Assumptions & Logical Corollaries Steady

How is deflation done? Most countries use a method called 'double deflation', where input and output prices are deflated separately. Consider a manufacturer importing oil for use in production. If oil prices fall, output

India is starting to deploy AI for critical use cases such as weather forecasting, pest detection and control, and crop yield optimisation. However, penetration is limited to a small subset of tech-savvy farmers. In the

Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods,

The history of renewable energy suggests there is a steep learning curve, meaning that, as more is produced, costs fall rapidly because of economies of scale and learning by doing. The firms' green innovation is path-dep

Each State in India faces a distinctive set of challenges regarding the impact of warming, but also offers its own set of opportunities for reducing emissions depending on its natural resources. For example, coastal Stat

If the social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. Besides those below the official poverty line, even those just over the

One of the dismal realities of the agricultural sector in independent India has been that it never experienced a high-growth phase, unlike the non-agricultural economy. The highest decadal growth (compound annual growth

One of the dismal realities of the agricultural sector in independent India has been that it never experienced a high-growth phase, unlike the non-agricultural economy. The highest decadal growth (compound annual growth

In our country, handlooms are equated with a culture that ensures a continuity of tradition. This idea has become part of the public policy-framing and provides a legitimate basis for the State to support the sector. But

In our country, regrettably, teaching and learning for the examination have been our forte but the new demands of society and the future of work require critical and independent thinking, learning through doing, asking q

If there is inequality in the pattern of population growth, there is greater inequality in food production and utilization. As societies become wealthier, their consumption of animal products increases. This means that a

Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut close to nothing. A leading climate scientist reckons that, at best, half the reducti

In only 50 years, the world's consumption of raw materials has nearly quadrupled, to more than 100 billion tons. Less than 9% of this is reused. Batteries of old vehicles contain materials such as lithium, cobalt, mangan

It is hard to predict how changes in the climate and the atmosphere's chemistry will affect the prevalence and virulence of agricultural diseases. But there is a risk that such changes will make some plant infections mor

"A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters will push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. S

There has been no democracy that has grown economically without corporate capitalism. It helps in modernizing the economy and enabling the transition from rural to urban, and agriculture to industry and services, which a

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally. Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production to

As inflation rises, even governments previously committed to budget discipline are spending freely to help households. Higher interest rates announced by central banks are supposed to help produce modest fiscal austerity

Today, if we consider cities such as New York, London and Paris as some of the most iconic cities in the world, it is because plans carrying a heavy systems approach were imposed on their precincts. The backbone of the s

Not every voice on the internet commands the same kind of audience. When anonymous private entities with high capital can pay for more space for their opinions, they are effectively buying a louder voice. If political di

By the time children reach class 8, the bulk of them tend to be in the age range of 13 years to 15 years. But in our country, about a quarter of all children in class 8 struggle with reading simple texts and more than ha

"The history of science is the real history of mankind." In this striking epigram, a nineteenth-century writer links science with its background. Like most epigrams, its power lies in emphasizing by contrast an aspect of

Only with long experience and opening of his wares on many a beach where his language is not spoken, will the merchant come to know the worth of what he carries, and what is parochial and what is universal in his choice.

Conventional classrooms, by emphasizing fixed duration over learning effectiveness, resign themselves to variable outcomes. The tyranny of the classroom is that every learner is subjected to the same set of lectures in t

When a child reaches adolescence, there is apt to be a conflict between the parents and the child, since the latter considers himself to be by now quite capable of managing his own affairs, while the former are filled wi

Geographers analyzed 175 satellite images of ocean colour, which is an indicator of phytoplankton productivity at the ocean's surface, and found that giant icebergs are responsible for storing up to 20 percent of carbon

The flower was not invented to please us. It flaunted its petals and spread its perfume to attract an insect. The insect carries the pollen from flower to flower so that pollen is not carried away by wind and thus not wa

We often hear about conflicts among different States in India over river waters. Of the 20 major river systems, 14 are already water-stressed; 75% of the population lives in water-stressed regions, a third of whom live i

Environmental problems cause health problems. Substantial changes in lifestyle can reduce environmental or health problems, but this idea appears almost impossible to adopt. With environmental problems, individual effort

