Innholdsfortegnelse for 12 December 2022 i India Today

For a year, beginning in December, India will take its place in the centre stage of international affairs. It assumes the rotating presidency of the G20, one of the most influential groupings of world powers, with the bandwidth to steer and even alter the course of geopolitical interactions. It is a role that befits it—a kind of neutral referee, speaking from a position of authority, but also with a uniquely non-partisan voice that every nation can listen to. Coincidentally, India also assumes the presidency of the all-powerful UN Security Council in December for a month and will chair the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the world’s largest regional forum, till September 2023. Suddenly, it feels like India’s moment under the sun. The G20 is the prize seat at the high table.…

The Madhya Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra has offered the local Congress a chance to prep up for the next assembly election. November 2023 is still a year away, but state Congress chief and former chief minister Kamal Nath wants to use the yatra’s momentum to the party’s advantage. In a 12-day itinerary, the yatra route maps out 17 assembly segments in six districts in the state’s Malwa and Nimar regions. Barring the tribal-dominated seats here, where the Congress is still strong, both are considered BJP strongholds. In 2018, the Congress had improved its tally here though, mopping up 34 of 66 seats in the Indore and Ujjain divisions (both in Malwa)—a crucial contributor to its victory. A good chance then to try and put some sheen back…

In 2014, when Narendra Modi decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi, he famously quipped: “Mujhe toh Ma Ganga ne bulaya hai (Mother Ganga has called me).” With the 2024 general election less than two years away, it’s the turn of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to invoke the holy river. Projecting him as an alternative to Modi, his supporters cheered him on with slogans like “Hamara PM kaisa ho, Nitish ji ke jaisa ho (What should our PM be like, just like Nitish)” when the chief minister launched the Har Ghar Gangajal scheme in Rajgir town on November 27. Will Nitish bow to the will of the people and throw his hat in the ring?…

The gavel of the G20 (Group of Twenty) presidency that was handed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Bali summit in mid-November may appear diminutive. But the size belies the enormous responsibilities that come with it. On December 1, when India formally assumed charge of the G20, its member-nations represented 60 per cent of the world’s population but, more importantly, accounted for 85 per cent of global GDP and 75 per cent of international trade. Since its inception in 1999, the G20 has emerged as the world’s most powerful international forum for major economic issues and, recently, for geopolitical concerns too. Coincidentally, India will assume the presidency of the all-powerful United Nations Security Council too in December for a month. It will also be chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation…

GLOBAL Taking a leading role in a fragmented world Leave a lasting legacy Champion the causes of the developing world DOMESTIC Reaffirm India’s increasing global heft in the domestic arena REGIONAL Push regional interests as South Asia’s leader 40 FINANCE TRACK MEETINGS 60 SHERPA TRACK MEETINGS 50 EG MEETINGS 15 MINISTERIAL MEETINGS 25 SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS…

Festivals of India HORNBILL FESTIVAL Kohima, Nagaland Dec. 1-10, 2022 SANGAI FESTIVAL Imphal, Manipur Dec. 1-10, 2022 KHAJURAHO DANCE FESTIVAL Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh Feb. 20-26, 2023 INTERNATIONAL SAND ART FESTIVAL Konark, Odisha: Dec. 1, 2023 INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL Ahmedabad, Gujarat Jan. 14, 2023 SURAJKUND INTERNATIONAL CRAFTS MELA Surajkund, Haryana Feb. 1-19, 2023 Tata Mumbai Marathon Mumbai, Maharashtra Jan. 15, 2023 Lighting Monuments Ramappa Temple, Telangana (Unesco World Heritage Site) Quiz, Essay, Slogan Contests ↘ With NCERT & NBT ↘ Pan-India, year-long Beach Cleaning Drives Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Indore, Madhya Pradesh Jan. 9, 2023 University Outreach ↘ 75 universities for G20 Public Outreach ↘ Pan-India, year-long…

I get hundreds of queries every month across India about all types of cars that people want to buy—from those who ask about budget entry level cars to those who don’t consider the price at all. Over the years, I have seen various trends emerge. Whether it is a shift towards a certain body style or the desirability of certain features, I know what people are interested in and what they finally buy. Over the past six months or so, there has been a big increase in queries about, firstly, electric cars and, secondly, how safe the cars in question are. While safety features have been on customers’ minds for many years now, there used to be a big disconnect between the actual purchase decision and concerns about safety. This…

