Supreme Court Judgment on State Taxation of Mining Lands

Supreme Court Ruling In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India, in an 8:1 judgment delivered by a nine-judge Constitution Bench, held that State Legislatures have the authority to tax mining lands and quarries beyond what is prescribed by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act). This ruling empowers states to generate additional revenues from mining act

India’s way forward: Services or manufacturing?

Context: India's economic development strategy has been debated for a long time, with some arguing for a service-led growth model and others for a manufacturing-led model. The country's current development path has seen growth primarily in the service sector, with the manufacturing sector's share of output and employment plateauing at or below 20%. Service sector model: The s

Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945: Updated

Context: On January 8, 2024, the Union Health Ministry introduced updated regulations in Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, aiming to strengthen the oversight of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Pharmaceutical Companies: GMP functions as a framework ensuring consistent production and control of products in adherence to q

There is no substitute for an industrial policy

 Key words: Make in India (MII), Self-sufficiency, Protectionism, Jobs, Exports, PLI, NIP, Informal Economy, MSMEs, China Background: For decades, the role of government intervention in shaping economic development has been fiercely contested. While free-market proponents advocate for minimal interference, others argue for strategic government involvement to guide and

Implementing a car safety programme

Implementing a car safety programme     Why in the News? The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) was rolled out by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to create a rating system indicating the safety of cars in a collision and is planned to come into effect from October 1, 2023. What is Bharat NCAP? An indigenous star-rating system for crash tes

Sugar industry in ethanol sourcing

Sugar industry in ethanol sourcing The Niti Aayog envisages requirement of 1,400 crore litres of ethanol to achieve 20% blending by 2025-2026.  Nearly 550 crore litres of ethanol have been produced and 450 crore litres of it came from the sugar industry and the remaining from maize and damaged grain, in 2022. Molasses, a byproduct of sugar processing, are currently being used for bi

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India Why in the News? The Parliamentary Standing committee on Commerce has flagged that the five SEZs approved in the Northeast India between 2007-21 have not started the operations yet.   The SEZs approved in the Northeast India and not yet operational: Information Technology SEZs approved in Manipur and Sikkim in 2013 and 2021 respectively

Centre to launch national portal for online drug sale

Centre to launch national portal for online drug sale Why in the News? The government seeks to launch a national portal for online sale of medicines dur to concerns of over-the-counter sale of prescription drugs and data misuse. This was on the background of the Ministry of Health sending show cause notice to 20 companies such as 1mg, Flipkart, Apollo, Pharm Easy, Amazon and Reliance Net

Seeds for Growth

Seeds for Growth   Gap between potential and achievable food productivity in India: Reasons for the gap in productivity especially in grain crops and vegetables: High cost of production Uncertain monsoon Deterioration of soil fertility Subsistence nature of farming Increasing population year-on-year thus increasing the demand Non-availability of quality see

Start-ups in India

Start-ups in India Why in the News?                                       The recognized start-ups in India approximating to 98,000 have created 10.34lakh direct jobs in India excluding the jobs created

Fertilizers in India

Fertilizers in India Why in the News? The Standing committee of Parliament on chemicals and Fertilizers has asked the govt. to ensure fertilizer availability and increase the local production. Observations of the Panel: There is a deficit of 119 lakh tonnes of fertilizers comparing the overall production and consumption of fertilizers in India. There is a shortage of fertilizers i

Issues with India’s Pharmaceutical sector

Issues with India’s Pharmaceutical sector Why in the News? USFDA has issued a warning letter to a Gujarat-based Pharma manufacturing company citing serious violations of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). India’s Pharma Sector: Indian pharma sector is set to achieve $130 billion by value, in the year 2030. The domestic Pharma companies are expected to report a steady

Research linked Incentive scheme

Research linked Incentive scheme Why in the News? The Ministry of Science and Technology has written to the Finance Ministry to introduce a Research Linked Incentive (RLI) scheme for the Pharma sector in the upcoming budget of 2024-25. What is Research linked Incentive scheme? The RLI scheme has been envisaged on the lines of production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, to give stimulu