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As the Israel-Hamas war escalated and countries scrambled to bring home their people trapped in the fighting or looking for a way out of the war zone, India announced it was launching Operation Ajay to repatriate its citizens from Israel and Palestine starting Thursday.
The Indian government will facilitate the return of Indian citizens through special chartered flights. Indian Navy ships will also be pressed into service should the need arise.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in a post on X, said, “Launching #OperationAjay to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to return. Special charter flights and other arrangements (are) being put in place. Fully committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad.”
The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv said it has emailed the first lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight Thursday. “Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights,” it said.
Govt & Politics
Cabinet okays one-stop portal for youth, to be unveiled on Oct 31 (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
After the passage of the women’s reservation Bill last month, the government has launched an initiative to tap into a big constituency—the 40-crore youth population—ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of an autonomous body called Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) for “youth-led development and to provide equitable access to the youth”.
Announcing that the country has 40 crore people in the age group of 15-29 years, Anurag Thakur, Union minister for youth affairs and sports, and information and broadcasting, said the primary objective of MY Bharat is to become an overarching platform for youth development.
The MY Bharat portal will be unveiled on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Express Network
India, China hold 20th round of talks on border row (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
India and China held the 20th round of military talks earlier this week and both sides agreed to maintain the momentum of dialogue through military and diplomatic mechanisms while committing to maintain peace in the border areas in the interim, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The 20th round of Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side on Monday and Tuesday.
The latest round of talks comes nearly two months after the 19th round of military talks held in August where India had pressed for access to all old patrolling points along the LAC.
The talks were held about a week before the BRICS leaders’ summit where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had met.
Dilemma in court: Should viable foetus be aborted or given life support? (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
As A two-judge Supreme Court bench failed to reach an agreement on a woman’s request for medical termination of her 26-week-old pregnancy, it brought a key medical question before the court: whether a “viable” foetus should be terminated or provided with life support in cases of abortion at advanced stages.
In the current case of a 27-year-old woman, who already has two children and is suffering from postpartum depression, a six-member medical board on October 6 advised against the termination, citing three reasons.
First, termination at an advanced stage of pregnancy can still lead to postpartum psychosis, a severe condition where the mother experiences hallucinations and delusions.
Second, the mother had undergone a cesarean section during her two previous pregnancies, increasing the risk of complications. And, most importantly, the baby is already viable and has a “reasonable chance of survival”.
EC cracks the whip, orders transfer f officers in five poll-going states for laxity (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The Election Commission ordered the transfer of several top police and administrative officers, including 25 police commissioners and superintendents of police, nine district magistrates and four secretaries and special secretaries, in the five poll-going states after finding laxity in their work.
During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was “unsatisfactory” and they were found “complacent, if not complicit” in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement.
The poll panel has asked the transferred officials to immediately hand over the charge to their respective immediate juniors. It has also directed the respective state governments to send a panel of officers to replace those shunted out.
The assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will be held between November 7 and 30, and the counting of votes will take place on December 3.
Editorial
Gender reality check (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
My first reaction to the announcement of the 2023 Economics Nobel Prize was the Hindustani phrase “der aaye, durust aaye” (better late than never). By duly recognising Harvard economist Claudia Goldin’s insightful work, the Nobel Committee will hopefully compel the rest of the Economics fraternity to admit that labour markets are not gender-neutral, working efficiently to choose the best person for the job.
Women have disadvantageous outcomes in terms of occupation and wages, even when they are just as qualified as men.
Over the years, thanks to Goldin’s work and that of several feminist economists, the sub-field within economics that focuses on male-female gaps and gender discrimination has grown exponentially, making it clear that labour markets work very differently for men and women.
By choosing Claudia Goldin as the recipient of the highest award in Economics, the Nobel committee has provided the official stamp of legitimacy to this body of analysis.
Ideas Page
Going nuclear (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Infrastructure)
India’s economy is growing rapidly. It is expected to surpass Germany and Japan and move up from number five to number three position before the end of this decade.
