1. IMF cuts India’s growth forecast to 6.8% this year

The Fund cites Ukraine war, record-high inflation and effects of pandemic as key reasons; itexpects inflation in the country to return to the tolerance band in the fiscal year 2023-24

The world, including India, will experience an overall slowdown in the next year owing to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, tightening monetary conditions globally, the highest inflation in decades, and lingering effects of the pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund.

India is projected to grow at 6.8% in the current fiscal year, following 8.7% growth in fiscal year that ended March 31 as per figures released in the IMF’s October 2022 World Economic Outlook: Countering the Cost-of-Living Crisis at the start of the World Bank IMF Annual Meetings here.

Growth rate for this year for India has been revised downward by 0.6 percentage points relative to the IMF’s June 2022 forecast, following a weaker output in the second quarter, and subdued external demand, the IMF said. The forecast for the next fiscal year remains unaltered at 6.1%.

“India has been doing fairly well in 2022 and is expected to continue growing fairly robustly in 2023,” the IMF’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said at a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday morning.

Inflation above target

Inflation in India was above the RBI’s target, Mr. Gourinchas said, adding that the fiscal and monetary policy should be “probably be on the tightening side”. The IMF has projected 6.9% consumer price inflation this year and 5.1% next year.

The IMF expects inflation in India to return to the inflation tolerance band… in fiscal year 2023-24, “and additional monetary tightening is going to ensure that that happens”, IMF economist Daniel Leigh said at the briefing.

For the world as a whole, growth will slow down from 6.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. This is reflective of a U.S. GDP contraction in first half of 2022, a Euro Area contraction in second half, extended COVID-19 outbreaks in China and a property sector crisis.

2. Three lakh and counting: RTI pleas pile up at information commissions across India

A good 17 years after India got the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the transparency regime in the country remains a mirage with nearly 3.15 lakh complaints and appeals pending with 26 information commissions across India.

According to a report by Satark Nagrik Sangathan, backlog of appeals or complaints is increasing in commissions every year.

The number of appeals and complaints pending in 2019, from data obtained from 26 information commissions was 2,18,347. In 2020, the number climbed up to 2,33,384 with data obtained from 23 information commissions, in 2021 the number was 2,86,325 with data from 26 commissions and in 2022, it was 3,14,323.

The highest number of pending cases was in Maharashtra at 99,722, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 44,482, Karnataka at 30,358, the Central Information Commission at 26,724 and Bihar at 21,346.

Commissions in trouble

The report says two information commissions—Jharkhand and Tripura—out of 29 across the country have been completely defunct for 29 months and 15 months respectively. Manipur, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are without chiefs at the moment. Only 5% of the all positions in commissions are being occupied by women. Also, several information commissions, including the Central Information Commission, are working at reduced capacity with less than the stipulated number of members being in office.

Under RTI law, information commissions are the final appellate authority and are mandated to safeguard and facilitate people’s right to information.

An analysis of penalties imposed shows that the commissions did not impose penalties in 95% of the cases where penalties were potentially imposable.

“The report shows that in several commissions a large backlog of cases has built up, resulting in a long waiting time for disposal, as governments have failed to make appointments of information commissioners in a timely manner,” said Anjali Bharadwaj of Satark Nagarik Sangathan.

According to a separate report by the Transparency International, one-fourth information commissioner posts are vacant and there are only 5% (only 8) women information commissioners in the country. Out of total 165 posts of information commissioners, 42 are vacant, including two chief State information commissioners.

3. Blaming technology for deaths by suicide is misguided

Every year, when the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) releases statistics on deaths by suicide in India, the demand to address the issue grows louder. The most recent data for 2021, released on August 30, 2022, shows that suicide claimed 1,64,033 lives during that year.

Two decades into the 21st century, deaths by suicide remain a major source of social distress and public policy concern in India. Any loss of life is deeply unfortunate, but the notion of suicide is especially disturbing and beyond rationalisation for the affected family.

Blaming technology

One of the causes of suicide, which has been prevalent in contemporary discussions, is the expanding role of digital technologies. Aggravation of depression and other mental health issues leading to suicide is being repeatedly attributed to technology. Factors such as cyberbullying, loss of self-esteem due to social media, extreme binge-watching of online content or heavy reliance on virtual followers/communities for validation are all said to be contributing to the issue. It is clear that the more technology gains influence over the human condition, the starker will be its role in the best and worst of human experience.

