Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
More than three months after the new Parliament building was inaugurated, MPs will move into it, the second day of a Special Session to be held between September 18 and 22.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed floor leaders of parties about the decision at an all-party meeting held by the government on the eve of the session.
On the first day, the session will be held in the Old Parliament House. The next day, September 19, there will be a photo session, which usually is reserved for the end of the Lok Sabha’s tenure.
After that, we will enter the new Parliament. The Parliament session will start in the new Parliament on September 19 and regular government work will start there from September 20,” Mr. Joshi briefed the media after the two-and-a-half-hour meet.
Centre plans to recall RAF from Manipur (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Union government is considering a phased withdrawal of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised anti-riot Central armed police force, from violence-hit Manipur.
A senior government official told that continuous exposure to the anti-insurgency theatre may not be suitable for a force trained for crowd control and law-and-order duties, including agitation and communal incidents.
At present, 10 companies of the RAF are deployed in Manipur — eight in the valley districts and two in the hills. An internal report sent by the RAF on July 6 highlights the crisis.
The report, says an RAF unit was attacked with “glass balls, stones, sharp iron rods and petrol bombs” when it tried to stop a mob of nearly 3,000 persons from looting weapons from a police armoury in Thoubal on July 4.
Editorial
India is at a pivotal moment in its health-care journey (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
In the last few years, India has steadily become a strong voice for various critical issues. Whether it is climate change, electrification, new age manufacturing or the space race, India is at the forefront and even leading the change.
This has never been more apparent recently when India became the first country to successfully land a mission near the south pole of the moon and concluded a very successful G-20 presidency, fostering global alignment on a range of key issues.
It is heartening to witness a new India emerging — an India that is ambitious; an India that believes in its destiny to be the global leader; an India that is guided by the heritage of an ancient civilisation but fuelled by the energy, passion and ambition of its youth.
However, this is also the same India that is now the world’s diabetes capital; also, millions have hypertension, and its youth are succumbing to heart attacks, cancer, respiratory issues, depression and more.
Testing times (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s goods exports shrank for the seventh consecutive time and the ninth time in 11 months this August, while imports surged to hit the highest level since March this year.
At $58.6 billion, inbound shipments were still 5.2% below last August’s levels, but exports fell by a relatively steeper 6.9%, leading to a $24.2 billion trade deficit — the widest since October 2022.
Goods exports are now down 11.9% so far this year and imports have dropped 12.1%. Services exports for last month will be known later, but Commerce Ministry extrapolations suggest that this engine that has been resilient so far through the global economic turmoil, is also beginning to feel the heat.
For now, the 0.4% drop expected in services exports in August is minor and with intangible imports also likely dropping at a sharper pace, this will not exacerbate the trade balance yet.
However, shrinking services exports imply that their ability to bridge the goods trade deficits that were up sharply last year, will be restricted, thus raising the possibility of wider current account deficits from this quarter.
Opinion
Assessing outcomes of G-20 summit (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
The 18th G-20 Summit produced the ‘New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration’. In the days building up to the summit, there was anxiety about the chances of its success.
It hinged on the question of whether the summit would end in a consensus-based, full-spectrum declaration or in a ‘Chair’s summary’, with its portions marked to show a split among the members.
Yet, by the afternoon of day 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that complete consensus was reached on the declaration’s contents.
This, together with the inclusion of the African Union (AU) in the G-20 as a member, turned concern into joyous celebration.
Now it is time to evaluate the declaration and assess its value on the three-fold yardstick of consensus, additionality, and implementability (CAI). The attempt is to dissect only the more important elements of the text.
Six paragraphs of the ‘Preamble’ and the last paragraph of the ‘Conclusion’ reveal the goals and driving motivations of the G-20 leaders. “We are One Earth, One Family, and we share One Future”, they noted.
The notion of unity and a shared destiny was aptly stressed to covey the gravity of the multiple challenges facing humankind today.
The way out for the world is to be driven by the “the philosophy of living in harmony with our surrounding ecosystem.” They worked on harmonising development with environment, stating that “no country should have to choose between fighting poverty and fighting for our planet.”
Export bans and stocking limits: are they working? (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
A policy brief issued by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations said that the recent steps taken by the government to curb inflation, such as wheat and rice export bans and increasing export duties, were “knee-jerk approaches rather than a well-thought-out strategy”.
It argued for a rational trade policy to contain food inflation which takes into account both consumers and producers. In August 2023, retail inflation accelerated to 6.83%, which is higher than the ceiling of 6%.
As food and beverages carries a 57% weightage in India’s retail inflation calculation, and food inflation was 9.94%, rapid acceleration in that segment had a severe impact on retail inflation.
To date, the Indian government has implemented a series of actions aimed at controlling food inflation such as prohibiting the export of wheat in May 2022 and halting the export of broken rice in September 2022.
Additionally, in June 2023, the government imposed stocking limits on wheat traders and millers. In July 2023, an export ban was placed on non-basmati white rice, followed by a 20% export duty on parboiled rice.
