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To mitigate man-elephant conflict, emerging as a key challenge in Odisha, the state government has sought four Kumki elephants and their mahouts from Tamil Nadu, given the state’s success in training and utilising them for wildlife conservation.
Kumkis are trained captive elephants used in operations to trap, rescue and tranquilise wild elephants. “They can be deployed strategically to help manage and drive wild elephants, thereby reducing damage to crops, human habitation and the potential loss of both human and elephant lives.
These elephants can also be deployed for forest patrolling and rescue operations,” said additional chief secretary of Odisha’s forests and environment department, Satyabrata Sahu.
In a letter to Supriya Sahu, his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, the Odisha officer said the Kumki elephants will serve as an invaluable asset to the state’s wildlife organisation and aid its efforts to minimise conflicts.
Express Network
SC notice on Sena UBT plea against speaker’s refusal to disqualify Shinde MLAs (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court issued notice on a plea by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) challenging Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s decision recognising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and rejecting petitions seeking disqualification of MLAs of the faction.
A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud issued the notice that is returnable in two weeks. Initially, the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, wondered if the petitioners should first approach the high court.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Thackeray faction, said that would mean that elections would be over by the time the plea was finally decided. He also pointed out that the matter involves the interpretation of the Supreme Court order and, therefore, the apex court would be appropriate to take it up.
Editorial
First, Listen (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The official consultation process set in motion for gauging the viability of simultaneous elections is unfolding like a chronicle foretold.
According to the Union Law Ministry, 81 per cent of the 20,000-plus responses received by the High Level Committee on One Nation, One Election have favoured the idea.
The Committee headed by a former president, Ram Nath Kovind, issued a public notice asking for suggestions between January 5-15. Unfortunately, given its constitution, manner of functioning and the larger context of one-party dominance, the Kovind Committee gives the impression of being partisan at best and a rubber stamp at worst.
The blame for the lack of robust debate on the proposal also lies with the Opposition, particularly Congress. On an issue with far-reaching consequences, it has refused to engage.
The eight members of the Committee have either openly expressed support for simultaneous polls — as president, Kovind did, in Parliament, in 2019 — or are seen to be close to the government and therefore broadly in agreement with its pet projects.
Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, refused to be a part of the Committee arguing that it is imbalanced. The Committee’s very terms of reference assume that One Nation, One Election is in “national interest”. But despite this, an Opposition leader could have played an important role — by voicing concerns the government may not want heard and by pushing for greater transparency in the process.
As things stand, the concerns of the Opposition and the states look scattered and are being voiced piecemeal: Congress has called it “undemocratic”, AAP has said it will give an “unfair advantage” to the ruling party, the DMK has labelled it “dangerous”, and the TMC described it as “against the federal structure”.
Economy
Govt may increase agri credit target to 22-25 lakh crore in interim budget (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The government is likely to announce in the upcoming interim Budget a substantial increase in the agricultural credit target to Rs 22-25 lakh crore for the next fiscal and ensure every eligible farmer has access to institutional credit, according to sources.
The government's agri-credit target is Rs 20 lakh crore for the current fiscal.
Currently, the government provides interest subvention of two per cent on short term agri-loans of up to Rs 3 lakh for all financial institutions. This means farmers are getting a farm loan of up to Rs 3 lakh at a concessional rate of 7 per cent per annum.
Explained
Assam shrine Rahul was stopped from visiting (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was prevented from visiting Assam’s Batadrava Than, where he was going as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The yatra was stopped for over two hours at Haibargaon in Nagaon, and around 9:30 am, only Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and Batadrava MLA Sibamoni Bora were allowed past the barricades to visit the Than.
On Sunday, the president of the Than management committee had written to Bora, saying Rahul would not be allowed inside the premises before 3 pm on Monday since thousands of people would gather there in the morning to mark the pran pratishtha at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too had said Rahul should visit the Than after the Ayodhya ceremony had concluded.
Located in Nagaon district, the Batadrava Than, or Bordowa Than, is one of the most sacred sites for Assamese Vaishnavites. The Than is situated at the birthplace of revered Vaishnavite reformer-saint Srimanta Sankardeva (1449-1568).
FMR regime along Myanmar border : Rationale and criticism (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Although beneficial to local people and helpful in improving Indo-Myanmar ties, it has been criticised in the past for unintentionally aiding illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and gun running.
The border runs through forested and undulating terrain, is almost entirely unfenced, and difficult to monitor. In Manipur, less than 6 km of the border is fenced.
Since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, the ruling junta has launched a campaign of persecution against the Kuki-Chin peoples.
This has pushed large numbers of Myanmarese tribals across the country’s western border into India, especially into Manipur and Mizoram, where they have sought shelter.
Mizoram, where a large section of the population has close ethnic and cultural ties with people across the border, has set up camps for more than 40,000 refugees, despite protests from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Manipur too has received a chunk of illegal migrants in the last few months. A committee set up by the state government to identify such migrants in 2023 put their number at 2,187. In September 2022, 5,500 illegal immigrants were caught in Moreh, and 4,300 were pushed back, sources said. Biometrics of these individuals have been recorded.
World
Pakistan, Iran agree to reinstate envoys after missile strikes (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Pakistan and Iran have agreed on the return of their respective ambassadors by January 26, following a series of missile strikes and drone attacks between the two nations.
A joint statement from the Pakistan foreign office on Monday revealed that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will visit Pakistan on January 29 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani.
Expressing his satisfaction, Pakistan's Ambassador to Iran, Mudassir Tipu, shared his thoughts on X, stating, "So delighted that the leaderships of both Pakistan and Iran so deftly handled a challenging moment astutely—swiftly putting relations back on track. We have great potential ahead, and both brotherly countries must collectively promote peace and development in the region."