I had driven the fourth-generation Tucson late last year in the US and was eagerly waiting to drive it in India to see what all changes Hyundai would make to the car considering that this would be their flagship in the country. The exteriors of the new Tucson in India are exactly the same as on the car that I had driven last year and my first opinions on the looks of the car are exactly the same today. I had said that for the fourth generation Tucson, Hyundai has taken design to another level, mixing advanced lighting tech with design elements to accomplish what SangYup Lee, the head of Hyundai’s Global Design Centre, has been calling sensuous sportiness in a mission to elevate the emotional qualities of automotive design.…

The Vida brand takes charge of Hero Moto-Corp’s electric scooter movement with the launch of the V1 Pro and the V1 Plus. We rode the Pro, which is the top-of-the-line version with a bigger battery and more performance. The front end is dominated by a large LED headlight and then there is a small wind-screen flanked by motorcycle-type LED winkers. The telescopic front suspension is a good move and the scooter rides on smart alloy wheels. The 7-inch colour display is bright and easy to read even under harsh sunlight. It comes with a twin-seat setup housing two compartments, one for the removable battery packs while the other offers space for storage. In all, 26 litres of cargo space is offered. A low floor thanks to the batteries sitting under…

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Just like regular cruise control, only intelligent. Upon setting the ACC control on, the system uses the front cameras and sensors to gauge the distance from the vehicle ahead and accordingly adjust the speed. ACC always maintains a safe braking distance from the vehicle in front. Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) In conjunction with ACC or independently, AEB Uses its array of sensors and cameras to determine the speed of the vehicle in front and apply brakes if the minimum safe braking distance is suddenly shortened. Lane Departure Warning (LDW) Veering off a lane is the first sign of a driver’s lack of attention. LDW systems will issue an audio warning, or also a vibration on the steering wheel, to alert the driver. Automatic Parking Assistance Once…

With the inauguration of the latest Nexa dealership in Hyderabad, Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest-selling carmaker, has opened the doors to its 3,500th sales outlet in the country, the most for any carmaker by a mile. The company set up 237 new sales outlets in FY2021-22, followed by 170 between April and October in the current fiscal year (the number includes both Arena and NEXA showrooms). Maruti Suzuki has showrooms in 2,250 towns and cities across India.…

1. Spot and call out any toxic dating behaviour 2. Set clear expectations and boundaries 3. Do not share videos or photos you might later regret 4. Avoid sharing your banking details and passwords 5. Do not rush into a hook-up; try to know the person first 6. Chat on video before meeting in person 7. Meet in public spaces the first few times 8. Keep friends/family in the loop, even after your relationship goes offline 9. Be aware of your dating app’s safety features…

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Q. Your India tour is a ritual now. You couldn’t come for two years because of the pandemic. Did you miss it? The fortune of coming back frequently is that somewhere it continues to feel like a home and not just the place you came from once. It keeps the connection alive. You still know the pulse of a place, the restaurants, the details… that stuff is important to feel you’re at home. If I’m away from India for too long, it starts to feel like it’s not mine anymore. So, I’m impatient to return. Q. Is there a conscious effort on your part to show audiences that the sitar can go beyond the classical spectrum? More than audiences, there’s a conscious curiosity on my part to see what the…

“PANCHAYATS IN JAT TALUK HAD PASSED RESOLUTION TO JOIN KARNATAKA. WE’RE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING IT”BASAVARAJ BOMMAI Chief Minister, Karnataka “THE STATE GOVERNMENT IS DETERMINED TO GET JUSTICE FOR EVERY BROTHER IN THE BORDER AREAS”EKNATH SHINDEChief Minister, Maharashtra As disputes between states go, the row over Belagavi (formerly Belgaum) has a life of its own. Simmering for decades, it periodically froths over—like it did last December and the year before, with many iterations going back in time to India’s state reorganisation on linguistic grounds beginning in the mid-1950s. On all occasions, tensions had risen temporarily in the border district that belongs to Karnataka but which Maharashtra has, for decades, claimed as its territory—on the emotive grounds that it has a significant population of Marathi speakers. It has resurfaced this year too, amid…

