Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meeting French President Emmanuel Macron Friday night with the two sides preparing to launch a 25-year vision roadmap cutting across sectors — from defence to space, students to culture, environment to digital technology.
This will be their third meeting within 24 hours, having met for a private dinner Thursday night and again at the Bastille Day parade Friday morning.
A host of initiatives, sources said, are on the table including a “roadmap for bilateral relations till 2047, with three pillars: partnership for security and sovereignty ; partnership for the planet; partnership for the people”.
Sources said a new roadmap for joint actions in the Indo-Pacific, including the Pacific region is expected to be discussed. Possible outcomes on defence deals, accelerating cooperation on co-development of advanced technologies are likely to be discussed.
The two leaders are expected to discuss procurement of 26 French-made Rafale M fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy as well as three more Scorpene-class submarines.
India has already purchased 36 Rafale for the Indian Air Force, three of which flew over Paris during Friday’s parade to mark Bastille Day.
The two leaders are also going to take stock of progress on the Jaitapur nuclear power project, and a decision to initiate cooperation on modular reactors is also going to be discussed.
Express Network
Law panel extends deadline for views on UCC till July 28 (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The 22nd Law Commission on Friday extended by two weeks the deadline for public comments on Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying the decision was taken in view of numerous requests “from various quarters” seeking more time.
“In view of the overwhelming response from the public on the subject of Uniform Civil Code and numerous requests received from various quarters regarding an extension in time for submitting their comments, the Law Commission has decided to grant an extension of two weeks for the submission of views and suggestions by concerned stakeholders.
“The Law Commission values the inputs of all stakeholders and aims to create an inclusive environment. We encourage all interested parties to utilise this extended time-frame to contribute their valuable ideas and expertise.
The Commission, headed by former Karnataka HC Chief Justice Rituraj Awasthi, had on June 14 invited views from the public on UCC. The deadline for sending the comments was set to end July 14
The Indian Express earlier reported that the Commission is likely to look at a string of amendments in the existing personal laws to harmonise them over the idea of one code that would replace all personal laws. Gender equality and equality before law are said to be the principles that would guide the process.
Editorial
Living with the deluge (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Disaster Management)
During his recent visit to Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 2,000 crore package for relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation in the flood-affected states in the Northeast.
A corpus fund of Rs 100 crore will be used to set up a high-powered committee that will work on finding permanent solutions to the flood problem.
There is, however, a need to shift the focus from flood protection to flood governance. Hopefully, the high-powered committee, whenever it is constituted, will make this paradigm shift.
This would require a shift in the understanding of floods from being an extreme weather event, to a hazard that is partly natural and partly anthropogenic.
Flooding is natural because the rivers in the Northeast, mostly originating in the Eastern Himalayas, experience a sharp fall in gradient as they move from Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan to reach Assam’s floodplains. This fall in altitude causes a large volume of water to gush to the floodplains.
Most of these rivers carry large amounts of sediments, which then get deposited on the floodplains, reducing the storage capacity of the river channels and resulting in inundation of the adjoining floodplains.
Flooding is partly anthropogenic as the sediment load carried by the rivers is accentuated through “developmental” interventions in the Eastern Himalayas that result in deforestation.
Explained
New in Chandrayaan-3; key upgrades that being hope and confidence (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Chandrayaan-3, India’s third Moon mission, took off from the Sriharikota launching range. The mission hopes to put behind the failure of Chandrayaan-2, which had crashed on the lunar surface in 2019. Important improvements have been made in the design to ensure that another accident is avoided.
While attempting a soft-landing on September 7, 2019, Chandrayaan-2 had failed to reduce its speed to the desired level in the final seconds of descent.
Scientists later detected problems in both the software and the hardware — in consequence, the software and hardware in Chandrayaan-3 have been equipped with several additional capabilities.
A Lander does not have wheels; it has stilts, or legs, which are supposed to touch down on the lunar surface, and then stabilise. Chandrayaan-2 lost control over its descent around 7.2 km from the surface of the Moon.
Its communications system relayed data of the loss of control up to around 400 m above the surface. The Lander had slowed down to about 580 km/hr when it crashed.
