Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Gateway initiative
Mains level: Paper 2- Indo-EU partnership in Indo-Pacific
Context
Europe and its key Indo-Pacific partners are joining forces to deliver a positive agenda for the region at the ministerial Forum to be held in Paris.
Importance of Indo-Pacific for EU
- The issues at stake in this crucial region, including security challenges, are of concern to all EU countries.
- EU unveiled EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, in September 2021.
- Europe can offer the countries of the region a sustainable, transparent model for preserving their sovereignty, and an alternative to other models, such as China’s.
- Addressing the connectivity and infrastructure need: There are immense connectivity and infrastructure needs in the Indo-Pacific.
- But these needs should not force the countries of the region into unsustainable dependencies.
- The EU’s Global Gateway initiative unveiled in December 2021 hopes to address this by pooling the resources of the EU’s institutions and its 27 member states to raise 300 billion euros to build sustainable links.
- India’s role: The EU and India have already concluded a Connectivity Partnership (last May in Porto), which can be a pillar of this wider initiative.
- The Indo-Pacific is a crucial region for tackling global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity protection and health resilience.
- At the Forum, the EU will present the support it can provide to countries of the region, including in terms of green finance, to achieve their ecological transitions in a just manner.
- The ministers will also discuss concrete steps to strengthen health sovereignty and promote the “One Health” approach to the pandemic response.
Role of France and India in the region
- France, itself a nation of the Indo-Pacific, has a long-standing commitment to upholding the law of the sea in the region, particularly through our permanent naval presence and joint exercises, such as our annual “Varuna” drills with India.
- In the fields of biodiversity protection and plastic pollution, France and India can act together to spur multilateral action, as exemplified by India’s decision to join the France-initiated international coalition to protect 30 per cent of the land and seas by 2030 (High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People).
- Cooperation between France and India on protected areas and national parks can also be expanded at the Indo-Pacific scale.
- At the forum, France will propose the creation of an Indo-Pacific health campus, to be established in India, to bring together India’s pharmaceutical prowess and Europe’s technological capacity for the benefit of the region.
Conclusion
In a world of growing tensions, the core goal of France’s EU Presidency is to strengthen Europe’s sovereignty and its ability to decide its own fate. This endeavour matches India’s fundamental aspiration for strategic autonomy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FSA 2013
Mains level: Paper 3- Inflation challenge
Context
With the Russia-Ukraine conflict flaring into a war, global commodity prices, especially that of crude oil and gas, are likely to see a strong surge. This poses a challenge not only for India to contain inflationary pressures but also the world at large.
The problem of rising inflation
- At 6 per cent, India’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation crossed the upper limit of RBI’s tolerance band in January 2022.
- Implications: High inflation inflicts a large “inflation tax” on the general public whose bank savings earn an interest of less than 1 per cent.
- This is robbing the general public in the name of fuelling growth.
- India is not impervious to this tendency. Most of the major banks in the country offer interest rates between 3 to 4 per cent to depositors.
- Both the finance ministry and the RBI are betting on revving up growth, at least for the time being.
- This is fine as long as they can tame inflation within reasonable limits.
- If we want to do justice to the masses on whose deposits the entire banking system hinges, one must ensure positive real rates of interest.
How to ensure lower rates of inflation
- Given that food has a weight of more than 45 per cent in CPI in India, understanding the dynamics of food inflation is critical.
- India imports roughly 60 per cent of its consumption of edible oils, and global prices of edible oils have gone up by more than 50 per cent over the last year.
- Edible oil inflation in India was touching 35 per cent a few months back.
- This has come down to 18 per cent after the reduction on import duties.
- The Union Minister of Commerce has also recently claimed that they have brought down the inflation in pulses by imposing stock limits on traders and by lowering import duties and importing more pulses.
- The Centre has also imposed stocking limits on domestic oil/oilseed traders.
Way forward: Reform the grain-management-cum-food-subsidy system
- Stock limit on wheat and rice with FCI: As on January 1, it is saddled with stocks that are almost four times the buffer stock norms.
- By unloading the excess grain in the open market, FCI could help in bringing down food inflation substantially as rice and wheat have a high weightage in CPI.
- In the name of the poor, India runs one of the largest but perhaps the most inefficient and corrupt public distribution system (PDS) in the world.
- Stop competitive populism: Every political party promises freebies before elections.
- Unless the Election Commission comes down heavily on such promises or a public interest litigation is filed in the Supreme Court to stop this competitive populism, Indian policymaking cannot be growth-oriented.
- Reduce the population coverage under PDS: India’s food subsidy policy covers 67 per cent of the population and distributes rice and wheat at more than 90 per cent subsidy under the National Food Security Act of 2013.
- Raise productivity: This should be combined with taking giant strides to raise productivity and producing more nutritious food while protecting the environment.
- Focus on R&D in agriculture: It’s well-known agri-R&D gives a much higher return in terms of promoting growth with competitiveness, and reduces poverty by making food cheaper and controlling food inflation
Conclusion
It is important to reform the grain-management-cum-food-subsidy system to release precious resources for growth of agriculture.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Natural farming in India
Context
In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to natural, chemical-free, organic and zero-budget farming.
No specific allocation in Budget
- No specific allocations have been made to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- In fact, currently-operational schemes such as the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and the National Project on Organic Farming did not find any mention in the budget.
- The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, which has received a 4.2-times (year-on-year) larger allocation of Rs 10,433 crore, will earmark some funds for the on-ground implementation of chemical-free farming.
Suggestions
- As the ministry plans the fund utilisation under RKVY, here are eight suggestions to scale up chemical-free farming.
- 1] Focus on rainfed area: focus on promoting natural farming in rainfed areas beyond the Gangetic basin.
- Home to half of India’s farmers, rainfed regions use only a third of the fertilisers per hectarecompared to the areas where irrigation is prevalent.
- The shift to chemical-free farming will be easier in these regions.
