Current Affairs-September 6, 2022

 

INDIA

– Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren wins confidence motion with 48 votes in 81-member Assembly, BJP stages walkout
– PM announces development and upgradation of 14,500 schools across the country under PM-SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India) Yojana

– President Droupadi Murmu confers National Awards to distinguished teachers on Teachers Day
– UGC launches new research fellowship and research grants schemes on Teachers Day
– Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina holds talks with the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi
– Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari confers honorary title to Indian Army chief Gen. Manoj Pande in Kathmandu

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– CCI clears Prosus-backed PayU’s $4.7-billion acquisition of BillDesk
– Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam takes over as Tamilnad Mercantile Bank MD & CEO
– India to celebrate National Cinema Day on September 16 says Multiplex Association of India (MAI), tickets priced at Rs 75

WORLD

– UK: Foreign Minister Liz Truss elected new leader of the governing Conservative Party, becomes next PM of Britain
– Afghanistan: Two Russian diplomats killed along with several locals in blast outside Russian embassy in Kabul
– China: 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Sichuan Province, 21 killed
– International Day of Charity observed on September 5; death anniversary of Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Economic & Political Weekly: Table of Contents

 

Vol. 57, Issue No. 36, 03 Sep, 2022

Engage Articles

Respatialising the Digitised and Globalised Sex Industry

Varsha Gopal

Pushpa: The Rise: Circulation of Marginal Hypermasculinity

Deepthi Krishna Thota

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui and Transfeminine Identity: Representation or Exclusion?

Pushpesh Kumar and Deepa Sreenivas

Editorials

Investigative Agencies and Their Hyperactivism

An Assault on Democracy

From the Editor's Desk

Making Sense of ‘Freebies’

From 50 Years Ago

From 50 Years Ago: Political Response to the 1966 Devaluation—I

Alternative Standpoint

From Sairat to Jhund via Jai Bhim - Caste and the Culture Industry of Hindi Cinema

Sai Thakur, Byasa Moharana, Rimil Bobonga

Commentary

FDI, GDP and Regional Disparity - An Empirical Study to Cross-check the Myth and Reality

Dipen Roy

India’s Turn to Save the World from the Next Crisis

Avinash Persaud

Reading Ecology, Reinventing Democracy - The Gadgil Report on the Western Ghats

Shiv Visvanathan, Chandrika Parmar

Bhairabi Prasad Sahu (1957–2022)

Yogender Dayma

Book Reviews

Tribes: The Other View

Surinder S Jodhka

How to Dismantle a Republic - Understanding the Idea of New India

Anshul Trivedi

Anatomy of ‘Alt-Right’ Politics

S Irfan Habib

Special Articles

Agricultural Federalism - New Facts, Constitutional Vision

Shoumitro Chatterjee, Devesh Kapur, Pradyut Sekhsaria, Arvind Subramanian

Federal Transfers and States’ Own Spending on Development Activities in Fiscal Federalism in India

J S Darshini, K Gayithri

Fiscal Decentralisation and Finances of Gram Panchayats and Municipalities - A Kerala Experience

B A Prakash

Current Statistics

Current Statistics

Letters

Caste Superiority in the 21st Century

Sonu Chauhan

Ethics of Parliamentary Language

Anil S Sutar

Unhappy rank: Deaths by suicide at its highest in India

 National Crime Records Bureau for 2021 showed an increase of 7.2 per cent over those in 2020 — from 1.53 lakh deaths to 1.64 lakh

The virus was not the only mass killer during the pandemic. Deaths by suicide reported by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2021 showed an increase of 7.2 per cent over those in 2020 — from 1.53 lakh deaths to 1.64 lakh. In 2019, such deaths numbered 1.39 lakh. A 2021 Lancet study pointed out that India had the highest number of suicide deaths in the world. One reason for concern here is that the NCRB uses data from police reports, which leaves open the possibility that the facts are incomplete, because the associated social stigma often drives families to conceal the nature of death. Social stigma and confusion about the legal status of self-harm seem to have added to the authorities’ strange indifference to the countrywide tragedy that has been growing steadily. Creating categories such as ‘farmer suicides’ and ‘student suicides’ is not enough. In 2020 and 2021, however, the number of suicides that has grown faster than the average rate of increase is that of daily wage earners: one in four suicides comes from this group. While the pandemic hurt them severely, the increase must also be placed in the context of the ceaseless rise in suicide deaths among them since 2014.

Unemployment in 2020, and bankruptcy and debt in 2021 pushed more working-age people, especially men, over the edge. This is, again, pandemic driven, but these causes converge with older ones of family problems and illness. A large proportion of the illness behind suicide has to do with mental health, which adds to the stigma. Women’s suicides for illness increased in both 2020 and 2021, while it was, with family problems, the greatest cause of self-harm for senior citizens. Close confines, acute insecurity and even hunger must have contributed to the sense of hopelessness. Perhaps the general misery was reflected in the growth of drug abuse as one of the greatest causes of self-harm for people of working age, men mainly; together with illness, drugs as cause of suicide showed rapid growth. The NCRB data are, as always, more than adequate to unearth the roots of the tragedy — these are various, although often allied. Perhaps the numbers are now staggering enough for the busiest government to pay attention to clear-cut policies of suicide prevention. 

