Some progress opens the possibility for other steps: Jaishankar on disengagement

Saying that India and China have made "some progress" in disengagement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said this was a "welcome" move that "opens up the possibility that other steps could happen". 

The government confirmed that "verification patrolling has commenced on mutually agreed terms in Demchok and Depsang" along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. 

Committee to assess Goa's demands on demarcation of eco-sensitive areas

An expert committee appointed by the Union Environment Ministry is tasked with examining the views and objections of the state governments. on eco-sensitive areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats, is likely to visit Goa soon to deliberate on the state's submissions. 

The committee-headed by former director general of forests and special secretary Sanjay Kumar will review if the state government's demands to omit 21 villages marked as eco-sensitive areas are justified. 

Recently, the Centre has sued the sixth iteration of a draft notification declaring 56,825.7 sq km of the Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive area for the protection of the contiguous biodiverse hotspots, spanning Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. 

DAP CRISIS LESSONS

The current nationwide shortage of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), with police being deployed to handle crowds at some distribution centres for this fertilizer, is symptomatic of a larger problem, involving both short-term planning failure and price controls harking back to an earlier era. 

DAP contains 46 per cent phosphorus, a key nutrient that crops require at the early stage of root establishment and development. 

Farmers apply it at the time of sowing along with seeds. Given an estimated 60 lakh tonnes (lt) of demand during the rabi (winter-spring) season - and much of that consumption happening between mid-October and mid-December- having enough opening stocks is a prudent strategy. 

Why is the Reserve Bank bringing back its gold assets to India?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought back nearly 130 metric tonnes of gold owned by it and kept it in the safe custody of the Bank of England, changing its strategy of safe-keeping the gold reserves. 

Gold brought back from overseas has resulted in a 60 per cent increase in the RBI's domestic gold holding in the same period. 

Domestic holding rises: 

The RBI's domestic gold holding jumped to 510.46 metric tonnes as of September 2024, compared to 295.82 metric tonnes as of March 2022. Close to 324 metric tonnes of the RBI's gold continues to be in the safe custody of the Bank of England at present. It was 453.52 metric tonnes as of March 2022. 

Paradox of stagnant rural wages

The Indian economy has grown at an average annual rate of 4.6% from 2019-20 to 2023-24, and 7.8% in the last three fiscal years (April-March) alone. 

The farm sector's growth has averaged 4.2% and 3.6% for these respective periods. 

The Labour Bureau compiles daily wage rate data for 25 agricultural and non-agricultural occupations, collected every month from 600 sample villages spread over 20 states.