On new ISRO chief's table: 100th launch this month, PSLV built by pvt sector

After the historic space docking experiment, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready for another mile-stone, its 100th launch, that is set to happen. NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is the operational name for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, IRNSS, which is a constellation of seven satellites providing positioning, navigation and timing services over the Indian region and its immediate neighbourhood. The satellites are deployed in the geosynchronous orbits. First launched in July 2013, the IRNSS constellation was completed in 2018, but not all the satellites have been functional.

THE NEW TRADE

Trump has repeatedly spoken about imposing tariffs on countries such as Mexico, Canada and China. He has attacked India's tariff structure, pointing specifically at the 100 per cent rate levied on some products. However, so far, days after the inauguration, there has been no policy action. For India, the US is an important trade partner - in 2023-24, bilateral trade between the two countries was around $120 billion. Despite the current rhetoric in Washington, there is a clear consensus on maintaining and strengthening India-US relations.

Our own Deep State

The practice is still the same as that in colonial times and this near 200-year longevity should hint at how outdated the system is. The practice is in the interests of TV and the IAS babus who make policy. Don't think that this excessive taxation is costless. Matter of fact, very costly. It leads to excessive and wasteful government spending (freebies as articulated by PM Modi.) It also leads to discomfort among the middle classes who pay most of the taxes this discomfort is a likely explanation for the surprising decline in popularity of the BJP and Modi in the national election seven months ago. Regarding personal income taxation, the Indian government's own data and projections suggest that X-PIT will reach 3.9 per cent of GDP in FY2025. Very Outside of the advanced countries, there is no regional average that even comes close - Eastern Europe t is the highest, at 3.4 per cent in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

A WEAKER SHIELD

In his first stint at the White House, Trump had taken steps to quit the premier global health agency, accusing it of failing to incriminate China for the Covid pandemic. The US is one of the WHO's founding members. It has historically been the largest financial contributor to the UN agency. The US is a party to two WHO treaties: The agency's constitution and the International Health Regulations, the governing framework for epidemic preparedness and response. At the height of the Cold War, the WHO became the main portal for US-Soviet collaboration in healthcare which went on to play a seminal role in the eradication of smallpox. The organisation stewards a vast network of public health agencies, laboratories, and international scientists that constantly track novel outbreaks. US institutes like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) depend on this network for information.

A MORAL FAILURE

A Kolkata Court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment after he was convicted of the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. While death penalty satisfies those who demand instant justice, it diverts our attention from the real task at hand-resisting the normalisation of a culture that promotes brute and toxic masculinity and the objectification of a woman. In a society where on average there are 86 incidents of rape every day, we need to go beyond the instant fulfillment for 'justice' through capital punishment, and instead, work rigorously in the domain of culture, socialisation and education.

H-1B uncertainty fuels jobs in India

The US H-1B programme is a temporary non-immigrant visa programme that allows employers in the country to hire foreign workers in specialised fields such as technology, engineering, finance etc. Due to high demand and a cap of 65,000 per year, a computerised lottery selects applicants. Existing evidence shows that such immigration can benefit both the sending and the host country. The resultant "brain gain", coupled with the return of STEM migrants (33 per cent according to a study by Stefano Breschi, Francesco Lissoni and Ernest Miguelez) from the US due to circulation, provided critical human capital to boost the Indian IT industry. Similar discussions on "H-1B visa abuse" constituted a part of Trump's rhetoric in 2016. Despite no changes to visa quotas or regulations, uncertainty around immigration policy soared right before the 2016 US elections. According to the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, migration-related uncertainty tripled following Trump's primary victory compared to 2015. The consequences of this rise in uncertainty rippled across global labour markets, particularly in India, which supplies 70 per cent of H-1B workers annually.

Indian refiners seek more West Asian oil amid US sanctions on Russian oil trade

The Sweeping sanctions package announced earlier this month by the US against Russia's oil trade has already had an impact on near-term supply of Russian oil to Indian refiners, who are finding it hard to secure enough cargoes for Moscow's crude. The situation is forcing Indian refiners to look else-where-mainly to West Asia - to replace volumes from Russia, currently India's largest source market for crude.

These sanctions are the latest in the list of actions the Western powers have taken to curtail Russia's revenue from oil exports, which they claim is helping Moscow fund its war in Ukraine. According to the US Department of the Treasury, the latest action substantially increases the sanctions risks associated with the Russian oil trade. 

Ad hoc judges in HC: When and how can they be appointed?

The Supreme Court suggested temporarily appointing retired judges on an ad hoc (as required) basis to address the growing backlog of pending criminal cases before several High Courts. Article 224A of the Constitution allows the Chief Justice of a High Court to request retired HC judges to perform the duties of a judge again, with the permission of the President of India. Both the retired judge and the President of India are required to consent to the appointment. The detailed procedure can be found in the 1998 Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) for the appointment of High Court judges, which was prepared after the creation of the collegium system for appointing judges. It states that after the retired judge has consented to the appointment, the Chief Justice must forward her name and appointment details to the Chief Minister. The CM will pass this recommendation to the Union Law Minister, who will consult the Chief Justice of India before forwarding the recommendation and the CJI's advice to the Prime Minister of India. The PM will advise the President on whether to give her approval.

Trump's tariffs threat

United States President Donald Trump has said he is considering putting a 10% tariff on Chinese imports because "they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada", and 25% on goods from those two countries "because they're allowing vast numbers of people and fentanyl to come" into the US. A tariff is a tax that a government imposes on goods imported into the country in question (the US, in this case). Consider the following simple scenario. The US government then imposes a "protectionist" tariff of 50% on all car imports from China.

Donald launches $TRUMP: Why do memecoins divide even crypto investors?

Donald Trump launched his very own crypto memecoin $TRUMP, two days before his inauguration. Memecoins are cryptocurrencies that are often inspired by Internet memes or trends. Although their value is based purely on hype and public perception, memecoins can attract heavy investment and build large followings. The market cap of any cryptocurrency is decided based on the price of each coin, and the number of coins available. Creators give memecoins liquidity by pairing them with popular cryptocurrencies such as Ether, but platforms such as Pump. fun set initial prices using their own formula. However, since memecoins are not tied to any underlying assets, they do not have any intrinsic value.