In Focus by The Hindu

On October 6, India abstained from voting on a draft decision at the United National Human Rights Council that called for a debate on the “situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Region” in China. By a narrow majority of 19 to 17, China and its allies ensured the defeat of a Western bloc of nations that were seeking a debate on the state of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. The very next day, the spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi hoped that the “relevant party” would address the situation in Xinjiang “objectively and properly.” So, should India have voted for the draft decision on the situation in Xinjiang, especially since China has resisted efforts to sanction terrorists responsible for anti-India operations in the 1267 sanctions committee at the U.N., rather than abstaining?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If the Covid-19 pandemic turned our world upside down, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added to the global economic gloom. We thought it apt to now take a quick snapshot of major economies undergoing stress and of places where policy action is going against the grain. We also wanted to take a peek into nations that are doing rather well, when the rest of the world is surrounded by uncertainty. We chose to review the US’s interest actions, the UK’s fiscal and currency woes, Turkey’s unbridled inflation and counterintuitive interest rate moves, the blossoming of Vietnam’s economy in a world full of economic stagnation, with Indonesia close on its heels and insistence by Japan’s central bank that it won’t raise rates given that it has the lowest inflation rate among major economies.Rohit Azad, who teaches economics at JNU, shares his views with us on these global trends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifth generation telecom technology, or 5G, has been in the news lately. Spectrum that was recently auctioned to telecom firms for providing 5G services fetched the government about Rs. 1.5 lakh crore. Airtel has already unveiled services in 8 cities. Jio promises to follow suit by Deepavali this year, even as it targets pan India availability by December 2023. Meanwhile, C-DoT or the Centre for Development of Telematics has developed India’s own 5G core. What does this mean to the local industry? Is it compatible with other global equipment providers? Will it help save on foreign exchange outgo?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 India’s foreign exchange reserves are lower by about $100 bn from a year ago. The rupee has also depreciated; it has seen a decline of more than 7% since the start of the financial year in April. Though the Reserve Bank has dipped into the reserves to help stem volatility in the rupee, that is not the only reason that the observed value of reserves has declined. Changes in valuation, given the dollar strengthening brutally against other currencies too have also contributed.How does this work? And what implications do all these changes have for the Reserve Bank’s action path going forward? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 13, 2022, India and China disengaged from a fifth friction point in Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both sides have now established five buffer zones since tensions began in April 2020, but the LAC crisis is far from over. In this episode, Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Reservation Foundation and author of “Understanding the India China Border”, explains where things stand on the border, where both countries go from here as they look to rebuild shattered trust, and what may have driven China’s recent actions on the LAC that have upended decades of peace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rupee weakened past 81 against the dollar for the first time ever last week. The RBI’s intervention in the forex market to help stem the volatility by selling dollars has meant that our forex reserves have fallen about $94 billion over the course of about 12 months to about $545 billion in mid September. How much lower can we afford to let our reserves go? Is there a ‘correct’ level for the rupee? Where does the interest rate as a policy tool figure in all of this?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing seems to be going easy for the Congress. Even selecting and electing a non-Gandhi family member as the Congress president has proved to be a tall order. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claimed that he didn’t know anything about a pro-incumbent revolt in the state legislature party even as Sachin Pilot waits in the wings to become Chief Minister. After an apology to party president Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Gehlot opted out of the Congress president’s race. The contest is now between Malikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a minor storm in the chess world over alleged cheating. It all began on September 4 when a 19-year-old grandmaster named Hans Niemann defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in an over-the-board game in a tournament in the US. Following this shocking loss to a player rated much lower, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament - something that almost never happens in a top event. He offered no explanations except to insinuate that Niemann had cheated.Niemann has said that he has cheated in online chess in the past but is clean now. But Chess.com was quick to ban him. When Carlsen and Niemann met again in an online event on September 19, Carlsen resigned after just one move, and has said he will not play against Niemann. Meanwhile, the chess world’s top anti-cheating expert Ken Regan has analysed not only Niemann’s win over Carlsen but also all his games from 2020, and found no evidence of cheating. Is Carlsen justified in making these insinuations without any evidence? Does the FIDE have adequate safeguards in place to ensure players don’t throw random allegations around? And how easy, or difficult, is it to cheat in chess today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following setbacks in his invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a partial mobilisation of ‘reservists’ to bolster the war effort. He launched his so-called special military operation with 150,000 troops, but now he plans to raise an additional 300,000 troops. Simultaneously, he also announced that referendums will be held in four Russia-held regions of Ukraine. If they vote yes, these Ukrainian territories will come under Russian sovereignty.Both these developments have serious implications, in Ukraine and in Russia. The move toward partial mobilisation has triggered fierce protests in Russia. There have been dozens of anti-mobilisation rallies, enlistment centres have been set on fire, and there have been lengthy queues of cars – some as long as 18 km – at Russia’s border crossings, with people wanting to flee. Will this partial mobilisation enable Russia to reach its military goals? Or will it backfire? What do the referendums mean in terms of the possibilities of military escalation? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zar. Zendegi. Azadi. Women. Life. Freedom. That’s the slogan given by Iranian women protesters after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being allegedly beaten in police custody for wearing her hijab improperly. The other popular slogan is “death to the dictator”. Over 40 persons have been killed in the protests in about 50 cities across Iran since Mahsa Amini’s death. The protests continue in the face of a massive crackdown by the hardline Islamic regime even as internet bans continue. WhatsApp, Instagram and Skype have been shut down by the government. One of the fundamental demands of the protesting women is that wearing a hijab should not be mandatory. In some other societies, it would be looked upon as a basic right. But not in Iran.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices