The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 18 September 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 16 September 2023

• More than three months after the new Parliament building was inaugurated, MPs will move into it on Tuesday, the second day of a Special Session to be held between September 18 and 22. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed floor leaders of parties about the decision at an all-party meeting held by the government on the eve of the session.
• “On the first day, the session will be held in the Old Parliament House.

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• the world’s diabetes capital; also, millions have hypertension, and its youth are succumbing to heart attacks, cancer, respiratory issues, depression and more.
• If left unchecked, India’s non-communicable diseases (NCD) burden will be nearly $4 trillion by 2030. This is one of the biggest roadblocks to India’s development and will create an ‘age tax’ on India’s demographic dividend.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming health care worldwide, and India has the potential to be at the forefront of this revolution. The country possesses a vast pool of talented data scientists, engineers, and health-care professionals who can drive innovation in AI-driven health-care solutions.

• First, while the sanctions have hit the Iranian economy hard, inflaming resentment, they have done little in changing the behaviour of the regime.
• Second, when it comes to protecting its interests, Washington has chosen to engage with the Mullahs, irrespective of its rhetoric over human rights.
• The U.S. and Iran are in an advanced stage of finalising a prisoner swap deal as part of which the U.S. would agree to transfer some $6 billion Iranian funds frozen in South Korean accounts to Qatar, which Tehran can tap for humanitarian purposes.

• India’s goods exports shrank for the seventh consecutive time and the ninth time in 11 months this August, while imports surged to hit the highest level since March this year. At $58.6 billion, inbound shipments were still 5.2% below last August’s levels, but exports fell by a relatively steeper 6.9%, leading to a $24.2 billion trade deficit — the widest since October 2022.
• Export volumes of as many as 13 major items rose between April and July, but their value had declined owing to lower prices.
• That is a good omen about demand for Indian goods amid the gloom, and the government believes rising commodity prices will help trade tallies.
• But they could also be a double-edged sword for India as its strategic gambit to import more Russian oil has turned less lucrative.
• Moreover, sticky inflation could further dampen demand, especially in key markets such as the European Union, which just hiked interest rates to a record high.

• The 18th G-20 Summit produced the ‘New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration’.
• together with the inclusion of the African Union (AU) in the G-20 as a member, turned concern into joyous celebration.
• “We are One Earth, One Family, and we share One Future”
• A fine balance was struck between the Russian red line and the insistence by G7 on ensuring respect for “territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence.

• It wants the UN institutions to be “more responsive” to the entire membership. The need to make the global governance “more representative, effective, transparent and accountable” has been stated clearly.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government was committed to the uplift of artisans and craftspeople, and that the ₹13,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana (PMVY), launched on Sunday, would equip craftspeople with the technology to augment their skills for the modern market.
• The Vishwakarma scheme aims to enhance the accessibility and quality of products and services offered by traditional artisans and craftsmen.
• The scheme offers collateral-free enterprise development loans of ₹1 lakh (first tranche to be repaid in 18 months) and ₹2 lakh (second tranche to be repaid in 30 months). A concessional rate of interest of 5% will be charged from the beneficiary, with interest subvention cap of 8% to be paid by the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises. The credit guarantee fees will be borne by the Union government.

• Santiniketan, a town established by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, made it to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Sunday. Located in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, Santiniketan, which means “abode of peace”, started taking shape in 1901 and is the place where Tagore laid the foundations of Visva-Bharati University.
• “New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Santiniketan, #India. Congratulations!” the world body said. Santiniketan becomes India’s 41st World Heritage Site to join the UNESCO List.

• In total, 20 adult African cheetahs have been imported so far. The first batch of eight cheetahs arrived on September 17, 2022 and another batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa arrived on February 18, 2023.
• So far, only 12 of the 20 cheetahs were ever released into the wild, with a few being brought back multiple times to the Kuno National Park (KNP), since the managers felt that the cats were moving into areas that may have posed risks for their survival.
• Without proper and adequate habitats, there is no point in importing more cheetahs. Creating more glorified safari parks won’t solve the issue.

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