(1) India’s GDP grows at 8.4% in October-December quarter
In the third quarter (from October to December) of the current financial year, India’s GDP growth rose to 8.4%, compared to the 4.3% growth in the third quarter for FY ‘23. The GDP growth of the first two quarters of this year were revised to 8.2% and 8.1%.
Making a flurry of revisions in the economy’s growth estimates, the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday raised India’s real GDP growth estimate for this year to 7.6% from the 7.3% projected last month. It also scaled down its 7.2% growth estimate for 2022-23 to 7%, and raised its 2021-22 estimate from 9.1% to 9.7%.
The Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy is projected to rise 6.9% this year, with the NSO downgrading last year’s GVA growth to 6.7% from 7%.
(2) Sweden joins NATO
On Tuesday, Hungary ratified Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) membership, welcoming the 32nd member of the group. Turkey and Hungary had held out on agreeing to the country’s membership because Sweden had criticised Turkey for human rights abuses and been hostile towards Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s perceived erosion of law, according to Reuters.
Earlier, Finland had been accepted as a new member. With Sweden also a NATO country, the group’s control of the Baltic Sea is stronger. The map below shows the extent of the grouping.
Sweden and Finland sought NATO memberships in May 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine in February that year. NATO’s potential expansion into countries bordering Russia was one of the reasons quoted for the invasion.
This new expansion gives NATO access to the strategic Gotland island in the Baltic Sea. This spot is around 330 km away from Russia’s Kaliningrad city with its Baltic Fleet. Besides this, the Baltic Sea is an area that has important seabed infrastructure like the Nord Stream gas pipeline that was destroyed in September 2022. NATO forces are now better equipped to protect this area.
Also read |Sweden’s NATO accession ends era of go-it-alone security
(3) Himachal Pradesh government faces instability
Himachal Pradesh’s Congress government faced the danger of collapse this week when six Congress MLAs voted in favour of the BJP candidate during Rajya Sabha polls along with three independents. Later, these six MLAs were disqualified from the Assembly for their absence from the Assembly when the State Budget and the Finance Bill were being put to vote, defying a party whip to vote in favour of the government.
If the Congress did not have enough support to pass the budget, it would have lost the majority and therefore, the confidence of the House. However, 15 BJP MLAs were suspended, and the remaining 10 walked out. This left no opposition and the budget was passed. The chart below shows the seat share.
The State Assembly has 68 seats. The Congress won 40 seats after the 2022 election, and had the support of three independent candidates. The BJP won 25 seats. After losing six of its MLAs, the Congress’s seat share went down to 34. However, it still retained a majority since 32 was the majority mark in the 62-member Assembly.
Also read |On cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections | Explained
(4) NDA just four MPs short of majority in the Rajya Sabha after elections
The BJP won 30 of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats which are set to fall vacant in April, from 15 States, with the results for the election announced on February 27. The numbers will take the BJP’s tally in Rajya Sabha to 97 and that of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to 117, just four short of the majority mark of 121 in the 240-member House once all 56 members are sworn in.
The effect of the polls is the netting of two extra seats in the Rajya Sabha for the BJP, and the NDA also rising. The BJP and the NDA have since 2014 enjoyed a full majority in the Lok Sabha, and have had no trouble with the passage of any legislation. But in the Rajya Sabha, the government had to face the ignominy of seeing amendments by the Opposition being carried through during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term in March 2015.
Also Read | An extra berth: The Hindu Editorial on the Rajya Sabha election results
Since then, the NDA has treaded a careful path of keeping several neutral parties such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the YSRCP with it when contemplating tricky legislation.
The retiree list of the Rajya Sabha includes BJP president J.P. Nadda, nine Union Ministers and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Polling for 15 Rajya Sabha seats, across the States of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka on February 27, was marred by reports of cross-voting, proving to be especially crucial in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh.
(5) Death toll of Palestinian’s in Gaza surpasses 30,000
On Thursday, February 29, more than 100 Palestinians were killed in an alleged Israeli shooting and bombing in northern Gaza. India, who has maintained a cautious position so far favouring a two-state solution to the crisis and opposition to terror, has expressed “extreme concern” after the incident on Thursday. Since the hostilities escalated on October 7, 2023, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed
The Israeli military action came amidst serious concerns about a famine-like situation prevailing in the tightly packed region that has been devastated by unrelenting bombing. The incident took place near the Gaza City in the northern part of Gaza which has experienced some of the worst Israeli bombings since the beginning of the crisis. According to Al Jazeera, Israeli soldiers shot and killed at least 112 and injured more than 750 after trucks carrying food were surrounded by Palestinians waiting for flour. Israel denied the report, blaming the crowd for threatening safety of its soldiers but eyewitnesses have confirmed that the shooting was unprovoked.
An Al Jazeera reporter who was present on the ground said that after the shooting, Israeli tanks ran over the dead and the injured. India has sent around 40 tonnes of humanitarian assistance for Gaza that was intended to be distributed to the conflict-affected civilians but there is no clarity if they received the material over the past several weeks.
Answering a question from The Hindu on Thursday, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal described the humanitarian assistance as an “important part of our engagement with the Palestinian people”, adding, “Over the years, we have provided humanitarian assistance through UNRWA and also bilaterally. So, that is where it is. We will continue to provide assistance. We have done this recently as well, where exactly on your question, whether it has reached X or Y place, I don’t have an answer.”
