- China holds drills around Taiwan, ‘vows’ punishment for separatists
- China encircled Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft in war games as it vowed the blood of Independence forces on the self-ruled island wood flow.
- The two days of drills are part of an escalating campaign of intimidation by China that has seen it carry out a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in recent years.
- The drills come after Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan’s new president this week and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a confession of independence.
- China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control – and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island. But Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically- elected leaders.
2. BSE calls off merger with NSE arm at IFSC
- The merger between India INX and NSE IX, the two Stock Exchange Arms of BSE International Stock Exchange operating at the International Financial Services Centre has been called off.
- This has been done more than a year after talks began.
- BSE is short for the ‘Bombay Stock Exchange’.
- Founded in 1875, BSE is the first and one of the largest securities markets based out of Mumbai in India. NSE is short for the ‘National Stock Exchange’. Founded in 1972, it offers a country-wide stock market similar to BSE. While BSE is older, NSE is larger with greater daily trades and a higher turnover rate.
3. Military affairs department seeks feedback from three services on Agnipath scheme
- The Department of military affairs has sought feedback from the forces on the agnipath scheme after its completion of two years.
- The government had announced the scheme in 2022 for recruitment of soldiers into the armed forces for four years doing away with the earlier process.
- The Navy and the Air Force have already compiled the feedback.
- Agnipath Scheme allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years. Under this scheme, the youth joining the army will be called Agniveer. Youth will be able to be recruited into the army for a short duration. However, after four years, only 25% of the batch will be recruited back into their respective services, for a period of 15 years. It is only for personnel below officer ranks (those who do not join the forces as commissioned officers).
4. Rising debt strains household savings
- The household savings to GDP ratio is the sum of its net financial savings to GDP ratio, physical savings to GDP ratio and gold and ornaments.
- The net financial savings to GDP ratio declined by 2.5% points whereas the physical savings to GDP ratio increased only by 0.3 percentage points.
- The household borrowing to GDP ratio increased by two percentage points.
- The increase in household borrowing has led to a higher debt income ratio resulting in greater interest payment burdens.
- There is a need for macroeconomic policies that not only address inflation and government debt targets but also stimulate and support household income growth to mitigate these emerging challenges.
- India’s economic landscape has witnessed a concerning trend with household debt levels soaring to a historic high of 40% of GDP by December 2023, while net financial savings moved to an alarming low of around 5% of GDP.
5. The recognition of Palestine by more nations is an indictment of Israel
- Recently Ireland, Norway and Spain announced their intent to formally recognise the state of Palestine.
- In the last month the UN General Assembly 143 countries including India passed a resolution calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state by the United Nations Security Council where the US has vetoed such a move.
- The International Criminal Court prosecutor has also moved applications for arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and defence minister for operations after October 7.
- All these incidents reflect that two-state solution is something the world believes is the road map to peace.
- The “two-state solution” refers to a proposed resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that envisions the establishment of two separate and independent states, one for Israelis (Israel) and the other for Palestinians (Palestine), living side by side in peace and security.
ONE LINER
- India won a gold and a sliver each in the compound category at the World Archery Championships
- World Para Athletics – Simran Sharma wins gold, India ends Sixth with 17 medals.
