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The cheetahs were brought in wooden crates and will be released in a specially designed enclosure where they will live for a month and begin a lifetime of acclimatisation to Indian prey and forest conditions.
The cheetah are radio-collared and their movements will be tracked. Each animal has their dedicated tracking team. There is also a team of wildlife scientists, biologists and Laurie Marker, a renowned zoologist and founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund which has worked on restoring the species in Africa.
The introduction of the cheetah in India is being done under Project Cheetah which, according to the Environment Ministry, is the first time a large carnivorous species has been moved across continents for establishing a new population.
A cheetah after being released inside a special enclosure of the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. A cheetah after being released inside a special enclosure of the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
PM remarked that even though cheetahs had become extinct from India in 1952, no meaningful effort was made to rehabilitate them for the past seven decades.
The process to bring cheetahs into India spans several decades including an ingenious proposal in 2005 by the CSIR — Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, to clone an Asiatic cheetah. This came to naught after Iran, where the species was extant but dwindling, refused to share an animal.
In 2010, the Environment Ministry put together a plan recommending locations in India suitable for the cheetah and for sourcing cheetahs from Africa.
This however brought legal problems as conservationists challenged estimates by the Wildlife Institute of India, an autonomous government body, of the suitability of Indian sanctuaries for the animal. Kuno Palpur, one of the recommended sites, was originally intended as a second home for the Asiatic lions in Gir, but which the Gujarat government has opposed despite a Supreme Court order directing the transfer.
In 2017, the National Tiger Conservation Authority revived the proposal and appealed to the Supreme Court to “clarify its order”. The Supreme Court in 2020 removed its bar on importing the cheetah and allowed it in on an experimental basis and this paved the way for the first batch of cheetahs.
About 10-12 cheetahs are expected to be brought into India every year and around 35 are believed to be necessary to create a sustainable population.
The success of this batch of animals will be the touchstone of India’s initiative to be home to four wildcats — the tiger, lion, leopard and cheetah.
China blocks listing of Lashkar ‘commander’ Sajid Mir at UNSC (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
For the third time in three months, China blocked a joint India-U.S. attempt to put a Pakistan-based terrorist on the UN Security Council’s 1267 list, placing a hold on the proposal to add Lashkar-e-Taiba ‘commander’ Sajid Mir, who is wanted for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as well as attacks in the U.S. and Denmark.
Mir is presently lodged in a Pakistan jail after being convicted of terror financing at a hurried trial earlier this year.
The move on Thursday in New York came even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, where the Eurasian grouping had agreed to take strong and consolidated action against terrorism in the region
India has in the past criticised China for its “double standards” and for being “two-faced” on the issue of terrorism for consistently stopping the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists on the UNSC 1267 list, despite the fact that the groups they belong to were listed decades ago.
At the SCO meeting on Friday, President Xi had, in his address, spoken about the need for concerted action on terrorism by the eight members of the grouping. The SCO members consist of India, Pakistan, China, Russia and four Central Asian states.
Briefing the media, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had said that PM Modi had also raised the issue during the restricted meetings with the leaders in Samarkand and agreed to a new “unified list” of terrorists, separatists and extremist organisations.
Mir’s case has been particularly egregious as despite him being on India’s UAPA most wanted list, and the U.S. FBI’s most wanted list , he has not been placed on the UNSC’s list yet.
In the 26/11 attacks trial, Mir was identified as having recruited and trained the attackers, including Ajmal Kasab, sending David Headley to Mumbai to carry out reconnaissance operations, and directing the killings during the three-day siege of Mumbai, particularly at Chabad House.
The discrepancy had been pointed out as pressure mounted on Pakistan to crackdown further on terror groups in order to allow a reprieve from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which pursues actions against UNSC 1267-listed terrorists worldwide.
Mir is also wanted for his involvement in the attack on a Danish newspaper over blasphemous cartoons, attacks on Australian nuclear and military installations, procuring weapons, and recruiting terrorists in France and the U.S., where the “Virginia Paintball Jihad” case involved training LeT operatives at a paintball facility.
