Weakest first

The jurisprudence of affirmative action has been evolving constantly. From a notion of formal equality rooted in a general principle of non-discrimination, it has reached a point where the aim is substantive equality. 

Reservation is no longer seen as an exception to the equality norm but as a deepening of the idea of equality by embracing diversity and accommodation of those suffering from historical and social disabilities. 

The latest Supreme Court judgment allowing States to classify Scheduled Castes (SC) into groups and give preferential treatment to the weaker and more backward among them is in line with this progression. 

By a majority of 6:1, the Court has rejected the idea that the SCs constitute a single homogenous class and that subclassification will violate the equality rule. 

The verdict dislodges a 2005 Constitution Bench judgment (E.V. Chinnaiah vs AP) that had struck down an Andhra Pradesh law classifying SC communities into groups as unconstitutional.  

The five guidelines to a Dragon-Elephant tango

China and India are close neighbours. We learned from each other in ancient times, shared weal and woe in modern times, and have a common cause of rejuvenation. 

China-India relations have become one of the most important bilateral relations. 

President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attach great importance to China-India relations, and have reached an important consensus that China and India are not rivals or threats to each other, but are partners in cooperation and development opportunities.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar recently and stressed that China and India should adhere to mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual trust, mutual accommodation and mutual accomplishment. 

Centre reissues draft notification on eco-sensitive areas in Western Ghats

In the aftermath of the devastating landslide in Wayanad in Kerala, the Union government has reissued for the sixth - time in a decade a draft - notification classifying parts of the Western Ghats in six States as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs).

This will impose restrictions on economic activities such as quarrying, mining, and large infrastructure development in these areas. 

A senior official told The Hindu that the timing of the sixth draft was "coincidental", and not related to the Wayanad disaster.

The last time the draft was issued was in July 2022. Among other areas, it had proposed to declare 13 villages in Wayanad, spanning the three taluks of Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery, and Vythiri, as part of an ESA. 

Despite its six iterations, the draft notification is yet to become law as all six affected States Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have objected to specific places that have been included in the ESA regions.

India-U.S. ties testimony to changing world: Jaishankar

The India-U.S. relationship has been one policy that has "not been inconsistent or partisan" whatever the public debate on it is and the two countries have consistently beaten market expectations for the past 25 years, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said, while acknowledging that there have been bumps and divergences. 

Governor should be a bridge between Centre and State: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the Governors to be an effective bridge between the Centre and the State governments. 

Addressing a two-day Conference of Governors, which was inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister said that the post of Governor was an important institution that could play a crucial role in the welfare of the people within the framework of the Constitution, particularly regarding tribal areas.

"In his address, the Prime Minister urged the Governors to play the role of an effective bridge between the Centre and the State and interact with people and social organisations in a manner to coopt those who are underprivileged," a release from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. 

India selects 2 crew members for Axiom-4 mission to ISS

Indian astronaut-designates Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been shortlisted to go to the U.S. to train for the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The National Mission Assignment Board has recommended them as prime and backup mission pilots for the mission. Group Captain Shukla will be the prime mission pilot and Group Captain Nair will be the backup.

The Axiom-4 mission is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

The India-U.S. joint statement during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. in June 2023 envisioned a joint ISRO-NASA effort to the ISS.

Cabinet approves 8 high-speed road corridor projects

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved eight-nation- al high-speed road corridor projects totaling 936 km at a cost of ₹50,000 crore. 

They include a four-lane ring road for Ayodhya for pilgrims visiting the Ram Mandir and a bypass for Guwahati that will connect various cities in the north-eastern region.

The pilgrim town of Ayodhya will get a 68-km- long four-lane access-controlled ring road at a total capital cost of ₹3,935 crore enabling seamless connectivity to tourists arriving from airports in Lucknow and Ayodhya as well as major railway stations. 

ICMR got ₹172 cr. from Bharat Biotech for Covaxin: Nadda

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has received ₹172 crore as royalty from Bharat Biotech International Ltd. for jointly developing Covaxin, an indigenously developed vaccine for COVID-19, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.

The Minister said that after the Union government objected to the failure to list ICMR as a co-owner and coinventor during the filing of the patent for Covaxin, Bharat Biotech had accepted its mistake and rectified it. 

"Now ICMR, National Institute of Virology, along with three scientists are co-owners and coinventors of Covaxin," Mr Nadda said.

He informed the House that India had given Covaxin supplies to seven other countries under the Vaccine Maitri programme. 

Unemployment rate hits 4.3% in the U.S. as job growth slows

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% in July amid a significant slowdown in hiring, heightening fears the labour market was deteriorating and potentially making the economy vulnerable to a recession.

The increase in the unemployment rate from 4.1% in June marked the fourth straight monthly increase, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday. 

It has risen from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April 2023. The labour market is slowing, driven by weak hiring, rather than layoffs, as the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases in 2022 and 2023 weigh on demand. 

'Elevated, broad-based food inflation to force RBI to hold'

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which will be meeting from August 6-8, would likely keep policy rates unchanged on account of elevated food inflation, economists at Barclays India & Goldman Sachs Economics Research said in separate notes.

"Enduring upward food price pressure on headline inflation would likely keep the MPC cautious," Shreya Sodhani and Amruta Ghare of Barclays wrote.

"We expect the MPC to keep policy settings unchanged in a 4-2 vote. With no urgency to cut rates given steady growth, we see a risk of rate cuts being delayed beyond December," they added.