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In what could have been an anti-climax to a melodramatic Shumang Leela act (a traditional form of theatre in Manipur), 38 Meitei legislators took a six-point public oath-taking at the Kangla Fort, Imphal, on January 24.
Unlike the four-generic resolutions passed by the State Assembly, and reportedly endorsed by 34-odd State legislators (this included a Meitei Pangal and five Nagas) three days earlier, the six-points oath (later endorsed by the Chief Minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh) made explicit its communal overtones by castigating the ‘Kuki’ for unilaterally fomenting violence.
The six-points oath called upon the Centre to do the following: abrogate the tripartite Suspension of Agreement (SoO) that it signed with the State and Kuki-Zomi-Hmar militants since 2008; implement the National Register of Citizens but using 1951 as the base year; construct a border-fence across the India-Myanmar border; replace the Assam Rifles with other central paramilitary forces; delete ‘Kuki’ from the Scheduled Tribe list, and relocate ‘Kuki refugees’ in Manipur to Mizoram.
Opinion
Most teens use social media, but lack skills to protect themselves (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
Among Indian teenagers in rural areas who can’t even read a paragraph of text, over 30% can still browse the Internet and close to 50% can find a video on YouTube, says the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Rural.
The report provides several such insights into the digital prowess of high school and college students in India.
In the ASER survey, students in the 14-18 age group were asked to read a paragraph. Those who could read the words but not the sentences were said to belong to the ‘word level’.
Those who could read the paragraph but not a bunch of paragraphs were categorised as belonging to ‘Grade 1 level’. Those who could read many paragraphs were said to belong to ‘Grade 2 level’. The survey was conducted in 28 districts from September to November, 2023.
Text & Context
Pakistan and Iran: calm after the storm (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
In a series of events, Iran launched missile strikes in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, targeting alleged strongholds of the Jaish al-Adl.
In response, Pakistan condemned the attacks, recalling its Ambassador and expelling the Iranian Ambassador, while also suspending high profile bilateral visits.
A day later, Pakistan retaliated by targeting individuals and terrorist groups in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province.
However, with a diplomatic approach, Pakistan emphasised its respect for Iran, preventing further escalation.
On January 19, at a National Security Council meeting aimed at addressing security concerns for regional peace, both nations decided to de-escalate, reinstating ambassadors, and by January 28, Iran’s Foreign Minister arrived in Islamabad to discuss economic and security matters, signaling a shift towards dialogue and cooperation.
News
Centre starts survey on participation of women in workforce (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Union Ministries of Labour & Employment and Women & Child Development have started a joint survey on increasing women participation in the workforce.
The survey was announced by Union Minister Smriti Irani here at a function, “Women in the workforce for Viksit Bharat”.
The survey is being undertaken to assess the spread of women employee-friendly practices in the country. Various international agencies and trade unions, including the International Labour Organization, had expressed concern over the decrease in participation of women workforce in the country.
The latest results of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), released by the Labour Bureau last October, showed a considerable increase in women participation. In 2017-18, the participation rate was 23.3% and in 2022-23, 37%.
The survey, conducted by the Union Labour Ministry through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and other government agencies, has asked questions to the subscribers of government schemes about policies or initiatives for women by the companies they are employed with.
After four years of survey, India’s snow leopard count put at 718 (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
India has an estimated 718 snow leopards in the wild, according to a first-of-its kind, four-year-long estimation exercise, the results of which were made public.
The snow leopard is known to be an elusive cat and located in mountainous terrain that is hard to access, and the exercise for the first time marks a base threshold for the animal’s numbers in India.
The highest number of cats was estimated to be in Ladakh (477), followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (nine). The current estimate puts the number of Indian snow leopards between 10% and 15% of the global population.
The exercise involved setting up cameras, or camera traps, in 1,971 locations and surveying 13,450 km of trails which teams surveyed for recording signs of snow leopards such as scat, hair and other body markers.
Much like the approach used in surveys to estimate tiger numbers, the States conducted the surveys and the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, an autonomous body of the Union Environment Ministry, used software and statistical methods to estimate the number of individual cats that are present but not caught on camera and combined them with those caught on camera.
India nominates 12 forts of Marathas for UNESCO World Heritage List (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
India has nominated the “Maratha Military Landscapes”, a network of forts that showcase the strategic military powers of Maratha rule, for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List for 2024-25.
The 12 forts included in this nomination are the forts of Salher, Shivneri, Lohagad, Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee in Tamil Nadu.
The “Maratha Military Landscapes”, which developed between 17th and 19th centuries, represent an extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers.
This extraordinary network of forts, varying in hierarchies, scales and typological features, is a result of integrating the landscape, terrain and physiographic characteristics distinctive to the Sahyadri mountain ranges, Konkan Coast, Deccan Plateau and Eastern Ghats in the Indian Peninsula.
They are distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions and showcase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule, the Union Culture Ministry said.
World
Philippines, Vietnam sign deal on South China Sea (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Philippines and Vietnam signed agreements to prevent incidents in the South China Sea and broaden cooperation between their coast guards in a growing alliance that will likely be frowned upon by China, which claims virtually the entire waters.
The agreements, along with discussions on enhancing information-sharing and training exchanges between the Vietnamese and Philippine militaries, were forged during a visit to Hanoi by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Both sides agreed to boost trade and investment and signed a key deal on rice. The Philippines and Vietnam have had especially tense confrontations with China in the strategic waterway and key route for global trade in recent years.
Territorial face-offs in the high seas between Chinese and Philippine ships intensified last year, fuelling fears of a wider conflict that could involve Washington, Manila’s long-time treaty ally.
Although Chinese and Philippine officials agreed earlier this month at a meeting in Shanghai to take steps to de-escalate tensions, Mr. Marcos while in Hanoi raised his concerns over the long-seething disputes and cited increasingly aggressive actions by the Chinese coast guard.
Business
IMF says global ‘soft landing’ in sight, lifts 2024 growth outlook (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The International Monetary Fund lifted its forecast for global economic growth, upgrading the outlook for both the United States and China — the two largest economies — and citing faster-than-expected easing of inflation.
The IMF’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said the updated World Economic Outlook showed that a “soft landing” was in sight, but overall growth and global trade still remained lower than the historical average.
The global economy continues to display remarkable resilience, with inflation declining steadily and growth holding up.
The chance of a ‘soft landing’ has increased,” Mr. Gourinchas told reporters in Johannesburg, adding, “We are very far from a global recession scenario.
But he cautioned that the base of expansion was slow and risks remained, including geopolitical tensions in West Asia and attacks in the Red Sea that could disrupt commodity prices and supply chains.
Science
Astronomers spot unusual object that falls within the black hole ‘mass gap’ (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Sometimes astronomers come across objects in the sky that we can’t easily explain. In our new research, published in Science, we report such a discovery, which is likely to spark discussion and speculation.
Neutron stars are some of the densest objects in the universe. As compact as an atomic nucleus, yet as large as a city, they push the limits of our understanding of extreme matter.
The heavier a neutron star is, the more likely it is to eventually collapse to become something even denser: a black hole.
These astrophysical objects are so dense, and their gravitational pulls so strong, that their cores — whatever they may be — are permanently shrouded from the universe by event horizons: surfaces of perfect darkness from which light cannot escape.
If we are to ever understand the physics at the tipping point between neutron stars and black holes, we must find objects at this boundary.
In particular, we must find objects for which we can make precise measurements over long periods of time. And that’s precisely what we’ve found — an object that is neither obviously a neutron star nor a black hole.