Joymala’s case flags gaps in private ownership norms for elephants (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The ongoing dispute between the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Assam over the alleged mistreatment of a temple elephant named Joymala, has brought into focus the prevailing lacunae over private ownership of elephants in India.
Joymala, who was leased by Assam to Tamil Nadu, is in the news after animal rights organisations alleged the elephant was being mistreated. Legal battles are underway at the High Courts of Madras and Gauhati, with both States making contrasting claims.
While Tamil Nadu is one of the States to have strict controls governing the private ownership of elephants, the lack of law enforcement in certain other States has led to a thriving “black market” in which elephants are captured illegally and trafficked to different places, allege activists and conservationists.
A response in 2020 from the Project Elephant Division of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act showed that the ownership of at least one out of every four captive elephants held by private individuals was not supported by the relevant documentation. The MoEFCC has clarified that it’s illegal to hold elephants in captivity without ownership certificates.
While Tamil Nadu reportedly has only one elephant without an ownership certificate, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh account for 96% of elephants in captivity without ownership certificates.
As per the RTI Act response, 694 out of 723 elephants in India that are privately owned and without documentation are in these States.
Activists allege that many elephants without documents have been captured in Assam, Tripura and other northeastern States. They are sold at elephant markets, from where individuals traffic them illegally to other States.
Arunachal Pradesh, which has 109 elephants in captivity, has not released any data on whether these elephants have ownership certificates.
Data also shows that Assam is home to the highest number of elephants without any ownership certificates, with 335 out of 905 captive elephants not having any documents to prove ownership.
Mr. Rubin said it was illegal to buy or sell elephants in India. Rules only allow for elephants to be exchanged or donated to temples or between private individuals.
However, without an ownership certificate, the keeping of any elephant in captivity by a private individual is illegal, as per the new amendments to the Wildlife Prevention Act.
Joblessness below pre-COVID levels: FinMin (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) hit a two-year low in August, signalling that the recovering economy is creating more jobs in rural as well as urban India, the Union Finance Ministry said on Saturday.
India’s inflation, the Ministry said, is “in control” and expected to moderate in coming months from the 7% mark in August as global supply constraints ease.
However, upside risks remain as producers will likely pass on higher input costs to customers “sooner than later” and the decline in kharif sowing poses concerns on the food inflation front.
Stressing that expansion in economic activity along with a spurt in job opportunities has led to a fall in the unemployment rate to below pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry said work sought by people under the MGNREGS has been waning in recent months.
Work demanded under MGNREGS has been diminishing since May and was at its lowest in August 2022, compared to the corresponding period of the previous two years.
This fall can be attributed to a pick-up in agricultural and non-agricultural activities coupled with the end of reverse migration resulting from increased employment opportunities in industrial and urban areas.
News
Jaishankar to hold talks with Blinken (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Washington DC from September 25 to 28 to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Ministry of External Affairs announced.
The interaction between the two will take place after the High Level Week at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where Mr. Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation from September 18 to 24.
The visit to Washington DC will provide India an opportunity to take up the latest announcement from the U.S. of $450-million package that would be used to modernise the F-16 fighter jet fleet of Pakistan.
Senior Indian officials have already conveyed India’s displeasure on the matter but a high-level conversation on the issue is awaited.
The interaction will be part of India’s continuous engagement of major dialogue partners around difficult issues like energy security against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis and tension in Taiwan.
As part of India’s campaign for reform of the UN Security Council, the Minister will be hosting a meeting in New York with his G4 counterparts from Brazil, Japan and Germany. The G4 partners have been championing the expansion of the UNSC by increasing the number of seats from 15 to 25.
Mr. Jaishankar will also attend the High Level Meeting of the L.69 Group on “Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive Reform of the UN Security Council.”
The group consists of developing countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Small Island Developing States that are focused on the reform of the UNSC.
