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The Russian military reported a successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear warheads from a new nuclear submarine.
The report comes as tensions are soaring between Russia and the West over the fighting in Ukraine. Adding to those tensions, President Vladimir Putin last week signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban in a move that Moscow said was needed to establish parity with the United States.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Imperator Alexander III strategic missile cruiser fired the Bulava missile from an underwater position in Russia’s northern White Sea, and hit a target in the far-eastern region of Kamchatka. It wasn’t immediately clear from the statement when the test launch occurred.
The Imperator Alexander III is one of the new Borei-class nuclear submarines that carry 16 Bulava missiles each and are intended to serve as the core naval component of the nation’s nuclear forces in the coming decades.
According to the Defense Ministry, launching a ballistic missile is the final test for the vessel, after which a decision should be made on its induction into the fleet.
Front Page
Free ration for 5 more years, can’t let people sleep hungry: Modi (Page no. 3)
(GS paper 3, Economy)
Underlining that 80 crore people have benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he has decided to extend the free ration scheme for another five years so that people “don’t go to sleep hungry”.
Addressing a poll rally in Lakhnadon in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh – he had made a similar announcement a day earlier in Durg in Chhattisgarh on extending the scheme beyond December – Modi said, “My family members in Madhya Pradesh support Modi for various reasons such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and his efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“I had a single thought in my mind during the pandemic: The whole world was facing such a big crisis, and yet, every individual in my family was doing (his or her) best to save lives.
I was determined not to step back and continue fighting the pandemic. My first resolution was not to let any poor household’s stove go cold. I have seen poor children go to sleep hungry, and that’s why I stayed awake at night.”
He said around “80 crore people have received the benefits of the Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, and our family members in Madhya Pradesh have also received this free ration”.
NITI weighs discontinuing key water report launched 5 yrs ago (Page no. 3)
(GS paper 2, Governance)
Niti Aayog, the government’s think tank, is learnt to have marked the reports on states progress on water management for 2018-19 and 2019-20 for “internal use” after having publicly released the previous editions.
Called the ‘Composite Water Management Index’ report, the first edition launched five years ago in June 2018 brought India’s water challenges into spotlight and ranked states in terms of efficacy based on 28 parameters.
The first edition provided data for 2015-16 and 2016-17, and the second edition launched in August 2019 was for 2017-18.
The report, published by NITI Aayog, was prepared in association with three ministries — Water Resources, Drinking Water & Sanitation, and Rural Development.
In May this year, the NITI Aayog wrote to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, seeking the government’s perspective on the “use and applicability” of the Index and whether the CWMI should continue. There has been no response from the Ministry, even as the third and fourth editions are awaiting release.
When contacted, a Niti Aayog spokesperson said there was an idea to club the report for 2018-19 and 2019-20 with that of the next two years (2020-21 and 2021-22). It was also felt that the coverage should be extended to districts.
Finally, on the continuation of CWMI itself, there was a view that other channels also need to be explored to undertake the task of indexing rather than bank only on CWMI, the spokesperson said.
Editorial
Power vs humanity (Page no. 8)
(GS paper 2, International Relation)
This has not been an easy article to write, for it has been triggered by emotion. The visuals of the humanitarian carnage over the past four weeks, ever since the Al Qassam brigades of Hamas butchered civilians in Israel, and then the severity of the retaliatory bombing of Gaza by Israel that has killed, predictably, thousands of children has been searing. I write “predictably” because 50 per cent of the 2.2 million people in Gaza are below the age of 18.
There are historical and political explanations for this latest round of violence between Israel and Palestine. Many experts have written about it and assigned blame. I do not intend to do that. I do not have comparable expertise or interest.
Also, my thoughts are preoccupied by the brutality of what I have read and seen.
I am wrestling to come to terms with the corruption of morality by leaders who prima facie have lost the support of the majority of the population that they claim to represent or act on behalf of.
Ideas Page
Construction of identities (Page no. 9)
(GS paper 1, History)
In the backdrop of Udhayanidhi Stalin’s hate-filled statement calling for eradication of Sanatan Dharma, I had promised to chart the anti-Dharmic origins and journey of the Dravidian Movement.
