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Table of Contents

Eyes on India

Continuous change in Asia.
Japan
Reviving TPP
Trade agreement with EU
Constitutional revisions are in consideration for its overt military role
Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan & Australia: diversify their economic interdependence
Away from China
Closer to India
Trade & tariff war between the U.S. and China
Beijing’s use of its economic muscle for political purposes
2010: suspended rare earth metal exports to Japan
2017: punished SK firm for Seoul’s missile system
Limited growth of Chinese market
Issue of reciprocity
Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy of Japan
Southeast Asia
India
Africa
South Korea: New Southern Policy
Taiwan: G20-sized economy whose political status is disputed
New Southbound Policy with significant accompanying investments in India by Taiwanese electronics manufacturers.
Australia: India Economic Strategy
goal of making India its third-largest investment destination and export destination by 2035

Next steps at Gir
23 Asiatic Lions died.
Gujarat is the last of the Asiatic lions in the wild.
April 2013: Supreme Court has directed translocation of lions to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh
A 12-member expert committee has also been formed to monitor the shifting of lions to the sanctuary spread over 344.68 sq km.
But even wild animals are subject to State politics.
Gujarat has been unwilling to part with its lions, calling them “its pride” in an affidavit.
30% of the lion population in Tanzania’s Serengeti was killed due to an outbreak of canine distemper, a viral disease that affects animals.
Wildlife conservation concerns itself with maintaining ecological processes and reducing threats to endangered species.
It does not entail treating wild animals for disease (in the way domestic animals are) as this can go against the processes of natural selection.
Machli: tigress from Ranthambhore in Rajasthan
Known as the world’s most photographed tigress, she lived for 20 years before her death in 2016.
Treated medically, and often fed artificially
The role of wildlife managers should be to reduce unnatural threats, not unnaturally prolong life.
Finally, there is no getting around the fact that a geographically separate population of Asiatic lions needs to be created.
A good track record for lion conservation does not in any way preclude a good long-term strategy.

Fields of concern

Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Rabi crops announced by the GoI.
Cereal Ragi, Kharif crop: 52.5%, highest increase over the previous kharif season’s MSP.
Safflower, Rabi crop: 20.6% hike, highest season-onseason
The MSP for wheat has been raised 6.1%, or ₹105 a quintal.
Mustard, Gram, Masur dal: 5-5.3% range
Doubling farmers income
The Rabi crop will be planted in November, by which time Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (large producers of wheat and mustard, respectively) will be firmly in campaign mode.
India’s farm sector has multiple stress points, and ground-level procurement often does not take place at stipulated support prices.
Barring paddy and, to a lesser extent, wheat, the MSP formula doesn’t work for most crops in the absence of substantial direct procurement by the government.
There needs to be a holistic reboot of the agriculture sector, particularly to address the restrictive trading policies and excessive government interventions that deter productivity enhancements.

Important News

Centre cuts fuel prices by ₹2.5

Mr. Jaitley said he would be writing to all the States, urging them to match the ₹2.5 cut with an equivalent reduction in their respective VAT rates on fuel, thus making the total benefit to consumers ₹5 per litre.
All rate cuts will come into effect from the midnight of October 4.

SC refuses to stop deportation of seven Rohingya Muslims

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an application to stop the government from deporting seven Rohingya men detained in Assam since 2012.
A Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph refused to intervene in a plea by Mohammed Salimullah, speaking through advocate Prashant Bhushan, that a United Nations officer must be allowed to first talk to the seven men.
Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, submitted that the men were prosecuted under the Foreigners Act, 1946, for illegally entering India. Myanmar has already accepted them as its nationals and issued them Certificates of Identity.
The government, in a short affidavit, said the seven were housed in a detention centre since 2012. Now, they have been accepted by the country of their origin. Sensex sheds 806 points over crude, rupee concerns Amid U.S. threat, India, Russia set to sign three major deals

Five S-400 missile systems

Four stealth frigates
Ak-103 assault rifles
Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on China as it started taking delivery of Su-35 jets and S-400 systems.

Strategic Autonomy CJI Gogoi retains a tight grip on PIL petitions

The new subject-wise roster, introduced by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as the master of roster, continues the legacy of his immediate predecessor Dipak Misra, keeping a tight grip on public interest litigation petitions. Hasina gets Modi’s assurance
Bangladesh said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Dhaka that people left out in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam would not be deported to the country.

U.S. indicts seven Russian intel agents in hacking conspiracy

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday indicted seven agents of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency as part of a joint crackdown with allies Britain and the Netherlands on a series of major hacking plots attributed to Moscow.

Saudi Arabia to invest in oil refinery in Gwadar

Saudi Arabia will invest in a new oil refinery in Pakistan’s growing deep-sea port of Gwadar, Islamabad announced on Thursday.
The agreement follows a visit last month by Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan to the Gulf kingdom as he seeks to attract foreign investment.
Gwadar is part of Pakistan’s mineral rich southwestern Balochistan province.