He will represent India at ministerials of the Quad, IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa), BRICS, CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and CARICOM (Caribbean Community). Mr. Jaishankar will address the UNGA on September 24.
‘Crime scripts’ to unravel illegal trade of marine species (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
An analysis of the illegal trade of marine species in India between 2015 and 2021 pointed out that sea cucumbers were the most frequently seized marine species group. Tamil Nadu recorded the highest enforcement action with 126 seizure incidents of the marine species.
The study conducted by the Counter Wildlife Trafficking team of the WCS-India (Wildlife Conservation Society-India) recorded 187 media reports citing marine wildlife seizures by various enforcement agencies in India from 2015 to 2021.
A total of 187 incidents of illegal trade of marine species were collated between January 2015 and December 2021. Data collected for seven groups of marine wildlife species were analysed within the report, which includes sea cucumber, coral, Syngnathidae (seahorse and pipefish), Elasmobranch (shark and ray), seashell, sea fan and sea turtle,” stated the recently released report titled “Illegal trade of marine species in India: 2015-2021”.
The report pointed out that collectively, 64,172 kg plus 988 individual (unweighed) sea cucumbers were seized by the enforcement agencies in Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and the Andaman Islands. Of the 187 incidents of the illegal trade of marine species, 122 incidents involved the seizure of sea cucumber.
The document not only provided insights into the nature, the volume and the extent of the illegal marine trade across the country but also analysed the incidents involving the illegal sea cucumber trade.
They were further researched using “crime scripts”, to understand how the smuggling networks operated. The crime script had been prepared on the basis of the 122 incidents of seizure bringing out what went into the preparation, pre-activity, activity and post-activity phase of the smuggling of the marine group of species.
The report pointed out that due to the legalised trade of sea cucumbers in countries with close proximity to India, the sea cucumber consignments were often smuggled through those countries, to be laundered and then re-exported to the Southeast Asia markets.
Marine biologist Vardhan Patankar said that the illegal marine trade, although common, often went unreported due to the nature of the trade and as a result, the civil society, the policymakers and the local communities were left in the dark about the scale of the problem, making it hard to investigate the report and analyse.
While the most incidents of seizure (122) were of sea cucumbers, sea fan followed with 20, seahorse and pipefish 18, seashell 18 incidents, shark and rays 15, sea coral 12 and sea turtle five.
Similarly in terms of State-wise seizures, Tamil Nadu (with 126 seizures) was followed by Maharashtra (13 incidents), Lakshadweep (12 incidents) and Karnataka (eight incidents).
Marine wildlife incidents were reported across 18 States, including the eight coastal States and the two island territories, the report stated. The document also cautioned that a high number of seizure incidents alone “does not always indicate a high frequency of wildlife crime, and it may be a result of effective enforcement or more media interest”.
Science and Tech
How climate change is altering Indian monsoon (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Monsoon in India has undergone several changes over the years, especially on account of climate change. A shift in the track of monsoon systems, like low pressure and depression travelling south of their position and flash floods are a result of this change.
And these changes spell intense and frequent extreme unprecedented weather events over the places which once struggled to record even normal monsoon rains.
With this looming threat having a bearing on food security, it is only a matter of time before it has socio-economic impact.
It has been very complex to understand the rainfall variability and how monsoon patterns have been behaving of late, especially this year.
The problem is that it is very challenging for us to understand the situation, which calls for a lot more research. Persistence of intense La Nina conditions, the abnormal warming of East Indian Ocean, negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), southward movement of most of the monsoon depressions and lows and pre-monsoon heating over the Himalayan region are melting glaciers.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has clearly sighted that 2022 has seen the second highest extreme events since 1902.
An alarming case as incidents of floods and droughts have increased, there is more evidence coming our way on how global warming has been impacting the Indian monsoon.
There is no doubt about the fact that most of the monsoon weather systems have been travelling across central parts of the country, changing the area of rainfall. Climate change is definitely behind these changes and thus, it calls for more research on the changes in the behavioural pattern of these systems.
