29 September 2024

• Polity: PM Modi addressed the 114th episode of Mann Ki Baat, covering Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary, climate action by citizens and cooperative societies.
• Elections: J&K Assembly election Phase 3 and Haryana Assembly election campaigns were in full swing ahead of October 1 and October 5 voting dates.
• Railways: Indian Railways announced 6,000-plus festival special trains for the Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali season.
• International: India attended and co-chaired the annual Colombo Process ministerial review focused on safe migration of South Asian workers.

GS area: Governance (communication), Social issues

PM Modi addressed the 114th episode of Mann Ki Baat on 29 September 2024.

Key themes:

• Bhagat Singh birth anniversary: The episode highlighted the life of Bhagat Singh (born 28 September 1907). PM Modi spoke about his writings from prison, including "Why I am an Atheist" (1930), his intellectual approach to revolution and his significance for modern India.
• Cooperative societies: PM Modi highlighted Sahakar se Samriddhi, which refers to the cooperative movement's role in rural India. India has approximately 8.5 lakh cooperative societies with 29 crore members. The Ministry of Cooperation (created in 2021) and NABARD support the cooperative sector.
• Citizen-led environment action: Mann Ki Baat highlighted the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign.
• Programme overview: Mann Ki Baat is a monthly radio address by the Prime Minister, broadcast on All India Radio and subsequently across TV channels. It began in October 2014. It covers social issues, citizens' achievements, cultural matters and government initiatives.

Static linkage: Communication governance, PM's public communication, cooperative movement.

GS area: Polity (elections, federalism)

Jammu and Kashmir's three-phase Assembly elections and Haryana's single-phase Assembly election were occurring simultaneously in late September and early October 2024.

J&K context:

• J&K: UT with legislature. Following the abrogation of Article 370 (August 2019) and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, J&K became a Union Territory (retaining its legislative assembly, unlike Ladakh which became a UT without legislature).
• Statehood issue: The Supreme Court (December 2023 ruling in the Article 370 challenge) held that J&K's statehood could be restored at an appropriate time. The election in J&K is the first after J&K's reorganisation.
• Electoral significance: The first Assembly election in J&K since 2014 (a decade).
• Delimitation: New electoral boundaries were drawn by the Delimitation Commission (2020-22), adding six seats to Jammu and adding one seat to Kashmir, making it 90 seats total (43 Jammu, 47 Kashmir).

Haryana context:

• 60-seat Assembly. Haryana election on 5 October 2024. The BJP was seeking a third consecutive term. The Congress challenged with Bhupinder Singh Hooda as its CM face.
• Model Code of Conduct (MCC): Both elections are under the MCC, which restricts government announcements and spending from election announcement to result.

Static linkage: Elections, J&K reorganisation, delimitation, Article 370.

GS area: Governance (infrastructure), Economy

Indian Railways announced more than 6,000 festival special trains for the Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali season (September 29-November 2024).

Key context:

• Seasonal demand: India's festive season (October-November) sees the highest passenger rail demand. Workers and students travel home, families undertake pilgrimages and tourism increases.
• Network: Indian Railways operates one of the world's largest rail networks: 68,000 route km, 7,500 stations, approximately 22 million daily passengers.
• Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC): The Eastern DFC (Ludhiana to Dadri) and Western DFC (Dadri to JNPT Mumbai) free capacity on the main network for more passenger trains. The DFCCIL (Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited) operates these.
• Kavach system: Automatic Train Protection (ATP) technology developed by RDSO for collision avoidance. Required coverage expanded after the Odisha train accident (June 2023, Balasore).
• Rail Ministry and PMIS: The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan integrates rail with road, ports and waterways for multimodal logistics.

Static linkage: Infrastructure policy, freight corridors, rail safety.

GS area: International Relations, Social justice (migration)

India participated in the annual Colombo Process ministerial review in September 2024.

Key facts:

• Colombo Process: A regional consultative process on managing overseas employment and contractual labour, covering 12 origin countries in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR).
• Focus: Migrant worker rights, skills recognition, reducing recruitment costs and remittance facilitation.
• India's stake: India is one of the world's largest sources of migrant workers. Approximately 13 million Indians work abroad. India's remittances in FY2024: approximately $120 billion, the world's highest.
• Ministerial Consultations on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin in Asia: The formal name of the Colombo Process.
• Abu Dhabi Dialogue: The outreach arm of the Colombo Process, involving destination countries in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.

Static linkage: Migration governance, remittances, labour rights.

GS area: Modern History (freedom struggle)

Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary (28 September) was widely covered in September 2024 current affairs.

Prelims-critical facts:

• Born: 28 September 1907, Banga village, Lyallpur district, Punjab (now Pakistan).
• Ideology: Socialist, influenced by Marxism and Russian revolutionary literature. Distinguished himself from the mainstream Gandhian non-cooperation approach.
• Organisations: Naujawan Bharat Sabha (1926, with Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev). Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA, with Chandrashekhar Azad, Sukhdev, Ram Prasad Bismil).
• Key events:
  • 1929: Threw bombs in Central Legislative Assembly (with Batukeshwar Dutt) to protest the Public Safety Bill. "If the deaf are to hear, the sound has to be very loud." Surrendered willingly.
  • 1929: Went on a hunger strike in prison demanding equal treatment for political prisoners.
  • 1928: Shot John P. Saunders (DSP, Lahore) in revenge for Lala Lajpat Rai's death during the Simon Commission lathi charge.
• Execution: Hanged on 23 March 1931, Lahore Central Jail, along with Sukhdev and Rajguru.
• Writings: "Why I am an Atheist" (1930), "The Jail Notebook" and letters articulating his political philosophy.

Static linkage: Freedom struggle, revolutionary nationalism, socialism in India.

• National Energy Conservation Day (14 December) prep: The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Energy Conservation Act 2001 sets Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme targets for energy-intensive industries. ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) mandates energy performance standards for commercial buildings.
• Maritime India Vision 2030: India's port development plan includes targeting 10,000 MT cargo handling capacity by 2030 (from approximately 2,000 MT in FY2024), developing 35 new coastal berths and increasing coastal shipping share.