The word is that Rahul Gandhi may contest the 2024 Lok Sabha poll once again from family bastion Amethi, despite the loss in 2019. The ground situation, though, doesn’t seem conducive. Recently, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Brijlal Khabri visited Amethi where, embarrassingly, the district president resigned midway through a meeting, alleging that the state high command and local leaders did not listen to him. Needless to say, Khabri’s visit did not end well. What’s ironic is that many in the Congress see the situation in Amethi as symptomatic of the ‘conflict’ in the state between the Rahul camp and that of his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, who is the AICC general secretary in charge of UP.…

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)general secretary N. Lokesh is planning a padayatra next year, starting January 27, from Kuppam—his father and party supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu’s constituency—to Itchapuram in the northeast corner of coastal Andhra Pradesh. The padayatra has worked well as a path to power in Andhra, most notably for CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress (YSRC). But the TDP says this is by way of poll preparations, in case Jagan decides to advance the dates for the assembly polls (the state is due in 2024 along with the general election). Naidu Jr has tried to rope in youth leaders for the march, notably heirs of TDP veterans, but the response has been lukewarm so far.…

G20 REPRESENTS 85% OF GLOBAL GDP 75% OF WORLD TRADE 4.6 BILLION PEOPLE OR 60% OF TOTAL POPULATION 43 heads of states/governments/international organisations will participate in the New Delhi summit, the largest ever in G20 • DEVELOPED MEMBER-COUNTRIES UNITED STATES GERMANY UNITED KINGDOM ITALY SOUTH KOREA FRANCE EUROPEAN UNION CANADA AUSTRALIA JAPAN • DEVELOPING MEMBER-COUNTRIES INDIA TURKEY CHINA INDONESIA SAUDI ARABIA MEXICO SOUTH AFRICA BRAZIL ARGENTINA RUSSIA • SPECIAL INVITEES TO THE DELHI SUMMIT Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, the UAE INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB, OECD…

G20 LEADERS FINANCE MINISTERS & CENTRAL BANK GOVERNORS 8 Workstreams 1. Framework WG2. Infrastructure WG3. International Financial Architecture WG4. Sustainable Finance WG5. Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion6. Joint Finance & Health Taskforce7. International Taxation8. Finance Sector Issues SHERPA TRACK (Headed by Sherpa) 13 working groups (WG) 1. Anti-Corruption2. Agriculture3. Culture4. Development5. Digital Economy6. Disaster Risk Reduction7. Employment8. Environment & Climate9. Education10. Energy Transitions11. Health12. Trade and Investment13. Tourism 12 ENGAGEMENT GROUPS (EG) Led by civil society groups 1. Business 202. Civil 203. Labour 204. Parliament 205. Science 206. SAI 207. Space 208. Start-up 209. Think 2010. Urban 2011. Women 2012. Youth 20 FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING Line ministers’ meetings…

Maruti Suzuki has joined hands with Toyota to take the fight to segment leaders Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos as well as the Skoda Kushaq, VW Taigun and MG Astor. The Grand Vitara and Toyota’s Hyryder might be very closely related, but Maruti Suzuki has done a fine job of giving its SUV its own identity. A flat upright bonnet coupled with a large chrome grille and neatly executed split headlamps give this SUV a contemporary yet imposing look. The rear gets very attractive LED stop lamps that extend almost across the length of the boot while the reverse lamp and indicators are mounted on the bumper. The layout, switchgear, steering wheel—essentially every component—are shared with the Hyryder. There’s a healthy list of features on offer, including a 9-inch touchscreen…

During the fierce second wave of Covid-19 in 2021, Ananya Lohani, 23, decided to download a dating app in search of both companionship and an emotional anchor. It took the Pune-based research intern two weeks to find what she thought was a compatible match. Over the next nine months, the couple chatted daily, went on virtual dates and shared details of their lives and dreams. In 2022, Lohani was ready to meet her online boyfriend in person. But he kept dilly-dallying. “We’d fix a date and he would cancel it at the last minute. This kept happening for two weeks. Fed up, I told him I saw no future with him,” says Lohani. However, instead of accepting her decision, her online suitor kept pursuing her. “I had to change my…

