Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
Qatar has commuted the death sentence for eight Indian Navy veterans and turned that into “varying quantum” of jail terms, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, putting out the official confirmation about the high-profile case regarding the men who were arrested by the Gulf country in August 2022.
Addressing the weekly press briefing, Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the legal team had been given 60 days to appeal against the jail terms.
On December 28, the Court of Appeal in Qatar gave a verdict in which the death sentence was commuted and replaced with varying quantum of jail terms.
Our legal team has received the copy of the court’s order which is a confidential document. But I can confirm that the death sentence has been removed.
Editorial
Breaking new ground the Kerala way (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
As 2024 begins, there is some good news in the urban spectrum. After almost 38 years there is another urban commission, this time in the State of Kerala.
The first, i.e., the National Commission on Urbanisation, was formed by the then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, and was headed by Charles Correa, one of the finest architects of the country.
However, with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, some of the important recommendations were not taken into consideration. But the 74th Constitutional Amendment was one of the positive outcomes.
Since then, there has been a shift in policy paradigm for more private initiative and investment in urban development
Currently, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities (56%). When Capital was written by Marx, and cities were considered to be centres of industrial production and capital accumulation, there was just over 5% of the global population living in urban centres.
The process of urbanisation has led to phenomenal changes across the world. Not only has it impacted climate change but has also created spatial and temporal changes such as massive land use, building typologies, iniquitous cities, duality, informality, crisis of pollution, housing, water and sanitation challenges, and some of the most unequal city spaces. One of the major processes of capital accumulation is the process of city development.
Opinion
Is higher education out of touch with the skill requirements in the job market? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
Reports by private agencies state that fewer than half of India’s graduates were employable in 2021. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate among graduates is higher than in many other developing countries.
Students who enrolled in college during the pandemic have now graduated and there are concerns over their employability and the quality of online education. Is higher education in India out of touch with the skill requirements in the job markets?
News
New rules for granting symbols to new parties (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) brought in new rules for the allocation of symbols to registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs), making it mandatory for them to furnish audited accounts of the last three financial years, expenditure statements of the last two elections, and the signature of the authorised office-bearer of the party along with the application form for symbols. The new rules would come into effect from January 11.
ISRO to perform crucial manoeuvre tomorrow to bind Aditya-L1 into L1 orbit (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
With the Aditya-L1 spacecraft expected to reach the Lagrangian Point (L1) on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will attempt a crucial manoeuvre to bind the spacecraft to an orbit around L1.
Aditya-L1, the first Indian space-based observatory to study the sun, was launched on September 2, 2023 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Subsequently, ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru carried out four earth-bound manoeuvres between September 3 and 15 last year.
L1 is about 1.5 million km from earth and the distance of L1 from the planet is approximately 1% of the earth-sun distance.
ISRO scientists and engineers from the Mission Operations Complex of ISTRAC will perform the crucial manoeuvre which will bind Aditya-L1 to an orbit around L1.
New antibiotic could target drug-resistant bacterium: scientists (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Researchers have identified a new class of antibiotics with the potential to tackle a drug-resistant bacterium, Acinetobacter baumannii. Zosurabalpin, the antibiotic, was found to be effective against CRAB (carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii)-induced pneumonia and sepsis in mouse models.
Writing in Nature, Zampaloni et al and Pahil et al reported the identification and analysis of the antibiotic zosurabalpin that can kill Acinetobacter baumannii, antibiotic-resistant strains of which are hard to treat in the clinic.
Dr. Zampaloni and colleagues identified a tethered macrocyclic peptide (MCP) that selectively kills A. baumannii.
The compound was further optimised for efficacy and tolerability, and the fine-tuning culminated in zosurabalpin, a drug candidate.
Business
‘Centre keen to expand ECGC cover to jewellery exporters’ (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Union minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that the Centre was keen to expand the ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) cover, now provided to banks towards the credit extended to exporters, to even individual exporters of gems and jewellery.
We have now started giving ECGC cover for the whole turnover that the gem and jewellery industry must be having.
They are right now given to the banks who are lending money to you. I am keen to expand that,” the minister told a gathering of gem and jewellery exporters.
The minister suggested the formation of a committee having representation from ECGC, the government, and the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) that can frame a mechanism for exporters to avail the credit cover. It can happen if industry would play a pro-active role and associations get involved, he added.
World
China, U.S. hold rival drills in disputed South China Sea (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
China showcased fighter jets firing missiles in the South China Sea, as it held rival military exercises with the United States in the hotly contested waters.
The drills follow tense standoffs between Beijing and Manila in disputed reefs that saw vessels from the two countries collide and Chinese ships blast water cannon at Philippine boats.
China last month voiced growing frustration and anger at the Philippines’ unexpectedly bold tactics, warning its neighbour to exercise “caution”.
And footage shared by state broadcaster CCTV and the Chinese military on Thursday showed what they called “live fire drills” taking place over the sea.
One video, shared by the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command, showed jets taking off and firing missiles that then struck targets. Neither state media nor the military said when the footage was taken.
Science
Researchers engineer plant cells to produce drug for cancer (Page no. 22)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology Madras and Mandi have metabolically engineered plant cells to increase production of anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT).
The allopathic medicine is produced using Nathapodytes nimmoniana, a native, endangered plant. It requires nearly 1,000 tonnes of plant material to extract 1 tonne of CPT.