Table of Contents
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.
Assam draft rolls see deletion of 10.56 lakh names
- After releasing Assam’s draft electoral rolls on Saturday, officials said that 10.56 lakh voter names were removed following a door-to-door verification drive carried out during a special revision between November 22 and December 20.
- Of the names removed, around 4.79 lakh belonged to people who had died, over 5.23 lakh voters had shifted to other places, and 53,619 names were found to be repeated more than once. These duplicate entries were therefore deleted from the list.
- The Election Commission has already completed a special intensive revision in Bihar, while similar verification exercises are still going on in 12 other States and Union Territories. Assam, however, follows a separate and different special revision process.
- According to Assam’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Election Commission has completed the house-to-house verification phase of the Special Revision 2026. The aim of this exercise is to prepare a voter list that is fair, accurate, and open to public scrutiny.
- The CEO’s office said Assam currently has 2,52,02,775 registered voters. This number includes more than 93,000 people who have been marked as “doubtful voters.” Their citizenship cases are still pending before Foreigners’ Tribunals, and they are temporarily not allowed to vote.
- Officials said that 61,03,103 household visits were carried out across the State. During this process, 2,51,09,752 voters were covered, after leaving out the doubtful voters, ensuring that most eligible voters were verified during the exercise.
- Citizens can file claims or raise objections related to the electoral roll until January 22. New voters who want their names added can apply using Form 6, as explained by the Chief Electoral Officer.
- Form 7 can be used by voters to object to the inclusion of a name or to request the removal of an existing name. Form 8 allows voters who have changed their place of residence to update their address in the voter records.
- Officials said the final electoral roll will be published on February 10. This will happen after all claims and objections are settled, ahead of the Assam Assembly elections scheduled for 2026.
- In West Bengal, which is also preparing for elections next year, hearings began on Saturday for about 32 lakh voters whose details could not be mapped properly during the special intensive revision process.
- Across West Bengal, 3,234 hearing desks were set up where unmapped voters, who could not be linked to the 2002 voter list, came forward to give and verify their identification details.
- A senior official from the West Bengal CEO’s office told The Hindu that more than 25,000 of the expected 32,000 voters attended hearings across the State on Saturday.
- After the first phase of West Bengal’s special intensive revision, draft rolls published on December 16 showed that 58,20,899 voter names had been removed. This reduced the total number of voters in the State to 7.08 crore.
- These deletions included around 32 lakh unmapped voters. The final electoral roll for West Bengal is scheduled to be released on February 14, after all hearings are completed.
- The Election Commission appointed micro-observers from the Union government to oversee the hearings and document verification process in West Bengal. This decision was questioned by Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee.
- Banerjee said that such extra monitoring was not needed and pointed out that West Bengal had fewer voter deletions compared to other States undergoing the special intensive revision.
- While most hearings took place peacefully, reports said there were verbal arguments between supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress at a hearing centre in Asansol.
- Several voters aged above 80 years attended the hearings after travelling long distances, showing the difficulties faced by elderly people during the verification process.
- Sources earlier said that alternative arrangements were being planned for voters above 85 years of age who received hearing notices, so that senior citizens would not face too much hardship.
- There were reports that hearing notices were sent to relatives of Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who is also the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, leading to questions being raised.
- The West Bengal CEO’s office said these claims were misleading and explained that the enumeration forms showed no linkage. Officials added that hearings were conducted strictly according to Election Commission rules and notifications.
Thailand and Cambodia agree to a new truce to halt border clashes
- Thailand and Cambodia signed a ceasefire agreement on Saturday to end weeks of fighting along their shared border, where both sides have long-standing disputes over territorial claims.
- The ceasefire came into effect at noon and includes an agreement to stop troop movements and to end any violations of airspace used for military purposes by both countries.
- Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said that only Thailand carried out air strikes, which hit Cambodian locations as recently as Saturday morning during the clashes near the border.
- Under the agreement, Thailand must return 18 Cambodian soldiers who were captured during fighting along the border in July, after the ceasefire remains in place for 72 hours.
