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Underlining that a government cannot discriminate against individuals merely because they do not belong to a particular state, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday quashed a law passed by the Haryana government in 2020 that provided 75 per cent reservation in private jobs to residents of the state.
The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 is held to be unconstitutional and violative of Part III of the Constitution of India and is accordingly held ultra vires,” a division bench of Justices G S Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan said in its order.
The bench, which was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the law, said the legislation will become “ineffective from the date it came into force”.
Govt & Politics
Education ministers pledge to bridge digi divide for students (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
Education ministers representing 14 countries of the Global South Friday reiterated their joint commitment to bridge the digital divide for students by addressing gaps in technological infrastructure and working together to develop affordable and accessible technology and resources, including in local languages.
The second edition of the India-hosted Voice of the Global South Summit builds on the first summit held in January that brought together representatives from 125 Global South countries.
The second edition seeks to highlight results from different G20 meetings and talk about strategies for comprehensive international development, narrowing the digital gap, and enhancing collaboration in fostering life, technical, and vocational skills.
The participating education ministers highlighted the pivotal role of teachers worldwide in promoting education. The ministers stressed the importance of creating an environment that supports them.
This involves initiatives such as capacity building and exchange programs to enhance their professional development.
Express Network
11L children in India missed 1st measles shot in 22 Report (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
An estimated 11 lakh children in India missed their crucial first dose of measles vaccine in 2022, according to a report by the World Health Organization and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This puts India among 10 countries with the highest number of children who did not receive the first shot.
India is also among the 37 countries that witnessed large or disruptive outbreaks, reporting 40,967 measles cases in 2022, according to the report.
Globally, immunisation against measles dropped to lowest levels since 2008 during the pandemic, leading to an 18% rise in cases and 43% increase in deaths in 2022, said the report that presented the first estimates of gaps after the pandemic.
“There was a dip in routine immunisation during 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. The challenge with measles is even if a single cohort misses out on vaccination, they become extremely vulnerable to the infection.
The gaps in immunisation during the pandemic were mainly in peri-urban areas and clusters where the outbreaks were later reported,” said Dr N K Arora, head of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).
Editorial
Education and pollution (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
The children had rehearsed the sports day rituals in the playground. So, despite the awful pollution, they were told to go through the programme outdoors.
Neither the principal nor the physical education teacher saw the implications of this decision. Changing the programme wouldn’t have been exactly an earthshaking or embarrassing reversal. It would have been the right step if children’s pulmonary health were a concern.
And no one would have denied it had the question been posed, let us say, by a journalist. The answer might be that “it was just a matter of two-and-a-half hours and children would be disappointed if the sports day were to be postponed.”
No one on the staff could suggest such a change. The school’s authority structure doesn’t brook such a possibility. If the science or math teacher or other senior members of the staff had dared, they would have been pacified with a casual answer like “Oh, it’s just for two hours”.
They wouldn’t have persisted because it is none of their business. And, if they were worried about their own lungs, they were free to miss the function.
For the science teacher to anchor her argument in her knowledge of particulate matter and the life-long danger it presents for children’s lungs would have been seen as showing off.
When the principal is around, no one has a say, even the vice-principal. The principal is the ultimate leader. Her leadership can cover an emergency decision, but air pollution doesn’t seem to warrant it.
Ideas Page
A stake in stability (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Peace in West Asia is a priority for India. This energy rich region is the lifeline to India’s crude and natural gas needs, and an important trade and strategic partner.
With the Israel–Hamas conflict entering the seventh week, concerns are growing over its potential to expand and destabilise the entire West Asia region.
When the defence and foreign ministers of India and US met for the annual 2+2 dialogue last week in Delhi, this concern was evident in their deliberations.
The joint statement released at the end of the dialogue, while reiterating the support of both countries for Israel in its fight against Hamas terror, also underscored the need for adherence to international humanitarian law, “including with regard to the protection of civilians”.
