Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
UPSC results: At over one-third, women record their highest share ever take four ranks too (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) made history as the highest number of women ever were selected for the Indian civil services.
Over one-third of the 933 candidates (320) recommended for appointment are women. This is significant considering that just two decades ago, women accounted for just 20% of the selected candidates.
Moreover, the top four ranks this year have been claimed by women. This is the second consecutive year women candidates have secured the top three positions.
Ishita Kishore, a Delhi University (DU) graduate from Gautam Buddha Nagar, topped the examination in her third attempt with political science and international relations as her optional subjects. She graduated with an Economics (Honours) degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce at DU.
While the all-India second position holder, Garima Lohia from Buxar in Bihar, is also a DU graduate with a Commerce degree from Kirorimal College, Uma Harathi N from Telangana, who holds a BTech degree from IIT Hyderabad, came third. Smriti Mishra, a BSc graduate from DU’s Miranda House College, secured the fourth rank.
India – Australia trust not just diplomatic but based on people-to-people ties (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
India’s vision for global governance is guided by the credo “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, addressing the diaspora at a public event in Sydney where he underlined “mutual trust and respect” as the defining characteristic of India’s “deepening” ties with Australia.
Apart from thousands of Indians settled in Australia, the event, which was held at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, was attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, several members of his Cabinet and Parliament. In his speech, Albanese called Modi “the Boss”, drawing loud cheers from the audience.
The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday. Modi, who reached Sydney on Monday, is on a three-day visit to Australia.
“There was a time when India-Australia ties were defined by three Cs — Commonwealth, Cricket and Curry. It was also said to be based on three Ds — Democracy, Diaspora and Dosti.
Some people also said it is based on three Es — Energy, Economy and Education. But the breadth of India-Australia historic ties are much bigger than this.
The biggest foundation of those ties is mutual trust and mutual respect. And that mutual trust and mutual respect is not an outcome of diplomatic ties, but its biggest reason and strength is you, every single Indian living in Australia and over 2.5 crore Australian citizens,” Modi said.
Editorial
India’s multipolar myths (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
The political outcomes from the G7 summit that concluded on Sunday raise questions about the Indian thinking on a multipolar world.
The summit signalled Western unity against the simultaneous challenges presented by Russia and China. More deeply, it reflected the resilience of the Western alliance despite the many differences among the US and its partners.
But the myth of multipolarity endures in Indian foreign policy discourse even as a bipolar world takes shape. While official Delhi is nimbly adapting to the realities of a bipolar world, the Indian foreign policy discourse continues to be tied down by multipolar confusion. But first, to the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
The G7 leaders reaffirmed their solidarity with Ukraine in its battle to end Russian occupation of its territory while intensifying sanctions against Moscow.
They also sought to narrow the differences within the group on how to deal with China. The G7 declaration finessed the differences on China between the US and Europe by stating that they do not seek to “decouple” from the Chinese economy and that they are not against Beijing’s economic growth.
They agreed on “de-risking” commercial ties with China by standing up against Beijing’s non-market policies and economic coercion.
The G7 also called for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposed unilateral attempts by Beijing to change the territorial status quo in the South and East China Seas.
Health of hinterland (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In over seven decades since Independence, India has made remarkable strides, emerging as the world’s fifth-largest economy and a leader in the digital realm.
Even as economic and geopolitical headwinds cast a shadow on global economies, India’s growth story is a reminder of our resilience.
India, at various points, has demonstrated the ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One World, One Family. One example is India’s contribution towards the global vaccination drive during the pandemic, when it supplied vaccines to countries across the globe.
Under the government’s initiative, “Vaccine Maitri”, India provided over 60 million vaccine doses to neighbouring countries and other parts of the world. For a country with an over 1.4 billion population, our healthcare ecosystem is truly a feat to be proud of.
As we celebrate our achievements, we must also look towards the future and consider how we can build a healthcare system that caters to all communities. The challenge lies in finding a way to achieve this without disrupting identities.
Ideas Page
Distress is there to see (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
To illustrate, the real wages of male agricultural labourers, non-agricultural labourers and construction workers grew at less — much less — than 1 per cent per year between 2014-15 and 2021-22. Since the point created some interest, an update may be useful.
Just-released Labour Bureau data reinforce the point: In 2022-23, the growth rate of real wages was just 0.2 per cent for the first occupation group, and negative for the other two.
If we extend the time-series to 2022-23, the trend growth rates from 2014-15 onwards are as follows: 0.8 per cent per year for agricultural labour, 0.2 per cent for non-agricultural labour and slightly negative for construction workers (men only).
These estimates are based on semi-log regression of real wages (money wages deflated by the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers, CPIAL) on time.
Others have replicated them without difficulty. Even the finance ministry graciously requested my permission to use these figures for a training session on macroeconomic diagnostics. For the doubting Thomases, a spreadsheet is available on request.
