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The Hindu Editorial Analysis
We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.
Iran threatens to stop regional oil exports
- Nearly a month after the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in Islamabad to restore peace in West Asia, both countries started attacking each other again on Wednesday by carrying out strikes on each other’s targets across the region.
- The U.S. Central Command said it carried out “a wave of strikes” to further weaken the military strength that Iran had been using to attack commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iranian state media reported explosions near Bandar Abbas, on Qeshm Island, and at Bandar Imam Khomeini.
- Iranian media later said that fresh U.S. strikes also hit the southern port city of Bushehr, where Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant is located.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched an attack on the U.S. Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.
- Bahrain’s military said it successfully stopped Iranian attacks that were aimed at civilian targets.
- Jordan’s armed forces said they shot down three missiles that had been launched from Iran.
- Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that the renewed U.S. blockade of Iranian ports had, in effect, ended the Islamabad memorandum, referring to the temporary agreement signed last month to stop fighting and continue peace talks.
- The Revolutionary Guards also warned that they would stop all energy exports from West Asia in response to the U.S. blockade, saying that “the export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one.”
- Brent crude oil, the global benchmark for oil prices, was trading at nearly $85 per barrel on Wednesday.
- Although this was more than 15% higher than before the war, it was still much lower than the peak of almost $120 per barrel seen during the most intense period of the conflict.
- Analysts Azim Sadikov and Jean-Marc Natal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a blog post that extra oil production had earlier helped keep prices under control, but most of that extra supply had now been used up.
- They explained that as tensions increased again in the Strait of Hormuz, the amount of extra oil available had become much smaller because spare production capacity had already been used, demand had fallen, and global oil stockpiles had gone down.
- The IMF analysts also warned that unless oil stockpiles were rebuilt, the world would be much less prepared to deal with any future disruption in oil supplies.
- The main reason behind the renewed conflict is the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, an extremely important waterway through which a large share of the world’s oil and gas passes.
- Iran had blocked the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel launched a large-scale attack on February 28, using the closure as pressure against its rivals for several months.
- Iran briefly reopened the strait after that period but later announced that it would once again remain closed until the United States stopped what Iran called its aggression.
- In response, the United States brought back its own blockade on Iranian ports.
- However, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his earlier proposal to impose a 20% levy on ships using the Strait of Hormuz.
- Despite the renewed fighting, there were no visible signs of conflict in Tehran, where large crowds gathered at cafés on Tuesday night to watch the France–Spain FIFA World Cup semi-final.
- Since the war began, Iran has said it is in control of the Strait of Hormuz and has fired at ships that, according to Tehran, were using routes that had not been approved.
- The Revolutionary Guards repeated that their military operations would continue and that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States stopped its acts of aggression.
- A Norwegian oil tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the coast of Oman early on Tuesday, according to the crisis response company MTI Network.
- Kuwait said that one of its naval vessels was hit during an Iranian missile and drone attack, leaving four crew members injured.
- Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said that renewed U.S. attacks since last week had killed at least 30 people in Iran.
- Separately, the Iranian military said that seven of its personnel were killed in Wednesday’s strikes on the country’s southeastern region.
Wangchuk loses 8.9 kg as calls for Pradhan’s resignation continue
- Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, entered its 18th day on Wednesday.
- His health has become weaker, raising concern among social groups and Opposition leaders, many of whom have requested him to end the fast.
- According to medical reports shared by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the group leading the protest, Mr. Wangchuk is now very close to becoming severely underweight.
- Over the past two weeks, his health has continued to get worse, and he now needs more medical care and regular check-ups.
- Wangchuk, 59, has lost 8.9 kg since he started the hunger strike, according to a review of his health released by the CJP over the past week.
- The review said that his vital signs have reached, and in some cases even crossed, the levels that medical studies describe for people who have been on long hunger strikes.
- In a video posted late on Wednesday evening, Mr. Wangchuk tried to assure people that his condition was under control.
- He said, “My condition isn’t so bad that I’ll die in two days.”
- He also said that his vital signs are normal for someone who has been fasting for eighteen days.
- Instead of asking people to request him to end the hunger strike, he urged them to take part in the March to Parliament on July 20.
- The government has not made any statement or response about Mr. Wangchuk’s protest.
- CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke criticised the government, saying that a man who has put his own life at risk while seeking justice for students who died by suicide has received only silence from the government.