- 2] Crop insurance: enable automatic enrolment of farmers transitioning to chemical-free farming into the government’s crop insurance scheme, PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
- 3] Promote microenterprise producing inputs: promote microenterprises that produce inputs for chemical-free agriculture.
- An often-cited barrier by farmers in transitioning to chemical-free agriculture is the lack of readily available natural inputs.
- 4] Leverage NGOs: leverage NGOs and champion farmers who have been promoting and practising sustainable agriculture across the country.
- CEEW research estimates that at least five million farmers are already practising some form of sustainable agriculture and hundreds of NGOs are involved in promoting them.
- 5] Upskill workers: Beyond evolving the curriculum in agricultural universities, upskill the agriculture extension workers on sustainable agriculture practices.
- 6] Leverage community institution: Sixth, leverage community institutions for awareness generation, inspiration, and social support. In other words, the government should facilitate an ecosystem in which farmers learn from and support each other while making the transition.
- 7] support monitoring and impact studies: Such assessments would ensure an informed approach to scaling up sustainable agriculture.
- 8] Millet promotion: Dovetail the ambition on millet promotion with the aim to promote sustainable agriculture.
- Instead of the two remaining in silos, why not promote chemical-free millets and create awareness about both?
Conclusion
India’s food system needs a holistic transformation in demand, production, and supply chains. Let’s hope 2022-23 is the inflection point when we convert intent into action in our journey towards achieving a chemical-free food system.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Types of plastic waste
Mains level: Paper 3- Plastic problem
Context
The UN Environment Assembly meeting in February-March 2022 may finalise a way forward for global cooperation on the emissions of plastic waste into the aquatic ecosystems.
Plastic as a consumption externality
- Plastics represent an example of a consumption externality, which involves many people, rather than a production externality, which involves one or multiple firms.
- Why is it challenging to address? Consumption externality is more challenging to address, as it is difficult to differentiate the behaviour of consumers.
2 Approaches and issues with them
- Imposing the cost of the harm on all consumers may not yield efficient solutions.
- As the number of consumers is high, the cost of controlling them is also high.
- 1] Banning plastic: This approach promotes a sustainable environment, intergenerational equity, saves marine and wildlife ecosystems, and restores soil quality.
- But it also causes inconvenience for consumers, increases substitution cost, and creates unemployment shocks as it affects the production of plastics, leading to less economic activity, less income generation and finally less employment.
- 2] Tax on plastic: Other key aspects that may be considered for global cooperation are the options if plastics are banned, the effectiveness of imposing tax and the potential problems with both these approaches.
- It is difficult to identify the exact tax to be imposed, which may depend on country-specific circumstances.
Way forward
1] Command and control approach
- The environment regulation for plastics may include a ‘command and control’ approach, and fiscal reforms like eco-taxes or subsidies.
- The efficiency of such a regulation depends on its architecture — how well it is planned, designed and executed. It should be credible, transparent and predictable.
2] Fiscal reforms like eco-taxes or subsidies
- Eco-taxes may be imposed in the various stages of production, consumption or disposal of plastics.
- Pollution due to plastics may happen during the production stage.
- That is the logic for imposing tax on polluting inputs, as it forces the producer to look for cleaner substitutes.
- Pollution also occurs during the consumption stage, and thus an eco-tax is recommended to discourage consumption.
3] Estimating the social cost at the local and global level
- Social cost should be evaluated differently in the local/regional and global contexts.
- While health and hygiene are predominant considerations in the former case, climate change is the predominant consideration in the latter.
- Ideally, eco-tax rates on plastics ought to be equal to the marginal social cost arising from the negative externality associated with production, consumption or disposal of goods and services.
Comprehensive policy measures
- Comprehensive policy measures against plastics may generally involve three complementary activities:
- 1] The removal of existing taxes and subsidies that have a negative environmental impact.
- 2] Taking into account the different types or grades of plastics.
- 3] Restructuring existing taxes in an environmentally friendly manner.
- Other suggestions include: Promoting multiple use of plastics through better waste management,
- Educating the public on the harmful use of plastics,
- Providing subsidy for research and development activity for substitute development.
- Appropriate disposal mechanisms and waste management and use of waste for constructive usage like roads.
Conclusion
The key aspects that may be considered for global cooperation are the options if plastics are banned, the effectiveness of imposing tax and the potential problems with both these approaches.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: COP26
Mains level: Paper 2- Integration of development sector and electricity
Context
Electricity and development sectors need a more integrated approach to achieve the vision set forth in instruments such as the Union Budget that guide policy implementation at other administrative levels.
Reduction in allocation
- While the health sector witnessed a 16% increase in estimated Budget allocations from last year, medical and public health spending was reduced by 45% for 2022-23.
- Budget estimates demonstrate intent, but the proof of the pudding lies in the actual expenditure which reiterates the need for greater attention to be paid to our health and education sectors.
- While the health sector was allocated ₹74,602 crore in 2021-22, the Government exceeded its spending by over ₹5,000 crore more (₹80,026 crore) on health, signalling a spike in demand, likely propelled by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- Given this scenario, a less than ₹1,000 crore increase in the Budget Estimate (₹86,606 crore) in 2022-23 when compared with last year’s Revised Estimates (₹85,915 crore) appears incongruent with the Government’s aim of providing quality public health care at scale.
Role of reliable energy
- It is widely recognised that the availability of reliable electricity supply can improve the delivery of health and education services.
- 74% of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals are interlinked with universal access to reliable energy.
- Its reliability in terms of the number of hours that electricity is available steadily without any voltage fluctuations also plays a significant role in delivering services.
- Sometimes, multiple policies can complement each other to achieve the larger sectoral objectives.
- For example, in Assam, the Energy Vision document that lays out the electricity and development outcomes is to be applied in tandem with the Solar Energy Policy 2017 that operationalises this vision via an action plan.
Reasons for lack of integration of electrification in the development sector
- The lack of integration of electrification requirements in development sector policy documents may be partly due to lack of information about electricity and development linkages, poor coordination mechanisms between the sectors and departments, and poor access to appropriate finance.
