4 August 2024

• Disaster: rescue operations continued in Wayanad for the fifth consecutive day after the 30 July landslides in Mundakkai and Chooralmala. The death toll crossed 300. Army, NDRF and Air Force teams were deployed.
• Paris Olympics: India was active in multiple events on Day 9 of the Paris Games. Neeraj Chopra was preparing for the javelin qualification round.
• Bangladesh: protests in Dhaka escalated. The government imposed an internet shutdown and curfew as student demonstrations over job quota reform spread across major cities.
• Defence: the Ministry of Defence continued procurement reviews for indigenisation under the Positive Indigenisation List framework.

GS area: Disaster Management, Environment, Geography

The catastrophic landslides that struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages in Wayanad, Kerala on 30 July 2024 continued to define rescue operations on 4 August. By this date over 300 deaths had been confirmed and the toll was still rising:

• Incident details: on 30 July at approximately 02:17 hours, successive landslides buried an estimated 480 houses and shops in Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Meppadi Panchayat, Vythiri Taluk. The slides were triggered by extremely heavy rainfall over the preceding days.
• Scale: this became the deadliest landslide in India's recorded history, surpassing the 2013 Kedarnath disaster. Bodies were also recovered from the Chaliyar River in Malappuram district downstream, where debris and remains were carried by floodwaters.
• Assets deployed: two NDRF teams, Indian Army units and two Indian Air Force helicopters operated continuously. Three additional NDRF teams were airlifted in as the search area expanded.
• Geography: Wayanad sits in the Western Ghats at elevations between 700 and 2,100 metres. The region is ecologically sensitive and classified as an Eco-Sensitive Zone. Dense plantation and forest cover makes rescue operations difficult.
• NDRF: the National Disaster Response Force is a specialised agency under the National Disaster Management Authority. It is drawn from eight central armed police forces and trained specifically for search and rescue in disaster conditions.
• SDRF: Kerala's State Disaster Response Force also operated alongside central teams.

The Wayanad landslide reinvigorated the debate about the Gadgil Committee (Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, 2011) and the Kasturirangan Committee (2013) reports, both of which recommended strict regulation of development in landslide-prone Western Ghats areas. Those recommendations were only partially accepted.

Static linkage: disaster management, Western Ghats ecology, NDRF structure.

GS area: Sports (contextual), Science and Technology

The 2024 Paris Olympics were underway. India's athletes were competing across several disciplines. Key facts about the Paris Games relevant to prelims:

• Host city: Paris, France. The Games ran from 26 July to 11 August 2024.
• India at Paris: India sent 117 athletes across 16 sports, its largest-ever Olympic contingent.
• India's eventual medal tally: six medals in total (one silver, five bronze). Neeraj Chopra won silver in men's javelin. Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals in shooting (the first Indian to win two medals at a single Olympics edition). Swapnil Kusale added a shooting bronze. The men's hockey team won bronze. Aman Sehrawat won a wrestling bronze.
• Olympic rings origin: the five interlocking rings represent the five inhabited continents: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. The design was introduced in 1913 by Pierre de Coubertin.
• Host city selection: determined by the International Olympic Committee. Paris last hosted in 1900 and 1924.

Static linkage: international sports bodies, India's Olympic history.

GS area: International Relations, Polity (comparative)

Bangladesh saw the most intense student protests in decades by 4 August. The protests that began in mid-July over the reinstatement of a job quota for descendants of 1971 Liberation War veterans had not been resolved by the government:

• Quota at issue: the quota reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for freedom fighters' descendants. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh had reinstated it in June 2024 after earlier reforms. Students demanded abolition.
• Sheikh Hasina government: in power continuously since 2009. Prime Minister Hasina's Awami League had links to the liberation war history, making the quota politically sensitive.
• Government response by 4 August: internet shutdowns were imposed across Bangladesh. Curfew was declared in major cities. Security forces were deployed in Dhaka.
• India's interest: Bangladesh is India's largest trade partner in South Asia. India-Bangladesh bilateral trade exceeded USD 13 billion annually. The relationship under Hasina included cooperation on transit, anti-terrorism, power trade and border management.

Events would reach a decisive moment on 5 August.

Static linkage: India-Bangladesh relations, South Asian geopolitics.

GS area: Economy, Defence, Governance

India's Ministry of Defence periodically updates the Positive Indigenisation List, which prohibits import of items listed and mandates domestic procurement:

• Purpose: the Lists are a core instrument of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence initiative. By banning imports of specific items, the government forces the armed forces to source from Indian manufacturers.
• Three lists so far: lists have progressively added more items, from ammunition and simple platforms to complex systems including radars, helicopters, artillery guns and transport aircraft.
• DDP: the Department of Defence Production under the Ministry of Defence coordinates the indigenisation programme. DRDO, DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Undertakings like HAL, BEL, BEML) and private firms participate.
• Impact: India's defence exports grew from Rs 1,941 crore in 2014-15 to over Rs 21,000 crore in 2023-24. The production-linked import ban is a key driver.

Static linkage: defence industry, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, import substitution.

• Directed Energy Weapons: DRDO and BEL are developing laser-based directed energy systems under projects including Tri-Netra and KALI (Kilo Ampere Linear Injector). These weapons use high-power laser or microwave beams to disable drones, missiles and satellites. They are increasingly part of India's counter-drone and anti-UAV strategy.
• Dark patterns in apps: 52 of India's 53 most-downloaded apps were found to use dark patterns, which are deceptive user interface designs that manipulate users into unintended actions (such as hiding the unsubscribe button or auto-enrolling into paid services). CCPA and the Department of Consumer Affairs have guidelines against dark patterns.
• FASTags: new rules effective from 1 August 2024 require FASTag replacement every five years and KYC renewal every three years. FASTags use RFID technology for toll collection on national highways.