In India, the segregation of municipal waste at source is rare. Recycling is mostly with the informal sector. More than three-fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation, which leaves very lit

There is a claim that organic farming is inherently safer and healthier. The reality is that because the organic farming industry is still young and not well-regulated in India, farmers and consumers, alike, are not only

Food consumption patterns have changed substantially in India over the past few decades. This has resulted in the disappearance of many nutritious foods such as millets. While food grain production has increased over fiv

Scientists studied the vernal window — transition period from winter to the growing season. They found that warmer winters with less snow resulted in a longer lag time between spring events and a more protracted vernal w

Pharmaceutical patents grant protection to the patentee for the duration of the patent term. The patentees enjoy the liberty to determine the prices of medicines, which is time-limited to the period of monopoly, but coul

India should ensure the growth of the digital economy while keeping personal data of citizens secure and protected. No one will innovate in a surveillance-oriented environment or in a place where an individual's personal

In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suit

In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suit

In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suit

Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinct

To encourage research is one of the functions of a university. Contemporary universities have encouraged research, not only in those cases where research is necessary, but on all sorts of entirely unprofitable subjects a

Approximately 80 percent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, including birds and mammals, but the main pollinators are insects. Pollination is responsible for providing us with a wide variety of foo

Researchers were able to use stem cells to gauge the neurotoxic effects of the environmental pollutant Bisphenol A (BPA). They used a combination of biochemical and cell-based assays to examine the gene expression profil

Fig trees (genus Ficus) are considered sacred in India, East Asia and Africa and are common in agricultural and urban landscapes where other large trees are absent. In natural forests, fig trees provide food for wildlife

A social and physical environment riddled with poverty, inequities, unhygienic and insanitary conditions generates the risk of infectious diseases. Hygiene has different levels : personal, domestic and community hygiene.

Policy makers and media have placed the blame for skyrocketing food prices on a variety of factors, including high fuel prices, bad weather in key food producing countries, and the diversion of land to non-food productio

A central message of modern development economics is the importance of income growth, by which is meant growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In theory, rising GDP creates employment and investment opportunities. As in

With respect to what are called denominations of religion, if everyone is left to be a judge of his own religion, there is no such thing as religion that is wrong; but if they are to be a judge of each other's religion,

Inequality violates a basic democratic norm : the equal standing of citizens. Equality is a relation that obtains between persons in respect of some fundamental characteristic that they share in common. Equality is, mora

Can a democracy avoid being a welfare state for long ? Why cannot mass welfare be left entirely to the markets ? There is a built-in tension between markets and democracy. Markets do not work on a one-person-one-vote pri

In India, the current focus on the right to privacy is based on some new realities of the digital age. A right is a substantive right only if it works in all situations, and for everyone. A right to free expression for a

Although most of the Genetically Modified (GM) crops cultivated now are genetically engineered for a single trait, in future, crops genetically engineered for more than one trait will be the norm. Thus, biotechnology's r

Private investment in general is volatile. Foreign private investment is more volatile because the available investment avenues are significantly greater (i.e., the entire world). Therefore, the responsibility of providi

People will invest in education whenever they are granted the economic freedom to fully enjoy its benefits. Again, this is for the obvious reason that the return on education increases as the level of economic freedom ri

Our urban bodies cannot possibly ensure sustainable delivery of water in our cities unless financing mechanisms are put in place. Water delivery requires heavy investment in collecting it from a natural source, treating

In India, agriculture still engages about half of its workforce, and about 85 per cent of its farms are small and marginal. Compared to China and Vietnam, which have experienced fast structural and rural transformation,

In India, authorities always look to store the maximum amount of water in reservoirs during the monsoon season, which is then used for irrigation and generation of electricity during the summer months. It is an internati

Economic liberalization in India was shaped largely by the economic problems of the government than by the economic priorities of the people or by the long-term development objectives. Thus, there were limitations in con

India has tremendous potential for solar energy. We all realize that we have to stop burning fossil fuels to meet our energy needs. But certain renewable resources are still going through their cost curves and learning c

Genome editing is different from genome modification. Genome editing typically involves finding the part of a plant genome that could be changed to render it less vulnerable to disease, or resistant to certain herbicides

