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A day after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu took an indirect jibe at India for “bullying”, his government on Sunday set a March 15 deadline for India to withdraw its military personnel from the country.
The deadline was announced by a senior official in the Muizzu government on a day the India-Maldives high-level core group held its first meeting in Male.
In this meeting, on behalf of President Muizzu, the Maldivian delegation proposed the removal of Indian troops by March 15,” Ahmed Nazim, policy director at the President’s Office told reporters.
This date was proposed in the agenda by the government and specifically the President. These discussions are ongoing.
Local media reports also quoted Nazim on a March 15 deadline. “Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration.
Govt & Politics
Govt to release first installment of Rs 540 cr for houses to 1 lakh vulnerable tribals today (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
In continuation of its tribal outreach ahead of Lok Sabha elections, the government will release the first instalment for pucca houses amounting to Rs 540 crore to one lakh beneficiaries from particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs).
On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually interact with the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), the flagship central scheme launched in November 2023 for socio-economic welfare of PVTGs, spread across 18 states and Union Territories.
Simultaneously, in 100 districts, officials from both the Centre and the respective state governments will distribute benefits under the package to gram panchayats and village chiefs, said a statement issued by the Tribal Affairs Ministry.
In the two months since the launch of the scheme on November 15, the government has sanctioned projects worth over Rs 4,700 crore through nine ministries under the PM-JANMAN package, said Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda.
Editorial
Leading the climate dance (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
It should be clear to all of us by now that the problem of air pollution, anywhere in India, especially in NCR, is unlikely to be solved in the near future.
It has now become a perennial problem rather than a seasonal one that we could ignore as a short-term inconvenience.
Addressing it requires making difficult choices and tough decisions, both at the societal and governmental levels — neither is ready to discuss and debate the issue except to indulge in a blame game.
As is true for any environmental issue, climate change and air pollution present us with the difficult proposition of making choices based on multiple trade-offs between development and environmental preservation. These trade-offs are hard but critical and should be well-informed and based on societal values.
There is a saying in Thailand that a triangle moves the mountain with three angles — in this case, this could be scientists or academia, governments and people.
Scientists from the arena of atmospheric sciences and the health sector have generated sufficient evidence for us to act. Some gaps will continue to exist, but that is the nature of science.
There is always more to discover and learn. The job of academicians is to generate and present evidence so that these trade-offs are done in an informed manner. So, who should make these trade-offs?
Ideas Page
A truth forsaken (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
In the second part of this series (‘Construction of identities’, IE, November 6) on the anti-Dharmic origins and journey of the Dravidian Movement, drawing from scholarly literature, I had stated that “caste” and “tribe” as we understand them today, are ethnocentric categories created by the Christian European coloniser based on ethnographies of Bharat’s society and social organisation prepared by Christian missionaries.
I had ended the piece with the following questions: One, what were the motivations of the colonial-missionary combine in seeking to understand and document the ethnography of Bharat? Two, how did they go about this exercise? How much of a role did European Christian theology and ethnocentrism play in framing the purpose and methodology of the exercise? Three, what was the role played by the “native” in aid of the exercise? Did the “native” understand colonial intentions and evangelical motives? If yes, why did he continue to cooperate and collaborate with the colonial exercise to the detriment of Bharat?
The first question may give the impression that documentation of Bharat’s “ethnography” was undertaken for the first time during the British colonial period.
However, literature reveals that the interest of Christian European missionaries in Bharat’s social organisation predates the formal establishment of the British Raj. In this piece, I will present a broad snapshot of early missionary work in Bharat which birthed both “caste” and the “Dravidian” identity.
World
No one, not even the Hague can halt war against Hamas says Netanyahu (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Israel will pursue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the world court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on January 13, as the fighting in Gaza approached the 100-day mark.
Netanyahu spoke after the International Court of Justice at The Hague held two days of hearings on South Africa's allegations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel has rejected as libelous and hypocritical. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step.
Economy
Accelerated market entry: Govt permits parallel testing for electronics from manufacturers (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Products of electronics and mobile manufacturers like Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Dell, boAt, among others, can now reach the market faster as the government has allowed parallel testing of 64 electronic devices, which includes mobile phones, wireless earphones, headphones, laptops, notebooks, and tablets etc.
As per the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS), electronic products, whether imported or manufactured locally, require to be mandatorily tested and need security approvals from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), before being deployed in the final product and sold to consumers.
Over the last one year, the government was running a pilot project for parallel testing of components, moving away from the system of sequential testing.
In parallel testing different components are simultaneously tested unlike sequential testing where the tests are done one after another.
As a result, components can be deployed and products can reach market faster in parallel testing compared to sequential testing.