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World
Pakistan has applied for membership in the BRICS grouping and sought Russia’s support, the country’s envoy to Moscow Muhammad Khalid Jamali has said.
Pakistan has filed an application to join the BRICS group of nations in 2024 and is counting on Russia’s assistance during the membership process, Russia’s official TASS news agency reported on Wednesday quoted Jamali as saying.
Jamali said Pakistan has already applied for membership in the BRICS-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and is set to expand next year with the admission of six new members under the Russian Presidency.
Pakistan’s application to join the BRICS came as the grouping of emerging economies was set for its biggest expansion with six new members under Russia’s rotating Presidency in 2024.
This year’s BRICS summit held in South Africa formally admitted Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as new members. They will formally join during the 2024 summit in Russia.
Front page
In diplomatic thaw, India resumes e-visa services for Canadians (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Almost two months after it suspended visa services in Canada over its Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation of a potential Indian link to the killing of Canada-based Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India resumed e-visa services for Canadian nationals.
“Indian eVisa facility has been restored with effect from 22 November 2023, for all eligible Canadian citizens,” the Indian High Commission in Ottawa tweeted.
Last month, India had restored visa services in some categories including entry visa, business visa, medical visa and conference visa. But tourist visas have still not been restored for Canadian citizens.
As the situation there has become more secure or relatively improved, I think we have found it possible for the visa services to progressively resume. The physical visa had started in many categories.
So at that time itself we had said, we will be looking at… so I think it was a logical step,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, responding to questions on the issue.
Govt & Politics
SC to hear in January pleas challenging constitutional validity of sedition in IPC (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of section 124A that deals with sedition, in January next year.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, presiding over a three-judge bench before which the matter came up Wednesday, said he would constitute a bench to hear it soon.
Hearing it last on September 12, 2023, the SC had said the matter needed to be heard by a five-judge Constitution bench and directed that they be placed before the CJI for this.
The court also rejected the Centre’s plea to defer the hearing until Parliament took a final decision on the Bill to replace the IPC with The Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita.
It said that the latter, being a penal statute, will have only prospective application and, therefore, the fate of cases registered under Section 124A be decided separately.
Express Network
Will only decide if 2022 PMLA verdict needs relook, says SC (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court bench hearing petitions challenging the 2022 ruling upholding the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the powers of the ED under it that its mandate was not to decide the merits of the matter but only to see if it needs a relook by a larger bench.
“We are not here to decide the merits in that sense. Whether there is a need at all for having a relook or not. That the limited ambit…we have to also see whether we feel it’s a matter that needs to go to a five-judge bench,” Justice S K Kaul presiding over a three-judge bench said as the Centre objected to the court taking it up while petitions seeking review of the 2022 judgment are pending.
“Can it be done so by Your Lordship?,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre, asked the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Bela M Trivedi. Justice Kaul answered in affirmative, citing the court referring some land acquisition matters to a five-judge bench.
Editorial
A way out of the dark (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Earlier, in India, fatalities during disasters were taken in stride, without generating the passion needed to bring the nation together to save the lives at stake.
As against that, what is on display at the Silkyara Tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand is a revolution of sorts. A focused effort by a plethora of government and private agencies is underway, exploiting advances in technology, communication and transportation.
With coordination between the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Disaster Management Authority, and the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), in an integrated “all of government” approach, efforts are on to save the precious lives of 41 workers stuck inside a partially collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas.
None of those stuck in the tunnel have the reach or status to influence decisions. Yet, every leader and official has their welfare, and that of their families, in mind.
Ideas Page
A tentative pause (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Middle East is the land of prophets; hence, it is miraculous as well as unpredictable. Call it a ceasefire, a pause or a temporary lull in active hostility.
With several global players putting their weight behind their respective allies, a temporary suspension of hostilities in the 47-day-old Israel-Gaza conflict looks more promising than ever before.
While the finer details are still being worked out, the broad picture runs like this: There will be a four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict to facilitate the release of 50 civilians who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Most are Israeli citizens or dual nationals and would comprise only women and children. There are no suggestions of the elderly being part of this deal. The 50 hostages will be released in batches of 10 during the four-day ceasefire.
For its part, Israel would release about 150 Palestinian women and children who are in its jails. It might release more prisoners if Hamas frees additional hostages. Israel seems to have identified about 300 persons who were not accused/convicted of violent crimes.
Explained
Ghol fish (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The black-spotted croaker, or the ghol fish — considered a fisherman’s lottery — was declared the state fish of Gujarat .
The Gujarat government chose the ghol because of its economic value and its uniqueness. The fish is usually found in the Indo-Pacific region that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean. The declaration will enable Gujarat to be a part of its conservation efforts, said officials.
“Every state can declare a state fish. While deciding one for Gujarat, the first thing that came to our mind was the uniqueness of the fish species. This fish is not easily available. Catches that are reported are far and few between.
The second factor was the economic value of the fish, and third, we needed to conserve it and prevent it from over-exploitation,” Nitin Sangwan, Commissioner of Fisheries, Gujarat government.
Selecting a state fish is a consultative process with representatives of all the districts. Ribbon fish, pomfret, and Bombay Duck were the other species that were considered for designation as state fish.
Economy
RBI governor asks banks, NBFCs to avoid all forms of exuberance (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das advised banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to maintain a sustainable level of credit growth and avoid ‘all forms of exuberance’.
Speaking at a banking event organised jointly by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &Industry (FICCI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), Das urged banks and NBFCs to pay greater attention to their liabilities and continue to do stress testing of their books.
The statement comes days after the RBI increased the risk weights on the exposure of banks towards consumer credit, credit card receivables and NBFCs by 25 per cent to up to 150 per cent.