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Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he would advise the President to dissolve Parliament, setting the stage for a national election as the country grapples with political and economic crises.
Parliament’s five-year term is due to expire on August 12.
Mr. Sharif said he would start discussions with the Opposition leader on Thursday to pick a name from candidate lists of both sides to nominate as caretaker Prime Minister.
Mr. Sharif’s recommendation has to be endorsed by President Arif Alvi and the election held within 90 days under the supervision of a caretaker government.
The vote, however, could be delayed several months with the Election Commission set to start redrawing hundreds of constituencies based on a fresh census.
The previous general election in July 2018 was won by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who was sworn in days later as Prime Minister.
Khan has been at the heart of political turmoil since he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year. He has since been convicted and jailed in a graft case, following which he has been barred from contesting in any election for five years.
States
Orbit reduction manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-3 performed (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The Indian Space Research Organisation carried out another orbit reduction manoeuvre of India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3.
The manoeuvre was performed from ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) centre in Bengaluru. The spacecraft is now just 1,437 km from the moon.
The ISRO stated: “Even closer to the moon’s surface. Chandrayaan-3’s orbit is reduced to 174 km x 1437 km following a manoeuvre performed today.
The next operation is scheduled for August 14, 2023, between 11.30 and 12.30 hrs. IST.” The fifth and final orbit reduction manoeuvre will be carried out on August 16.
After the lunar orbit insertion on August 5, ISRO stated: “As the mission progresses, a series of manoeuvres have been planned to gradually reduce Chandrayaan-3’s orbit and position it over the lunar poles.
After some manoeuvres, the propulsion module will separate from the lander while in orbit. Following that, a series of complex braking manoeuvres will be executed to facilitate a soft landing on the south polar region of the moon on August 23, 2023.”
Meanwhile, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath met Dr. Saku Tsuneka, Director General, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and discussed space science cooperation between India and Japan.
The Indo-Japanese Lunar Polar Exploration mission was envisaged to explore the ‘dark side of the moon’, or in scientific terms, the side that is perpetually facing away from Earth.
The main objective of the mission is to confirm the presence of water in the polar regions of the moon. The mission may be launched in the next couple of years.
Number of elephants in Karnataka goes up by 364 from last count, touches 6,395 (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The number of elephants in Karnataka has increased by 346, from an estimated 6,049 in 2017 to 6,395 now, which is the highest in the country, according to an interim report on Asian Elephant Population and Demography Estimates, 2023. Their population range is estimated to be between 5,914 and 6,877.
The report was released by Karnataka Minister for Forests Eshwar Khandre here on Wednesday, ahead of the World Elephant Day being observed on August 12 to create awareness about the importance of preserving and protecting these animals that are classified as endangered species.
The report has been prepared after a synchronised elephant census was conducted from May 17 to 19 by the Forest Department in collaboration with neighbouring Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Goa.
The number of elephants in Karnataka that had risen from 5,740 in 2010 to 6,072 in 2012 had decreased to 6,049 in 2017.
However, this time the number of pachyderms has increased by 346. With this, the elephant numbers have increased by 655 in the State since 2010.
The census, which was taken up in 23 forest divisions, shows that the State has an average elephant density of 0.34 per sq. km. Bandipur Tiger Reserve with 1,116 elephants accounted for the highest density of 0.96 per sq. km followed by Nagarahole Tiger Reserve that has 831 elephants with a density of 0.93.
Editorial
Stop the fence-sitting in cluster bomb use (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
The decision by the United States to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, as part of a new military aid package to bolster Kyiv’s war efforts against Russia, has raked up controversy.
Cluster munitions, or cluster bombs, are weapons that release multiple explosive submunitions, also called bomblets, into the air.
These submunitions explode as soon as they hit the ground, killing and maiming people in the area. Many bomblets do not blow up instantly and remain dormant for years (also known as the dud rate).
These inactive bomblets act as precarious landmines, posing a grave threat to the civilian population, including women and children, for a long time.
According to the Human Rights Watch, which is a civil society organisation, Russia, since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has used cluster bombs against Ukraine in cities such as Kharkiv, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths and damaging civilian objects such as homes, hospitals, and schools. Now, Ukraine using these dangerous weapons will worsen the situation.
Cluster bombs have a notorious history. They were used in the Second World War. Since then, cluster bombs have been used on multiple occasions including by the U.S. in the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
According to the Cluster Munition Monitor, anywhere between 56,000 to 86,000 people have died in cluster munition-affected countries, since the 1960s.
Along with its increasing use, the international campaign against cluster bombs led by the civil society organisations such as Human Rights Watch also gathered momentum.
This resulted in an international treaty called the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) being enacted in May 2008. The enactment of the CCM has been a major step in eradicating cluster bombs.
Explainer
Can SMRs help India achieve net zero? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The world’s quest to decarbonise itself is guided, among other things, by the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: “to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
Since the world still depends on fossil fuels for 82% of its energy supply, decarbonising the power sector is critical; the share of electricity in final energy consumption will also increase by 80%-150% by 2050.
