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In a new proposal before the Finance Secretary-led committee set up to review the New Pension System for government employees, some states have proposed a middle path which entails a lower pension, but one that is assured.
Some states have specifically demanded an assured pension linked to the minimum of a pay level, and not the last-drawn salary as it is under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
One issue that is coming up from OPS is that the minimum pension need not be 50 per cent of the last drawn salary, but a minimum pension at a certain level which is 50 per cent of the lowest (entry-level pay) salary in the pay matrix. This is one of the demands coming up.
Under the Seventh Pay Commission, the earlier system of pay bands and grade pay was replaced with a pay matrix, with an employee’s status being determined by their level within the pay matrix.
The 7th Pay Matrix consists of 760 cells, with 19 columns and 40 rows signifying different pay levels for various functional roles of employees and the salary increments they may earn through their career.
Express Network
Well equipped to counter adversary using better tactics, training: IAF Chief (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is constantly monitoring Chinese buildup of resources and capabilities across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and is well-equipped to counter the adversary using better tactics and training where the latter cannot be matched up in numbers, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation along the border through persistent ISR (Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance).
We make notes of the buildup of resources and capabilities across the borders, our operational plans are dynamic and keep changing based on the developing situation across any front,” he said while responding to questions in the annual press conference ahead of the 91st Air Force Day on October 8.
Editorial
Historic with a small ‘h’ (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
For far too long, any decision to collect caste data has been seen as self-evidently “political”, whereas the equally deliberate decision to not collect it has somehow been placed outside or beyond politics.
Now that the results of the Bihar caste count (officially termed a comprehensive caste survey, or CCS) are out — and the skies have not fallen, nor is the earth shaking — let us ask the questions that can no longer be silenced.
Before we explore answers, the Bihar CCS must be placed in proper perspective. It is indeed a historic event because it is the first such large-scale exercise where results have been made public.
The states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as the Union government itself (in the ill-fated Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011), have collected comprehensive caste data in the past, but for reasons that remain unclear, never revealed it.
On the other hand, the Bihar government is yet to release the all-important supplementary data (on the socio-economic status of caste groups) that will allow us to make social sense of the bare caste counts made public.
Ideas Page
Riding the kinship wave (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The announcement by the Mizo National Front (MNF) government in Mizoram last week to go against the Centre’s directive to collect biometric data of Myanmarese refugees has surprised many, especially since a pilot exercise had already been conducted in July in all the districts of the state.
The reason for the backtracking is clearly because the MNF has its eyes on the assembly elections at the end of the year — although the dates are yet to be announced.
The MNF’s record under Zoramthanga in the past term has not been good — development promises have not been kept, nepotism in government jobs is rampant and anti-incumbency seems to be in the air.
All indications appear to suggest that a next term in office will only be possible after a good fight. The popular mood, especially in urban areas, seems to favour the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), led by Lalduhawma, which initially began as an alliance of independents.
The ZPM gave the MNF a run for their money in the last elections with a good vote share, although they were able to acquire only six seats (out of a 40-member assembly, with the MNF winning 28).
The Indian National Congress, which did badly in the last elections, seems to have rejuvenated itself under a new leader (Lalsawta) and other leaders.
Explained
Watching superfast subatomic particles move (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
In our everyday lives, we are familiar with processes that happen so fast we are unable to observe them completely. For example, when a bullet is fired at an apple, we see the outcome — the smashed apple — but are unable to capture the entire process, which takes barely a few milliseconds. With the help of a camera that has a very high shutter-speed, it is possible to see every step of the bullet piercing the apple and coming out of it, destroying the apple in the process.
But there are a lot of other processes in the universe that are incredibly faster, especially at atomic and subatomic levels. Atoms or molecules make movements, or changes, that take just a few picoseconds (a trillionth of a second, or 10-12 seconds) or femtoseconds (10-15 seconds).
Scientists found innovative ways to observe these processes, using unimaginably short pulses of light, similar to using extremely high shutter-speed cameras. But then they hit a barrier.
There were processes that were even faster, happening within a few attoseconds (thousandth of a femtosecond, or 10-18 second) — the motion of electrons within the atom, for instance.
For a long time, femtosecond ‘photography’ was considered the limit. Production of shorter pulses of light, in the attosecond range, did not seem possible. Till the works of Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier made it possible.
Demand for jobs is falling, employment rate lower than in 2017: What data show (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Have you ever wondered what should be the more important concern for policymakers: Would you, for instance, prefer a scenario where India has the fastest GDP growth rate even if millions of Indians fail to get a job or would you rather have a scenario where most Indians have a well-paying job even if India’s GDP growth is not as fast.
As things stand in India, it is GDP (gross domestic product) growth — the measure of the overall size of the economy — that dominates the national discourse. Employment or unemployment lags far behind in importance.
A recent book, titled “India is Broken”, by Ashoka Mody, Professor at Princeton University, provides a stinging rebuke to all Indian leaders — including both PMs Nehru and Narendra Modi — for failing to target the correct variable: employment (instead of GDP growth).
World
Armenia house votes to join ICC, straining ties with Ally Russia (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Armenian parliament voted to join the International Criminal Court, which earlier this year indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine.
The move is likely to further strain Armenia’s deteriorating relation with its ally Russia, which last month called Yerevan’s push to join the ICC an “unfriendly step.” Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC are bound to arrest Putin if he sets foot on their soil.
Economy
Indian economy likely to grow at 6.3% in FY 24: World Bank (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Indian economy is estimated to grow at 6.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24, showing resilience despite elevated inflation and global headwinds, the World Bank said in its India Development Update released.
Though the growth estimate by the Bank has been retained from its earlier update in April, it is 20 basis points lower than the 6.5 per cent growth estimate both by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for FY24.
The World Bank, however, raised the inflation forecast for FY24 to 5.9 per cent from 5.2 per cent in its April update, citing risks from the monsoon deficiency and its evolving impact on prices, El Niño phenomena, and global supply chain disruptions.
With inflation expected to remain sticky, the Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI, which will begin its meeting from Wednesday, is expected to keep the repo rate unchanged.