2018 Report on International Religious Freedom

The 2018 Report on International Religious freedom has been released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. The report makes the following observations: Religious freedom conditions continued to deteriorate in countries across the globe in 2017 It cites ..

Claims under PMFBY Surge

There has been a surge in the number of claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in fiscal 2018-19. India has become the third largest crop insurance market in the world, after the US and China. The claim ..

World Population Prospects 2019

The World Population Prospects 2019 report by the United Nations makes the following observations: The world’s population is expected to increase by two billion people from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050. More than half of the projected ..

Nuclear Warheads and Modernising Arsenals

The 2019 Yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) makes the following observations: The worldwide total of nuclear warheads has decreased since 2018 and the countries are modernising their nuclear arsenals. Nine nuclear-armed countries (including India) had a ..

How India can reap the benefits of US-China Trade War?

The report from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries provides insights about the opportunities for India from the US-China trade war: The ongoing US-China trade provides a big window of opportunity to India for enhancing its exports for both of ..

SCO: India s Global and Regional Interests

The origin of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) can be traced back to Shanghai Five which comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. SCO came into existence with the inclusion of Uzbekistan to the group in 2001. SCO was ..

DRDO Successfully test fires Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful first test flight of the indigenously developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV). The test was conducted at the base off the Odisha coast. India now joins the elite club of ..

World Investment Report 2019

The World Investment Report 2019 released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) makes the following observations: The global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows slid for the third consecutive annual decline by 13 per cent in 2018 to ..

Global Peace Index 2019

Global Peace Index 2019 by the Australian think tank Institute for Economics & Peace ranks countries on their level of peacefulness based on three thematic domains: Level of societal safety and security. Extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict. Degree ..

Hong Kong Extradition Law

Hong Kong is at a political turmoil over the proposed extradition law. More than a million people in Hong Kong marched against a controversial extradition bill which they fear will erode freedom in the semi-autonomous territory. Brief Background Hong Kong ..