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Editorial
Nothing focuses the nation’s collective attention on the Indian Railways as a major accident. The triple train collision at Bahanaga Bazar railway station, near Balasore in Odisha on June 2, which led to the tragic loss of over 280 lives, has evoked all the expected responses from various quarters: calls for the resignation of the Minister in charge of the Railways; collective breast beating and despair over where the Railways are headed; the sudden sprouting of ‘railway experts’ offering explanations as to how the accident occurred and remedial measures to prevent accidents in the future, and comparisons with Railway systems abroad. In short, there is an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
There are, however, a few unique features about this accident. For the first time ever a Railway Minister not only visited the site of the accident but also chose to remain at the site to oversee relief and restoration work till the lines were restored for traffic.
Even more exceptional was the visit of the Prime Minister himself to the site of the accident, perhaps a historical first for the Indian Railways.
However, his statement that “instructions have been given to ensure proper and speedy investigation of tragedy and to take prompt and stringent action against those found guilty”, even as a statutory inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety was to begin, gave the impression that it had already been determined that the accident was caused by human agency.
The subsequent handing over of the inquiry to the Central Bureau of Investigation is also unprecedented, the reason for which is not readily apparent unless criminal intent is suspected.
A “preliminary enquiry” by a committee of senior supervisors even as a statutory inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety was yet to begin is also rather unusual.
The path to a new and imminent U.S.-Iran nuclear deal (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Hints of interactions between American and Iranian diplomats over the last few months finally became public on June 14 when the Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, told the media that Iran and the United States were finalising a deal on the release of American prisoners in Iran, and that there was “seriousness” on the part of the two countries to come to a fresh deal on the nuclear issue.
An Iranian spokesperson also confirmed that indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran had taken place in Muscat. U.S. interactions with Iran began last year when the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, met the Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. After that, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Brett McGurk, visited Oman in February, March and May, where he met Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator on the nuclear issue, Ali Bagheri-Kani, in “proximity” talks.
Following Mr. McGurk’s last visit in May, the Omani ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, visited Tehran on May 28-29.
He was perhaps carrying a message from the U.S. on a new agreement on the nuclear issue for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This was in line with the earlier role played by Oman in the run-up to the nuclear agreement in 2015.
Ayatollah Khamenei then addressed this matter publicly on June 11. He did not call for the revival of the earlier agreement but sought a new one which would ensure that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remained in place; he affirmed that Iran had no interest in a nuclear weapon and would cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.
According to media reports, the proposed agreement, expected to be finalised in a few weeks, will be informal and unwritten — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it a “mini-agreement”, while Iranian officials see it as a “political ceasefire”.
Under the arrangement, Iran will freeze its nuclear enrichment at 60%; it will not attack U.S. military contractors in Syria and Iraq, will improve cooperation with the IAEA’s inspectors, and will not provide ballistic missiles to Russia. Iran will also release the three U.S. citizens in its custody.
News
Warming oceans make it harder to forecast cyclones in Arabian Sea (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has over the years been largely accurate in forecasting the direction and intensity of cyclones into the country, data suggest that it takes more time for the agency to accurately forecast the trajectory of storms that originate in the Arabian Sea, than those in the Bay of Bengal.
Historically, most cyclones around India tend to originate in the Bay of Bengal but global warming, as scientists have been pointing out for a while now, is causing the Arabian Sea to be heating up more than average and whetting greater — and increasingly stronger — cyclones like Biparjoy, which barrelled into Gujarat late Thursday.
On the evening of June 9, Biparjoy was situated about 700 km west of Goa. As per the IMD forecast, it was to move away from the Gujarat coast to dissipate into the sea without reaching land in either Kutch, Gujarat or Pakistan. Only on June 11, or four days before Biparjoy commenced landfall, did the IMD first suggest that the storm would strike India.
Contrast this with the most recent storm, Mocha, in the Bay of Bengal. On May 9, the IMD forecast that Mocha, then located in the South Andaman sea, would recurve (sharply change direction) towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coasts.
This was the trajectory that the cyclone largely adhered to when it made landfall on May 14 between Cox’s Bazaar (Bangladesh) and Sittwe (Myanmar).