As a result, States such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of Maharashtra have been recording excess rainfall this season.
Usually, monsoon systems move across Northwest India giving rains over the region there. Experts believe that these changes are here to stay, which would continue to propel extreme weather events over the entire South Asian region.
During the last six months, entire South Asia has been reporting a series of extreme weather events. While Bangladesh, Pakistan and India have battled severe floods, China is reeling under massive drought conditions.
Using ‘spooky action at a distance’ to link atomic clocks (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
An experiment carried out by the University of Oxford researchers combines two unique and one can say even mind-boggling discoveries, namely, high-precision atomic clocks and quantum entanglement, to achieve two atomic clocks that are “entangled.” This means the inherent uncertainty in measuring their frequencies simultaneously is highly reduced.
While this is a proof-of-concept experiment, it has the potential for use in probing dark matter, precision geodesy and other such applications.
The two-node network that they build is extendable to more nodes, the researchers write, in an article on this work published in Nature recently.
Atomic clocks grew in accuracy and became so dependable that in 1967, the definition of a second was revised to be the time taken by 9,19,26,31,770 oscillations of a cesium atom.
At the start of the 21st century, the cesium clocks that were available were so accurate that they would gain or lose a second only once in about 20 million years.
At present, even this record has been broken and there are “optical lattice clocks” that are so precise that they lose a second only once in 15 billion years. To give some perspective, that is more than the age of the universe, which is 13.8 billion years.
The more mundane uses to which these clocks can be put include accurate time keeping in GPS, or monitoring stuff remotely on Mars.
Their work is a proof-of-principle demonstration that two strontium atoms separated in space by a small distance, can be pushed into an “entangled state” so that a comparison of their frequencies becomes more precise.
Potential applications of this when extended in space and including more nodes than two, are in studying the space-time variation of the fundamental constants and probing dark matter — deep questions in physics.
In quantum physics, entanglement is a weird phenomenon described as a “spooky action at a distance” by Albert Einstein. Normally, when you consider two systems separated in space that are also independent and you wished to compare some physical attribute of the two systems, you would make separate measurements of that attribute and this would involve a fundamental limitation to how precisely you can compare the two — for two separate measurements have to be made.
Matching ecology with agricultural economics (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
An ecological niche is the right set of environmental conditions under which an animal or plant species will thrive. A range of ecological niches can occur within an ecosystem.
Biodiversity is the result of these niches being occupied by species that are uniquely suited to them. Desert plants, for example, are suited for dry, arid ecological niches because they have the ability to store water in their leaves.
As the world’s climate undergoes change, the ability of existing species to hold on to their biogeographic niches may be altered.
This has an important bearing on agriculture, as practices and crop choices that have worked well for centuries may no longer be ideal.
Factors that are altered by such changes include the availability of food and nutrients, occurrence of predators and competing species. Non-living, or abiotic factors also affect ecological niches. These include temperature, amount of available light, soil moisture, and so on.
Ecologists use such information for conservation efforts as well as for future developments. However, ecological considerations may not correlate well with economic realities.
To bridge these two viewpoints, ecological niche modelling can be used to examine economic feasibilities within the context of changing ecological scenarios.
Ecological niche modelling is a predictive tool for identifying new possibilities — new inhabitants for an existing habitat, or new geographical locations where a desirable plant may grow well.
The modelling involves the use of computer algorithms to compare data about the environment and to make forecasts about what would be ideal for a given ecological niche.
Compare two places that are geographically apart, say the Madikeri area of Coorg in Karnataka and Gangtok in Sikkim. Both are on hilly terrain. Madikeri is at 1,200 metre above sea level and Gangtok is 1,600 metre above sea level.
Average yearly rainfall is 321 cm and 349 cm, respectively. Average relative humidity at 5:30 p.m. is 76% and 83%, respectively. The similarities are many in both regions.