- Even while electricity is considered, it is to the limited extent of being a one-time civil infrastructure activity rather than a continuous feature necessary for the day-to-day operations of these services.
Way forward
- To successfully integrate electricity provisioning and maintenance, policy frameworks should include innovative coordination and financing mechanisms.
- These mechanisms, while developing clear compliance mandates, must also allow sufficient room for flexibility to respond to local contexts.
- Providing reliable electricity for health centres and schools should be the responsibility of centralised decision-making entities at the State or national level.
- As India has witnessed with other cross-sectoral and centralised statistical, planning, and implementation data governance, diverse contexts must support oversight mechanisms that ensure data credibility.
- Finance is largely unavailable to ensure reliable electricity supply to schools and health facilities.
- Some directives, such as those governing the use of untied funds, need to be more flexible in allowing these facilities to prioritise providing reliable and sustainable electricity.
Conclusion
A successful policy outcome might be dependent on several invisible aspects that do not get the attention and funding necessary to aid in successful policy delivery. Electricity is one of them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NATO
Mains level: Paper 2- Implications of Ukraine crisis for India
Context
Late last week, India abstained from a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution which called for condemning the Russian military action against Ukraine.
Understanding India’s position on the Ukraine issue
- New Delhi has taken a subtle pro-Moscow position on the question of Russian attacks against Ukraine.
- A geopolitical necessity: India’s Russia tilt should be seen not just as a product of its time-tested friendship with Moscow but also as a geopolitical necessity.
- There are understandable reasons for India’s (subtle) pro-Russia position: an aggressive Russia is a problem for the U.S. and the West, not for India.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion is Russia’s problem, not India’s.
- China problem: India’s problem is China, and it needs both the U.S./the West and Russia to deal with the “China problem”.
- Neighbouring China as the rising superpower and Russia as its strategic ally challenging the U.S.-led global order at a time when China has time and again acted on its aggressive intentions vis-à-vis India, and when India is closest to the U.S. than ever before in its history, throws up a unique and unprecedented challenge for India.
- There is an emerging dualism in contemporary Indian strategic Weltanschauung: the predicament of a continental space that is reeling under immense pressure from China, Pakistan and Taliban-led Afghanistan adding to its strategic claustrophobia; and, the emergence of a maritime sphere which presents an opportunity to break out of the same.
Why India needs to balance relations with Russia and the US
- Relations with Russia to manage continental challenges: New Delhi needs Moscow’s assistance to manage its continental difficulties be it through defence supplies, helping it ‘return’ to central Asia, working together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) or exploring opportunities for collaboration in Afghanistan.
- Relations with US to manage maritime challenges: When it comes to the vast maritime sphere, the Indo-Pacific to be precise, Russia is not of great consequence to India.
- That is where its American and western partners come into play. India is simply not in a position to address the China challenge in the maritime space without the active support of American and western navies and, of course, the Quad.
- This unavoidable dualism in the contemporary Indian strategic landscape necessitates that India balances the two sides.
Implications of war on Ukraine for India
- 1] It will embolden China: Russian action in Ukraine dismissing the concerns of the rest of the international community including the U.S. will no doubt embolden China and its territorial ambitions.
- 2] Sanctions on Russia will impact India’s defence cooperation: The new sanctions regime may have implications for India’s defence cooperation with Moscow.
- 3] Russia-China axis: The longer the standoff lasts, the closer China and Russia could become, which certainly does not help India.
- 4] Focus will move away from Indo-Pacific: The more severe the U.S.-Russia rivalry becomes, the less focus there would be on the Indo-Pacific and China, which is where India’s interests lie.
Foreign policy challenge for India
- Position of geopolitical vulnerability: India’s responses to the Russian aggression on Ukraine underline the fact that India is operating from a position of geopolitical vulnerability.
- Going forward, India’s ability to be a “swing state”, “major power” or a “leading power” stands diminished.
- There will be more middle-of-the-road behaviour from New Delhi rather than resolute positions on global strategic developments.
- Interests over principles: India’s position also shows the unmistakable indication that when it comes to geopolitics, New Delhi will choose interests over principles.
- A careful reading of India’s statements and positions taken over the past few days also demonstrates a certain amount of discomfort in having to choose interests over principles.
- There is perhaps a realisation in New Delhi that a dog-eat-dog world, where rules and good behaviour do not matter, does not help India in the long run either.
- Mastering the art of balancing extremes: Going forward, if tensions between Russia and the West persist, balancing extremes will be a key feature of Indian diplomacy.
- Even though New Delhi abstained from voting on it (thereby siding with Moscow), it made its unhappiness about the Russian action clear in the written note.
- Sticking to the principle of strategic autonomy: New Delhi’s response to the recent crisis, especially its “explanation of vote” at the UNSC indicates a careful recourse to the principle of strategic autonomy: India will make caveated statements and will not be pressured by either party.
Conclusion
India’s indirect support to the Russian position is not a product of Russian pressure but the result of a desire to safeguard its own interests.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Collegium system, NJAC
Mains level: Judicial vacancy in India
Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said there was a need to both increase the number of judges in High Courts and urgently fill existing vacancies.
Judicial vacancy in India
- The Indian judiciary faces high vacancies across all levels (the Supreme Court, High Courts, and subordinate courts).
- Vacancy of judges in courts is one of the reasons for delays and a rising number of pending cases, as there are not enough judges to hear and decide cases.
- As of today, more than four crore cases are pending across all courts in India.
Appointing judges to the HC
- The appointment of the judges to the high courts is governed by Article 217 of the Constitution.
- In addition to the constitutional provisions, the process of appointments outlined in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is a lengthy one.
- It is initiated by the Chief Justice of the concerned high court who recommends the nominees to the state government.
- Ideally, this process should begin six months prior to the occurrence of the vacancy.