However, it will serve us well to realise that technology is neither at the core of the problem nor the perfect solution for it. Suicide is a reality which society must respond to in the most sensitive and holistic manner possible. It is not the case that technology has no role to play in adverse mental health conditions or related cases of suicide; the issue is the sensational and misdirected analysis of the causes of suicides. This takes the focus away from a comprehensive understanding of the issue and a more appropriate solution to it.

For example, no one can deny the link between cyberbullying and suicidal thoughts and attempts. According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., participants who experienced cyberbullying were more than four times as likely to report thoughts of suicide and attempts as those who did not. However, similar results are true even for those who are bullied in person. The conclusion is that the medium of bullying is not the sole culprit; it is the act of bullying itself that needs to be addressed. Awareness campaigns, sensitisation programmes, community support and counselling services are usually considered good solutions against bullying — cyber or otherwise.

The case of Tamil Nadu

News reports regarding a spate of suicides, specifically in Tamil Nadu, also illustrate this point. Preliminary news reports associated several suicide incidents with gaming addiction, particularly with online rummy games. These reports elicited a heavy policy response from the Tamil Nadu government in the form of an ordinance, which banned most online games played for money, including rummy and poker. On closer examination, multiple independent studies, such as the one by Rotary’s Rainbow Project, found a high degree of exaggeration in reports associating deaths by suicide in the State with online rummy games.

The real reasons for these deaths were different from those earlier reported. Moreover, experts researching suicide, including Sandip Shah, Professor of Psychology at Shri Govind Guru University, Gujarat, made a direct representation to the Tamil Nadu government on insufficient data for the correlation between suicide and online gaming.

Analysis of the data from the NCRB on deaths by suicide in Tamil Nadu makes it evident that the policy response is not adequate to address the magnitude of the crisis in the State. Tamil Nadu has consistently had among the highest shares of reported deaths by suicide in the country, reporting over 11% of total cases for much of the previous decade, and nearly 19,000 cases in 2021 alone.

According to the NCRB, family problems, illness, substance abuse, and marriage/love-related issues alone contribute to more than two-thirds of the deaths by suicide in India. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Tamil Nadu government to address these root causes and evolve a holistic policy response to minimise future cases. Rather than top-down policy formulations, focusing only on a few high-profile incidents, an inclusive community-based mental health and suicide-prevention approach may prove to be more effective in saving lives. Further, the State may consider how technological measures from service providers can also become a part of this policy response.

Use of technology

The Central government, on its part, is already embracing the potential role of technology in improving mental health outcomes for citizens. In February, it announced the National Tele-Mental Health Programme to provide access to free, round-the-clock mental health interventions in remote and underserved areas. Acknowledgement of suicidal thoughts and attempts to address a host of inter-related causes and effects are necessary to design effective and proportionate policy prescriptions. While technology is certainly an agent of this complex matrix, it can neither be seen as a root cause nor as a panacea.

4. A nation achieves glory when it takes pride in its heritage, says PM in Ujjain

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the first phase of the ₹856-crore Mahakal Lok corridor in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain on Tuesday, after offering prayers at the ancient Mahakaleshwar temple.

Hailing his government’s efforts at renovating and reviving several Hindu temples across the country as well as improving access to Sikh pilgrimage sites, Mr. Modi said that in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (75th anniversary of Independence) period, India had given a “call for freedom from the mentality of slavery and taking pride in its heritage”.

“The nation finds glory only when the flag of its success is flying on the world stage. To reach the pinnacle of that success, it is necessary that the nation attains cultural excellence and takes pride in its identity,” Mr. Modi said, mentioning projects such as the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya and initiatives such as opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

‘Centre of India’s soul’

Addressing a gathering at the Kartik Mela Ground, he said such efforts were helping India re-establish the pride associated with these centres of its “spiritual consciousness”, while calling the city of Ujjain “centre of India’s soul”.

Earlier, he unveiled a shivling to dedicate the Mahakal corridor to the nation. Mr. Modi praised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the successful launch of the project. The first phase of the corridor cost ₹351 crore.

The corridor that is a little over 900 metres long traverses the old Rudrasagar lake, which has been revived as part of the redevelopment project around the Mahakaleshwar Temple, one of the 12 ‘jyotirlingas’. The corridor is dotted with 108 ornate sandstone columns in a row with trishul design on top and mudras of Lord Shiva. It also has fountains surrounded by sculptures and murals on the deity.

