Modi exhorts youth to adopt motto of ‘compete _amp; conquer’
A quest for social consensus against hate speech
Act now, recast the selection process of the ECs
Talking to Russia
Assam, Meghalaya to end border dispute by Jan. 21
Sri Lanka seeks new China loan
Saudi to build 14,000 km of railway
GS-3
Retail inflation accelerates to 5.59%
Rahul brings out calendar to promote Wayanad farm produce
Threat remains in eastern Ladakh: Army chief
Somanath appointed new Chairman of ISRO
Indu Malhotra panel to probe security breach
‘Decentralize process of closing schools’(Another side of Coin)
The Maharashtra government’s directive to close schools till February 15 in the wake of the spread of the Omicron variant, even in rural areas and parts where there is no rise in number of COVID-19 patients, has irked teachers and parents with many teacher groups terming it discriminatory and damaging to students who have already lost around two years of primary education.
According to the teachers’ bodies, closing down schools is nothing but illogical when the government has allowed shopping malls, theatres and gyms to function with 50% capacity and suburban local trains to run as per schedule. “With two years of COVID-19 cases, even the school children are now exposed to this virus, despite being in the home. Online education can never be an alternative to physical classes and at a time when schools had reopened they are closed again. It is going to harm an entire generation,” he said.
In many rural parts of the State, teachers have decided not to close down the schools with consent letters from parents. Demands have also been made to decentralize the process of closing down schools.
Decentralization
The State Primary Teachers Committee, an umbrella body, has written to all its members clarifying that it does not support closure of all schools but the decision should be taken based on the number of patients at village level. In its letter, the association has asked its members not to glorify online education but to present ground report to the administration based on actual availability of android mobile phones per household. “Do not give false information under pressure from the administration. It is not only detrimental to students but also dishonest on our part.”
Modi exhorts youth to adopt motto of ‘compete _amp; conquer’
(Perspective: Contribution of Youth in the Society)
Inaugurating in virtual mode the 25th National Youth Festival hosted by the Union Territory of Puducherry, Mr. Modi said the evolution of the start-up ecosystem that had grown to over 50,000 units, about 10,000 of them initiated during six to seven months of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflected the “can-do” spirit of the youth of today. The resilience, spirit of innovation and the zest for problem-solving should be a source of inspiration for every generation, he said.
Over 2 crore children took the jab
The Prime Minister said the sense of social responsibility shown by youngsters in the 15-18 age group in volunteering for COVID-19 vaccination that led to a coverage in excess of 2 crore children in a short span of time, strengthened his belief that India’s youth would be at the forefront of building a vibrant nation and a better world in future.
The government had initiated several schemes focused on creating space for the youth to translate their ideas and develop their skills such as MUDRA, Start-Up India, Stand-Up India and the Atal Incubation centres, the Prime Minister said.
Youth are drivers of development
Drawing from the words of Sri Aurobindo, whose 150th anniversary also coincided with the NYF, that “a brave, frank, clean hearted, courageous and aspiring youth is the only foundation on which the future nation can be built,” Mr. Modi said he believed that the nation’s youth were not only a “demographic dividend” but “drivers of development” and proponents of democratic values.
Referring to his government’s recent decision to increase the legal marriage age of women to 21 years, the Prime Minister said the rationale for this was the betterment of “our daughters” and ensure that they had the space to pursue a career and become equal partners in the nation’s progress.
According to Mr. Modi, what made the 25th edition of the NYF more special was that it coincided with the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, and the 150th birth anniversaries of Sri Aurobindo and Subramania Bharati — both of whom had bonds with Puducherry — the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence and the 125th birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose.
The Prime Minister also gave a call to the youth to espouse a “vocal for local” motto as a fitting tribute to the great sons that the country had produced.
The theme of the 25th NYF, which was shifted to virtual mode in the wake of Covid-19 surge and curtailed from a five-day programme to a two-day event, is “Saksham Yuva-Shashakt Yuva”.
Inauguration
Mr. Modi also opened a Technology Centre of the MSME Ministry in Puducherry and opened the multi-purpose complex Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Manimandapam.
Talking to Russia
The Geneva talks between the United States and Russia were, not surprisingly, inconclusive. It was practically impossible for the former Cold War rivals to iron out their differences in the first round of talks at a time when tensions are running high in Europe, especially over Ukraine. But the fact that hurried talks were held between the two powers and they agreed to continue the negotiations to discuss both NATO’s expansion and Russia’s troop mobilisation is itself a welcome step. The U.S. was actually forced to come to the table by President Vladimir Putin, who has amassed about 100,000 troops along Russia’s border with Ukraine.
The Kremlin has also issued a host of demands to the West that sought to stop NATO’s further expansion into Eastern Europe and roll back the alliance’s military presence to the 1990s levels.
Now, the deadlock is that the U.S. has publicly said that it won’t shut NATO’s door on potential future members. And nobody knows what Mr. Putin would do if the talks collapse. By forcing the U.S. to come to the table to discuss NATO’s expansion, an issue which Moscow has been complaining about for years, Mr. Putin has scored the first victory. But it would be naive of him to believe that the Russian demands would be accepted by the West without any resistance. So the challenge, for both sides, is to find common ground.
