4 April 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Israel issues rare apology, takes responsibility for strike on aid group
(Page no- the world section)
(GS Paper 2- Effect of Policies and Politics of Developed and Developing Countries on India's interests)
- Israel's top military commander formally acknowledged on Wednesday that its military had made a "grave mistake" and apologized for the attack on an aid convoy that killed seven workers from the charity group World Central Kitchen, a rare admission of fault by Israel in the six-month old war in the Gaza Strip.
- "It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during the war, in a very complex condition," the Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said in a video. "It shouldn't have happened."
Recite Preamble, don't force Christian traditions: Catholic body to its schools
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(GS Paper 2- Indian Constitution-Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure)
- Respect all faiths and traditions, don't force Christian traditions on students of other religions, have students recite the Preamble to the Constitution during the daily morning Assembly, and set up an "inter-religious prayer room" on school premises.
- These are some of the major suggestions made by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) to all educational in- stitutions under its jurisdiction to help address "emerging challenges due to the current socio- cultural, religious, and political situation" in the country.
Near Kutch Harappan graveyard, a skeleton & the key to a puzzle
(Page no-1)
(GS Paper 1- Indian Culture - Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times)
- A human skeleton, degraded and in a flexed posture, found on the slope of a hillock in a Gujarat village could hold the key to a mystery that's been puzzling team of archaeologists.
- In 2018, archaeologists from the University of Kerala, working in collaboration with Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Varma Kachchh University, Bhuj, had unearthed a mass burial site with 500 graves on the outskirts of Khatiya village in Gujarat's Kutch District.
Restricted by surrogacy laws, Indians are going abroad to become parents
(Page no-1)
(GS Paper 2-Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation)
- Eight years ago, a same-sex couple in Delhi had a daughter through surrogacy.
- But when they chose to have another child this year, hoping to complete the picture of an ideal family, the law had changed.
- They realised that they could not hire a local surrogate as before and had to find one from within their circle of family and friends.
- What's more, the surrogate couldn't be paid for her services.
Lankan ex-envoy on Katchatheevu: Breach of sovereignty if India crosses sea boundary
(Page no-9)
(GS Paper 2- India and its Neighborhood-Relations)
- Amid the BJP's attempts to reignite the decades-old Katchatheevu issue ahead of the general elections, former Sri Lankan envoy to India Austin Fernando said the party may have invoked a "vote-puller" but it would be difficult for the Indian government to step back after the elections, which is a "problem".
- A widely respected and experienced official, Fernando was speaking with The Indian Express over the phone from Colombo on Wednesday.
- He said if the Indian govemment crosses the Sri Lankan maritime international boundary line, it would be seen as a "violation of Sri Lankan sovereignty", as he recalled Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa's statements on the Indian Peacekeeping Force in late 1980s.
An Af-Pak warning
(Page no-10)
(GS Paper 2- India and its Neighborhood- Relations)
- No stranger to terrorism, both as a perpetrator and victim, Pakistan has been jolted by three high-profile terror attacks recently within seven days.
- The Majeed Brigade of the Balochistan Liberation Army has taken responsibility for two attacks in Balochistan.
- One, that targeted the Turbat naval air base, which reportedly deploys Chinese drones and two, the Port Authority Complex of the Gwadar port, operated and expanded by the Chinese.
- The third attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed five Chinese engineers involved in the construction of the Dasu Hydropower Project on the Indus river under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
- Nine Chinese nationals working on the same project were killed in a similar attack in 2021.
A mounting toll
(Page no- 10)
(GS Paper 2- Effect of Policies and Politics of Developed and Developing Countries on India's interests)
- Contrary to the aphorism, not all is fair in war.
- In the immediate aftermath of the brutal October 7 attacks by Hamas, Israel had the sympathy of a broad swathe of the international community.
- The besieged Benjamin Netanyahu government-the ruling alliance was in tatters, and there were widespread protests against laws seen as curtailing an independent judiciary - also got a lease of life as Israelis were united in outrage and grief.
- Now, nearly six months into Israel's retaliation, the government is increasingly seen as using that grief as a pretext to act with impunity.
- Just over the last week, three incidents show why the Netanyahu government is facing more protests at home while being chided by its friends abroad.
The demographic window
(Page no-11)
(GS Paper 1-Population and Associated Issues)
- The projection by the UN Population Division is that India will have a population of close to 1.7 billion by 2065 before it starts declining.
- This overwhelming size has overshadowed the debate on other aspects like age structure, quality of the population, and its contribution to economic growth.
- Now we have a report from The Lancet where the total fertility rate (TFR) for India is projected to go down to 1.29 by 2051.
- This estimate is based on a complex demographic modelling, done for 204 countries as part of the global burden of disease study.
- Though this is an estimate within a range of 0.97 to 1.61, given the scientific rigour in their methodology, it opens up interesting pointers to the direction of India's population dynamics.
Life of a prisoner
(Page no-11)
(GS Paper 2- Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes)
- Once again, the life of a prisoner is in the public eye.
- What they eat, when they get up, how they sleep - these are questions being asked on social media platforms, news shows and in private conversations.
- Curious minds are constantly wondering what special privileges will be made available to the Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, as he gets remanded to judicial custody till April 15 in the excise policy case.
Ring of fire
(Page no-12)
(GS Paper 1-Important Geophysical Phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc)
- Nine people were killed and more than 900 injured after Taiwan was hit by the biggest earthquake in at least 25 years on Wednesday morning.
- Taiwan's earthquake monitoring agency said the magnitude of the quake was 7.2; the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 7.4.
- The epicentre of the quake was 18 kilometres south-southwest of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan.
- Multiple after- shocks were experienced, one of which was of 6.5 magnitude, USGS said.
Risk from glacial lake floods
(Page no-12)
(GS Paper 3- Disaster and Disaster Management)
- The Uttarakhand government has constituted two teams of experts to evaluate the risk posed by five potentially hazardous glacial lakes in the region.
- These lakes are prone to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFS), the kind of events that have resulted in several disasters in the Himalayan states in recent years.
- The goal of the risk assessment exercise is to minimise the possibility of a GLOF incident and provide more time for relief and evacuation in case of a breach.
Path to Viksit Bharat: why India should target per capita, not aggregate GDP
(Page no-12)
(GS Paper 3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment)
- Back in 1990, China's per capita GDP was below India's, and its overall GDP was only 23% higher.
- That year, China and India were the world's 11th and 12th largest economies by nominal GDP (at prevailing dollar-converted prices without adjusting for inflation).
