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Needed, an Indian Legislative Service: P.K. Ramacharyulu was appointment as the Secretary-General of the Upper House by M. Venkaiah Naidu, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, on September 1, 2021. Ramacharyulu was the first-ever Rajya Sabha secretariat staff who rose to become the Secretary-General of the Upper House. A precedent — appointing the Secretary-General from ‘outside’Read more

Central University Entrance Test: Benefits and Concerns: University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced the introduction of the Central University Entrance Test (CUET), which is now mandatory for undergraduate admission at any of the 45 central universities in the country. Background: Several governments, over the years, have made attempts to replace multiple entrance tests with aRead more

Defining who is ‘Assamese’: Attempts, Challenges: Last week, the Assam government informed the Assembly that nearly 1.44 lakh illegal foreigners had been identified in the state this year based on the 1985 Assam Accord. Who is a foreigner under the Assam Accord? The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Centre and the AssamRead more

Re-introducing African Cheetahs to India: The cheetah, which became extinct in India after Independence, is all set to return with the Union Government launching an action plan in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. According to the plan, about 50 of these big cats will be introduced in the next five years, from the AfricaRead more

The rank pension case The Supreme Court has ruled that there was “no constitutional infirmity” in the way the government had introduced ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) among ex-service personnel. Need for the scheme: Early age of retirement: The other ranks, which are soldiers, usually retire at age 35. No benefits from pay commissions: UnlikeRead more

Wearing Hijab is not Essential Part of Religion: Karnataka HC Key takeaways: The HC held that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam and is not, therefore, protected under by the right to freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution. The court said it was a reasonable restriction thatRead more

Why Special Situation Funds are Necessary India suffers from a chronic bad debt problem.  To overcome this problem, banks and financial institutions were initially allowed to sell their stressed loans only to ARCs. Now they can sell to SSFs too. Higher bad debt requires higher provisioning, locking up more capital in the banking system. ThisRead more

How South Asia Views War Some of India’s neighbour voted against Russia at UNGA while some abstained. Sri Lanka abstained from voting due to: Its import dependent economy has been crippled due to shortage of forex as tourism declines. Ukraine and Russia were a major market. Surge in oil prices due to sanctions on RussiaRead more

When a Missile Misfires Pakistan has said that an unarmed Indian missile landed 124 km inside its territory on Wednesday which was acknowledged by India stating that a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. What is the procedure for information regarding such tests? Under the India- Pakistan’s Pre-notification of flight testingRead more

Turkey’s Stake in Ukraine War The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia are to meet for talks on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum. The talks will be held in “trilateral format”: that is, with Turkey present in the room as a mediator. How is the relationship between Turkey and Russia? Turkey, as theRead more