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World
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s defence minister saw Russian strategic bombers, hypersonic missiles, and warships.
Around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Pacific port of Vladivostok, Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, met Kim and saluted him at the Knevichi airbase. Then the North Korean leader inspected a guard of honour.
The United States and South Korea worry that a rekindled alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang may allow Kim access to certain very sensitive Russian missile technology while also arming Russia for its conflict in Ukraine.
Nepal PM leaves for US to attend UNGA will fly to China on Sep 21 (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda left for the US from where he will fly to China amid speculation that its northern neighbour is not comfortable with Nepal formally welcoming a $500 million grant from the United States.
PM Prachanda will participate in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He is scheduled to address the UNGA on September 21.
While in New York, Prachanda is also scheduled to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Summit among others, on the sidelines of the UNGA.
PM Prachanda will fly to Beijing on September 21 on a four-day official trip, four and a half months after his visit to Delhi.
The reason for China’s “trust deficit” towards the Nepal government is being said to be the Millennium Challenge Corporation Nepal Compact, the $500 million grant from the US to build power and road infrastructure projects, which was endorsed by the Nepal Parliament on February 27 last year with the active support of the Nepali Congress and Prachanda-led Maoist Center, overruling China’s objections.
The MCC Nepal compact entered the execution phase last month, setting a five-year target to complete 315-km 400 KV transmission project.
Economy
Digital data law: Five key questions about your personal data answered (Page no. 4)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Last month, India notified its personal data protection framework as a law, signalling the beginning of a new era of privacy legislation in the country.
Provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 will come in force in a few months, after the Centre has allowed enough transition time to the industry, with users of these platforms — you — experiencing several new notices and rights, as prescribed in the law.
But there will be a number of restrictions as well, which could indefinitely suspend many of the rights the law affords to users.
Govt’s advance tax receipts jump 24% in Q2FY24 to 2.38 trillion (Page no. 4)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Advance tax collections jumped 20 percent over the last year to Rs 3.54 lakh crore in the first half of this fiscal.
A further rise in the final tally is likely going by the numbers recorded till 11.30pm on September 15, which was the last day for the payment of advance tax for the July-September quarter.
Tax collection is expected to increase when further information is received from banks on Monday,” as per a government official cited in the report.
The Centre is expected to share the official numbers next week. A sturdy advance tax collection number highlights solid performance of the corporate sector, as well as a robust economy.
Front Page
Ex CECs set to tell PM: In Bill restore status of EC to that of SC Judge not cabinet secretary (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
In what would be an unprecedented intervention, a group of former Chief Election Commissioners (CECs) are considering writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express their concerns about the proposed downgrade of the service conditions of the three Election Commissioners through a Bill scheduled for passage in Parliament next week.
The communication, now in its “final stages” and signed by at least three former CECs, is expected to raise concerns about a clause in the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 that proposes to align the salary, allowance, and service conditions of the CEC and the two Election Commissioners with those of a Cabinet Secretary — currently, these are equivalent to those of a Supreme Court Judge.
The former poll panel chiefs view this as a “downgrade” that is “undesirable” and a threat to the independence and authority of the commissioners. They are expected to advise the Government against implementing this change.
A year after Kuno new home for next lot of Cheetahs (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
A year since the introduction of the cheetah project in India on September 17, 2022, wildlife officials are considering a new home for the big cats since the Kuno National Park is “no competing destination for South African savannas”.
The next batch of cheetahs are likely to find a home in Madhya Pradesh’s Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Cheetah Steering Committee head Dr Rajesh Gopal, who was at the sanctuary, scouting for locations, “It will take time but the area is very promising. It looks like Masai Mara (in Kenya). It has open glades, a rocky area, shallow soil, exactly like east Africa.”
But there’s much work to be done. We have started building a prey-revival area, but currently there are no prey, it will take time. We can’t rush this unless there is sufficient.
Kuno currently has 15 cheetahs that have been brought back from the wild following a spate of deaths due to infections. A National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) official said that “one Namibian female died of kidney ailment; a South African female cheetah died in a courtship conflict; while three male South African cheetahs and a female Namibian cheetah died of dermatitis/skin infection”.
Express Network
Russia – Ukraine war lessons: More focus on artillery doctrines, procurement plans (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has emphasised the need to have a judicious mix of rockets and guns in the Army’s artillery inventory, acquire more precision-targeting weapon systems and niche technologies, and has underlined the criticality of a robust battlefield transparency, according to top officials.
The war has also underlined the need for adequate measures for “force preservation”, or to protect the forces from counter-bombardment of the enemy during a war — therefore the requirement for more quantities of self-propelled guns, mounted guns systems or towed guns with auxiliary power units with a shoot and scoot capability.
These, they added, are key lessons that have emerged for Indian artillery from the war, and they are now being incorporated in its doctrines and capability development plans.
One official said the Russia-Ukraine war has reaffirmed the importance of firepower as a battle-winning factor, given that 80 percent of war casualties reported in it were due to artillery fire.
The Russians are estimated to be firing 20,000 artillery shells a day and the Ukrainian side is firing 4,000 to 5,000 shells every day.
Opinion
Opportunities obstacles for the G20 grouping (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
A grand diplomatic arrival on the world stage and an oasis of ideas – these are among some of the imprints the G20 summit left on the minds of Indians.
Throughout the past year, people watched how the government left nothing to chance to make the event grand. G20 was the first of its kind summit in India’s diplomatic history, bringing India to the centre of focus when crises of every sort loom over world affairs.
India scored apparent diplomatic success by convening a series of meetings over diverse themes at a pan-Indian scale.
The G20 grouping transpired as a collateral international forum to deal with the global financial crisis. From 1999, the forum has encountered the responsibility of confronting significant large-scale crises that emerged ever since.
The G20 faced scaled-up challenges such as the cause of disparities and marginalisation beyond the stalling of the financial crisis.
Thus, years of arduous consensus-building exercises aim at fostering a common consensus within its member countries. Furthermore, several other international forums, including the G20, contend with rising to the newer realities of growth and promises of overcoming marginalisation.
The G20 grouping flags the priority of robust economic growth, development, and inclusiveness, though, ironically, the forum’s capacity to advocate and draft objective solutions for inequalities and marginalisation is limited. And navigating the complexities of the crises warrants a nuanced and pragmatic approach.
Most importantly, the amplified phenomenon of universalistic notions of co-existence cannot relinquish the issues of inequalities and inclusiveness in the divided international order.
This is particularly in the context of multinational organisations, i.e., which were established to solve and adjudicate an increasing number of disputes.