In August 2023, a Minimum Export Price of $1,200 per tonne was set for basmati rice, along with a 40% export duty on onions.
Text & Context
Project Cheetah, a year on (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia arrived on September 17, 2022, officially launching Project Cheetah, India’s cheetah introduction programme. An overview of the project as it completes one year.
The goal of the introduction of African cheetahs is to “establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator and provides space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts.”
This effectively means that the project aims to enable cheetahs to establish themselves as viable and free-ranging populations in large unfenced wildlife reserves which are in turn connected by wildlife corridors to other unfenced reserves.
In total, 20 adult African cheetahs have been imported so far. The first batch of eight cheetahs arrived on September 17, 2022 and another batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa arrived on February 18, 2023. In late March 2023, one of the females gave birth to a litter of four cubs which were conceived in India.
News
UN should be prepared for reform, says Jaishankar (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Presenting a strong case for a permanent seat for India in the UN Security Council, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the UN should be prepared for “reform” in this regard.
What would happen if they do not reform? People will find solutions outside. And this is a message the UN has to understand,” Mr. Jaishankar said in an interaction at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology here on the topic “G-20 and Vikasit Bharat.
Resistance to reform will eventually — it’s a bit like survival of the fittest — become anachronistic and therefore develop the danger of heading towards, not extinction, but a little bit of irrelevance.
Mr. Jaishankar said that of 54 countries in Africa, none is a member. Similar is the case with the Latin American countries. “The most populous country in the world is not there.
Activists raise concern over Bill for appointing CEC, ECs (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
On the eve of the Special Session of Parliament, activists and civil society members on Sunday raised questions over the autonomy of the poll panel, if the contentious Bill relating to the appointment of Election Commissioners (ECs) is passed.
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon Session, proposes that the selection panel for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the ECs will consist of the Prime Minister as the Chairperson, the Leader of the Opposition as a member, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister as another member.
In March, the Supreme Court had ruled that the selection panel should comprise the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India (CJI). However, the top court had said that this procedure would be followed only till Parliament enacted a law.
Committed to helping artisans, says PM; unveils ₹13,000-crore scheme (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government was committed to the uplift of artisans and craftspeople, and that the ₹13,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana (PMVY), launched, would equip craftspeople with the technology to augment their skills for the modern market.
Mr. Modi also inaugurated the first phase of the ₹5,400-crore state-of-the-art India International Convention and Expo Centre, named Yashobhoomi, at Dwarka in New Delhi.
Today, I dedicate ‘Yashobhoomi’ to every labourer, every ‘Vishwakarma’ of the nation,” Mr. Modi said. “We are living at a time when there is such a government in the country that provides recognition and help to marginalised people,” he added.
Mr. Modi also unveiled 18 customised stamp sheets showcasing the 18 traditional trades covered by the scheme, along with a toolkit e-booklet on the occasion.
Santiniketan finds a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage list (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Santiniketan, a town established by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, made it to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Located in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, Santiniketan, which means “abode of peace”, started taking shape in 1901 and is the place where Tagore laid the foundations of Visva-Bharati University.
New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Santiniketan, #India. Congratulations!” the world body said. Santiniketan becomes India’s 41st World Heritage Site to join the UNESCO List.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, expressing happiness over the inclusion, said that Santiniketan was “nurtured by the poet and has been supported by people of Bengal over the generations”.
We from the Government of West Bengal have significantly added to its infrastructure in the last 12 years and the world now recognizes the glory of the heritage place. Kudos to all who love Bengal, Tagore, and his messages of fraternity. Jai Bangla, Pranam to Gurudev,” Ms. Banerjee said on the social media platform X.
World
EU chief promises a plan of action as migrants flock to Italian island (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is struggling with a surge in migrant arrivals, and promised a 10-point EU action plan to help Italy deal with the situation.
Nearly 1, 26, 000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, almost double the figure by the same date in 2022. The small island of Lampedusa has recently seen a sharp rise in the number of people arriving by boat, with more than 7,000 landing this week, more than the island’s permanent population.
Ms. Von der Leyen was accompanied by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the car carrying them to Lampedusa’s migrant reception centre was briefly blocked by locals protesting over the burden facing the island.
Following the visit to the centre, Ms. von der Leyen, who is expected to run for a second term when her mandate expires next year, set out a 10-point “action plan” to relieve pressure on Italy, where most migrants arrive from North Africa’s shores by boat.
Military leaders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso sign mutual defence pact (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger signed a mutual defence pact, ministerial delegations from the three Sahel countries announced in Mali’s capital Bamako.
The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita posted on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.
Its aim is to “establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of our populations”, he wrote.
The Liptako-Gourma region — where the Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger borders meet — has been ravaged by jihadism in recent years.
This alliance will be a combination of military and economic efforts between the three countries. Our priority is the fight against terrorism in the three countries.
A jihadist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015. All three countries have undergone coups since 2020.