The recent uptick in coal consumption in Europe, despite the increase in solar and wind power, suggests that reliable, 24/7 low-carbon electricity resources are critical to ensure the deep decarbonisation of power generation, along with grid stability and energy security. Small modular reactors — a type of nuclear reactor — can be helpful to India in this regard.
The transition from coal-fired power generation to clean energy poses major challenges, and there is a widespread consensus among policymakers in several countries that solar and wind energy alone will not suffice to provide affordable energy for everyone.
In decarbonised electricity systems with a significant share of renewable energy, the addition of at least one firm power-generating technology can improve grid reliability and reduce costs.
According to the International Energy Agency, the demand for critical minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, required for clean-energy production technologies, is likely to increase by up to 3.5 times by 2030.
This jump poses several global challenges, including the large capital investments to develop new mines and processing facilities.
The environmental and social impacts of developing several new mines and plants in China, Indonesia, Africa, and South America within a short time span, coupled with the fact that the top three mineral-producing and mineral-processing nations control 50-100% of the current global extraction and processing capacities, pose geopolitical and other risks.
Nuclear power plants (NPPs) generate 10% of the world’s electricity and help it avoid 180 billion cubic metres of natural gas demand and 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. Any less nuclear power could make the world’s journey towards net-zero more challenging and more expensive.
News
J&K Constitution limited executive powers of Union of India, says SC (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Supreme Court asked why the Union of India, the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir or the political establishment in the rest of the country had never bothered to bring the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir “expressly” within the fold of the Constitution of India.
The court said the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution had, over the years, limited the executive powers of the Union of India and restricted the legislative reach of Parliament.
“Post 1957, neither the government nor the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir nor for that matter the political establishment in the rest of the country thought of amending the Indian Constitution to bring the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution expressly within the fold of the Indian Constitution,” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a Constitution Bench, addressed senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, who is appearing for a petitioner.
The Bench is hearing a series of petitions challenging the dilution of Article 370. Presidential orders, in August 2019, had rendered infructuous the J&K Constitution and Article 35A, which was introduced into the Indian Constitution through the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954.
Rajya Sabha passes four Bills as Opposition stages walkout (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, and the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill.
The four Bills were discussed and passed after the Opposition walked out demanding a discussion on Manipur violence.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, which was first taken up, was to add two synonyms for the Mahar community in Chhattisgarh to the State’s list of Scheduled Castes.
The Bill adds “Mahara” and “Mahra” as synonyms of the Mahar community. “The proposed legislation will help expand the benefits of government schemes and benefits meant for Scheduled Castes in the State to around two lakh more people.
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha, was passed in the Upper House in 40 minutes.
Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said the Bill was historic and the Centre was ready for constructive inputs from the Opposition too on the Bill.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill was piloted by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Amendments moved by the Opposition members were not considered in their absence.
The Upper House also passed the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, moved by Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The Bill, according to the Centre, provides for broadbasing “coastal aquaculture” to comprehensively cover all activities of coastal aquaculture under the purview of the law and to remove the ambiguity existing in the principal Act between the farm and other verticals of coastal aquaculture.
To curb price rise, Centre to release more foodgrain stock by open market sale (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Concerned over the increase in prices of foodgrains, the Centre on Wednesday decided to additionally sell 50 lakh tonnes of wheat and 25 lt of rice through the Open Market Sales Scheme for Food Corporation of India stocks.
The government hoped that the sale would ensure adequate domestic availability of rice, wheat and atta and check their prices.
Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra told presspersons that the Centre had also decided to bring down the reserve price of rice by ₹200 a quintal — the effective price now would be ₹2,900 a quintal.
The cost of this reduction would be adjusted from the price stabilisation fund of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The price of wheat has gone up by 6.77% in retail market and 7.37% in wholesale market in the past one year and in the case of rice, the increase is 10.63% and 11.12%, respectively. The Centre said that the step will help 140 crore people.
Asked about the possibility to reduce the wheat import duty, Mr. Chopra said the Centre would take a decision based on the requirements.
Prices of two commodities have been in the news for the past couple of months because of the rising trend that we are noticing,” he said. The new limit is over and above the 15 lt of wheat and 5 lt of rice being sold through the OMSS.
Business
China’s economy tips into deflation (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
China’s consumer sector fell into deflation and factory-gate prices extended declines in July, as the world’s second-largest economy struggled to revive demand and pressure mounted for Beijing to release more policy stimulus.
Anxiety is rising that China is entering an era of much slower economic growth akin to the period of Japan’s “lost decades”, which saw consumer prices and wages stagnate for a generation, a stark contrast to the rapid inflation seen elsewhere.
The consumer price index (CPI) dropped 0.3% year-on-year in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, compared with the median estimate for a 0.4% decrease in a Reuters poll.
It was the first decline since February 2021. The producer price index (PPI) declined for a 10th consecutive month, down 4.4%.
“For China, the divergence between manufacturing and services is increasingly apparent, meaning the economy will grow at two speeds in the rest of 2023, especially as the problem in real estate re-emerges,” said Gary Ng, Asia Pacific senior economist at Natixis.
It also shows China’s slower-than-expected economic rebound is not strong enough to offset the weaker global demand and lift commodity prices.”