29 May 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
‘Signal to the world’: Spain, Norway, Ireland formally recognize Palestine
Page no- the world section
GS2-Effect of Policies and Politics of Developed and Developing Countries on India’s interests
- Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three western European nations to add international pressure on Israel to soften its devastating response to last year’s Hamas-led attack.
- Tel Aviv slammed the diplomatic move that will have no immediate impact on its grinding war in Gaza.
IMD: LaNina to emerge by July, more rainfall during Aug-Sept
Page no- 8
GS1-Important Geophysical Phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.
- The ocean temperatures along the central and equatorial Pacific Ocean were cooling off and neutral El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are set to emerge anytime soon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
- ENSO is a naturally occurring climate phenomena resulting from ocean-atmosphere interactions.
- They impact sea surface temperatures along the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
FTAs: Trade Min plans steps to prevent straining of resources
Page no- 9
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- At a time when the commerce ministry is involved in negotiations on multiple trade deals, a meeting to strategise approach to negotiate free trade agreements (FTA) headed by commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal discussed ways to effectively manage workload and to prevent overtraining of resources, a statement released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Tuesday.
Reliance to buy Russian oil in roubles: Report
Page no- 9
GS3-Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- India’s Reliance Industries, operator of the world’s biggest refining complex, has signed a one-year deal with Russia’s Rosneft to buy at least 3 million barrels of oil a month in roubles, four sources aware of the matter told Reuters.
- The shift to rouble payments follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s push for Moscow and its trading partners to find alternatives to the Western financial system to facilitate trade despite U.S. and European sanctions.
RBI launched retail direct mobile app, fintech repository
Page no- 9
GS3-Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday launched three major initiatives – PRAVAAH portal, the retail direct mobile app and a fintech repository.
- PRAVAAH (Platform for Regulatory Application, VAlidation and AutHorisation) is a secure and centralised web-based portal for any individual or entity to seek authorisation, license or regulatory approval on any reference made by it to the RBI.
- At present, 60 application forms covering different regulatory and supervisory departments of RBI have been made available on the portal.
Rise of the party women
Page no- 10
GS1- Role of Women and Women’s Organization
- “Yeh darwaze tak seemit hain, aur main kitchen tak jaati hun” (“He stops at the door, I can go up to the kitchen”), remarked a BJP Mahila Morcha adhyaksh, as we sat down to discuss her constituency’s booth management and door-to-door strategy back in 2013.
- This sentiment, highlighting the unique advantage women party workers have in reaching women voters, is one I have heard countless times in conversations with women workers from various political parties.
- Since 2012, I have engaged with thousands of party workers and observed numerous elections and campaigns nationwide.
An outdated nuclear debate
Page no- 11
GS2-Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
- The debate on Pakistan and nuclear weapons in the Indian elections might have generated much heat but it has shed little light on Delhi’s emerging nuclear challenges.
- Nuclear factors have returned to the top of the agenda in the competitive calculus among major powers as well as in key regional theatres like Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
- Nuclear energy is also back on the civilian radar as the challenges of managing climate change become acute each year.
- Meanwhile, tech companies are showing unprecedented interest in nuclear power to feed their electricity-guzzling data centres.
Is RBI dependent on Food or Fed?
Page no-11
GS3-Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it
- In May 2022, the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee had held an unscheduled meeting.
- In it, the committee voted unanimously to raise interest rates by 40 basis points — this marked the beginning of the rate hike cycle in India.
- However, the unscheduled nature of the meeting and the policy action had raised several questions.
Why an accused in jail can contest, but cannot vote in an election
Page no- 12
GS2- Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.
- Last week, Amritpal Singh, the jailed head of the pro-Khalistan outfit Waris Punjab de, announced his intention to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat, to be held on June 1.
- Though his ability to campaign may be limited, his right to contest polls while facing criminal charges will not be under question unless he is convicted.
- However, he will be bared from casting his vote in the upcoming elections — much like other accused people in prisoners across India.
Danger from landslides
Page no- 12
GS1-Important Geophysical Phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.
- Six people were killed in West Bengal in incidents triggered by cyclone Remal that struck the coastline on Sunday night.
- At least 27,000 houses were damaged in the coastal districts.
- Though effective early warning systems and timely evacuations have greatly reduced human casualties from cyclones over the years, a few deaths of accidental nature, and destruction of thatched or weak structures in coastal areas are possible.
How criminals based in Southeast Asia are trapping Indians online
Page no- 12
GS3- Role of External State and Non-state Actors in creating challenges to Internal Security
- A large number of Indians are falling prey to financial fraud carried out over the Internet, allegedly by criminals based in three contiguous southeast Asian countries: Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.
- In its analysis of trends seen from January to April, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) found that 46% of such frauds reported in this period — in which the victims cumulatively lost an estimated Rs 1,776 crore — originated in these three countries.
