Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

What is Munich Security Conference?

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Munich Security Conference (MSC)

Mains level: Not Much

Central idea: The article is about the controversy surrounding billionaire philanthropist and political activist George Soros and his alleged statements on India and the Indian PM at the Munich Security Conference.

Who is George Soros?

  • George Soros, the 92 YO billionaire philanthropist and political activist, has been at the center of several controversies over the years.
  • Some of the key controversies associated with Soros include:
  1. Currency manipulation: Soros became famous in the 1990s for his role in the “Black Wednesday” financial crisis in the UK, where he was accused of profiting from the devaluation of the pound sterling by short-selling it.
  2. Insider trading: Soros has also been accused of insider trading in several instances, including the case of the French bank Societe Generale.
  3. Political meddling: Soros has been accused of using his vast wealth to influence political campaigns and events around the world, including in countries like Hungary, Ukraine, and the United States.
  4. Anti-Semitic accusations: Soros has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories and accusations of anti-Semitism, with some critics alleging that he is part of a secret globalist agenda to control world governments and economies.

About Munich Security Conference (MSC)

  • The MSC was founded by a German official and publisher Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist at the peak of the Cold War (1947-1991).
  • Starting in 1963, the conference initially only focused on military issues and was mainly attended by western countries and their high-profile officials, who “came together to display a united front in their struggle with Soviet communism”.
  • After the end of the Cold War, the conference expanded its agenda that went beyond defense and security matters to include issues such as climate change and migration.
  • It also started to invite leaders from eastern nations, including Russia, India and China.

What will be the focus of this year’s MSC?

  • This year’s edition might entail a refocus on its goal- the security order in Europe, in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war that began just days after the MSC 2022 was concluded.
  • The conference might also serve as a platform for diffusing tensions between the United States and China, especially after the former shot down an alleged spy balloon.
  • Another theme on the agenda is to focus on diverse perspectives from the Global South, which included some of the poorest and least industrialized countries in the world.

 

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Corruption Challenges – Lokpal, POCA, etc

Central agencies gear up for FATF mutual evaluations

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: FATF

Mains level: Not Much

Central agencies, including the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), have begun preparations for the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) mutual evaluation process of India.

What is the news?

  • India is due to undergo the mutual evaluation process in the second half of 2022, which will assess the country’s compliance with international anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing standards.

What is FATF?

  • FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
  • The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
  • It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.
  • As of 2019, FATF consisted of 37 member jurisdictions.

India’s say in FATF

  • India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. Since then, it had been working towards full-fledged membership.
  • On June 25, 2010, India was taken in as the 34th country member of FATF.

What is FATF’s mutual evaluation process?

  • The mutual evaluation process is a review of a country’s legal and institutional framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as its implementation of measures to prevent these crimes.
  • During the process, the FATF assesses a country’s compliance with its 40 recommendations on anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing, as well as the level of effectiveness of these measures in practice.
  • The outcome of the mutual evaluation is a report that highlights a country’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, and assigns a rating based on the level of compliance and effectiveness.

How will FATF evaluate India?

  • The FATF’s evaluation will cover a wide range of areas, including India’s legal framework, regulatory system, law enforcement efforts, and international cooperation.
  • Central agencies have been working to ensure that India’s anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing laws are in line with international standards, and that their implementation is effective.

Significance of this evaluation

  • The outcome of the evaluation will be a report that highlights India’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, and assigns a rating based on the level of compliance and effectiveness.
  • The mutual evaluation process is an important tool in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • Its outcome can have significant implications for a country’s access to international financial markets and its reputation in the global community.

 

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The Crisis In The Middle East

Israel-Palestinian violence on West Bank soars

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: West Bank, Gaza

Mains level: Israel-Palestine Issue

west bank

US has urged Israel and the Palestinians to ease tensions amid a spike in violence that has put the West Bank region on edge.

Where is West Bank?

  • The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean in Western Asia that forms the main bulk of the Palestinian territories.
  • It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north.

Point of discussion: Anti-Semitism

  • Anti-Semitism (hatred against Jews) is an officially stated policy of many theocratic countries (created by divine orders of religion).
  • This includes entire Arab world, the self-proclaimed caliphate ‘Turkiye’ and even Pakistan.
  • Jews, the micro-minority religion of the world were denied access to their homeland.

What is the Israel-Palestine Conflict?

  • The land to which Jews and Palestinians lay claim to was under the Ottoman Empire and then the British Empire in early 20th century.
  • Palestinian people —the Arab people from the same area— want to have a state by the name of Palestine in that area.
  • The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is over who gets what land and how it’s controlled.
  • Jews fleeing the persecution in Europe at the time wanted to establish a Jewish state on the land which they believe to be their ancient homeland.
  • The Arab at the time resisted, saying the land was theirs. The land at the time was called Palestine.
  • In 1917’s Balfour Declaration, the United Kingdom declared its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
  • Arabs resisted it which led to violence.

Jews into West Bank: Arab hinterland in Israel

  • Some 75,000 Jews migrated to Palestine from 1922-26 and some 60,000 Jews emigrated in 1935, according to a history published by the University of Central Arkansas.
  • It adds that Palestinian Arabs demanded the UK to halt Jewish emigration, but the UK ignored such calls. There were violent incidents, leading to deaths of some 500 people.
  • In 1923, the British Mandate for Palestine came into effect.
  • The document was issued by the League of Nations, the failed predecessor of the United Nations (UN).
  • The mandate gave the UK the responsibility for creating a Jewish national homeland in the region.
  • In 1936, the UK government recommended the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.

How did the issue escalate?

  • In 1947, Britain referred the issue of Palestine to the UN, which came up with a partition plan.
  • It put up two proposals. One, two separate states joined economically —the majority proposal— and, two, a single bi-national state made up of autonomous Jewish and Palestinian areas, the minority proposal.
  • The Jewish community approved of the first of these proposals, while the Arabs opposed them both.

Israel’s independence

  • In May 1948, Israel declared its independence. This was eye-pricking development for Arabs.
  • The Arab countries of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt invaded the newly-declared country immediately.
  • When the war ended, Israel gained some territory formerly granted to Palestinian Arabs under the UN resolution in 1947.
  • It also retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively.

Resolving the conflict

Ans. Two-state solution

  • The two-state solution refers to an arrangement where Israeli and Palestinian states co-exist in the region.
  • However, such a solution has not materialised over the decades.
  • As outlined in the beginning and in the briefly explained roots of the conflict, the two-state solution means two separate states for Israelis and Palestinians.

