In this section, we are presenting our readers/aspirants compilation of selected editorials of national daily viz. The Hindu, The live mint,The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, PIB etc. This section caters the requirement of Civil Services Mains (GS + Essay) , PCS, HAS Mains (GS + Essay) & others essay writing competition.

1.Covid didn’t crush it: GDP wasn’t bruised badly by second wave but Q1 data shows economy below 2019 level. Boost demand

The Indian economy weathered the surge in Covid cases during the second wave quite well and GDP during the April-June quarter grew 20.1%. To place it in context, the corresponding period last year saw GDP shrink by 24.4% because of a tight nationwide lockdown that crippled the economy. This year, however, localised lockdowns minimised dislocation. Consequently, all segments, particularly construction and manufacturing, recorded high growth rates. Construction grew 68.3% and manufacturing by 49.6%.

A measure of the likely cost of the second wave is the difference between RBI’s forecast in early April and the data released yesterday. In early April, RBI forecast GDP growth of 26.2% in the April-June quarter, about six percentage points higher than the final result. Consequently, GDP in April-June is still lower than that recorded in the corresponding period of the pre-pandemic year, 2019. Aggregate demand continues to be lacklustre. Private consumption was Rs 17.83 lakh crore, higher by 19.34% from April-June 2020, but lagging the overall growth rate. On the other hand, the growth in fixed investment was huge, up by 55.31% to Rs 10.22 lakh crore as GoI is pushing ahead with its projects.

The puzzle however is the fiscal stance of GoI. Expenditure is on a tight leash in the midst of an economic shock. To illustrate, revenue and fiscal deficits are generally over 100% of the annual target around this phase as spending is frontloaded. This year, however, they were 15-18% of the annual target till end-July. Consequently, fiscal and monetary policies are not in sync. Quarterly GDP data tends to underestimate the hit to the informal sector during a shock. Even with current activity indices showing the return to normalcy, GoI may need to use the fiscal space to provide targeted support. The key takeaway though is that stringent national lockdowns should be avoided.

2.Exit US, enter what? There is dangerous uncertainty about post-US Afghanistan. But terror threat for India is clear

The American withdrawal from Afghanistan was messy, hit by terror and tragic, especially for many Afghans. All of that is without question America’s fault. Just note that although the US and its allies evacuated well over 1,00,000 people in recent weeks, some of their citizens as well as countless Afghans who worked with the foreign forces remain behind. Their fate is in the hands of Taliban, and America should acknowledge it has lost much of its leverage on that group, should the latter want to play rough.

How Taliban plays will depend on the outcome of what it says are continuing internal discussions to form an inclusive government. Leaders of the outfit are reportedly briefing their chief Haibatullah Akhunzada. But internal consensus may not be easy as exemplified by reports of local Taliban commanders disregarding their leaders’ amnesty declaration and hunting down former Afghan security and government personnel. There are also questions about what exactly inclusive means – whether former political players in Kabul will be accommodated and whether Afghanistan’s tribal divisions will be reflected in power sharing. Add to this the threat posed by ISIS-K, which has rejected Taliban’s peace deal with Americans and appears to have the latitude to operate independently inside Afghanistan.

With no bases in neighbouring countries and drone attacks more a revenge play than a counterterrorism measure – aside from the fact they often hit innocents as well as terrorists – there’s little the US can do if Taliban allows Afghanistan to again regress into an international terror launchpad. In fact, even with Pakistan’s so-called influence over Taliban, militants from across the Durand Line fired and killed two Pakistani soldiers on Sunday.

So, a plateful of problems for India. The biggest being it needs to be prepared for the Pakistani military-ISI complex using the situation in Afghanistan to step up anti-India terror activities. There are already reports of JeM and LeT increasing their efforts to push militants into Jammu and Kashmir. Clearly, there are too many moving parts in Afghanistan today and therefore it would be best to adopt a wait-and-watch approach to recognising the incoming Taliban regime. The Indian ambassador in Qatar yesterday met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, head of Taliban’s political office in Doha, while the UNSC under India’s presidency has adopted a resolution calling for Afghan territory not to be used to shelter terrorists. New Delhi must now work with Washington to draw red lines for Taliban, offering recognition and investments as incentives for fulfilling anti-terror commitments. And hope that these incentives work.

3.For the record: Novak Djokovic and the 21st Grand Slam

Djokovic could script history if he completes the calendar Grand Slam at the U.S. Open

In a megapolis teeming with skyscrapers, Novak Djokovic wants to be the tallest of them all. History beckons the Serbian tennis legend at the U.S. Open currently progressing in New York. At present, Djokovic has drawn level with the other members of tennis royalty from the men’s side: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The ‘Big Three’ have won 20 Grand Slams each and Djokovic has a chance to move ahead and perhaps stay there unchallenged. His acclaimed and relatively older rivals have skipped their annual tryst with the Flushing Meadows, formally called the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Federer is recuperating from a knee surgery while Nadal is coping with a foot injury and it leaves the field marginally clear for the 34-year-old Djokovic, who is also chasing a calendar year Grand Slam after having won the Australian and French Opens besides the iconic Wimbledon. If Djokovic could lord over a year, he would become the first man to do that since the great Rod Laver’s clean sweep back in 1969. Among women, Steffi Graff was the last to achieve this feat in 1988. However, a record-busting quest is never easy. Djokovic is acutely conscious of that after having blown a chance to pocket a Golden Slam as he crashed out of the recent Tokyo Olympics, failing to even win a bronze.

