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India continues to remain a relative “bright spot” in the world economy, and will alone contribute 15% of the global growth in 2023, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.
While digitisation pulled out the world’s fifth-largest economy from pandemic lows, prudent fiscal policy and significant financing for capital investments provided in the next year’s Budget will help sustain the growth momentum.
India’s performance has been quite impressive. For this year, we expect India to retain a high growth rate, 6.8% for the year that ends in March. For FY 2023/24, (April 2023 to March 2024) we project 6.1%, a bit of slowdown like the rest of the world economy, but way above the global average. And in that way, India is providing about 15% of global growth in 2023.
That is the fastest growth rate among major economies.
India remains a bright spot at a time when the IMF is projecting 2023 to be difficult with global growth slowing down from 3.4% last year to 2.9% in 2023.
Why is India a bright spot? Because one, it has done really well to turn the digitalisation that has been already moving quite well into a major driver of overcoming the impact of the pandemic and creating opportunities for growth and jobs.
States
Mohiniyattam artiste Kanak Rele no more (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 1, Art and Culture)
Classical dance legend Kanak Rele passed away in Mumbai. The Mohiniyattam exponent was awarded the first Guru Gopinath National Puraskaram of the Government of Kerala.
Born to Shivdas and Madhuri in 1937, Dr. Rele, 85, spent her childhood in West Bengal’s Santiniketan.At the age of seven, Dr. Rele was initiated into Kathakali by Guru KarunakaraPanicker.
The Gujarat-born crossed many obstacles as she was initiated into the male-dominated world of Kathakali. During her training, a nagging pain in her leg at the age of 10 was diagnosed as polio. But she overcame it with her dedicated dance practice.
In 1973, Dr. Rele established the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya offering undergraduate, post-graduate and Ph.D. degrees affiliated to the Bombay University.
In 2022, Dr. Rele released the book, Me and My Mohini Attam, which gave a peek into her life with biographical narrations by her niece, Radha Khambati.
Dr. Rele created another record for herself by earning her Ph.D. in dance, the first in India, in 1977. Her doctoral thesis was titled, ‘Mohini Attam: All Aspects and Spheres of Influence.In 2013, Dr. Rele was conferred the Padma Bhushan.
Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais in a condolence message said: “Padma Bhushan Dr. Kanak Rele dedicated her entire life to the cause of promotion, propagation and research of Indian classical dance forms.
She was one of the finest exponents of Mohiniyattam and Kathakali. In her demise we have lost a great Nritya Tapaswini”.
Editorial
Protect the power of ‘the little man’ in a democracy (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The nation may have celebrated “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, on the completion of 75 years of Independence and the 74th anniversary of the founding of the Republic, but there are still deep contradictions in the country.
Abject poverty prevails, there is a deepening divide between the rich and the poor, precarious conditions affect the rule of law, and not-so-good governance poses grave challenges to the very existence of democracy and the republic.
The nation stands polarised on religious and caste lines, resulting in the creation of deep distrust, if not animosity. The party in power at the Centre is unwilling to cede an inch to the Opposition to maintain a vibrant democracy.
There is a constant targeting of the Opposition, as verbal attacks and political destabilisation of governments in Opposition-ruled States, through political machinations and “raids” and “checks” by several core central agencies.
With weakened constitutional safeguards and institutions, the judiciary, including the Supreme Court of India, has been slow to stop these attacks.
For example, the floor test that the judiciary applies only seems to aid the efforts of the ruling party in bringing down Opposition governments, and is a completely futile judicial weapon.
The judiciary needs to innovate to stop the luring of elected MLAs, in order to protect the power of the “little man” in a democracy, as Sir Winston Churchill described it.
So, where is the Amrit? Our constitutional framers had envisaged a different India, as Constitutional Assembly debates show. H.V. Kamath on November 5, 1948, had said, I hope that we in India will go forward and try to make the State exist for the individual rather than the individual for the State.At least let us try to bring about this empire of the spirit in our own political institutions.
If we do not do this, our attempt today in this Assembly would not truly reflect the political genius of the Indian people.India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives and has still something to do for herself and for the human family.
