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The “naughty boy” may just have come of age. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) GSLV rocket, known for its relatively spotty record, placed a weather satellite in precise orbit in a textbook launch, recording its second straight success after an August 2021 setback — and giving India’s space agency a boost ahead of the launch of a joint Earth-observing mission with NASA.
The relief was palpable among top ISRO officials after the INSAT-3DS launch. “The naughty boy has now matured as a very obedient and disciplined boy. GSLV has also become a robust vehicle for ISRO,” said mission director Tomy Joseph. GSLV stands for Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
Chairperson S Somanath, too, said: “With this mission, our confidence in GSLV is (even more) high. The next mission of GSLV is going to be NISAR. This gives us greater confidence to take on NISAR soon.”
NISAR, being developed jointly by NASA and ISRO, will study changes to ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice brought about by climate change.
Govt & Politics
In favour of transparency : EC on SC poll bonds verdict (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Two days after the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish details of electoral bonds received by political parties on its website by March 13, the poll panel said it has always been in favour of transparency and would comply with the top court’s order.
“The ECI was also a party in the (electoral bond) case. You might have seen our affidavits. The commission has always stressed on two things – transparency in terms of information flow and involvement.
We are in favour of transparency. When the order has come, we will take action as directed by the Supreme Court,” said chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar during a press conference in Bhubaneswar.
The ECI team led by Kumar was here to review the preparedness for the upcoming general and assembly polls due in April-May this year.
In its order on Thursday, the apex court had directed the State Bank of India to share details of all electoral bonds purchased from its designated branches, including the date of purchase, the name of the buyer, and the value.
The bank has also been instructed to provide details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties to the ECI in three weeks. The ECI has been asked to publish the details on its website by March 13.
In 2019, in its affidavit submitted to the apex court, the poll panel had informed the SC that changes made in several laws relating to political funding would have “serious repercussions” on transparency.
How long will 5 members override 188 nations: India on UNSC reform (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Underlining the need for comprehensive reform of the Security Council, India has questioned how much longer can the will of five permanent members of the powerful UN body continue to override the collective voice of the world organisation’s 188 member states.
India’s Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, speaking at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform on Friday, stressed that “equity” must be the cornerstone of global efforts to reform the 15-nation UN body.
“Equity demands that every nation, irrespective of its size or power, be afforded an equal opportunity…to shape global decision-making,” she said, adding that Our question therefore is how much longer will the will of five members continue to override the collective voice of 188 member states?
Kamboj’s comment was a reference to the five permanent members of the Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – whose exclusive veto rights have the power to impact decision-making in the Security Council on matters of maintenance of international peace and security.
The Council’s other 10 members are elected for two-year terms to the non-permanent category and they do not have veto powers.
Kamboj said expanding only in the non-permanent category of the Council will not solve the problem. “It will in fact will widen the difference between permanent and non-permanent members even more, thereby perpetuating inequities instead of removing.
Opinion
The foreign hand behind MSP for crops (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In late January 1959, a 13-member Ford Foundation-sponsored Agricultural Production Team from the US spent over two months in India, travelling to different states meeting people on the ground and “officers at all levels from Gram Sevak to Chief Minister.
The team – mainly US Department of Agriculture officials and scientists from Cornell University and land-grant state universities of Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Maryland – submitted a report of its findings and proposals to then Union Minister of Food and Agriculture Ajit Prasad Jain in early April.
That report, titled ‘India’s Food Crisis and Steps to Meet It’, contained the germ of a policy idea much in the news now: a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. The report listed three “specific assurances” to be given to cultivators:
“(1) A guaranteed minimum price publicized in advance of the planting season. (2) A market that is ready to accept his crops at the floor price at the time he wants to sell. (3) Availability of this market within bullock-cart hauling distance”.
The first assurance laid the basis for the MSP, which was fixed for the first time in the 1964-65 crop season for paddy (at Rs 33.5-39 per quintal, depending on the variety) and in 1966-67 for wheat (at Rs 54/quintal). The second and third related to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee or APMC mandis, where farmers were to bring their harvested produce for sale.