Why it hasn’t worked out?

There are four main reasons why the two-state solution has not materialized by now:

[1] Borders

  • There is no consensus as to how to draw the lines dividing the two proposed states.
  • Many people say borders should have pre-1967 lines.
  • In 1967 Israeli-Arab war, Israel captured Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and Golan Heights.
  • Israel is not willing to give up these gains. It returned Sinai to Egypt in 1982.
  • Moreover, there is the question of Israeli settlements in West Bank.

[2] Question of Jerusalem

  • Both Israel and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital and call it central to their religion and culture.
  • The two-state solution typically calls for dividing it into an Israeli West and a Palestinian East, but it is not easy to draw the line — Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites are on top of one another.
  • Israel has declared Jerusalem its ‘undivided capital’, effectively annexing its eastern half, and has built up construction that entrenches Israeli control of the city.

[3] Refugees

  • A large number of Palestinians had to flee in the 1948 War.
  • They and their descendants —numbering at 5 million— demand a right to return. Israel rejects this.
  • The return of these people would end the demographic majority of Jews, ending the idea of Israel that’s both democratic and Jewish.

[4] Security

  • Security concerns are also central to Israel as it’s constantly harassed by terrorist group Hamas that controls Gaza Strip.
  • Hamas and other Islamist group in Gaza launch rockets into Israel time-to-time.
  • Moreover, there are also concerns of Palestinians’ attack inside Israel.
  • This year in March-April, at least 18 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks inside Israel.
  • A total of 27 Palestinians were also killed in the period, including those who carried out attacks inside Israel. Palestinians too have their concerns.
  • For Palestinians, security means an end to foreign military occupation.

Why the two-state solution is needed?

  • Besides fulfilling the basic desire of both Jews and Arabs of their own states, supporters of two-state solutions say it must be backed because its alternatives are simply not workable.
  • A single state merging Israel, West Bank, and Gaza would reduce Jews to a minority.
  • At the same time, in such a state, Jews would be a significant minority which would mean that the Arab majority would be miffed.

Moral reasoning for a two-state solution

  • It says that the aspirations of one person should not be overridden for others’ aspirations.
  • It’s a struggle for collective rights between two distinct groups of people.
  • Jews are the global micro-minority with a very small piece of land to exist.
  • Depriving Israeli Jews of a Jewish state or Palestinians of a Palestinian state would represent a subordination of one group’s aspirations to someone else’s vision.

Way forward

  • India opines that long-term peace in Israel and Palestine can be achieved only through a negotiated two-State solution leading.
  • This can be done with the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders.

 

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Middle East

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NAM

Mains level: Read the attached story

India and Egypt reiterated their support for the Non-Aligned Movement.

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

  • NAM is a forum of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
  • After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
  • Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the NAM was established in 1961 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, and Yugoslavia.
  • It was an initiative of then PM Jawaharlal Nehru, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, Indonesian President Sukarno, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.
  • The countries of the NAM represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations’ members and contain 55% of the world population.

Reasons behind NAM creation

  • Balancing the US and USSR: Non-alignment, a policy fashioned for the Cold War, aimed to retain the autonomy of policy (not equidistance) between two politico-military blocs i.e. the US and the Soviet Union.
  • Platform beyond UN: The NAM provided a platform for newly independent developing nations to join together to protect this autonomy.

Relevance TODAY

  • Changing with emerging scenarios: Since the end of the Cold War, the NAM has been forced to redefine itself and reinvent its purpose in the current world system.
  • Focus towards development: It has focused on developing multilateral ties and connections as well as unity among the developing nations of the world, especially those within the Global South.

Fading significance of the NAM

  • Loosing relevance: The policy of non-alignment lost its relevance after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of unipolar world order under the leadership of the US since 1991.
  • De-colonization was largely complete by then, the apartheid regime in South Africa was being dismantled and the campaign for universal nuclear disarmament was going nowhere.
  • Freed from the shackles of the Cold War, the NAM countries were able to diversify their network of relationships across the erstwhile east-west divide.

India and the NAM

  • Important role played by India: India played an important role in the multilateral movements of colonies and newly independent countries that wanted into the NAM.
  • India as a leader: Country´s place in national diplomacy, its significant size and its economic miracle turned India into one of the leaders of the NAM and upholder of the Third World solidarity.
  • The principle of ‘acting and making its own choices’ also reflected India’s goal to remain independent in foreign policy choices, although posing dilemmas and challenges between national interests on international arena and poverty alleviation.
  • Preserving the state’s security required alternative measures: Namely, the economic situation with the aim to raise the population’s living standards challenged the country’s defense capacity and vice versa.
  • Fewer choices: Wars with China and Pakistan had led India to an economically difficult situation and brought along food crisis in the mid-1960s, which made the country dependent on US food.

What dictates India’s alignment now?

  • National security: China’s rise and assertiveness as a regional and global power and the simultaneous rise of middle powers in the region mean that this balancing act is increasing in both complexity and importance, simultaneously.
  • Global decision-making: Another distinctive feature of India’s foreign policy has been the aim to adjust international institutions consistent with changes in international system.
  • Prosperity and influence: India’s 21st century’s strategic partnerships aims for India becoming the voice of global South.
  • Multi-polarism: Another means to execute India’s foreign policy strategy of autonomy has been forming extensive partnerships with other emerging powers.

Why NAM still matters?

  • Global perception of India: India’s image abroad has suffered as a result of allegations that creep into our secular polity and a need arises to actively network and break out of isolation.
  • For the Impulsive US: For India complete dependence on the U.S. to counter China would be an error.
  • Ukrainian invasion has revitalized Cold War: Critics of NAM who term it as an outcome of the Cold War must also acknowledge that a new Cold War is beginning to unfold, this time between the US and China.
  • NAM provides a much bigger platform:NAM becomes relevant to mobilize international public opinion against terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), nuclear proliferation, ecological imbalance, safeguarding interests of developing countries in WTO etc.
  • NAM as a tool for autonomy:NAM’s total strength comprises 120 developing countries and most of them are members of the UN General Assembly. Thus, NAM members act as an important group in support of India’s candidature as a permanent member in UNSC.
  • NAM for multilateralism:Though globalization is facing an existential crisis, it is not possible to return to isolation. In the world of complex interdependence, countries are linked to each other one way or another.
  • NAM as a source for soft power:India can use its historic ties to bring together the NAM countries. India’s strength lies in soft power rather than hard power.

