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The Union government said that a committee has been formed under the headship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind, to look into the feasibility of simultaneous elections to State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi declared that the committee has been constituted, and that one needed to await its report for any further news on the issue.
While Mr. Joshi declared that the committee had been constituted, no official notification had been forthcoming from the government till late evening.
No information was available on other members of the committee or the terms of reference that they would be operating under.
Right after news broke of the formation of such a committee, BJP president J.P. Nadda called on Mr. Kovind at his residence in New Delhi.
Right now, a committee has been constituted. A report of the committee will come out which will discuss its prospects. It will be discussed in public domain and when it will come in Parliament, there will be discussion there too.
States
India’s first solar observatory mission to be launched today (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
India’s first solar observatory mission, named Aditya-L1, will be launched onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) commenced the 23-hour 40-minute countdown for the launch of the Aditya-L1 mission.
Approximately sixty-three minutes after lift-off, the satellite separation is expected to take place as the PSLV will launch the Aditya-L1 spacecraft into a highly eccentric earth-bound orbit.
This PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 mission can be counted as one of the longest missions involving ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle.
However, the longest of the PSLV missions is still the 2016 PSLV-C35 mission which was completed two hours, 15 minutes and 33 seconds after lift-off.
Following the launch, Aditya-L1 will stay in earth-bound orbits for 16 days, during which it will undergo five manoeuvres to gain the necessary velocity for its journey.
Subsequently, Aditya-L1 undergoes a Trans-Lagrangian1 insertion manoeuvre, marking the beginning of its 110-day trajectory to the destination.
Aditya-L1 will stay approximately 1.5 million km away from the earth, directed towards the sun; this is about 1% of the distance between the earth and the sun.
Editorial
China’s economic slowdown, its ripple effect (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The news about China’s economic slowdown has caused mixed reactions. China, for long, had been worried about fears of a slowdown and a middle-income trap.
Now, there are fears of deflation which may bring bad news for China and the rest of the world. Thus, understanding the causes and the magnitude of China’s present-day economic challenges is essential.
Speaking at the National People’s Congress (NPS) in 2007, then Premier Wen Jiabao had cautioned that “the biggest problem with China’s economy is that the growth is unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable”.
It was expected that some form of course correction would be undertaken in the subsequent period. However, as the world experienced the global financial meltdown in 2008, China chose the strategy of investing in infrastructure that included railways, highways and the energy and construction sectors.
It had swept the core problems of a lack of consumption, regional inequality, and lack of social security under the carpet in order to sustain double-digit growth rate.
Why it did was simple — the domestic legitimacy of the leadership in China has depended on creating prosperity and making it available to a greater number of citizens, year on year.
However, by the time Xi Jinping came to power, the steroids had run their course and the wean-off period was worse off.
Chinese financial markets suffered from lack of regulatory oversight since loans to business were distributed on the basis of proximity, or the famous Chinese term Guanxi — the nodal networks based on factions, friendships and relationships.
News
Seven years on, mission to clean the Ganga remains a work in progress (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
In the seven years since the government unveiled its ambitious ₹20,000-crore National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), it has installed treatment plants capable of treating just 20% of the sewage estimated to be generated in the five major States that lie along the river.
This is expected to increase to about 33% by 2024. According to the latest projections by senior officials in the NMCG, the treatment plants will be capable of treating 60% of sewage by December 2026.
These calculations are premised on sewage to the tune of 11,765 million litres per day (MLD) being generated in the five States — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal — through which the river courses.
This figure derives from a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal earlier this year. However, the NMCG plans on setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs) capable of treating about 7,000 MLD of sewage by 2026; the States are expected to set up the remaining capacity, both on their own, and drawing on separate initiatives by other arms of the Union government.
The main objective of the Namami Gange mission is to ensure that no untreated sewage flows into the river. The estimate of 11,765 MLD is dynamic and also includes sewage that is generated within the State, but which doesn’t necessarily flow into the river.
Other States are also working on their own in setting up plants and we work with them. By our projections, if we are able to set up capacity worth 7,000 MLD, it should suffice, for now, to ensure no untreated sewage flows in the main stem of the river.
Projects to set up STPs and sewerage networks are at the heart of the Namami Gange mission and account for about 80% of the overall project outlay.
Children from void marriages entitled to parents’ share in property, says SC (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court held that a child born of a void or voidable marriage can inherit their parents’ share in a joint Hindu family property governed by the Mitakshara law.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, however, clarified that such a child would not be entitled to rights in or to the property of any other person in the family.
A voidable marriage is one that is made invalid by the husband or wife through a decree. A void marriage is invalid at its very inception.
The Mitakashara law of succession governing Hindu undivided families applies to the whole of India, except West Bengal and Assam.
Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that the first step to inheritance for a child from a void or voidable marriage would be to ascertain their parent’s exact share in the ancestral property.
