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With 41 workers walking out of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi on Tuesday evening, their 17-day ordeal in the dark under-construction passage that started early in the morning of November 12, the day of Deepavali, finally came to an end, spelling success for one of the most challenging and dangerous rescue operations taken up in India.
A jubilant mood prevailed outside the tunnel since morning when the rescue teams announced that the rat-hole miners, in coordination with the Army, managed to manually dig through 55 metres of debris horizontally.
Just another two metres was left to reach the trapped workers then. As the family members of the workers started gathering outside the tunnel, the officials asked them to pack their bags as the breakthrough was expected by afternoon.
As a result of the immense grace of Baba Baukh Nag Ji, prayers of millions of countrymen and the tireless work of all the rescue teams, the work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed. Soon they will be taken out.
Editorial
Unpacking the Dubai climate meeting (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
As December draws near, so does the volume and intensity of global conversation around climate change negotiations. In early December, the 28th annual Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change will take place in Dubai.
While climate change diplomacy occurs in multiple fora including G20 meetings, UN summits, and bilateral fora, the COP remains the central place where the machinery of global climate governance gets built.
Because all countries, not only the powerful, have a voice at COPs, questions of equity and vulnerability are more likely to be placed on the table.
In what has become a disturbingly familiar pattern, 2023 has seen devastating weather events: extreme heat in North Africa and Europe, wildfires in Canada and Hawaii, floods in India and Libya, and drought in the Horn of Africa.
By September, scientists were expressing astonishment at how much land and ocean temperatures increases, and Antarctic Sea ice decrease, have deviated from past records (likely exacerbated by an El Niño effect). It is likely that 2023 will be the warmest year on record.
The challenge of maritime security in the Global South (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Charles Darwin is reputed to have argued that the key to human survival is not humankind’s innate superiority but its natural adaptability.
He felt that it was not the strongest or most intelligent species that survived, but the one with the capacity to adapt and adjust to the changing environment.
Darwin’s notion of resilient adaptability has withstood the test of time. It is a truism that all human progress requires a flexible approach to dealing with emerging challenges. None more so than in the maritime domain.
In recent years, hard security challenges in the maritime domain have acquired a new, menacing dimension. Whether with Ukraine’s growing use of asymmetrical tactics against Russia in the Black Sea or China’s deployment of maritime militias in the South China Sea, there is an unmistakable element of improvisation. The radical new tactics at sea involve the use of grey-zone warfare, land attack missiles, and combat drones.
Opinion
Clean energy share in India and it’s states electricity mix (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
As the world wrangles over its next steps in fighting climate change, each country has its own concerns and interests they hope to advance at this year’s U.N. climate summit in Dubai. Brazil, South Africa, India and China make up a bloc of populous, fast-developing countries.
Each has asked for more climate financing and equity through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concept of “common but differentiated responsibilities” — meaning rich countries that emitted the most historically should do more to address the problem.
Text & Context
RBI’s latest move to increase risk weights for lending (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Seeking to rein in an observed rise in unsecured personal loans and credit cards, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to reserve more capital for risk weights.
The mandatory risk weight requirement has been increased by 25 percentage points. This would be applicable to unsecured personal loans, credit cards and lending to NBFCs.
The idea is to address the notion of ‘credit risk.’ It refers to the risk entailed by a borrower being unable to meet their obligations or defaulting on commitments.
‘Risk weights’ are an essential tool for banks to manage this risk. This metric, in percentage factors, adjusts for the risk associated with a certain asset type.
In other words, it is an indicator of the essential holding the lender should ideally have to adjust the associated risk. This is what the RBI has directed to be increased.
The need to disclose political donations (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
With the hearings in the Supreme Court on the electoral bonds challenge having concluded, it is a good time to discuss how important the outcome of this challenge will be to democracy and rule of law in India.
Political parties in any country play an indispensable role in the democratic process. They form the government and have the responsibility under our constitution of holding the government to account. It is thus essential that the parties are adequately funded in a manner which enjoys public confidence.
The amendments made to the Representation of the People Act 1951 and other laws which provide for electoral bonds, provide complete anonymity to political donors.
The requirement all over the world on this issue on the other hand has been the diametrical opposite — requirement of full disclosure on donations to political parties, either by individuals or corporations.
News
1.79 lakh fewer Muslim students went for higher education in 2020-21 (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
Enrolment in higher education among Muslim students in the age group of 18-23 dropped by more than 8.5% in 2020-21, says a report prepared from the analysis of data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) and the All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE).
While 21 lakh Muslim students enrolled for higher education in 2019-20, the number fell to 19.21 lakh in 2020-21.
Arun C. Mehta, former Professor of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), prepared the report, “The state of Muslim education in India”.
From 17,39,218 Muslim students enrolled in higher education in 2016-17, the number increased to 19,21,713 in 2020-21.
However, in 2020-21, the Muslim enrolment in higher education declined to 19,21,713 students from 21,00,860 students in 2019-20, thus showing a decline of 1,79,147 students in absolute terms.
The percentage of Muslim students enrolled in higher education relative to the total number of students enrolled also saw a slight decrease, falling from 4.87 in 2016-17 to 4.64 in 2020-21.
Hollywood actor Douglas gets Satyajit Ray award (Page no. 14)
(Miscellaneous)
Cinema is one of the few mediums with the power to unite people, Hollywood star Michael Douglas said after receiving the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
The 10-day film gala concluded with Endless Borders from Germany winning the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the best film, while Deepak Kumar Mishra-directed Prime Video show Panchayat Season 2 bagged the best OTT series award, which was introduced for the first time. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant felicitated Douglas with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.
World
Sunak cancels meeting with Greek PM due to row over ancient sculptures (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled his meeting with visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday, over the latter’s comments on ancient sculptures housed in the British Museum. Mr. Mitsotakis was instead offered a meeting with the U.K.’s Deputy Prime Minister, which he declined.
The Parthenon Sculptures or Elgin Marbles, which date back to the 5th century BC, were bought by the British Museum in 1816 from Thomas Bruce (Lord Elgin) who was, at the time, the British Ambassador to the former Ottoman Empire. A part of the sculpture is still in Athens, housed in the Acropolis Museum.
Critics have claimed that Lord Elgin stole the sculptures. The British Museum denies this claim on its website, saying his acquisition was “entirely legal”.
Mr. Mitsotakis, who heads Greece’s centre-right New Democracy party, was re-elected in June and had said he would see a return of the marbles to their original home if re-elected.
Business
Both cash use, digital payments to rise in country like India (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Given the perceived substitutability between cash and digital payments, the simultaneous growth in both may appear paradoxical.
But empirical analysis of long-run currency demand reveals the statistically significant impact of income and precautionary variables on cash demand, Reserve Bank of India officials wrote in a paper released.
Stating that besides being a medium of transaction, cash serves as a hedge against uncertain periods, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which are marked by an increased demand for cash driven by precautionary motives.