However, no discussion on the origins of the movement is complete without a short primer on the early ethnographic work undertaken by Christian missionaries in 18th century southern Bharat.
Their work laid the foundation for the British colonial establishment’s understanding (especially in colonial Madras) of Bharat’s social organisation through the prism of “caste” and “tribe”.
This contributed significantly to the creation and shaping of a “Dravidian” identity on ethnic, religious and linguistic lines, which went hand-in-hand with the colonial formulation of the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT). Given the nature of the topic, it’s important to inform the readers of the material (non-exhaustive) I will be drawing from to present facts and to substantiate my views.
Express Network
Maternity leave for women soldiers on par with officers (Page no. 10)
(GS paper 1, Social Issues)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal for extending the rules for maternity, child care and child adoption leave for women soldiers, sailors and air warriors in the Armed Forces on a par with their officer counterparts.
In a statement issued, the defence ministry said under the rules, the grant of such leaves to all women in the military, whether one is an officer or any other rank, will be equally applicable.
So far, there were no women air warriors or sailors in the Indian Air Force or Navy. Both started inducting women in their ranks after the government brought in the Agnipath military recruitment scheme last year.
The Army had started inducting women in the ranks in just one arm — the Corps of Military Police (CMP) — in 2019. Now women are getting inducted in the CMP as Agniveers.
Only those women soldiers, sailors and air warriors will get the benefits of the new proposal who feature among the 25% of Agniveers inducted into the three services on a merit-based selection after completing their four-year tenure.
This is because the terms and conditions of the Agnipath scheme state that they cannot marry till they are serving the four-year term under the scheme.
Explained
Falling farm exports: Concerns (Page no. 11)
(GS paper 3, Economy)
India’s agricultural exports have fallen 11.6% year-on-year in April-September. This comes on the back of the Narendra Modi government imposing bans/restrictions on the shipments of various commodities – from wheat and rice to sugar – and global prices easing from their peaks scaled immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to Department of Commerce data, exports of farm commodities, at $ 23.6 billion in April-September 2023, were below the $26.7 billion for April-September 2022.
There has been a drop in imports as well, from $19.3 billion to $16.2 billion, resulting in a marginal dip in the agricultural trade surplus (exports minus imports) from $7.4 billion in April-September 2022 to $7.2 billion in April-September 2023.
The country’s farm exports touched all-time highs of $50.2 billion in 2021-22 (April-March) and $53.2 billion in 2022-23, reversing a declining trend from 2013-14 to 2020-21.
2021-22 and 2022-23 significantly also saw record imports of $32.4 billion and $35.7 billion respectively (chart). The current fiscal, in a sense, marks a return to normal with both exports and imports registering contraction.
India start process to adopt National securtiy strategy: Why this is significant (Page no. 11)
(GS paper 3, Internal Security)
After years of deliberations in the military and strategic community, India has kickstarted the process of bringing in a National Security Strategy.
The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) is in the process of collating inputs from several Central ministries and departments to stitch together the draft of the strategy before seeking the final cabinet approval for it.
The exact timeline of when the strategy would be ready is yet to be known, even as multiple ministries have already sent their inputs to the NSCS on different aspects of the comprehensive document.
This is the first time that India would come out with such a strategy.
A National Security Strategy document outlines the country’s security objectives, and the ways to be adopted to achieve these.
Updated periodically, it defines traditional, non-traditional threats and opportunities while introducing accountability of agencies tasked with the implementation of such responsibilities.
Economy
US steals a march over Europe amid UK’s showpiece AI summit (Page no. 13)
(GS paper 3, Economy)
Over the last decade, Europe has taken a decisive lead over the US on tech regulation, with overarching laws safeguarding online privacy, curbing Big Tech dominance and protecting its citizens from harmful online content.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s showpiece artificial intelligence event that kicked off in Bletchley Park on Wednesday sought to build on that lead, but the United States seems to have pulled one back, with Vice President Kamala Harris articulating Washington’s plan to take a decisive lead on global AI regulation, helped in large measure by an elaborate template that was unveiled just two days prior to the Summit.
Harris then went on to elaborately flesh out the US plan for leadership in the AI regulation space before a handpicked audience, which included former British PM Theresa May, at the American Embassy in London, while she was there to attend Sunak’s Summit.