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Israel battered Gaza after suffering its bloodiest attack in decades, when Hamas fighters rampaged through Israeli towns killing 600 and abducting dozens more, as the spiralling violence threatened a major new war in West Asia.
Israeli air strikes hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque, and the homes of Hamas officials in Gaza, killing more than 370 people, including 20 children, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “mighty vengeance for this black day”.
In a sign the conflict could spread beyond blockaded Gaza, Israel exchanged artillery and rocket fire with the Lebanon-based Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. In Alexandria, two Israeli tourists were shot dead along with their Egyptian guide.
Editorial
Toofan Al-Aqsa jolts West Asian geostrategic architecture (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
There are uncanny similarities between the Hamas operation Toofan Al-Aqsa (Al-Aqsa Flood) and the launch of the 19-day Yom Kippur War 50 years ago.
Although the latter was inconclusive, it led to a regional tectonic shift with Israel accepting a ‘land for peace’ formula at the Camp David Accords six years later.
With this jerky roll of the regional geostrategic kaleidoscope, can a similar outcome follow? Even as the ground situation is evolving, some broad, but inherently tentative, surmises can be made.
From a military perspective, despite the fighting on its territory, Israel is not under an existential threat. The outcome is also not in doubt: Israel is expected to prevail, and push back Hamas, which lacks resources to sustain the campaign.
A massive ground incursion into Gaza could follow to exact vengeance, restore morale, re-impose the strategic asymmetry, and try to rescue captured soldiers and civilians.
The unsavoury experiences from abject intelligence failure to the misplaced reliance on hi-tech missile defence and Artificial Intelligence would compel Israel to revise its strategic doctrines.
Opinion
Revisiting the rail gauge debate (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Infrastructure)
While the predominant railway network in India is Broad Gauge (BG) with a width of 1.676 metres, the rapid rail transport system in Delhi, the high-speed rail line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and more than a score of metro rail systems in parts of the country are coming up on Standard Gauge (SG) of 1.435 m width.
The gauge debate began in the 1870s when the British introduced Metre Gauge of 1,000 mm in India after starting with BG in 1853.
Following extensive deliberations, a uni-gauge policy was launched in the 1990s and progressively, barring a few difficult sections, all the routes were converted to BG.
However, by the turn of the 20th century, SG came to be first employed on metro rail networks following a Cabinet resolution which was based on a set of recommendations from a group of empowered Ministers, who left the decision on the choice of gauge to individual State governments.
Explainer
What caused the flood in Sikkim? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
More than 25 people have been confirmed dead, and many more are missing from a massive flood that resulted from a glacier-lake outburst in Sikkim in the early hours of October 4.
The voluminous outflow has destroyed the Chungthang dam, which is critical to the Teesta 3 hydropower project, and rendered several hydropower projects along the river dysfunctional.
Technically called a Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), these are instances of large lakes formed from the melting of glaciers, suddenly breaking free of their moraine — natural dams that are formed from rock, sediment and other debris.
The South Lhonak glacier, located in north Sikkim, is reportedly one of the fastest retreating glaciers. The glacier receded nearly two km in 46 years from 1962 to 2008.
It further retreated by ~400 m from 2008 to 2019. There are an estimated 7,500 glaciers in the Himalayas and GLOFs have been associated with major disasters through the years.
Text & Context
How the Digital India Act will shape the future of the country’s cyber landscape (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Nations worldwide are grappling with the need to update their legal frameworks to adapt to the evolving digital landscape. India, with its ambitious ‘Digital India’ initiative, is no exception.
The recent announcement of the Digital India Act 2023 (DIA) represents a significant step towards establishing a future-ready legal framework for the country’s burgeoning digital ecosystem.
This move by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) signals a proactive approach to regulating and shaping the digital future of the nation.
The DIA, poised to replace the two-decade-old Information Technology Act of 2000 (IT Act), is designed to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the dramatic growth of the internet and emerging technologies.
It is imperative to understand the key aspects of this legislation and why it is essential in the contemporary context.
News
Indian Air Force unveils new Ensign as it marks its 91st anniversary (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, unveiled a new Ensign for the force, as it marked its 91st anniversary, by the inclusion of the Air Force Crest in the top right corner of the Ensign, towards the fly side.
This year, the Air Force Day parade was held at the Air Force Station, Bamrauli in Prayagraj. The air display held in the afternoon on the banks of the Triveni Sangam, saw a few lakh people turn up to watch the aerial manoeuvres.
In a first, scaling up the degree of difficulty by a couple of notches, the Sarang helicopter display team has gone from a four-helicopter to a five-helicopter military display team.
In another first, the newly inducted C-295 transport aircraft made its maiden appearance, while the legacy MiG-21 Bison made what is likely its last appearance in an air display, prior to the planned phasing out by 2025.
ISRO performs trajectory correction for Aditya-L1 (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has performed a trajectory correction manoeuvre on the Aditya-L1 spacecraft which is headed to the Lagrangian-1 (L1) point between sun and earth.
The space organisation said the manoeuvre was performed on October 6, and the spacecraft was in good condition.
The spacecraft is healthy and on its way to Sun-Earth L1. A Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM), originally provisioned, was performed on October 6, 2023, for about 16 seconds.
The space agency said the manoeuvre was performed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre performed on September 19.
Prey, habitat dictate Asiatic wild dog and tiger coexistence, says study (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Overlapping prey availability or habitat suitability could dictate a positive association between dholes and tigers, facilitating coexistence or even cooperative behaviours between the two species of carnivores.
The dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) is the only endangered wild pack-living canid in the tropical Indian forests and is considered at high risk of extinction.
The study through camera traps by Urjit Bhatt and Salvador Lyngdoh at Manas National Park in Assam also revealed that the diurnal activity of the dholes had the highest temporal overlap with leopards and the lowest with clouded leopards.
World
Biden orders U.S. ships, warplanes to move closer to Israel, sends munitions (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
President Joe Biden ordered U.S. ships and warplanes to move closer to Israel in a show of support on Sunday, while sending fresh military aid after attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Pentagon said it was sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean, while boosting fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
The United States, a major supplier of arms to Israel, has moved quickly to affirm its backing for Israel after Saturday’s surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, vowing “rock solid” support and warning other parties to stay out of the conflict.