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World
The United States Space Force has had internal discussions about setting up a hotline with China to prevent crises in space, U.S. commander General Chance Saltzman told Reuters.
The chief of space operations said a direct line of communication between the Space Force and its Chinese counterpart would be valuable in de-escalating tensions but that the U.S. had not yet engaged with China to establish one.
What we have talked about on the U.S. side at least is opening up a line of communication to make sure that if there is a crisis, we know who we can contact,” Saltzman said, adding that it would be up to President Joe Biden and the State Department to take the lead on such discussions.
Nepal, China sign 12 agreements during Prachanda’s visit to Beijing (Page no. 2)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
China and Nepal on Monday signed 12 agreements, including seven MoUs, to enhance bilateral cooperation in sectors including trade, road connectivity, and information technology after Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” held wide-ranging talks in Beijing.
During the meeting, the two leaders comprehensively reviewed the bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction over the close and cordial ties subsisting between the two countries, according to a press release issued by the Nepal embassy in Beijing.
The two sides exchanged views on the ways to further strengthen and consolidate the mutual understanding and cooperation and give a new impetus in the front of economy, trade and people-to-people contacts, it said, two days after Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Prachanda in Han
Philippines removes floating China barrier at disputed shoal (Page no. 2)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Philippines said it executed a "special operation" to remove a floating barrier installed by China at a prime fishing patch in the South China Sea, a move that could stoke tension after a years-long detente in Asia's most disputed waters.
The Philippines expressed outrage on Sunday and shared images of Chinese coastguard policing a long, ball-buoy barrier near the Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcrop 200 km (124 miles) from the Philippines and the site of years of intermittent flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights.
Hours after the national security adviser had vowed to take action, the Philippine coastguard said it had removed the floating cordon, at the behest of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his special task force on the South China Sea.
The barrier posed a hazard to navigation, a clear violation of international law. It also hinders the conduct of fishing and livelihood activities of Filipino fisherfolk," it said in a statement, describing the shoal as "an integral part of the Philippine national territory.
Front Page
Behind India’s first gold medal in Hangzhou, mini tales of happiness, introspection and heartbreak (Page no. 3)
(Miscellaneous)
India’s depth in the 10m air rifle, an event made famous by Messrs Bindra and Narang, with three strong shooters capable of making the 8-man final, yielded the country its first gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
It took the collective might of Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudranksh Patil and Divyansh Panwar with a world record aggregate of qualification scores, to ensure that the Chinese shooting phenomenon Sheng Lihao would settle for bronze in the team event.
Lihao shot a Games record in qualification, but didn’t have two others flanking him with equal capability. For India, the trio’s medal was significant as they were still searching for a gold after the first day of competition returned none. Shooting delivered, thanks to three young men, one in his teens and two others in their early 20s.
But the magnitude of their achievement was lost on the Tomar, Patil and Panwar. “I was packing my stuff after the qualification round when my coach came and told me we’d set the team world record.
Govt & Politics
SC sets up 7 judge bench to review 1998 verdict (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud set up a seven-judge bench that will reconsider the correctness of 1998 five-judge Constitution bench judgment in the P V Narasimha Rao case wherein the majority held that legislators were immune to prosecution on bribery charges for their speech or vote in Parliament.
The bench, to be presided by the CJI, will also comprise Justices A S Bopanna, M M Sundresh, P S Narasimha, J B Pardiwala, Sanjay Kumar and Manoj Misra.
A notice issued by the SC said the bench will start hearing the matter from October 4, 2023. On September 20, a five-judge constitution bench presided by the CJI that took up the matter had said: “We are of the considered view that the correctness of the view of majority in P V Narsimha Rao should be reconsidered by a larger bench of seven judges. The bench added it is an “important issue that concerns our polity”.
Express Network
Uptick in NREGS demand continues, Aug sees spike of 25.8% from last year (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
After a brief drop in demand in 2022-23, there has been an uptick in the number yet again under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with over 1.73 crore families availing the scheme in August 2023.
