JOSHIMATH DECLARED ‘LANDSLIDE-SUBSIDENCE ZONE’, PM MODI ASSURES ALL POSSIBLE HELP

A high-level meeting called by the Prime Minister’s Office Sunday afternoon decided that the immediate priority in Joshimath – hit by land subsidence – should be safety of people living in the affected area. Further, the state govt should establish a clear and continuous communication channel with the residents, the PMO is learnt to have told senior state govt officials.

In the meeting chaired by P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, senior Central govt and Uttarakhand state officials, and top officers from agencies including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), were told to adopt a “whole of govt” approach and work together to contain the situation, undertake continuous seismic monitoring, prepare a time-bound reconstruction plan, and develop a risk sensitive urban development plan.

Affected families are being shifted to safe locations, a PMO statement said, noting that Prime Minister Modi is concerned and has taken stock of the situation with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Relief and rescue efforts were intensified in Joshimath after it was declared a landslide and subsidence-hit zone. The Centre also asked experts to prepare short and long term plans for conservation and rehabilitation, given the region’s fragile ecosystem.

“In the meeting, Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand Sukhbir Singh Sandhu informed the officials that state and district officials with the support of Central experts have assessed the situation on ground and found that a strip of land with a width of around 350 meters is affected. He also informed that affected families are being shifted to safe locations and the state govt had also sanctioned Rs 1 crore from the CM’s Relief Fund, which would be used mainly to help provide rent for the affected families,” an official said.

State govt officials said 13 more families living in houses with huge cracks were moved by the administration to safe locations on Sunday. The number of families evacuated to temporary relief centres now stands at 68, Chamoli district disaster management office said. The number of houses developing cracks in the town has risen to 610 from 561.

CONGRESS A ‘SANGATHAN OF TAPASYA’, BJP-RSS OF ‘FORCIBLE WORSHIP’: RAHUL GANDHI

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he was “not interested where the Congress comes to power” but more interested in what it does during its tenure in states it forms the govt.

Asked about the purpose of the yatra and if it had brought changes in his party’s culture, Gandhi said, “I have understood that this fight is not a political battle. Superficially, it is a political battle. Today, there is a change in the country. Since the day RSS captured the institutions of this country, this fight has not remained political. It is another fight now. You can call it a battle of ideology or dharma, but it is not a political battle anymore.”

He said, “The Congress is a sangathan of tapasaya, the BJP is a puja ka sangathan. If the Congress does tapasya, we draw strength out of it; they (BJP) draw strength out of their puja.”

“The RSS and the BJP are taking this country on the path of forcible worship, by capturing institutions, instilling fear in everybody, instilling fear in the media. That’s why Prime Minister is not facing you all. Somebody may ask him an odd question.”

Asked if the Congress was looking at making political gains through the Yatra, Gandhi said, “I am not interested in which states Congress govt is formed. I am more interested in that wherever the Congress govt is formed, what is that govt going to do for the people in the five-year tenure.”

Asked about his takeaway from the Yatra, the Congress leader told reporters, “When Arjun was aiming for the fish’s eye, did he say what he would do after shooting that arrow? The answer is there in the Bhagavad Gita, too. You do your job, whatever happens will happen. There will be another thing after this Yatra, followed by another thing. You all will see.”

He reiterated he was not concerned about his image as projected by the BJP. “Rahul Gandhi is in your mind. I killed him. He is no longer in my mind. The person whom you are looking at is not Rahul Gandhi. He is visible to you only. Rahul Gandhi is in your brain. He is in BJP’s brain. He is not in my brain. I have got nothing to do with my image. I have no interest in it. You can project it the way you want. I am just doing my job.”

BJP EMBARKS ON ‘BIND INDIA’ PLAN

At a time of growing conflicts among states over languages, boundaries and river waters, the BJP has embarked on an ambitious programme to bring people together with the party organisation drawing up a national plan to sink differences based on ethnicity and language.

The programme, to be rolled out under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” vision, will have three pillars — one, celebration of the foundation day of every state annually; two, adoption of an additional language apart from Hindi, English and the mother tongue by every BJP worker; and three, celebration of special days (Doctors’ Day, Daughters’ Day, Mother’s Day and Police Day, etc) with segments to which a particular day is dedicated.

“Since Independence, several disputes among states have been allowed to fester, leading to deep conflicts. The Prime Minister has long voiced concerns about states fighting over waters and borders, with many engaged in court battles. The reason being weakened ties among people. Under ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’, the BJP will mend ties and strengthen India,” says Dushyant Gautam, BJP General Secretary.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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PRO-BOLSONARO RIOTERS STORM TOP GOVT OFFICES, SUPREME COURT IN BRAZIL

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who refuse to accept his election defeat stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace in the capital on Sunday, a week after the inauguration of his leftist rival, President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva.

Thousands of demonstrators bypassed security barricades, climbed on roofs, smashed windows and invaded all three buildings, which were believed to be largely vacant and sit on Brasilia's vast Three Powers Square.

Some of them called for a military intervention to either restore the far-right Bolsonaro to power, or oust Lula from the presidency.