Explained
Govt’s power to promulgate, repromulgate ordinances – Why how (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
On May 19, the central government promulgated an Ordinance that undid the unanimous verdict of a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, which on May 11 gave the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Delhi control over the transfer and posting of officials in the National Capital Territory (NCT), except with regard to public order, police, and land.
The Ordinance promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu gave the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, who is appointed by the Centre, power over services, and established a “National Capital Civil Service Authority” comprising the Chief Minister and two senior IAS officials, which would decide matters “by majority of votes of the members present and voting” — essentially creating a situation in which the view of the elected CM could potentially be overruled.
Under Article 123 of the Constitution (“Power of President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament”), “if at any time, except when both Houses of Parliament are in session, the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may promulgate such Ordinances as the circumstances appear to him to require.”
The missing census (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Last month, an annual report by the UN Population Fund revealed that India was all set to become the world’s most populous country by the middle of this year.
It estimated that India’s population would be 1,428 million (or 142.8 crore) by that time, slightly ahead of China’s population of 1,425 million.
India would have had a far more accurate number for its population had the 2021 Census exercise been carried out. The 2021 Census had to be postponed because of the Covid pandemic, the first time in the 150-year history of India’s census operations that the exercise was not completed on time. Curiously, the Census has been pending even after the end of the pandemic and the restoration of normalcy.
As of now, there is no clarity on the timeline. The enumeration work — the actual counting of people — has traditionally been done in February of the Census year, and if the same practice is to be followed, the earliest it can now be done is in February next year.
A Census is Constitutionally mandated in India. There are repeated references to the Census exercise in the Constitution in the context of reorganisation of constituencies for Parliament and state Assemblies.
But the Constitution does not say when the Census has to be carried out, or what the frequency of this exercise should be.
The Census of India Act of 1948, which provides the legal framework for carrying out the Census, also does not mention its timing or periodicity.
US stares at default (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In little more than a week, the US government could default on its borrowings — an unprecedented situation that could potentially hit economies worldwide — if Congress doesn’t raise the nation’s debt ceiling.
US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met to discuss the issue and indicated the talks had been positive.
However, no deal has yet been arrived at and negotiations are continuing. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the country could default by as early as June 1.
The debt ceiling, or debt limit, is the total amount the US government is allowed to borrow to finance its expenditure, such as paying salaries and welfare allowances.
Currently, this limit is at $31.4 trillion. The Republicans, who have a majority in the House, are refusing to raise it unless the Democrat-run government agrees to their demands, which include a significant cut in spending.
The debt limit was introduced in 1917, when the US entered World War I. Constitutionally, Congress controls the government’s purse strings.
The debt ceiling was introduced in order to make it easier for the executive to operate without having to turn to Congress every time it wanted to spend — it allowed the government to borrow as required as long as it kept under the debt limit approved by Congress.
Economy
Govt will release first draft of digital India bill in June first week: MoSIT (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Centre will release a draft of the Digital India Bill in the first week of June, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.
The legislation will regulate a wide gamut of digital services including social media platforms as the Centre looks to replace India’s decades old Internet law, the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Chandrasekhar was speaking at the second ‘pre-draft’ consultation Tuesday. The first leg of the consultation took place in March.
The Digital India Bill is a key pillar of an overarching framework of technology regulations the Centre is building which also includes the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, and a policy for non-personal data governance.
During his presentation, the minister reiterated that the government was considering whether online platforms should continue enjoying safe harbour protections, which is currently afforded to them under the IT Act, 2000, or such protections should become conditional.
Under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000, intermediaries such as social media platforms enjoy legal immunity against third party content provided they carry out certain due diligence measures including taking down content directed by the government.
World
Indonesia Iran sign preferential trade agreement (Page no. 23)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The leaders of Indonesia and Iran signed a preferential trade agreement to expand economic relations during an official visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, speaking after a signing ceremony that was streamed online by his cabinet secretariat, hoped the agreement "would increase trade between Indonesia and Iran" but did not provide details.
Raisi's visit comes as ties between Iran and the West become increasingly strained following Iranian security forces' violent crackdown on protests against the country's clerical elite after the death of a Kurdish woman in morality police custody last year.
Several countries including the United States have imposed broad sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and alleged rights violations.
Trade between Indonesia and Iran dropped from $715.5 million to $141.6 million in 2019 after the United States imposed sanctions on Iran.
Partnerships and relationships with neighbouring countries and Islamic countries and countries with the same views are our priority.
Indonesian trade ministry official Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono said on Tuesday the two countries had agreed on a "countertrade" scheme in which goods and services can be exchanged "without being constrained by scarcity or currency difficulties".
Two-way trade between the nations currently amounts to around $250 million, with the Southeast Asian country recording about a $200 million surplus, according to the Indonesian trade ministry.
Djatmiko told reporters on Monday Indonesia is keen to boost trade with the Middle East and the surrounding region.