5. Non-traditional livelihoods skilling of girls included in Beti Padhao scheme

Expanding the mandate of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme, the Central government on Tuesday announced the inclusion of skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood (NTL) options in its flagship programme.

The scheme will now also focus on increasing the enrolment of girls in secondary education, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects. Women have been historically under-represented areas such as technology.

Announcing the new inclusion in the scheme, Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani emphasised the importance of convergence between various departments for providing quality education to empower girls. “Government has always encouraged and empowered girls to pursue vocation of their choice irrespective of gender stereotypes,” Ms. Irani said.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Minority Affairs. It emphasises convergence between Ministries and Departments to ensure adolescents complete their education, build skills, and enter the workforce in a diverse range of professions, including in STEM fields.

An operations manual to implement the scheme in districts was also launched at the event. A national committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development will be the apex committee to review the implementation of the scheme at regular intervals with State governments and Union Territory administrations, it said.

6. Chandrachud nominated as next Chief Justice of India

U.U. Lalit’s recommendation will begin the process for his appointment as the 50th Chief Justice of the country; if the government gives approval, he is expected to assume charge on November 9

Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit nominated Justice D.Y. Chandrachud as his successor in a brief meeting held at the Supreme Court judges’ lounge in the presence of all judges of the court on Tuesday.

Chief Justice Lalit’s recommendation to the government would start the process for appointment of Justice Chandrachud as the 50th Chief Justice of India.

If the government approval comes through, Justice Chandrachud would be the first second-generation CJI. His father, Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, was the 16th CJI and one of the longest serving.

Chief Justice Lalit is scheduled to retire on November 8 at the end of a 74-day tenure as top judge. Justice Chandrachud is expected to be sworn in and assume charge as Chief Justice of India from November 9. He has a tenure of two years as Chief Justice until his retirement on November 11, 2024.

Judicial career

Justice Chandrachud was appointed judge of the Supreme Court on May 13, 2016. He was before that the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court from October 31, 2013.

Justice Chandrachud began his career as a judge in the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000 until his appointment as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

He was Additional Solicitor-General from 1998 until appointment to the Bombay High Court Bench. He was designated a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998 and had practised law at the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court.

Justice Chandrachud’s career in law combines a blend of both practical experience in law and academics. He was a visiting professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Mumbai and the Oklahoma University School of Law, U.S.

7. UN Secretary-General, PM to launch initiative on environment in Gujarat

The programme, which is part of the ‘Lifestyle For Environment’ initiative, will be held at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia next week and attended by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, over a hundred diplomats and heads of Indian missions

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to India next week to attend the launch of a special environmental programme, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat.

Hundreds of officials and over a hundred diplomats and heads of Indian missions will participate.

The programme, which is part of the “Lifestyle for Environment” (LiFE) initiative announced by Mr. Modi in June, will be organised by the NITI Aayog.

Sources confirmed that Mr. Guterres, who will be in India from October 18 to 20, will participate in the LiFE event, and also visit a field project to highlight climate change challenges and solutions for the world.

In addition, he will deliver a public address to students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, where his focus is expected to be on global environmental crises.

During a visit to Pakistan last month, where he called those affected by devastating floods in that country as victims of a “grim calculus of climate injustice”, Mr. Guterres said “climate chaos is knocking on everyone’s door” and needed a global response.

The event at Kevadia will kick off a number of other governmental plans to mark Sardar Patel’s birthday on October 31 as National Unity Day. From October 25 to 31, the government will launch “Unitea” marches in all 750 districts of the country to highlight health and environment issues as well.

HoM conference

Prior to the LiFE event, Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners are expected to congregate in Kevadia for the annual Heads of Mission (HoM) conference.

The HoM conference is expected to include several special programmes to celebrate India’s 75 years of Independence, the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, and will mark the second visit by Dr. Jaishankar this month. The Minister had invited more than 50 foreign diplomats based in Delhi to Vadodara to participate in Navratri festivities andDandiya in the city in early October, and had also taken them for a tour of Kevadia and the Statue of Unity.

An official told The Hindu at least 120 HoMs would participate in the Kevadia conference from October 19 to 22. According to the official, Dr. Jaishankar will be in Gujarat from October 17 and will attend the inauguration of the Defence Expo being held in Gandhinagar, before travelling to Kevadia.