- The state government then sends the recommendation to the Union Law Ministry, which then sends it to the Supreme Court Collegium.
HC Vacancies
- The total sanctioned judicial strength in the 25 High Courts is 1,080.
- However, the present working strength is 661 with 419 vacancies as on March 1.
- The Supreme Court has been repeatedly conveying to the government its growing alarm at the judicial vacancies in High Courts.
- Some of these High Courts are functioning only with half their sanctioned judicial strength.
- On average, the courts suffered at least 40% judicial vacancies.
Why is there a huge gap?
Ans. Timeline of appointment is arbitrary
- Appointments of High Court judges are guided by a memorandum of procedure.
- As per this memorandum, the appointment process is to be initiated by the concerned High Court at least six months before a vacancy occurs.
- However, the Standing Committee (2021) noted that this timeline is rarely adhered to by High Courts.
- Further, in the final stage of the process, after receiving recommendations from the Supreme Court collegium, the executive appoints judges to the High Court.
- No timeline is prescribed for this stage of the appointment process.
How many judges do we need?
- The Law Commission of India (1987) had noted the importance of manpower planning for the judiciary.
- Lack of adequate number of judges means a greater workload per judge.
- Thus, it becomes essential to arrive at an optimal judge strength to deal with pending and new cases in courts.
- Over the years, different methods of calculating the required judge strength for subordinate courts (where the backlog of cases in the Indian judiciary is concentrated) have been recommended:
| Method of calculation |
Recommendation and its status |
| Judge-to-population ratio: Optimum number of judges per million population |
The Law Commission of India (1987) had recommended increasing this ratio to 50 judges per million people. For 2020, the judge-to-population ratio was 21 judges per million population. |
| Rate of disposal: Number of additional judges required (to clear the existing backlog of cases and ensure that new backlog is not created) based on the average number of cases disposed per judge |
The Law Commission of India (2014) proposed this method. It rejected the judge-to-population ratio method, observing that filing of cases per capita varies substantially across geographic units depending on socio-economic conditions. |
| Weighted case load method: Calculating judge strength based on the disposal by judges, taking into account the nature and complexity of cases in local conditions |
It addresses the existing backlog of cases as well as the new flow of cases every year in subordinate courts. In 2017, the Supreme Court accepted this model. |
| Time-based weighted case load method: Calculating the required judge strength taking into account the actual time spent by judges in different types of cases at varying stages based on an empirical study |
Used widely in the United States, this was the long-term method recommended by the NCMS (2016) to assess the required judge strength for subordinate courts. It involves determining the total number of ‘judicial hours’ required for disposing of the case load of each court. The Delhi High Court used this approach in a pilot project (2017- 2018) to calculate the ideal judge strength for disposing of pending cases in certain courts in Delhi. |
Back2Basics:
What is Collegium System?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SWIFT
Mains level: Global sanctions on Russia
The U.S., Europe and several other western nations are moving to exclude Russia from SWIFT, an international network for banks worldwide to facilitate smooth money transactions globally.
What is SWIFT?
- SWIFT is an international network for banks worldwide to facilitate smooth money transactions globally.
- It is basically a messaging network used by banks and financial institutions globally for quick and faultless exchange of information pertaining to financial transactions.
- The Belgium-headquartered SWIFT connects more than 11,000 banking and securities organizations in over 200 countries and territories.
- First used in 1973, it went live in 1977 with 518 institutions from 22 countries, its website states.
What exactly is it?
- SWIFT is merely a platform that sends messages and does not hold any securities or money.
- It facilitates standardized and reliable communication to facilitate the transaction.
How does it facilitate banking?
- Each participant on the platform is assigned a unique eight-digit SWIFT code or a bank identification code (BIC).
- If a person, say, in New York with a Citibank account, wants to send money to someone with an HSBC account in London, the payee would have to submit to his bank the London-based beneficiary’s account number along with the eight-digit SWIFT code of the latter’s bank.
- Citibank would then send a SWIFT message to HSBC. Once that is received and approved, the money would be credited to the required account.
How is the organization governed?
- SWIFT claims to be neutral. Its shareholders, consisting of 3,500 firms across the globe, elect the 25-member board, which is responsible for oversight and management of the company.
- It is regulated by G-10 central banks from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, the UK, the US, Switzerland, and Sweden, alongside the European Central Bank.
- Its lead overseer is the National Bank of Belgium.
- The SWIFT oversight forum was established in 2012.
- The G-10 participants were joined by the central banks of India, Australia, Russia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, the Republic of Turkey, and the People’s Republic of China.
- Europe, Middle East, and Africa are highest contributors to SWIFT.
What happens if one is excluded from SWIFT?
- US excluding Russia from SWIFT could have serious repercussions on how Russian banks carry out international financial transactions.
- If a country is excluded from the most participatory financial facilitating platform, its foreign funding would take a hit, making it entirely reliant on domestic investors.
- This is particularly troublesome when institutional investors are constantly seeking new markets in newer territories.
- An alternative system would be cumbersome to build and even more difficult to integrate with an already expansive system.
Are any countries excluded from SWIFT?
- Iranian banks were ousted from the system in 2018 despite resistance from several countries in Europe.
- This step, while regrettable, was taken in the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system, and based on an assessment of the economic situation.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Munich Security Conference
Mains level: NA
The latest edition of MSC a week ago assumed significance as it was here that the Ukrainian President appealed for help ahead of the Russian invasion.
Munich Security Conference
- The Munich Security Conference is an annual conference on international security policy that has been held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany since 1963.
- It brings together heads of state, diplomats and business leaders from the world’s leading democracies for three days of meetings and presentations.
- It is the world’s largest gathering of its kind.
- Over the past four decades the MSC has become the most important independent forum for the exchange of views by international security policy decision-makers.
How did it begin?
- When the MSC was founded in 1963, it was envisioned as a way for leaders, mostly from the West, to discuss threats and dangers in an informal setting.
- Most of the concerns at the time stemmed from the Cold War, which had dominated world politics for nearly a half-century.