A recent paper highlights the uses that ecological niche modelling can be put to within the context of India’s geographies and agricultural economics (Amit Kumar et al., Scientific Reports , 2022).
Researchers at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh used modelling strategies to examine the economically important spice, saffron.
Saturn tilt (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Swirling around the planet’s equator, the rings of Saturn are a dead giveaway that the planet is spinning at a tilt. The belted giant rotates at a 26.7-degree angle relative to the plane in which it orbits the sun.
Astronomers have suspected that this tilt comes from gravitational interactions with Neptune, as Saturn’s tilt precesses at nearly the same rate as the orbit of Neptune.
But a new modelling study by astronomers at MIT and elsewhere has found that, while the two planets may have once been in sync, Saturn has since escaped Neptune’s pull.
The researchers propose in a study ( Science ) that Saturn, which today hosts 83 moons, once harboured one more, an extra satellite that they name Chrysalis. Together with its siblings, Chrysalis orbited Saturn for several billion years, tugging on the planet in a way that kept its tilt, says a release.
But around 160 million years ago, the team estimates, Chrysalis became unstable and came too close to its planet that pulled the satellite apart. The loss of the moon was enough to leave Saturn with the present-day tilt.
The researchers surmise, while most of Chrysalis’ shattered body may have made impact with Saturn, a fraction of its fragments could have remained suspended in orbit, eventually breaking into small icy chunks to form the planet’s signature rings.
The missing satellite, therefore, could explain two longstanding mysteries: Saturn’s present-day tilt and the age of its rings, which were previously estimated to be about 100 million years old — much younger than the planet itself.
FAQ
Has the emissions deadline been extended? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
On September 5, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) extended the deadline for installing pollution control technologies in the country's thermal power plants (TPPs).
This was the third time that the Ministry has extended the deadline for installation of pollution control technologies. The country’s first emission norms for control of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury (Hg) from coal-fired power plants were notified in December 2015, and the thermal plants were given a timeline of December 2017 to comply.
In the notification, the Ministry set up three different timelines for three categories of thermal power plants for ensuring installation of pollution-control technologies.
The categorisation of power plants was done in April 2021 on the basis of an amendment to The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
For power plants within a 10 km radius of Delhi-NCR and million plus cities, the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2024 from the earlier deadline of December 2022.
In case of power plants within a 10 km radius of critically polluted cities, the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2025 from the earlier December 31, 2023. For all other power plants across the country which had an earlier timeline of December 31, 2024, the new deadline stands at December 31, 2026.
The notification also extends the timeline until 2027 for retiring units (power plants which are over 25 years old or more) and 2026 for non-retiring units.
This extension comes alongside two dilutions granted to thermal power plants for water and NOx norms. In June 2018, water norms for units installed post-January 2017 were diluted from 2.5 cubic metres per megawatt-hours to three cubic metres per megawatt-hours.
Similarly, in May 2019, NOx norms for units installed between 2004 and 2016 were diluted from 300 milligrams per cubic metres to 450 milligrams per cubic metres.
Environmentalists have raised red flags over the deadline extensions and the dilutions. According to Anjal Prakash, Research Director and Adjunct Associate Professor with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author, the manner in which the extensions have been made since 2015 across parameters including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, act as a roadblock.
Is there any end of the COVID-19 pandemic in sight? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
As per the ourworldindata COVID-19 dashboard, as of September 16, a total of 4,53,481 new cases had been recorded across the world.
On the same day, the cumulative count of cases was 611.33 million. In contrast, the seven day average of new cases hit a peak on January 24, 2022 at 3.44 million cases per day.
According to Dr. Tedros, who, on the contrary, calls for greater energy, a last-mile spurt. “A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view. She runs harder, with all the energy she has left. So must we,” he said during his address.
We can see the finish line. We’re in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running. Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work.
If we don’t take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption, and more uncertainty,” Dr. Tedros further said. He added that the WHO is releasing six policy briefs outlining the key actions that all governments must take to finish the race.
