14 May 2024, The Hindu
Food inflation scaled 4-month high in April
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GS 3: Indian Economy (Inflation)
- Indian consumers faced a further acceleration in steep food prices in April, even as the overall retail inflation rate remained virtually unchanged at 4.83% last month from 4.85% in March.
- Food inflation surged to a four-month high of 8.7% in April from 8.5% in March, with rural consumers witnessing a sharper uptick of 8.75%.
- The gap between urban and rural consumers’ inflation experience remained sharp for the second successive month with rural households seeing a 5.43% rise in prices, while the overall inflation rate faced by urban consumers changed fractionally from 4.14% in March to 4.11% in April.
Stabilising India-Nepal ties in changing times
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GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood
- In Nepal, there is a palpable sense of restlessness, dissatisfaction and uncertainty in the air these days because of the overall political and economic environment.
- While the transition to a full-fledged democracy underpinned by credible political institutions seems to be an unending one, there is also confusion about the direction in which it is headed.
- And, there are a lot of questions. Was it premature for Nepal to have decided through a Constitution (which was rushed through and barely debated) that it should be transformed instantaneously into a secular federal democratic republic?
- This when as a young democracy it had just battled one upheaval after another, and was in dire need of leaders, experience and institutions capable of handling daunting challenges?
- Should Nepal, which had a wonderful tradition of being deeply religious but with a secular and tolerant ethos, revert to its Hindu identity which it had lost when political parties were negotiating with the Maoists for an end to their 10-year insurgency?
Adopting a transformative vision for mediation
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GS 2: Separation of powers between various organs, dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
- In an era dominated by judicial backlog and prolonged litigation, the emphatic directive from the Chief Justice of India, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in April 2024, to “mediate, not litigate”, echoes with increasing urgency.
- The Mediation Act, 2023, notified on September 15, 2023, promises a transformative shift towards alternative dispute resolution.
- This legislation not only formalises mediation but also provides a comprehensive definition that includes pre-litigation and court-annexed mediation, online platforms, and community mediation among its forms, all aimed at facilitating amicable settlements through the intervention of a neutral mediator.
Declining poverty ratio: a continuing trend
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GS 2: Issues relating to poverty and hunger
- The release of the fact sheet of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey for 2022-23 (HCES) by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) led to estimations of poverty and inequality trends by many researchers.
- Some of these studies also discussed comparability of data and measurement issues.
- Some argue that in the absence of unit-level data, the estimates based on the fact sheet are provisional.
- While unit-level data provide more accurate estimates than the averages given by deciles in the fact sheet, the poverty numbers based on the fact sheet data may not differ too much from those of unit-level data.
- So, we can estimate poverty and inequality with the fact sheet data.
An overview of the Smart Cities Mission
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GS 3: Indian Economy - Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- The Smart Cities Mission (SCM), a flagship programme of the NDA-1 government, has taken a back seat in this year’s list of poll promises and achievements.
- The term ‘Smart City’ has been used widely ever since 2009, after the great financial crash.
- Smart cities were defined by urban practitioners as new Silicon Valleys built with a strong integration of a network of airports, highways, and other types of communications, a so-called intellectual city with advanced ICT.
What is the legal position on live-in relationships?
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court stated earlier this month that a Muslim cannot claim rights in a live-in relationship when he or she has a living spouse.
- A two judge Bench of Justices A.R. Masoodi and A.K. Srivastava called such a relationship against the tenets of Islam while hearing a writ petition by Sneha Devi and Mohammed Shadab Khan.
- Ms. Devi and Mr. Khan had sought protection from police action after the woman’s parents filed a kidnapping case against Mr. Khan.
- The couple had told the court they were adults in a live-in relationship and that they sought protection under Article 21 of the Constitution (protection of life and personal liberty).
- The judges, however, stated, “Islamic tenets do not permit live-in relationships during the subsisting marriage.
- The position may be different if the two persons are unmarried and the parties being major choose to lead their lives in a way of their own.”
- Incidentally, Mr. Khan was married to one Farida Khatoon since 2020.
India, Iran sign Chabahar port operation pact
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GS 2: International Relations- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting the Indian interests
- Eight years after concluding the general framework of cooperation on the Chabahar port in Iran, India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for its operation.
- The long-term agreement was signed between Indian Ports Global Ltd. (IPGL) and Port and Maritime Organisation (PMO) of Iran, enabling operation of the Shahid-Behesti terminal.
- Subsequently, IPGL will invest approximately $120 million in equipping the port. India has also offered a credit window equivalent to $250 million for mutually identified projects aimed at improving Chabahar-related infrastructure, officials said.
Semal trees are being wiped out in Rajasthan due to Udaipur’s Holi
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GS 3: Environment- Conservation
- On the eve of Holi in Udaipur, Subash Chowk, a prominent intersection surrounded by luxury hotels, is transformed.
- Bhajans and Bollywood songs blare from speakers and firecrackers fly into the sky. In the centre stands tall the Holika Dahan, a 50-foot-high tree sheathed in hay and set ablaze, sending tongues of flame leaping over a two-storey building. Locals and tourists alike throng the chowk to catch a glimpse.
- They circle the bonfire and celebrate a mythological victory of good over evil.
- This is one of Udaipur’s main attractions for Holi.
- Central to the Holika Dahan festivities is the silk cotton tree (Bombax ceiba L.), known locally as semal.
- Traditionally, the debarked stem or branch of a semal tree is used as the bonfire’s main pillar.
- “It is astonishing to see the ecologically important semal tree sobbing in Udaipur’s tallest Holika Dahan.
- Its roots, fruits, seeds, stem, stem bark, and gum are all medicinally valuable,” Vartika Jain, an assistant professor at the Government Meera Girls’ College, Udaipur, wrote recently on the ‘Semal Conservation Mission’ Facebook group.