- The release of these soldiers was a key demand from Cambodia. However, just hours later, Thailand protested that one of its soldiers suffered permanent injuries after stepping on what it claimed was a Cambodian landmine.
- The ceasefire was signed by Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thai Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit at a border checkpoint, following long diplomatic talks.
- Thailand said it lost 26 soldiers and one civilian directly due to the fighting since December 7. It also reported that 44 civilians were killed, according to official statements.
- Cambodia did not release official military casualty numbers, but said that 30 civilians were killed and 90 others were injured during the clashes in the disputed border areas.
Fake anti-rabies vaccine withdrawn from shelves, says Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL)
- Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) said that a fake batch of its human anti-rabies vaccine, Abhayrab, is no longer available in markets. This clarification came after an Australian health advisory was issued last week.
- The Australian advisory warned that a counterfeit batch of Abhayrab had reportedly been circulating in India since November 1, 2023. This raised concerns for travellers who received the vaccine while visiting India.
- IIL said the Australian warning was overly cautious and misleading. The company explained that it had detected the counterfeiting issue internally by early January 2025 and handled it in coordination with Indian authorities.
- The fake product involved Abhayrab batch number KA24014, which was shown as manufactured in March 2024 and set to expire in February 2027. A packaging problem was noticed during routine checks.
- According to IIL, the company immediately informed drug regulators and law enforcement agencies, filed a formal complaint, and supported quick action once the issue was identified.
- IIL stressed that this was a single, isolated incident and confirmed that the fake batch is no longer available in pharmacies anywhere in the country.
- The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation advised travellers who were vaccinated with Abhayrab in India after November 1, 2023, to treat their vaccination as invalid and start a new vaccination course.
- Rabies is a viral disease passed from animals to humans that affects the brain and nervous system. It is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but it can be prevented with timely medical treatment after exposure.
- IIL said it has been producing Abhayrab since 2000 and has supplied more than 210 million doses in India and 40 other countries over the past 20 years.
- The company holds nearly 40% of the rabies vaccine market in India, showing how widely the vaccine is used in both government programmes and private healthcare.
- IIL assured doctors and the public that every vaccine batch is tested and approved by the Central Drugs Laboratory under the Government of India before being sold or used.
- Sunil Tiwari from IIL said that vaccines supplied through government hospitals and authorised distributors are safe, meet quality standards, and were not affected by the fake batch incident.
- IIL also informed Australian authorities that Abhayrab is a purified cell-culture vaccine made according to World Health Organization good manufacturing practices and other regulatory standards.
- The vaccine is approved for both prevention before exposure and treatment after exposure to rabies. It is supplied through government health systems as well as private hospitals and clinics.
- The company added that the National Control Laboratory that releases vaccine batches is recognised by the WHO in Geneva and works under India’s national regulatory system.
- Earlier this month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued rabies warnings for India and Haiti after rabies cases were found in travellers returning from these countries.
- The CDC advised international travellers to avoid contact with dogs, cats, and wild animals in regions where rabies is common, to lower the risk of infection while travelling.
Important Questions
- Why were 10.56 lakh voter names removed after the door-to-door verification during the special revision in Assam?
- Until which date can citizens in Assam submit claims or objections regarding the electoral roll using Form 6, Form 7, or Form 8?
- What conditions were included in the ceasefire agreement signed by Thailand and Cambodia at the border checkpoint?
- Why did Thailand protest after the ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, regarding a soldier stepping on an alleged landmine?
- Which Abhayrab batch number was identified as counterfeit by Indian Immunologicals Limited?
- Why did the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation advise travellers to begin a fresh vaccination course?
Important Vocabulary
- Intensive – done with great effort and careful attention
- Duplicate – appearing more than once
- Tribunals – official bodies that decide legal cases
- Enumeration – the process of counting and listing people
- Ceasefire – an agreement to stop fighting
- Territorial – related to land or borders
- Repatriate – to send someone back to their own country
- Casualty – a person killed or injured in conflict
- Counterfeit – fake and made to look real
- Zoonotic – a disease passed from animals to humans
- Prophylaxis – treatment to prevent disease
- Pharmacopeial – related to official medicine quality standards
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