Federer and Nadal’s contrasting styles, much akin to lyrical poetry and magnetic prose, may have colonised fans’ hearts but Djokovic has shown that unerring consistency has an enduring charm. The Serb has often roared back into contention, covering the court, closing out the angles and digging into vast reserves of physical and mental strength. Off the turf, he may not be the ideal hero, expressing reservations against COVID-19 vaccines, but on court, despite the odd petulant bouts reserved for his racquet, Djokovic has reigned. There is also the need to make amends at the US Open as last year he accidentally struck a line judge while taking a swipe at the ball and was suspended. Austrian Dominic Thiem won the championship then but he is missing now due to a wrist injury. Among the other young turks, Alexander Zverev, who defeated Djokovic at the Tokyo Olympic semifinals, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas get another opportunity to show their mettle. Meanwhile the women’s section will miss an injured Serena Williams and in a fluid set-up, Australian Ashleigh Barty holds the edge. Defending champion Naomi Osaka is on a comeback trail after she stepped aside citing mental issues during the French Open. Osaka has struggled on her return and lost in the third round of the Tokyo Olympics. She will draw attention just like a history-chasing Djokovic.

4.Pyrrhic victory: On Imran Khan’s pro-Taliban stand

Religious extremism, militancy in Afghanistan will be counterproductive for Pakistan

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first world leader who wholeheartedly welcomed the Taliban’s capture of Kabul on August 15 — before its fall, Pakistan had maintained that it had little leverage on the Taliban to force them to accept a ceasefire and that it backed a political solution in Afghanistan. However, on August 16, he said Afghans have “broken the shackles of slavery”, leaving little doubt on where Pakistan stands on the Taliban’s return. This is hardly surprising. Pakistan not only played a central role in the Taliban’s rise to power in the 1990s but was also one of the three countries to have had formal diplomatic ties with them. Pakistan continued to support the Taliban even after they were driven out of power by the U.S. in 2001. Its strategic calculus was that a stable Afghanistan backed by the U.S. and India would harm its core interests. It hosted the Taliban leadership in Quetta, Balochistan, and allowed their militants to regroup and resume insurgency in Afghanistan. In that sense, the Taliban’s capture of Kabul can be seen as the success of a long-term strategy Pakistan’s military establishment had adopted. But it is too early to begin celebrations.

The geopolitical implications of the Taliban’s victory are still unclear. But, irrespective of what kind of a government they will establish, the resurgence of a Sunni radical jihadist group could embolden similar outfits elsewhere. Pakistan has a problem with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the ideological twin of the Taliban, that has carried out deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Also, the August 26 Kabul blasts are a warning of what is awaiting Afghanistan. The country is still chaotic and lawless where groups such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K), the IS affiliate that has claimed responsibility for the blasts, would seek to flourish. Without order, the country could fall into a multi-directional, civil war between the Taliban, the IS-K, and the remnants of the old regime. The question is whether Pakistan, overwhelmed by the Taliban’s success, sees the possible dangers the triumph of hardline Islamism now poses. Religious extremism and militancy can help one country tactically but will be counterproductive in the long term. When the U.S. backed the Mujahideen in the 1980s, it might never have imagined that the Taliban would rise from the Mujahideen and host the al Qaeda that would carry out the deadliest attack on America since the Second World War. Similarly, a chaotic Afghanistan ruled by extremist Islamists is as much a geopolitical victory as a security and strategic challenge to Pakistan. During the insurgency, Pakistan refused to use its leverage over the Taliban for peace. It should do so at least now because a stable Afghanistan which treats its people with dignity and does not provide safe havens to transnational terrorist organisations is in the best interests of all regional powers, including Pakistan.

5.The political battle over reforms

The farm groups are attempting to weave a wider narrative to collaborate with the Opposition, trade unions, and others. All of this makes it even more important for the government to stay the course on reforms, but with sensitivity, not high-handedness.

With the Haryana government deploying force to crack down on farm protests in Karnal on Saturday, a movement that was alive but relatively passive has assumed a new lease of life. As this newspaper reported on Tuesday, farm unions plan to hold a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh on September 5 to broaden their agenda. From opposing the new farm laws, these unions will now oppose the government’s economic policies, including the recently unveiled asset monetisation programme. There is politics, economics and geography enmeshed in the new round of farm activism.

First, the politics. A simple rule in dealing with a mass movement — and there is no doubt that the farm agitation is a mass movement — is not to do anything to aggravate it. The central government has been clear that it will not revoke the farm laws, but it has also been careful in not using force even when farm protesters choked Delhi’s entry points or a segment turned violent on Republic Day.

This is because in a volatile situation, there is always possibility of excessive force; this alienates protesting groups, adds to anger, and makes a resolution harder. Given the fusion of class and identity (Sikhs and Jats are at the forefront of the protests), using force is also an invitation to social turmoil. That is why the video of a Haryana bureaucrat (Karnal sub-divisional magistrate Ayush Sinha) telling policemen to “break the heads” of protesters — an unacceptable instruction by any standard — has become an instrument for further mobilisation.