12 April 2024, The Hindu
ADB projects India’s GDP growth in 2024-25 at 7%
Page 1
GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
- India’s economy is expected to remain robust over the next two years even though headline growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is forecast to slow from 7.6% in 2023-24 to 7% this year before improving to 7.2% in 2025-26, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.
- In its Asia Development Outlook report released on April 11, the Bank said it expects retail inflation to ease to 4.6% this year and 4.5% in 2025-26.
- India’s ‘persistent’ food inflation is expected to drop to 5.7% as farm output returns to trend this year.
Most Indians believe in plurality: survey
Page 1
GS 1: Society: Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
- An overwhelming number, 79% of those surveyed in the CSDS-Lokniti poll, aver that “India belongs to all religions equally, not just Hindus”, with only 11% saying that “India belongs only to Hindus”.
- This belief in plurality was more pronounced in urban areas (85% in towns and 84% in cities) and higher among the educated (83%) as compared to those with no schooling (72%).
In poll season, the perils of scorching bilateral ties
Page 8
GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood
- “All geopolitics is local” is the unwritten rule of policymaking in the 21st century era of populism.
- As a result, most leaders around the world make foreign policies that ensure that there is no adverse impact on domestic politics, and if possible, even gain them some votes.
- However, rarely do general elections get conflated with foreign policy issues as the upcoming elections in India seem to have become.
- The recent statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar calling into question the 1974 India-Sri Lanka agreement.
- Not only did they both castigate former Prime Ministers and their party for the decision to recognise Katchatheevu island as part of Sri Lankan territory, but the External Affairs Minister also went on to say that a “solution” must be found for the continuing “situation” Tamil Nadu fishermen find themselves in as a result of the agreement.
- The merits and demerits of the 1974 agreement and 1976 exchange of letters, replete with the “loss” of Katchatheevu and the “gain” of the oil rich Wadge Bank, have since been thrashed out by both sides of the political spectrum.
- Commentators have since pointed to government statements, Parliament and Right to Information (RTI) replies and depositions in court (on the Katchatheevu issue and fishermen’s rights) that are at variance with Mr. Jaishankar’s criticism of the 1974 agreement.
Remarkable support for religious pluralism
Page 9
GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- India has been a multi-religious society for centuries.
- Different religions have coexisted and created for themselves cultural niches in the social space.
- Religious pluralism has survived historical accidents and political maelstroms.
- But some sociopolitical events and a growing chorus to turn the country into a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ have created doubts.
- Is the long-cherished ideal of religious tolerance still close to people’s hearts? Is India’s secular social fabric under grave threat?
- The the pre-poll survey helps clear these doubts.
ISRO’s ‘zero orbital debris’ milestone
Page 10
GS 3: General awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology, bio-technology
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said its PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission has practically left zero debris in earth’s orbit.
- The space agency explained that the last stage of the Polar Satellite Launch vehicle (PSLV) used in the mission was transformed into a kind of orbital station — called the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) — before it was left to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere instead of floating in orbit once its mission was completed.
- ISRO said that after it completed the primary mission of injecting all satellites into their target orbits, the fourth stage of the PSLV was transformed into the POEM-3.
- It was subsequently de-orbited from 650 kilometres to 350 kilometres, rendering it more susceptible to being pulled towards the earth and burning up in the atmosphere.
- ISRO also said it “passivated the stage,” meaning dumped its fuel, to avoid an explosion that could have flung small pieces of debris into orbit.
Is transparency lacking in candidate disclosure?
Page 10
GS 2: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act (RPA)
- The Supreme Court recently held that candidates need not disclose every piece of information and possession in their election affidavit unless it is substantial in nature.
- In another development, the Election Commission of India (EC) has asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes to verify the declaration with respect to yearly income in the affidavit filed by Rajeev Chandrashekar, the BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram.
‘India to face most impact if high U.S. interest rates persist’
Page 15
GS 2: International Relations- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting the Indian interests
- A ‘higher for longer’ interest rate scenario, under which the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank defer anticipated rate cuts to beyond 2024, would impact emerging economies’ currencies as well as growth and inflation outlooks, with India likely to see the most pronounced effects among Asian countries, as per an Asian Development Bank simulation.
- India’s inflation could see an uptick of around 0.4 percentage points through 2024 and 2025, as per the simulation, while GDP growth may see a tad under 0.2 percentage point dip in 2025, compared with the ADB’s baseline projections.
- The ADB expects growth at 7% this year, before recovering to 7.2% in 2025-26, while it has projected an average inflation rate of 4.6% in 2024-25, followed by 4.5% in the next fiscal year.