India can become a biodiversity champion (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The sum and variation of our biological wealth, known as biodiversity, is essential to the future of this planet. The importance of our planet’s biodiversity was strongly articulated at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada.
On December 19, 2022, 188 country representatives adopted an agreement to “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss by conserving 30% of the world’s land and 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, known as the 30×30 pledge.
India currently hosts 17% of the planet’s human population and 17% of the global area in biodiversity hotspots, placing it at the helm to guide the planet in becoming biodiversity champions.
In response to this call, the Union Budget 2023 mentioned “Green Growth” as one of the seven priorities or Saptarishis. The emphasis on green growth is welcome news for India’s biological wealth as the country is facing serious losses of natural assets such as soils, land, water, and biodiversity.
The National Mission for a Green India aims to increase forest cover on degraded lands and protect existing forested lands. The Green Credit Programme has the objective to “incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals and local bodies”.
The Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) is particularly significant because of the extraordinary importance of mangroves and coastal ecosystems in mitigating climate change.
The Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) for reducing inputs of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is critical for sustaining our agriculture.
Finally, the Amrit Dharohar scheme directly mentions our biological wealth and is expected to “encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance biodiversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities”.
If implemented in letter and spirit, Amrit Dharohar, with its emphasis on sustainability by balancing competing demands, will benefit aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The recent intervention by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to stop the draining of Haiderpur, a Ramsar wetland in Uttar Pradesh, to safeguard migratory waterfowl is encouraging.
A clean gamble (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Centre is expected to clarify, later this year, the specifics of a carbon trading market in India. An amendment to the Energy Conservation Act, passed in 2022 and, separately, approval by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change via the Paris and Glasgow agreements ensured that carbon markets (where ‘carbon credits’ and ‘emission certificates’ can be traded) have acquired greater global currency.
‘Carbon markets’ are a catch-all term and need clarity, especially in the Indian context. A decade or more ago, they meant stock-market-like exchanges that traded in ‘carbon offsets’ made legitimate under the Clean Development Mechanism.
Here, industrial projects in developing countries that avoided greenhouse gas emissions were eligible for credits that, after verification, could be sold to European companies that could buy them in lieu of cutting emissions themselves.
Alongside are the EU-Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) where government-mandated emission limits on industrial sectors such as aluminium or steel plants require industries to either cut emissions or buy government-certified permits from companies that cut more emissions than required or were auctioned by governments.
Carbon credits became valuable because they could be used as permits in EU-ETS exchanges. Such permits are a ‘right to pollute’ and being tradeable on an exchange, akin to shares, are expected to fluctuate in value depending on a company’s need to balance profitability and comply with pollution norms.
Explainer
The significance of the findings in Keeladi (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 1, History)
Keeladi is a tiny hamlet in the Sivaganga district in south Tamil Nadu. It is about 12 km south-east to the temple city of Madurai and is located along the Vaigai river.
The excavations here from 2015 prove that an urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age on the banks of the Vaigai river.
The Sangam age is a period of history in ancient Tamil Nadu which was believed to be from the third century BCE to the third century CE.
The name is derived from the renowned Sangam poets of Madurai from that time. Excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department (TNSDA) has pushed the Sangam age further back.
In 2019, a TNSDA report dated the unearthed artefacts from Keeladi to a period between sixth century BCE and first century BCE. One of the six samples collected at a depth of 353 cm, sent for carbon dating in the U.S., dated back to 580 BCE.
The findings in the TNSDA report placed Keeladi artefacts about 300 years earlier than the previously believed third century BCE.
A recent ASI report by K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, the Superintendent Archaeologist who discovered Keeladi in 2015, has pushed the Sangam age to 800 BCE based on these archaeological findings.
Keeladi could also provide crucial evidence for understanding the missing links of the Iron Age (12th century BCE to sixth century BCE) to the Early Historic Period (sixth century BCE to fourth century BCE) and subsequent cultural developments.
After reports of possible links with the Indus Valley Civilisation, the third round (2017) of diggings by the ASI saw a delayed start.
Superintending Archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna was transferred to Assam, allegedly in a perceived attempt to play down the excavation findings. Keeladi almost faded from public memory as there was no “significant finding” in the third round.