Way forward

  • Strategic autonomy: India is showing signs of pursuing strategic autonomy separately from non-alignment.
  • Bilateralism: Indo-US ties are complementary, and a formal alliance will only help realize the full potential of these relations.
  • Non-alliance: India interacts with other states in expectations to change the international system, but without expectations to ‘ally or oppose.’
  • Deep engagement: India needs deeper engagement with its friends and partners if it is to develop leverage in its dealings with its adversaries and competitors.

Conclusion

  • A wide and diverse range of strategic partners, including the U.S. as a major partner is the only viable diplomatic way forward in the current emerging multipolar world order.

 

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World Economic Forum (WEF) Summit at Davos

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: World Economic Forum

Mains level: Not Much

davos

The World Economic Forum has begun its annual summit in Davos, Switzerland,

World Economic Forum (WEF)

  • Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WEF is an international not-for-profit organization, focused on bringing the public and private sectors together to address the global political, social, and economic issues.
  • It was founded in 1971 by Swiss-German economist and Professor Klaus Schwab in a bid to promote the global cooperation on these most pressing problems.
  • The first meeting of WEF was held more than five decades ago in Davos, which has been the home of the annual gathering almost ever since, also becoming the shorthand for the event.

Tap to read more about important reports published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

WEF partners

  • The WEF is largely funded by its partnering corporations.
  • These are generally global enterprises with an annual turnover greater than $ 5 billion.
  • For these corporations, the WEF provides a platform “to shape the future, accessing networks and experts to ensure strategic decision-making on the most pressing world issues.”
  • Partners range from Apollo Tyres to Apple – they can be from any industry, as long as they wish to engage using WEF’s platforms.
  • WEF also partners with public subsidies.

Why are the summits held at Davos?

  • Sometimes described as Europe’s highest town, Davos has been the venue for the WEF’s annual meeting every year since its inception – with one exception.
  • Davos, a ski resort, and the annual host of WEF’s meeting is a quaint town located on the lap of the Swiss Alps.
  • In many ways, it is a surprising choice for a meeting of global economic giants and geopolitical leaders.
  • The meeting was held in New York in 2002 in a gesture of solidarity following the 9/11 attacks.

Who are the attendees and what actually happens in Davos?

  • Typically, Davos attracts global business executives and policymakers – and it’s strictly invite-only.
  • Usually attending will be the sitting U.S. president, top EU and UN leaders, business leaders and entrepreneurs, academics, heads of NGOs and charities, the media, activists and even some celebrities.
  • Donald Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der Leyen, Greta Thunberg, Elton John and many other high-profile names have all previously attended Davos.
  • The conference includes hundreds of discussions, keynote speeches and panels, and all-important networking sessions, usually behind closed doors in five-star hotels.
  • CEOs and investors seize the opportunity for face-to-face deal-makings.

Davos 2023: What’s on this year’s agenda?

  • This year’s annual meeting in Davos will take place January 16–20, 2023.
  • The theme is “cooperation in a fragmented world” and within that are five sub-themes, including the energy and food crises, inflation, technology for innovation, social vulnerabilities and geopolitical risks.

 

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Telecom and Postal Sector – Spectrum Allocation, Call Drops, Predatory Pricing, etc

India takes over leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: APPU

Mains level: Not Much

postal

India took over the leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) having its Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.

About Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU)

  • APPU is an intergovernmental organization of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific region.
  • It was formed by International treaty through an Asian-Pacific Postal Convention signed in Yogyakarta on 27 March 1981.
  • The organisation has origins dating back to 1961.
  • APPU is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
  • Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.

Goals and objectives

  • The goal of APPU is to extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between member countries and to promote cooperation in the field of postal services.
  • As the regional center for various UPU projects, APPU also takes the lead in ensuring that all technical and operational projects of the UPU are fulfilled in the region.

Significance of India’s chair

  • The Asia Pacific region accounts for around one-third of the world’s postal workforce and about half of the world’s mail volume.
  • India seeks to improve the regional coordination with postal players in the Asia Pacific region to improve the growth of the business through the postal network, to ensure the sustainability of the Union.
  • This is the first time an Indian is leading an international organization in the postal sector.

 

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Tax Reforms

Global Minimum Tax on big businesses

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Global Minimum Tax

Mains level: Not Much

tax

Members of the EU last week agreed in principle to implement a global minimum tax of 15% on big businesses.

Global Minimum Corporate Tax

  • Major economies are aiming to discourage multinational companies from shifting profits – and tax revenues – to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made.
  • Increasingly, income from intangible sources such as drug patents, software, and royalties on intellectual property has migrated to these jurisdictions.
  • This has allowed companies to avoid paying higher taxes in their traditional home countries.

What is the recent EU agreement?

  • EU members have agreed to implement a minimum tax rate of 15% on big businesses in accordance with Pillar 2 of the global tax agreement framed by the OECD last year.
  • Under the OECD’s plan, governments will be equipped to impose additional taxes in case companies are found to be paying taxes that are considered too low.
  • This is to ensure that big businesses with global operations do not benefit by domiciling themselves in tax havens in order to save on taxes.

Need for a global minimum tax

  • Corporate tax rates across the world have been dropping over the last few decades as a result of competition between governments to spur economic growth through greater private investments.
  • Large multinational companies have traditionally paid taxes in their home countries even though they did most of their business in foreign countries.
  • The OECD plan tries to give more taxing rights to the governments of countries where large businesses conduct a substantial amount of their business.
  • As a result, large US tech companies may have to pay more taxes to the governments of developing countries.

History of such taxes

  • Global corporate tax rates have fallen from over 40% in the 1980s to under 25% in 2020.
  • The global tax competition was kick-started by former US President Ronald Reagan and former British PM Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
  • The OECD’s tax plan tries to put an end to this “race to the bottom” which has made it harder for governments to shore up the revenues required to fund their rising spending budgets.
  • The minimum tax proposal is particularly relevant at a time when the fiscal state of governments across the world has deteriorated as seen in the worsening of public debt metrics.

Response to the EU move

  • Some governments, particularly those of traditional tax havens, are likely to disagree and stall the implementation of the OECD’s tax plan.
  • High tax jurisdictions like the EU are more likely to fully adopt the minimum tax plan as it saves them from having to compete against low tax jurisdictions.
  • Low tax jurisdictions, on the other hand, are likely to resist the OECD’s plan unless they are compensated sufficiently in other ways.

