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In the first major breakthrough in the case against eight former Indian naval personnel sentenced to death in Qatar, the Court of Appeals in Doha has commuted their sentences, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed.
Vipul, India’s Ambassador to Qatar, was in the court along with other officials and family members of the former naval officers as the verdict was announced, the Ministry said. All eight arrested last year were employees of the Dahra Global defence services company.
We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced. The detailed judgment is awaited. We are in close touch with the legal team as well as the family members to decide on the next steps.
Editorial
India’s stationary course in the shipping value chain (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Yangtze River has been China’s heartbeat through its long history. Tradition, legend, myth, culture, as well as commerce and industry are integral to the Yangtze lore.
The Yangtze is modern China’s lifeline while retaining its antiquity. The Three Gorges project has only added to its lustre.
As one enters the Yangtze from the sea, one can imagine hearing the sound of violins from Chinese opera, or, more recently, from Kung Fu Panda. But, one cannot close one’s eyes to the massive merchant ships, often two or three together, flitting in and out of the river.
It is a unique sight. The modern engineering and shipping marvels of Suez or even the Panama Canal see a convoy of ships, one behind the other.
The Yangtze often sees multiple convoys steaming in parallel. And, in between, smaller barges criss-cross the river, much like the autorickshaws on Indian roads.
For a merchant shipman, it is an incredible sight — a story of expert seamanship, logistical planning and piloting skills.
Text & Context
Houthi attacks: a threat to global shipping? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
On December 23, the crisis in the Red Sea reached Indian waters as Liberian-flagged merchant vessel Chem Pluto heading to Mangalore port was hit by a projectile about 271 miles from Porbandar in Gujarat, just outside the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
This comes in the backdrop of a sharp rise in missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels in Yemen in the last couple of weeks following Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
The vessel with 21 Indians and one Vietnamese crew managed to sail on its power after the attack and reached Mumbai escorted by the Indian Coast Guard Ship (INGS) Vikram. Upon arrival, a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team carried out a preliminary assessment of Chem Pluto and analysis of the area of attack and debris found on the ship points towards a drone attack.
However, further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used. A joint investigation by various agencies is also underway.
Is Pegasus spyware targeting journalists in India? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The Washington Post and Amnesty International report claims that Pegasus spyware targeted journalists in India, including Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire and Anand Mangnale of South Asia editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP).
The intrusion was detected in October 2023 after Apple warned users, including MPs, of potential ‘state-sponsored attacks’ on their iPhones.
After Apple issued a security notification to certain iPhone users, including MPs, in October, researchers at Amnesty International’s Security Lab analysed the allegedly infected devices, including those belonging to Mr. Varadarajan and Mr. Mangnale.
At the end of their examination, they reported finding traces of Pegasus’s activity on their respective devices. Security Lab concluded that a message to facilitate a “zero-click exploit” had been sent to Mr. Mangnale’s phone over his iPhone’s iMessage app on August 23.
Once received, the message was designed to covertly install Pegasus on the device. “The attempted targeting of Anand Mangnale’s phone happened at a time when he was working on a story about an alleged stock manipulation by a large multinational conglomerate in India,” an Amnesty report stated.
News
Women account for 49% of Ayushman cards, says Ministry (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Women account for approximately 49% of the 28.45-crore Ayushman cards created and approximately 48% of total authorised hospital admissions, show data released by the Health Ministry.
Ayushman cards are made under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), which, the Ministry says, is the largest publicly funded health assurance scheme in the world and provides an annual health cover of ₹5 lakh for a family for secondary- and tertiary-care hospitalisation.
Currently, as per government figures, 55-crore individuals corresponding to 12-crore families are covered under the scheme and many States and Union Territories implementing AB PM-JAY have further expanded the beneficiary base at their own cost.
World
Israel bombs Gaza, UN warns civilians are in ‘grave peril’ (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Israeli forces heavily bombed the besieged Gaza Strip as the centre of fierce combat against Hamas moves steadily south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
The war, which started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, has devastated much of northern Gaza as air and artillery strikes and house-to-house fighting have become heaviest in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported more than 200 deaths “including entire families” over the past 24 hours in strikes across the territory.
There were heavy artillery strikes overnight particularly on Khan Younis. The Israeli Army has deployed an additional brigade to Khan Younis, the hometown of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, said military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Business
Govt. makes a push for e-commerce exports (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The government will extend the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme for goods sent abroad via courier and e-commerce channels from sectors such as gems and jewellery, pharma, leather, textiles and handicrafts, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.
This will enable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to receive RoDTEP benefits, particularly for exports through courier and e-commerce, and support exports worth one to two billion dollars a year.
Director General of Foreign Trade Santosh K. Sarangi pointed out the biggest beneficiary of cross-border e-commerce until now has been China, which has used it to directly reach consumers in the overseas markets.
Science
Decriminalising medical negligence: views from both sides of the bed (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
On 7th October this year, Babita Rai, a 42-year-old government school teacher in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, was admitted to the Tata Motors Hospital in the same city.
Because of a 6 cm ovarian cyst she was scheduled for a hysterectomy and an oophorectomy (surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries respectively), two days later.
According to her brother Rajesh, Rai felt a swelling on the left side of her stomach after the surgery. Four days later, on 13 October, Rai was dead from septic shock.
A 13 October case summary from the hospital indicates that Rai suffered perforation of the colon. Rajesh alleges that when the family tried obtaining records of the surgery post mortem, they found the consent form tampered with.
He said the name of a senior laparoscopic surgeon – for whom Rai had provided her consent – had been struck through, and the name of a junior doctor written by the side.