In a news conference from Sao Paulo state, Lula said Bolsonaro had encouraged the uprising by those he termed fascist fanatics, and he read a freshly signed decree for the federal govt to take control of security in the federal district.

There is no precedent for what they did and these people need to be punished, Lula said.

TV channel Globo News showed protesters wearing the green and yellow colors of the national flag that also have come to symbolize the nation's conservative movement.

The former president has repeatedly sparred with Supreme Court justices, and the room where they convene was trashed by the rioters. They sprayed fire hoses inside the Congress building and ransacked offices at the presidential palace. Windows were broken in all of the buildings.

Political analysts have warned for months that a similar storming was a possibility in Brazil, given that Bolsonaro has sown doubt about the reliability of the nation's electronic voting system without any evidence. The results were recognized as legitimate by politicians from across the spectrum, including some Bolsonaro allies, as well as dozens of foreign govts.

PRINCE HARRY'S SENSATIONAL INTERVIEW IS AIRED

Prince Harry's first television interview to publicise his new autobiography "Spare" was aired on Sunday.

Harry told Britain's ITV channel he had endured "38 years... of intentional spin and distortion".

He said he had "no intention" of harming anyone in his family by releasing the book. But he needed to speak out as "certain members have decided to get in bed with the devil to rehabilitate their image", at his and his family's expense.

Harry spoke of his long-standing sibling rivalry with Prince William.

The Taliban have criticised Prince Harry and called him a ‘big mouth loser’ after he said he had killed 25 people in Afghanistan while serving in the military. Taliban commander Molavi Agha Gol went on to brand him a “big mouth loser who has been trying to get attention”.

THE REST

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TAMIZHAGAM OR TAMIL NADU? LOST IN TRANSLATION IN GOVERNOR-DMK TUSSLE

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi’s remark that “Tamizhagam” is a more “appropriate” name for the state than Tamil Nadu has drawn flak from the ruling DMK, which has questioned his right to suggest a different name for the state and accused him of unnecessarily interfering in state politics. While the BJP has defended Ravi and taken on the DMK, the Opposition AIADMK has also disagreed with the Governor’s comment.

At the centre of the debate is the word “Nadu” that means “geographical boundary” or “land”. But a misreading of Tamil history and the complexities of translation have resulted in “Nadu” coming to mean “country” or “nation-state”. Thus, an essentially linguistic matter has turned into a political one in a state where mainstream politicians have been at the centre of nationalism and sub-nationalism debates for decades, and “Nadu” is viewed through the lens of Tamil nationalism.

Referring to this idea of the meaning of Tamil Nadu, Ravi said at an event at the Raj Bhavan on January 4, “Here in Tamil Nadu, a different kind of narrative has been created. Everything applicable for the whole of the country, Tamil Nadu will say no. It has become a habit. So many theses have been written — all false and poor fiction. This must be broken. Truth must prevail. Tamizhagam is a more appropriate word to call it.”

Pushing back against the Governor’s suggestion, DMK MP Kanmiozhi said, “The name Tamil Nadu indicates our language, tradition, politics and life itself. It was CN Annadurai who made that name official in the state Assembly. This land will remain Tamil Nadu forever.”

The AIADMK, DMK’s key rival and a BJP ally, too disagreed with Ravi’s proposal. Claiming that the party, too, follows Annadurai’s political line, former minister D Jayakumar said, “It will always be Tamil Nadu for us.”

The BJP, however, lashed out at the ruling party, with its state president K Annamalai saying that “the DMK has long been trying to bury their secessionist past, their ideological parent party (Dravidar Kazhagam or DK founded by social reformer Periyar) wanting a separate Dravida Nadu, later a separate Tamil Nadu”.

DELHI GRAPPLES WITH COLD WAVE; DENSE FOG HITS TRAFFIC IN NORTH INDIA

Dense fog over North India and eastern parts of the country on Sunday affected the movement of 487 trains even as an intense cold wave swept the plains.

In Delhi, the minimum temperature plunged to 1.9 degrees Celsius. Delhi’s minimum temperature was lower than most places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for the fourth consecutive day.

25 flights delayed, two diverted on Sunday, IGI officials said

“At least 335 trains have been delayed, 88 cancelled, 31 diverted and 33 short terminated due to foggy weather,” a Rail Ministry official said.

WORK & TRAVEL ABROAD TO BE MADE EASIER FOR YOUTH: EAM JAISHANKAR

The govt’s endeavour is to maximise support for the youth and ensure that they realise the benefits and achievements that are due to them, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.

“The aim is to create a better global workplace, a more secure travelling experience and a non-discriminatory treatment abroad. It can take the form of Migration and Mobility Partnerships as was done recently with Germany, Denmark, Portugal, France and the UK,” Jaishankar said while inaugurating the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 in Indore.

Our efforts have been to encourage easier exposure (for diaspora) to Indian culture and traditions. Many of our embassies, in fact most of them, offer yoga, dance and music classes. S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister

The minister also referred to the Working Holiday Programme recently signed with Austria and the more liberal working conditions by the Australian govt.