Why have French troops withdrawn from Burkina Faso? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
On February 19, Burkina Faso announced an official end to the operations led by France in the country. France had signed a military agreement with Burkina Faso in 2018 to achieve stability against the threat of Islamist militant groups.
France signed a series of similar agreements with other West African nations, including Mali who terminated the operation in late 2022.
For Paris, the military governments in West Africa pose multiple challenges. In February 2022, while announcing the withdrawal of France and its allies from Mali, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Victory against terror is not possible if it’s not supported by the state itself.”
France has also been critical of Russian inroads into Africa. It has accused the Russian private military company Wagner Group for working closely with the military governments in West Africa.
On January 23, Burkina Faso’s military government announced its decision to end the military agreement with France and called on Paris to withdraw its troops within a month.
A Burkinabe government spokesperson said that the military government and the country wanted themselves “to be the prime actors in the recapture of our territory,” which was controlled by Islamist militant groups. On January 26, France agreed to withdraw its troops from Burkina Faso.
France was asked to withdraw its troops from Burkina Faso months after it pulled out its troops from Mali. The primary reason behind the withdrawal is the failure of its counter insurgency operations in the Sahel region against Islamist groups.
Islamist insurgency has surged since 2015 and fuelled two coups in Burkina Faso last year. The violence linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups has killed thousands and forced more than two million to flee their homes in the country.
Secondly, as Islamist insurgency kept intensifying, France’s military presence in Burkina Faso came under scrutiny. After the second coup in September 2022, anti-France protests increased in Burkina Faso with demonstrators demanding French withdrawal from the country.
There was also an increasing pro-Russia sentiment. And finally, the ruling military junta of Burkina Faso was looking beyond its traditional allies for support in its counterinsurgency campaign. Dissatisfaction with the French approach has made other actors including Russia and China more preferable partners to fight insurgency.
News
India, China holds in-person border talks after 3 years (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
In the first visit by a top Indian official to China in more than three years, the two countries have discussed proposals for disengaging in the two remaining friction areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to create conditions to “restore normalcy” in relations.
Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), ShilpakAmbule, on Wednesday held talks with top Chinese border officials and also met with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying.
Mr. Ambule led the Indian delegation for the 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), the first such talks held in-person since July 2019.
The Chinese side was led by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry.
The MEA said both sides “reviewed the situation along the LAC” and “discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas in an open and constructive manner, which would help in restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in Western Sector and create conditions for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations”.
A statement from the Chinese side said both sides “reviewed the positive progress” and outcomes of disengagement in Galwan Valley and four other friction areas, while exchanging views on the next stage of talks.
It said both sides “agreed to move forward on the basis of the consensus previously reached, accelerate the resolution of issues related to the western section of the Sino-Indian border, and reach a mutually acceptable solution at an early date”.
The statement said both sides had discussed other measures to ease the situation in border areas and to return the border to normalised control.
To that end, both sides have also agreed to hold the 18th round of talks between senior military commanders at an early date, with the last round held on December 20, 2022.
‘Dickinsonia fossil’ found in Bhimbetka is old beehive (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, History)
Fossils of an extinct species of animal that scientists reported in a sensational discovery from India’s Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in 2021 have been found to be belied hopes.
Gregory Retallack, the lead author of the February 2021 paper that reported the discovery, has acknowledged to The New York Times that they are planning to correct their paper after a closer look at the site revealed the apparent fossil to really be wax smeared on a rock by a beehive.
In March 2020, Dr. Retallack, a Professor of palaeontology at the University of Oregon, and some other researchers were given a tour of the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, in Madhya Pradesh, by members of the Geological Survey of India when they had flown to India to attend a conference.
There, according to The New York Times, they spotted by chance what looked like a 44-cm-wide fossil of Dickinsonia, an animal that lived at least 538 million years ago, in a cave.
Dickinsonia fossils in other parts of the world have indicated it was circular or oval in shape, somewhat flat, with rib-like structures radiating from a central column.
Dr. Retallack and his peers took photographs of the rock feature, since they were not carrying their tools, and determined them with further analysis to be Dickinsonia fossils. They published a paper describing their findings in February 2021.