QUACK QUACK Daily downloads: 16,000 Safety features: Allows users to block profiles, filter out any contact from searches. It also gives safety advice to daters TINDER Daily downloads: 15,500 Safety features: Photo verification for all users; faster procedure for reporting sexual violence and harassment; a new feature allows reporting specific images or messages BUMBLE Daily downloads: 13,500 Safety features: Provides online trauma support; protects the identity of those reporting harassment; saves messages to prevent the perpetrator from deleting evidence TRULY MADLY Daily downloads: 8,680 Safety features: Does not allow users to take screenshots on the app to protect privacy; gives extensive safety advice to users; blocks profiles that are violating user policy HAPPN Daily downloads: 8,020 Safety features: Allows reporting and blocking profiles; verifies profiles based on video evidence; certified…

THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O’Rourke RIVERHEAD BOOKS `1,466; 336 pages Chronic illness can take many forms—autoimmune disease, Long Covid—but is invisible. This book asks that we radicalise our understanding of disease to reduce suffering. PHANTOM PLAGUE How Tuberculosis Shaped History by Vidya Krishnan PENGUIN VIKING `799; 320 pages Though cured in the West, TB in India can resist drugs. Amitabh Bachchan survived it, Orwell didn’t, but the shadow of inequity looms large over this social history of TB. THE VIRAL UNDERCLASS: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide, by Steven W. Thrasher, ST MARTIN’S PRESS `2,156; 352 pages This book is based on the belief that the ways in which viruses spread and take their toll are more dependent on social structures than biology. Survival is…

Releasing on December 2, An Action Hero sees Jaideep Ahlawat essay a part, which, according to him, is in his blood. Bhoora Solanki, a wrestler-turned-municipal councillor, is from Mandothi village in Haryana. Ahlawat’s own ancestral home in Kharkara is some 50 km away. “If somebody tells you to play yourself, that can be tricky,” he says. “But I get what Bhoora is trying to say and his sense of humour. He doesn’t intend it to be funny.” Going by the trailer, all of Ahlawat’s punchlines seem to land with a sardonic echo. Though the film marks Ahlawat’s return to the big screen after over a year, the actor has used that time to build the reputation of a powerhouse performer. There was, of course, his iconic portrayal of Hathiram Chaudhary,…

Uttarakhand is the latest BJP-ruled state to seek the help of a global consulting firm to guide its growth trajectory. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has zeroed in on McKinsey to prepare a blueprint for doubling its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in the next five years. The party’s paterfamilias, the RSS, may baulk, but it seems that is the road ahead. Earlier in August, Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh appointed Deloitte to do a similar job. As one unimpressed RSS ideologue pointed out drily, one needs to be “self-reliant” in developing ideas first before attempting to make the economies “self-reliant”.…

2018: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA Agreement signed to authorise new resources for the IMF as a global financial safety net 2019: OSAKA, JAPAN G20 leaders reaffirm support for reform of the WTO to improve its functioning 2020: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA Initiative launched to suspend govt debt repayment for the world’s poorest nations 2021: ROME, ITALY Agreement signed on global minimum taxation for large multinational corporations 2022: BALI, INDONESIA Leaders’ declaration calls for end to war in Ukraine, echoing PM Modi’s words — ‘today’s era is not one of war’…

1 UKRAINE WAR The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a food and energy crisis. At the 2022 G20 summit in Bali, India played a key role in shaping the communique that condemned the war by quoting the UN General Assembly resolution on it. As chair of G20, India now has a bigger role to play in trying for a peace settlement. Even modest success will be a major achievement. 2 A DEBT TRAP According to the IMF and World Bank, over 80 low- and middle-income group nations face a serious debt crisis, like Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India’s neighbourhood. A global recession can worsen the situation. India is pushing the G20 to restructure norms for lending/borrowing from institutions like the IMF and World Bank to help such nations access funds…

JAIRAM RAMESH, 68, Rajya Sabha MP, AICC General Secretary in-charge Communications Unlike previous communication heads, Ramesh oversees the party’s social media wing. He decides the larger framework of social media content. His social media credo: ACT (Aggressive, Cohesive and Timely). He heads a team of eight people SUPRIYA SHRINATE, 45, AICC Chairperson, Social Media and Digital Platforms The journalist-turned-politician leads a team of around 60 members who are engaged in running the party’s social media campaign across all platforms. Average age of the team is 27. They operate from 15, Gurudwara Rakabganj Road in Delhi SRIVATSA Y.B., 39, Head, Rahul Gandhi’s social media team The Gandhi scion’s social media campaign is handled by a team of 10 headed by Srivatsa Y.B., a former MNC executive. He was earlier the social media…

