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At a time when the BJP and Congress are vying with each other for the OBC vote in the coming elections, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar on Monday stole a march over them.
Choosing Gandhi Jayanti to make the announcement, the Nitish government revealed the results of its caste survey, putting the combined OBC strength in the state at 63% – a 10% leap over their share estimated by the 1931 census, the last time caste enumeration was done in the country – and adding fresh vigour to the Opposition’s demand for a caste census.
It might also cast a shadow over the Modi government’s achievement in passing the law to reserve seats for women in state Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, as the Opposition calls this incomplete without an OBC quota within the 33%.
The Bihar government conducted the caste survey over two phases, after it had to be discontinued in May this year following a set of PILs. The go-ahead finally came in August.
Govt & Politics
Bihar data can reopen debate on SC’s 50% quota ceiling in 1992 (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Underlining the need to ensure “efficiency” in administration, the Supreme Court in its 1992 decision in ‘Indra Sawhney vs Union of India’ had fixed the 50% ceiling for reservation.
The caste survey data released by the Bihar government, which puts the general category population at 15.52%, could once again reopen the debate on the Indra Sawhney ceiling.
Despite the Indra Sawhney ruling, the idea of breaching the 50% limit for reservation has had political currency. However, even as Indra Sawhney ruling is under further challenge, several legislations that could breach this limit have been blocked by the judiciary — with the exception of the 10% EWS quota in 2019.
A nine-judge bench with a 6:3 majority, the Indra Sawhney ruling upheld the 27% reservation for socially and economically backward classes (SEBC). In doing so, the court set important precedents.
It set social and educational backwardness as the criteria for a group to qualify for reservation and also reiterated the 50% limit – unless in, “exceptional circumstances”.
Ideas Page
A plan for the winter crop (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Indian monsoon (June to September) has ended with a 5.6 per cent deficit compared to the long-period average (LPA). This is a notch lower than the normal rainfall — 96 to 104 per cent of the LPA.
Despite the wide deviation in its temporal spread, especially in August — the driest since 1901 — the area planted under paddy and sugarcane is higher by 1.9 per cent and 7.64 per cent respectively, compared to last year.
But the area under pulses is significantly down, by 4.2 per cent, especially arhar (tur) which has seen a 4.9 per cent fall in cultivated area. In the days to come, one will have to watch the price inflation in tur — already raging at 32 per cent in August. The only way to tame tur price inflation seems to be a million tonne of imports from African countries and Myanmar.
The investment reality check (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Indian economy grew at 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of the ongoing financial year. Forecasts by most analysts, including those by the RBI, indicate that the country is likely to grow at around 6-6.5 per cent over the full year. Medium-term assessments, such as those by the IMF, peg growth at roughly 6 per cent between 2023 and 2028.
Such projections only affirm India’s growth prospects, and raise expectations of its contribution to global growth perhaps rivalling that of China in the coming years.
Alongside, the country is also said to have emerged as a prominent investment destination for multinationals looking for an alternative to China. More so, with the geopolitical scenario seemingly shifting in its favour.
Express network
WHO approves R21 malaria vaccine for use (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The R21/Matrix-M™ malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, leveraging Novavax’s adjuvant technology, has been recommended for use by the World Health Organization (WHO) after meeting required safety, quality and effectiveness standards.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India, in an official statement, said, “For far too long, malaria has threatened the lives of billions of people across the globe, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable amongst us.
This is why the WHO recommendation and approval of the R21/Matrix-M™ vaccine marks a huge milestone on our journey to combat this life-threatening disease, showing what exactly can be achieved when the public and private sector, scientists and researchers, all work together towards a shared goal.”
As we continue to work together to create a healthier, more equitable world for everyone, I am incredibly proud of the part that the Serum Institute of India has played in developing the R21 malaria vaccine.
We look forward to scaling up the vaccine production to ensure that it is accessible to those who need it the most. The Serum Institute of India has already established production capacity for 100 million doses per annum, which will be doubled over the next two years, the statement said.
World
China’s lunar mission to carry payload from Pak (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
China's next lunar mission scheduled for 2024 will also carry a payload from Pakistan, the country's space agency has said, as the two all-weather friends step up their cooperation in the space sector.
The Chang'e-6 lunar mission is currently undergoing research and development work as planned, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Friday quoting China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The Chang'e-6 mission, with the launch scheduled for around 2024, is tasked with bringing back samples from the far side of the moon.
To date, all 10 lunar sampling missions conducted by humans have taken place on the near side of the moon, The Global Times newspaper reported.
Economy
State govt employees regularised mid career blame NPS for lower pay (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Amid the ongoing debate over the switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), states are learnt to have flagged concerns over a high number of government employees who were regularised into government service mid-career, resulting in a lower pension payout due to less amount of contributions, compared with full-service government employees.
Some states, such as Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh are facing this issue as they have a large number of employees whose total years of service is around 10 years, an issue that has also been raised in the discussions of the Centre-appointed committee to look into improving the National Pension System (NPS) for government employees, people in the know said.
This is being viewed as one of the significant reasons for an inaccurate representation of the estimate of the returns and the pension payout under the NPS amid rest of the government employees, especially serving employees who are yet to retire.
Concerns have been triggered after the regularisation of employees, such as panchayat workers, teachers as regular government employees is seen to be the reason for a surge in the number of estimated beneficiaries from the pension scheme in the states.
Explained
They helped to protect the world from the coronavirus (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
COVID-19 became the first ever pandemic during which a vaccine could be quickly developed and deployed to prevent infections and deaths. Never-before approved mRNA vaccines were used on humans and worked.
The first two vaccines to be approved and deployed with this technology were rolled out by Pfizer and Moderna within a year.
However, developing these vaccines would not have been possible without Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose breakthrough research laid the template in 2005 and ensured that mRNA vaccines were safe and did not lead to excessive inflammatory immune response. Both are winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, 2023.
All vaccines work on the same principle – getting the body acquainted with a non-lethal form of the pathogen so that the immune system learns to defend itself against infection.
The mRNA vaccines carry the genetic code for the proteins that make up the non-lethal but key parts of a virus. For example, the COVID-19 vaccines used the codes for the spike protein used by Sars-CoV-2 to enter the body.