7 OCTOBER 2023 EDITORIAL SUMMARIES BY VYASA IAS
Aligning higher education with the United
Nations SDGs [GS2] – The Hindu | By
Selvam Jesiah
Introduction: United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals
with 169 targets that all 193 UN member
states have agreed to try to achieve by 2030.
The passage discusses the importance of SDGs
and the challenges faced in achieving them,
especially in India. It also highlights the role
of higher education in achieving SDGs,
particularly through the National Education
Policy (NEP) 2020.
Key points:
• SDGs are a matter of urgency, and all
countries must work together to
achieve them.
• India has made some progress towards
SDGs, but there is still a long way to go.
• NEP 2020 is a positive step towards
aligning higher education with SDGs.
• Universities can play a vital role in
achieving SDGs by strengthening the
research-teaching nexus, developing
multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary
systems of education, and promoting
sustainable practices on campus.
• All stakeholders of higher education
must be educated and oriented towards
SDGs.
• Universities should work together to
achieve SDGs and contribute to the
well-being of society and nation-
building.
Recommendations:
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• The government should provide more
support to universities to implement
NEP 2020 and achieve SDGs.
• Universities should develop and
implement sustainability plans that align
with SDGs.
• Universities should collaborate with
private companies and other
stakeholders to develop innovative
solutions to global challenges.
• Universities should promote value-based
education to instill in students a sense
of responsibility towards self, society,
and the planet.
Conclusion: By taking these steps, India can
accelerate progress towards achieving the
SDGs and build a more sustainable future for
all.
The art of letting it be [GS3] – Indian
Express | Dharmakriti Joshi
Introduction: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
has maintained its status quo on interest rates
and retained its stance of withdrawing
accommodation in its October review meeting.
This is due to a number of factors, including:
• Unanticipated risks to inflation, such as
rising crude oil prices
• Incomplete transmission of past rate
hikes to bank lending and deposit rates
• Continued hawkish monetary policies by
systemically important central banks,
particularly the US Federal Reserve
• The potential for persistent supply
shocks to transmit to other parts of
the economy and broaden inflationary
pressures
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 7 OCTOBER 2023 EDITORIAL SUMMARIES BY VYASA IAS
The RBI has also raised its inflation forecast
for this fiscal to 5.4% from 5.2% made in
June. This is due to the jump in food inflation
in July-September, which was driven by a
number of factors, including:
• High cereal inflation
• The tomato-led surge in vegetable
inflation
• Suboptimal kharif sowing
• The potential for El Niño conditions till
year-end
Despite the spike in headline inflation,
policymakers could derive some comfort from
the relatively benign fuel and core inflation.
However, crude oil prices have emerged as
another potential risk, as India is highly
vulnerable to changes in global oil prices.
The RBI has retained its GDP growth outlook
at 6.5% for this fiscal. However, CRISIL sees
it at 6%, due to a number of factors, including:
• Deepening global slowdown curbing
exports
• Lagged impact of the series of domestic
rate hikes manifesting and curbing
consumption demand
• Erratic weather and El Niño curbing
agricultural growth
Overall, the RBI is likely to remain cautious in
the near term, given the risks to inflation and
growth. It is unlikely to take the scalpel to
rates soon.
Beefing up cybersecurity for India’s
energy transition [GS3] – ORF-
PRASAD ASHOK THAKUR & LABANYA
PRAKASH JENA
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India is undergoing a fundamental
transformation of its electricity grid, with a
focus on renewable energy and smart grid
technologies. This transformation brings new
opportunities, but it also introduces new
cybersecurity challenges.
The Power Ministry has issued Cyber Security
in Power Sector Guidelines (2021) to
incorporate the cardinal principles of cyber
security for the power sector.
The Ministry of Power has also created six
sectoral Computer Emergency Response Teams
(CERT) and established an Information Sharing
and Analysis Centre (ISAC-Power) to provide a
common platform for information sharing and
act as a central data repository.
Additionally, the National Critical Information
Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)
performs the multifaceted role of executing
all necessary actions to protect relevant
critical infrastructure from untoward
incidents.
Recommendations:
• The Power Ministry should regularly
review and update the Cyber Security in
Power Sector Guidelines (2021) to keep
pace with the evolving nature of cyber
threats.
• The six sectoral CERTs and ISAC-Power
should work together to share
information and coordinate response to
cyberattacks.
• Power sector utilities should ensure
that they have robust cybersecurity
measures in place, including:
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 7 OCTOBER 2023 EDITORIAL SUMMARIES BY VYASA IAS
o Implementing mandatory
security controls for all smart
grid-interfacing devices and
systems
o Conducting regular security
audits
o Training employees on
cybersecurity best practices
o Developing and testing incident
response plans
• The government should provide support