Source: The Telegraph, 02/09/22

Teachers' Day 2022: UGC To Launch New Research Grants & Fellowship Schemes

 The University Grants Commission is set to launch three new research grants and two fellowship schemes today on the occasion of Teachers Day 2022. The event will begin at 3 pm today and it will be telecasted live on the official Twitter and YouTube channels of UGC. According to the official information, there are 100 available slots for this fellowship, and selected candidates will get Rs 50,000 per month and Rs 50,000 per year as a contingency. 

UGC fellowship schemes: Know Eligibility Criteria

Only candidates under the age of 67 are eligible for the aforementioned scheme. Also, candidates must have successfully supervised the Ph.D. dissertations of ten full-time candidates, three of whom graduated during the previous ten years. The candidate must have prior experience handling the post of principal investigator on at least three sponsored research projects financed by national or international agencies. In addition, candidates should not carry any administrative responsibilities throughout the fellowship, which begins on the day of superannuation.

Here's the list of UGC fellowship and research grant programmes

• Savitribai Jyotirao Phule Fellowship for a Single Girl Child 
• Dr. Radhakrishnan UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship 
• Fellowship for Superannuated Faculty Members 
• Research Grant for In-Service Faculty Members 
• Dr. DS Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members

About UGC fellowship schemes

Savitribai Jyotirao Phule Fellowship for a Single Girl Child

• The aim of this fellowship is to provide the right education to single girl children and encourage them to pursue research work leading to the award of a Ph.D. degree. There is no fixed age limit on this fellowship. This fellowship has a total tenure of five years.

Dr. Radhakrishnan UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship

• This fellowship will provide opportunities to as many as 900 candidates to carry out advanced studies and research in sciences, engineering and technology, humanities, and social sciences, including languages, in Indian universities and institutions. Notably, 30% of seats are reserved for female candidates. Selected candidates will be given Rs 50,000 per month as part of the fellowship and Rs 50,000 per annum as a contingency.

Fellowship for Superannuated Faculty Members

• This fellowship will provide research opportunities to retired teachers. A total of 100 slots are available within this fellowship, and the selected candidates will be given Rs 50,000 per month as part of the fellowship, with Rs 50,000 per annum as a contingency.

Research Grant for In-Service Faculty Members

• This fellowship will provide research opportunities to regularly appointed faculty members. A total of 200 candidates will receive Rs 10 lakh for a two-year period.

Dr DS Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members 

• This fellowship seeks to offer research opportunities to regularly appointed faculty members. As per the official information, the quantum of support under the scheme is Rs 10 lakh, which will be provided to 132 selected candidates for a tenure of two years.

Source: Republicworld.com, 5/09/22

Quote of the Day

 

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean itself does not become dirty.”
Mohandas Gandhi

“आपको मानवता में विश्वास नहीं खोना चाहिए। मानवता एक सागर की तरह है, यदि सागर की कुछ बूंदे खराब हैं तो पूरा सागर गंदा नहीं हो जाता है।”
मोहनदास गांधी

All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival 2021-2022

 Recently, the 50th All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival 2021-2022 began at Iboyama Shumang Leela Shanglen in Palace Compound, Imphal.

Key Points

• Shumang Leela is a traditional form of theatre in Manipur and the roles of female artists are all played by male actors and male characters are played by female artists in case of female theatre groups. The activities are done in the open air.

• During the festival, the Governor also distributed medals to the winners of the 49th All Manipur Shumang Leela Mahotsav 2020-21.

Background of Shumang Leela Festival

Originally Shumang Leela began as a comedy genre presented to kings and nobles, which evolved into the present form of courtyard drama. The Shumang Leela of those days tried to preserve and promote humanity, tolerance, self-confidence, devotion, truth and justice through its performances.

In the present day Shumang Leela is trying to focus on issues of moral values, unity and integrity. It is also striving to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and friendship between different communities in the state.

Current Affairs- August 31, 2022

 

INDIA

– Supreme Court closes contempt proceedings, arising out of the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992, against the state of Uttar Pradesh and others
– Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan holds talks with his Brazilian counterpart Victor Godoy in New Delhi
– MoS Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh visits ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia
– Economist and former Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen passes away at 72

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister releases Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100
– Public sector contributes 20% to national income, 40% of total wages: India Ratings and Research
– Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Chairs progress review of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)
– MoU signed between PCIM&H (Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy) and IPC (Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission) for Inter-Ministerial cooperation for promotion and facilitation of “One Herb, One Standard”
– NHPC inks MoU with PTC India Limited for sale of power to be generated from upcoming West Seti & Seti River-6 Projects in Nepal

WORLD

– Angola: Ruling MPLA (Movement for the Liberation of Angola) wins election; President Joao Lourenco gets 2nd term
– Solomon Islands bans US Navy’s ships from entering its ports; had signed security pact with China in May
– International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances observed on August 30