Architect of India’s green revolution departs

MS Swamithan, architect of India’s green revolution , legendary agriculture scientist and key architect of country’s green revolution passed away at his residence in Chennai .

He was 98

In 1960s the country was dependent of export from the US for food grains . Back to back drought and low agriculture output pushed for research in this field .MS swaminathan worked closely with two agriculture ministers C Subramaniam( 1964-67) and Jagjivan Ram ( 1967 – 70 ) for the success of green revolution .

He was the pioneer of the program that led to a quantum jump in productivity of wheat and rice through adoption of chemical and biological technology .

PM , President and several other paid condolences on the demise of MS Swaminathan .

Awards

In 1972 he was awarded with  Padma Bhushan.

Between 1982 and 1988 he headed International rice Research Institute , ( IRRI ) , Phillipines .

In 1987 , he became the first person to win World Food Prize .

He became first to win golden heart presidential award of Phillipines .

In 1988 , he founded a Non govt organisation -MSSRF ( MS Swaminathan Research Foundation ) . It aims to accelerate use of Science and Technology for agriculture and Rural development , to improve life and livelihood of communities .

Govt of India has instituted an Agriculture prize on his name in 2018 .

Mob tries to storm Manipur CM’s home

 A mob tried to storm the personal residence of Manipur CM  , N Biren Singh . The mob was protesting the killing of two students in July , as photo of dead bodies  surfaced on social media earlier this week .

Additional Rapid Action Forces ( RAF ) and anti riot police have been deployed near CM residence . The protesters were stopped at a distance from CM house and non lethal weapons were used to disperse the mob .

CM was away from  his residence at the time of protest .

A committee was formed by Manipur police to look into allegations that Manipur police has done excesses in the past few days .

Home ministry meanwhile  has extended its deadline for the Manipur govt to record details of  illegal migrants in the state .

Why exempt valley areas from AFSPA , asks tribes

The apex body of kuki , Zomi and Naga tribes in Manipur on Thursday strongly objected to the Manipur govt’s notification extending the operation of Armed forces ( special powers )  act for six months in hill districts of state .

The notification exempting valley regions from AFSPA showed the partisan and discriminatory mindset of govt , they said .

MGNREGA social audit in a state of Paralysis on many states

Social Audit is way of flagging any malpractice or Corruption in MGNREGA . Union rural development ministry aja said that the inbuilt m chanism to Combat it has failed .Less than 14 % of amount has been recovered so far .

State government has filled in to act on cases of corruption that has been revealed .

This is revealed as per in Statics with the Ministry of Rural Development .

Jaishankar meets Blinken and Sullivan ; points to big progress in relation

Foreign Minister S  Jaishankar on his US trip met with US National Security Advisor Jabe Sullivan and US secretary for state Antony Blinken .

The talk  though routine seems necessary in wake of current India Canada relations .

Can Vaccines reduce respiratory illness among the elderly ?

Are the flu and Pneumococcal vaccine effective in reducing the burden of respiratory infection and antimicrobial use in elderly population . To answer this Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR ) – the country’s apex body for the formulation , coordination and promotion of biomedical research has now invited an expression of interest from research institutions to conduct studies to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines for flu and Pneumonia in reducing infections and subsequent microbial use .

The council notes that upper respiratory tract infections are among the major causes of morbidity and mortality among the elderly and are responsible for large number  of deaths .

World

Nagorno Karabakh separatist govt says it will dissolves itself as people flee

The separatist govt in Nagorno Karabakh said that it will dissolve itself and will cease to exist by year’s end .Armenian govt has said that over half the region’s population has already fled .  Karabakh had a population of around 1.5 lakh .

After a one day offensive by Azerbaijan , on September 20 a treaty was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan , according to which Azerbaijan will have full control of Nogorno Karabakh .

Since the dissolution of USSR , Nogorno Karabakh was run by separatist govt that favored Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh .

Nagorno Karabakh is recognised as territory of Azerbaijan . But it has more Armenians . Most of them are fleeing to Armenia fearing genocide by Armenian govt .

Russia to hike it’s defence spending by 70% in 2024

Russia is set to hike defence spending  by almost 70% in 2024 . A finance ministry document published on Thursday showed , defense spending was set to jump over 68% year on year to 111.5 billion dollar .

” the focus of economic policy is shifting from an anti-crisis agenda to promotion of development goals ” the finance ministry said .

It said thar development goals includes ” strengthening the country’s defense capacity ” and ” integrating ” the four regions Lugansk , Donetsk , Kherosan and Zaprozhia .

President Vladimir Putin and other officials has largely shrugged off the economic effects of the Ukraine offensive .

UN experts see ‘ systemic racism ‘ in US policing , stress urgent reform

Un rights agency has said that they have found systemic racism against Balck people throughout the US policing

N.Korea calls for increased nuclear weapons production

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapon and for his country to play greater role in coalition of nations confronting countries with the US in ” new cold war ” ,Kim said this during country’s  parliament , Korean Central News Agency said .

Taiwan tests its first inhouse submarine

Taiwan President launched its first domestically made submarine for testing . If successful I tests , it will be major breakthrough for Taiwan in shipbuilding and design .

Editorial

Free fall

India must cooperate in Nijjar case if Canada provides evidence

About the editorial

The editorial is about India Canada relations following accusation of Canadian PM Justin Turdeau over Hardeep Nijjar killing .

Trudeau had accused India of killing Nijjar on its soil .

UN address

The matter was brought indirectly by both sides in UNGA address .

S Jaishankar warned that the response of ” terrorism , extremism and violence ”  should not be determined by ” political convenience ” , in what seemed to be reference of India’s concern Over Khalistani extremism in Canada ..He added that county’s must not ” Cherry pick ” when to respect  ” territorial integrity and non interference on internal affairs ” .

Canadian UN ambassador told  about ” the extent to which democracies are under threat ” due to foreign interference .

After expelling each others diplomats , India and Canada have curtailed People to People ties . While India has suspended all VISAS to Canadians , Canada has put trade talks on hold .

Way ahead

The way out is that Canadian side should give if it has evidence in this regard , and India should cooperate with that . However , it seems that the Allegations has been without proper proof .

Also Canada should look into India’s allegations that  Canada is being used for terrorist activities against India .Canada should take strict measures regarding this .

Caring for the old

India must attune it’s policies to ensure the elderly have a life of dignity

About the editorial

The editorial is about recent recently released United Nations Population Fund’s India Ageing Report 2023 .

Major data points in the report

●     Report says that Population above 60 years which is currently 14.9 crores( july 2022 ) will double down to from 10.5% to 20.8% or 34.7 crore by 2050.

This will have implication on health , economy and society

●     Women elderly population outnumber their male counterparts .

●     Most southern state reported a higher share of elderly population in 2021 , and the gap is expected to widen by 2036.

●     States such as Bihar and UP will see an increasing share of elderly population by 2036.

 Maintenance of Parents and Senior citizens acts , 2007 lay down the care of elderly but to ensure the senior citizen’s life of dignity , public and private policies must provide a more supportive environment .