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India reiterated its call for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying that there was an “obligation” to uphold humanitarian principles.
Operation Ajay, India’s mission to rescue its citizens from conflict-hit Israel, began on Thursday evening, with an Air India flight reaching Israel to evacuate 230 Indians.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly press briefing that India is in close contact with “relevant stakeholders” on the fast unfolding situation.
India ranks 111 out of 125 countries in hunger index (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India ranks 111 out of a total of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023, with its progress against hunger nearly halted since 2015, reflecting a global trend.
The Union government, though, contested India’s performance for the third year in a row, citing flawed methodology.
Afghanistan, Haiti and 12 sub-Saharan countries performed worse than India on the GHI. India’s ranking is based on a GHI score of 28.7 on a 100-point scale, where 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. This categorises India’s severity of hunger as “serious”.
Editorial
Hamas and its supporters are ‘beyond belief’ (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The opinion in the West on the current Israel-Hamas war is not as one-sided as its coverage by CNN might make you feel. CNN coverage is influenced by the American liberal stance, which like liberal stances everywhere, thrives on feel-good morality and umbrage with very little introspection.
This is less the case in Europe, and, particularly in countries such as France, there is a lot of sympathy for the Palestinian cause and even some attempts to defend the rash incursion of Hamas forces into Israel on October 7, which was the immediate cause of the war.
It is understood by many European observers that the Hamas attack — though most still consider it wrong and indefensible — was the consequence of the relentless spread of Israeli settlements, largely encouraged by the Netanyahu governments and condoned by allies such as the United States.
Hamas, too, has very clearly stated that its aim is to drive back such new or recent settlements. This relentless and aggressive pressure by Israeli settlers, abated by Israeli governments and condoned by global powers, is seen as resulting in the desperate attack by Hamas.
Opinion
Should the 50 % legal ceiling on reservation be reconsidered? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
On October 2, the Bihar government released the data of its caste survey. The data showed that the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) together account for about 84% of the population.
This has reopened the debate on whether the 50% legal ceiling on caste-based reservation should be removed.
The breaching of the 50% ceiling looks like an inevitable historical process. Many political scientists and sociologists view the 50% ceiling as arbitrary because the judiciary did not have numbers to back that cap.
For all practical purposes, some States have already breached this. Tamil Nadu provides 69% reservation through a 1994 law, which it has protected from judicial review by getting it placed under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
More so, the [10%] reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections [EWS] brought in by the Central government [in 2019], has, in a way, already breached the 50% ceiling.
Text & Context
The case for caste census in India (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
After the publication of a caste survey in Bihar, which found that 63% of Bihar’s 13 crore population belong to castes listed under the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised and rejected the demand for a nationwide caste census made by Congress and several other Opposition parties.
The intersection between class and caste-based deprivation in Indian society is evident in a gamut of socio-economic statistics.
The average monthly per capita consumption expenditures (MPCE) of Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC) and OBC households in rural areas were, respectively 65%, 73% and 84% of the MPCE of the ‘Others’, i.e. the general category, as per the National Sample Survey (NSS), 2011-12.
In urban areas the average MPCE of ST, SC and OBC households were 68%, 63% and 70% of the general category in 2011-12.
News
7-judge Bench to take a call on giving priority to Money Bill case (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said it will “take a call” on a request from petitioners to give priority to a reference concerning the manner in which the Centre got crucial amendments passed in Parliament as Money Bills.
The Centre objected to the request, saying the Bench should not give priority to the case based on a request made by the petitioners, who include Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, on the basis of “political exigencies”.
It is my request, give it [Money Bill reference] priority. It is a live issue,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for the petitioners, urged the Constitution Bench.
But Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said, “Priority is Your Lordships’ discretion, but we would request the court to hear the cases seniority wise… We can’t decide priority based on political exigencies.”
India, France Defence Ministers hold fifth dialogue (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu held the fifth annual defence dialogue between the two countries in Paris.
The two leaders reviewed the ongoing projects and discussed ways in which to deepen collaboration between the defence industries of both countries.
The two Ministers discussed a wide range of topics from the assessment of regional situation to the ongoing military-to-military engagements, with a focus on enhancing defence industrial cooperation.
They also discussed potential collaboration in niche domains such as space, cyber and Artificial Intelligence.” Mr. Singh was on a four-day visit to Italy and France.
World
What are Israel’s military options after Hamas’s cross-border attack? (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Over 1,350 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza in six days that followed a surprise attack by Hamas that left at least 1,200 Israelis dead on October 7.
Israel has also mobilised some 3,00,000 military reservists and is moving troops and weaponry towards the Gaza border.
Israel has attacked Gaza four times since Hamas took over the tiny enclave in 2007. But those were air strikes or brief incursions.
Gaza, a 365 sq. km strip of land with 2.3 million people, has no air defence and Israel can bomb the territory at its will. But this time, given the magnitude and brutality of Hamas’s attack, the response is expected to be more forceful.
In the past, Israel had carried out military operations aimed at both weakening and destroying militant outfits. And they produced mixed results — Israel won the battles with short-term gains but faced long-term setbacks. When it comes to Israel’s military operations against non-state actors, history always suggests caution.
In March 1978, Israel invaded southern Lebanon to push the Palestinian militants north of the Litani River. The attack came a few weeks after the Coastal Road massacre in which Palestinian militants hijacked a bus and killed 38 Israelis. Israel pushed the Palestinian militants out of southern Lebanon and handed the territories to the South Lebanon Army, an Israeli proxy, and pulled back later in 1978.
Business
IIP rises at 14-month high of 10.3% (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s industrial output surged at a 14-month high pace of 10.3% in August, from a revised 6% rise in July, aided by favourable base effects from last year when production levels had contracted 0.7% and the best manufacturing performance since this April.
Electricity and mining rose a sharp 15.3% and 12.3%, respectively. Manufacturing output grew 9.3% in August, with just seven of 23 major segments recording a contraction compared with nine in July.
Production in the export-dependent apparel and chemicals sectors dropped 17.1% and 4.3%, respectively. Computers and electronics also fell 8.7%.
Consumer goods’ production reflected a mixed trend, although durables’ output grew for the first time in three months, at 5.7%, and hit the highest levels since September 2022.
Non-durable consumer items’ output jumped 9% year, but was 3.9% below July levels. Moreover, base effects played a role in their uptick, as durables’ output had dropped 4.4% last August, while non-durables had plummeted 9%.
Three of the six use-based segments recorded a double-digit surge, on top of positive growth recorded last year, led by infrastructure and construction goods which grew in double digits for the fifth successive month, at 14.9%.
Capital goods jumped 12.6%, with production reaching the highest levels in 2023-24, indicating strengthening investment demand. Primary goods grew 12.4% and intermediate goods rose 6.5%.