The data available on the NREGS portal shows the number of households which availed the rural job guarantee scheme in August this year was 25.85 per cent higher as compared to 1.37 crore in the same month last year.
During Covid pandemic, the figure stood at 2 crore in August 2020, and 2.11 crore in August 2021. However, before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was at a much lower level — 1.22 crore in August 2019.
The August 2023 figure of families which worked under the NREGS could have been higher if the scheme was continuing in West Bengal.
The Centre has stopped release of funds to West Bengal, resulting in no work in the state. This is the reason that West Bengal reported only 10 households availing the rural job guarantee scheme in August 2023.
Reissue Aadhaar to displaced persons in Manipur: SC order (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Flagging concerns over illegal immigrants getting access to Aadhaar cards, the Supreme Court asked the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Manipur government to issue the identity cards, subject to verification, to those who lost theirs in the wake of the ethnic violence that rocked the state.
The Deputy Director General of UIDAI, Regional Office, Gauhati and the Secretary Department of Home Affairs, Manipur, shall take all steps to ensure that Aadhaar cards are provided to all displaced persons who may have lost their Aadhaar cards in the process of displacement, whose records are already available with UIDAI.
In other words, it is clarified that UIDAI, which would have the biometric details of persons to whom Aadhaar cards were already issued, would match the claim of any displaced person who has lost the Aadhaar card.
Necessary verification shall be carried out before issuing Aadhaar cards,” ordered a three-judge Bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.
Wider reach to tech review and diverse funds: House panel lists measures for NEP Success (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
Terming it “essential to inclusive development”, a parliamentary panel has called for “comprehensive awareness campaigns and infrastructural development” in the country’s remote areas and urban slums to improve access to education in marginalised communities in line with the National Education Policy (NEP).
It has also recommended assessment of the technological infrastructure in higher education institutions, besides “proper involvement” of the student community, for a smoother implementation of the NEP, three years after the wide-ranging framework was announced.
The report of the panel on education, chaired by BJP MP Vivek Thakur, was tabled in Lok Sabha on the last day of the Special Session of Parliament.
Suggesting a series of measures to ensure the benefits of the NEP reach the marginalised communities, it recommended “training of teachers who work in these communities; scholarship and financial support; community engagement, besides collaboration and partnership with NGOs and civil society organisations”.’
Editorial
Woman, moment, Nation (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Reservation Bill) is a pivotal instrument for achieving political empowerment. When it comes to matters concerning women, our government refrains from doing politics.
This is a matter of unwavering commitment for the Prime Minister, and as such, we have taken resolute actions whether it’s regarding Article 370, Triple Talaq, or now the Women’s Reservation Bill.
Women, when given the same access and opportunities, can excel in the political arena just as our women scientists have excelled at ISRO.
Over the past nine years, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has pivoted towards a paradigm of ‘women-led development’.
The outcomes of these empowerment initiatives are evident, ushering in a transformative change in the nation’s social fabric.
The Modi government’s efforts to empower women through initiatives such as Ujjwala Yojana, Swachhata Abhiyan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, MUDRA Yojana, increasing maternity leave, and permanent commissioning of women in the Armed Forces are visible to all.
Around 70 per cent of loans under the PM MUDRA Yojana have been sanctioned to women. These are loans up to Rs 1 million to support micro-level units and those self-em
A to Z of GDP (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The current GDP estimates place India as the fifth largest economy in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025 which presently seems unachievable mainly due to Covid disruptions.
However, India is on the path to becoming the third-largest economy around 2027 as estimated by many. Speaking at the inauguration of Bharat Mandapam, Modi further asserted that India would be the third-largest economy in his third term. This is a huge task.
It requires constant and continuous cooperation and action on the part of all the actors including the private sector, governments, policymakers and bureaucracy and, most importantly, the citizens at large through their active participation.