Two temperature-regulated shelter homes in Rajasthan, some 170 km apart—one near the famous dunes of Sam and the other next to Pokhran—house 23 chicks of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB). They have never seen the outside world and will never be released. Scientists have hatched them from eggs in captivity and will wait for them to breed. The chicks of the ‘founder population’, as they are called, will then be released into the wild. For the woefully endangered GIB, it’s a matter of life and death, and a lot hinges on the success of this project. The GIB, which decades ago had been in the running to be India’s national bird, today seems to be fighting a losing battle. Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of…

Reaction times for humans aren’t created equally. As we all are conditioned differently, our response to sudden actions and scenarios can vastly differ. And more often than not, human error is the cause of accidents. Although human errors cannot be completely eliminated its effects can be minimised by using current technologies to assist with sensory perception. Technology can play an equaliser for everyone driving/riding on the road, and this is where Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) comes into play. A vital collection of technologies, formerly reserved for high-end cars only, is now dropping to affordable price points, enabling more manufacturers to offer them, thus making roads safer. With cars like the new Mahindra XUV700, the MG Astor and Gloster too getting ADAS, we wanted to delve deeper into the technology…

SHASHANK SRIVASTAVA Senior Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited Post-Covid, we witnessed an increased need for personal mobility. Currently, our pending orders are over 420,000 across our model range. Covid has also accelerated digitalisation and, today, over 28 per cent of bookings are done online, compared to 18 per cent pre-Covid. Sales from rural markets contribute nearly 44 per cent to our total sales, up from 38.5 per cent in FY19-20, and we’re confident that the rural contribution will rise further. Also, more customers are opting for higher-end variants of products with tech-enabled safety features. Currently, electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to less than 1 per cent of total PV sales in India. So, while they may be the future, there is time before EVs go mainstream. VIKRAM…

NEGGING Short for negative feedback, it is when one hides criticism under compliments. ‘You’re not as dumb as you look’, for example BREADCRUMBING When a potential partner leaves a trail of expectations but never fulfils them—from constantly postponing a date to not committing to a long-term relationship FLEABAGGING Inspired by the dark sitcom Fleabag, this is the cycle of falling in and out of love with a person who leaves you emotionally drained ORBITING Exhibited by people who put you through a cycle of rejections and acceptance CUSHIONING Happens when someone is entertaining other potential romantic options while still being in a committed relationship ROACHING Hiding the fact that you’re seeing others from the person you’re dating POCKETING Where a partner hides the other from the public, keeping the relationship…

Siddhartha Mukherjee remembers well the thrill of seeing his first cell. It was a Monday morning in 1993. Mukherjee, then a graduate student at Oxford, was inspecting a kidney-shaped T cell under a microscope. “Like eyes looking back at me,” he writes in his book. “And then, to my astonishment, the T cell moved—deliberately, purposefully, seeking out an infected cell that it might purge and kill. It was alive.” Reading The Song of the Cell, Mukherjee’s wonder, one finds, is often infectious. He tells persuasively, even entertainingly, the story of ‘a life within a life’, the unit that forms part of a whole. The third part of a quartet, Song… shares with Mukherjee’s earlier books—The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene—both its urgency and encyclopaedic thoroughness, but with this…

There’s an endearing nervous energy to Amit Trivedi as he takes the stage at the Spotify office in Mumbai. His audience comprises a small crowd of journalists, influencers and AT superfans. Trivedi is here for the launch of his new EP Jadu Salona, which has just been released by his label AT Azaad, in collaboration with digital music company Believe. The composer, singer and lyricist—known for his outstanding work on the soundtracks of Dev.D (2009), Udta Punjab (2016) and Manmarziyaan (2018)—spends half an hour performing some songs and weaving all six tracks into an elaborate, filmy love story. “Mujhe ishq se mohabbat hai (I’m in love with love),” he declares at one point. So why, after a decade of consistent success with Bollywood, does Trivedi want to entertain the risks…