What to read in The Hindu

3 April, The Hindu

ED can summon anyone for ‘any information’: SC

• The Supreme Court endorsed the sweeping powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying the Central agency could call “anybody for any information” even as it castigated four Tamil Nadu District Collectors for failing to appear in person in response to a summons issued to them by the anti-money laundering body.
• The Tamil Nadu government and the Collectors informed a Bench headed by Justice Bela M. Trivedi that they had written to the ED expressing their inability to appear in person as the Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu was due on April 19 and they needed more time to collect the information sought by the Central agency about sand mining sites in their districts.

The Gaza war needs a smart exit strategy

• On March 25, 2024, there was finally some good news in the ongoing conflict in Gaza when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, while also calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
• This was the UNSC’s first successfully passed resolution calling for a ceasefire since the war in the Gaza Strip following the brutal terror attack by Hamas last October in southern Israel.
• The previous four resolutions in the UNSC had failed due to veto, thrice exercised by the United States. The U.S., however, abstained this time and ‘let the resolution pass’.
• The resolution this time drew mixed reactions. Israel was the first to react, with its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleging that the U.S. had “abandoned its policy in the UN” and was, therefore, harming the war effort and the measures for the release of Israeli hostages in Hamas’s custody.
• Israel also cancelled the visit of its ministerial delegation to Washington which was scheduled to discuss the offensive in Rafah and other options.
• In an almost immediate U-turn, under Israeli pressure, the U.S. came out with a statement that the UN Resolution is ‘non-binding’ and that Israel can continue what it is doing in Gaza, making a mockery of the whole process in the UNSC.

Poll campaigns in India must reect climate issues

• The State of the Global Climate report that was released recently is cause for concern.
• The report, by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations, states that 2023 was the hottest year in the recorded history of the planet.
• Moreover, the average temperature rise from pre-industrial levels has been 1.45 °C, with a margin of uncertainty of ±0.12 °C.
• The temperature rise is tantalisingly close to breaking the agreed limit of 1.5 °C by different nations.
• Such a rise in global temperatures, also popularly known as global warming, is definitely alarming.
• The WMO report states that 2023 was not only the warmest year by a clear margin but also one where many records were breached.
• For instance, records for a rise in ocean temperatures, glacier retreat and diminishing Antarctic ice cover were also broken. Moreover, evident sea level rise around the planet has also been observed.
• Consequently, the frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves, torrential rains and tropical cyclones has increased.
• It is said that public memory is short. However, every reader of this daily and also article is sure to recall extreme weather events.
• Such events have disrupted many activities including agriculture, and are having a significant impact on socio-economic developments around the world.

A reform window

• The financial year 2023-24 appears to have ended on a high on the revenue front.
• Net direct tax collections rose 19.9% by midMarch to hit 97% of revised Budget targets, while the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has yielded a robust ₹20.18 lakh crore.
• Gross GST revenues in March, for transactions undertaken in February, crossed ₹1.78 lakh crore, the second highest tally since the rollout of the indirect tax six and a half years ago.
• The only month when collection stood higher was in April 2023, aided by year-end compliances.
• There is a good chance the same compliance effects will lift this month’s tally past ₹2 lakh crore, marking a fresh high.
• Average monthly collections have grown 11.6% in 2023-24 to over ₹1.68 lakh crore.
• The growth may be lower than the previous year’s 21.8% uptick but establishes a new normal for revenues that the coming year can build on.
• This should settle the Centre’s concerns that the GST has not yielded expected returns.
• Central GST collections in 2023-24 have overshot revised estimates presented in the interim Budget and the Finance Ministry may have to revise its 2024-25 targets when it presents the full Budget as those can now be achieved even if growth slips below 10%.

Will India experience more heat wave days this summer?

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday announced above-average heat wave days for India, impacting southern, central, east, and north-western regions.
• The announcement comes even as India is already struggling to keep up with its power demand.
• A Reuters analysis reported that India’s hydroelectricity output fell at the steepest pace in at least 38 years.
• Hydroelectric output will remain low in the coming months, leading to a greater dependence on coal at a time when India has, in its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, promised to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030, compared to the 2005 level.

First batch of 64 Indian workers from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh leaves for Israel

• The first batch of Indian construction workers bound for jobs in Israel during the conflict there was flagged off by Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon and government officials on Tuesday.
• The Israeli government raised an urgent request for construction workers in November 2023 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed fast-tracking the process with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December as the country faced major labour shortages after it banned thousands of Palestinians from working in Israel following the terror strikes by Hamas on October 7.

‘India risking demographic dividend’

• The World Bank has warned that the South Asia region including India was not making use of its demographic dividend as the pace of job creation in the region fell short of growth in the working-age population, even as it projected a strong 6.0-6.1% growth for 2024-25 for the region in its South Asia regional update, Jobs for Resilience, released on Tuesday

‘India’s new EV policy allows imports from any country, including China’

• India has no restrictions on the import of electric vehicles from any country, including China, under a new EV policy, a senior government official told a TV channel on Tuesday.
• Last month, India announced lowering import taxes on certain electric vehicles produced by carmakers who commit to invest at least $500 million and start domestic manufacturing within three years.

‘Growth momentum attracting investors despite high PE ratio’

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Tuesday said despite high price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, overseas investors were being drawn to the Indian capital markets on account of the velocity the economy was experiencing after years of high growth rates.
• “Yes, at 22.2 ratio of PE multiple we have an expensive market; but still why is the investment coming? Because this is a reflection of the optimism and the trust and faith the world has in India today we are commanding these kind of multiples in our markets,” she said at a CII event.