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The Chandrayaan-3 mission moved into the last phase of its journey to the Moon, with the Lander Module successfully separating from the main spacecraft.
ISRO said in a message on microblogging site X, imagining a conversation between the Lander Module and the Propulsion Module. LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs IST.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises two parts. The Lander Module, which also houses the rover component, is designed to travel to the Moon and is expected to land on the lunar surface on August 23.
The leftover part, the Propulsion Module, whose job was to transport the Lander to the Moon orbit, will continue to go around the Moon for a few months, possibly even years, in an outer orbit.
The remaining journey to the Moon would be made by the Lander Module on its own. As of now, it is in an orbit that is roughly about 150 km from the lunar surface.
The Lander Module is scheduled to make two orbit-reduction manoeuvres over the coming days, first attaining a circular 100 km x 100 km orbit, then coming down further into a 100 km x 30 km orbit.
Goa is the only state with a UCC, left behind by Portuguese: What it looks like (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
It was a strange demand. F E Noronha had got a call from the Cabeca de Casal, an administrator appointed to make an inventory of assets for partition in his maternal family, asking for his mother’s dowry certificate.
Noronha’s parents married nearly six decades ago and his mother died a few years ago. But the certificate was crucial to decide his mother’s inheritance, which his father would share in half.
Birth, marriage, death and succession — everyone does the same paperwork, it is recorded and registered. So, we found the tattered piece of paper.
My mother came from a rich family but my father was a good man and never cared much about that. But she has an equal share in her family property and under our law, my father is entitled to half of whatever she would get. When someone dies, they start carefully counting the heirs.
With the matter of a Uniform Civil Code likely to be kept alive in the run-up to the 2024 elections – even if, the BJP-led government is unlikely to push it through in its current term – the crucial question is what form and shape the proposed law would take.
One model that is held up as an example is the Portuguese Civil Code – a 156-year-old, 647-page code that was enacted in the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon.
The Code continues to govern Goa, and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. After its liberation in 1961, Goa, with a population of just six lakh at that time, retained the Portuguese Civil Code, making it the only state to have a uniform civil code for all religions.
Govt & Politics
President launches Navy’s stealth frigate: Step towards goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
President Droupadi Murmu launched the advanced stealth frigate ‘Vindhyagiri’ for the Indian Navy in Kolkata and said its rollout was a step towards achieving the goal of an ‘atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) through indigenous shipbuilding. The ship was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd’s (GRSE) facility at Kolkata.
The event was also attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor CV Ananda Bose and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, among other dignitaries.
Stealth frigate Vindhyagiri is the sixth vessel rolled out as part of the Project 17A Frigate. The five other ships – INS Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Himgiri, Taragiri, and Dunagiri – were launched between 2019 and 2022. Officials said the ship derives its names from the ‘Vindhya’ ranges in Karnataka.
According to officials, the P17A ships are guided missile frigates. They are 149 metres long, with a displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes and a speed of 28 knots. These ships are capable of neutralising threats in all three dimensions of air, surface and sub-surface.
Addressing the programme, the President said, “This event marks a move towards enhancing India’s maritime capabilities.
Vindhyagiri is also a step towards achieving the goal of a ‘atmanirbhar Bharat’ through indigenous ship-building.
On argument of Art 370 'permanence', SC asks: How were amendments made (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the argument that Article 370 had become permanent after the constituent assembly for Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist in 1957 is belied by the practice of issuing Constitution (Application) Orders from time to time, modifying the Constitution in relation to the erstwhile state.
A five-judge Constitution Bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud also said that “judicial review” of the Centre’s action “will be confined to a constitutional violation…” and cannot be about the wisdom of the decision.
If Article 370 works itself out and achieves its purpose once the constituent assembly for the state of Jammu and Kashmir has completed its task, then where was the occasion thereafter to issue constitutional orders post-1957, asked the CJI while hearing petitions challenging the changes made to Article 370.
The CJI’s comment came after senior advocate Dushayant Dave appearing for the petitioners told the Bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, Sanjeev Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant, that Article 370(3), which was a temporary provision in terms of its object to start with, had subsequently acquired a permanent character.
Govt, WHO chief stress importance of traditional medicine (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
A year after the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine was set up in India, the country is hosting the first global summit, alongside the ongoing G20 ministerial meeting of the health track, with an aim to help identify areas of collaboration in traditional medicine.
The Gandhinagar declaration, the outcome of the health-track meetings conducted over the year, will create a dedicated platform for traditional medicine under the G20 framework.
Sonowal said on Thursday, “Our discussion here aims to forge the foundation for a dedicated platform for traditional medicine within the framework of G20 that seeks to foster international collaboration, share best practices, and seamlessly integrate traditional medicine into the heart of mainstream healthcare system.”
AYUSH secretary Rajesh Kotecha had earlier said that the WHO centre will study not only traditional medicine from India but also collaborate with research institutes abroad to study and generate evidence about their traditional medical practices.
WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday said: “Traditional medicine is not a thing of the past. There is a growing demand for traditional medicine across countries, communities and cultures.
Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine is especially important for preventing and treating non-communicable diseases, for mental health, and for healthy aging.”
Editorial
Missed opportunity (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Criminal law’s promise as an instrument of safety is matched only by its power to destroy. It is arguably the most direct expression of the relationship between a state and its citizens.
In no other branch of law is more at stake not only for the individual but also the community. Only the coming decades can tell to what extent the three new Bills meet the stated objectives of improving law and order, simplifying the criminal justice process and achieving the laudable goal of “ease of life”.
Ideally, making criminal law compatible with the constitutional vision should have been the foremost object of the new codes.
