Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
With no sign of the end of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin, that “today’s era is not an era of war”. Putin said he understood Delhi’s concerns about the conflict in Ukraine and wanted it to end “as soon as possible”.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the Uzbekistan city of Samarkand, Modi told Putin, “I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this.” He said democracy, diplomacy and dialogue have kept the world together.
Maintaining that Ukraine had rejected negotiations, Putin said Kyiv was set on achieving its own objectives “on the battlefield”.
Putin had made similar comments to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, saying he understood Beijing’s concerns over the conflict.
Putin told Modi, “We will do our best to stop this as soon as possible. However, unfortunately, the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, announced its refusal to continue negotiations and declared that they wanted to achieve their goals by military means, as they say ‘on the battlefield’. But nevertheless, we will always keep you informed of what is happening there.”
It is important that we constantly coordinate our positions, despite the coronavirus restrictions: we spoke on the phone four times, our officials are constantly in contact with each other.
This was the first meeting of the two leaders since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year – and their most candid public conversation on the war between the two leaders.
They have spoken at least four times in the last six months with Modi calling for cessation of hostilities and advocating the path of diplomacy and dialogue.
While India did not criticise the Russian invasion, it condemned the Bucha massacre in which innocent civilians were killed.
Constructive relations between our countries in the economic sphere are obviously developing. The trade turnover is growing, including due to, as you requested, additional deliveries of Russian fertilisers to the Indian market.
Supplies of fertilisers from Russia to India increased by more than eight times – not by some percentage, but by more than eight times. I hope this will help Indian farmers solve the complex tasks of providing food for the country’s population.
Pandemic effect: Chip manufacturers pick phones, laptops over automobiles, banks (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, Welfare Scheme)
As India moves towards fostering its own semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, sectors such as automobiles and banks are alleging that chipmakers are discriminating — in the aftermath of supply disruptions caused by the pandemic — in favour of clients who need high-value chips over the lower ticket-size ones used by carmakers and banks.
This assumes significance given the representation by Indian Banks Association (IBA) to the government seeking intervention of the antitrust panel to address chip shortage that is hitting issuance of credit and debit cards.
Semiconductor industry executives, however, attribute this to market forces. They say that once the pandemic set in, certain products like laptops and smartphones took priority over others, triggered primarily by action taken by consumer segments such as car companies.
This resulted in OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) of certain sectors releasing the slots at fabrication units allocated to automakers to cater to demand from other high-value items such as laptops, smartphones, headphones, etc, demand of which spiked as people started working from home.
“Just like we reserve railway tickets in advance and there is a wait list, one has to book slots to have chips manufactured in advance. If you don’t, you lose your slot.
A lot of automotive companies cancelled their slots (when the pandemic started) with the assumption that they will not be requiring it,” Sanjay Gupta, Vice President & India Managing Director at the Netherlands-headquartered NXP Semiconductors told The Indian Express. NXP Semiconductors is one of the three largest semiconductor suppliers to automotive companies in the world.
This was because having the slots would mean you pay for some of the expenses. Running a fab takes millions of dollars a day. Automotive companies thought that supplies will not be required in the first couple of quarters of 2020 and they released those slots.
But there was another phenomenon that was happening — work from home, study from home, gym from home, basically everything from home. Nobody had predicted this phenomenon.
Digitisation that was expected to happen in a 5-10 year timeframe, happened in literally one quarter,”adding that once the demand for cars came back, it was difficult for auto companies to get those slots back. “Automotive companies barely got their slots back and whatever they could get back they got it at a higher price”.
Auto makers and banks allege that chipmakers prefer high-end chip sales for laptops and phone companies rather than the low-end ones they need.
However, semiconductor companies say that during the pandemic, auto firms, their demand depressed, released their “chip-manufacturing” slots given the lockdown — and were only now coming back.
For the carmakers, this meant huge order backlogs, and even cutting down on some features for lack of necessary electronic parts and components.
Cheetahs arrive today in their new home in Kuno, PM to release them (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Species In News)
Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh is all set to welcome the eight Namibian cheetahs as officials battled heavy rain, inclement weather and some blocked roads to complete the preparations for the Prime Minister’s programme to release the big cats.
