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India will do “everything” necessary to resolve the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Mr. Modi expressed anguish at the devastation caused by the war and conveyed his personal desire to end the hostilities, during the interaction which was his first with Mr. Zelensky since the war began in February 2022.
You know much more than any of us the pain of war but I could very well understand your pain and the pain of the Ukrainian people when our children narrated the circumstances in your country after they were brought back last year.
I want to assure you that India — and personally myself — will certainly do everything that is necessary to resolve this crisis.
The PM was accompanied by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, while the Ukrainian President was accompanied by his security and foreign affairs team, including Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President.
Taking to social media to share details of the interaction, Mr. Zelensky said that he had discussed the peace formula with Mr. Modi, and also raised Ukraine’s requirement for mobile hospitals and demining support.
Mr. Zelensky had invited Mr. Modi to visit Ukraine. PM had “conveyed India’s clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward”. Mr. Modi also gave an assurance that India would continue to provide humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine.
The two leaders had last met on the sidelines of the COP26 summit in Glasgow on November 2, 2021. Mr. Modi has repeatedly called upon Moscow and Kyiv to start dialogue and stop hostilities.
Earlier this year, the G-20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting witnessed a heated exchange between the western delegates and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as the west pressed the G-20 to take up the issue of Ukraine. India, on its part, has been saying that the matters concerning the developing world or the Global South are more important and should be highlighted.
Reflecting that Indian position in his opening remarks at the G-7 meeting, the Prime Minister indirectly raised the commodities crisis that was triggered by the war in Ukraine.
There is an urgent need to remove the “political obstacles” that have emerged in the global fertilizer supply chains, Mr. Modi said, supporting natural farming as an alternative to fertilizers.
News
Centre seeks review of SC verdict on Delhi govt. powers (Page No. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Centre has sought a review of a Supreme Court verdict upholding the Delhi government’s power to make laws and wield control over civil services in the national capital.
The Centre said the judgment by a Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud had the effect of declaring Delhi a “full-fledged State” when it is actually a Union Territory.
“Union Territories are not ‘States’. They are the territories of the Union falling outside the territories of the States. The judgment has upset the basic tenets of the constitutional idea of federalism.
It has equated the National Capital Territory of Delhi to a State by granting it legislative and executive authority akin to a State,” the Centre submitted in its 370-page review petition filed in the top court.
The Union government said Delhi has never been elevated to the level of a State. The Centre said the judgment was self-contradictory — terming that Delhi had a sui generis or special status while at the same time treating it as a ‘State’.
The Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi is not a full-fledged Legislative Assembly and does not elevate Delhi to the status of a State List.
The Centre argued that for a Union Territory, the Parliament is the sole legislative body. Parliament could make any law in respect of the Union Territories.
The judgment, though accepting the superior legislative authority of the Parliament over Delhi, had gone on to recognise extensive legislative and executive powers to the Delhi Council of Ministers and the Legislative Assembly, including over the ‘services’.
The review plea said the legislative powers are distributed between Parliament and State Legislatures and not between Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories.
The petition further said the five-judge Bench judgment contradicts a 1997 nine-judge Bench decision of the Supreme Court in New Delhi Municipal Corporation vs. State of Punjab, in which it was “clearly held that notwithstanding the 69th Amendment introducing a Legislative Assembly for Delhi, the NCT of Delhi remains a Union Territory”.
The Centre said Article 309 of the Constitution clearly distinguished between the Centre and State services. The civil services in a Union Territory clearly belonged to the Centre.
The appointments and transfers are made in the Delhi administration in accordance with the Central recruitment rules approved by the President through Lieutenant Governor (LG) under Article 309.
