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India’s retail inflation pace eased to a four-month low of 4.87% in October from a tad over 5% in September, with the rise in vegetables prices easing to 2.7% from 3.4%, though overall consumer food price inflation remained virtually unchanged at 6.6%.
While base effects from last October, when retail prices surged 6.8%, helped cool the headline inflation rate, some deceleration was also seen in prices of non-food items such as services, clothing and footwear as well as fuel and light.
Aided by the LPG cylinder price cuts, fuel and light costs dropped 0.4% from last October’s levels.
Editorial
Enhancing representation, for a just electoral system (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
An Indian Member of Parliament (MP) is said to represent 2.5 million citizens, on average. In comparison, a U.S. House of Representatives member typically represents approximately 7,00,000 citizens.
Similarly, in Pakistan, a member of the National Assembly is a representative of approximately 6,00,000 citizens, while the ratio in Bangladesh is closer to approximately 5,00,000 citizens.
In this year so far, India had around 4,126 Members of the Legislative Assembly, 543 Lok Sabha MPs and 245 Rajya Sabha MPs.
There are far too few parliamentarians/Assembly members responsible for citizen welfare in India. Limited representation, in a democratic setup, seems to be our default preference.
While India does have innumerable grassroots politicians, 1,000-plus municipal councils/corporations with between 50 to 100 wards and approximately 2,38,000 panchayats (according to Press Information Bureau data) with between five to 30 members on average at the national/State level, there is a clear deficit in terms of their adequate representation in order to raise critical issues and enable law-making.
Remission of diabetes, desirable, but not essential (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The concept of a reversal of diabetes has become very popular recently. Several commercial organisations have jumped on the bandwagon of a ‘reversal of diabetes’ and are making tall claims. Therefore, it is important to consider the pros and cons of a reversal of diabetes.
First, the term ‘reversal’ of diabetes is scientifically incorrect; the appropriate term is ‘remission’ of diabetes. Reversal implies that the condition has permanently reverted to normal and a cure has been achieved.
‘Remission’ implies that diabetes has only gone away temporarily. We know for instance that cancer can go into remission, but can come back in a more virulent form.
Opinion
Realism, not machismo, to counter terror (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
There are animated discussions on social media on the Israel- Hamas conflict, with a large number of people sympathising with Israel, which suffered an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7.
This is perhaps because India went through the trauma of the Mumbai attacks in 2008 (known as 26/11), among others.
Opinion, however, became more strident when The New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, published an article last month praising former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “remarkable act of restraint” in not attacking Pakistan immediately after the Mumbai attacks.
Some social media warriors were outraged, condemning India’s past inaction as an act of cowardice. This is perhaps because India prides itself on its air strikes on Balakot in Pakistan in 2019 to avenge the Pulwama terror attack.
Text & Context
Community rights and forest conservation (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Forest Conservation Amendment Act of 2023 has received limited attention and little discussion about its impact on forests and its inhabitants.
From the colonial forest law in 1865 to the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, 2023, more than fifteen laws, Acts, and policies have been formulated interlinking forests with legal and policy frameworks.
However, there is little to no recognition of the rights of indigenous communities in these Acts, who are the rightful inhabitants of forest lands.
At first glance, the amendment primarily aims to tackle the critical issues of climate change and deforestation’s adverse effects, focusing on effective management and afforestation.
The law further aims to determine how forests can be utilised for economic gain, and the manner in which it seeks to achieve this goal is outlined in the legislation.
The primary method used to achieve this objective involves removing forests from the law’s jurisdiction, thereby facilitating various forms of economic exploitation.
As per the amendment, the forest law will now apply exclusively to areas categorised under the 1927 Forest Act and those designated as such on or after October 25, 1980.
News
Centre extends UAPA ban on eight Meitei extremist organisations (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Internal Security)
The Union Home Ministry on Monday extended the ban under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against eight “Meitei extremist organisations” for advocating secession of Manipur from India through armed struggle.
It declared the eight outfits “unlawful associations” for inciting indigenous people of Manipur for such secession, a notification said.
The organisations include the Peoples’ Liberation Army, known as PLA, and its political wing, the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF); the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA); the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the ‘Red Army’; the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the ‘Red Army’; the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL); the Coordination Committee (CorCom); and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK).
Delhi most polluted; Mumbai and Kolkata too on Swiss list (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
On Monday, the day after Deepavali, three Indian metropolises figured on the list of the most polluted cities in the world compiled by the Swiss air purifier company IQAir.
Delhi was the most polluted city in the world with an air quality index (AQI) of 287 followed by Lahore, Pakistan, at 195. Mumbai, at 153, and Kolkata, 166, were among the top 10.
The IQAir’s AQI measures data from 109 countries, and the readings change hourly. It follows a U.S. methodology and varies slightly from the Indian one.
The values are a measure of the quantities of PM [particulate matter] 2.5, considered most harmful for respiratory health.
Though pollution from firecrackers are short-lived compared with those from persistent sources such as vehicle emission and waste and biomass burning, the spike in pollutants has a pronounced effect on health.
World
Ranil presents Budget aimed at aiding economic recovery in Sri Lanka (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe unveiled the country’s Budget for the fiscal year of 2024, outlining a significant increase in expenditure while setting ambitious revenue targets as he attempts to steer the island nation out of last year’s debilitating economic crisis.
Terming the task of economic revival following bankruptcy a “formidable” one, Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, told Parliament:
“Our country’s situation is now better than what it was a year ago. I am not saying that the economy has recovered completely. It has become comparatively better.”
China and Pakistan hold military drills in Arabian Sea (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
China and Pakistan are conducting the third edition of the Sea Guardian-3 bilateral naval exercise in the northern Arabian Sea with Chinese media reporting that the two sides will also hold their maiden joint maritime patrol. The exercise is scheduled from November 11 to 17.
The exercise comes just a day after the 2+2 Ministerial dialogue between India and the U.S. where maritime security in the Indo-Pacific was in focus and New Delhi announced its decision to become a full-member of the Bahrain-based U.S.-led multilateral grouping Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), of which Pakistan is also a member.
The exercise also comes days after Russia and Myanmar held their first naval exercise in the Andaman Sea.
Science
Unravelling the secrets of swing in cricket with physics (Page no. II)
(GS Paper 3, General Science)
Cricket matches under day-night conditions are associated with shifts in humidity and moisture. However, most cricket teams’ captains have not displayed awareness that choosing to bowl first in a day-night game – because dew is expected later – carries specific risks.
Fans of the sport are aware of the ‘dew factor’: water vapour condenses on the ground in the evening, creating a slippery surface.
As a result, spinners have a harder time getting the ball to grip and fast bowlers have more trouble producing swing and seam. Fielding on a slippery ground is also obviously harder.
As a result of these changes in ground conditions, batters appear to have an advantage under dew, as they face less swing, less spin, and less lateral movement of the ball.
(Sometimes, fast bowlers release the ball at a certain angle into its flight path. As a result, air flow is turbulent on one side of the ball and streamlined on the other.
This causes a sudden pressure difference that causes the ball to deviate from its path in a motion called its swing.) Batters also expect the ball to skid off the bat under dew, and expect opportunities to maintain a higher run rate with less effort.