The special cargo plane carrying the felines, which left Namibia Friday, will land at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh between 6 am and 6:30 am, instead of Jaipur in Rajasthan, as planned earlier.
The animals will then be flown to Kuno in Sheopur district (165 km away) on an Air Force helicopter, which will take about 20-25 minutes.
Gwalior SP Amit Sanghi told The Indian Express: “We are expecting the aircraft carrying the cheetahs to land early morning at the airbase in Gwalior. All necessary arrangements to ensure a swift and smooth transition will be made.”
Two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival, heavy rain lashed the Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, casting a shadow over the cheetah programme. It was on Thursday that a final nod for the programme was given, after which preparations began in full swing.
On Friday, the narrow single-lane road leading to Kuno was jammed with heavy security. Posters and banners were put up 18 km outside the Tiktoli entry gate of Kuno celebrating the arrival of the cheetahs. A forest department staffer said: We received these posters yesterday only but with heavy rains they were not put up.
The PM is expected to arrive in Kuno in the morning and release the five female and three male cheetahs into two quarantine enclosures. He will interact with cheetah mitras, anganwadi women and forest personnel including cheetah caretakers. Saturday also happens to be the PM’s birthday.
After the cheetah programme, the PM will interact with women of self-help groups at another event in Karahal. More than 1.2 lakh women will be present at the venue.
Meanwhile, the Special Protection Group combed the roads and forests of Kuno while officials set up medical camps and water arrangements at parking spots. There were also rehearsals conducted for over two hours, including a helicopter landing trial at two of the five newly-created helipads.
Idea Page
Taking ambedkar forward (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 1, Significant Personalities)
As India celebrates 75 years of its Independence, it is an opportune moment to remember the father of our Constitution, BabasahebBhimrao Ambedkar, who gave wings to the dreams and aspirations of the weaker and poorer sections of our society.
Though governments have contributed toward nation-building since Independence, it is the Narendra Modi government that has realised the unfulfilled dreams of Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Today is also the birthday of our beloved Prime Minister, with whom I have had a long and memorable association. I have seen him work as an organisation man, chief minister and now as Prime Minister of India. PM Modi’s zeal and his monumental work for the uplift of the downtrodden and weaker sections of our society — his concern for Dalits, Adivasis and women — impressed me the most. As a true disciple of Babasaheb, he has been striving hard to make India an egalitarian society.
The influence of Ambedkar on Modi is clearly visible in all his actions, programmes and policies. He has always followed the path shown by Babasaheb. In the form of “Panchteerth”, PM Modi has given the nation and the world a gift.
It is Modi who not only decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Babasaheb as “SamrastaDiwas” but also gave India its Constitution Day on November 26. It was at the initiative of PM Modi that the United Nations celebrated Babasaheb’s 125th birth anniversary.
Two important actions of the Narendra Modi Government which realise the unfulfilled missions of Babasaheb Ambedkar are the abolition of Article 370 and the making of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Despite the strong objections of Ambedkar, Article 370 became part of our Constitution, which stalled the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
It is due to the commitment and willpower of PM Modi that Article 370 was abrogated thus leading to the unification of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
PM Modi has been working on a mission mode to make a strong, self-reliant India. Ambedkar knew that only an “Atmanirbhar Bharat” can be a developed nation.
Previous governments lacked the will and commitment to take India on the path of self-reliance. It is PM Modi who started this course correction and showcased to the world the prowess of India. Today, the world acknowledges our strength.
As President of India, whenever I used to interact with PM Modi regarding social issues and governance, it was the deep-rooted corruption in our system that worried him the most.
He used to say that it is the poor who suffer the most as a result of this. In the past eight years, we have seen PM Modi waging a decisive battle against corruption and ensuring that the fruits of all the government schemes reach the poorest of the poor.
Today, beneficiaries of government schemes get money directly transferred into their accounts. All the schemes of the Narendra Modi Government reflect compassion for the poorest of the poor.
Govt. and Politics
Give each other full transit right, Modi tells SCO members in Pak PM presence (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
With Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif listening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states Friday to “give each other full right to transit”.
Addressing the SCO summit that included China President Xi Jinping and Russia President Vladimir Putin in the Uzbekistan city of Samarkand, Modi framed the “right to transit” in the context of connectivity and how it could help establish reliable and resilient supply chains in the region.
