: 

— How the abrupt ending of subsidy to a particular industry can be counterproductive?

— What are the challenges of the PLI scheme?

— How can India reduce its current account deficit through component-incentive schemes?

Post Read Question:

Assess the challenges and growth prospects in India’s mobile phone industry, discussing their impact on long-term sustainability and proposing strategies for continued growth.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

What is the production linked incentive scheme for electronics manufacturers?

 

The world

Russia deletes draft of plan to redraw border in Baltic Sea which alarmed NATO countries

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: GS-II:  International Relations, Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora, Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story- A Russian defence ministry proposal to revise Russia’s maritime border in the eastern Baltic Sea was deleted on Wednesday from an official portal after creating confusion and concern among NATO members such as Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Estonia.

Prerequisites: 

— What is NATO?

— How did NATO originate? What was the rationale behind NATO?

— What is Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty?

— Map work: Location of NATO member countries, Russia, Baltic Sea, 

Key takeaways: 

— In its official submission, the defence ministry said that a Soviet measurement of the border from 1985 had used mid-20th century nautical charts, and so did not fully correspond to more modern cartographical coordinates.

— But that proposal was deleted on Wednesday from the official portal where it had been posted.

For Your Information: 

— NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, was set up in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several western European nations to ensure their collective security against the Soviet Union. It was the US’s first peacetime military alliance outside the western hemisphere.

Points to Ponder: 

— What was the Cold War?

— What are the three alliances of NATO?

— What is the Warsaw Pact?

— Russia-Ukraine war and NATO- Read about it.

— What challenges does NATO face today?

Post Read Question:

Evaluate the economic and strategic dimensions of India’s Look East Policy in the context of the post Cold War international scenario. (UPSC CSE 2016)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

What is NATO?

UPSC Essentials: One word a day – NATO

 

The Editorial Page

When the system is broken

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Polity, Governance and Constitution

What’s the ongoing story- While the country mourns the loss of two young lives and shares the grief of the families whose children were mercilessly mowed down by an irresponsible youth in Pune, we also stare at the stark reality of a defunct criminal justice system. If the drunk rich boy was reckless, one wonders how responsible was the Juvenile Justice Board that handled his criminal act with kid gloves.

Prerequisites: 

— What is the Juvenile Justice Board?

— What is the criminal justice system in India?

Key takeaways: 

— ‘Crime in India (2022)’ published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that more than 90 percent of cases of deaths due to negligent driving and hit-and-run cases are pending in courts with the conviction rate being as low as 30 percent in metropolitan cities. It is only slightly better in the rest of India.

— Delays result in the police not being able to trace witnesses when trials do start eventually, and citizens do not recollect the sequence of events in courts. These damage the prosecution of criminal cases.

— In December 2023, Parliament was informed that India has 21 judicial officers per one million population as against the Law Commission’s (1987) recommendation of 50 judges per million. Similarly, the police population ratio is around 152 per lakh citizens while the internationally accepted norm is around 222 per lakh. 

— The ‘Data on Police Organisation as of January 1, 2022’, recently released by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), shows around four lakh vacancies of police persons in the country. 

— Despite the low ratio and high rate of vacancies, the disposal of criminal cases by state police organisations is fast – there is much scope for improvement in quality, though.

— ‘Crime In India 2022’ indicates that 75 percent of cases of deaths in road accidents were due to rash and negligent acts and 65 percent of hit-and-run cases had been charge-sheeted by police within a year. 

— More investigating officers and prosecutors, their regular training in the use of technology, and well-equipped forensic laboratories will no doubt lead to an improved detection rate, better-quality investigation, and the conviction of the accused.

— The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, allows for children between 16-18 years of age who are accused of heinous crimes to be tried as adults under the Indian Penal Code.

Points to Ponder: 

— What needs to be done to ensure speedy trials in the criminal justice system?

— What are the problems in the criminal justice system of India?