Quad leaders express deep concern over consequences of Ukraine war (Page No. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Expressing “deep concern” over the continuing war in Ukraine, leaders of the Quad countries said that they “mourn” its consequences, and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
In a statement issued after a shortened version of the Quad summit of India, Japan, the U.S. and Australia held in Hiroshima on Saturday, the leaders of the four countries also recommitted themselves to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific region according to international law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joseph Biden participated in the meeting convened by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
They issued a joint vision statement, and three other statements setting out “Quad Principles” on clean energy supply chains, cybersecurity and secure software, and critical and emerging technology standards.
The meeting hosted by Australia was held in Japan as the U.S. President decided earlier this week that he would cut short his visit to the region due to the U.S. Congressional logjam over debt default. Mr. Modi announced that the next Quad leaders’ meeting would be held in India in 2024.
However, the Quad countries did not directly refer to Russia’s actions, understood to be in deference to India’s divergent stand on the issue, or to the G-7’s statement yesterday that proposed a new set of sanctions and measures to restrict Russia’s economic activities.
When asked at a briefing on the day’s meetings whether India’s increased purchases of Russian oil had come up in any of the conversations, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “No”.
Just as in previous meetings, the Quad statement did not refer directly to China, but made pointed references to upholding peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific “maritime domain”.
We strongly oppose destabilising or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of Coastguard and maritime militia vessels, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.
When asked, Mr. Kwatra did not confirm or deny whether China’s aggressive actions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the military stand-off since April 2020 were discussed, but said the Quad leaders spoke of “mitigating” regional “challenges.
India stands for respecting sovereignty, adherence to international law, says Modi (Page No. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Amid China's military expansion in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 20 said India was committed to protecting its sovereignty and integrity while promoting peaceful resolution of maritime disputes based on international law.
In an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Mr. Modi, during his visit to Hiroshima to attend the G7 summit, said the G7 and G20 summits were crucial platforms for global cooperation.
As the G20 chair, I will represent the perspectives and priorities of the Global South at the G7 summit in Hiroshima. Strengthening collaboration between the G7 and G20 is vital in addressing global challenges like climate change, supply chain disruptions, economic recovery, energy instability, healthcare, food security apart from peace and security.
The Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan provided a strong foundation for the joint efforts of the two countries, contributing to global cooperation on these issues, he asserted.
Asked about his view on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and how India responded to negative reactions regarding its abstention from voting on UN resolutions and increased oil imports from Russia, Mr. Modi said India advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve disputes and prioritise the well-being of people affected by rising costs of essentials.
India abstained from the UN General Assembly resolutions to condemn the invasion but remains committed to upholding the UN Charter, international law, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
India supports a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis and is ready to contribute constructively within the UN and beyond.
Asked how India would address China's military expansion in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, as well as the rising tension in the Taiwan Strait to maintain international law and territorial integrity, India stands for respecting sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes and adherence to international law.
Mr. Modi said India had successfully resolved land and maritime boundaries with Bangladesh, showcasing its approach.
Asked about his views on the intensifying rivalries among major powers and how India would work with them to attain global peace and stability, the Prime Minister said the world faced challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions in supply chains, terrorism, and climate change, disproportionately affecting the developing world.
Cultural stars in bilateral firmament have one-on-one with PM in Japan (Page No. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 20 met some of the leading Japanese personalities who were instrumental in promoting Indian culture in Japan, saying such interactions facilitate the deepening of mutual understanding and creating stronger bonds between the two countries.
Mr. Modi is in Hiroshima to attend three sessions at the G-7 Summit following an invitation by his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
Mr. Modi met Dr. Tomio Mizokami, Professor Emeritus at the Graduate School of Foreign Studies of Osaka University, a renowned author, linguist, and proficient in Hindi and Punjabi languages.
Mr. Mizokami was conferred the Padma Shri in 2018 for his contribution to the promotion of Indian literature and culture in Japan.
He presented the widely acclaimed book "Jwalamukhi”-- an anthology of writings from the 1980s by a cohort of Japanese scholars who laid the foundation of Hindi learning in Japan, according to the press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Mr. Modi also met and interacted with Hiroko Takayama, who was born in Hiroshima and is a Western-style painter, whose works are deeply influenced by her deep association with India, spanning over two decades.
