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A Bench of the Manipur High Court modified its own March 27, 2023 order, ordering the removal of paragraph 17(iii), which had instructed the Manipur government to consider the inclusion of Meiteis in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
This direction is said to have triggered the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and the tribal Kuki-Zo communities in the State.
The contentious paragraph said the State government “shall consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously.
Govt. approves 100% FDI in space sector (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet on Wednesday took a series of key decisions, which included the approval for amendments to the existing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on space sector.
Under the amended policy, 100% FDI is allowed in space sector. The liberalised entry routes are aimed to attract potential investors to invest in Indian companies in space.
The amended policy extends the facility of up to 74% FDI under the automatic route for satellite manufacturing and operation, satellite data products and ground/user segment. Beyond 74%, these activities are under government route.
States
ISRO key test over, CE20 cryogenic engine is now human-rated for Gaganyaan missions (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has accomplished a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine, that powers the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan missions, with completion of the final round of ground qualification tests.
ISRO posted on X: “Mission Gaganyaan: ISRO’s CE20 cryogenic engine is now human-rated for Gaganyaan missions. Rigorous testing demonstrates the engine’s mettle. The CE20 engine identified for the first uncrewed flight LVM3 G1 also went through acceptance tests.”
Human-rating refers to rating a system that is capable of safely transporting humans.
Editorial
Electoral season and restructuring the health system (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
With the electoral season on, it is going to be raining manifestos. Manifestos are useful documents as they reflect the thinking and priorities of the political parties, besides enabling people to hold the elected party accountable.
Given the high stakes and the trend towards current competitive welfarism, the manifestos for 2024 are expected to contain wild promises.
It will be interesting to see what space will be accorded to health, education and jobs in the current discourse blinded with temples and distributing consumer goods.
The health section in the 2014 and 2019 manifestos of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress showed commonalities and differentials.
Both mentioned revamping the primary health system, ensuring universal health care, expanding human resources, increasing use of technology and so on.
The differential was with the Congress underscoring health as a public good that citizens are entitled to as a right and the States’ obligation to provide, while the BJP saw health as a commodity, provided through public private partnerships with market based pricing moderated by social health insurance.
Opinion
An undeclared war with nature (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Wayanad is in a state of undeclared war as seen with the rising human-wildlife conflict in the district. Two recent tragic events occurred — one involving a wild elephant named Belur Makhna, who went on a rampage, crushing a 47-year-old farmer to death and another incident where an elephant herd killed an ecotourism guide at Kuruvadweep Islands.
These events have triggered protests and strikes in Kerala. In the ongoing cacophony, one should not miss the onus of responsibility as wildlife experts believe this is only the beginning of what is yet to follow from the Western Ghats if the ecological balance is not restored.
A study report titled Right of Passage: Elephant Corridors of India, conducted by Wildlife Trust of India, identified 88 elephant corridors in 2005.
As per the report, 24% of the corridors were under reserve forest and 76% under forest, agriculture, tea gardens, and human settlements. Fast forward this data to about 20 years later would invariably show reduced corridors for wildlife.
This renders the agricultural fields, tea estates, human habitations, busy highways, and ecotourism spaces as open sites for wildlife movement.
It indicates the loss of ecological connectivity and habitat, and the resultant confinement of wildlife to fragmented forests forcing their raids to the surrounding areas.
Text & Context
On financial devolution among States (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Recently various Opposition-ruled States especially from south India have claimed that they have not been receiving their fair share as per the present scheme of financial devolution.
They have raised issues about their less than proportionate share of receipt in tax revenue when compared to their contribution towards tax collection.
Article 270 of the Constitution provides for the scheme of distribution of net tax proceeds collected by the Union government between the Centre and the States.
The taxes that are shared between the Centre and the States include corporation tax, personal income tax, Central GST, the Centre’s share of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) etc.
This division is based on the recommendation of the Finance Commission (FC) that is constituted every five years as per the terms of Article 280.
Apart from the share of taxes, States are also provided grants-in-aid as per the recommendation of the FC. The divisible pool, however, does not include cess and surcharge that are levied by the Centre.
News
About 100 Indians recruited as Russian Army helpers: official (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Over the past one year, around 100 Indians were recruited by the Russian Army at its Moscow recruitment centre, according to an official who works for the Russian Ministry of Defence.
The Indian-origin official told on condition of anonymity that all recruits are apprised about the risks related to the job before they signed the contract to join as “army security helpers”.
He said no money was charged by the Russian Army before their recruitment. The actual number of Indians who have been hired could be higher, the official said, while sharing the statistics for only the Moscow centre as there are other recruitment centres in Russia.
The contract is valid for a minimum of one year and mandates no leave or exit before six months of service. The workers were offered ₹1.95 lakh salary per month and ₹50,000 as additional benefits.
India, China hold 21st round of military talks to resolve stand-off (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
India and China held the 21st round of Corps Commander talks, which failed to make any progress in further disengagement towards ending the stand-off in eastern Ladakh.
The External Affairs Ministry, in a statement, said that building on the previous rounds of talks seeking “complete disengagement” in the remaining areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, both sides “shared their perspectives” in the talks held in a “friendly and cordial atmosphere”.
The 21st round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on February 19.
The discussions built on the previous rounds, seeking complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh as an essential basis for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas.
World
Shehbaz to be PM as PML-N, PPP agree on coalition pact (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Pakistan’s two dynastic parties have reached a power-sharing agreement that will return Shehbaz Sharif to the premiership, leaving out politicians loyal to jailed former leader Imran Khan despite them winning the most seats in this month’s vote.
The Army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said they had settled days of negotiations on securing a majority to form a coalition government that will also include several smaller parties, after the February 8 polls returned no clear winner.
Candidates loyal to Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the most seats but were forced to stand as Independents following a sweeping crackdown on the party in the lead-up to the election, which was marred by allegations of vote rigging.
The proposed new government looks much the same as the shaky coalition that combined to oust Mr. Khan in a no-confidence vote in 2022.
Business
GDP, GVA growth eased to 6% in Q3, estimates ICRA (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s real GDP growth likely slowed to 6% in the third quarter, from 7.6% in Q2, rating firm ICRA said citing the uneven monsoon, slowing government capex and flagging momentum in some indicators, including industrial activity.
The National Statistical Office, which has estimated GDP growth for 2023-24 at 7.3%, will release its estimates for Q3 at the end of this month. ICRA also expects the Gross Value Added (GVA) to ease to 6%, from 7.4% in Q2, with the expansion in agriculture GVA pegged at 0.5% and industrial GVA growth seen easing to 8.8%, from 13.2% in the preceding quarter.
The deterioration in Q3 industrial growth is partly attributable to an adverse base effect and a deceleration in volumeexpansion, the rating firm said.
Additionally, a mild 0.2% contraction in total spending by the Centre and 25 States last quarter, after an 18.3% rise in Q2 is expected to have impacted GVA growth in the period.
Science
Astronomers find the small, hot helium stars they were looking for (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Astronomers have finally found a unique class of stars they had been looking for for a decade. While these stars — hot and relatively small orbs covered in helium — were predicted to be fairly common, astronomers hadn’t been able to find them.
The discovery provides proof that the underlying theories are legitimate. Since stars are cosmic engines, it also opens new doors to understanding their diverse influences on the universe, from the creation of heavy elements to the release of gravitational waves.
Led by assistant professor Maria Drout of the University of Toronto, the research team found these stars after spending seven years labouring with a simple working hypothesis, extensively cataloguing thousands of stars, and testing different assumptions.