The source of Russia’s staunch opposition to NATO is its deep insecurity. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a substantially weakened Russian Federation saw NATO’s continued expansion into Eastern Europe as a violation of the post-Cold War consensus.
Russia responded militarily in 2008 when Georgia was considering joining NATO, and in 2014, it took Crimea from Ukraine after the pro-Russian regime in Kiev was toppled by protests.
On the other side, the West sees Russia as an aggressive, abrasive and destabilising giant that breathes down the neck of Europe.
In hindsight, both NATO’s expansions and Russia’s military responses are driving instability in Eastern Europe. Finding a solution to the crisis will not be easy. It depends on whether both sides are able to get out of their Cold War mentality and build mutual confidence in bilateral relations. For all practical purposes, Ukraine and Georgia, both faced with separatist conflicts, cannot join NATO in the foreseeable future.
NATO could use this reality as a policy promise to calm Russian nerves. Mr. Putin, on the other hand, is also in a tough spot. Russia is still battling with the economic costs of his Crimea annexation, which has left a wide chasm in Russia’s ties with Europe. Further aggression on Ukraine might serve his tactical interests but could leave a deadly blow to any plan to bring the Russia-Europe ties back on track. A war is in nobody’s interests. Russia and the West should keep that in mind when they sit down for the next round of talks._nbsp;
Assam, Meghalaya to end border dispute by Jan. 21
Note: This is Asasm Meghalaya and Not Assam Mizoram
Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to seal the final agreement to end the dispute in six areas of the Assam-Meghalaya boundary ahead of Meghalaya’s 50th Statehood Day celebration on January 21.
There are 12 areas of differences along the inter-State border. But the two northeastern neighbours had agreed to resolve six “relatively less complicated” areas first.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K. Sangma had a crucial fourth round of talks in Guwahati on Wednesday and discussed the findings of the regional committees of the two States.
Assam and Meghalaya had formed three regional committees each to inspect the disputed areas and record the views of the local residents. Each committee corresponds to a district on either side of the boundary.
Sri Lanka seeks new China loanBasically, a new Debt Trap
Basically, a new Debt Trap
Sri Lanka ruled out an IMF bailout on Wednesday and said it plans to seek another loan from China to address an economic crisis that has led to food and fuel shortages.
Central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal rejected mounting calls from local and international economists to seek an International Monetary Fund bailout and debt restructure.
“The IMF is not a magic wand,” he told a news conference in Colombo. “At this point, the other alternatives are better.”
Retail inflation accelerates to 5.59%
Retail inflation rose to 5.59 % in December, mainly due to an uptick in food prices, government data showed on Monday.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was 4.91 % in November 2021 and 4.59 % in December 2020.
As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), food inflation rose to 4.05 % in December this fiscal compared to 1.87 % in the preceding month.
The Reserve Bank, which mainly factors in the retail inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy, expects the inflation print to be somewhat higher over the rest of the year as base effects turn adverse.
According to the RBI, it is expected that headline inflation will peak in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal and soften thereafter.
What are these?
CPI:
Consumer Price Index or CPI is the measure of changes in the price level of a basket of consumer goods and services bought by households. CPI is a numerical estimation calculated using the rates of a sample of representative objects the prices of which are gathered periodically.
The CPI captures changes in price level at the consumer level.
Changes in prices at the producer level are tracked by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
CPI can capture the change in the prices of services which the WPI cannot.
Retail Inflation: The CPI monitors retail prices at a certain level for a particular commodity; price movement of goods and services at rural, urban and all-India levels. The change in the price index over a period of time is referred to as CPI-based inflation, or retail inflation.
Generally, CPI is used as a macroeconomic indicator of inflation, as a tool by the central bank and government for inflation targeting and for inspecting price stability, and as deflator in the national accounts.
Somanath appointed new Chairman of ISRO
Eminent aerospace engineer and rocket scientist Dr S Somanath has been appointed as the new chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as well as secretary of the Department of Space for a joint tenure of three years. He succeeds Kailasavadivoo Sivan as the occupant of the position.
Currently the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), the scientist’s 30-year career trajectory is full of notable achievements. He played an integral role in the first successful flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
In 1994, the much-awaited launch was delayed due to an issue in the rocket. Then a young engineer at ISRO, Somanath joined his seniors to resolve the problem. With his help, the rocket went on to perform exceedingly well in a matter of minutes, reports WION.
Indu Malhotra panel to probe security breach
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed a committee chaired by its former judge Indu Malhotra to inquire into a security breach that led to the Prime Minister’s convoy being stuck on a flyover in Punjab on January 5.
The others on the committee are the Director-General of National Investigation Agency or his nominee not below the rank of Inspector-General, the Director-General of Police of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Additional Director-General of Police (Security) of Punjab and the Registrar-General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The terms of reference of the Justice Indu Malhotra Committee include finding out the causes of the breach; the persons responsible and to what extent; remedial measures to improve the security of the Prime Minister and other protectees; and any other recommendations for the security of constitutional functionaries.
Punjab Advocate-General D.S. Patwalia, in an earlier court hearing, had highlighted the State’s apprehensions it would not get a fair hearing. He had submitted that show cause notices had already been issued by the Centre to its officers, mentioning disciplinary action against them for the security lapse.