The events in Gujarat are seen as a special attempt by the government to highlight the State in the run-up to Assembly election in December. Mr. Modi completed a three-day visit to various Gujarat cities where he addressed public rallies and inaugurated a number of infrastructure projects.

In October 2019, World Bank President David Malpass had visited to address probationers of the Civil Services at the Tent City in Kevadia near the statue.

8. Technology is a tool for inclusion not exclusion, says Modi at UN Congress

In India, technology is a tool for inclusion and not exclusion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the inaugural function of the second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

“Geospatial technology has been driving inclusion and progress. Take our SWAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme. We are using drones to map properties in villages. For the first time in decades, people in rural areas have clear evidence of ownership,” he told delegates from several countries.

India’s steps at building infrastructure was on the backbone of geospatial technology, Mr. Modi said adding that the South Asia satellite was facilitating connection and communication in India’s neighbourhood.

India is celebrating 75 years of its freedom from colonial rule and also the freedom to innovate. The country’s geospatial sector is open for its young, bright minds, he said.

Data collected over 200 years have been made open and accessible to all. India has given a major boost to its drone sector and opened its space sector to private entities; 5G technology, too, was taking off, the Prime Minister added.

“[The principle of] no one should be left behind applies across. The COVID-19 pandemic should have been a wake-up call to everyone in the world in taking everyone along. Millions in the developing world needed diagnostics, medicines and vaccine, yet they were left to their own fate. There is a need for an institutional approach to help each other during a crisis. Global organisations such as the United Nations (UN) can lead the way in taking resources to the last person,” Mr. Modi remarked.

Ahead of the congress, Union Science Minister Jitendra Singh said that India’s geospatial economy was expected to cross ₹63,100 crore by 2025 at a growth rate of 12.8%.

He said geospatial technology had become one of the key enablers in socio-economic development by enhancing productivity, ensuring sustainable infrastructure planning, effective administration, and aiding the farm sector.

The conference will be attended by over 2,000 delegates, including at least 700 international delegates and participants from about 120 countries.

9. Farmers’ outfits question delay in announcing MSP for ongoing Rabi season

Farmers’ organisations have questioned the delay in announcing the minimum support price (MSP) for crops in the ongoing Rabi season even as sowing has started in several States. Farmers point out that announcing the MSP is important so that they can select the crops that have to be sown during the season.

Shamli-based farmers leader Jitender Singh Hudda urged the Centre to implement the Swaminathan Commission formula to decide the MSP and include comprehensive input cost, including rental value of land plus 50%. “The input cost for fuels, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, labour and transportation has increased. Agricultural instruments and their maintenance have also become costly,” Mr. Hudda said.

The RSS-affiliated farmers’ outfit Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) said it was not consulted either by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) or the Centre this time. “Earlier, there used to be two members representing farmers in the CACP. Now, there are no members representing farmers, and the MSP is calculated based on available statistics before the government,” said BKS general secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra.

All-India Kisan Sabha president Ashok Dhawale said the CACP generally send invitation for discussion. “We placed our opinion when the CACP consulted us before the Kharif sowing. However, we believe that whatever consultations held on MSP were a mere formality so far,” Dr. Dhawale said. He added that there was tremendous increase on the input price, particularly insecticides and fertilizers. “The MSP has to be hiked a lot if some kind of a justice has to be done to the farmers. The Centre should have announced the MSP in September itself. Otherwise, how will the farmer decide what should be sown and what should not be. They should have the MSP figures before them to take a decision,” he added.

10. G7 vows support for Ukraine after Russian forces launch mass strikes

Group promises support for Kyiv ‘as long as it takes’; missile strikes kill one person in Zaporizhzhia and leaves part of Lviv without power; Belarus says its military exercise alongside Russian troops is to assess ‘combat readiness’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to leaders of the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday for more air defence capabilities and the G7 vowed to support Kyiv for “as long as it takes” while warning Russia against any use of nuclear weapons.

The G7 — which groups the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Britain, Italy and Canada — pledged continued “financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support… for as long as it takes” to Ukraine, it said in a statement.

NATO said it was closely monitoring Russia’s nuclear forces following a string of Russian battlefield defeats in Ukraine and that the allies were also boosting security around key infrastructure after recent attacks on Baltic Sea gas pipelines.

