Upgrading weather forecasting 

India's MET department seemed to exist mainly to provide rainfall forecasts during the monsoon season, or to tell the maximum and minimum temperatures in the four metropolises.

While the department was doing a lot of other valuable work as well, that did not seem to be of much relevance to the general public. Weather services were not a sought-after commodity and even when available, were not taken very seriously.

This situation has changed dramatically over the last decade or so - on both the demand and the supply sides. 

There is huge demand for, and interest in, weather-related information, even among the general public. And the amount of information that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) puts out every day about not just rainfall but all kinds of weather events, is enormous. 

What are combination drugs; why have 156 of them been banned?

The government has banned 156 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs, including popular medicines such as Cheston Cold and Foracet, used for cold and fever and pain respectively.

The ban is the most sweeping crackdown on FDCs - which are combinations of two or more known drugs in single-dosage form - since 2018, when 328 such -drugs were banned. A total of 499 FDCs have been banned since 2014, officials said.

In call with Putin, PM discusses Kyiv, says India to back early end to the conflict

A day after he spoke to US President Joe Biden and briefed him about his Ukraine visit where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday and "exchanged perspectives on the Russia- Ukraine conflict and my insights from the recent visit to Ukraine". 

The Modi-Putin phone call took place four days after the Prime Minister told Zelenskyy in Kyiv that India, and he personally. are willing to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace. 

This was a clear and categorical statement of intent to mediate a peace deal between the two warring sides. 

WEATHER RESILIENCE

The weather forecasting upgrade planned by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is long overdue. In the past 10 years, the IMD's ability to make long-range predictions over broad regions has improved appreciably. 

Yet, there are several days when predictions go wrong, especially during the southwest and northeast monsoons. 

The challenge today is not to predict average rainfall or temperature over the season, month or week. Extreme weather events that usually occur once in a few decades now threaten people's lives and livelihoods throughout the year. 

Weather forecasters need to find ways to alert farmers, municipal authorities, and office and school-goers about copious rainfall at hyper-local levels. 

A SYSTEM TO BANK ON

Jan Dhan accounts not only have many positive aspects like insurance coverage, overdraft facility, and impact on saving habits, but they also have social implications. 

Our research has found that UP, Maharashtra and Haryana have witnessed a lagged impact of the usage of PMJDY accounts and thefts have decreased. 

West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have seen a continuing impact since the beginning, while Gujarat and Karnataka have also witnessed a favourable impact. 

The Nyaya Sanhita we need

The popular Netflix series 'Jamtara' exposes a cybercrime hub in remote rural Jharkhand. 

The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal of the Government of India recognises new-age crimes such as cyberbullying, stalking, sexting, email phishing, email hacking, impersonating profiles, online and social media crimes, online job fraud, online matrimonial fraud, intimidating emails, online gambling, and online trafficking. 

There are also deep fake fakes and many more. Yet, the BNS does not address these cyber aspects of crime. 

Supreme Court stays Ministry of Ayush notification related to drugs, cosmetic rules

The Supreme Court upheld the July 1, 2024 notification issued by the Ministry of Ayush, omitting Rule 170 of the Drug and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 which deals with the prohibition of advertisements of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs without the licensing authority's approval.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta said the notification issued by the ministry flies in the face of its earlier order. 

The issue arose in the context of the hearing on a 2022 plea by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and its officials accusing them of making misleading claims and statements critical of modern medicine. 

Member of govt-appointed committee on OBC quota in favour of caste census, SC/ST sub-classification 

A Member of the Justice Rohini Commission to study sub-qualification of OBCs, constituted by the Narendra Modi government in its first term, has come out in support of the caste census as well as the Supreme Court's recent verdict allowing states the powers to sub-classify Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for the purpose of reservations. 

US readout silent on Dhaka, officials say issue discussed

A day after the Prime Minister's Office said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden discussed the ongoing situation in Bangladesh and stressed the need for the early restoration of normalcy and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, the White House readout of the call had no reference to Bangladesh.

The PMO statement said that Modi and Biden also discussed the ongoing situation in Bangladesh and stressed the need for the early restoration of normalcy and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus. 

Electronic components subsidy policy: Centre, industry disagree over job creation

There is a standoff between the electronics industry and the Centre over employment numbers in a new electronic component manufacturing incentive policy currently being drafted - with the industry pushing back on the government's job creation demands, saying that the numbers don't reflect the level of mechanisation available. 

Faced with the employment issue, the government is keen on linking job creation to subsidies that companies could avail under the electronic components manufacturing incentive policy, which the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is working on. 

As part of deliberations on the policy, the industry said that the government was estimating job creation under the scheme to be higher by at least 50-60 per cent. This tussle has delayed the formulation of the policy.

Over 3 crore PM Jan Dhan accounts to be opened in FY25: FM Sitharaman

The government aims to open more than 3 crore accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) during the current financial year 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

On the eve of the PMJDY completing ten years, Sitharaman said the scheme has helped the government to reach out to people, especially in identifying people who need money.

The government's flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ten years ago on August 28, 2014. 

FM: GST Council to discuss rate rationalisation on Sept 9, final decision later 

The Upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on September 9 will discuss the rationalisation of rates on several items but a decision regarding any rate change will be taken in subsequent meetings, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

A committee of officers will make a presentation on the current status of rates under GST in the Council meeting next month, which would then be shared with the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation for their consideration, Sitharaman said.