- He alleged that the government is not only avoiding responsibility but is also being cruel.
- Dipke also said that, instead of asking why Opposition leaders have not fully supported the CJP or why every CJP member is not fasting along with Sonam Wangchuk, people should focus on the real questions.
- He questioned why the Prime Minister is refusing to hold a dialogue on the issue.
- Bhim Army chief and MP Chandrashekhar Azad, Samajwadi Party MPs Mohibbullah Naqvi and Ajendra Singh Lodhi, Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen, Congress MP Prashant Yadaorao Padole, and CPI MP Sandosh Kumar visited the protest site on Wednesday.
- Comedian Kunal Kamra also visited the protest site.
- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also posted on X, appealing to Mr. Wangchuk to end his hunger strike.
Slight Decline in Number of Rural Job Scheme Workers
- In the fortnight following the transition from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), the number of registered workers declined from 27 crore to 26.33 crore, resulting in a net reduction of 67.6 lakh workers, or 5% of the total workforce enrolled under the rural employment programme, according to an analysis by LibTech India, a consortium of academics and activists.
- The number of active workers—defined as those who had worked at least once under the programme during the last three years—also declined from 84 crore to 10.57 crore, a reduction of about 26.3 lakh workers (2.43%).
- The VB-G RAM G 2025 came into force on July 1, 2026.
- Officials of the Rural Development Ministry disputed LibTech India’s findings, stating that the analysis covered only a short period and did not reflect the continuous verification, updating and renewal of worker and job card records carried out by the States and Union Territories.
- The officials said that the number of registered and active workers is dynamic and changes regularly as records are updated.
- The Ministry officials also stated that States are responsible for following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed by the Centre before deleting any worker records.
- They further said that no complaints had been received regarding the denial of employment due to non-completion of e-KYC or face authentication.
- The officials added that around 84,000 Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards, covering 91 lakh workers, had already been issued under the new law.
- According to LibTech India, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana accounted for a significant share of the decline in both registered and active workers.
- Bihar recorded the removal of 98 lakh workers from the rolls, Uttar Pradesh saw 8.06 lakh workers removed, and Telangana recorded a reduction of 7.2 lakh workers.
- LibTech India stated that although the transition guidelines specified that e-KYC-verified MGNREGA Job Cards would remain valid and that workers should not be denied employment because of pending e-KYC, there was little clarity on how workers unable to complete e-KYC or facial recognition-based verification would be protected from omission.
- Venkateswarlu Kuruva, researcher at LibTech India, said that the publicly available framework did not explain, in comparable operational detail, how workers unable to complete e-KYC or the Face Recognition System (FRS) verification would be carried over, how omissions would be identified, or how prompt restoration of omitted workers would take place.
- LibTech described the latest decline as the fourth major reduction in worker numbers in recent years to coincide with a digital compliance measure.
- According to the organisation, the earlier reductions coincided with the introduction of Aadhaar-based payments in 2022–23, mandatory e-KYC in 2025, and facial recognition-based attendance verification in 2026.
- LibTech also observed that the publicly available data do not specify why workers were removed, whether they had pending e-KYC or facial recognition verification, whether prior notice had been issued, whether Gram Sabha verification had been conducted, or whether an appeal mechanism was available.
- The organisation further noted that the data also do not reveal the gender, age or caste of the affected workers.
Important Questions
- Why did Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warn that they would stop all energy exports from West Asia in response to the U.S. blockade?
- How did the renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz affect global oil prices and the IMF’s assessment of future oil supply disruptions?
- Why has Sonam Wangchuk started an indefinite hunger strike demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan?
- How did Opposition leaders and social groups respond to Mr. Wangchuk’s weakening health during the protest?
- Why did LibTech India report a decline in the number of registered and active workers after the transition to the VB-G RAM G scheme?
- How did the Rural Development Ministry respond to LibTech India’s analysis of worker reductions under the new programme?
Important Vocabulary
- memorandum — a formal written agreement or official record.
- blockade — the act of preventing movement or access to an area.
- aggression — hostile or violent actions against another country.
- stockpiles — stored supplies kept for future use.
- indefinite — having no fixed end or time limit.
- vital — relating to essential body functions.
- assure — to give confidence or remove doubt.
- alleged — claimed without being officially proven.
- transition — the process of changing from one system to another.
- consortium — a group of organisations working together.
- dynamic — constantly changing or evolving.
- omission — the act of leaving something out.
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