— What steps need to be taken by the Indian government to address these problems?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

Consider the following pairs:

Committee	Purpose
1. V.S. Malimath Committee	: Reform in the criminal justice system
2. Justice Mulla Committee	: Prison reform
3. Justice Rohini Singh Committee	: OBC subcategorisation

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Mains

Critically analyse the performance of India’s criminal justice system as a tool for governance and suggest measures to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness in delivering justice.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Pune crash: Realtor father of teen driving Porsche held for letting him drink, drive

7 takeaways from GoI’s report on road accidents

A climate shield 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change, economic development.

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Important International InstitutionsGovernment Policies & Interventions.

What’s the ongoing story- The world GDP would be 37 per cent higher today had no global warming occurred between 1960 and 2019, says a new working paper by economists at the US’s National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Prerequisites: 

— What is the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD)?

— What is the function of the UNCCD?

— What are COPs?

Key takeaways: 

— By linking the global with the local, the authors argue that the economic costs of a hotter planet could be six times more than that suggested by previous estimates.

— This follows another research paper, published last month in the journal Nature, which concluded that average incomes will fall by almost a fifth in the next 26 years compared to what they would have been without climate change. 

— Both papers are unequivocal that the costs of transition from fossil fuels, though considerable, pale in comparison to the costs imposed by global warming. They join the dots between the impacts of heat waves, floods, storms and other fallouts of climate change that impair people’s health, reduce productivity and affect livelihoods.

— A new report of the UNCCD, released on Tuesday, has flagged the fallouts of climate change on rangelands — these include desert shrublands, mountain pastures, tundra and plateaus. More than 50 per cent of these ecosystems have degraded, according to the report. 

— These biospheres are recognised as vulnerable in most parts of the world and their role as carbon sinks is acknowledged. However, rangelands do not receive the same attention as forests in environmental conservation discourses. 

— Protecting pastoralism as a way of life while integrating communities such as Maldharis, Van Gujjars and Rabaris in the modern economy remains a critical developmental challenge.

— Recent studies, whether on the macro-level by the NBER economists or the UN report on desertification, underline the need for building people’s resilience against climate change — protecting them against heat waves, floods and landslides, drought-proofing agriculture and strengthening healthcare facilities.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the causes of extreme weather events? 

— How do extreme weather events affect the economy?

— What measures can be taken to build people’s resilience against climate change?

(Thought Process: Read about the climate-resilient infrastructure, climate-resilient agriculture, and other methods)

Post Read Question:

What is/are the importance/importances of the ‘ United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’? (UPSC CSE 2016)

1. It aims to promote effective action through innovative national programmes and supportive international partnerships.

2. It has a special/particular focus on South Asia and North Africa regions, and its Secretariat facilitates the allocation of a major portion of financial resources to these regions.

3. It is committed to bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating the desertification.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

 

The Ideas Page

The India-Iran reconnect

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. 

Mains Examination: GS-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story- Shyam Saran writes- “The death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident on May 20 has added another layer of uncertainty in a region already wracked by political tensions and war. What would this mean for India? It is unlikely that there will be any significant shift in Iran’s domestic or external policies since it is the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who will continue to exercise overall authority in the country.”

Prerequisites: 

— What is the significance of Chabahar Port?

— What is the India-Middle-East Economic Corridor (IMEC) project?

— Groupings to look for: I2U2, QUAD, 

— Map Work: Iran, Chabahar Port, Central Asian countries, Israel, Afghanistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan. 

Key takeaways: 

— “In recent years, India-Iran relations have been marked by a certain wariness and even distance. Iran has been disappointed by India’s unwillingness to risk its strategic and economic interests with the US and the West in general while pursuing closer relations with Iran.”

— “It has watched with concern the extraordinary expansion of India-Israel relations under the Narendra Modi government and the parallel intimacy pursued with the most influential Gulf kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

— “The process was helped by the Abraham Accords of 2020, which led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and later Sudan. This was managed through a major and sustained US diplomatic effort. There was a credible expectation that Saudi Arabia would soon follow suit. 

