CURRENT AFFAIRS - 04.12.2023

 

1. Saffron surge in heartland, a consolation prize for Congress The avengers The BJP avenged its 2018 triple loss in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh by registering thumping victories in all three states, demoralising the Congress party just months away from the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The Congress, too, avenged its twin-consecutive losses in Telangana after a government led by the party at the Centre carved out the state in 2014. It will now form the first non-KCR government in Telangana. The numbers Rajasthan: The BJP won 115 seats (+42) in the 230-member assembly to the Congress's 70 (-30). A party needs 101 seats in Rajasthan to reach the majority mark in the 200-member assembly. Rajasthan, however, voted for 199 seats as the polling on one seat was deferred due to the death of a candidate. Madhya Pradesh: The BJP gained 54 seats compared to 2018 to win 163 seats in this year's MP election. The Congress 64 seats — a loss of 50 seats compared to 2018. An interesting part of the results was that while the Congress maintained almost a similar vote share (40-41%), the BJP increased its vote share by 7-8 percentage points. Chhattisgarh: The final results in this small state surprised many pundits, who predicted the Congress to retain power here. The initial trends from the counting centres showed the Congress gaining a substantial lead, well over the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member assembly. But the BJP reversed the trend to win its biggest victory with 54 seats in the assembly. The Congress won just 35. Telangana: The Congress shocked the BRS to win 65 seats (+46), with the ruling party finishing with 39 seats (-49). The BJP improved its tally from one to eight, with K Venkata Ramana Reddy defeating CM KCR and Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy in Kamareddy. But three of its four Lok Sabha MPs tasted defeat. And The results of the Mizoram election will be known today. The counting of votes had been deferred by a day there. All updates here

2. What 'semifinal' results mean for the 2024 final A 'hat-trick' call Speaking after the BJP's victory in the Hindi heartland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Sunday that his party's hat-trick in the assembly elections is a guarantee of its hat-trick in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Modi described the election results of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as an endorsement of his agenda of self-reliant India, transparency and good governance. A dig at Congress Modi said the party cadres have served a lesson to the Congress and the Opposition's INDIA bloc that merely collecting some dynasts on dais may make for a good photograph and headlines but cannot win people's confidence. Is Congress losing the plot? With triple losses, the Congress is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. The Congress is ruling in only three states on its own — HP, Telangana and Karnataka — and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties. The Congress's loss in key states has weakened its position in the INDIA bloc, signalling that the equations may change in the Opposition alliance. What the INDIA bloc thinks Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has already turned the heat on the Congress over the latter's refusal to share seats in Madhya Pradesh. On Sunday, the party said it was a defeat of the Congress leaders' "ego". Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asked the Congress to show more generosity on seat-sharing deals. JDU's KC Tyagi said this is not a defeat of the INDIA bloc but of the Congress, as it ignored other partners. Kerala CM and CPI-M leader Pinarayi Vijayan said the Congress thought it had already won and couldn't be defeated and this led to its downfall. The INDIA bloc meets today in Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's Parliament chamber, and on December 6 to discuss their strategy for the LS polls. Total recall Assembly polls, however, may not have a bearing on the Lok Sabha polls. In 2018, the BJP had lost in all five assembly elections but it swept the Hindi heartland states in the parliamentary polls and an impressive show in Telangana. Do the Congress and INDIA have a chance? More details here

3. What's in store for the big guns? The poll outcome in four states on Sunday is likely to have created new political power centres and shattered old ones. In the wake of that, TOI explores what’s in store for the prominent players. K Chandrashekar Rao: Bharat Rashtra Samithi's defeat in Telangana has potentially dealt a blow to Rao's national ambitions ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Ashok Gehlot: The Congress's defeat has not come as much of a surprise considering that the state has been witnessing a revolving-door pattern of government formation for decades now. It can't entirely be put on Gehlot. Also, he is the man who Congress wanted as its president last year. It would be interesting to see if the high command still has doors open for him. Vasundhara Raje: One of the tallest BJP leaders in Rajasthan who does not share a smooth relationship with the party's central leadership. The BJP's high history margin in Rajasthan seems to have reduced her chances as a contender for the CM seat. But there's still time to decide. Kamal Nath: The Madhya Pradesh defeat is unlikely to change his stature of a political stalwart within the Congress. He is likely to play a leading role in the party's campaigns over the next few years. But, will 2028 throw another opportunity for Nath to grab the top seat in MP? Only time will tell, but the 77-year-old veteran doesn't have age on his side. Shivraj Singh Chouhan: While BJP is learnt to be looking out for a fresh line of leadership in MP, it's still too early to strike off Chouhan, who is a mass leader and who not only bucked anti-incumbency but also stalled efforts by a section within the party to elbow him out of the leadership race. He is also believed to have nurtured women voters as a vote-bank for the BJP. Raman Singh: BJP's return to power in Chhattisgarh has triggered speculation that it could also translate to the return of Raman Singh, who has served as CM for 15 years between 2003 and 2018. But there's a section of leaders in BJP who attribute its 2018 loss to Singh, for which they don't support his candidature for the top post.

