18 June 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Alarm bells as heatwave pushes up peak demand, Power Ministry asks utilities to be on high alert
Page no- 1
GS3-Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- Amidst a sweltering heatwave and an expected surge in agricultural load by end-June, a key body of power engineers employed across state and central utilities, on Monday flagged the possibility of a grid outage in Punjab that could have a cascading impact on the country’s grid, and also warned that an imminent surge in demand “may lead to an unmanageable power situation”.
- Over the last one month, the northern region has been witnessing a record demand due to the prevailing heat conditions.
- On Monday, it touched the highest-ever peak demand of 89 giga watt (1 GW is 1,000 mega watts), which was successfully met.
- But such high demand has led to power supply cuts in Lucknow and Meerut, and also impacted passenger services in Delhi international airport Monday afternoon after a “significant voltage spike in the grid, reportedly due to the tripping of a 765KV line”.
NSAs meet: India, US pledge to deepen partnership in critical and new technologies
Page no- 1
GS2-Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
- In the first official visit from the US since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was re-elected for a third-term, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and agreed to strengthen cooperation in a range of areas — Defence technology, Space, Artificial Intelligence, High-Performance Computing, critical minerals among others.
- Sullivan, who is in India on a two-day official visit beginning Monday, also met External Affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Bharat’s way in the world
Page no- 8
GS2-Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
- After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with the beleaguered “steering committee of the free world” at the G7 outreach summit at Apulia on the Adriatic coast of Italy, it is clear that a fractured and fragile world needs India and its leadership, almost desperately so — much of the West seems to have run out of steam and ideas.
- In a precarious international system, the self-declared “enlightened world”, including the Holy See, is looking East with trepidation and expectation.
- While Xi Jinping’s China poses the greatest threat to the values, interests and the Western way of living and thinking, in India there is hope for the future.
- Clearly, this episodic Western romance with India is not new, but this time it is not another New Age Helena Blavatsky’s search for spiritual masters.
- Instead, it is a fresh faith in the promise of India — in almost every sense of the word: As a vishwa mitra, a vishwa bandhu, a vishwa guru and even as a vishwa rakshak (friend, family, guru and protector).
Less taxing
Page no- 8
GS3-Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- In a few weeks from now, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will unveil the Union budget for 2024-25.
- The budget, the first of the newly sworn in government, will be presented against the backdrop of a continuing slump in household consumption and subdued private sector investments.
- In what could be an acknowledgement of the extent of this demand slump and the need for policy intervention, officials in the government are reportedly exploring the possibility of rationalising the tax structure, tinkering specifically with the tax rates for lower income segments.
- There is an expectation that such a proposal would help boost household consumption, thereby pushing private capex in consumer focused sectors, providing a fillip to economic activity.
- But, alongside such measures, there is also a need for a more comprehensive review of the tax systems in the country.
Infantilising learners
Page no- 8
GS2-Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education
- Social scientists often refer to an adage: The past lives in the present.
- The axiom is particularly salient vis a vis the legacies of momentous events of the recent past — they resonate in political debates, influence policy and leave deep imprints on social and cultural landscapes.
- That’s why an understanding of contemporary history, especially uncomfortable facts and fraught moments, should be critical to the National Education Policy’s objective of “enhancing critical thinking among students”.
- This imperative seems to have eluded the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
- Director DP Saklani has justified the omission of the Gujarat riots and the violence after the Babri Masjid demolitions from the NCERT Class 12 Political Science textbook on the ground that an “expert committee felt that mentioning a few (riots) selectively is not good”.
- Earlier, Saklani had said to the news agency PTI, “Why should we teach about riots in school textbooks? We want to create positive citizens, not violent and depressed individuals”. His statements are troubling.
Let’s do 1991 without a crisis
Page no- 9
GS3- Effects of Liberalization on the Economy
- Even as the newly-elected government begins the quest for a Viksit Bharat, here is some trade policy counsel, entirely gratuitous, without provocation and with a dose of abundant humility.
- The period immediately after a General Election is good for breakthrough policy, and if there is an area that needs one, it is trade.
- For, without an increase in trade, India will be unable to emulate the successes of its East Asian neighbours and without heightened competitiveness, it will be unable to trade.
- The Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the Euro Zone struggles of 2010 and the economic downturn as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic recently, all in close succession, have prompted many governments to rethink global engagements.
- Protectionism, industrial policy and self-reliance, once anathema for trade policy thinkers in developed countries, are now well and truly embedded in the mainstream discourse.
Mifepristone
Page no- 10
GS3-Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life
- The US Supreme Court on Thursday (June 13) rejected a petition by anti-abortion groups seeking to undo the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of a commonly available abortion pill, called mifepristone.
- In a unanimous ruling — authored by Justice Brett M Kavanaugh — the court held that as the petitioners lacked a direct stake in the dispute, they could not sue the FDA.
Kerala’s migration story
Page no- 10
GS1-Population and Associated Issues
- The Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2023 report was unveiled at the Lok Kerala Sabha, state government-constituted platform for Keralites abroad and in other states, last week in Thiruvananthapuram.
- Prepared by the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMD) and Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, the report reveals the findings of the sixth KMS, conducted every five years since 1998.
DSR cultivation needs less water, labour; why is it still not popular in Punjab?
Page no- 10
GS3-Major Crops - Cropping Patterns in various parts of the country
- The Punjab government has been actively promoting the direct seeding of rice (DSR), or ‘tar-wattar’ technique, This can reduce water use by 15% to 20% (the traditional puddling method requires 3,600 to 4,125 litres of water to grow a single kilo of rice).
- Moreover, DSR requires less labour and matures 7 to 10 days faster, giving farmers more time to manage paddy straw.
- Despite these benefits, and government incentives (Rs 1,500 per acre, this year), this technique is yet to see widespread adoption in Punjab.
- Last year, only 1.73 lakh acres of the 79 lakh acres under paddy cultivation in Punjab saw the use of this technique.
- Even the government’s target of bringing 7 lakh acres under DSR this year represents less than 10% of Punjab’s total rice acreage.
US, EU anti-subsidy action: Mechanism to verify tax refunds in the pipeline
Page no- 11
GS3-Issues related to Direct and Indirect Farm Subsidies and Minimum Support Prices
- The Finance Ministry and the Commerce and Industry Ministry are working on an institutional mechanism to verify tax refunds given to exporters under the government’s key duty remission scheme to steer clear of countervailing duties imposed by top importing countries such as the European Union and the US, a government official said.
- This comes after the US and EU last year imposed countervailing duties (CVDs) on paper file folders, common alloy aluminium sheet and forged steel fluid following an anti-subsidy investigation.
- CVDs are tariffs on imported goods that are imposed to offset subsidies given by the exporting country’s government, aimed at protecting the domestic industry.
Nearly 60 times jump in silver imports from UAE unusual
Page no- 11
GS3-Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- A near 60 times jump in silver imports during the last financial year from United Arab Emirates (UAE) is unusual since the West Asian country does not produce silver and the import jump may be indicative of a breach in rule of origin finalised by India and UAE under the free trade agreement that came into force in May 2022, a report by think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
- The think tank headed by former trade officer Ajay Srivastava said that Silver imports from the UAE increased by 5.853 per cent, from $29.2 million in FY23 to $1.74 billion in FY24, due to India charging an 8 per cent duty under UAE trade deal versus a 15 per cent Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff on imports from other countries.