Way forward

  • Supporters of the OECD’s tax plan believe that it will end the global “race to the bottom” and help governments collect the revenues required for social spending.
  • The plan will also help counter rising global inequality by making it tougher for large businesses to pay low taxes by availing the services of tax havens.
  • Critics of the OECD’s proposal, however, see the global minimum tax as a threat.
  • They argue that without tax competition between governments, the world would be taxed a lot more than it is today, thus adversely affecting global economic growth.
  • In other words, these critics believe that it is the threat of tax competition that keeps a check on governments that would otherwise tax their citizens heavily to fund profligate spending programs.

 

 

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Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

Singapore Declaration of ILO

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Singapore Declaration

Mains level: Labour reform

CONTEXT: The 17th Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) set ten-point priorities of national action under the Singapore Declaration.

Singapore Declaration

  • It seeks to draw attention for the member countries to deal with the issue of dwindling wages of workers, inflation and unemployment.
  • It was adopted by the delegates representing governments, employers and workers’ governments, employers and workers in the regions.
  • Members agreed that social dialogue is essential to address labour market challenges and finding solutions in crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and economic uncertainty.

Key point priorities

  1. Ensure labour protection for all through the promotion of freedom of association
  2. Recognition of the right to collective bargaining, including for workers in vulnerable situations and workers in the informal economy, as enabling rights for decent work
  3. Closing gender gaps, increase women’s labour force participation, promote equal pay for work of equal value, balance work and responsibilities, and promoting women’s leadership.
  4. Develop and implement inclusive labour market programmes and policies that support life transitions and demographic shifts.
  5. Pursue collective and determined efforts to promote and accelerate a smooth and sustained transition from the informal to formal economy
  6. Strengthen governance frameworks and respect for freedom of association for migrant workers
  7. Strengthen the foundation for social and employment protection and resilience
  8. Expanding social protection to all workers, guaranteeing universal access to comprehensive, adequate and sustainable social protection for all

 

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G20 : Economic Cooperation ahead

The ‘Global South’ Narrative

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Global South

Mains level: Global South Narrative

south

As India assumed the presidency of the G20 group of countries for 2022 to 2023, EAM S Jaishankar said on December 1 that India would be the voice of the Global South that is otherwise under-represented in such forums.

What is ‘Global South’?

  • The term has since been used multiple times, such as when Jaishankar said of ongoing global conflicts, “polarisation may occur elsewhere, the people who suffer most are the Global South”.
  • ‘Global North’ refers loosely to countries like the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand, while ‘Global South’ includes countries in Asia, Africa and South America.

Behind the binary difference: ‘Global North’ and the ‘Global South’

  • For a long time in the study of international political systems, the method of categorising countries into broad categories for easier analysis has existed.
  • The concepts of ‘East’ and ‘West’ is one example of this, with the Western countries generally signifying greater levels of economic development and prosperity among their people.
  • Eastern countries were considered as being in the process of that transition.

What are other such categorizations?

  • Another similar categorisation is of First World, Second World and Third World countries.
  • It referred to countries associated with the Cold war-era alliances of the US, the USSR, and non-aligned countries, respectively.
  • The idea of the “third” world underlined that it was not only different from the “first” — the capitalist West — but also and the second — the socialist “East”.

Concept behind: World Systems Approach

  • At the centre of these concepts is the World Systems approach introduced by sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein in 1974, emphasising an interconnected perspective of looking at world politics.
  • He said there are three major zones of production: core, peripheral and semi-peripheral.
  • The core zones reap profits, being the owners of cutting-edge technologies – countries like the US or Japan.
  • Peripheral zones, on the other hand, engage in less sophisticated production that is more labour-intensive.
  • In the middle are countries like India and Brazil.

Need for new terms

(1) Global shift of powers

  • In the post-Cold War world, the First World/Third World classification was no longer feasible.
  • This is because when the Communist USSR disintegrated in 1991, most countries had no choice but to ally at some level with the capitalist US – the only remaining global superpower.

(2) Monolithic classification

  • The East/West binary was seen as often perpetuating stereotypical thinking about African and Asian countries.
  • Categorising incredibly diverse countries into a monolith was felt to be too simplistic.
  • Also, the idea that some countries were ‘developed’ while others were not was thought to be too wide a classification, inadequate for accurately discussing concerns.

(3) Issues with Developed vs. Developing

  • Writing in 2014 from the perspective of his organisation’s philanthropic activities, Bill Gates said of the ‘developing’ tag.
  • It found an irony that- any category that lumps China and the Democratic Republic of Congo together confuses more than it clarifies.
  • Some so-called developing countries have come so far that it’s fair to say they have developed.
  • A handful of failed states are hardly developing at all. Most countries are somewhere in the middle.

Emergence of Global South

  • Colonial past: A big commonality between the South countries is that most have a history of colonization, largely at the hands of European powers.
  • No say since de-colonization: Region’s historical exclusion from prominent international organizations – such as from the permanent membership of the UN is intriguing.
  • Consciousness for decision-making: As bodies like the UN and the IMF are involved in major decision-making that affect the world in terms of politics, economy and society, the exclusion is seen by these countries as contributing to their slower growth.
  • Economic emergence: China and India have emerged economically sound in the past two decades.
  • Declining US hegemony: Many consider the world to now be multipolar rather than one where the US alone dominates international affairs.
  • Climate reparations: In the ongoing debate adds Northern countries paying for funding green energy, having historically contributed to higher carbon emissions.

Criticism of the classification

  • Only few players: South simply aims to replace the North and the positions it occupies, again continuing a cycle in which a few countries accumulate crucial resources.
  • More of a India vs. China competition: Much controversy currently surrounds the question of whether elites of the global South and ‘rising powers’ genuinely have the intention to challenge the dominant structures of global capitalist development”.
  • Anti-china motive: China’s tentative “going out” strategy at the turn of the century eventually morphed into the expansive Belt and Road Initiative.

Where does India stand?

  • No further diplomatic groupism: EAM S Jaishankar India’s objective is not to rebuild a global trade union against the North.
  • Bridging the divide: India is eager to become a bridge between the North and the South by focusing on practical outcomes rather than returning to old ideological battles.

Challenges

  • Political consistency: In the past, India’s ideological enthusiasm for the Global South was not matched by material power and political will.
  • Bridging the neighbours: India must also come to terms with the fact that the Global South is not a coherent group and does not have a single shared agenda.
  • Despaired south: There is much differentiation within the South today in terms of wealth and power, needs and capabilities.
  • Defiance from NAM: India’s Third World strategy (and Non-Aligned Movement) in the Cold War era was undermined by multiple internal and regional conflicts within the Global South.