Cyclone Yaas in May 2021, Cyclone Mandous in December 2022 and Cyclone Gulab in September 2021 – all major storms in the Bay of Bengal in recent years that made landfall – followed paths predicted by the IMD at least four or more days in advance.
However, the last major cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea before Biparjoy — Cyclone Tauktae — also threw a surprise. Its direction could be gauged only two days before landfall.
The Arabian Sea cyclones, historically have been fewer because of relatively colder sea surface temperatures. Nearly 48% of cyclones here never reached land, as opposed to 13% in the Bay of Bengal.
Modi, Biden to talk on Ukraine war, Indo-Pacific situation (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The war in Ukraine is expected to be among the major talking points when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets U.S. President Joe Biden next week in Washington.
A source said the Ukraine war was a “priority conversation” as the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday announced Mr. Modi’s two-nation visit covering the U.S. and Egypt from June 20 to 25.
“The Russia-Ukraine war, especially the impact of the conflict will definitely be a priority conversation from our side,” said a high-level source privy to the details of the Prime Ministerial visit.
India has maintained a neutral position over the war in Ukraine and has taken energy ties with Russia to an unprecedented level despite stiff opposition from the G-7 countries.
India has been maintaining that the war has generated a commodities crisis impacting energy and fertilisers that are important for the countries of the Global South. The Indo-Pacific and “challenges” facing the countries of the region are also expected to be included in the discussion.
A major component of the visit will be the focus on fine tuning the American regulatory system to turn it into an “enabler” of critical and emerging technologies like AI, high power computing and quantum computing that are part of the “new domain of technology”.
The iCET (U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology) is expected to serve a similar role for the Indian economy.
Generic drugs for diabetes, gastric issues, cardiovascular ailments see high demand (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The Jan Aushadhi Kendras selling generic drugs at affordable prices have seen their sales rise more than 170 times over the last nine years, but the government has no intention of making them available online in the near future.
As of now, we have no such plans,” Ravi Dadhich, CEO of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) said during an interaction at the Kendra’s central warehouse in Bilaspur.
Medicines to treat gastric issues, diabetes, cardiovascular ailments, and pain have seen the highest sales at the Jan Aushadhi Kendras, under the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana scheme.
The drugs sold at the Kendras are 50% to 90% cheaper than their branded counterparts. There are plans to increase the number of drugs and surgical equipments available at the Kendras by the end of the year.
Currently, the country has 9,484 Jan Aushadhi Kendras which will be increased to 10,000, and the product basket of 1,800 drugs and 285 surgical items is expected to go up to 2,000 and 300 respectively.
There are currently four warehouses under the scheme, located at Gurugram, Chennai, Guwahati and Surat, with the central warehouse at Gurugram being the largest.
Mr. Dadhich emphasised that PMBI places the highest importance on quality parameters and regularly conducts checks to ensure good quality of medicines.
The idea behind the programme is to offer highly subsidised prices without compromising on quality. Each batch of the drugs after its receipt at the warehouses is tested at laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories for ensuring best quality.
World
Missiles target Kyiv as African peace mission visits Ukraine (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
A delegation of leaders and senior officials from Africa sought in Ukraine ways to end the country’s full-scale war with Russia and ensure food and fertilizer deliveries to their continent, though an air raid in Kyiv during their stay provided a reminder of the challenges they face.
The delegation, which included the Presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Zambia and the Comoros Islands, first went to Bucha, a Kyiv suburb where bodies of civilians lay scattered in the streets last year after Russian troops withdrew from the area.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last month that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to separate meetings with members of an African peace mission. Meanwhile, Mr. Zelensky ruled out talks with Russia as he met with the delegation.
The delegation was set to travel to St. Petersburg later on Friday, where Russia’s top international economic conference is taking place, and meet with Mr. Putin on Saturday. It also includes senior officials from Uganda, Egypt and Congo-Brazzaville.
While in Bucha, the visitors placed commemorative candles at a small memorial outside St. Andrew’s Church, near one of the locations where a mass grave was unearthed.
Shortly after, air raid sirens began to wail in Ukraine’s capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported an explosion in the Podilskiy district, one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods.