9 August 2024, The Hindu
Union govt. amends CAA guidelines on documents to prove foreign origin
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GS 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
- The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended a provision of the Rules of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) that required applicants seeking citizenship to submit a document by any government authority in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan establishing their roots in these countries.
- CAA requires applicants to declare that they are foreigners.
- The requirement under Schedule 1A, or the list of nine documents issued by any government authority in the three countries to prove that the applicant, or their ancestors, is/are a national of Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, has been expanded to include any document issued by the State or the Central government or any quasi-judicial authority in India.
- An “etc.” (et cetera) has been added in the order which would give discretion to government officials while processing CAA applications if there are any shortcomings in the documents.
- The CAA Rules also enable local priests or a “locally reputed community institution” to issue the mandatory certificates certifying the faith of an applicant.
- CAA facilitates citizenship to six non-Muslim communities from the three countries who entered India before December 31, 2014.
New-age weather watchers attract large following with timely updates on social media
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GS 1: Social empowerment
- The monsoon has covered the entire country and the vagaries of weather have always been a puzzle to the layman.
- While updates from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) are still relied upon by most citizens, the trend is gradually shifting towards independent weather enthusiasts who provide timely updates on social media.
- For most Mumbai residents, the go-to accounts on X are ‘Mumbai Nowcast’ by Shivam Khandelwal and ‘Mumbai Rains’ by Rushikesh Agre.
- For almost half a decade, these two weather-watchers in their 20s, have been keeping Mumbaikars informed “on the go” with timely updates.
Kerala to invest in knowledge-based sectors: Minister
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GS 3: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
- Kerala Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said the State is looking to attract investments in knowledge-based sectors that create employment for locals.
- “Our advantage is the highly skilled human resources.
- We are looking to build an ecosystem for the knowledge industry which would create white collar and high paying jobs for our youth.
- This will in turn create indirect employment opportunity for the gig economy,” he told The Hindu on Thursday.
Change in Bangladesh, the challenges for India
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GS 2: India and its neighborhood- relations
- With events in Bangladesh unfolding at a rapid pace, this writer recalls the events of February 2009 when (now former) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faced a major crisis within two months of her taking over.
- The mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force, where the rebels took over the BDR’s headquarters in Dhaka, left 74 dead, out of whom 57 were army officers.
- The unrest spread to 12 other towns and cities and posed a direct threat to the fledgling democratically elected government of Sheikh Hasina.
A moment for just transition litigation to take wing
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GS 3: Conservation
- In April 2024, in M.K. Ranjitsinh and Others vs Union of India, the Supreme Court of India recognised a human right against the adverse impacts of climate change.
- The decision has attracted significant discourse, riddled with mixed reactions. For some, it has been a win for climate action.
- For others, it has failed to protect endangered biodiversity.
- Taking a relatively pragmatic position, in an earlier opinion page article in this daily, “The Great Indian Bustard and climate action verdict” (April 17, 2024), this writer mapped a course for the Court to adopt in its final decision — which is, framing the core issue in the case using the concept of just transition.
Guilty on search
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GS 3: Awareness in the fields of IT
- Almost a quarter-century after an antitrust ruling against Microsoft reshaped the business landscape of tech industry, a landmark judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Google over its anti-competitive practices could now lead to a new precedent on how Big Tech firms conduct their business affairs.
- The roughly three-year-long legal process — which began with the discovery procedure in January 2021 after the court consolidated two lawsuits, United States vs Google and Colorado vs Google, that led to a nine-week bench trial in September 2023 — concluded on August 5.
- U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia, Amit P. Mehta, wrote that “Google is a monopolist” and that it has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by stifling competition to protect its monopoly position.
- The search giant was accused of using its dominant position in the online search market by cutting exclusive deals with smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung so that they can pre-load Google search on their handsets as a default search engine.
On monetary policy and financial markets
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GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
- Global financial markets may be exhibiting recovery following the dramatic falls in value, but the global economy is still in uncharted waters.
- Employment generation in the U.S. has been weaker than expected, threatening the fragile post-pandemic recovery.