The briefs are a summary, based on the evidence and experience of the last 32 months, of what works best to save lives, protect health systems, and avoid social and economic disruption.
The briefs are an urgent call for governments to take a hard look at their policies, and strengthen them for COVID-19 and future pathogens with pandemic potential, Dr. Tedros insisted.
The WHO chief urged nations to invest in vaccinating 100% of the most at-risk groups, including health workers and older people, indicating that these groups are the highest priority to achieving 70% vaccine coverage.
He added that it was important for countries to keep testing and sequencing for SARS-CoV-2 besides integrating testing and surveillance with similar measures for other respiratory diseases.
Dr. Tedros made a strong case for putting in place a system in order to integrate care for COVID-19 into primary health, and said patients should continue to receive the care that is right for them.
Will the future of the Commonwealth change? Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The death of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the country’s longest serving ruler, who reigned for over 70 years, marks not only the end of an era for the British monarchy but also a turning point for the 14 Commonwealth realms of which she was the Head of State.
There has been a significant transformation of the socioeconomic milieu in these countries compared to the Elizabethan era, including calls in several nations to establish a republic and break free of historical ties to the British monarchy.
Thus, it is possible that during the reign of the incumbent King Charles III, the Queen’s successor, more nations will follow in the footsteps of Barbados, which in 2021 became the 18th country to remove the British monarch from the role of head of state and substitute them with a national government functionary.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a group of 56 countries comprised mostly of former British colonies. While members of the Commonwealth are predominantly located in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific, with many of them emerging economies, the three European members of the group are Cyprus, Malta, and the U.K. The developed nations of the Commonwealth are Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
The Commonwealth consists of both republics and realms. The British monarch is the Head of State for the realms, whereas the republics are ruled by elected governments, except in the the case of five countries — Brunei Darussalam, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga — each a self-governed monarchy.
The realms are comprised of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.
Even if the situation is changing vis-à-vis the realms and their Heads of State, the broader Commonwealth group, of which India and other South Asian countries are members, remains strong and fosters policy coordination among its members through its Heads of Government Meetings, a feature that has gained additional salience in the context of post-pandemic economic recovery.
Business
‘Bright growth prospects driving high imports’ (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s growth has been robust and inflation in control, even as the world’s major economies are afflicted by slowing growth and high inflation, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday, reckoning that the economy would grow 7.2% this year driven by a revival in consumption, employment and investments.
Financing India’s imports, which have exceeded $60 billion for six straight months, will have to be accorded high priority, the Ministry noted, linking the ‘faster growth’ in imports to the country’s ‘bright’ growth prospects.
The increase in the price of imported commodities not only led to an uptick in headline inflation but also widened the trade balance.
However, with the easing of global supply-chain disruptions and decline in commodity prices, inflationary pressures are expected to soften and trade balance is anticipated to improve.
The monthly goods trade deficit hit a record $30 billion in July as exports growth slowed, and remained uncomfortably high at about $28 billion in August. Consumers have faced 6%-plus inflation since January this year, with four of the last five months clocking 7% or more.
The Finance Ministry attributed the ‘inflation acceleration in 2022 compared to 2021’ to rising prices of imported commodities, global supply-side disruptions and revival of demand in advanced economies with the waning of the pandemic.
A relatively buoyant growth and a relatively stronger external sector is now set to converge with declining inflation to deliver for India a strengthened macroeconomic outlook for the balance period of the current year.
Downside risks to growth will persist insofar as India is integrated with the rest of the world. Nor is there room for complacency on the inflation front as lower crop-sowing for the Kharif season calls for deft management of stocks of agricultural commodities and market prices without unduly jeopardising farm exports.
With the economy growing 13.5% in the first quarter of this year, India’s real GDP is now ‘nearly’ 4% above pre-COVID levels ‘marking a strong beginning to India’s growth revival in the post-pandemic phase’, the Ministry said.