Ms. Takayama has conducted several workshops and held exhibitions in India, and was briefly a Visiting Professor at Visva Bharati University.
Mr. Modi said such interactions facilitate the deepening of mutual understanding, respect and creating stronger bonds between our countries.
He looked forward to further opportunities for such enriching exchanges that pave the way for further strengthening India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership relations.
Mr. Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday on the first leg of his three-nation trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia and is expected to take part in over 40 engagements.
Amid India’s OTT boom, platforms still keep the disabled in the dark (Page No. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Despite the boom in Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming services in India — a report by Media Partners Asia released this month estimates that one leading platform is closing in on 20 million paying subscribers — there is a huge gap in the accessibility of content for visually and hearing-impaired viewers.
However, regulations for streaming in India explicitly recommend that streaming services make an effort to have their content be accessible.
The IT Rules, 2021 cover a vast swath of the internet, from regulating social media intermediaries, setting out a framework to discourage platforms from letting users post what the Government considers misinformation, to requiring streaming services to submit to a three-tier grievance framework to address user complaints on web series and films. One aspect of the IT Rules that have not received much attention (or compliance) is their pitch for accessibility for persons with disabilities.
The final provision of the Code of Ethics that OTT platforms like Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video have to adhere to, is a nudge to “take reasonable efforts to improve the accessibility of online curated content transmitted by it to persons with disabilities through the implementation of appropriate access services.”
These are a likely reference to two key technologies: closed captioning and audio description. Closed captioning, unlike regular subtitling, describes the sounds and background music score in a film or TV show, an important resource for deaf and hard of hearing people.
Audio description tracks describe what’s happening on screen for blind and visually impaired audiences.
World
Sri Lanka slams Canada over ‘Tamil Genocide Day’ remarks (Page No. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Sri Lanka “condemned and rejected outright” the remarks made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on May 18, marked as ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day’ by the North American country.
According to a press release issued by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry summoned Canadian High Commissioner Eric Walsh and stated that Mr. Trudeau’s “politically motivated statement was divisive and issued for domestic political consumption”.
Sri Lanka vehemently rejects this unsubstantiated allegation of ‘genocide’ relating to the country’s almost three decades of terrorist conflict perpetuated by the LTTE.
Mr. Trudeau had said the stories of the Tamil-Canadians affected by the conflict “serve as an enduring reminder that human rights, peace, and democracy cannot be taken for granted. That’s why Parliament last year unanimously adopted the motion to make May 18 Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.
In January this year, Canada imposed sanctions on former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, for committing “gross and systematic violations of human rights” during the civil war.
Fourteen years since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended, claiming tens of thousands of Tamil civilians’ lives in the final battle in Mullivaikkal in the northern Mullaitivu district, the island remains deeply divided over the war and its end.
On May 18, the Tamils remember their loved ones, who were found dead or disappeared around the final battle, even as they continue struggling for justice and seeking accountability for alleged war crimes.
The Sri Lankan state denies the allegations, despite internationally acknowledged evidence of mass civilian deaths in an area that the military had assured was a “No Fire Zone”. The UN’s estimates, widely considered conservative, point to around 40,000 civilian deaths.
Claiming that the final battle was a “humanitarian operation”, the Sri Lankan state marks May 19 as “Victory Day” to celebrate its soldiers as “war heroes”.
Despite intimidation, periodic surveillance, and obstacles in the past — including the removal of war victims’ memorial by authorities — scores of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal on Thursday to pay respects to their loved ones.
It is the site at the island’s north-eastern edge, where their relatives were last seen alive before succumbing to Army shelling.
Science
Novel host-directed molecules blunt SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus (Page No. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Indian researchers have, for the first time, been able to synthesise small molecules that can effectively halt the infection of cells by SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses by targeting the hosts.