Way ahead

  • More engagement in neighborhood: Championing the Global South today would demand more active Indian engagement with the messy regional politics within the developing world.
  • Political coherence: If India can translate this ambition into effective policy, there will be no contradiction between the simultaneous pursuit of universal and particular goals.

 

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Nuclear Diplomacy and Disarmament

China reiterates ‘No First Use’ Nuke Policy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: 'No First Use' Policy

Mains level: Nuclear disarmament

China responded to a US report alleging a major build-up in Beijing’s nuclear capabilities. It said, it adheres to its policy of no first use of nuclear weapons.

What is the news?

  • The Pentagon released an annual China security report that warned Beijing would likely have 1,500 nuclear.
  • China currently has 350 nuclear warheads.
  • As of 2022, Russia possesses a total of 5,977 nuclear warheads compared to 5,428 in the US inventory.

What is ‘No First Use’ Doctrine?

  • In nuclear ethics and deterrence theory, NFU is a commitment to never use nuclear weapons first under any circumstances, whether as a pre-emptive attack or first strike, or in response to non-nuclear attack of any kind.

Where do nuclear-armed countries stand on No First Use?

  • China is the only nuclear-armed country to have an unconditional NFU policy.
  • India maintains a policy of NFU with exceptions for a response to chemical or biological attacks.
  • France, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the UK and the US maintain policies that permit the first use of nuclear weapons in a conflict.
  • Israel does not acknowledge the existence of its nuclear arsenal so has no publicly known position.

Why advocate for global NFU commitments now?

  • The world after US bombing of Japan has never faced any crises that could escalate to nuclear conflict.
  • In addition to the precarious situation on the Korean peninsula, we’re running acceptably high risks of nuclear weapons use between-
  1. NATO and Russia: Amid ongoing Ukrainian Invasion
  2. India and Pakistan: Jihadist acquiring nuclear weapons
  3. US and China: Due to provocations over the South China Sea and Taiwan
  • In fact right now the chances that nuclear weapons will be used — intentionally, accidentally, or due to miscalculation — are the highest they’ve been since the worst days of the Cold War.
  • Establishing global NFU would immediately make the world safer by resolving uncertainty about what a nuclear-armed country might do in a crisis.
  • It removes pressure and incentive for any one country to “go nuclear” first in a crisis and thus create a moral obligation on others.

Consequences of nuclear war

  • Any use of a nuclear weapon would invite massive retaliation.
  • Not to mention the horrific aftermath of nuclear war.
  • A 2014 study shows that so-called “limited” nuclear war in South Asia, in which 100 nuclear weapons are used, would have global consequences.
  • Millions of tons of smoke would be sent into the atmosphere, plunging temperatures and damaging the global food supply.
  • Two billion people would be at risk of death by starvation.

What lies ahead?

  • Global No First Use would be an important step toward making nuclear weapons irrelevant to national security.
  • These policies would strip nuclear weapons of value in the eyes of military planners, enable future nuclear disarmament negotiations, and accelerate the dismantling of these weapons.
  • It would also serve as a “confidence-building measure” that establishes greater trust among nuclear-armed countries.
  • It thus makes it easier to work together to reduce nuclear risks and ultimately eliminate all nuclear weapons.

 

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

In news: China Indian Ocean Region Forum

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: China Indian Ocean Region Forum, USAID

Mains level: Read the attached story

china

China’s top development aid agency convened the first “China-Indian Ocean Region Forum” in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming.

What is the China Indian Ocean Region Forum?

  • It is organised by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).
  • It is the latest Chinese initiative focusing on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • It underlines Beijing’s growing strategic interests in a region where its economic footprint has been deepening.

What is it about?

  • The CIDCA is China’s new development aid agency similar to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • It aims to-
  1. Strengthen policy coordination,
  2. Deepen development cooperation,
  3. Increase resilience to shocks and disasters, and
  4. Enhance relevant countries’ capacity to obtain economic benefits through use of marine resources such as fisheries, renewable energy, tourism, and shipping in a sustainable way

Which countries have backed the forum?

  • The organisers have said the forum was attended by high-level representatives and senior officials from 19 countries.
  • But at least two of those countries, Australia and Maldives, subsequently released statements rebutting the claim, emphasising that they did not participate officially.

Why such a move by China?

China’s ambitions in the Indian Ocean have been motivated by three factors-

  • Gaining significance of Indo-Pacific: As the new world order unveils around the Indo-Pacific, Beijing aims to challenge other major powers, such as India, and establish its hegemony.
  • Domestic energy security: Beijing needs the Indian Ocean to ensure its energy security and continue fuelling its growth, which defines its foreign policy and international leverage.
  • Hegemony establishment: Establishing new and alternative institutions with IOR countries helps China display its presence and influence from the China Sea to the Indian Ocean, reflecting its status as a significant power.

How is China perceiving its interests?

  1. Political corruption: Beijing has cultivated close and personal relationships with political elites and parties of IOR countries, usually through corruption, party funding, and by turning a blind eye to their human rights abuses and democratic infirmities.
  2. Fractionalization: Friendship with different political parties in Pakistan; bonhomie with the Rajapaksa clan in Sri Lanka, and close relations with Maldives’ Abdulla Yameen are some examples of this widespread phenomenon.
  3. Elite capture: In addition, China has often used the elite capture tactic to ensure a pro-China policy and bag geo-economically and strategically significant projects. This includes concessions on Pakistan’s Gwadar Port and Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City project.

Where does India stand?

  • India was the lone absentee in the forum ignoring the invitation.
  • China has exposed its intention with the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) countries.
  • New Delhi has viewed China’s recent moves in the region warily, including the recent visit of a Chinese military tracking vessel, the Yuan Wang 5, to Sri Lanka.
  • Moreover, India sees the Indian-Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as an already established platform for the region.

China’s plans for the IOR

  • The forum has underlined China’s stepped-up interest in the IOR, where it is already a major trading partner for most countries and where sea routes lie vital to China’s economic interests.
  • The CIDCA forum is the latest initiative to reflect Beijing’s view that it has a clear stake in the region, and that more such initiatives are likely.

Has China out-powered India in the IOR with this move?

