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The Union government on defended its decision to abstain in a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution that called for a humanitarian truce and ceasefire in Gaza, saying it did not include “explicit condemnation” of the October 7 terror attacks in Israel.
A note circulated by government sources, responding to criticism from Opposition members about the vote, said that since India’s concerns over omissions had not been covered by the final text of the resolution, it had decided to abstain.
There can be no equivocation on terror,” a source said, calling India’s position “steadfast and consistent”.
The resolution, titled the “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations”, proposed by Jordan on behalf of the Arab League and co-sponsored by nearly 40 countries, was passed with 120 votes in favour, 14 including the U.S. and the U.K. against, and 45 abstentions, including India.
7.5% dip in active workforce under MGNREGS, says study (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The number of active workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has dipped by 7.5%, according to a data analysis for the period April to September 2023 by LibTech India, a consortium of academics and activists.
The workforce has reduced from 15.49 crore in the previous financial year to 14.33 crore, as per data available till October 6, 2023.
LibTech’s MGNREGS tracker for April-September 2023 provides a comparative analysis of data from preceding financial years — 2021-22 and 2022-23 — during the same time frame using the data available with the Union Rural Development Ministry.
News
CJI to head five-judge Bench that will hear electoral bonds case (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court named the five judges on the Constitution Bench scheduled to hear petitions challenging the legality of the electoral bonds scheme, which facilitates anonymous donations to political parties, from October 31.
Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud will head the Bench with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra serving as associate judges.
The Chief Justice had made a brief mention orally on October 16 about the reference of the case to a Constitution Bench, which would convene after the Dasara holidays on October 31.
The case has been pending in the top court for over eight years now. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had pressed the court to hear the electoral bonds issue before the general elections in 2024.
Bangladesh building memorial to honour soldiers part of 1971 war (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
A memorial to honour the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 at Ashuganj in Bangladesh is in the advanced stages of completion. It will have the names of around 1,600 Indian soldiers inscribed on it.
It is expected to be ready by December and the effort is to have it inaugurated by Prime Minister of the two Prime Ministers in March or April, said A.K.M. Mozammel Haque, Bangladesh Minister for Liberation War Affairs.
This will be the first memorial in Bangladesh to exclusively honour Indian soldiers from the 1971 war.
The foundation stone for the memorial at Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in March 2021.
The idea is by December it will be finished. All the names of the Indian soldiers martyred will be engraved so that everybody can know who are these people who sacrificed for our emancipation, for our liberation.
We will try to invite both the Prime Ministers,” he said noting there are elections in both countries. That is why we are thinking by March or April we will try to inaugurate it, by both the Prime Ministers.
World
U.S., China agree to work towards Biden-Xi meeting (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The U.S. and China agreed to work towards setting up a meeting between the two countries’ leaders next month, after President Joe Biden met Beijing’s top diplomat at the White House.
Mr. Biden has invited Xi Jinping to San Francisco in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at a time of tense relations between the two powers. Mr. Xi has not yet confirmed he will come.
After Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Mr. Biden and other senior U.S. officials in Washington, the White House said both countries had agreed to keep up “high-level diplomacy” to try to smooth ties.
The two sides “reaffirmed” that they were “working together towards a meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November.
An official readout of talks between Mr. Wang and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan released by Beijing confirmed “both sides agreed to make joint efforts to realise a meeting between the two heads of state”.
Mr. Biden told Mr. Wang that Washington and Beijing must “manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication,” according to the White House.
Science
IITM Pune demonstrates cloud seeding can produce rainfall (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
A cloud seeding experiment carried out in Solapur city, which falls on the leeward side of the Western Ghats and hence gets low rainfall — 384 mm and 422 mm of total rainfall during the period June to September 2018 and 2019, respectively — was able to achieve 18% relative enhancement in rainfall, which is approximately 8.67mm more rainfall.
The relative enhancement of accumulated rainfall was seen over two hours after seeding the clouds. In all, the total enhancement of water availability through cloud seeding experiments was 867 million litres.
The results of the study were published recently in the journal Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
The experiment — Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX phase-4) — was a scientific investigation conducted in Solapur city during the summer monsoon period of 2018 and 2019.
The primary objective was to investigate the efficacy of hygroscopic seeding in deep convective clouds and to develop a cloud seeding protocol.
The experiment used two aircraft for studying various cloud parameters and for seeding the clouds. The study found that cloud seeding is an effective strategy for enhancing rainfall in a region under suitable conditions.
A randomised seeding experiment was undertaken to study the effectiveness of cloud seeding in producing rainfall. In total 276 convective clouds were chosen, and 150 were seeded while the remaining 122 clouds were not seeded.
Studies provide insight into the internal structure of Mars (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Mars’s liquid iron core is likely to be surrounded by a fully molten silicate layer, according to a pair of studies published in Nature.