Political theorists no doubt have to take history of injustice, for example, untouchability, seriously. The concept of historical injustice takes note of a variety of historical wrongs that continue into the present in s

Education plays a great transformatory role in life, particularly so in this rapidly changing and globalizing world. Universities are the custodians of the intellectual capital and promoters of culture and specialized kn

Soil, in which nearly all our food grows, is a living resource that takes years to form. Yet it can vanish in minutes. Each year 75 billion tonnes of fertile soil is lost to erosion. That is alarming — and not just for f

Inequality is visible, even statistically measurable in many instances, but the economic power that drives it is invisible and not measurable. Like the force of gravity, power is the organising principle of inequality, b

Around 56 million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean had not fully opened and animals, perhaps including our primate ancestors, could walk from Asia to North America through Europe and across Greenland. Earth was warmer than

The rural poor across the world, including India, have contributed little to human-induced climate change, yet they are on the frontline in coping with its effects. Farmers can no longer rely on historical averages for r

A changing climate, and the eventual efforts of governments (however reluctant) to deal with it, could have a big impact on investors' returns. Companies that produce or use large amounts of fossil fuels will face higher

Access to schooling for those coming of school age is close to universal, but access to quality exhibits a sharp gradient with socio-economic status. Quotas for the weaker sections in private schools is a provision intro

What stands in the way of the widespread and careful adoption of 'Genetic Modification (GM)' technology is an 'Intellectual Property Rights' regime that seeks to create private monopolies for such technologies. If GM tec

Diarrhoeal deaths among Indian children are mostly due to food and water contamination. Use of contaminated groundwater and unsafe chemicals in agriculture, poor hygiene in storage and handling of food items to food cook

India's economic footprint, given its population, still remains small compared to the US, the European Union or China. It has much to learn from other economies, yet must implement solutions that fit its unique circumsta

In a study, scientists compared the microbiomes of poorly nourished and well nourished infants and young children. Gut microbes were isolated from faecal samples of malnourished and healthy children. The microbiome was "

Temperatures have risen nearly five times as rapidly on the Western Antarctic Peninsula than the global average over the past five decades. Researchers have now found that melting glaciers are causing a loss of species d

A research team examined a long-term owl roost. Owls prey on small mammals and the excreted remains of those meals that accumulated over the time, provide us an insight into the composition and structure of small mammals

Food varieties extinction is happening all over the world — and it is happening fast. For example, of the 7,000 apple varieties that were grown during the nineteenth century, fewer than a hundred remain. In the Philippin

It is no longer enough for us to talk about providing for universal access to education. Making available schooling facilities is an essential prerequisite, but is insufficient to ensure that all children attend school a

'Desertification' is a term used to explain a process of decline in the biological productivity of an ecosystem, leading to total loss of productivity. While this phenomenon is often linked to the arid, semi-arid and sub

A diversity of natural assets will be needed to cope with climate change and ensure productive agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. For example, crop varieties are needed that perform well under drought, heat, and enhan

All actions to address climate change ultimately involve costs. Funding is vital in order for countries like India to design and implement adaptation and mitigation plans and projects. The problem is more severe for deve

India's educational system is modelled on the mass education system that developed in the 19th century in Europe and later spread around the world. The goal of the system is to condition children as 'good' citizens and p

A male tiger was removed from Pench Tiger Reserve and was relocated in Panna National Park. Later, this tiger trekked toward his home 250 miles away. The trek of this solitary tiger highlights a crisis. Many wildlife res

The greatest blessing that technological progress has in store for mankind is not, of course, an accumulation of material possessions. The amount of these that can be effectively enjoyed by one individual in one lifetime

There is more than a modicum of truth in the assertion that "a working knowledge of ancient history is necessary to the intelligent interpretation of current events". But the sage who uttered these words of wisdom might

An innovative India will be inclusive as well as technologically advanced, improving the lives of all Indians. Innovation and R&D can mitigate increases in social inequality and relieve the pressures created by rapid urb

Many farmers use synthetic pesticides to kill infesting insects. The consumption of pesticides in some of the developed countries is touching 3000 grams/hectare. Unfortunately, there are reports that these compounds poss