— “It is in this context that India became part of the I2U2 grouping in 2021, bringing together India, Israel, the UAE and the US, a quadrilateral in the West to match the quadrilateral (Quad), in the East.”

— “In promoting formal relations between Israel and the key Arab countries, the US intended to create a coalition that could constitute a regional security architecture in West Asia and the Gulf, targeting Iran as the main adversary.”

—  “Iranian unhappiness over these developments did impact India’s relations with Iran.”

— “Iran will be bypassed by IMEC and Indian interest in the longstanding but much delayed Chabahar project, which would connect the Iranian port with Afghanistan and beyond to Central Asia, would seem to have mostly evaporated.”

— “The revival of the Chabahar project should also be seen against the backdrop of the stalling of IMEC in the changed politics of the region.” 

— “The latest agreement will hand over one section of the port and its terminals to an Indian entity to manage for the next 10 years. Earlier, the use of the port was subject to short-term contractual agreements.”

—”In 2016, the US government had a keen interest in shoring up the Ghani regime. India was, therefore, able to obtain waivers from US sanctions in so far as these related to materials and financing of the Chabahar project. The US has withdrawn from Afghanistan and has no interest in supporting and aiding the Taliban regime. It has, therefore, reacted differently this time by announcing that the latest agreement would not be exempt from US sanctions on Iran.”

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the history of India and Iran’s bilateral relations?

— What is the current state of relations between India and Iran?

— How the geopolitical churn in West Asia has made India-Iran deal on Chabahar port more important?

— What are the concerns associated with the Chabahar port?

— What is the US’s stand on Chabahar Port, and what can be the way forward?

Post Read Question:

What is the importance of developing Chabahar Port by India? (UPSC CSE 2017)

(a) India’s trade with African countries will enormously increase.

(b) India’s relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened.

(c) India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

(d) Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

The history of Iran’s Chabahar port, and its imperative for India

 

Explained

‘Silent demise’ of world rangelands: why this matters

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Important International InstitutionsGovernment Policies & Interventions.

What’s the ongoing story- About half of the world’s rangelands are degraded and need policy interventions, and communities depending on them need focused support, according to a new report of the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD).

Prerequisites: 

— What is rangelands?

— What is the function of UNCCD?

— What is the relationship between rangelands and food security?

Key takeaways: 

— The UNCCD report defines rangelands as natural or semi-natural ecosystems that are grazed by livestock or wild animals. Rangelands contain vegetation such as grasses, shrubs, bushes, open forests, and agroforestry systems (land which contains trees and crops or pastures).

— They act as carbon sinks, storehouses of freshwater, and prevent desertification of land. Millions of people worldwide depend on rangelands for food security, and livelihoods.

— In India, rangelands occupy about 1.21 million sq km, from the Thar Desert to Himalayan meadows, as per the UNCCD report.

— The UNCCD report found that nearly 50% of the world’s rangelands can be considered “degraded” and are facing a “silent demise”.

— Pastoralism is a livelihood system based on livestock production, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

— In India, while there are no official figures, research and advocacy groups peg their population at around 13 million people, across 46 groups including Gujjars, Bakarwals, Rebaris, Raikas, Kurubas, and Maldharis, to name a few.

— India is home to 20% of the world’s livestock population. Around 77% of these animals are reared in pastoralist systems according to the Accounting for Pastoralists in India (2020) report. — Currently, India is the largest producer of milk in the world, accounting for 23% of global dairy production. It is also the largest producer of buffalo meat and largest exporter of sheep and goat meat, according to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Pastoralists are a major contributor in this sector.

For Your Information: 

— Rangelands cover 80 million sq km, which is 54 per cent of the earth’s land surface. They are characterised by low vegetation and comprise grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, desert, semi-arid land, mountain pastures, plateaus and tundra. 

