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The idea of a four-day week against the usual 40-hour, five-day work week has been mooted for decades. Findings: Microsoft trial: The most recent and widespread adoption of a four-day work week was a trial run by Microsoft in Japan in 2019. The study witnessed a 40% increase in worker productivity, presumably due to increasedRead more

1) Total fertility rate: Total fertility rate (TFR) in simple terms refers to the total number of children born or likely to be born to a woman in her lifetime if she were subject to the prevailing rate of age-specific fertility in the population. TFR of about 2.1 children per woman is called Replacement-level fertility.Read more

Iran and Belarus could soon become the newest members of the China and Russia-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO). In the Samarkand summit, the leadership will adopt a document on the obligations Iran must fulfill to gain membership. Relevance to India: India acquired the observer status in the grouping in 2005 and was admitted as a fullRead more

The Code on Wages (passed in Parliament in August, 2019), the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (all passed on September 22 and 23, 2020 in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha) have not yet been implemented. Views of stakeholders: The CentreRead more

The Department of Empowerment of Person with Disabilities (DoEPwD) recently released the draft of the national policy for persons with disabilities (“Policy”). About: The principle of the draft policy is to showcase the Government’s commitment to the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities by providing a mechanism that ensures their full participation in societyRead more

Basic Concept of a democracy A democratic executive must satisfy two conditions – (1) It must be a stable executive and (2) it must be a responsible executive. It is not possible to ensure a stable executive and a responsible executive in equal degree in a particular system. Therefore, the constitutional makers have to adoptRead more

With inflation at unprecedented levels in many countries, concerns over energy security have gained centre stage. Needs to increase domestic coal production High prices of coal and coal-based generation will only encourage imported coal and expose the country to price risks from international energy prices. The domestic coal industry has responded to increasing international pricesRead more

Once the President is elected, the excitement subsides and for the next five years not much attention is paid to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. What has the Constitution provided regarding the President? Nominal head- Dr. B.R. Ambedkar quoted that our President is merely a nominal figurehead and has no discretion and powers of administration. Article 53-Read more

During the past five years, India and South Korea have experienced considerable divergence in their respective national objectives. There was a clear drift by South Korea away from multilateral security initiatives led by the United States, such as the Quad (the U.S., Australia, India and Japan); meanwhile, India has been actively participating in them. InRead more

The Supreme Court recently underlined that “there is a pressing need” for reform in the law related to bail and called on the government to consider framing a special legislation on the lines of the law in the United Kingdom. The law on bail The CrPC does not define the word bail but only categoriesRead more