02 November 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Overseas Indians: GS II – Topic International Relations

Context:

• In a Supreme Court filing on November 1, 2022, the Union administration stated that it was looking into measures to allow non-resident Indians (NRI), particularly migrant labourers, to vote remotely while maintaining the integrity of the election process.

About:

• A group of persons with Indian ancestry or Indian citizenship who live overseas on a temporary or permanent basis is known as the diaspora.
• It covers those with Indian heritage, non-resident Indians (NRIs), and Indian nationals who reside outside of India (OCI).
• In 2015, PIO and OCI cardholders were combined under the OCI category.

The significance of Indian Diaspora:

• Remittances have been one of the key advantages of establishing ties with the 30-million-strong Indian diaspora.
• Remittances, which total around 69 billion dollars a year, are crucial for altering rural purchasing habits, promoting socioeconomic development, and lowering poverty.
• NRIs have strong emotional and cultural ties to their home countries, which makes them more likely to donate to domestic charity.
• The diaspora serves as “agents of change,” encouraging and enabling investment, speeding up industrial development, and enhancing global trade and tourism.
• Accelerated technical innovation is a crucial long-term benefit of maintaining contacts with a vibrant Diaspora.
• Diaspora diplomacy, in which a sizable emigrant community acts as “bridge-builders” between their home and adopted countries, is a less obvious but significant advantage of having a big emigrant population.
• Consider the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal as an example, which was ratified as a result of aggressive campaigning by ethnic Indians in the US.
• Another advantage of the migration of lower-skilled labour is a decrease in disguised unemployment in India, particularly in West Asia.
• Skilled labourers leaving the country and succeeding abroad improved the reputation of the nation.
• FDI from non-diaspora countries is not driven by the same variables as FDI from the diaspora. They make long-term investments since many of them plan to build bases in India for the foreseeable future.

Government Initiative:

• The administration communicates with the diaspora in two ways. First, outreach programmes, protection, and consular services are offered to non-residents.
• Additionally, policies are being developed to encourage the diaspora to fund initiatives for development, exchange knowledge, and philanthropically support India.
• The Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana is implemented in accordance with an MOU between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) (PKVY).

Source The Hindu                                        

2 – Purchasing Manager Index: GS III – Topic Indian Economy

Context:

• In India, industrial activity is remained strong, and pricing pressures were restrained in October thanks to slower but faster rise in new orders and production, according to a monthly survey published on November 1.

About:

• The manufacturing and service sectors are both included in the PMI’s assessment of economic activity.
• It is a survey-based evaluation that checks for shifts in respondents’ opinions of many important business variables from the previous month.
• A composite index is created after the industrial and services sectors’ respective independent determinations.
• IHS Markit compiles the PMI using information from surveys given to purchasing managers in a panel of about 400 manufacturers.

 The formula for calculating the PMI:

• The development of the PMI involves a variety of qualitative inquiries.
• To evaluate whether key indicators were stronger than the previous month, executives from a huge sample of hundreds of organizations are asked to rate variables including output, new orders, corporate expectations, and employment.

Source The Hindu                                        

 3 – Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: GS III – Topic Environmental Conservation       

Context:

• In the stunning Nilgiris hill range, Senna spectabilis, an invasive foreign tree, has taken over 800 to 1,200 hectares of the buffer zones surrounding Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). The Forest Department is creating a comprehensive plan to curb the spread of the invasive plants because they are still moving swiftly within the buffer zone.

Flora:

• The Reserve contains tall grasses known as “elephant grass.”
• massive bamboo and rare woods like teak and rosewood.
• There are a large number of native plant species.

Fauna:

• Elephants and Asian tigers are two well-known animals.
• The Malabar Giant Squirrel, Wild Dog, Common Langur, Indian Gaur, Spotted Deer, and Jungle Cat are other species.
• The reserve is home to more than 260 different species of birds.
• 8% of the bird species identified in India have been recorded in Mudumalai.
• This area is home to several critically endangered species, including the Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill, and Malabar laughing thrush.

Source The Hindu                                        

4 – SCO: GS II – Topic International Relations

Context:

• On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government, where External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar discussed China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In order to increase bilateral trade with Central Asian nations, Dr. Jaishankar further advocated expanding trade via the International North South Transport Corridors (INSTC), of which India is a member, and Iran’s Chabahar port. All the nations were included in a joint statement that was made public following the summit, with the exception of India. According to the press release, they “reaffirmed their support for the ‘Belt and Road initiative, including the work to promote the alignment of the ‘Belt and Road construction with the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union.”

Foundational details:

• A permanent intergovernmental international organization is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
• The Republics of Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan declared their establishment on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai (China).
• The Shanghai Five Mechanisms came before it.
• The SCO Charter was approved on September 19, 2003, following the SCO Heads of State Summit in St. Petersburg in June 2002.
• Chinese and Russian are the two official languages of the SCO.

Member Nations:

• The Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are the eight nations that make up the SCO.
• SCO observer states include the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Republic of Mongolia.
• The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Turkey, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and the Republic of Azerbaijan are the six dialogue partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Planning and Goals:

• promoting neighborliness and mutual trust.
• encouraging collaboration in commerce, the economy, science, and culture.
• establishing links between industries such as healthcare, energy, transportation, tourism, and environmental protection.
• maintaining and safeguarding the region’s peace, security, and stability.
• creating an international political and economic structure that is equitable, fair, and democratic.

Source The Hindu