However, all actions towards this goal will be futile unless growth is captured fully and accurately. The primary responsibility for the measurement of GDP is with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
The Ministry must gear itself up to develop systems to be able to do so. The question is if the ministry is ready for this.
Explained
What WHO report on hypertension says about India (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
At least 4.6 million deaths in India can be averted by 2040 if half of the people with hypertension manage to keep their blood pressure under control, said the first-ever report by the World Health Organisation on the global impact of the condition.
The report said 188.3 million people in the country were living with the condition, but only 37% of these were aware of their status. An estimated 33% of the global population lives with the condition, with just over half receiving a diagnosis as per the report.
“High blood pressure kills. In fact, cardiovascular diseases are the world’s leading cause of death. I know the dangers of hypertension from personal experience, because it is a condition I live with.
Unfortunately, the same is not true for the majority of those with hypertension, a disease that is often dubbed the silent killer.
Experts say that there are challenges at every level when it comes to hypertension — from getting a diagnosis to initiating treatment and controlling it successfully.
Economy
As govt softens stance, new rule for checking laptop, PC imports from Nov (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The central government has demoed its ‘import management system’ to IT hardware companies including Apple, Dell and HP – starting November 1, the system will require companies to register and disclose data related to their imports, countries from which they import electronics hardware like laptops and personal computers, and domestic sales value, The Indian Express has learnt.
The officials from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) met representatives from IT hardware companies and industry associations representing them to show them the portal they developed for tracking imports of laptops and computers.
The portal has fields for sharing data related to import quantities, local sales value, and import sources,” an executive at the meeting told this paper.
A month back, the government had attempted to impose a licensing requirement on these imports but was forced to delay the directive’s implementation till October 31 after strong pushback from the industry.
The concern around Aadhaar that Moody’s has raised (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Raising major red flags about Aadhaar – India’s 12-digit universal identity – global rating major Moody’s Investors Service has questioned the reliability of biometric technologies, especially for people in hot and humid climates, and pointed to consequent service denials caused by this.
The government has rejected the claims. “A certain investor service has, without citing any evidence or basis, made sweeping assertions against Aadhaar, the most trusted digital ID in the world.
The concerns come a year after the country’s top auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had pulled up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for Aadhaar’s “deficient data management”.
Moody’s has noted that Aadhaar, which is the world’s largest digital ID program, enables access to public and private services, with verification via fingerprint or iris scans, and alternatives like One-Time Passcodes, with an aim to integrate marginalised groups and expand welfare benefits access.
S&P retains India’s FY 24 growth forecast at 6% (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
S&P in its latest quarterly economic update for Asia-Pacific on Monday has kept its FY24 growth forecast for India unchanged at 6 per cent due to the impact of a slowing world economy, delayed effects of rate hikes, and the rising risk of subnormal monsoons.
Notwithstanding the strong expansion in India in the June quarter, we maintain our forecast for financial year 2024 (ending March 2024), given the slowing world economy, the delayed effects of rate hikes, and the rising risk of subnormal monsoons.
Meanwhile, the credit rating agency revised upwards its FY24 consumer inflation forecast for India to 5.5 per cent from 5.0 per cent earlier, even as vegetable price inflation is expected to remain temporary and short-lived.
On the other hand, the rating agency revised downwards China's growth forecast for 2023 to 4.8 per cent from 5.2 per cent earlier.
Overall, we expect the region excluding China to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2023, compared with 3.8 per cent in June. We keep our 2024 forecast at 4.4 per cent, with the pick-up over 2023 due to a gradual improvement in external demand and monetary policy easing.
Amid resilient domestic demand, the slowdown in 2023 should remain modest in most economies while easing inflation and external deficits have meant a reprieve for central banks.
Earlier last week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had revised downwards India's growth forecast for FY24 by 10 basis points to 6.3 per cent due to erratic monsoon patterns, thus affecting agricultural output.