20th June, 2024 — State of Global Air Report, KAVACH, Global Gender Gap Index and more

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UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Government Intervention, environmental pollution

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What’s the ongoing story- Air pollution has caused 8.1 million deaths around the world in 2021 with China and India accounting for more than half of the global burden at 2.3 and 2.1 million deaths respectively, according to the recently released State of Global Air Report.

Prerequisites:

— What is the state of air pollution in India?

— What are the causes of air pollution?

— Who releases the State of Global Air (SoGA) report?

Key takeaways:

— As per the report, air pollution is considered to be one of the biggest killers globally, second only to high blood pressure. In fact, it outranks tobacco consumption as a leading cause of death and disability, said the report. Of the total deaths, 700,000 were children under the age of 5 years. “Air pollution poses an enormous — and growing — public health challenge,” the report states.

— India with 2.1 million deaths and China with 2.3 million deaths due to air pollution, account for 55% of the global burden.

— The report states that 489,000 deaths globally were attributable to ozone exposure in 2021 — of these deaths nearly 50% or 237,000 deaths took place in the country.

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— India also reported the highest number of pollution-linked deaths in children under the age of five in 2021 with at least 169,400 deaths attributed to air pollution.

— As per data, there has been a steady increase in the number of deaths attributable to air pollution in India, barring a small dip seen during the pandemic.

For Your Information:

— Short-term exposure to ozone has been linked to exacerbation of asthma and other respiratory symptoms while long term exposure is linked to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease — a condition where the lungs remain inflamed obstructing the airflow.

Points to Ponder:

— What are the impact of air pollution on human health?

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— What initiatives have been taken by the Indian government to control air pollution?

— How does the air pollution impact the economy?

— What is the National Clean Air Programme?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

In the cities of our country, which among the following atmospheric gases are normally considered in calculating the value of Air Quality Index? (UPSC CSE 2016)

1. Carbon dioxide

2. Carbon monoxide

3. Nitrogen dioxide

4. Sulfur dioxide

5. Methane

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2, 3 and 4 only

(c) 1, 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Mains

Describe the key points of the revised Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) recently released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). How are these different from its last update in 2005? What changes in India’s National Clean Air Programme are required to achieve revised standards? (UPSC CSE 2021)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Delhiites lose nearly 12 years of their lives to air pollution, says report

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PM 2.5, Sulphur Dioxide, and more: What are the pollutants in our air, and how they impact health

The Editorial Page

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Society

What’s the ongoing story- Ashwini Deshpande writes: The 2024 edition of the Global Gender Gap Index places India at 129 out of the 146 countries it surveyed. This puts India at the 18th position from the bottom. For comparison, of the 156 countries included in 2021, India was at the 17th position from the bottom. Thus, overall, India’s ranking has remained in the bottom 20 over years.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Global Gender Gap Index?

— What is the significance of gender equality?

— What are the components of the Global Gender Gap index?

Key takeaways:

— Like all indices, the Global Gender Gap Index, first introduced in 2006, is a précis measure. It is a combination of four different sub-indices — economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment — each summarising multiple indicators. The index lies between 0 and 1, with 1 denoting complete parity.

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— Like all indices, it does not include everything that matters for gender equality, but focuses only on a few key measures. It should not be seen as a comprehensive treatise on gender equality, but as a useful pointer or a highlighter of key summary statistics that can be reliably measured and tracked.

— The 2024 report shows that on “Health and Survival Score”, India’s value is at 0.951 which means that 95.1 per cent of the male-female gap has been closed. Similarly, in educational attainment, 96.4 per cent of the gap has been closed.

— India has done well on these indicators but since several other countries have done better, India is at 112th position in the educational ranking and at 142nd position in the health rankings among 146 countries.

— On economic participation, India’s score at 39.8 per cent places it at the 142nd position among 146 countries. While this is an improvement since 2021 (when it was 32.6 per cent), it is very low in absolute terms, and is lower than the 2012 score of 46 per cent.

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— To put this score in perspective, countries with the lowest levels of economic parity are Bangladesh (31.1 per cent), Sudan, (33.7 per cent), Iran (34.3 per cent), Pakistan (36 per cent), India (39.8 per cent), and Morocco (40.6 per cent).

— In political participation, even though India has closed only 25.1 per cent of the gap, its global rank is 65. This reflects the fact that while the rest of the world has made significant forward strides towards gender equality in the economic, educational and health spheres, the global progress on gender equality in political participation remains low.