- Over time, the conference evolved into a platform for airing grievances and workshopping political agreements, some of them outside the realm of East-West relations.
- In recent years, the conference has often invited leaders from authoritarian countries, and even adversaries, to speak.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nord Stream 2
Mains level: Paper 2- Ukraine crisis and its implications for West-led global order
Context
The Ukraine crisis has come to a head with Russia biting the bullet and launching “a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian invasion and response of the West
- Hours before the invasion, the western countries had imposed a new round of sanctions against Moscow (targeting Russian individuals and banks linked to Mr. Putin’s regime).
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended certification of Nord Stream 2, a major gas pipeline between Russia and his nation.
- The European Union has announced a “massive” package of sanctions.
- Incoherence in response: the West has been incoherent in its response — not being able to present a united front, and worse, not even speaking the same language at times.
- For the West, this has been a moment when it has been found wanting — a lack of imagination, lack of will and lack of leadership, all rolled into producing a lackadaisical response to the one of most serious security crises in decades.
- France has used this moment of crisis in trying to showcase its own leadership credentials.
- Lack of trans-Atlantic engagement: It turns out that even Mr. Biden has not been able to build the trans-Atlantic engagement around common objectives to be pursued collectively.
- Energy dependence: With the EU importing 39% of its total gas imports and 30% of oil from Russia, and with the Central and Eastern European countries being almost 100% dependent on Russian gas, the reasons for internal EU dissonance are not that difficult to fathom.
Implications for Indo-Pacific
- Emboldening China: This ineffectual western response has emboldened not only Russia but also China as the focus of the West is in danger of moving away from the Indo-Pacific.
- The Russia-China ‘axis’ is only getting stronger as the two nations seem ready to take on the West that seems willing to concede without even putting up a fight.
Conclusion
Today, the balance of power is once again in flux, and as China develops a strategic partnership with Russia, the future of the West-led global order will be defined by how effectively it responds to the crisis in Ukraine.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Suwalki corridor
Mains level: Paper 2- Implications of Russia's actions in Ukraine
Context
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched “special military operations” with the objective of “demilitarising Ukraine” but not “occupying” it.
Why it was a crisis in the making?
- Redrawing national boundaries by force: After 1945, this is the second time that national boundaries are being redrawn by force; the first was the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air strikes on Serbian forces that led to the creation of Kosovo.
- Russian and Chinese protests about NATO undertaking “out of area operations” without United Nations Security Council approval carried little weight.
- After the fall of the Berlin Wall in late-1989, then U.S. Secretary Of State had assured the Soviet President that “there would be no extension of NATO’s jurisdiction one inch to the east”.
- Rather than look for a new European security framework, the newly independent Baltic and central European states sought security in a U.S.-led NATO.
- Beginning in 1999, NATO has added 14 new members in stages.
- At the NATO summit in 2008, at U.S. President George Bush’s urging, an in-principle opening for Ukraine and Georgia was announced, though France and Germany, conscious of Russian concerns, successfully opposed defining a time frame.
- Later that year, Russia intervened in Georgia on the grounds of protecting the Russian minorities and took over the northern provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
- Annexation of Crimea: In 2014 Mr. Putin annexed Crimea.
- For Russia, Crimea is vital as the peninsula hosts Russia’s Black Sea fleet, providing it access to the Mediterranean and its bases at Latakia and Tartus in Syria.
- Despite no timeline for membership, Ukraine was made a NATO Enhanced Opportunity Partner in 2020.
- The presence of British and U.S. warships in the Black Sea began to increase.
- In 2019, the U.K. entered into a cooperation agreement with Ukraine to develop two new naval ports, Ochakiv on the Black Sea and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov, a move that Russia saw as potentially threatening.
- Beginning with NATO’s bombing of Serbia in 1999, interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya and colour revolutions to engineer regime changes, the U.S.’ unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002 coupled with missile defence deployments in Poland and Romania, Russia’s grievances were accumulating.
Faltering diplomacy
- France and Germany initiated talks between Ukraine and Russia under the Normandy format leading to the Minsk agreements, in 2014 and 2015.
- The first was for a ceasefire between Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists and the second was between Ukraine, Russia, the two separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
- Supportive declarations by France and Germany were intended to address Russian security concerns.
- Ukraine undertook to introduce certain constitutional amendments to provide a degree of autonomy to the two provinces and Russia was to assist in withdrawal of all foreign forces.
- However, neither side implemented and positions have only hardened since.
- Russia’s threatening moves made NATO members, especially the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and the central Europeans like Poland and Romania, especially nervous.
- Finally, NATO remained united but unable to provide an off-ramps solution.
Implications for Russia
- NATO has been rejuvenated, the trans-Atlantic unity strengthened and Russia’s economic ties with Europe have been adversely impacted.
- Given Russia’s considerable foreign exchange reserves, of nearly $640 billion, sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU may not hurt immediately but eventually will begin to bite both the oligarchs and the common people.
- Worse, Russia will become more dependent on China — for political support as well as a market for its energy exports.
- This will eventually weaken its hand in central Asia.
Conclusion
For Mr Putin challenge is to constrain the adversary’s options while increasing one’s own options and space for manoeuvre. His actions this week may yield tactical gains but hardly pass the test for strategic victory.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chernobyl Disaster
Mains level: Not Much
Ukrainian authorities said that radiation levels had increased in the Chernobyl exclusion zone after the Russian Invasion.
What is Chernobyl Disaster?
- The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of Ukraine (formerly USSR).
- It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history both in cost and casualties.
- It is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at seven—the maximum severity—on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
- The other such incident was the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan.
Destruction caused
- Some sources state that two people were killed in the initial explosions, whereas others report that the figure was closer to 50.
- Dozens more people contracted serious radiation sickness; some of them later died.
- Between 50 and 185 million curies of radionuclides (radioactive forms of chemical elements) escaped into the atmosphere.
