Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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India to join ‘Quad’ talks in Singapore

News

• India will hold the official level talks on the ‘Quad’ Asia-Pacific formation on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Singapore.
• Announcing the talks, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the discussion will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas about the future of the Asia-Pacific region.

Beyond News

• The meeting will be held a year after it was launched in Manila during the ASEAN.
• The principles of our Indo-Pacific region is that it should be free and inclusive where countries should respect international laws.
• India and Japan have recently announced a series of joint projects along what they have called the “Asia-Africa growth corridor” in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Among the projects that they will work together on are the Jamuna Railway bridge in Bangladesh and other bridges in northeastern States of India, housing, school and electricity projects in Rohingya areas in Myanmar, an LNG plant in Sri Lanka and a cancer hospital in Kenya.
• The Quad grouping has met at official level despite some divergences in the last year.
• To begin with, India is yet to agree to Australia’s request to join the Malabar exercises; officials also said it was still “too early” to discuss “militarising” the Quad.

India votes against UNGA draft resolution on use of death penalty

News:

• India has voted against a United Nations General Assembly draft resolution on the use of death penalty, saying it goes against the statutory law of the country where an execution is carried out in the “rarest of rare” cases.

Beyond News:

• The draft resolution, taken up in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) of the General Assembly, was approved with a recorded vote of 123 in favour, 36 against and 30 abstentions.
• India was among the countries that voted against the resolution, which would have the Assembly call on all States to respect international standards on the rights of those facing death penalty and ensure that it is not applied on the basis of discriminatory laws or as a result of discriminatory or arbitrary application of the law.
• The draft resolution’s passage followed an intense debate and Singapore introduced an amendment on behalf of 34 countries that reaffirmed the countries’ sovereign right to develop their own legal system.
• The Committee then approved this amendment by a recorded vote of 96 in favour to 73 against, with 14 abstentions. India voted in favour of this amendment.
• By its terms, the Assembly would reaffirm the sovereign right of all countries to develop their own legal systems, including determining appropriate legal penalties, in accordance with their international law obligations.
• Singapore’s delegate decried the draft resolution’s “one-size-fits-all” approach to a delicate question, which seeks to impose a particular vision of the world onto others.
• The representative of Singapore said the amendment aimed to ensure respect for the diversity of views.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

ISRO successfully launches communication satellite GSAT-29

News:

• ISRO’s heavy-lift rocket GSLV-MkIII-D2 blasted off from Sriharikota on carrying India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-29 on board.

Beyond News

• The 27-hour countdown for the launch and the rocket blasted off from the spaceport at Sriharikota, about 100 km from Chennai.
• The 3,423 kg GSAT-29 carries Ka and Ku band high throughput transponders intended to meet the communication requirements of users, including in the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The satellite was successfully injected into a geosynchronous orbit, 18 minutes after lift-off.
• Cyclone Gaja had clouded the launch plans but with it changing course and conducive weather conditions prevailing, the rocket blasted off on schedule.

WPI inflation rises to 5.28% in October on costlier fuel

News:

• Inflation-based on wholesale prices rose to a four-month high of 5.28% in October, mainly due to spike in petrol and diesel prices, even as food prices softened.

Beyond News:

• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation stood at 5.13% in September and 3.68% in October last year.
• According to the government data released, food articles witnessed softening of prices with deflation at 1.49% in October, against 0.21% in September.
• Vegetables too became cheaper with deflation at 18.65% in October, compared to 3.83% in the previous month.
• Inflation in ‘fuel and power’ basket in October spiked to 18.44%, from 16.65% in September. Individually, in petrol and diesel it was 19.85% and 23.91%, respectively, and for liquified petroleum gas (LPG) it was 31.39% during October.
• The WPI inflation is in contrast to the retail or consumer price index-based inflation data released earlier this week. The October CPI inflation had cooled to a year-low of 3.31%.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mainly takes into account retail inflation data while formulating monetary policy.
• In its fourth monetary policy review for the fiscal, released last month, the Reserve Bank maintained status quo on the benchmark interest rate but warned that volatile and rising oil prices, and tightening of global financial conditions pose substantial risks to the growth and inflation.

Another leopard death in Nizamabad

News:

• In an instance that emerged rather late, a leopard was found dead in an agricultural field in Nizamabad district in Telangana about 10 days ago.

Beyond News:

• The post mortem report revealed that the feline might have died during a territorial skirmish. Poisoning was ruled out, hence any foul play too.
• Strangely, at least five out of the six known leopard deaths over the last year and half have taken place in Nizamabad district alone.
• Two of them were killed in what were presumed to be road accidents, while one came under a train. Another was found hanging from an electric pole.
• Forest Officer confirms that majority of the leopard deaths in the district were highway accidents. A request was placed to the National Highways Authority of India to consider construction of speed breakers, but the proposal was shot down citing lack of statutory provisions.
• Barricading on both sides was not an acceptable solution, as it would result in isolation of genetic pool and inbreeding.
• However, the reserve forest in Nizamabad extending up to Jagtial is seeing burgeoning big cat population, which could be another reason for the frequent deaths reported .

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