In place of antivirals that directly target the virus in question, the team, co-led by researchers at IISER Mohali and IIT Ropar, attempted the host-directed therapy. Till date, no approved host-directed drugs are available for either SARS-CoV-2 or influenza virus.
In both cultured cells and animal studies, the small molecules that were synthesised by Dr. Prabal Banerjee’s team at the Department of Chemistry, IIT Ropar showed over 95% efficacy in halting the infection of cells by SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses.
While antivirals that target the virus become ineffective once the virus develops resistance, drugs that target the host cells to prevent the virus from infecting them, are expected to remain effective even when the virus evolves by accumulating mutations.
There is already evidence that the current FDA-approved drugs for treating SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus infection are losing their efficacy due to the emergence of drug-resistant virus strains.
In host-directed therapy, the challenge is that molecules can very often turn out to be toxic to the host cells, the reason why this approach has not been widely adopted.
The small molecules were not only effective (over 95%) against both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses, they were not toxic to either cultured cells or mice even after prolonged exposure.
This prompted us to synthesise 22 additional DPUDs. Five of the total 23 DPUDs were found to be highly effective against both viruses, while one molecule tested against influenza virus and two tested against SARS-CoV-2 in mice were found to be highly effective without causing toxicity to the animals.”
New technique welcomes calcium-41 to radiometric dating (Page No. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Since its invention in 1947, carbon dating has revolutionised many fields of science by allowing scientists to estimate the age of an organic material based on how much carbon-14 it contains.
However, carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,700 years, so the technique cannot determine the age of objects older than around 50,000 years.
In 1979, scientists suggestedusing calcium-41, with a half-life of 99,400 years.. It is produced when cosmic rays from space smash into calcium atoms in the soil, and is found in the earth’s crust, opening the door to dating fossilised bones and rock. But several problems need to be overcome before it can be used to reliably date objects.
When an organic entity is alive, its body keeps absorbing and losing carbon-14 atoms. When it dies, this process stops and the extant carbon-14 starts to decay away. Using the difference between the relative abundance of these atoms in the body and the number that should have been there, researchers can estimate when the entity died.
A significant early issue with carbon dating was to detect carbon-14 atoms, which occur once in around 1,012carbon atoms. Calcium-41 is rarer, occurring once in around 1,015calcium atoms.
In the new study, researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, pitched a technique called atom-trap trace analysis (ATTA) as a solution.
ATTA is sensitive enough to spot these atoms; specific enough to not confuse them for other similar atoms and fits on a tabletop.
A sample is vaporised in an oven. The atoms in the vapour are laser-cooled and loaded into a cage made of light and magnetic fields.
FAQ
How has SC validated T.N. stand on jallikattu? (Page No. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Jallikattu, the traditional rural sport involving bulls, has received judicial approval. A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that the amendment made in 2017 by the Tamil Nadu Assembly to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, facilitating the smooth conduct of the sport with stringent regulations, is valid.
The court has, thus, settled the question whether the sport should be disallowed on the ground that it involves unnecessary cruelty to animals and violates animal rights.
The verdict is also applicable to other sports involving bovines such as Kambala (buffalo race) in Karnataka and bullock-cart racing in Maharashtra.
The main conflict over the sport, which involves sturdy bulls being let loose into the arena and being chased by men who are considered winners if they manage to hold on to the humps of the animals without being thrown off, is whether it entails unnecessary cruelty.
Animal rights activists have been arguing that the manner in which it is held is cruel because it inflicts pain and suffering. What appears to be a bull’s ferocity in the arena is actually a flight response born out of fear.
Specific acts that allegedly took place in the past — before the events were regulated by law — such as beating the bulls or twisting their tails and other acts that inflict pain so that they are more ferocious in the arena, are now rare.
