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Terming Indians living overseas as the country’s “brand ambassadors”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said they would play a pivotal role in satisfying the “growing curiosity” about India across the world due to its “rapid progress” across sectors in recent years.
Delivering the inaugural address at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore on Monday, Modi said that apart from knowledge of the country’s culture and spirituality, Indians living abroad should also be armed with facts on India’s growth story.
G20 is not just a diplomatic event but it should be turned into a historic event of public participation where one can witness the sentiment of Atithi Devo Bhava.
India’s “voice and message” on the global stage has a distinct significance, he said. “India’s strength will grow further in the days to come. And so will the curiosity about India.
And that is why the responsibility of the Indians living overseas also grows manifold. The more you know about India, the more you will be able to tell others.
He listed the country’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, attaining the status of the fifth largest economy, manufacture of Tejas fighter jets, INS Vikrant, Arihant-class submarine, and growing popularity of digital transactions among the achievements that have drawn the world’s attention.
His words had a distinct echo of the remarks made by former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee in 2003, during the inaugural edition of the convention.
Vajpayee had then urged the overseas Indians to “project the truth about India to the world in a credible and effective manner” and counter “propaganda”.
For the ongoing convention, which will culminate on Tuesday with President Droupadi Murmu awarding 27 overseas Indians for their achievements in various sectors, over 3,500 registrations were made by people from across 70 countries.
Places of Worship Act: Centre again seeks more time, SC says Feb-end (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Nearly 22 months after the Supreme Court issued notice to it in the matter, the Centre Monday sought more time to present its stand on petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, saying it is “consulting” on the issue and “the process” is on. The court gave the Centre time “till February end”.
When asked by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud whether the Centre had filed the counter-affidavit explaining its position, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “Kindly fix it for hearing. We are consulting. The process is going. We may file it before that.”
After a brief hearing, the bench, which also included Justice P S Narasimha, told the Solicitor General, “File your counter. We will give you time till February end.” The bench added that it will take up the petitions after that.
The 1991 Places of Worship Act, enacted when the Ram temple movement was at its peak, mandates that the nature of all places of worship, barring the one at Ayodhya, be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947.
In June 2020, a Lucknow-based trust, Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh, and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Act. Later, the Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind, too, approached the court seeking permission to be made a party in the matter.
In its Ayodhya judgment of 2019, the Supreme Court had hailed the Places of Worship Act, 1991. It described the law as “a legislative instrument designed to protect the secular features of the Indian polity, which is one of the basic features of the Constitution”.
On Monday, appearing for some of the intervenors, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said there cannot be a PIL challenging a view taken by the court. His reference, apparently, was to the Supreme Court lauding the Act in the Ayodhya title suit judgment.
The respondents have relied on what the Supreme Court had said about the Act in the Ayodhya case to claim that the judgment already recognised the purposes of the legislation.
The petitioners, however, have contended that the Act was not in challenge in the Ayodhya dispute and that whatever was said by the court regarding the legislation would only constitute obiter dicta (opinion of the judge and hence not legally binding).
Editorial page
Don't outsource excellence (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
The 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) was a pathbreaking moment in the annals of Indian higher education. The policy envisions “a complete overhaul and re-energising of the higher education system…” and says “India will be promoted as a global study destination providing premium education at affordable costs, thereby helping to restore its role as a Vishwa Guru”. Regulatory bodies have been advancing new policy initiatives to realise this vision. The just announced University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023, have re-ignited debates on the internationalisation of Indian higher education.
Over the last three decades, three major factors have influenced the internationalisation of higher education. First, the prohibitive costs of higher education, especially in developed countries.
Indian students must pay approximately Rs 70 lakh per annum to study at Harvard, Yale or Stanford and over Rs 55 lakh per annum to study at Oxford or Cambridge.
Tuition fees alone would be about 15 times more expensive than Indian private universities and over a hundred times more costly than most Indian public universities.
Prohibitive costs will preclude education in any foreign university campus for most aspirants. The new proposal vitiates the NEP’s vision of equity and inclusion as it envisages higher education only for the super-rich.
Second, the establishment costs of top university campuses make the project unviable. The vision of uniform academic standards in both the parent university and its international campus is a noble aspiration.
However, the reality is international campuses have become a second-rate option, primarily accessible to those unable to get admission to the main campus. The quality and excellence in teaching and research on overseas campuses cannot match those in their primary location.
