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Norman Borlaug may have been the Father of the Green Revolution, but its architect in India was undoubtedly Monkomb Sambasivan Swaminathan.
The legendary agricultural scientist, who passed away after turning 98 on August 7, was hardly 30 in 1955 when he heard from Hitoshi Kihara, the well-known wheat geneticist from Japan, about Norin-10, a semi-dwarf variety bred at an experimental station in that country’s Iwate Prefecture.
Swaminathan had, in late-1954, joined the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at New Delhi as an assistant cytogeneticist.
This was after a PhD from Cambridge University, UK and a two-year postdoctoral stint at Wisconsin, US, where he worked on potato genetics and breeding of frost- and disease-resistant varieties.
At IARI’s Botany Division, which he was to later rename as Division of Genetics, Swaminathan’s focus shifted to wheat. He was convinced of the need for breeding semi-dwarf varieties responsive to fertiliser application.
Traditional wheat varieties were tall and slender. Their plants grew to 4.5-5 feet height with long and weak stems. When their ear-heads were heavy with well-filled grains, they “lodged” or bent over, even falling flat on the ground. Yields were low at 1-1.5 tonnes per hectare.
Protect worship places, properties of displaced: SC panel to Manipur (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
With places of worship being vandalised in the ethnic clashes that have roiled Manipur since May, a three-member committee of former judges, constituted by the Supreme Court, has asked the state government to “immediately identify” all religious buildings in the state and protect them from damage, destruction and encroachment.
The panel has also asked the state to ensure “the protection of the properties of the displaced persons as well as the properties which have been destroyed/ burnt in the violence and prevent their encroachment”.
“The Government of Manipur should immediately identify all religious buildings in the State (which would include Churches; Hindu Temples; Sanamahi Temples; Mosques and any building of any other religion) whether existing at present or vandalised/ damaged/ burnt in the violence which started on 03.05.2023,” the committee recommended in its meeting with state government officials on September 8. It is learnt that a recommendation was also made to protect such buildings “from encroachment” and “damage/destruction.”
Govt & Politics
Communal slurs row: Privileges panel to look into all complaints (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
All the complaints around BJP Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s use of pejorative words against BSP leader Danish Ali, on the floor of the Lok Sabha, have been referred to the Privileges Committee.
While Ali and other Opposition MPs had sought action against Bidhuri, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had asked Speaker Om Birla to constitute an inquiry committee to probe instances of “unsavoury remarks” made by Opposition leaders.
The Privileges Committee will look into all the complaints regarding the incident. The 14-member Privileges Committee has eight members from the BJP, including its head Sunil Kumar Singh.
The remarks by Bidhuri, expunged by the Speaker from the records, were made during a discussion on the Chandrayaan 3 mission in last week’s special session of Parliament.
In his letter to the Speaker, Ali said the BJP South Delhi MP had called him “bhadwa (pimp), “katwa (circumcised one)” and “Mullah aatankwadi (Muslim terrorist)”.
Tobacco warnings on OTT: Amid pushback from platforms, Govt looking for a solution (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Facing a strong pushback from streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney Hotstar, the Government is working to find “pragmatic solutions” to the OTT industry’s concerns over the practicability of the order mandating display of anti-tobacco warnings.
Under the new rules, which came into force September 1, OTT platforms are required to insert static health warnings during smoking scenes, besides displaying anti-tobacco disclaimers at the start and in the middle of programmes, much like those for theatres and TV.
It sparked concerns in the OTT industry, with platforms arguing it would require millions of hours of existing content to be edited, diminish user experience and hamper creative freedom. The notification empowers the government to enforce compliance through legal means.
Sources said the Government may grant the OTT platforms a relaxation in terms of existing content and licensed foreign content.
As of now, the rules, notified in May, apply to all content hosted by OTT platforms, even retrospectively. Incorporating the warnings in the existing content was something the OTT industry flagged as a major issue, even as it was amenable to editing new content.
Editorial
Man of science and humanity (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
M S Swaminathan is no more. But his legacy remains with every student and scientist of agriculture. He is most widely known for working with Norman Borlaug to usher in the Green Revolution in India in the mid-1960s when India was facing back-to-back droughts.
Millions would have died of starvation if the country had not experienced the Green Revolution. India was already termed as a “ship to mouth” economy, as the country was importing 10 million tonnes from the US under P.L.480 scheme.
And India had no foreign exchange to pay for it. I can recall the days when the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had given a call to the nation to “skip a meal in a week”, and how wheat products, including wheat chapatis, would not be served at wedding parties.
Ideas Page
Parliament to workplace (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Juxtapose two facts: First, India is among the countries in the world where women’s representation in politics is the lowest.
According to the Election Commission of India, women accounted for only 10.5 per cent of all members of Parliament in 2021, lower than in sub-Saharan Africa (26 per cent), and our neighbours such as Nepal (34 per cent) and Pakistan (20 per cent).
Second, Indian women’s engagement in the labour market (the labour force participation rate) is abysmally low at about 25 per cent, relative to the global average of almost 50 per cent (as per World Bank estimates).
Only 11 countries such as Yemen, Iran and Iraq show lower female labour force participation rates than India. The recent landmark legislation mandating the reservation of a third of parliamentary and assembly seats for women is potentially a game changer for attaining gender equity in political voices in the country.
World
Republic of Nagorno – Karabakh will cease to exist from Jan 1 (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The self-proclaimed state of Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist from January 1 next year, its leader announced on, a week after Azerbaijan retook the region by force.
