Context: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Singapore to strengthen bilateral ties and discuss regional issues.

India-Singapore:

• Relations trace back to the Chola dynasty.
• India’s economic reforms in the 1990s and its Look East policy paved the way for collaboration, including the 2005 Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
• Elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2015.

5-S Plank:

• Scale up Trade & Investment.
• Speed up Connectivity.
• Smart Cities and Urban Rejuvenation.
• Skill development.

Source: The Hindu

Context: Lancet study and prediction on India’s total fertility rate (TFR).

Concepts:

• Total fertility rate (TFR) refers to the average number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her reproductive age.
• Replacement level fertility refers to the total fertility rate at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration, typically TFR of around 2.1.

Highlights:

• India’s total fertility rate (TFR) is dipping to 1.29 by 2050, far lower than the replacement rate.
• From around 2 children per woman in 1950, the TFR has dipped to approximately 1.91 in 2024.
• The global TFR has also been declining, by 2050, 155 out of 204 countries will be below the replacement level.
• Implications:
  • Shrinking Workforce: A TFR below the replacement rate can lead to a shrinking working-age population in the long run.
  • Dependency Ratio: As the elderly population grows relative to the working-age population, the dependency ratio increases.
  • This means fewer working people are supporting more dependents, potentially impacting social services and healthcare systems.

Source: Indian Express

Context: ASI intends to remove 18 monuments from its protected list as they are deemed “untraceable” and lack national importance.

Key Highlights:

• ASI has invoked the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act) to delist the 18 monuments.
• Delisting of the monuments means the central agency won’t have any onus to protect them.
• Activities related to construction and urbanisation in the area can be carried out in a regular manner.

Prelims Connect: (Institutions in news)

Source: Indian Express

Context: The High Court of Karnataka rules that the state government can’t unilaterally change exam patterns for classes 5, 8, 9, and 11.

Key points:

• The court emphasized the need for prior consultation with stakeholders before implementing changes.
• Holding exams without a policy for student expulsion contradicts RTE Act, 2009.

Prelims Connect(Acts/Policies):

Source: The Hindu

Context: Illegal cultivation of IARI’s improved basmati rice varieties in Pakistan.

Key issues:

• Pakistan’s Super Basmati variety, similar to IARI’s PB-1, has helped it gain a significant share in the EU-UK market.
• Poses a threat to India’s market dominance.
• India faces challenges in West Asian markets due to Pakistan’s adoption of IARI varieties and parboiling technology.

Conclusion:

• India can address the issue through its Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001 and Seeds Act
• Raising intellectual property rights violations in bilateral and WTO forums.

Source: Indian Express

Context: Prime Minister’s recent visit to Bhutan.

Growing presence of China in India’s neighbourhood:

• China’s economic rise has enabled it to contest India’s primacy in South Asia, posing challenges to India’s influence in the region.
• Bhutan is strategically vital for India due to its proximity to the Siliguri Corridor.
• China’s pressure on Bhutan for a favourable border settlement and equal bilateral relations with India has strained Delhi-Thimphu ties.

Conclusion:

• India now acknowledges China’s growing challenge in South Asia and aims to deepen economic and security cooperation with its neighbours.
• Success in Bhutan could serve as a model for improving India’s relations with other neighbouring

Source: Indian Express

Context: 13th biennial ministerial meeting of WTO ended without significant accomplishment.

Issues in WTO:

• WTO rules challenge countries’ right to implement Public Stockholding (PSH) programs for food distribution.
• Outdated criteria for price support assessment hinder effective PSH programs.
• Industrialised nations’ subsidies to overcapacity and over-fishing (OCOF) in shipping fleets remain unregulated.
• The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) crisis persists, with the US blocking Appellate Body member appointments since 2019.

Conclusion:

• US strategy involves de-judicialising trade multilateralism to weaken bodies like the WTO’s dispute settlement.
• De-judicialisation aims to reclaim decision-making power from international courts.

Source: Indian Express

Context: A new working paper “Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj”released by the World Inequality Lab.

Key findings:

• In 2022-23,6% of national income went to the top 1%, highest since 1922.
• India’s top 1% income share ranks among the highest globally.
• Wealth inequality is also alarming, with the top 1% holding 40.1% of wealth.

Suggestions:

Super taxes on billionaires and restructuring tax schedules.

Source: Indian Express

District Election Management Plan (DEMP):

• Prepared at least six months before the tentative poll day.
• Involves collaborative efforts from election officials, administrative authorities, law enforcement agencies, and engagement with political parties and media.

Elements of DEMP include:

• A district profile, strategies for polling station accessibility, SVEEP.

Significance:

• Includes plans for election personnel planning, training, welfare, and deployment,material management.

Source: The Hindu

Context: Political parties filed complaint regarding use of religion during campaign

Provisions to restrict use of religion in politics:

• Section 123(3) of the RP Act bans appeals based on religion, race, caste, community, or language in elections.
• Section 123(3A) condemns attempts by candidates to incite enmity or hatred among citizens on these grounds during elections.
• The Model code of conduct mandates parties and candidates to avoid actions exacerbating differences or causing tension between communities.
• It prohibits appeals to caste or communal feelings for votes and bans the use of places of worship for election propaganda.
• The Supreme Court has ruled that candidates can’t seek votes based on their or voters’ religion.

Source: The Hindu

Context: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act-2019 has been challenged in Supreme Court on the grounds of violation of Article 14.

Reasonable classification test:

• It is a legal concept used to assess the fairness and validity of laws or government actions that differentiate between groups of people.
• It ensures that such classifications are not arbitrary and promote equal treatment under the law.
• The Home Ministry argues that CAA-2019 fits the reasonable classification as it grants citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring

Concerns with application of reasonable test

• Discrimination based on religion contradicts secularism and may not be adequately addressed by the classification test.
• A comprehensive re-understanding of the right to equality is needed, involving radical redevelopment of existing tests.

Source: The Hindu