to power sector utilities to help them
improve their cybersecurity posture.
Way forward
• Technical initiatives: Through the Grid
Controller of India Limited, it is
desirable to scrutinise the source
code, intellectual property rights, and
periodic updates of OEMs to their
products/software and certify them as
ready for interfacing with the national
grid.
• Regulatory initiatives: The CEA and
the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY) should
work closely with software and
hardware manufacturers of foreign
origin to build early consensus on
complying with the law of the land in
letter and spirit.
• Financial initiatives: To ensure the
long-term sustainability and growth of
the above efforts, a dedicated
budgetary provision can be made within
the relevant ministry, and a separate
power sector cyber security cell must
be created.
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Conclusion: By taking these steps, India can
reduce the risk of cyberattacks on its
electricity grid and protect its critical
infrastructure.
Technology for urban planning: Prospects
of ‘Open Building’ [GS2 & GS3] -
SNEHASHISH MITRA
Introduction: Technology has always played an
important role in urban planning, from the use
of surveying and mapping tools in the Indus
Valley Civilization to the development of smart
cities today.
One of the latest technological developments
in urban planning is Open Building (OB), an open
dataset of building footprints across Africa,
South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and
the Caribbean. OB has the potential to be an
effective tool in policy intervention, especially
in cities with dense built environments.
In the Global South, where urbanization is
happening on a rapid scale, OB can be used to:
• Draw attention to newly built areas in
cities and inform policies on governing
urban peripheries
• Expand the ambit of existing
municipalities to include new
settlements
• Extend urban housing policies like the
Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) to
newly-built neighborhoods in cities and
villages
• Help urban governing agencies of
developing nations to identify plots for
future developments and earmark them
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 7 OCTOBER 2023 EDITORIAL SUMMARIES BY VYASA IAS
for infrastructure to handle projected
population growth in cities
• Develop an effective multimodal public
transport network in alignment with the
building footprint of a given area
Overall, OB has the potential to help cities in
the Global South to develop in a more
sustainable and equitable way.
Here are some specific examples of how OB
could be used in the Global South:
• In India, OB could be used to identify
and map informal settlements, which are
often excluded from official planning
and development processes. This
information could then be used to
develop targeted policies and programs
to improve the lives of residents in
these settlements.
• In Africa, OB could be used to track
the growth of urban areas and identify
areas that are at risk of flooding or
other natural hazards. This information
could then be used to develop disaster
preparedness and mitigation plans.
• In Latin America, OB could be used to
improve the delivery of public services,
such as transportation and healthcare.
For example, OB could be used to
identify areas that are underserved by
public transportation and plan new
routes and services accordingly.
Conclusion: Overall, OB is a powerful tool that
can be used to improve urban planning and
development in the Global South.
The complexity and durability of India’s
intelligence culture [GS3] – ORF | DHEERAJ
PARAMESHA CHAYA
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The article discusses Indian intelligence
culture in the context of the recent allegations
made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau regarding India's involvement in the
killing of a Canadian citizen.
The author argues that Indian intelligence
culture falls somewhere in between the
American and Israeli intelligence cultures, with
the fulcrum at the level of the intelligence
leadership. It is characterized by a high
degree of autonomy granted to the intelligence
leadership in devising means to tackle national
security threats.
The article also highlights the importance of
the R&AW's psychological warfare (PSYWAR)
division in India's intelligence operations. The
PSYWAR division has been active in countering
Pakistani propaganda internationally and in
soliciting support from the subcontinental
diaspora across the world.
The author concludes by stating that India's
intelligence culture has historically been
characterized by its conflict resolution
strategy that persuades, bribes, and
manipulates targets into becoming national
assets. Violent measures are an aberration
aimed at hard targets and have no precedence
beyond its neighborhood.
Key points:
• Indian intelligence culture is
characterized by a high degree of
autonomy granted to the intelligence
leadership in devising means to tackle
national security threats.
• The R&AW's psychological warfare
(PSYWAR) division plays an important
role in India's intelligence operations.
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 7 OCTOBER 2023 EDITORIAL SUMMARIES BY VYASA IAS

• India's intelligence culture has

historically been characterized by its
conflict resolution strategy that
persuades, bribes, and manipulates
targets into becoming national assets.
Violent measures are an aberration
aimed at hard targets and have no
precedence beyond its neighborhood.

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