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The G20 tourism working group meeting is a “a moment of rejuvenation and reincarnation” for Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Jitendra Singh told foreign delegates as the three-day event got underway in Srinagar.
A total of 61 delegates from 29 nations are participating in the meeting — the first such international event to be held in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
The Minister of State for PMO, giving an example, said that unlike in the past, there were no takers for strike calls here anymore.
If such an event was held earlier, a strike call would have been given from Islamabad and shops on Residency Road (in the heart of) Srinagar would have shut down. Now there is no hartal even if the call for hartal comes from here or there.
This change has happened. Common people on the streets of Srinagar want to move on. They have lost two generations, addressing the delegates at a side event on “Film Tourism for Economic and Cultural Preservation.
The minister expressed hope that the delegates highlight the positives in the Valley when they return. I hope that when our friends go back, they will be our ambassadors… about the situation here and how it appears.
At Harappan, site a mystery buried in time: Whose grace are these (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 1, History)
The dry, arid soil on a 16-hectare expanse on the outskirts of Khatiya village in Gujarat’s Kutch district has thrown up several surprises — a shell bangle, pottery shards, stones blades, even human skeletal remains. Since 2018, a multi-disciplinary international team of archeologists has discovered 500 graves and excavated 197 of those here, but deep below, the site holds the key to an enduring mystery.
Led by Rajesh S V, Assistant Professor in the Department of Archaeology in the University of Kerala, the researchers say that while it is established that the cemetery, believed to be 5,000 years old, belonged to the ‘pre-urban’ phase of the Harappan civilisation, they are still looking for clues to see if the burial ground — arguably the largest such cemetery — could have served a big human settlement in the vicinity or if it was a common facility for a cluster of smaller settlements.
The Harappan civilisation, one of the oldest in the world, is said to have thrived along the banks of river Indus from around 5,000 BC to 1,000 BC.
While the 2,500-year-long period from 5,000 BC to 2,600 BC is known as the ‘pre-urban’ Harappan phase, between 2,600 BC and 1,900 BC is the ‘urban’ Harappan phase.
From there on, the civilisation declines and 1,900 BC to 1,000 BC is considered the ‘post-urban’ Harappan period.
Govt & Politics
Eye on China, PM says some nations not standing by pacific islands in times of need (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
In what is being read as an oblique reference to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited the old maxim “A friend in need is a friend indeed” and told leaders of the 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) that those that they had considered trustworthy were “not standing by our sides in times of need”.
Addressing leaders of the PICs at a summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Modi said India stood by them in the challenging time and conveyed that they can consider New Delhi as a “reliable” development partner, as it respects their priorities.
India’s approach for cooperation is based on human values, he stressed. Modi’s comments came amid China’s aggressive behaviour in the region and its efforts to expand influence in the Pacific Ocean region.
Those whom we considered trustworthy, it turned out they were not standing by our side in times of need. During these challenging times, an old saying has proven true: ‘A Friend in need is a friend indeed.
India stood with its Pacific island friends during this challenging time. Whether it was vaccines or essential medicines, wheat or sugar, India, in line with its capabilities, has been assisting all partner countries.
Express Network
Shah: Will bring bill to link birth, death data with electoral rolls (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government is planning to bring a Bill in Parliament to link data related to birth and death with electoral rolls and the overall development process.
Inaugurating the Janganana Bhawan, office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Shah said the Census is a process that may form the basis of development agenda.
Digital, complete and accurate Census figures will have multidimensional benefits, and planning based on Census data ensures development reaches the poorest of the poor.
“If the birth and death certificate data are preserved in a special way, development works can be planned properly. A Bill to link the death and birth register with electoral rolls will be introduced in Parliament.
Under this process, when a person turns 18, his or her name will automatically be included in the electoral rolls. Similarly, when a person dies, that information automatically will go to the EC, which will start the process of deleting the name from the voters’ list. Earlier, the development process took place in fragments, because adequate data for development was not available.
The registration of birth and death is very important for any country and it helps in making development plans between two Censuses. Now the government is making this process easier by making it online.
Editorial
Bare new world (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
A series of far-reaching events are shaping the 21st century. The current conflict in Ukraine, while grabbing headlines and engrossing the G7 summit in Hiroshima, may not seem as pivotal if one is situated in a different part of the world. To most, this is still a festering neighbourhood conflict that Europe must manage. It does not animate lives everywhere; neither does it shape anxieties or future partnerships.
India, Africa and Latin America are not indifferent to the crisis in Europe. They simply have more pressing matters to attend to — the imperatives of nation building being the most urgent. That they now also must navigate the collateral impact of the war makes them all but an interested party.
The first lesson from global reactions to the war is geography still matters. East-West and North-South binaries may be captivating, but proximity and the neighbourhood are considerably more important.
We may be hyper-globalised, but we are also more local than ever before. Social media, trends in technology and politics, and a host of other factors have bracketed us into narrow spheres of interest.
Thus, while India respects Europe’s difficulties, for it the 2020s began not with Ukraine but with Chinese aggression, the virus from Wuhan and the surrender of Kabul.
Explained
Economics of Climate change (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Over the past few weeks and months there have been several stories about how extreme weather events (such as unexpected rainfall or unusually high temperatures) have disrupted normal life in India.
There is also a constant reminder that more of the same can be expected with each passing year. To be sure, the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 had ranked India seventh in the list of most affected countries in terms of exposure and vulnerability to climate risk events.
In its latest report of currency and finance, the RBI (India’s central bank) has a chapter dedicated to answering many of these questions and explaining the macroeconomic effects of climate change in India.
The most obvious signs of climate change are the anomalies in temperature and precipitation (rain, hail, snow etc.)
While annual average temperature in India has been increasing gradually, the rise has been significantly sharper during the last vicennial (twenty years) than during any other 20-year time interval since 1901 finds the RBI paper.
World
South Korea EU agree to step up cooperation (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
South Korea and the European Union agreed to launch a strategic dialogue between its top diplomats to develop a security partnership, a joint statement said, amid tension over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korean nuclear threats.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit in Seoul with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, during which the leaders also agreed to step up cooperation in areas such as climate change, health and supply chains.
“South Korea and the EU are important partners that share universal values of freedom, human rights and rule of law,” Yoon told a joint press conference, vowing to deepen relations.
Economy
Enough stocks for exchange, very marginal impact on economy: RBI (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Noting that the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination notes is a part of currency management, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said “most of the notes” are expected to return to the banking system.
In his first public comments after the Friday announcement on the withdrawal, Das said this will have a “very, very marginal” impact on the economy since the Rs 2,000 notes comprise 10.8 per cent of the currency in circulation.
When asked if the high-denomination notes would get diverted to purchase of gold and real estate, Das said that depends on the public. To a query on tracing black money, he said scrutiny of cash deposits is not done by RBI.
The RBI does not do any scrutiny. It is (by) other agencies like income tax (department) and others will follow their normal procedure like (that) for Rs 50,000 and above, banks have their own reporting systems like CTR, STR (cash transaction report, suspicious transaction report).
He said existing rules for cash-to-cash exchange transactions or cash deposits will continue to remain as it is. “We have not come out with an additional procedure. You must be aware that there’s an income tax rule if you deposit cash above Rs 50,000 then you have to produce your PAN. So existing rules will apply.
We have more than adequate quantity of printed notes already available in the system, not just with the RBI, but also at the currency chests which are operated by the banks, there is no reason to worry whatsoever. We have more than sufficient stocks.