4. Why India took U-turn on clean energy pledge What India abstained from signing the pledge to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 at COP28, reportedly due to the inclusion of a provision advocating the phasing out of coal in the draft text. U-turn Despite India's earlier commitment to tripling global renewable energy capacity during its G20 presidency, both India and China refrained from formally supporting the comprehensive pledge at COP28. Global initiative As many as 118 countries, including Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Nigeria, and Barbados, endorsed the initiative to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 during the UN's climate talks. The overarching objective of the pledge is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels in the world's energy production. COP28 pledge The commitment involves not only tripling clean power but also reducing the utilisation of fossil fuels. Phasing-down of unabated coal power, aligning with global efforts to transition away from coal-based energy and ending the financing of new coal-fired power plants. India's financing challenges India's 14th National Electricity Plan aims to triple its renewable energy capacity by 2030, which would require a substantial investment of $293 billion and an additional $101 billion to align with the International Energy Agency's proposed net-zero scenario, according to a report by global energy think tank Ember, last week. India aims to achieve 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

NEWS IN CLUES 5. Identify this city Clue 1: It is the capital of one of the three largest economies in Europe Clue 2: It hosts the largest art museum in the world Clue 3: Actor Emma Watson and soccer star Kylian Mbappé were born here Scroll below for answer

6. Is India heading towards a groundwater crisis? A report The total annual groundwater recharge for India is 449.08 billion cubic metres (BCM), marking an increase of 11.48 BCM compared to the previous year, according to the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2023, which further shows that annual ground water extraction for the entire country is 241.34 BCM. But For many regions in the country, these numbers do not really translate into celebrations. In every 11 out of 100 blocks or talukas in which the study was conducted, groundwater was found to be 'over-exploited'. The 'over-exploitation' problem Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, and Sangrur and Malerkotla in Punjab are the three districts in the country where extraction of groundwater is more than 300% of what's recharged. The report which was released by the Central Groundwater Board on Saturday further showed that groundwater pumped out in 94 districts across India was more than 100% of the annual recharge. And more than two-thirds of such districts are in Rajasthan, Punjab & Haryana - essentially the Aravalli belt in the Hindi heartland. Root of the crisis TOI+ had earlier reported how Punjab could run out of groundwater in 16 years unless corrective steps are taken immediately. The situation was found to be grim as per 2016 and 2018 reports in Haryana too, according to another TOI+ report. While Rajasthan experiences low rainfall round the year and large parts of the state are desert, Punjab and Haryana have patterns with regard to the cropping system which is linked to the Green Revolution.

7. Israeli bombs rain down on Gaza What Israel forces bombed wide areas of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, as civilians in the besieged territory sought shelter in an ever-shrinking area of the south. Where Among the sites hit was the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of the Hamas-ruled enclave. A Gazan health ministry spokesperson said several people were killed and dozens wounded by an Israeli air strike, reported Reuters. Bombardments from war planes and artillery also concentrated on Khan Younis and Rafah cities in Gaza's south, residents said, and hospitals were struggling to cope with the flow of wounded. Al Jazeera television broadcast footage it said showed the aftermath of the strike. People, including a child, were covered in grey dust as smoke rose from piles of rubble and huge chunks of cement from collapsed buildings. Clashes The Hamas Palestinian militant group said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops about 2 km from the southern city of Khan Younis. Residents, many of whom had moved there to flee earlier attacks, said they could hear tank fire and feared a new Israeli ground offensive was building. End of pause The renewed warfare followed the end on Friday of a seven-day pause in the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants to allow an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. It took place despite growing calls from the US for Israel to avoid further harm to Palestinian civilians.

8. A 'resilient' cyclone puts India on alert What A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal on Sunday intensified into a cyclonic storm 'Michaung' and is likely to cross the South Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam today with a maximum sustained wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph. The name 'Michaung' (pronounced as migjaum) was suggested by Myanmar and it means resilience. Where The system could result in heavy rains in most parts of southern Odisha and coastal regions of the state, the IMD said in a bulletin. The cyclone has already caused rain in parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry. Southern districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, are likely to receive light to moderate rain today and tomorrow as an effect of the cyclonic storm. It is also likely to bring light rain in south Bengal districts of Purba and Paschim Medinipore, Jhargram, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas on December 6. Surveillance & preparedness The system, which is moving in a northwestward direction in the southwest Bay of Bengal, is under constant surveillance, the government said. The National Disaster Response Force has deployed 21 teams in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry and eight additional teams have been kept in reserve in view of the impending cyclone.

9. Islamist terror returns to haunt Philippines What At least four people were killed and dozens wounded in a bomb attack on a Catholic mass in the insurgency-plagued southern Philippines on Sunday, with President Ferdinand Marcos blaming "foreign terrorists". When and how? The blast happened during a morning service at Mindanao State University's gymnasium in Marawi, the country's largest Muslim city, which was besieged by Islamist militant groups in 2017. The five-month siege left more than 1,100 dead, mostly militants, before it was quelled by Philippine forces backed by airstrikes and surveillance planes deployed by the US and Australia. Motive? Military chief General Romeo Brawner said the bombing may have been a revenge attack for military operations against three Islamist militant groups -- Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines, Abu Sayyaf and Maute -- in western Mindanao in recent days. Government's position State forces, including those in the capital Manila, have been put on high alert. Police Lieutenant General Emmanuel Peralta reported the use of an improvised explosive device in the blast. Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro indicated strong indications of a foreign element in the attack, although specific details were not disclosed.` Reactions President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemned the attack, attributing it to "foreign terrorists" and describing it as "senseless" and "heinous", while Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims. Regional context Southern Philippines, including Marawi, is the homeland of the country's Muslim minority. Manila signed a peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014, concluding their armed rebellion. However, smaller groups opposing the peace deal and those professing allegiance to the Islamic State group pose challenges in the region.

10. You share your b'day with... Source: Various

Answer To NEWS IN CLUES Paris. A German tourist died and two other people, including a British citizen, were hurt after an attack by a man armed with a knife and hammer near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, in what President Emmanuel Macron described as “a terrorist attack”. Police quickly arrested the 26-year-old suspect, a French national, after subduing him with a Taser stun gun, reported Reuters. COURTESY : TIMES TOP 10