The legs of Chandrayaan-3 have been strengthened to ensure that it would be able to land, and stabilise, even at a speed of 3 m/sec, or 10.8 km/hour.
Of course, this would be of little use if Chandrayaan-3 is struck by a problem similar to the one that crashed Chandrayaan-2, but this can certainly avert many other kinds of troubles in case of a rough landing.
Economy
India and UK look to close FTA talks on five chapters with contentious issues (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India and the UK are looking to close negotiations over five chapters dealing with contentious issues such as digital trade, environment and labour in the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.
Out of 26 chapters in the FTA negotiations between the two countries, discussions on 14 chapters have been closed and negotiations are currently underway on other chapters.
On June 9, India and the UK concluded the tenth round of talks for the India-UK FTA. The 11th round of negotiation is currently underway in the UK from July 10 to July 19.
In addition, the two countries are also working to iron out differences on issues like intellectual property rights (IPR) and rules of origin and some differences in the services sector under the FTA negotiations.
There are some issues over IPR, rules of origin and some differences over the services sector. Still some issues are left out… we will be able to close those issues soon.
Noting that the India-UK FTA is the “most complex” which will be signed by India since it also has many non-trade issues, the official said this FTA would also be the most comprehensive FTA that India has not signed with any other developed country as such.
The commerce ministry had on Wednesday stated that the India-UK talks for the free trade agreement have reached a “critical stage”. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was in London from July 10-12 for the FTA talks.
Key Russian crude tops G7 price cap, India supplies may see muted impact (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The impact of Russia’s flagship Urals crude breaching the $60-per-barrel price cap imposed by the G7 nations is expected to be muted on New Delhi’s oil trade with Moscow in the immediate to near term with no major bearing seen on supplies, but a sustained closing of the gap between prices of Urals and other key international crude oil grades and benchmarks could take some sheen off Russian oil for Indian refiners going ahead, according to international oil market watchers.
As per assessments by leading pricing firms Argus Media and S&P Global Platts, Urals crude topped the key price level of $60 per barrel this week.
This is the first instance of Urals breaching the US-led G7 price cap on Russian seaborne crude, which took effect from early December.
The price limit forbids transportation of Russian oil on Western ships and use of Western insurance services if the cargoes are priced over $60 per barrel.
It was formulated with the objective of limiting Russia’s earnings from oil exports in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine, while keeping global oil markets well-supplied.
Russia began offering deep discounts on its oil exports as major Western economies started weaning themselves off Moscow’s crude.
Indian refiners lapped up the opportunity, snapping up the discounted barrels in huge quantities, resulting in Russia emerging as India’s largest source of crude, displacing traditional heavyweights like Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the process.
From a share of less than 2 per cent in India’s oil imports prior to the war in Ukraine, Russian crude now accounts for over 40 per cent of Delhi’s oil import pie.
And this surge in Russian oil supplies to India has been mainly powered by the medium sour Urals crude, which accounts for over two-thirds of India’s imports of Russian oil, as per data from leading energy market intelligence firms Kpler and Vortexa.
World
Solomon Islands policing by China: Australia takes it up with Wang Yi (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Australia has raised China’s plan to take a policing role in the Pacific Islands nation of Solomon Islands in talks with Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
The U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands’ opposition party have called for Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to “immediately” publish details of the policing deal signed in Beijing on Monday, amid concern it will invite further regional contest.
Sogavare has denied suggestions a Chinese police presence poses a regional security threat, and says China will enhance the capability of the Solomon Islands 1,500 police officers in cyber security and community policing.
“We take the view, along with all other members of the Pacific Island Forum, that security is best provided for within the Pacific family,” Wong told reporters in Jakarta, after meeting with Wang.
We understand that countries make their sovereign decisions, however the security of the Pacific is something that we all have an interest in, so we urge there to be transparency.
In a statement on Friday, Sogavare’s office said the Chinese police will add to the existing Australia and New Zealand policing support.
Solomon Islands Government fails to see how the improvement of (Royal Solomon Islands Police Force) traffic control and management system in Honiara, provision of police equipment or the completion of the Forensic Autopsy Lab is a threat to the Pacific region peace and security.