Home Minister Amit Shah, like Macaulay, will be remembered for initiating a sea change in Indian criminal law. The 42nd report of the Law Commission, 1971 had proposed a revision of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). But the amendments in 1972 and 1978 lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
There is no denying the fact that the philosophical stance and fundamental principles of Macaulay’s code were the product of a particular time and culture, and the imperialist policy of the British Empire.
The Home Minister is right in asserting that some of the concepts underlying the code were either problematic or had become obsolete and, therefore, there was a need for reforms.
Ideas Page
In the forest a transformation (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The public policy discourse on Jammu and Kashmir has often discounted the region’s complex socio-cultural, anthropological and linguistic perspectives.
The security-oriented approach became predominant because of the three-decade-long insurgency in the region. Tribal communities which constitute around 12 per cent of the Union Territory’s population have been the centre of a recent debate on resource allocation and recognition of rights.
The First Survey of Transhumance conducted by the Tribal Affairs Department in 2021, aimed at evidence-based policy making, pegged the ethnic migratory pastoral population at 612,000 — the largest anywhere in the world.
This section — Gujjars, Bakerwals, Gaddi, Sippi, Dard-Shin and Bot — constitutes more than 30 per cent of the UT’s tribal population.
These pastoral communities largely depend on livestock husbandry organised around seasonal migration between the summer pastures and winter pastures.
The biannual migration involves travelling — this includes women, children and the elderly — up to 600 km along with livestock and household goods.
Transhumant pastoralism involves several months of grazing and camping in highland pastures, which are notified as demarcated forests and wildlife conservation reserves — these are under the ambit of stricter regulations and management guidelines.
Explained
Two years of Taliban rule (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Taliban took control of Afghanistan two years ago on August 15, 2021, as US and NATO forces made a hurried and chaotic exit after almost two decades of war. This week, they marked their second anniversary as Afghanistan’s new rulers.
In a country of about 40 million people, international aid agencies estimate that about 15 million people will face “crisis” levels of food insecurity this year, with 2.8 million in the “emergency” category, the fourth highest in the world.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization expressed concern about Afghans’ lack of access to basic health services, about 20% of the population suffer from mental health problems and 4 million from drug addiction and associated disorders.
Most health facilities have poor infrastructure, and there are fewer qualified health care workers due to immigration, limits on women’s movement and employment, and reduced funds to pay salaries and keep facilities open.
In the book ‘Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan’, author Tamim Ansary writes: “There is a game called Buzkashi that is played only in Afghanistan and the central Asian steppes.
It involves men on horseback competing to snatch a goat carcass off the ground and carry it to each of two designated posts while the other players, riding alongside at full gallop, fight to wrest the goat carcass away.
The men play as individuals, each for his own glory. There are no teams. There is no set number of players. The distance between the posts is arbitrary. The field of play has no boundaries or chalk marks.
No referee rides alongside to whistle plays dead and none is needed, for there are no fouls. The game is governed and regulated by its own traditions, by the social context and its customs, and by the implicit understandings among the players. If you need the protection of an official rule book, you shouldn’t be playing.”
For 15-34 yr olds top concern is jobs, economic struggles, Survey (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
More than one in three (36%) Indians between the ages of 15 and 34 believe unemployment is the biggest problem before the country. About one in six (16%) think it is poverty, and 13% think it is inflation.
These findings, which are part of a report released by Lokniti-CSDS earlier this month, suggest that the youth identify challenges relating to the economy as the most significant facing the nation. The report offers insights into career aspirations, job preferences, and expectations of younger Indians.
About 6% of respondents identified corruption as the most significant challenge; 4% each identified problems in education and high population.
The proportion of youth identifying unemployment as the biggest problem has increased by 18 percentage points from the results of a similar survey in 2016. The share of those identifying price rise as the primary concern has increased by 7 percentage points.
While the data from the 2023 survey — conducted in 18 states with a sample of 9,316 respondents — show unemployment as a significant concern across all economic classes, it is particularly pronounced among middle-class youth.
Also, as many as 40% of highly educated respondents (graduate and above) identified unemployment as the most pressing concern. In contrast, only 27% of non-literate individuals cited unemployment as their primary concern, likely due to their greater willingness to take on a range of jobs.
World
Iran sends its Foreign minister to Riyadh in first sign of thaw (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Iran’s foreign minister traveled to Saudi Arabia, marking the first trip to the kingdom by Tehran’s top diplomat in years after the two nations reached a détente with Chinese mediation.
The visit by Hossein Amirabdollahian comes as both Saudi Arabia and Iran try to ease tensions between their nations, which long have viewed each other as archrivals for influence across the wider Middle East.
Challenges remain, however, particularly over Iran’s advancing nuclear program, the Saudi-led war in Yemen and security across region’s waterways.
Amirabdollahian’s trip to Riyadh comes as the two nations are reopening diplomatic missions in each others’ countries. He was accompanied by Alireza Enayati, Iran’s new ambassador to the kingdom.
Amirabdollahian met with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and later delivered on-camera statements.
Economy
Headline inflation to remain well above 6% in Q2: RBI article (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Retail inflation is expected to average over the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort limit of 6 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal.
In July, consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rose to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent from 4.81 per cent in June. The rise in inflation in July was driven primarily by increase in prices of vegetables, cereals, pulses, spices and milk and products,
Despite the sharp pick-up in inflation, the risk of stagflation remains low at the current juncture. In April-June quarter of FY2024, headline inflation moderated to 4.6 per cent.
The incidence of supply shocks is not over — elevation in vegetable prices has extended into the first half of August. Accordingly, headline inflation is expected to average well above 6 per cent in the second quarter.
The article has been authored by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra and other central bank officials. The RBI said the views in the article are those of the authors and not of the institution.