- This is several times more radioactivity than that created by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
- This radioactivity was spread by the wind over Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine and soon reached as far west as France and Italy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lachit Borphukan, Battle of Saraighat
Mains level: NA
The Prime Minister has paid tribute to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas.
Who was Lachit Borphukan?
- The year was 1671 and the decisive Battle of Saraighat was fought on the raging waters of the Brahmaputra.
- On one side was Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s army headed by Ram Singh of Amer (Jaipur) and on the other was the Ahom General Lachit Borphukan.
- He was a commander in the Ahom kingdom, located in present-day Assam.
- Ram Singh failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war.
- Lachit Borphukan emerged victorious in the war and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati.
Lachit Diwas
- On 24 November each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated state-wide in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan.
- On this day, Borphukan has defeated the Mughal army on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
- The best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy has been conferred the Lachit gold medal every year since 1999 commemorating his valor.
Try this PYQ:
Q.What was the immediate cause for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade and fight the Third Battle of Panipat?
(a) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore
(b) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg khan invited him to invade Punjab
(c) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal (Gujrat Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur)
(d) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab upto borders of Delhi to his kingdom
Post your answer here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: P-8I Aircraft
Mains level: Indian Naval Arsenal
Aviation and defence colossus Boeing delivered India’s 12th maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare P-8I aircraft.
P-8I Aircraft
- It is a multi-mission aircraft with state of the art sensors, proven weapons systems, and a globally recognised platform.
- The first aircraft produced by Boeing flew in 2009, and has been in service with the US Navy since 2013, the same year as the Indian Navy.
- Apart from India and the US, it has been chosen by six other militaries in the world.
- The aircraft has two variants — the P-8I, which is manufactured for the Indian Navy, and the P-8A Poseidon.
- The aircraft is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
Naval operations
- While the Indian Navy uses it for maritime operations, the aircraft was also used in eastern Ladakh in 2020 and 2021, when the standoff with China was at its peak.
- The aircraft for the Indian Navy are called P-8I, and have replaced the ageing Soviet/Russian Tupolev Tu-142s.
Specifications and features
- The P-8I can fly as high as 41,000 feet, and has a short transit time, which reduces the size of the Area of Probability when searching for submarines, surface vessels or search and rescue survivors.
- The aircraft has two engines, and is about 40 metres long, with a wingspan of 37.64 metres.
- Each aircraft weighs about 85,000 kg, and has a top speed of 490 knots, or 789 km/hour.
- It requires a crew of nine, and has a range of 1,200+ nautical miles, with 4 hours on station, which means about 2,222 km.
- According to Boeing, more than 140 P-8 aircraft have “executed more than 400,000 mishap-free flight-hours around the globe”.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dugong Conservation Reserve
Mains level: NA
India’s first Dugong conservation reserve will be built in Tamil Nadu for the conservation of Dugong, a marine mammal.
Dugong Conservation Reserve
- The reserve will spread over an area of 500 km in Palk Bay on the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu.
- Palk Bay is a semi-enclosed shallow water body with a water depth maximum of 13 meters.
- Located between India and Sri Lanka along the Tamil Nadu coast, the dugong is a flagship species in the region.
Dugong: The sea cow
- Dugong or the sea cow is the State animal of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- This endangered marine species survive on seagrass and other aquatic vegetation found in the area.
- It is the only herbivorous mammal that is strictly marine and is the only extant species in the family Dugongidae.
- Dugongs are usually about three-meter long and weigh about 400 kg.
- Dugongs have an expanded head and trunk-like upper lip.
- Elephants are considered to be their closest relatives. However, unlike dolphins and other cetaceans, sea cows have two nostrils and no dorsal fin.
Their habitat
- Distributed in shallow tropical waters in the Indo-Pacific region, in India, they are found in the Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- Dugongs are long-living animals, that have a low reproductive rate, long generation time, and high investment in each offspring.
- The female dugongs do not bear their first calf until they are at least 10 and up to 17 years old.
- A dugong population is unlikely to increase more than 5% per year. They take a long time to recover due to the slow breeding rate.
Causes of extinction
- Having being declared vulnerable, the marine animal calls for conserving efforts.
- Studies have suggested the reasons for the extinction of the animal such as slow breeding rate, fishing, and the loss of habitat.
- They are also known to suffer due to accidental entanglement and drowning in gill-nets.
Conservation in India
- The conservation reserve can promote growth and save vulnerable species from the verge of extinction.
- Dugongs are protected in India under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Act 1972 which bans the killing and purchasing of dugong meat.
- IUCN status: Vulnerable
Try answering this PYQ:
Q. With reference to ‘dugong’, a mammal found in India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- It is a herbivorous marine animal.
- It is found along the entire coast of India.
- It is given legal protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1974.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 3 only
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UN Food Systems Summit
Mains level: Paper 3- Transforming food system in India
Context
The country faces the dual challenge of achieving nutrition security, as well as addressing declining land productivity, land degradation and loss of ecological services with change in land use. Not surprisingly, widespread concerns about poverty, malnutrition and the need for a second Green Revolution are being made in tandem.
Challenges for India
- Macro- and micronutrient malnutrition is widespread in India.
- 18.7% of women and 16.2% of men are unable to access enough food to meet basic nutritional needs.
- Over 32% of children below five years are still underweight as per the recently released fifth National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) phase 2 compendium.
- India is ranked 101 out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index, 2021.
- Although India is now self-sufficient in food grains production in the macro sense, it has about a quarter of the world’s food insecure people, a pointer to the amount of food necessary to allow all income groups to reach the caloric target (2,400 kcal in rural and 2,100 kcal in the urban set-up).
India needs to adopt ‘food systems’ for ‘sustainability’ and ‘better nutrition’
- The UN Food Systems Summit called for action by governments in five areas: nourish all people; boost nature-based solutions; advance equitable livelihoods, decent work and empowered communities; build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stresses; and accelerate the means of implementation.
