Day after Trump inaugural, Quad maet likely meet likely with India at table

A meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Quad grouping is likely to take place in Washington DC. 

This could mark the first meeting of the Quad foreign ministers from US, Japan, Australia and India - under the Trump 2.0 administration and is expected to take place. 

SC: Abetment of suicide charge must not be invoked casually

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court held that the offence of abetment of suicide should not be invoked mechanically only to assuage the immediate feelings of the distraught family of the dead person, but must follow the higher threshold mandated by law. The bench of Justices AS Oka and K V Viswanathan said the Supreme Court "has, over the last several decades, repeatedly reiterated the higher threshold, mandated by law for Section 306 IPC (now Section 108 read with Section 45 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) to be attracted. They, however, seem to have followed more in the breach. Section 306 IPC ap- pears to be casually and too readily resorted to by the police."

A PEACE THAT HOLDS

In a conflict that began with an act of terror and was followed by an outsized response that has left a region devastated over 46,000 dead, many of them children and which threatens to engulf much of West Asia, it is a reason for cautious hope. Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause hostilities and accepted a ceasefire deal after months of negotiation. The first of three phases under the agreement is set to begin. Hamas has agreed to release 33 Israeli hostages, including men, women and children over 50 and Israel will release Palestinian prisoners. A little over a fortnight into phase 1, talks on implementing phase 2 will begin the remaining hostages are to be returned, a permanent ceasefire negotiated and all Israeli troops withdrawn from Gaza. Finally, in the third phase, the hope is that the reconstruction of Gaza will begin under the aegis of UN agencies, Egypt and Qatar.

Incentives, not resources

Development and structural reforms tend to dominate thinking on macroeconomic policy in India, which is understandable given the growth imperative. Post the pandemic macroeconomic policy helped induce a robust recovery by effectively smoothing external shocks - the cycle also affects growth. Upto the end of November, the Centre had spent only 46.2 per cent of its capital expenditure target compared to 58.5 per cent this time last year, although its revenue expenditure is about 1 per cent higher. States have spent only Rs 0.88 trillion of the Rs 1.5 trillion made available for capex. Last year the budget had proposed a framework for better coordination with states. Food supply should be a focus area. Another is simplifying regulations. The Centre tells us they have removed thousands of archaic laws, but businesses do not find life to be any easier. The simplification has to percolate down to the second and third tier of government, reaching local officials who interface with firms.

A MATTER OF SKILLS

The Inaugural QS World Future Skills Index has ranked India's job market as second only to the US in terms of readiness to recruit for radvanced digital and green technologies. But the report also frames the country's challenges on the knowledge-economy front. Despite its near-perfect score - 99.1 percent in market preparedness, India is placed 25th overall in terms of capacity to harness the opportunities opened up by new technologies. In other words, while job advertisements analysed by QS show that Indian companies are seeking competencies in advanced technologies, the country's education system has not kept pace with these demands. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)'s latest data also illustrates the system's failure to embrace advanced knowledge. The fact that nearly two out of three post- graduate seats in India's engineering colleges were vacant last year shows that M-tech courses provide little value addition.

IT'S NOT YOUR BMI, STUPID

A report published in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology has called for an overhaul of our understanding of obesity, citing an over- reliance on BMI, which has had the peculiar effect of leading to both underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis of the condition. This is because BMI does not provide a reliable picture of health: Neither is it a direct measure of fat, nor does it give accurate information about how fat is distributed in an individual's body. What the 'Lancet' report underlines, in fact, is how little we understand about the combination of bones, flesh and blood that is the mortal coil - and by extension, how limited our understanding is about the actual state of our bodies. Space may be the final frontier, but the original, unconquered frontier remains the human body.

QS future skills report frames the Indian challenge: Skills gap, low innovation mindset

India was ranked second in terms of preparedness for jobs of the future including artificial intelligence (Al) and green skills, only behind the United States, as per the QS World Future Skills Index 2025. But in terms of economic transformation, India was 40th, and 37th in terms of the workforce having the desired skills for future jobs, as per the index. Overall, India ranked 25th across all indicators, which also include the alignment between skills and employer needs, academic readiness, and economic transformation.

India's overall ranking puts it as a "future skills contender," as per the report. Countries like the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, and Canada, among others in the top ten have been categorised as "future skills pioneers".

Bessent tough talk on Russia oil: How could India be impacted?

The Biden administration announced fresh curbs against Russia's oil trade, placing as many as 183 tankers, constituting the bulk of the so-called "shadow fleet" delivering to customers such as India and China, under sanctions. India the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil, depends on imports to meet more than 85% of it’s requirement. Russia was marginal supplier before the war in Ukraine began in February 2022; it is now India’s biggest supplier of crude.Tighter sanctions on Russian oil will also complicate India's efforts to internationalise the rupee. India and Russia have been in talks to settle a portion of the oil trade in the domestic currency. 

WHY SPACE WEATHER IS KEY TO THE SUCCESSFUL DOCKING OF SATELLITES

Favourable Space weather was instrumental in the success of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) first ever "docking mission". The Space Docking Experiment (or SpaDeX) made India only the fourth country to achieve the technologically challenging feat of bringing together two fast-moving satellites in space. The Sun's hot outer atmosphere, known as the solar corona, is constantly spewing electrically charged gases and particles into space. These so-called solar winds travel at speeds of millions of kilometres per hour, and reach the far thest parts of the Solar System, creating space weather. 

The frequency and intensity of solar winds fluctuates based on the solar activity cycle, which refers to a periodic 11- year change in the Sun's activity, measured on the basis of sunspots observed. Sunspots are indicators of solar activity - the more the activity, the more hazardous the space weather.

Engaging with the Taliban

India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri led a delegation of senior Indian diplomats at a substantive meeting in Dubai with Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister of the second Taliban regime. The meeting was the culmination of the incremental progress of India's "cautious engagement" with the Taliban who took power in Kabul after the Ashraf Ghani government collapsed three and a half years ago. On August 31, 2021, hours after the last US military aircraft left Afghanistan, India made its first official contact with the Taliban - at the request of the new rulers in Kabul, Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, head of the Taliban political office in Doha, at the Indian embassy. India described the Taliban as "those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan", acknowledging the group as a state actor for the first time. Then, in December, India sent 1.6 tonnes of essential medicines to Afghanistan, signalling a political call taken in New Delhi to see the ruling regime separate from the people of Afghanistan, while also opening a window to engage with the Taliban.