Third, the landscape of global higher education has dramatically changed post-Covid. The idea of brick-and-mortar international campuses has given way to building solid partnerships, student and faculty mobility, exchange and immersion programmes, joint teaching and research opportunities, collaborative conferences and publications and the development of online and blended degree programmes. The global thinking around international collaborations has changed.
Ideas page
The warning from Joshimath (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Disaster Management)
The subsidence (ground sinking) in Joshimath (at an altitude of over 6,000 feet), in the border district of Chamoli, Uttarakhand, which has spiked at an alarming rate over the past few days, is shaping up to be the second major turning point in Uttarakhand’s history.
The first was with the devastating Kedarnath floods of 2013. While the cloudbursts close to a decade ago caught our hill state by surprise, the current developments in Joshimath are a combination of ignorance and apathy.
It is widely known that the land and ecology in Uttarakhand’s mountainous regions are incredibly fragile. The region also faces frequent natural calamities such as landslides, earthquakes and flash floods. Now, the news of a sinking town hangs over the state like a dark cloud.
Speaking on Joshimath specifically, the Mishra Committee Report — conducted in 1976 — concluded that the land upon which the town is founded is, in fact, a deposit of sand and stone, the remnants of an ancient landslide.
The town is not actually built on the “main rock” of the mountain. The report also pointed out that undercutting by the currents of the Alaknanda river makes the area even more prone to disasters.
The recommendations of the report never saw the light of day and over time, Joshimath witnessed rampant construction and unplanned urbanisation.
Fast forward to February 7, 2021. Joshimath was struck in the aftermath of a deluge in the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers. This event is what experts are now suggesting likely triggered the current “sinking and cracking”.
In October that year, Joshimath was battered by a torrential downpour of over 190 mm. Following the rains, residents noticed a movement in the cracks and more frighteningly, new cracks as well, with several cropping up inside homes.
Ever since Joshimath’s people have been pleading for assistance from state and district authorities to help mitigate the damage or find solutions to a problem that has literally entered their homes.
The reaction of the officials was to turn a blind eye. Today, the town finds itself cut up, as if slashed by a dagger, with cracks measuring meters long and more than a foot wide crisscrossing it.
On December 24, 2022, there were street protests across Joshimath. It took more than a year and clear, undeniable signs of disfigurement for the government to intervene.
Secure cyberspace for children (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Cyber Security)
Multiple lockdowns during Covid-19 forced children to turn to the internet for education, entertainment and everything in between.
It led to an increase in their average screen time. This prolonged online exposure has increased threats to online safety for children. With the increasing popularity of social media platforms, utilisation of education apps and shift to online classes, children these days have a much higher chance of being exposed to harmful content. Hence, the need to secure children’s welfare and safety online is more urgent than ever.
Online child sexual abuse and exploitation refers to activities such as the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), live streaming sexual assault of minors, obtaining sexually explicit material, exhibitionism and meeting the abuser in-person.
This poses serious harm to children who experience psychological stress such as anxiety, trauma, and depression. It can also lead to behavioural changes like drug and alcohol abuse, self-harm, and lower motivation for academics.
It doesn’t end there, as the consequences of online sexual abuse in childhood are far-reaching and may well extend into adulthood — bringing forth issues with intimacy and affecting interpersonal relationships.
Moreover, the danger to the child persists after the initial production and distribution of the recorded material, with each repeated viewing or sharing being a violation of the victim.
The rapidly evolving digital landscape and advances in information technology have given rise to better encryption services and the dark net, which provide a safe cover of anonymity to offenders, allowing them to engage in child sexual abuse.
Needless to say, the danger and complexity of online abuse has escalated at an alarming rate and needs to be dealt with swiftly.
Moreover, the ubiquitous nature of the internet and online interaction has made it so that almost all cases of child sexual abuse feature a virtual aspect.
Therefore, a broad perspective and a systems-level approach should be considered when deciding on strategies to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA).
Broadly speaking, the main administrative challenges when dealing with OCSEA are limited law enforcement capacities, gaps in legislative framework,and a lack of awareness and urgency around the issue.
Explained
Land subsidence (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Almost a week after cracks appeared in many roads and hundreds of houses of Joshimath, Uttarakhand, authorities on Sunday declared it a landslide and subsidence-hit zone.
The announcement came after a high-level meeting took place among the senior officials of the Central government, Uttarakhand state officials, and top officers from agencies including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH).
