Challenges in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria: Jaishankar

POINTING TO the multiple on- going conflicts in West Asia, the latest being the escalating situation in Syria where rebels are claiming to have overthrown the Bashar al-Assad regime, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said there were "challenges from Gaza to Lebanon to Syria", and that India has to be realistic about competing interests in the region.

India to form anti-drone unit for safe border: Shah

UNION HOME Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that India will establish a "comprehensive" anti-drone unit to protect the country from threats posed by drones.

'Civilian army' of experts also needed to protect nation's interests: SC judge

A nation growing "economically, politically, in the rule of law and in good governance" requires not only the "military in dress" but also a "civilian army" of experts to diligently and intelligently look after its interests both within and outside, Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant said Sunday.

UNFREEZING TIES

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER statement in both Houses of Parliament last week summarizing the situation on the Ladakh border with China signaled cautious optimism about relations with Beijing. Four years of chill in bilateral ties have followed Beijing's incursions in eastern Ladakh during the spring of 2020 and the death of several soldiers in the Galwan Valley clashes of that sum- mer. Unfreezing this relationship has been hard, but India held steady with its demand for restoring peace and tranquillity on a border disturbed by the sudden Chinese decision to move a large number of troops to the Line of Actual Control in violation of previous agreements for military confidence-building. China finally relented to complete the military dis- engagement from the six friction points on the LAC just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit in October. 

A TB WARNING

LAST MONTH, THE World Health Organization’s report on the global burden of tuberculosis listed significant positives in India's fight against the disease. The country has registered an 18 per cent decline in TB incidence in the past 10 years and a nearly 25 per cent fall in deaths due to the disease in the same period. However, one key takeaway of the report was also that India is not on course to achieve its target of eliminating TB by 2025. The longstanding challenge to ensure that patients do not give up on therapy midway has, at best, been addressed partially. The Centre's programme to procure and supply TB drugs to states has progressed in fits and starts. Supplies were erratic between 2020 and 2022 when a major section of the government machinery had to be mobilised to combat the Covid pandemic. 

All is not well with soil

DECEMBER 5, 2024, was the 10th World Soil Day. Topsoil-up to two to three cms in depth - which nature takes 1,000 years to create, is critical: Almost 95 per cent of food currently produced comes from it. So, 'Caring for Soils - Measure, Monitor, and Manage' - the theme of this year's World Soil Day - was appropriate as our soils are becoming deficient in the essential nutrients needed for healthy soils.

Don't disrupt House of debate

THE INDIAN PARLIAMENTARY system reflects the collective will of the people. Recent trends, as evident in the behavior of some members, point to a troubling decline in parliamentary standards. Disruption of proceedings of the two Houses only serves to undermine public trust and faith in Parliament. Such behavior has, unfortunately, become the norm in some state legislative assemblies as well. Disruption, disturbance and commotion can never be a substitute for debate and discussion. 

Top 100 defaulters: 82 land in NCLT; liquidation rate squeezes bank recovery

A TOTAL of 82 companies out of the top 100 bank defaulters of 2019, including some of the biggest companies run by prominent industrialists, landed in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 and out of this, nearly one third of the companies went into liquidation over the years, suggesting banks would have hardly recouped any money, an investigation by The Indian Express reveals. 

RBI leveraging artificial intelligence to crack down on 'mule bank accounts'

THE RESERVE Bank of India (RBI) said Friday it has created an artificial intelligence (AI) powered model to help banks deal with the rising issue of 'mule' bank ac- counts, which could reduce digital frauds. The model, called MuleHunter. Al, has been developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), Bengaluru.

The new Oilfields Bill, concerns it raises about states' rights

RAJYA SABHA passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024 (Oilfields Bill) last week. It seeks to amend the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948 (Oilfields Act), which governs the exploration and extraction of natural gas and petroleum in the country.

The Centre expects the amendments would encourage domestic production of petroleum and other mineral oils, and push private investment in these sectors to reduce India's reliance on oil im- ports. However, Opposition parties have criticised the Bill for several reasons. 

MOTHS MAKE REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES BASED ON HOW PLANTS SOUND: STUDY

MOTHS CAN hear sounds emitted by plants and rely on them to choose which plant to lay eggs on, says a new study. The analysis, 'Female Moths Incorporate Plant Acoustic Emissions into Their Oviposition Decision-Making Process', was published online last month. It has been carried out by a team of 17 researchers based in Israel.

FDI flows, forex reserves

INDIA'S FOREIGN exchange reserves registered a $1.51 billion weekly rise to touch $658.09 billion on November 29. This re- versed eight straight weeks of decline, from the all-time-high $704.89 billion reached on September 27 (see chart). The roughly two months since September 27 witnessed not only a $46.79 billion dip in forex reserves, but the rupee, too, weakening from 83.67 to 84.66 to the US dol- lar. September 27 was also when the BSE Sensex and NIFTY 50 benchmark stock market indices scaled peaks of 85,978.25 and 26,277.35 points respectively. 

Why RBI wants hedge against dollar reliance, but no push for de-dollarisation

RESERVE BANK of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday that India is not pursuing "de-dollarisation", and that recent measures promoting transactions in domestic currencies are intended to de-risk Indian trade. The clarification came days after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened "100 per cent tariffs" against BRICS countries if they sought to reduce reliance on the US dollar in international trade.