  • The Chinese initiative looks like a kind of delayed response.
  • It can be seen only as a comparison and competitor to India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), as outlined by PM Modi in Mauritius in 2015.
  • The Indian idea is implemented through the nation’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and such other initiatives as ‘‘Project Mausam’ and ‘Integrated Coastal Surveillance System’ (now shared with Maldives).
  • All of them are confined to the Indian Ocean, where India too belongs legitimately, unlike China.

Conclusion

  • In a way, the new initiative reflects China’s unending greed.
  • It also reflects China’s desire and ambition to measure up to the US in reach and outreach, and through them, geo-economics, geopolitical, and geostrategic comparability.

 

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

Russia postpones with US under New START nuclear treaty

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: New Start Treaty, INF Treaty

Mains level: Nuclear disarmament

Russia postponed nuclear weapons talks with the United States under the New START Treaty with neither side giving a reason for the postponement.

New START Treaty

  • The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed.
  • The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps.
  • It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
  • It is one of the key controls on the superpower deployment of nuclear weapons.

Background of US-Russia Nuclear Relations

  • The US formally QUIT the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
  • The agreement obliged the two countries to eliminate all ground-based missiles of ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.

When did nuclear disarmament begin?

  • In 1985, the two countries entered into arms control negotiations on three tracks.
  • The first dealt with strategic weapons with ranges of over 5,500 km, leading to the START agreement in 1991.
  • It limited both sides to 1,600 strategic delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads.
  • A second track dealt with intermediate-range missiles and this led to the INF Treaty in 1987.
  • A third track, Nuclear, and Space Talks was intended to address Soviet concerns regarding the U.S.’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) but this did not yield any outcome.

Success of INF

  • The INF Treaty was hailed as a great disarmament pact even though no nuclear warheads were dismantled.
  • As it is a bilateral agreement, it did not restrict other countries.
  • By 1991, the INF was implemented. USSR destroyed 1,846 and the US destroyed 846 Pershing and cruise missiles. 
  • Associated production facilities were also closed down.
  • INF Treaty was the first pact to include intensive verification measures, including on-site inspections.

How has the nuclear behavior been?

  • With the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the USSR in end-1991, former Soviet allies were joining NATO and becoming EU members.
  • The U.S. was investing in missile defense and conventional global precision strike capabilities to expand its technological lead.
  • In 2001, the U.S. announced its unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).
  • The US also blamed Russia for not complying with the ‘zero-yield’ standard imposed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This may indicate the beginning of a new nuclear arms race.

Implications of the New Start

  • The 2011 New START lapsed in 2021. It may meet the fate of the INF Treaty.
  • The 2018 NPR envisaged the development of new nuclear weapons, including low-yield weapons.
  • China is preparing to operate its test site year-round with its goals for its nuclear force.
  • CTBT requires ratification by U.S., China, and Iran, Israel and Egypt and adherence by India, Pakistan and North Korea. It is unlikely to ever enter into force.

Conclusion

  • A new nuclear arms race could just be the beginning. It may be more complicated because of multiple countries being involved.
  • Technological changes are bringing cyber and space domains into contention. It raises the risks of escalation.

 

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Afghanistan

Moscow Format to Engage with the Talibans

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Moscow Format

Mains level: Restoration and normalization of governance in Taliban

The Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan was recently held in the Russian capital.

What is the Moscow Format?

  • The Moscow format was introduced in 2017 on the basis of the six-party mechanism for consultations between special representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran and India.
  • The present meeting includes a group of 10 nations including India, China, Pakistan, Iran and the Central Asian republics with Taliban officials.
  • Russia had previously convened a new meeting of the ‘Extended Troika’ on Afghanistan which included Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan.
  • The US pulled out of the last meeting.
  • Taliban did not participate in the talks but, welcomed the discussion and declared that it will not allow Afghan territory to be used against “stability of the region”.

Key outcomes of the meet

  • The dialogue called for respect for all Afghan ethnic groups and minorities in a bid to create national reconciliation in the war torn country.
  • The Russian hosts, presented a White Book on the civilian losses in Afghanistan due to the actions of the NATO forces during the past two decades.
  • The representatives at the talks also called for “complete unfreezing” of Afghanistan’s assets by Washington.

Urging the Taliban Govt.

  • Prevent poppy cultivation: Participating countries called upon the Taliban setup to “fulfil its commitments to eradicate terrorism and drug trafficking” that continue to emanate from the Afghan territory.
  • Stop atrocities: The return of the Taliban has been followed by a series of attacks on Shia Hazaras and growing atrocities against women and political opponents.
  • Inclusive govt. formation: The participants underscored the importance of forming a “truly inclusive government in Afghanistan, reflecting the interests of all major ethno-political groups of the country.”

 

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G20 : Economic Cooperation ahead

Bali G20 summit

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: G20

Mains level: Significance of G20 summit

g20

Leaders of the G-20 nations gathered at Bali in Indonesia for the 17th summit of the world’s most advanced economies.

Agenda of this summit

  • The motto for this summit is Recover Together, Recover Stronger.
  • The leaders will engage in discussions over three sessions on-
  1. Food and Energy security
  2. Health Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and
  3. Digital Transformation

About G-20

  • Formed in 1999, the G20 is an international forum of the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
  • Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
  • To tackle the problems or address issues that plague the world, the heads of governments of the G20 nations periodically participate in summits.
  • In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
  • The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually between nations divided into regional groupings.

Aims and objectives

  • The Group was formed with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
  • The forum aims to pre-empt the balance of payments problems and turmoil on financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
  • It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization.

Members of G20

  • The members of the G20 consist of 19 individual countries plus the European Union (EU).
  • The 19 member countries of the forum are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
  • The European Union is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank.

Why was the G-20 created?

For emerging nations: It was created as an acceptable medium between the more “elitist” G-7 (then the G-8), and the more unwieldy 38-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

  • Increasing representation: Over the past two decades, the global economic balance has shifted, and the G-20 has been seen as a more representative and egalitarian grouping of global leadership.
  • Reducing groupism within: The G-20 was conceived in a more unified, post-Soviet era, when western economies made the rules, China was just on the rise and Russia was still recovering from its breakup.
  • Economic boost for west: It was particularly useful in steering the global economy after the global financing crisis and banking collapse of 2008.
  • Global-south on focus: Significantly, next year the “Troika” of G-20 will be made up of emerging economies for the first time with India, Indonesia and Brazil — an indicator of the shift in the global economic agenda towards the Global South.