Lack of transit across Pakistan’s territory has been a challenge for India to access Central Asian markets, and Delhi has flagged this concern several times in the past.
Iran’s President EbrahimRaisi said that despite impressive potential, infrastructural connections in the field of transit between members of the SCO are “not so extensive”.
“Iran gives special priority to the development of the North-South Corridor and has made huge investments,” the Iran government tweeted, quoting Raisi.
In his speech, Modi, who held bilateral talks later with Putin, steered clear of any reference to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He instead called it the “crisis in Ukraine” which, along with the Covid pandemic, he said, caused obstacles in global supply chains.
President Xi, meanwhile, expressed support for India, which is going to assume the Presidency of the SCO and will host the summit next year.
The Prime Minister did not make any mention of “respect for territorial integrity” — he mentioned it in his summit speech last year. He also made no mention of extremism and radicalisation.
Congratulating Uzbekistan President ShavkatMirziyoyev for SCO’s effective leadership in a “challenging global and regional environment”, the Prime Minister said, “Today, when the whole world is facing the challenges of economic recovery after the pandemic, the role of SCO becomes very important.
SCO member countries contribute about 30 per cent of global GDP, and 40 per cent of the world’s population also lives in SCO countries. India supports greater cooperation and mutual trust among SCO members.
The pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine caused many obstacles in global supply chains, due to which the whole world is facing an unprecedented energy and food crisis.
SCO must make efforts to develop reliable, resilient and diversified supply chains in our region. This will require better connectivity, as well as it will be important that we all give each other full right to transit.
Explained Page
In Telangana today, same event, 2 celebrations (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
To mark 75 years of the merger of the princely state of Hyderabad with the Indian Union, the central and state governments will hoist national flags at separate events in Telangana.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will unfurl the flag at 8.45 am at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad to celebrate ‘Hyderabad State Liberation Day’, while Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will hoist the Tricolour at 10.30 am in Public Gardens in Hyderabad as part of ‘Telangana National Unity Day’ celebrations.
When India became independent on August 15, 1947, it was still struggling to bring the 500-odd princely states dotting its territory into the union.
Among the states that had not acceded to the union was Hyderabad, leading Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to famously note that an independent Hyderabad would constitute a “cancer in the belly of India”.
In the 1940s, a strong peasant movement, led by the communists, had started against the government of the Nizam. When discussions about accession to India started, the Nizam and the nobility were in favour of an independent Hyderabad, but the majority of the population, including peasant protesters, wanted to join the Union of India.
The Nizam used a paramilitary force called the Razakars to terrorise and suppress the peasantry, and to lead the armed resistance against joining the Union.
The Razakars plundered villages and killed indiscriminately to crush the demand for merger with India, including 96 villagers in Bhairanapally on August 27, 1948.
On September 17, 1948, the Indian Army entered the princely state, which consisted of modern-day Telangana and some areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka, as part of Operation Polo. In less than a week, the Nizam and the Razakar squads surrendered.
With the Assembly polls in the state scheduled for next year, the BJP is seeking to turn the anniversary of the historic occasion into an opportunity to score political points against the TRS and its ally, the All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM) led by Hyderabad MP AsaduddinOwaisi.
It has attacked the ruling party for not observing the occasion in the eight years it has been in power, and has sought to link it to the TRS’s alleged “reluctance” to upset Owaisi.
The Razakars had links with an outfit called the Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, or MIM. The Owaisi-led party says that this original Majlis ceased to exist after September 17, 1948.
Cheetahs are coming (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Species In News)
Over 70 years after they went extinct, eight cheetahs landed in India on Saturday (September 17) from Namibia. The big cats were flown in on a modified passenger B-747 Jumbo Jet, which took off from Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek and landed in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior.
The cheetahs will be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of his birthday today, at Kuno National Park.
On board the jet were eight Namibian wild cheetahs, five females and three males. Here’s what you need to know about the relocation project.
A plan to reintroduce cheetahs in India that was endorsed in 2009 by then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh was shot down by the Supreme Court in 2013. The idea was revived in 2017 by the Narendra Modi government, and the SC cleared the move in 2020 “on an experimental basis”.
This is the first time in the world that a large carnivore will be relocated from one continent to another.