- Wholistic policy approach: In the context of the intensifying economic, environmental and climate challenges and crisis, the need of the hour is a good theory of transition encompassing the spatial, social and scientific dimensions, supported by policy incentives and mechanisms for achieving a sustainable, resilient and food secure agriculture.
- Agro-climatic approach: An agro-climatic approach to agricultural development is important for sustainability and better nutrition.
- Potential for crop diversification: Data compiled in the agro-climatic zones reports of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the erstwhile Planning Commission of India reveal enormous potential for crop diversification and precision for enhanced crop productivity based on soil type, climate (temperature and rainfall), and captive water resources.
- The focus should be on improving farmers’ competitiveness, supporting business growth in the rural economy, and incentivising farmers to improve the environment.
- Review of agro-climatic zones: It is assumed that a meticulous review of agro-climatic zones could make smallholders farming a profitable business, enhancing agricultural efficiency and socio-economic development, as well as sustainability.
- Strengthening and shortening food supply chains, reinforcing regional food systems, food processing, agricultural resilience and sustainability in a climate-changing world will require prioritising research and investments along these lines.
- A stress status of the natural resource base — soil and water in different agro-climatic zones — will help understand the micro as well as meso-level interventions needed with regard to technologies, extension activities and policies.
- Infrastructure: Lastly, infrastructure and institutions supporting producers, agri-preneurs and agri micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in their production value chain are central to the transition.
- Alignment with national and State policies: This should be aligned to the national and State policy priorities such as the National Policy guidelines 2012 of the Ministry of Agriculture for the promotion of farmer producer organisations, and the National Resource Efficiency Policy of 2019 of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Conclusion
Clearly, science, society and policy have a lot to gain from an effective interface encompassing the range of actors and institutions in the food value-chain and a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, along with a greater emphasis on policy design, management and behavioural change.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Deep Ocean Mission
Mains level: Paper 3- Green ambitions and allocations in Budget
Context
One can analyse the budget from three standpoints: Direct allocations for the environment sector, allocations for environment in non-environment sectors, and allocations for other sectors with environmental impacts.
Analysing the Budget from an environmental standpoint
1] Allocation for MoEFCC
- There is a slight increase in the budget of the Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) from 2021-22’s revised estimate of Rs 2,870 crore to Rs 3,030 crore.
- This is a meagre 0.08 per cent of the total budgetary outlay.
- While some sectors like forestry and wildlife have seen a healthy rise in allocation, the outlay for others like the National River Conservation Plan has declined.
2] Focus on natural and organic farming
- There is a welcome stated focus on natural and organic farming, and on promoting millets.
- No details on allocation: There are no details on the allocations, including for linkages necessary to make such farming viable, such as manure and markets.
- Also, given the major push for food processing in the budget, without making reservations for community-run businesses, there is a danger of big corporations capturing the organic space.
- Missing focus on rainfed farming: Completely missing is a focus on rainfed farming that involves 60 per cent of the farming population and is ecologically more sustainable than artificially irrigated agriculture.
- The FM announced the government’s support to “chemical-free farming throughout the country,” but she has also allocated a massive chemical fertiliser subsidy of Rs 1,05,222 crore.
- A recent announcement that palm plantations are proposed in Northeast India and the Andaman Islands, both ecologically fragile, makes this a worrying prospect.
3] Positive provisions on the climate front
- On the climate front, there are several positive provisions — use of biomass for power stations, boost to batteries, energy-efficiency measures in large commercial buildings, and sovereign green bonds.
- Renewable and “clean” energy has received substantially higher allocations.
- But the focus remains on mega-parks in solar/wind energy, nuclear power, and large hydro that have serious ecological impacts.
- The additional budget for farm-level solar pumps and rooftop solar generation is welcome, but it’s minuscule compared to mega-projects.
- Missed opportunity for decentralised renewable energy: Another chance to shift towards decentralised renewable energy with less ecological impacts and greater community access has been missed.
- The budget does promise greater support for public transport, something demanded by citizens’ groups for decades.
- Unfortunately, most of the allocation in this will go to metros that are extremely carbon-intensive in terms of construction.
- The National Climate Action Plan gets an abysmally inadequate Rs 30 crore — the same as in 2021-22.
- And there is no focus on a “just transition” that could help workers in fossil fuel sectors, like coal, to transition to jobs in cleaner, greener sectors.
4] Concerns with focus on infrastructure in Budget
- As highlighted by the FM, this is predominantly an “infrastructure budget”.
- While investments in infrastructure for small towns and villages are urgently needed, much of what is proposed are mega-projects.
- The proposed 25,000 km increase in highways will further fragment forests, wetlands, mountains, grasslands, agricultural lands and bypass most villages.
- A shift in paradigm to decentralised, sustainable, and community-oriented infrastructure is missing.
- Several specific allocations are of further concern. For instance, the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, given over Rs 40,000 crore, will submerge valuable tiger habitat.
- The Deep Ocean Mission and the Blue Revolution allocations are oriented towards commercial exploitation rather than conservation and sustainable use.
5] Missed opportunity on green jobs
- The budget misses out on a major shift to “green jobs”.
- This includes support to decentralised (including handmade) production of textiles, footwear, and other products.
- Even the MGNREGS, which could have been used for regenerating two-thirds of India’s landmass that is ecologically degraded, has got reduced allocation.
Conclusion
Another chance to turn the economy towards real sustainability and equity — a real “Amrit Kaal” as India heads to a centenary of Independence — has been missed.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Russia-Ukraine War
The Russian annexation of Russia has been condemned widely and raised several questions concerning violation of international law.
How is Russia violating the UN Charter?
(1) Principle of Non-Intervention
- The Russian attack on Ukraine is violative of the non-intervention principle, and amounts to aggression under international law.
- The principle of non-intervention in domestic affairs is the foundational principle on which existing international order is based.