These results offer a new interpretation of the interior of Mars, suggesting its core is smaller and denser than previously proposed.
Seismological study of Mars to understand the interior of the red plant was carried out in 2019. The InSight Mars Lander used an instrument called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) to record seismic waves passing through Mars’s interior.
Data from three years of quakes in Mars, including two seismic events caused by meteorite impacts, were used for the study.
The analysis of measurements from the NASA InSight lander’s Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) project in 2021 suggested the presence of a large but low-density core, composed of liquid iron and lighter elements such as sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.
However, the result of the two studies published inNatureresults suggest that the core has a higher proportion of lighter elements than is feasible according to estimates of the abundances of these elements early in Mars’s formation history.
Amir Khan from the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland and colleagues and Henri Samuel from Université Paris Cité, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, Paris, and colleagues examined the latest batch of seismic signals in combination with first principles simulations and geophysical modelsto produce their estimates for the size and composition of the Martian core.
FAQ
What’s in store for Indian economy in H2? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Indian economy, measured in terms of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as Gross Value-Added (GVA), grew 7.8% between April and June (first quarter or Q1) this year, a four quarter-high.
The Finance Ministry believes the momentum of economic activity was carried forward in the July-September quarter, despite retail inflation hardening to 6.4% from 4.7% in Q1 thanks to a spike in food prices.
Growth estimates for Q2 will come in next month, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects GDP growth to moderate to 6.5%.
A week into the second half of the year, the Israel-Palestine conflict erupted and a spate of fresh dark clouds now hover over the economy.
Economists feel a prolonged conflict in West Asia could push crude oil prices beyond India’s comfort zone and if other countries join the fray, critical sea routes could face disruptions and spike transport and insurance costs.
The government may not pass on higher petroleum prices to consumers ahead of critical elections, but producers’ costs may still rise. Airlines, for instance, have been hiking fares in line with aviation turbine fuel costs.
Moreover, higher fuel import bills could pose implications on the exchequer as oil marketing companies may need support for under-recoveries.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her first remarks since the strife in Gaza, said it has brought concerns about fuel, food security and supply chains back to the forefront.
She flagged concerns about the impact of any disruptions on inflation in the near future. In subsequent comments, she has also emphasised the need to ensure that global food, fertilizer and fuel supplies did not become an “instrument of war and disruption”.
Why will police stations install DNA systems? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
In April 2022, the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act (CrPI) was passed by Parliament. The Act enables police and central investigating agencies to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples including retina and iris scans of arrested persons.
The rules that would govern the Act were notified in September 2022. However, the Act is yet to be implemented fully as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the nodal agency, is still preparing the guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to implement the legislation.
The NCRB operates under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Though the Act and rules do not distinctly mention collection of DNA samples and face-matching procedures, in subsequent meetings with State police officials, the NCRB has said that these measures will be rolled out in around 1,300 locations across the country.
The CrPI Act repealed the British-era Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 whose scope was limited to collecting and recording finger impressions, footprint impressions and photographs of certain category of convicted persons and impressions of non-convicted persons on the orders of a Magistrate.
The government said the new Act made provisions for the use of modern techniques to capture and record appropriate body measurements.
Will QR codes improve access to food labels? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recommended the inclusion of a QR (quick response) code on food products for accessibility by visually impaired individuals stating that this will ensure access to safe food for all.
The move is vital as India is one of the largest markets of packaged foods in the world and is currently witnessing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which have seen an abrupt rise globally since the last two decades, according to the World Health Organization.
Besides other factors, this trend is attributed to aggressively marketed, cheaper, and more easily available pre-packaged foods which is finding a growing preference among consumers.
Every consumer has the right to know exactly what he is paying for and if he is getting what he is promised and advertised, says Ashim Sanyal, CEO and secretary of Consumer VOICE, a non-government organisation working in the field of consumer awareness and education.
With this new initiative an informed choice will be offered to consumers,” he adds, pointing out that the move should be backed by also identifying unhealthy foods.
The FSSAI should get the sequence right for labelling and QR code for visually impaired should be part of a mandate for front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) warning labels.
Business
Inflation to dog world economy in 2024, delay rate cuts (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
High inflation will dog the world economy next year, with three-quarters of more than 200 economists polled by Reuters saying the main risk is that it turns out higher than they forecast, suggesting interest rates will also remain higher for longer.
Several central banks are still expected to begin cutting interest rates by the middle of 2024, but a growing number of economists surveyed are adjusting their views, pushing the more likely date into the second half of next year.
Despite broad success in slowing inflation from its highs, prices are still rising faster than most central banks would prefer.
The latest poll resulted in 2024 growth downgrades and inflation upgrades for a majority of the 48 economies surveyed.