16 May 2024, The Hindu
Over 300 people become Indian citizens under CAA
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GS 2: Indian Constitution: features, amendments, significant provisions
- The Union Government on Wednesday granted citizenship certificates to more than 300 people who applied under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, a senior government official said.
- At least 14 people were handed their certificates by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla in Delhi, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
April trade gap hits $19 bn as imports outpace exports
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GS 3: Indian Economy (international trade)
- India’s merchandise exports began 2024-25 on a mildly positive note, rising 1.07% to $35 billion in April. But the import bill jumped 10.25% to $54.1 billion, thanks to a surge in global oil and gold prices, lifting the trade deficit to a four-month high of $19.1 billion.
- Almost all of the sharp 32.3% year-on-year surge in April’s goods trade deficit, compared to a $14.4 billion gap in April 2023, was fuelled by gold imports that tripled to $3.11 billion from $1.01 billion, and a 20.2% rise in the oil import bill amounting to $2.8 billion.
- The gold import bill in April was also more than double the previous month’s tally.
The pitch for subaltern secularism
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GS 1: Society: Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
- In the shifting sands of politics, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Lalu Prasad Yadav are two politicians who have remained steadfast on one question of principle — Hindu-Muslim harmony.
- Both are outstanding orators with a sense of humour, but the commonality ends there. Their lives and histories are far wide apart otherwise.
- Mr. Aiyar thinks and speaks in English; Mr. Yadav does so in Hindi, in fact, in Bhojpuri.
- Mr. Aiyar is 83, and Mr. Yadav is 75, but their paths have never crossed, though they were Ministers in the same Union Cabinet under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Their parallel lives make a metaphor of the crisis of Indian secularism.
The case for election day as a holiday
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Prelims syllabus: Current events of national and international importance
- In a vibrant democracy such as India, the right to vote is not just a privilege but also a fundamental duty enshrined in the Constitution.
- Several countries around the world such as Australia (where voting is mandatory), South Africa, South Korea, France provide a holiday on election day to facilitate voter participation.
Social media’s impact on Indian politics
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- “If Congress wins this election, it will be because of Dhruv Rathee,” declares a young Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh.
- Another group of young Jatav men in Agra list out who they follow — Mr. Rathee is top on the list as are local online “influencers.”
- Even a young supporter of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Rawat community in Mohanlalganj admits that he regularly listens to Ravish on YouTube.
- Strikingly, almost everyone can recount the content — the details of the different shows and episodes of these influencers.
- This is the first ever social media election in India. Social media has created avenues for alternate viewpoints outside of the spectre of state control and in the process successfully created a cognitive dissonance with the government narrative.
On Delhi’s mounting waste crisis
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GS 3: Environmental pollution and degradation
- The Supreme Court’s recent criticism of solid waste management (SWM) in New Delhi highlights a critical issue.
- The national capital has more than 3,800 tonnes of solid waste remaining untreated.
- This waste reaches landfills and threatens public health and the environment.
- According to the 2011 Census, New Delhi’s population was about 1.7 crore, which in 2024 is expected to be around 2.32 crore.
- Considering an average per capita generation of about 0.6 kg/day per person, the city generates approximately 13,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of waste — roughly 1,400 truckloads — which adds up to about 42 lakh tonnes per annum.
- The city’s population is expected to rise to 2.85 crore by 2031, so waste generation could go up to 17,000 TPD.
Army set to receive next batch of shoulder-fired Igla-S air defence systems
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GS 3: General awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology, bio-technology
- The Army is all set to begin receiving another set of Russian Igla-S very short range air defence systems (VSHORAD) by the end of May or early next month, filling a critical void in the its air defence requirements which has been repeatedly delayed.
- In another development, multiple sources confirmed that the payments issue between India and Russia that has held up critical payments for defence deals as well as payments has been resolved.
- The Army is also set to receive the first of two Israeli Hermes-900 Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) assembled by ADSTL in Hyderabad next month.
India-gifted ambulance service in Sri Lanka in need of support
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GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood
- An India-gifted free ambulance service in Sri Lanka, providing vital pre-hospital emergency care across the island for eight years, appears to be in need of critical support, going by a recent social media post by a public health professional.
- Yasuni Manikkage, a doctor working at a Colombo-based government hospital, on Tuesday took to ‘X’ to flag a 51-year-old man’s sudden death at his residence in Colombo.
- “Desperately called Suwaseriya, but they did not have any available ambulances nearby. We could not save him on time.
- Why is funding Suwaseriya 1990 & saving lives not a priority for Lankan government?” she asked in the post that has since drawn much attention.
General, central obesities linked to higher risk of colorectal cancer
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- Obesity rates are rising worldwide. In India, a 2022 study in The Lancet estimated the percentage of obese women and men to be 9.8% and 5.4% respectively.
- Along with higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, obesity has been linked to a higher susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC), among others.
- CRC refers to cancers of the colon or the rectum. The CRC incidence is relatively low in India, but the percentage of people who are alive five years after a CRC diagnosis is reportedly under 40% — one of the lowest in the world.
- According to a 2017 study in the Indian Journal of Surgical Oncology, CRC patients in India are generally young and present more frequently with advanced stages of the disease.
