THE NATION THIS WEEK
India reacts to the Death of Queen Elizabeth II
India has declared a state of mourning on Sunday in memory of the Queen, with the national flag flown at half-mast all day, and all official entertainment is to be cancelled. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that “In their messages, [Indian officials]noted that she was a stalwart of our times; a compassionate personality and provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people”
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have all expressed their condolences towards the Royal Family after the passing of the Queen.
Indians, however, have had a much more muted response,
according to the New York Times.
Sucheta Mahajan, a professor of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said “If you look at the social media, there are a lot of discussions but not much concern… And they are not treating it like the death of an important world leader. After all, she did not call the shots.”
The nation is expected to return to normalcy on Monday, after the observation of state mourning on Sunday.
Breakthrough in international relations between India and
China as troops kicks off Disengagement in Gogra-Hot Springs area (PP-15)
On Thursday, 8th September, India and China announced that their respective frontline troops have started disengagement from Patrol Point-15 in Eastern Ladakh, the fourth round of disengagements between the two armies. The area was hotly contested and filled with political tension, as the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army of China have been locked in a lingering standoff for over28 months. Officials said the breakthrough came after the 16th round of military talks to ease tensions.
In a brief joint statement, India and China stated that “according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India China corps commander-level meeting, Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hot Springs (PP-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way”.
The disengagement of troops at PP-15 provides positive development that China is willing and sincere in terms of border peace.
Despite the disengagement rounds, there are still around 60,000 troops with advanced weaponry still deployed in the Ladakh theatre for both armies.
10-day job scheme in urbanized areas launches in Rajasthan
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot launched the
‘Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Scheme’ on Friday, the 9th of September. The
goal of this scheme is to provide 100 days of employment a year to families
residing in urban areas, with the hopes of improving the standard of living and
easing the employment crisis that followed the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The scheme, open to people in the 18-60 age-group, will be providing daily wages to unskilled and skilled workers, with a daily wage of ₹259 for unskilled workers, ₹283 for skilled workers, and ₹271 for mates.
According to local self-government and urban development and housing minister Shandi Dhariwal, nearly 40,000 people have already worked their first day, and job cards have been issued to over 250,000 of the 400,000 applicants.
The scheme offers works related to “environmental protection, water conservation, sanitation, prevention of property defacement, convergence works, service-related works, and heritage conservation”
Thermal power plants in India receive a 2-year extension to meet SO2 requirements
The environment ministry on Monday, 5th September, extended the timeline set for thermal power plants to meet the sulfur dioxide emission, after the industry failed to meet deadlines and needed more time to install the pollution control equipment, according to an environment ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta said “All power plants
were required to achieve the target by… December 2017. All missed the target...
Now, it has been further extended” and that “the environment ministry has
become an advisory ministry rather than a regulatory ministry.” He expressed
his disappointment towards the ministry which may not be doing enough to help
with India’s ever-growing pollution problem.
Powerplants which are within 10km of critically polluted areas or polluted cities were told to meet standards by 2022, and those within the national capital region were given a tighter deadline of 2020. After little progress to meet deadlines, the deadline itself was extended to 2025. This lax approach toward pollution control in India has been criticized by experts.
India bombs out of Asia Cup after close losses to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka
India bombs out of the Asia Cup after close losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Both games ended in the last over, with India losing out both times by 1 ball.
After beating Afghanistan by 101 runs, India easily had the best statistical performance with India having a Net Run Rate (NNR) of +1.607. In comparison, Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified with NRRs of -0.279 and +0.701, respectively. As a consolation, Kohli's century helped ease the pain of not making to finals.
After a disappointing run in the Asia Cup, the Indian National Team turn their attention to the T20 World cup, in which India is set to play Pakistan in their opening match on October 23rd at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Asia Cup final is set to be played on 11th September at 7:30 pm IST, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
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