The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 7 July 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 5 July 2023

• The G-20 summit in India is one of the “most important” events for Moscow, said a senior Russian diplomat, indicating the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attend the summit, which would be the first time he would come face to face with Western leaders since the war in Ukraine began.
• Answering questions at the weekly briefing, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson too said the government “looks forward to welcoming Mr. Putin” at the G-20 summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10.
• In 2022, Mr. Putin skipped the G-20 summit in Bali, given the war in Ukraine and threats from Western leaders to boycott him. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov participated in his place.

 The Hindu Editorial Today

What is the G20?

• The G20 was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular.
• It aims to secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
• Together, the G20 countries include 60% of the world’s population, 80% of global GDP, and 75% of global trade.
• Members:
• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU.

• Freedom of expression is being “misused” by extremists in Canada to “legitimise terrorism”, Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said here on Thursday.
• He reiterated India’s call for Canada to rein in pro-Khalistan elements who have circulated posters inciting violence against Indian diplomats in Canada, the U.S. and Australia ahead of an expected pro-Khalistan demonstration on Saturday.
• Bagchi’s remarks came soon after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was taking steps to fight extremism without compromising on the freedom of expression.

• India, being a diverse nation, is home to many religions, each with its distinct personal laws governing marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession. It would be accurate to say that the absence of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has only served to perpetuate inequalities and inconsistencies in our land of rich diversity.
• Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, had made a strong case in the Constituent Assembly for framing a UCC. He stressed the importance of a UCC in ensuring gender equality and eradicating prevailing social evils.
• Since a consensus on a UCC could not be reached in the Constituent Assembly, the subject found a place under Article 44 of the Directive Principles. Thus, Article 44, in a sense, is the Constitutional mandate which requires the state to enact a UCC that applies to all citizens cutting across faiths, practices and personal laws.
• The top court had observed in the Shah Bano case that “It is a matter of regret that Article 44 has remained a dead letter.”
• As Babasaheb Ambedkar and other learned members of the Constituent Assembly had proposed, uniformity in personal laws is essential for empowering women and ensuring gender equality in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance.

• In the 1950s, the Indian rupee was legal tender for almost all transactions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, with the Gulf monarchies purchasing rupees with the pound sterling.
• In 1959, to mitigate challenges associated with gold smuggling, the Reserve Bank of India (Amendment) Act was brought in, enabling the creation of the “Gulf Rupee”, with notes issued by the central bank for circulation only in the West Asian region.
• The rupee is far from being internationalised — the daily average share for the rupee in the global foreign exchange market hovers around ~1.6%, while India’s share of global goods trade is ~2%.
• For a currency to be considered a reserve currency, the rupee needs to be fully convertible, readily usable, and available in sufficient quantities. India does not permit full capital account convertibility (i.e., allowing free movement of local financial investment assets into foreign assets and vice-versa), with significant constraints on the exchange of its currency with others — driven by past fears of capital flight (i.e., outflow of capital from India due to monetary policies/lack of growth) and exchange rate volatility, given significant current and capital account deficits.

• The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for India’s manufacturing sector and the Services Business Activity Index for the economy’s broader services sector from S&P Global, posit a softening in momentum in economic activity.
• Policymakers will also need to keep a watch on the upward trend in output prices at manufacturers and service providers, given that the resurgence in food inflation threatens to undermine the RBI’s efforts to anchor inflation expectations and ensure growth-supportive price stability.

• The National Conference of Food Ministers failed to resolve the issue of the discontinuance of rice and wheat sales to States under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) in view of the Centre’s restrictions.
• The controversy over the OMSS should have sent out the message to States that it would not be wise to rely on the Centre or its agencies when it comes to implementing State schemes in the food sector.
• They must identify their own sources, and in a cost-effective manner.

• Legislative provisions on suspension of Internet services are dealt with under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973 and the Telegraph Act, 1885
• Internet shutdowns can be for a temporary period but not for an indefinite period.
• Government is to publish all orders imposing restrictions under Section 144.
• Freedom of speech and expression through the medium of the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
• Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India, where the top court also ruled that any restriction on Internet access by the Government must be temporary, limited in scope, lawful, necessary and proportionate.

• India’s much-awaited moon mission Chandrayaan-3 will be launched at 2.35 p.m. on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Thursday.
• On the sidelines of the G-20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting, ISRO Chairman S. Somnath told presspersons that if the launch took place as scheduled on July 14, the landing on the lunar surface would take place in the last week of August.
• “If the launch takes place on that day, then we will be ready for landing on the moon possibly by the last week of August. The date (landing date) is decided when there is sunrise on the moon. When we are landing, sunlight must be there. So the landing will be on August 23 or 24,” Mr. Somnath said.
• The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will be launched by the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) and launch window for the mission is between July 12 and 19.

• A dark pattern refers to a design or user interface technique that is intentionally crafted to manipulate or deceive users into making certain choices or taking specific actions that may not be in their best interest. It is a deceptive practice employed to influence user behaviour in a way that benefits the company implementing it.
• For example, a common dark pattern is the “sneak into basket” technique used on e-commerce websites. When a user adds an item to their shopping cart, a dark pattern may be employed by automatically adding additional items to the cart without the user’s explicit consent or clear notification.
• Similarly, many of us have encountered pop-up requests for our personal information, where we have found it difficult to locate the ‘reject’ link.
• Such deceptive patterns that manipulate consumer choice and impede their right to be well-informed constitute unfair practices that are prohibited under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.

• On June 19, the UN adopted the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) or the High Seas Treaty. It became the third agreement to be approved under UNCLOS, after the 1994 and 1995 treaties, which established the International Seabed Authority and the Fish Stocks agreement.
• The treaty aims to address critical issues such as the increasing sea surface temperatures, overexploitation of marine biodiversity, overfishing, coastal pollution, and unsustainable practices beyond national jurisdiction.
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, also known as Law of the Sea divides marine areas into five main zones namely- Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.
• UNCLOS is the only international convention which stipulates a framework for state jurisdiction in maritime spaces. It provides a different legal status to different maritime zones.
• On June 19, the UN adopted the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) or the High Seas Treaty. It became the third agreement to be approved under UNCLOS, after the 1994 and 1995 treaties, which established the International Seabed Authority and the Fish Stocks agreement.
• The treaty aims to address critical issues such as the increasing sea surface temperatures, overexploitation of marine biodiversity, overfishing, coastal pollution, and unsustainable practices beyond national jurisdiction.
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, also known as Law of the Sea divides marine areas into five main zones namely- Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.
• UNCLOS is the only international convention which stipulates a framework for state jurisdiction in maritime spaces. It provides a different legal status to different maritime zones.

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