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India’s abstention at the UN General Assembly on the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza — it had no references to either Hamas or hostages — exemplifies New Delhi’s bid to address competing imperatives in the ongoing conflict.
First, India joined Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in the group of 45 countries that abstained on the resolution that called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” and unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.
This resolution was drafted by a group of 22 Arab countries and was proposed by Jordan, which has been vocal in its criticism of the Palestinian civilian casualties in the Israeli bombardment.
Among the co-sponsors of the resolution were Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia, and South Africa.
Govt & Politics
PM at Rozgar Mela: Govt boosted jobs in traditional emerging sectors (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that his government has boosted employment opportunities in traditional as well as emerging sectors like renewable energy, defence exports and automation.
Distributing appointment letters at a virtual event to nearly 51,000 people recruited in different government departments as part of ‘Rozgar Mela’, he said the exercise underscored his government’s commitment to the youth in the country.
Modi stressed that the government doesn’t only provide employment but also maintains a transparent recruitment process and efforts have been made to restructure and streamline the examination procedure.
He noted that lakhs of youngsters have been given appointment letters so far in the ‘Rozgar Mela’ being organised since October last year by his government and the states ruled by the BJP and its allies.
Today, India is equipping its youths with skills and education to harness emerging opportunities. India’s trajectory and the pace of its progress are generating new employment prospects across all sectors.
Opinion
Once upon a time, a train that linked India, Lanka (Page no. 11)
History, as eminent historian Romila Thapar once said, is an ‘understanding’ of the past. Accordingly, the inauguration of the ferry route between Nagapattinam (India) and Kankesanthurai (Sri Lanka) demands to be understood as much more than a nostalgic throwback to the memory of the Boat Mail, an express train that once used to connect Madras and Colombo (originally via Tuticorin or Thoothukoodi and later via Dhanushkodi).
Given the prized endorsements that the ferry route has received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, there is more to its history and present-day ramifications than meets the eye.
The small infrastructural move, on the back of the high-speed craft, unassumingly named ‘HSC Cheriyapani’, does not merely signal the renormalisation of bilateral trade-and-traffic ties.
It also represents a mutually favourable ongoing cultural reconciliation between the neighbours while shadows of global geopolitical unpredictability loom large in the Indian Ocean region.
World
Will decalre Israel war criminal, says Erdogan; Tel Aviv recalls envoys (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza, Tel Aviv said that it was recalling its diplomatic staff from Turkey.
The move comes after Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his remarks that Israel is an “occupier", and Hamas was “not a terrorist orgamisation".
Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey.
Turkey President while addressing a pro-Palestine rally in Istanbul, on Saturday, said “I reiterate that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation.
According to Reuters report Türkiye President Erdogan had said, “Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it".
Biden Xi to meet on APEC summit sidelines in Nov (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
President Joe Biden that he could potentially meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
“There has been no such meeting set up, but it is a possibility,” Biden told reporters when asked about the prospects of a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader.
Biden and Xi have not spoken since their meeting last November of the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
White House officials have previously made clear that they hoped the two leaders would soon hold talks, and administration officials have been working to get the Chinese to agree to a meeting.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies have faced no shortage of strain over the last year.
The Biden administration shot down a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental U.S. earlier this year. The Chinese government hacked the emails of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The U.S. government has restricted the exporting of advanced computer chips to China.
Economy
India, UK trade ministers review progress of talks on proposed FTA (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India and the UK reviewed the progress of negotiations of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), talks for which have reached the final stage.
The progress was reviewed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch in Osaka, Japan.
Both ministers are in Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) trade ministers meeting in Osaka.