Russian missiles again hit Ukrainian cities but with less intensity than on Monday, when dozens of strikes killed 19 persons, wounded more than 100 and knocked out power supplies across the country.

More missile strikes killed at least one person in the southeastern Ukrainian town of Zaporizhzhia and left part of the western city of Lviv without power, local officials said.

“When Ukraine receives a sufficient quantity of modern and effective air defence systems, the key element of Russia’s terror, rocket strikes, will cease to work,” Mr. Zelensky told G7 leaders at a virtual meeting where he again ruled out peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, said it had begun an exercise to assess its “combat readiness” after ordering troops on Monday to deploy with Russian forces near its border with Ukraine. Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory to invade Ukraine but has not sent its own troops across the border.

Mr. Zelensky denied Minsk’s claim that Ukraine planned to attack Belarus but told the G7 he wanted to make sure there was no threat from its northern neighbour, and he called for a mission of international observers to monitor the border area.

11. Urban poverty triples in Sri Lanka amid enduring economic crisis

As Sri Lankans continue braving their worst economic crisis since Independence, urban poverty on the island has tripled in the last year, from 5% to 15%, according to a recent World Bank report.

Sri Lanka is experiencing “its highest poverty rate since 2009 [when the civil war ended], and an erosion of the steady gains in welfare made between 2006 and 2019,” the Bank noted in its recent Sri Lanka Development Update titled ‘Protecting the poor and vulnerable in a time of crisis’, released earlier this month.

While 80% of Sri Lanka’s poor still live in rural areas, the poverty rate in urban areas has tripled since 2021, and half the population in estate areas is currently living below the poverty line, it said, referring to Sri Lanka’s hill country that is home to the island’s historically-neglected Malaiyaha Tamils. About 1.5 lakh people, mostly women, from the million-strong community work in the tea estates, bringing in crucial foreign exchange to the country. They live in dire conditions, in colonial-era line rooms, and labour hard to be paid their LKR 1,000 daily wage (roughly ₹225).

Across districts, Mullaitivu in the Tamil-majority Northern Province continues to be the poorest —57 % poverty recorded in 2022 — followed by neighbouring Kilinochchi and Nuwara Eliya in the Central Province [hill country], the report said.

Food and fuel shortages

The update comes while Sri Lanka struggles to cope with a harrowing economic crash that forced the government to default on its $50 billion foreign debt in April. The following months witnessed enormous shortages of essentials, including food staples, fuel and medicines, as well as an unprecedented people’s uprising that ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Backed by a parliamentary vote, senior politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President in July. While essential supplies have since improved, with the government’s fuel rationing policy and repurposed World Bank funds, the fundamental macroeconomic problems remain.

Emphasising that national security is ensured not only with the military, but also through food and economic security, President Wickremesinghe has called for “urgent measures”, his office said on Tuesday, following a review meeting of the government’s ‘National Food Security and Nutrition Assurance Programme’. His government, while facing growing public criticism over inadequate action and repression, is counting on a $2.9 billion package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that will be released only after Sri Lanka’s creditors commit to a debt restructuring programme.

As part of its recommendations, the World Bank has urged the government to increase financing for social assistance; come up with a social protection strategy, that includes an operational Welfare Benefits Board and a Social Registry, to enable effective targeting of social security programmes, given the addition of “newly poor” families. It has also called for an increase in cash transfers, to account for the double-digit inflation

12. Israel and Lebanon reach an agreement on maritime border

Agence France-Presse Jerusalem

Israel said on Tuesday it has reached a U.S.-brokered agreement with Lebanon to settle their long-disputed maritime border, hailing a “historic achievement” that potentially unlocks significant offshore gas production for both countries.

Negotiations between the neighbouring countries, which are still technically at war, had suffered repeated setbacks since their launch in 2020 but gained momentum in recent weeks with both sides eyeing revenue from potentially rich Mediterranean gas fields.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein floated a proposed final agreement earlier this month that Israel welcomed, but Lebanon had sought some adjustments subsequently.

A major source of friction was the Karish gas field, which Israel insisted fell entirely within its waters and was not a subject of negotiation.

Lebanon reportedly claimed part of the field and Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militant group that holds huge sway in Lebanon, threatened attacks if Israel began production at Karish.

Under terms of the agreement leaked to the press. all of the Karish field would fall under Israeli control, while another potential gas field, Qana, would be divided but its exploitation would be under Lebanon’s control.