In 2006, a Madras High Court judge, when a petition for permission to hold a rekla race (a kind of bullock cart race) came up before her, barred the conduct of any such event including jallikattu.
On appeal, a Division Bench set aside the order, but asked the government to take steps to prevent any kind of violence or cruelty as well as ensure the safety of the participants and spectators.
It favoured regulation over an outright ban. The State Assembly adopted the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act in 2009 to strengthen its case for holding the event by adopting regulations and safety measures.
Will all overseas spends come under tax net? (Page No. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
A proposal in the Union Budget to levy a higher tax on some types of remittances of funds abroad came into the limelight again this week after a notification was issued for its implementation from July 1.
Widespread outcry from taxpayers first compelled the government to issue an explainer on the rationale for the tax levy. By the end of the week, the Finance Ministry had made a partial U-turn to quell criticism.
In the Budget for 2023-24 presented on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to raise the tax collection at source (TCS) rate on overseas tour packages as well as foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).
Indians are allowed to remit up to $2.5 lakh a year abroad under the LRS. For overseas tour packages, the TCS rate was to be raised from 5% to 20%.
Similarly, a 20% tax was proposed for all remittances under the LRS, as opposed to the extant treatment — a 5% TCS on remittances over ₹7 lakh.
This did not cover remittances made for education or medical expenses abroad, which are permitted up to ₹7 lakh each annually, and already attracted a 5% TCS.
On March 24, while introducing changes to the Finance Act of 2023, Ms. Sitharaman sought to tighten this proposal further.
Profiles
Connecting continents (Page No. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
It was first mooted in 2000. The idea was to build a transport corridor linking Russia’s Baltic Sea coast to India’s western ports in the Arabian Sea via Iran.
Russia, India and Iran signed preliminary agreements to develop the 7,200-km-long International North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) in 2002.
Three years later, Azerbaijan signed up for the project. This agreement was eventually ratified by 13 countries — India, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine.
But despite its perceived potential and the keenness shown by key powers, there was little progress on the project’s implementation for years.
One of the reasons was the western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. But Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, after which it was sanctioned by the West, seems to have brought Moscow and Tehran closer, giving a fresh impetus to the NSTC.
In February this year, President Vladimir Putin said in his State of the Nation address that Russia was developing the NSTC, which would open up new routes for trade with India, Iran, Pakistan as well as Gulf countries.
Mr. Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi virtually participated in a ceremony where both countries signed an agreement to develop the 162-km Rasht-Astara railway, a critical link in the NSTC.
According to the original plan, the corridor has several branches. On the western side of the Caspian Sea, it would link Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan.
The eastern branch runs along the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea and links the main corridor to different road and rail networks of Central Asian countries such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
Business
‘No immunity for President as contract party’ (Page No. 15)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court has held that the government cannot claim immunity from the application of law to a contract merely because one of the parties to it is the President of India.
Moreover, when tasked with the job to find an arbitrator, the state should ensure that the person it chooses is an “impartial and independent” adjudicator with no professional ties to it, past or present.
The judgment came in a petition filed by pistol maker Glock Asia- Pacific Limited against the Union regarding the appointment of an arbitrator to a dispute regarding a tender.
Glock had appealed against an arbitration clause in the agreement which enabled the Home Secretary to appoint an officer in the Ministry of Law to be the sole arbitrator.
Justice Narasimha, who authored the judgment, said the clause was a clear violation of Section 12(5) of the Arbitration Act.
The provision mandates that any person with prior or existing relationship with any of the parties to the arbitration in the capacity of an employee, consultant, advisor or any other past or present business relationship, would be ineligible to be appointed as arbitrator.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati contended that the party to the contract with Glock was none other than the President of India, and this was a “clear point of distinction” from other cases.
On the point that a contract entered into in the name of the President enjoys immunity, the Court said Article 299 (contracts made by the Union or State in the name of the President or Governor) of the Constitution does not give the government power to break the statutory law.