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Seventy-eight Opposition MPs – 33 from Lok Sabha and 45 from Rajya Sabha – were suspended from Parliament on Monday – the highest ever suspensions in a day.
With 14 Opposition MPs (13 from Lok Sabha, one from Rajya Sabha) suspended last week, a total of 92 MPs have now been suspended this session.
The MPs faced action for disrupting House proceedings. Protesting against the Parliament security breach on December 13, the Opposition members have been demanding a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, followed by a discussion.
Some MPs have also sought Shah’s resignation, and the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside Parliament to issue a statement.
Till now, the highest number of MPs suspended in a single day was on March 15, 1989, when 63 Opposition members were suspended from Lok Sabha over tabling of the inquiry commission report on the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Telecom bill paves way for allocation of satellite spectrum (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, has opened the door for administrative allocation of spectrum for satellite broadband services, which is the global norm for assigning spectrum to entities. This could be a big win for Bharti Airtel’s OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Starlink, and Amazon’s Kuiper.
The assignment of spectrum — whether through an auction or administrative allocation — for satellite communications was at the heart of a debate between the government and a divided industry, with the telecom department even asking the telecom regulator TRAI for modalities around auctioning satellite spectrum.
While Reliance Jio had earlier called for auctioning of the spectrum rather than allocating it administratively, OneWeb had “strongly recommended” the government take the administrative allocation route and charge a fee for it “in order to promote investment and make sure competitive prices are available to the market at the end”.
Musk’s Starlink had recommended that the regulatory framework impose nominal charges as spectrum use charges to ensure affordable access to services.
Govt & Politics
Centre launches forest certification scheme to counter foreign agencies (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Amid rising international concerns on deforestation and illicit trade in timber, the government has launched its own “national” forest certification scheme to validate entities that adhere to sustainable practices in management of forests and its products.
The Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS) will offer an alternative to the private foreign certification agencies that have been operating in the Indian market for the last two decades.
A report in The Indian Express, as part of a global investigation into deforestation and greenwashing by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in March this year, had revealed that there were serious questions over the integrity of these certifications, which affected acceptance of Indian products in international markets and resulted in high dropout rates among certified entities.
That report had also mentioned that the government was planning to start its own certification scheme for improved regulation of the market.
Express Network
Trial done, Uttarakhand to launch India’s first gyrocopter air safari (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Uttarakhand government is all set to revolutionise tourism with the launch of India’s first-ever Himalayan AirSafari using compact, agile aircraft known as gyrocopters. The first gyrocopter trial flight was successfully completed at Bairagi Camp.
The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, in collaboration with Rajas Aerosports and Adventures Pvt Ltd, is introducing gyrocopters as a novel way to explore its stunning landscapes.
Additional chief executive officer of the board Colonel Ashwini Pundir, who was part of the trial flight, said the Himalayan Air Safari scheme using gyrocopter will be launched soon.
As part of the scheme, tourists will fly from one place to another in a gyrocopter enjoying the natural beauty of the Himalayan peaks and rivers.
Pundir said Uttarakhand Tourism is committed to providing safe and unique options to tourists to explore the state’s beauty. He added that state-of-the-art gyrocopters from Germany have been procured and the operations will initially be led by expertly trained German pilots.
Plans are underway to develop specialised airstrips across various scenic locales in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Department and district authorities.
Editorial
A climate for change (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Recent multilateral events, including the COP28 at Dubai, have underscored the imperative to transition towards renewable energy for achieving net-zero emissions.
The call to triple renewable energy has been highlighted by both the COP presidency and the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration of G20, in addition to the Nairobi Declaration’s push for a five-fold increase in Africa’s renewable energy capacity by 2030.
These objectives not only serve as a catalyst for intensified collective efforts but also emphasise the urgency of addressing the well-being of the poorest and most vulnerable.
Currently, around 8 per cent of the world’s population — approximately 675 million people — lack access to affordable and reliable energy, impeding human and economic development.
This energy gap has profound implications for income generation, health, education, transportation, equity and overall well-being.
Ideas Page
It is India’s time (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
There is much excitement about India’s fast-growing economy, not least triggered by the central bank recently upgrading GDP growth for 2023-24 to a dizzying 7 per cent. All of this feels a bit odd considering that global growth remains challenged.
Until a couple of months ago, the outlook for rural demand was weak given it’s an El Nino year, which is associated with poor rains and food production.
However, many rural workers instead turned to the many construction jobs on offer as the government accelerated capex, while robust housing demand kept property development up, supporting rural employment and ensuring a floor below which wages did not fall.
And, given that bank credit, house prices and construction cycles tend to be correlated, the banking sector’s clean balance sheets support further loan growth, pointing towards a continuation of this upcycle, even if a shade softer than before. This nexus, it seems, explains the recent growth upgrade.
Economy
Net direct tax mop up swells 21% to13.70 lakh crore in FY 24 (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Net direct tax collections grew by 20.66 per cent to over Rs 13.70 lakh crore in the current fiscal so far, the income tax department.
The net direct tax collection of Rs 13,70,388 crore (as of December 17, 2023 ) includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 6.95 lakh crore and Personal Income Tax (PIT), including Securities Transaction Tax at Rs 6.73 lakh crore.
The net direct tax collections have touched 75 per cent of budget estimates of direct tax mop-up in the current fiscal.
In the current fiscal, Rs 18.23 lakh crore is expected to be collected in direct taxes which includes personal income tax and corporate tax.
The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year 2023-24 (as of 17.12.2023) show that Net collections are at Rs 13,70,388 crore, compared to Rs. 11,35,754 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding Financial Year (i.e. FY 2022-23), representing an increase of 20.66 per cent,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBdT) said in a statement.
Explained
India’s first winter of Arctic research: Why it matters (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Himadri, India’s Arctic Research Station at Ny-Ålesund in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean, will now remain operational throughout the year. India sent off its first winter expedition, comprising four scientists from four different institutions, to Himadri.
At least 10 countries have set up permanent facilities at the International Arctic Research base in Ny-Ålesund, a small town above the 78th parallel N, about 1,200 km from the North Pole. The Svalbard group of islands is the closest human habitation to the North Pole.
The mean temperature in Ny-Ålesund in February, the coldest month, is minus 14 degree Celsius, and that in July, the warmest, is 5 degree Celsius.
Due to the extreme cold, taking scientific observations or sampling has remained largely limited to the summer months. India will join a small group of countries that operate their Arctic research bases through the winter.
All you should know about new covid variant JN 1 (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
With cases of Covid-19 on the rise in Kerala, the Union health ministry has written to states and Union Territories, asking them to monitor cases of influenza-like illnesses, conduct adequate testing, and send all positive samples for whole genome sequencing.
Kerala’s neighbouring state Karnataka has asked senior citizens to mask up. State health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao Monday said an order would be issued in this regard.
These steps come after at least one case of the new variant JN.1 was detected during routine surveillance in Kerala, the health ministry said.
This variant was also detected in the sample of a traveller from Singapore to Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli, according to the ministry.
Another 15 cases of the JN.1 variant were detected in samples from Goa, according to officials familiar with the matter.