Preventing the conflict from spreading, preserving stability in the Middle East, and working towards a “political solution” and “durable peace” were mentioned as the objectives of the two countries.
Explained
COP 28 in Dubai (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Current levels of collective commitment of nations to combat climate change — a result of decades of hard negotiations, meetings, studies, and noisy campaigns — are simply inadequate. So, what can we expect from COP28, to be held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12?
The devastating impacts of climate change have been evident for several years now. This year is set to overtake 2016 as the warmest ever — and saw almost every month setting some or the other warming record.
The World Meteorological Organisation says one of the next four years — perhaps 2023 itself — will almost certainly breach the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold.
Although temperatures have gone up rapidly, the global response to it has not kept pace. A latest assessment in the new synthesis report on countries’ climate action plans, suggests that climate action agreed upon by countries so far would, in an optimistic scenario, result in just a 2 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, from 2019 levels.
A 43 per cent reduction, something that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said was absolutely essential for the 1.5 degree Celsius goal, currently seems to be a pipe dream.
Proposed India – UK FTA. its politics and why the UK may benefit more (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron this week.
Jaishankar said in London that the FTA was “very much the focus of what the Indian and British systems are negotiating, and we hope that we will find a landing point that works for both.
When signed, the India-UK FTA will serve as a template for an agreement with India’s second-largest trade partner, the European Union (EU).
Breaking from the look east policy for trade deals under the UPA that saw widening deficits with Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN countries, the government is counting on economic integration with Western and African nations to fuel export growth.
The disruption of supply chains during the pandemic brought home to Western companies the risks of over-dependence on China, and the need for a ‘China-plus one’ policy.
World
Pro-China Muizzu sworn in as Maldives President, vows to expel foreign troops (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in as the Maldives’ fifth democratically elected president and said he will ensure there is no foreign military presence in the archipelago.
Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, campaigned on a promise to evict Indian military personnel and balance trade, which he said was heavily in favor of India under his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Lines of independence and sovereignty will be drawn clearly. The foreign military presence will be removed. There won’t be any enmity, with countries close and far away. He said the right of the Maldives to lay down such limits should be respected.
Muizzu was sworn in by Chief Justice Us Ahmed Muthasim Adnan after his surprise victory in September’s presidential election.
The election was seen a virtual referendum on which regional power — China or India — should have the biggest influence on the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Economy
RBI tightening of unsecured loans: Banks may need Rs 84,000 crore excess capital (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The banking industry will likely require Rs 84,000 crore of excess capital — or a five per cent increase — over the Rs 15.2 lakh crore capital requirement following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to increase the risk weight on the exposure of banks to consumer credit, credit card receivables and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). Experts believe this will increase the cost of borrowing for consumers.
The immediate impact of the enhanced risk weights is the excess capital now that banks would require, according to Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, State Bank of India. This means a 55-60 basis point increase in CRAR (capital to risk-weighted assets ratio).
Second, the RBI circular affects consumer loans in general but excludes housing loans, education loans, vehicle loans and loans secured by gold and gold jewellery.
Filtering these exclusions, consumer credit was growing at 25 per cent-plus since May 2022. These unsecured loans affected by the RBI move (Rs 14.8 lakh crore) make up only around 9.8 per cent of total outstanding loans (Rs 151.5 lakh crore) as of September 2023.
The affected portion of the personal loans category is only 31 per cent of the total personal loans — Rs 48.3 lakh crore — SBI said in a research report.
India invites countries to join biofuel alliance (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) was formally launched evening by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of leaders of a number of partner countries on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
The GBA has been in the works for some time now and is a key initiative and priority under India’s G20 presidency. The alliance is aimed at facilitating international cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels, along with facilitating global biofuels trade and technical support for national biofuel programmes.
The GBA, the effort for which was spearheaded by India, the United States, and Brazil, has been launched with nine initiating members–India, the US, Brazil, Argentina, Bangladesh, Italy, Mauritius, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates–while Canada and Singapore are observer countries. In all, 19 countries and 12 international organisations have already agreed to join the GBA.