Thaw in India-China chill: Direct flights, Mansarovar Yatra and easing of visas

Marking a major diplomatic breakthrough after the disengagement process between India and China was completed last November, New Delhi and Beijing decided on a slew of measures to improve bilateral exchanges: resuming Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer this year; working to restore direct flights between the two capitals; issuing visas for journalists and think tanks, and sharing transborder river data, an official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

CEC Kumar demits office, Centre sets up panel to pick replacement

With Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar set to demit office, the Union Law Ministry recently set up a Search Committee headed by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to shortlist names for his replacement. The Search Committee would shortlist names to be considered by the Selection Committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Cabinet Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. The process of appointing the CEC from a panel of five as per the Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service And Term of Office) Act, 2023, would be a first.

The quality of growth

A six per cent real growth for 20 years should conservatively in-crease India's GDP per capita to USD 10,000 from USD 2,650 by 2045. There have been countries that have delivered high growth fuelled by high borrowings, only to witness sharp slowdowns and/or restructuring in the future. Countries that run current account deficits are more vulnerable as debt-fuelled growth, even in local currency terms, is likely to eventually lead to rising foreign currency indebtedness, which in certain situations can lead to painful outcomes. Click-driven EMIs, social media's influence, the coming of stores to our homes courtesy of e-commerce, and the lack of incentive for cash down purchases over EMIs in many cases, have enabled this. Debt-led consumption merely shifts growth from future to present, and eventually payback time comes. Given the rising indebtedness of households, as also evident in rising retail NPAs, steps to slow the growth in personal loans are welcome and these are showing results. This could be one reason for a temporary slowdown in consumption, but this also sets the base for more sustainable growth in the future.

MSP IS NOT ENOUGH

The two best policy instruments to address these are income support and price deficiency payments to ensure stable rural incomes and expanded and decentralised public procurement at market prices for production and consumption diversification. First, the baseline safety net should be a targeted quasi-Universal Basic Income (q-UBI) for rural households, as the former chief economic advisor, Arvind Subramanian, proposed. This support would extend PM-Kisan beyond cultivators. Setting the q-UBI payment higher than PM-Kisan payouts perhaps at the average income of a five-acre farmer will ensure meaningful coverage of price and quantity shocks. The demand for a legally binding MSP stems from years of ignoring the farmers on various counts such as inadequate crop insurance and suppressed prices due to export restrictions. There is also merit in debating the legal framework for agricultural support. However, by focusing solely on MSP, we risk missing the opportunity to implement a more comprehensive and dynamic policy framework

The answer lies to the east

In March 2024, Thailand's House of Representatives voted by a vast majority (400 to 10) to ratify same-sex marriage, and in June, the Senate voted similarly (130 to 4). In August, King Vajiralongkorn gave his assent. Thailand is now the largest Asian country to have legalised same-sex marriage. The first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage was Taiwan. In 2017, Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled that the constitutional right to equality and freedom of marriage gives same-sex couples the right to marry. A referendum by the electorate blocked the government from mamending amending the marriage law to include same-sex couples. But Taiwan's government found a way. Parliament passed a separate marriage law in 2019, giving same-sex marriages almost all the same rights as marriage. In 2023, Taiwan amended its same-sex marriage law to allow couples to adopt jointly. In the same year, Nepal began temporarily registering same-sex marriages after a Supreme Court interim order. Still, married same-sex couples do not have all the rights that cross-sex married couples do.

India's ties with Indonesia

India and Indonesia signed agreements on maritime security, health, traditional medicine, culture, and digital cooperation on Saturday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto had their summit meeting in. After taking charge of the Interim Government in 1946, Nehru said in a radio broadcast that "the kernel of India's foreign policy would be the ending of colonialism all over Asia", and that India would "help and support" Indonesian nationalists "in every way possible". 

Apart from sending supplies and humanitarian aid to the Indonesian nationalists, Nehru banned Dutch airlines from flying over India, and pushed the Indian Federation of Labour to direct dock workers' unions in Karachi, Bombay, and Calcutta to not "handle Dutch shipping or do anything prejudicial to the interests of the Indonesian republic"

MICROPLASTICS CAN BLOCK BLOOD FLOW IN BRAIN IN MICE: STUDY

A new study has revealed that microplastics- tiny plastic particles that measure less than 5mm in diameter can block the flow of blood in the brains of mice. Although it is still unclear if plastics could cause similar blockages in humans, the new analysis is concerning as a growing body of research has found microplastics in nearly every part of the body, including lungs, testicles, bone marrow, etc. The study, 'Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities', was published in the journal Science Advances last week. For their study, the researchers fed mice tiny bits of fluorescent polystyrene, a common form of plastic used to make appliances, packaging and toys.

PM Modi a co-chair of Paris Al summit: What's on the agenda?

Amid growing concerns over how to develop regulatory oversight of artificial intelligence, without stifling the Al ecosystem, global leaders are set to gather in Parison for a two-day Al Action Summit. This builds on a Al Safety Summit held in Britain in Bletchley Park in 2023 and a smaller meeting in Seoul in 2024. The Paris summit is an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron and focuses on the broader agenda of global Al governance, innovation and on ways of serving the larger public interest leveraging this new technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to co-chair the Paris summit and has accepted the invitation to travel to France. The Paris summit aims to address the increasing concentration of power in the Al market, especially with respect to the foundational models being owned by a few companies Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta. This will involve conferences, round tables and presentations, focused largely on solutions offered by artificial intelligence

Usage of copyright content: Digital news publishers join legal battle against OpenAI

A Group of digital news publishers in India have filed an intervention in the Delhi High Court, joining an ongoing proceeding against Open Al for improperly using copyright content. The intervention was filed by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), along with some of its members, which include The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and NDTV. The intervention is part of a case filed first against the generative artificial intelligence (Al) company by news agency ANI last year, accusing OpenAl of unlawfully using Indian copyrighted material to train its Al models. The DNPA contended that companies like OpenAl have developed large language models (LLMs) by "training" on vast quantities of text, including, without a licence or permission, copyright-protected works.