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), subsidence is the “sinking of the ground because of underground material movement”.
It can happen for a host of reasons, man-made or natural, such as the removal of water, oil, or natural resources, along with mining activities.
Earthquakes, soil erosion, and soil compaction are also some of the well-known causes of subsidence. The US-based agency’s website also mentions that this phenomenon can “happen over very large areas like whole states or provinces, or very small areas like the corner of your yard.”
The exact reason behind Joshimath land subsidence is still unknown but experts suggest that the incident might have occurred because of unplanned construction, over-population, obstruction of the natural flow of water and hydel power activities. Not only this, the area is a seismic zone, which makes it prone to frequent earthquakes.
According to experts, Joshimath city has been built on an ancient landslide material — meaning it rests on a deposit of sand and stone, not rock, which doesn’t have high load-bearing capacity. This makes the area extremely vulnerable to ever-burgeoning infrastructure and population.
Moreover, the lack of a proper drainage system might have also contributed to the sinking of the area. Experts say that unplanned and unauthorised construction has led to the blocking of the natural flow of water, which eventually results in frequent landslides.
The Indian diaspora (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 1, History)
Inaugurating the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Indians living overseas are “brand ambassadors” of the country on foreign soil.
Over the years, the convention, which began under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2003, has grown in size and scope, particularly since 2015, when the Ministry of External Affairs turned the event into a biennial affair.
The ongoing Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore is the 17th edition of the event, which commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India on January 9, 1915 from South Africa. But the story of the Indian expat goes back further.
The term diaspora traces its roots to the Greek diaspeiro, which means dispersion. The Indian diaspora has grown manifold since the first batch of Indians were taken to counties in the east pacific and the Caribbean islands under the ‘Girmitiya’ arrangement as indentured labourers.
The 19th and early 20th centuries saw thousands of Indians shipped to those countries to work on plantations in British colonies, which were reeling under a labour crisis due to the abolition of slavery in 1833-34.
Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, who addressed the convention as a special guest, referred to this migration, saying 2023 marks the 150th year of the first such journey of Indians to Surinam.
As part of the second wave of migration, nearly 20 lakh Indians went to Singapore and Malaysia to work in farms. The third and fourth wave saw professionals heading to western countries and workers going to the Gulf and west Asian countries in the wake of the oil boom.
Overseas Indians are classified into three categories: Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs).
NRIs are Indians who are residents of foreign countries. The PIO category was abolished in 2015 and merged with the OCI category. However, existing PIO cards are valid till December 31, 2023, by which the holders of these cards have to obtain OCI cards.
According to the MEA, PIO refers to a foreign citizen (except a national of Pakistan, Afghanistan Bangladesh, China, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal) who at any time held an Indian passport, or who or either of their parents/ grandparents/great grandparents was born and permanently resided in India as defined in Government of India Act, 1935, or who is a spouse of a citizen of India or a PIO.
What is the new Alzheimer’s drug given fast track FDA nod (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has granted fast-track approval to an Alzheimer’s medicine which, initial results show, reduces the amyloid beta protein deposition in the brain – a classic symptom of the neurodegenerative disease.
But experts are being cautious about Lecanemab as the results were encouraging only when it was administered to patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, the category in which the treatment was studied in clinical trials. There is no evidence yet of its interventionist potential in advanced cases.
Besides, the approval of the earlier medicine called Aducanumab in 2021, developed by Japanese and American companies Eisai and Biogen, had come under the scanner for not being as effective as claimed.
The drug Lecanemab, marketed as Leqembi, is the second such monoclonal antibody to receive an approval from the regulator.
Its accelerated approval, a protocol used for serious conditions for which not many treatments exist, was based on a “surrogate endpoint” – there was a statistically significant reduction in amyloid beta plaques at week 79 in 856 Alzheimer’s patients who took the medicine, according to the statement from USFDA.
What has the doctors excited is that compared to earlier drugs, the results show there was a 27 per cent reduction in the rate of cognitive decline in patients who received Lecanemab after 18 months as compared to those who did not.
In both the drugs, we saw the plaque clearing out, based on radiological findings, but there was no significant clinical improvement seen in the case of Aducanumab.
But in the case of Lecanemab, a functional benefit has been observed that offsets the risk of brain bleed and swelling that was seen in both the medicines after the plaques reduced.
This is the reason there is an excitement surrounding the drug because it comes after a long hiatus in Alzheimer’s drugs getting approved.