The govt is also trying to ensure a more predictable and liberal visa and work provisions in some other nations, he added.

The govt has also stepped up support to Indians abroad such as swift replacement of a lost passport grievance redressal through online mechanisms such as MADAD.

AMID COVID SURGE IN CHINA, DEMAND FOR INDIAN GENERIC DRUGS SKYROCKETS

The demand for Indian generic drugs has shot up in China amid the massive COVID surge in the country, with Chinese experts cautioning that fake versions of these drugs are flooding the market.

China’s National Health Security Administration said on Sunday that Pfizer’s Paxlovid oral medication, which is used to treat Covid-19, could not be included in the “register of drugs in the basic medical insurance”, because the company’s quotation was too high, media reports here said.

Due to the massive short supply of Paxlovid, demand for Indian generic versions has gone up through Chinese e-commerce platforms.

“On the Chinese e-commerce platforms... At least four generic COVID drugs produced in India - Primovir, Paxista, Molnunat, and Molnatris — have been listed for sale in recent weeks. Primovir and Paxista are both generic versions of Paxlovid, while the other two are generic versions of Molnipiravir,” Chinese media outlet Sixth Tone reported. All four drugs appear to have been approved for emergency use by the Indian authorities, but are not legal for use in China, it said.

AS SHARE OF RENEWABLES INCREASES IN GRID, GOVT EXPLORES STORAGE OPTIONS

To operationally sustain a huge monthly addition of an average 1,000 megawatt — almost five times the amount of power a 250 MWe nuclear plant produces — from non-fossil fuels or renewables to the electricity grid, policy makers are of the view that India needs to urgently work on developing viable energy storage options.

In India, which is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, nearly 40 per cent of installed electricity capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources. This green push has resulted in a sharp 24 per cent reduction in emission intensity of GDP between 2005 and 2016, but it has also thrown up challenges of a grid being increasingly powered by renewables.

Even as the Lithium-ion storage battery option for grid application is now being ruled out as unviable, at least for now, an emerging policy resolve is that solar and wind-based generation cannot continue to be pushed down to struggling electricity distribution companies or discoms. The renewables challenge is compounded by the fact that SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd) — the state-owned company conducting solar auctions — has locked a number of contracts involving green developers in rigid PPAs (power purchase agreements) with no scope for innovation, according to sectoral experts.

For procurers such as state-owned discoms, renewables are not always a viable option precisely due to these vagaries in the generation trends, which means they still have to depend on thermal or nuclear generation for meeting base load demand. Renewables bundled with a viable storage option help overcome this problem.

There are two alternatives being considered by the govt now: hydrogen and hybrid generation models blended with off-stream pumped storage. In 2023, as the hidden challenges of RE (Renewable Energy) transition are likely to manifest more concretely, the govt is making a renewed push on both technologies. A policy for stepping up green hydrogen production and tapping into its potential as a fuel has just been cleared by the cabinet. The Union Ministry of Power has also wrapped up a survey of all pumped hydro sites and hydro PSUs have been given a target of taking up pumped hydro schemes. The Ministry of Power has also written to the Union Coal Ministry to consider the option of opencast mines as potential sites for pumped hydro in the future.

TATA SONS CHAIRMAN SPEAKS ON URINATING INCIDENT

In his first remarks on the issue, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Air India, said on Sunday that the airline’s response to the incident on its New York-Delhi flight on November 26, when a drunk man allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger, should have been “much swifter”. “We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should have been,” Chandrasekaran said in a statement.

“The Tata Group and Air India stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew with full conviction. We will review and repair every process to prevent or address any incidents of such unruly nature,” he said.

Chandrasekaran’s statement came a day after the airline CEO, Campbell Wilson, said on Saturday that the airline could have handled the situation better. He said four cabin crew and a pilot had been de-rostered, and the airline is reviewing its policy of serving alcohol on flights.

PM MODI TO FLAG OFF LUXURY GANGA CRUISE ON JANUARY 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on January 13 flag off the 51-day luxury Ganga cruise from Varanasi to Dibrugarh, via Bangladesh, a 3,200-km river voyage being pitched as the world’s longest.

The ship, MV Ganga Vilas, will sail across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh, with the journey packed with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage spots, national parks.

According to a govt statement issued Sunday, the cruise ship will pass through major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam, before reaching Dibrugarh, where it is expected to arrive on March 1.

“This will herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India,” said Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, adding that the idea is to explore the immense wealth that the country’s rich river system has to offer.

MV Ganga Vilas has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the luxury amenities. The maiden voyage has 32 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire length of the journey. The tourists will board the cruise on January 10 and complete local sightseeing, before the ship sets sail from Varanasi on January 13.

The journey will cost approximately Rs 25,000 per person per day, the operators say.

While the cruise is being managed by private operators, the Inland Waterways Authority of India, under the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways, has supported the project.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. - Eckhart Tolle

OFF TRACK

Would you be more content with - six million dollars or six children?

Six children, certainly.

Why?

Because a man with six million dollars will always want more.