Economic growth triggers demand for energy. One would thus expect significant growth in our primary energy consumption which is already the third-highest globally. Most of this is based on fossil energy.
Fossil fuel consumption is a major contributor to global warming, which has now become an existential crisis for humanity.
Deep and immediate emission cuts, leading to net zero, have become unavoidable. There is now a global consensus to reach this goal before a 2045–2070 time frame.
Transition to net zero involves massive transformation of energy systems, involving new technologies, restructuring of energy systems at supply-and-demand ends and large costs.
For a large and developing country like India, the challenge of reaching net zero is much bigger. Our developmental aspirations require a manifold increase in per-capita energy use even as we transition to net-zero GHG emission.
Our inability to meet this dual challenge would mean either compromising on development or failing to realise the net-zero target timeframe or both.
World
US arms start landing to boost Israel war moves (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond.
A second U.S. carrier strike group departs from Norfolk, Virginia,. Scores of aircraft are heading to U.S. military bases around the Middle East. Special operations forces are now assisting Israel’s military in planning and intelligence. The first shipment of additional munitions has already arrived.
More is expected, soon. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will arrive in Israel Friday to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss what else the U.S. can provide.
For now, the buildup reflects U.S. concern that the deadly fighting between Hamas and Israel could escalate into a more dangerous regional conflict.
So the primary mission for those ships and warplanes is to establish a force presence that deters Hezbollah, Iran or others from taking advantage of the situation. But the forces the U.S. sends are capable of more than that.
Explained
India and the Palestinians over the years (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
India voted against UN Resolution 181 (II) in 1947, which partitioned Mandatory Palestine between Jews and Palestinian Arabs. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru preferred a federal state instead, with Arabs and Jews enjoying the widest possible autonomy, with a special status for Jerusalem.
Nehru inherited this perspective from Mahatma Gandhi who, while deeply sympathetic towards the Jewish people for the historical persecution they had faced, was opposed to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.
He felt it would be unjust towards the 600,000 Arabs who already lived there. Nehru also blamed British imperialism for the problem in Palestine.
Why Gaza is called the world’s biggest open air prison (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
After Hamas militants launched the biggest assault on Israel in decades, the country’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip. “There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel – everything is closed,” he said.
Israel is able to impose such conditions on Gaza because the Palestinian enclave has been under an air, land and sea blockade since 2007.
A strip of land wedged between the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the north and east, and Egypt to the south, Gaza is home to more than 20 lakh Palestinians.
It has been under military occupation since 1967, and even though Israel maintains that it pulled out in 2005, the United Nations, the European Union and other international organisations still consider Gaza as occupied territory.
The conditions created by the occupation and the blockade have led many, including UN experts, intellectuals, rights groups and even former British Prime Minister David Cameron, to refer to Gaza as an “open air prison”.
How new royalty rates for strategic minerals can help cut their imports (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Centre has amended a key law so that it can specify competitive royalty rates for the mining of three strategically significant minerals — lithium, niobium, and rare earth elements (REEs).
The decision comes after the government removed six minerals, including lithium and niobium, from the list of ‘specified’ atomic minerals, which could set the stage for private sector participation through auctioning of concessions for these minerals.
These changes to the rules build on an earlier move to ease the issuing of mining leases and composite licences for 24 critical and strategic minerals, which are vital in key supply chains that include electric vehicle batteries, energy storage devices, and high-end motors.
Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal, which is a vital ingredient of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones. In February, ‘inferred’ lithium resources of 5.9 million tonnes were established in Jammu and Kashmir, the largest deposit in India.
Niobium is a light grey, crystalline metal with a layer of oxide on its surface, which makes it resistant to corrosion. It is used in alloys, including stainless steel, to improve their strength, particularly at low temperatures.
Alloys containing niobium are used in jet engines, beams and girders for buildings, and oil and gas pipelines. Given its superconducting properties, it is also used in magnets for particle accelerators and MRI scanners.