Economic significance of G-20

  • G-20 countries represent 85% of the global GDP.
  • It accounts for 75% of global trade and 66% of the world population.

What makes this G-20 different from others?

  • War mongers at table: For the world, this is the first G-20 since Russia began the war in Ukraine and the west imposed sanctions on Russia.
  • Hosting a stronger China: This is only the second time Chinese President Xi Jinping has travelled abroad since the COVID pandemic, and the first time since he was re-elected at China’s Party Congress last month.
  • Next chair for India: For India, the importance of the summit of the world’s most advanced economies is that it is India’s turn to host the summit next.

Bilateral meets on the sidelines

  • All eyes will also be on the bilateral summits happening by the sidelines — including the Biden-Xi summit at a time when U.S.-China tensions are at a high.
  • While neither Delhi nor Beijing have confirmed a Modi-Xi meeting, any interaction between the two leaders will be the first since the military stand-off at the LAC.
  • PM Modi is expected to meet many of the G-20 leaders and others, and will invite them to next year’s summit in India.
  • Among the leaders who are attending for the first time as heads of their countries are UK PM Rishi Sunak.

 

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-ASEAN

What is the East Asia Summit?

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: East Asia SUmmit

Mains level: India-ASEAN Relations

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed the East Asia Summit on the last day of his visit to Cambodia, as the three-day Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit concluded.

East Asia Summit

  • Simply, the EAS is an ASEAN initiative and refers to the annual Meeting of Heads of States/Governments of these countries, where they are able to discuss common concerns and interests.
  • Beginning in 2005, 16 participating countries comprised EAS, with their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • These members were the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.
  • ASEAN’s 10 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • The United States and the Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in 2011.

Why was it created?

  • Its creation was based on the idea of enhancing cooperation among East Asian countries and those in the neighbouring regions.
  • Six priority areas of cooperation were identified – environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management, and ASEAN Connectivity.

Topics discussed

The following issues have been discussed by the countries

  • Chinese claims over the South China Sea
  • United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),
  • Terrorism
  • Actions of North Korea and
  • Conflict situation in Myanmar

EAS’s links with India

  • This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
  • In a joint statement, ASEAN-India acknowledged the deep civilizational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges between Southeast Asia and India.
  • All these have grown stronger over the last 30 years, providing a strong foundation for ASEAN-India relations.

New developments

  • India has announced an additional contribution of USD 5 million to the ASEAN-India science and technology fund.
  • It would enhance cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy and smart agriculture.

 

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Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) launched at COP27

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: MAC

Mains level: Mangrove conservation efforts

mangroves

At the 27th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP27), this year’s UN climate summit, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) was launched with India as a partner.

Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)

  • An initiative led by the UAE and Indonesia, the MAC includes India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain.
  • It seeks to educate and spread awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.
  • Under MAC, UAE intends to plant 3 million mangroves in the next two months, in keeping with UAE’s COP26 pledge of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.

Working of MAC

  • MAC would work on a voluntary basis. It means that there are no real checks and balances to hold members accountable.
  • Instead, the parties will decide their own commitments and deadlines regarding planting and restoring mangroves.
  • The members will also share expertise and support each other in researching, managing and protecting coastal areas.

Why protect mangroves?

  • Infrastructure projects — industrial expansion, shifting coastlines, coastal erosion and storms, have resulted in a significant decrease in mangrove habitats.
  • Between 2010 and 2020, around 600 sq km of mangroves were lost of which more than 62% was due to direct human impacts, the Global Mangrove Alliance said in its 2022 report.

Importance of mangroves

mangrove

  • Biodiversity: Mangrove forests — consisting of trees and shrub that live in intertidal water in coastal areas — host diverse marine life.
  • Fishing grounds: They also support a rich food web, with molluscs and algae-filled substrate acting as a breeding ground for small fish, mud crabs and shrimps, thus providing a livelihood to local artisanal fishers.
  • Carbon sinks: Equally importantly, they act as effective carbon stores, holding up to four times the amount of carbon as other forested ecosystems.
  • Cyclone buffers: When Cyclone Amphan struck West Bengal in May, its effects were largely mitigated by the Sundarbans flanking its coasts along the Bay of Bengal.

Threats to Mangroves

  • Anthropogenic activities: They are a major threat to the mangroves. Urbanization, industrialization and the accompanying discharge of industrial effluents, domestic sewage and pesticide residues from agricultural lands threaten these fragile ecosystems.
  • Saltpan and aquaculture: This causes huge damage to the mangroves. Shrimp farming alone destroyed 35,000 hectares of mangroves worldwide.
  • Destruction for farming: 40% of mangroves on the west coast has been converted into farmlands and other settlements in just 3 decades.
  • Sea-level rise: This is another challenge to these mangroves- especially on the Bay of Bengal coast.

Mangroves in India

  • India holds around 3 percent of South Asia’s mangrove population.
  • Besides the Sundarbans in West Bengal, the Andaman region, the Kutch and Jamnagar areas in Gujarat too have substantial mangrove cover.

How can India benefit from MAC?

  • India is home to one of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world — the Sundarbans.
  • It has years of expertise in restoration of mangrove cover that can be used to aid global measures in this direction.
  • The move is in line with India’s goal to increase its carbon sink.

 

Try this PYQ:

Q.Which one of the following is the correct sequence of ecosystems in the order of decreasing productivity?

(a) Oceans, lakes, grasslands, mangroves

(b) Mangroves, oceans, grasslands, lakes

(c) Mangroves, grasslands, lakes, oceans

(d) Oceans, mangroves, lakes, grasslands

 

Post your answers here.

 

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Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA): A new carbon offset scheme by the US

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: ETA

Mains level: Climate finance committments by Developed Countries

eta

The US has unveiled a new carbon offset scheme called Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) for climate finance.

Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA)

  • ETA is carbon offset plan that will allow companies to fund clean energy projects in developing countries and gain carbon credits that they can then use to meet their own climate goals.
  • The plan will be developed by the US along with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation.
  • It would receive inputs from public and private
  • The concept is to put the carbon market to work, deploy capital otherwise undeployable, and speed up the transition from dirty to clean power.

Benefits of ETA

  • It may be good for renewable energy projects for sure and for those coal plants that are very old and unviable and which India wishes to shut down.
  • The scheme comes at a time when there is growing mistrust among developing countries about developed nations failing to deliver on climate finance commitments.