This could be done by means of conducting a “notional partition” of the ancestral property and calculating how much of the property the parent would have got immediately before their death.
For the purpose of ascertaining the interest of a deceased Hindu Mitakshara coparcener [that is, a person who acquires a legal right to his ancestral property through birth in a Hindu Undivided Family], the law mandates the assumption of a state of affairs immediately prior to the death of the coparcener, namely, a partition of the coparcenary property between the deceased and the other members of the coparcenary,” Chief Justice, who authored the judgment, observed.
From Magna Carta to Ashtadhyayi: artefacts to grace G-20 corridor (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
A copy of the Magna Carta, United Kingdom’s famous charter of rights, a 15th century bronze statue of Belvedere Apollo from Italy, and an 18th century Fahua-lidded jar from China would be among the objects of cultural significance on display at the special Culture Corridor which would be set up at the venue of the G-20 summit in the national capital next week. India’s contribution would be Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, the ancient text.
While these would be among the physical objects on display, there would also be a digital museum for which France has shared the iconic painting Mona Lisa, Germany the Gutenberg’s Bible and Mexico a statue of the deity ‘Coatlicue’.
The Culture Corridor-G-20 Digital Museum has been conceptualised by the Ministry of Culture to represent and celebrate the shared heritage of G-20 members and invitee countries and will create a “museum in the making”.
This exhibition will be unveiled at ‘Bharat Mandapam’, the venue for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, on September 9. Submissions were requested from G-20 countries and nine guest nations under five categories: Object of Cultural Significance (as a physical display); Iconic Cultural Masterpiece (as a digital display); Intangible Cultural Heritage (digital display); Natural Heritage (digital display); and Artefact Related to Democratic Practices (physical or digital display).
NCERT given deemed-to-be university tag, says Pradhan (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been granted the deemed-to-be university status, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on the 63rd Foundation Day of the apex decision-making body for school education.
NCERT on becoming a research university will offer opportunities for global collaborations and contributions to the global educational landscape. The deemed-to-be university status is on lines of Indian Institute of Science.
Mr. Pradhan said that Jadui Pitara — a play-based learning-teaching material tailored for children in the age group of three to eight years developed by the NCERT — would benefit 10 crore children entering the play-based learning system in anganwadis or pre-primary sections of schools, leading up to Class 2.
As 80% of brain development occurs by the age of eight, we need to ensure that content is made and adapted to the mother tongue, otherwise it will be of little use.
Business
‘Factory activity rises to near a 3-year high’ (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Manufacturing firms’ order books and output levels expanded at the fastest pace in almost three years this August, as per the S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) that rose to 58.6 last month from 57.7 in July.
A reading of more than over 50 reflects growth in activity levels. August was the 26th month in a row the PMI was more than 50.
Though input costs escalated, firms replenished inventories at the second highest pace in 18.5 years and restrained from raising selling prices.
Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence reckoned the sector looked set to provide strong contribution to economic growth in the second quarter of 2023-24.
Export promotion body to unveil dashboard on technical textiles (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council said it will unveil a dashboard on technical textiles soon.
Chairman of the council Bhadresh Dodhia said the dashboard would have details of technical textile products for which demand was increasing, the countries exporting more of each product, and countries importing various technical textile products.
The U.S., Japan, and West Asian countries are buying package textile products from India, which is the main driver of technical textile exports at present.
Technical textile products have registered a 6% growth in exports so far this year. However, man-made fibre and fabrics, excluding garments, are expected to see a de-growth of 8-10% this financial year. “Exports are down mainly due to global consumption patterns.
World
Four soldiers killed, three injured, in fresh clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Four Armenian servicemen were killed and three Azerbaijani soldiers wounded, the two countries said, as they accused each other of engaging in a new round of clashes.
Tensions between Baku and Yerevan have escalated sharply in recent months, as both sides accuse the other of cross-border attacks.
As a result of an Azerbaijani provocation, four servicemen were killed and one wounded on the Armenian side,” Armenia’s Defence Ministry said, after earlier reporting two were killed.
The Ministry said earlier that Azerbaijan had fired at Armenian positions near the town of Sotk, less than 10 km from the Azeri border.
Nepal rejects China’s map, asks neighbours to respect boundaries set by its Parliament (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Nepal asked the international community to honour the political map endorsed by its Parliament three years ago as it rejected China’s new national map that shows territories the Himalayan nation considers its own as part of India.
China released a new map in which the Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh areas — that Nepal considers its territories — were shown as part of India.
Responding to media queries regarding China’s new standard map, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its position regarding the political map that Parliament endorsed in 2020.
Nepal stands firm and clear on its political and administrative map unanimously approved by Parliament of Nepal in 2020.
The government unequivocally believes that this map must be respected by our neighbours as well as the international community, adding that Nepal remains committed to resolving the boundary matters through dialogues and diplomacy.
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” will also take up the matter pertaining to the country’s newly issued map during his upcoming visit to China.