The ethnic Armenian enclave first claimed independence of the territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan in 1991 and styled itself as the Republic of Artsakh.
The breakaway government’s leaders surrendered after a 24-hour military operation that triggered the exodus of 120,000 of its ethnic Armenian residents.
The enclave’s unrecognised president, Samvel Shahramanyan — whose whereabouts are unknown — issued a decree on Thursday ordering all state institutions to disband by January 1, when “the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) shall cease to exist”.
The decree instructed the population to “familiarise themselves with the conditions of reintegration presented by the Republic of Azerbaijan in order to make an independent and individual decision on the possibility of staying in (or returning to) Nagorno-Karabakh”.
Taiwan reveal its first locally built submarine (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine, a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island's defence and deterrence against the Chinese navy, though it won't enter service for another two years.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine programme a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.
President Tsai Ing-wen, who initiated the plan when she took office in 2016, showed off the first of eight new submarines on Thursday in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
In the past, a domestically developed submarine was considered an impossible task. But, today, a submarine designed and manufactured by our country's people sits before our eyes, adding that it would play an important role in strengthening the navy's "asymmetric warfare" capabilities.
"Even if there are risks, and no matter how many challenges there are, Taiwan must take this step and allow the self-reliant national defence policy to grow and flourish on our land," Tsai said, standing in front of the ship, named the Narwhal. Taiwan's red flag, featuring a white sun against a blue sky, was wrapped around the submarine's bow.
Tsai said the Narwhal will enter service in 2025, joining two existing submarines purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s.
Explained
Maldives election and India (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Maldives goes to runoff polls this Saturday, after no candidate secured more than 50% of the votes in the first round on September 9.
Maldives’ electoral system is similar to France, where the winner has to secure more than 50% of votes. If no one crosses the mark in the first round, in the second round, the top two candidates go head to head.
In the first round of polling, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) got 39% of the votes, while the Opposition alliance candidate Mohamed Muizzu got 46%. The first round was also a crowded battlefield, with eight candidates — the highest so far.
For perspective, Maldives has a population of about 5.2 lakh people. According to the Election Commission of Maldives, 2.8 lakh are eligible voters, of which about 1.6 lakh are members of various political parties.
India and JP Morgan bond index (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
After JP Morgan Chase & Co became the first global index provider to include Indian government bonds in its emerging markets index (GBI-EM) last week, India could see a surge in dollar inflows.
Other major global investment majors are said to be in the wait-and-watch mode to bring India into their investment index baskets.
These inflows come with their own risks and challenges. And there is considerable divergence of views on when the foreign funds may start flowing into the country.
But from a macroeconomic perspective, there is unanimity on the fact that a surge in flows is expected to bolster India’s overall fiscal and balance of payments dynamics. Also, higher inflows could help keep the rupee strong, but could have an impact on retail inflation.
The inclusion of government bonds will be staggered over a 10-month period, starting June 28, 2024, through March 31, 2025. JP Morgan’s bond index will include eligible bonds from India in its emerging market and derivative bond indices.
Global investors allocate funds to various countries depending on their weightage in leading indices. This means that if India can get into more such bond and equity indices, capital inflows will rise significantly.
Express Network
Jaishankar meets US NSA talks progress in bilateral relations (Page no. 21)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and discussed the progress in bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to take it forward.
Jaishankar, who arrived here from New York on Wednesday after addressing the 78th General Assembly session of the United Nations, will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later in the day.
The White House was not immediately available for comments on the meeting. Jaishankar will meet Blinken at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department later in the day. He is also scheduled to meet the US Trade Representatives Katherine Tie.
Economy
CAD in Q1 narrows last year but widens sequentially (Page no. 23)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $9.2 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) in the first quarter (April-June) of 2023-24 from $17.9 billion (2.1 per cent of GDP) in the same period last year. But it was higher than the $1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) in the preceding quarter.
A deficit in the current account indicates that a country’s imports (including goods, services and investments) are greater than its is exports.
The widening of CAD on a quarter-on-quarter basis was primarily on account of higher trade deficit coupled with a lower surplus in net services and decline in private transfer receipts, the Reserve Bank of India.
Current account deficit is expected to rise on-quarter in the first quarter of FY24 as merchandise trade deficit has widened again and the services trade surplus has moderated a tad,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist.
Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, said the second quarter of FY24 will see a substantial widening of CAD led by sequential worsening of trade balance, led by higher oil and core imports, and slowing services exports.
All of this will imply that the Q2 CAD/GDP ratio could be more than double of Q1 FY24, ranging from 2.4-2.6 per cent.
Ministry finalising policy on civic waste use in road building: Gadkari (Page no. 23)
(GS Paper 3, Infrastructure)
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said his ministry is finalising a policy for use of municipal waste in road construction.
Addressing a press conference, Gadkari further said the government is considering offering incentives to construction equipment manufacturers for not using fossil fuels.
We are finalising the policy for using municipal waste in road construction. Gadkari said his ministry has formulated a draft policy that will promote use of alternative fuel in construction equipment to reduce cost and dependence on fossil fuels.
The road ministry is in talks with the finance ministry for approval. Incentives like interest subvention scheme can be worked out so that concessionaires or contractors can invest in construction equipment running on alternate fuels instead of fossil fuels.
Gadkari said his ministry has taken several initiatives to decarbonise the transport sector and that the government is working on developing electric highways between Delhi and Jaipur.