- The principle is enshrined in article 2(4) of the UN Charter requiring states to refrain from using force or threat of using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
- It prohibits any kind of forcible trespassing in the territory of another state, even if it is for temporary or limited operations such as an ‘in and out’ operation.
(2) Principle of Non-Aggression
- The UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (1974) defines aggression as the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state.
- Additionally, allowing one’s territory to be used by another state for aggression against a third state, also qualifies as an act of aggression.
- Accordingly, Belarus can also be held responsible for aggression as it has allowed its territory to be used by Russia for attacking Ukraine.
- Aggression is also considered an international crime under customary international law and the Rome statute establishing the International Criminal Court.
(3) Principle of Political Independence
- Russia’s desire to keep Ukraine out of NATO is a prime reason for its use of force against Ukraine.
- This is violative of Ukraine’s political independence under article 2(4) as Ukraine being a sovereign state is free to decide which organizations it wants to join.
- Also, by resorting to use of force, Russia has violated article 2(3) which requires the states to settle their dispute by peaceful means in order to preserve international peace and security.
(4) Principle of Self-Defence
- In face of the use of force by Russia, Ukraine has the right to self-defence under international law.
- The UN Charter under article 51 authorizes a state to resort to an individual or collective self-defense until the Security Council take steps to ensure international peace and security.
- In this case, it seems implausible for the UNSC to arrive at a decision as Russia is a permanent member and has veto power.
Russia’s hype:
(1) Nuclear escalation
- It has been claimed by Russia that Ukraine may acquire nuclear weapons with the help of western allies.
- However, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Legality of Threat of Nuclear Weapons case held that mere possession of nuclear weapons does not necessarily constitute a threat.
- Thus, even if Ukraine has, or were to acquire nuclear weapons in the future, it does not become a ground for invoking self-defence by Russia.
(2) Aggression against Russia
- Further, mere membership in a defence alliance such as NATO cannot necessarily be considered as a threat of aggression against Russia.
- Thus, here too Russia cannot invoke self-defence.
(3) Act in self-defence
- Russia can also not invoke anticipatory self-defence.
- Such invocation according to the Caroline test would require that the necessity of self-defence was instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation.
- However, this is not the case with Russia.
What options is Ukraine left with?
- Ukraine has a right under international law to request assistance from other states in form of military assistance, supply of weapons etc.
- On the other hand, Russia has also claimed that it is acting in self-defence.
- This claim is questionable, as there has been no use of force, or such threats against Russia by Ukraine.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Cyberwarfare
Alongside the missiles and bombs slamming down in Ukraine, the country has also been hit by a wave of cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure companies.
What is Cyberwarfare?
- Cyberwarfare has emerged as a new form of retaliation or passive aggression deployed by nations that do not want to go to actual war but want to send a tough message to their opponents.
- In June 2020, security experts from Cyfirma uncovered a conspiracy by Gothic Panda and Stone Panda, two China-based hacker groups, to target media and critical infra companies in India.
- They led large-scale attacks amid the border stand-off between India and China in Ladakh.
- For many countries, cyberwarfare is a never-ending battle as it allows them to constantly harass and weaken geopolitical rivals.
What has happened in Ukraine so far?
- Ukraine has been one of the primary targets of Russia since 2020.
- The recent spate of attacks started in mid-January and knocked out websites of the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of education.
- Government websites and a number of banks have been hit by another mass distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
- DDoS attacks disrupt online services by overwhelming websites with more traffic than their server can handle.
Which countries are behind state-backed cyberattacks?
- Russia is one of the top perpetrators of state-backed cyberattacks.
- According to an October 2021 report by Microsoft Corp., Russia accounted for 58% of state-backed attacks worldwide, followed by North Korea (23%), Iran (11%), and China (8%).
- North Korea is said to have built a cyber-army of 7,000 hackers.
Which companies are targeted and why?
- State-backed cyberattacks are usually carried out to steal state secrets, trade deals and weapons blueprint, or target large multinationals to steal their intellectual property (IP) and use it to build local industry.
- Cryptos are also on the radar now. North Korean hackers reportedly stole cryptos worth $400 million in 2021.
- However, when states launch cyberattacks on other states as a result of worsening of geopolitical relations, the target is usually critical infrastructure firms to disrupt economic activity.
How often is India targeted?
- Such cyberattacks rose 100% between 2017 and 2021, according to a global study by Hewlett-Packard and the University of Surrey.
- In 2019, the administrative network of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a malware attack by North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.
- China-backed hackers were believed to be behind a power outage in Mumbai in 2020.
- According to Black Lotus Labs, Pakistan-based hackers targeted power firms and one government organization in India in early 2021 using Remote Access Trojans.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNEP’s Fire Ready Formula
Mains level: Wildfires prevention
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called on global governments to adopt a new ‘Fire Ready Formula,’ as it warned that incidences of wildfires would rise in the future.
What is the Fire Ready Formula?
- The new formula envisages that 66 per cent of spending be devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness and recovery.
- The remaining 34 per cent can be spent on response.
|
New “Fire Ready Formula” focuses on Planning and Prevention
|
| Serial No |
Budget item |
Percentage share of the total on wildfire management recommended |
| 1 |
Planning |
1 % |
| 2 |
Prevention |
32 % |
| 3 |
Preparedness |
13 % |
| 4 |
Response |
34 % |
| 5 |
Recovery |
20 % |
Why need such a formula?
- The UNEP report projected that the number of wildfires is likely to increase by up to 14 per cent by 2030.
- Integrated wildfire management was key to adapting to current and future changes in global wildfire risk, the UNEP.
- There is a need to invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change.
- Achieving and sustaining adaptive land and fire management requires a combination of policies, a legal framework and incentives that encourage appropriate land and fire use.
Back2Basics: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- UNEP is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system.
- It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972.
- Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development.
- UNEP hosts the secretariats of several multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies, including:
1. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
2. Minamata Convention on Mercury,
3. Convention on Migratory Species and
4. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
- In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
- UNEP is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
|
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