— These rangelands, the report said, are an important ecosystem to fight against climate change as they act as carbon sinks and prevent soil erosion, land degradation and desertification.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the reasons for the degradation of rangelands?

— What are the other reports published by UNCCD?

— What are the steps taken at the global level to counter desertification and land degradation?

— How pastoralists contribute to the animal husbandry and dairy industry?

Post Read Question:

Which of the following organisations published the Global Land Outlook Report?

(a) OECD

(b) UNCCD

(c) IPCC

(d) World Economic Forum

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Pastoralists in India need better access to land and rights recognition, says UN report

Gopi Thotakura becomes India’s space tourist: What is space tourism?

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

What’s the ongoing story- On Sunday (May 19), India-born aviator and commercial pilot Gopi Thotakura along with five other space tourists became the latest set of individuals to make a short recreational trip to space. Thotakura, who is based in the United States, is the first space tourist from India but about 50 others have made such trips, most of them in the last three years.

Prerequisites: 

— Who owns Blue Origin?

— What is the International Space Station (ISS)?

— What is the significance of private sector in space exploration?

Key takeaways: 

— Thotakura flew aboard a spacecraft of Blue Origin, one of the few private space companies offering a joy ride to people wanting to venture into space.

— It was one of the shortest and quickest trips to space.

— Thotakura’s journey was what is called a sub-orbital space flight. The spacecraft did not get into an orbit around the Earth. It crossed the Karman line, stayed there for some time, and then descended back to Earth. Most space tourism flights on offer are of this nature only.

— In fact, the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, an American who paid to travel on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2001, spent over seven days on the ISS.

— Between 2001 and 2009, the Russians took seven tourists to the space station, and one of them, Charles Simonyi, travelled twice.

— Three of the leading players in private space tourism — Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX — executed their first missions in 2021.

For Your Information: 

— Blue Origin has not disclosed the price that its latest set of passengers paid for a seat on this journey. But according to space.com website, a similar journey on a Virgin Galactic spacecraft costs about $450,000 (about Rs 3.75 crore). 

— A journey to the ISS is now estimated to cost anything between 20 to 25 million dollars (about Rs 160 to 210 crore). A recent NASA paper mentions that space companies SpaceX and Space Adventures were planning to offer a journey around the Moon for about 70 to 100 million dollars (about Rs 600 to 850 crore).

Points to Ponder: 

— What is India’s plan for the International Space station?

— What are the opportunities for India to explore space tourism?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements:

1. Gopi Thotakura is the second Indian to venture into space as a tourist.

2. Dennis Tito was the first space tourist who spent over seven days on the ISS.

3. The Kármán line is a boundary 98 miles (158 kilometers) above mean sea level that borders Earth’s atmosphere and the beginning of space.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None   

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

1st Indian space tourist: ‘Want to go up there, see Earth… tell the tale’

 

UPSC Essay and Ethics Snippets

A New Moral Compass : From Editorial (In good faith) by Sujan Chinoy

Thought Process:

— The UN website still lists 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories as the unfinished agenda of the Special Committee on Decolonisation. These powers, many of whom, ironically, claim to be champions of democracy, seem loath to give freedom to the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories.

— Kant’s ideas have abiding resonance in a world full of strife in which the war of narratives blurs the distinction between reality and fiction. Today, reality is often a creation of geopolitical and geo-economic interests. The yardstick for appraising democratic backsliding is beset with double standards. How else can one explain the crackdown on the ongoing campus demonstrations across the US while calling for “freedom of expression” in India?

— How have Ramayana and Mahabharata judged statecraft, war, and diplomacy through the prism of ethics? On ethics and morality, what is the similarity between Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Thiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural with Kant? What is the inspiration behind India’s motto One Earth, One Family, One Future during the G20 summit? How can we effectively combine Immanuel Kant’s ideas with ancient teachings at this crucial point in international affairs to establish a new moral compass for a better world? Refer to the article to learn more. (Click Here)

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