- The Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates after years of keeping them low has also rattled financial markets, setting off a reversal of equity flows and a collapse in Asian markets.
- These rapid turnarounds have come on the back of attempts by central banks to combat the problems of inflation and repressed economic activity using the tool of interest rates.
- What the current situation indicates is the difficulty in implementing monetary policy in the presence of global financial markets, where expectations display heightened volatility and large-scale drops in asset values can occur much faster than the ability of policy-makers to respond.
Why Himalayan towns need a different kind of development
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GS 3: Disaster and disaster management
- The Indian Himalayan Range (IHR), comprising 11 States and two Union Territories, had a decadal urban growth rate of more than 40% from 2011 to 2021.
- Towns have expanded, and more urban settlements are developing. However, Himalayan towns require a different definition of urbanisation.
- Almost all Himalayan towns, including State capitals, struggle with managing civic issues.
- For example, cities like Srinagar, Guwahati, Shillong, and Shimla, as well as smaller towns, face significant challenges in managing sanitation, solid and liquid waste, and water.
- Planning institutions in these States often fail because they use models copied from the plains and have only limited capacities to implement these plans.
- City governments are short of human resources by almost 75%.
- For instance, in the Kashmir Valley, excluding the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, there are only 15 executive officers across over 40 urban local bodies.
Instability in India’s neighbourhood is a concern, says CDS
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GS 2: India and its neighborhood- relations
- As the situation in Bangladesh continues to remain tense, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said that the “instability in our neighbourhood” is a cause of concern for the country while also flagging the threat on the western and northern borders.
- “The world is in the most violent phase of its existence since World War II,” he said on Thursday, addressing the Ammunition India conference organised by industry body FICCI.
Waqf Bill goes to JPC after an acrimonious debate in Lok Sabha
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GS 2: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning
- The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has been referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Thursday (August 8, 2024) after Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced it in the Lok Sabha, amid strong objections from the Opposition parties, alleging that the Bill was aimed at targeting the Muslim community.
- The Lok Sabha witnessed a two-hour long debate at the time of introduction, following which it was decided that the Bill would be sent to a JPC.
- Speaker Om Birla informed the House that he would constitute the joint panel after consulting the leaders of all the parties.
Ask GST Council to take a call on tax on health insurance premiums: FM
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GS 3: Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
- The Union government has nothing to do with imposing the goods and services tax (GST) on health insurance premiums, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman insisted in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (August 8, 2024), maintaining that the issue is entirely in the realm of the GST Council, which includes representatives from all State governments.
- “Before GST too, medical insurance premiums were taxed,” she noted, during her reply to a debate on the Finance Bill.
- The Upper House returned the Bill following her reply, completing the process of approving the Union Budget for this financial year.
Under-construction bridge collapses in Bihar’s Katihar; 14th such failure since June
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GS 3: Infrastructure
- A bridge being constructed over the Ganga at Bakia Sukhay in Bihar’s Katihar district collapsed on Thursday, officials said.
- This is the 14th instance of bridge collapse in the State since June.
- The bridge was being constructed at a cost of ₹3 crore by the Rural Works Department and was expected to be inaugurated soon.
- This project was to be completed in 2023 but its deadline revised to July 2024.
- With the construction of this bridge, the people of Bakia Sukhay gram panchayat and its surrounding areas would have had direct access to Barari, the block headquarters, by road.
- Currently, residents pass through Katihar in nearby Bhagalpur district, to reach Barari town.
‘RBI can’t ignore food inflation’
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GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
- IN THE Economic Survey for 2023-24, its author Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran made a case for excluding food prices from headline inflation, since food prices were keeping the CPI-based (Consumer Price Index) inflation high and delaying a cut in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India.
- But RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das differed Thursday and said food inflation pressures cannot be ignored given the high share of food in the consumption basket.
- Without mentioning the Survey proposal — or the CEA’s remark that monetary policy cannot manage supply-side food shocks — Das said, “First and foremost is the fact that our target is the headline inflation wherein food inflation has a weight of about 46 per cent.