Limitations of ETA

  • The proposed initiative would be insufficient to make up for the lack of funding from rich countries.
  • What developing countries need is predictable finance – not offset markets.
  • The proposed initiative cannot make up for the US’s failure to provide its fair share of climate finance – an estimated $40 billion of the unmet goal of $100 billion a year.

Conclusion

  • ETA appears to be a substitute for deep decarbonization needed within the US and other industrialized countries.
  • For developing countries like India, the first priority would be to meet their own targets and not provide offsets for reductions in developed nations.

 

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G20 : Economic Cooperation ahead

PM unveils G20 logo: Significance of the lotus on it

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: G7, G12, G20

Mains level: India's presidentship of G20

g20

PM unveiled the logo, theme and website of India’s G20 presidency.

What is G20?

  • The G20 was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular.
  • The first G20 Summit took place in 2008 in Washington DC, US.
  • Its aim was to secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
  • Its prominent members are: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the EU.
  • Spain is invited as a permanent guest.

Presidency of G20

  • The presidency of the G20 rotates every year among members.
  • The country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda.
  • During India’s presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil will form the troika.
  • This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies.

How does the G20 work?

  • The G20 has no permanent secretariat.
  • The agenda and work are coordinated by representatives of the G20 countries, known as ‘Sherpas’, who work together with the finance ministers and governors of the central banks.
  • On the advice of the G7 Finance Ministers, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors began holding meetings to discuss the response to the global financial crisis that occurred.
  • Since 1999, an annual meeting of finance ministers has taken place.

Economic significance of G20

  • G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation representing around-
  1. 85 per cent of the global GDP,
  2. 75 per cent of the global trade, and
  3. Two-thirds of the world population

Significance of the G20 logo

  • The logo bears a lotus and the message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
  • The lotus flower symbolises our Puranic heritage, our aastha (belief) and boddhikta (intellectualism).

 

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Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

27th edition of UN-Conference of Parties (UN-COP)

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: COP 27

Mains level: Climate change related negotiations

cop

The port city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt is hosting the 27th edition of the UN-Conference of Parties (UN-COP).

Quick recap

  • Last year, PM Modi, at the 26th edition of the COP in Glasgow, Scotland, committed to India becoming net-zero, or in effect carbon neutral, by 2070 along with Panchamrita
  • Environment Minister will be leading the Indian delegation to COP-27 in Egypt.
  • India is determined to press developed countries into making good their unfulfilled commitment to deliver $100 billion a year of climate finance by 2020 and every year thereafter till 2025.

Conference of Parties (CoP): A Backgrounder

  • The CoP comes under the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC) which was formed in 1994.
  • The UNFCCC was established to work towards “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.”
  • It laid out a list of responsibilities for the member states which included:
  1. Formulating measures to mitigate climate change
  2. Cooperating in preparing for adaptation to the impact of climate change
  3. Promoting education, training and public awareness related to climate change
  • The UNFCCC has 198 parties including India, China and the USA. COP members have been meeting every year since 1995.

COP1 to COP25: Key takeaways

  • COP1: The first conference was held in 1995 in Berlin.
  • COP3: It was held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, the famous Kyoto Protocol (wef 2005) was adopted. It commits the member states to pursue limitation or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • COP8: India hosted the eighth COP in 2002 in New Delhi. It laid out several measures including, ‘strengthening of technology transfer… in all relevant sectors, including energy, transport and R&D,  and the strengthening of institutions for sustainable development.
  • COP21: it is one of the most important that took place in 2015, in Paris, France. Here countries agreed to work together to ‘limit global warming to well below 2, preferably at 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.’

Significance of COP

  • The event will see leaders from more than 190 countries, thousands of negotiators, researchers and citizens coming together to strengthen a global response to the threat of climate change.
  • It is a pivotal movement for the world to come together and accelerate the climate action plan after several discussion.

Key agenda of the COP27

Ans. Loss and Damage Funding

  • The term ‘Loss and Damage’ refers to the economic and non-economic impacts of climate change, including extreme events in countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
  • Rich countries, historically responsible for the climate crisis, have bullied poorer nations to protect polluters from paying up for climate damages.
  • The term was brought up as a demand in 1991 by the island country of Vanuatu, which was representing the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

 

Try this PYQ:

Q.With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. The Agreement was signed by all the member countries of the UN and it will go into effect in 2017.
  2. The Agreement aims to limit the greenhouse gas emissions so that the rise in average global temperature by the end of this century does not exceed 2 degree Centigrade or even 5 degree Centigrade above pre-industrial levels.
  3. Developed countries acknowledged their historical responsibility in global warming and committed to donate dollar 1000 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

 

Post your answers here.

 

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Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

Black Sea Grain Initiative

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Grain Initiaitve, Black Sea

Mains level: Implications of Russia-Ukraine War

black sea

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative as Russia has agreed to resume its participation.

Black Sea Grain Initiative

  • The Initiative eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports.
  • The agreement to create the sea corridor was negotiated by representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the UN and Turkey in July this year.
  • The agreement created procedures to safely export grain from certain ports to attempt to address the 2022 food crisis.
  • It provides a safe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports (particularly for food grains) from three of its key ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi in the Black Sea.

Outcomes of this deal

  • Approximately 9.8 million tonnes of grains have been shipped so far since the deal was brokered.
  • People hoarding the grain in the hope of selling it for a sizable profit owing to the supply crunch were now obligated to sell.
  • The initiative has also been credited for having made a huge difference to the global cost of living crisis.

What would suspension of the deal mean?

  • In a nutshell, the deal’s suspension was expected to re-introduce the price pressures on grain prices, especially that of wheat, with inventory being at historical lows.
  • It could particularly impact countries in the Middle East and Africa such as Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen which have benefitted from the resumption and are particularly dependent on Russian and Ukrainian exports

About Black Sea

black sea

  • The famed water body is bound by Ukraine to the north and northwest, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.
  • It links to the Sea of Marmara through the Bosphorus and then to the Aegean through the Dardanelles.

Significance of Black Sea for Russia

  • Domination of the Black Sea region is a geostrategic imperative for Moscow.
  • Black Sea has traditionally been Russia’s warm water gateway to Europe.
  • For Russia, the Black Sea is both a stepping stone to the Mediterranean.
  • It acts as a strategic buffer between NATO and itself.
  • It showcases the Russian power in the Mediterranean and to secure the economic gateway to key markets in southern Europe.
  • Russia has been making efforts to gain complete control over the Black Sea since the Crimean crisis of 2014.

 

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