— We should note that India’s position was at 51 in 2021 with a value of 27.6 per cent, implying that India’s score has worsened over the last two years.

— There is ample research documenting the staggering economic costs of side lining women. An OECD estimate reveals that gender-based discrimination in social institutions could cost up to $12 trillion for the global economy, and that a reduction in gender discrimination can increase the rate of growth of GDP.

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— Internalisation of this understanding would mean that gender equality has to be mainstreamed into economic policy making, rather than viewed as a residual concern to be tackled later, as an afterthought.

Points to Ponder:

— What is the performance of India across various components of the index?

— What are the reasons for gender inequality in India?

— What steps have been taken by the government to reduce gender gap?

(Thought Process: Mention various schemes of the government across social, political and economic sector- reservation of one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao– Mahila-e-Haat, SHGs, and more)

Post Read Question:

Prelims

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Which of the following organisations has released the Global Gender Gap Report?

(a) World Bank

(b) IMF

(c) WEF

(d) UN Women

Mains

What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space? (UPSC CSE 2019)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Explained: The representation of women in the incoming Lok Sabha

The Ideas Page

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story- M Jamshed writes: Safety is a feature of rail operations – it is not an externality. Yet, once again, two trains collided at Rangapani, and one of these, unfortunately, was the passenger-carrying Kanchenjunga Express. Many precious lives were lost and several people were injured, including crew members entrusted with the responsibility of safe operations.

Prerequisites:

— What is KAVACH?

— What are the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and the Rail Safety Fund?

Key takeaways:

— “Collisions are the worst kind of accidents and invariably result in casualties. During the year 2022-23, a total of six collisions took place on the Indian Railways compared with only two during 2021-22.”

— “Indian Railways, which suffered for many decades from a lack of finances for safety-related works including timely repairs, replacement, and maintenance of its assets, has now been provided finances exclusively for safety. This is not only through the creation of special funds known as Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and the Rail Safety Fund but also through capital grants it is permitted to utilise towards these essential requirements.”

— “An unprecedented allocation for capex of over Rs 2.5 lakh crore was made during 2023-24 and again for 2024-25.”

— “A collision is a consequential accident. An important step to address the problem is KAVACH — an anti-collision device being made available in a phased manner. Two sections — Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai — have been identified and sanctioned for this work. A total of 10,000 route km will be covered by KAVACH.”

— “The Railway Board must come up with a plan of action involving the provision of low-cost equipment in locomotives to aid the driving crew, strengthen preventive maintenance of signalling assets, impart intensive training to staff, treat every Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) case as a major accident and deal with it accordingly.”

— “Despite major accidents involving collisions, the IR claims to have one of the best safety records in terms of accidents per million train km, even better than many European systems.”

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— “In 2022, in the rail systems of 35 countries, 1,888 significant rail accidents were recorded, which works out to 0.39 accidents per million train km. Compared to that, IR’s record is 0.03 per million train km in 2022.”

— “With all the outstanding work, the railways can ill-afford to have accidents involving the loss of precious lives. It is time to focus on collisions now without waiting for the KAVACH.”

For Your Information:

— “The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has recently issued two important reports on safety, speed, and punctuality on IR.”

— “The report on speed and punctuality for the years 2019-20 says that between 2014 and 2019, there has been no increase in the average speed of mail and express trains —this has remained at 50 to 51 kmph, contrary to claims of achieving an average speed of 75 kmph under Mission Raftar, which has appeared in some form every five to seven years since 2005. As for freight trains, the average speed actually declined marginally, contrary to the Board’s claims of doubling the speed.”

— “The second CAG report, which is on accidents, is equally sobering. Though there has been some reduction in the number of accidents, it is largely a result of the manning of unmanned railroad crossings. The data shows little improvement with respect to derailments and collisions.”

Points to Ponder:

— What are the primary reasons for railway accidents in India?

— What are the various committees formed to ensure railway safety?

— What are the steps taken by the government to reduce train accidents?

Post Read Question:

Anil Kakodka committee is related to which of the following?

(a) related to the issues of railway safety

(b) deals with the challenges faced by public hospitals during the pandemic

(c) Disinvestment of major projects owned by the government

(d) Improve the global ranking of Indian Universities for higher education

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

To get back on track

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: International relations

What’s the ongoing story- Amitabh Kant and Siddharth Tiwari write: About a decade ago the words “Global South” evoked images of countries with low growth, financial instability, and weak governance. Having learned from crises, these countries have now emerged as a bridge to the future for the global economy.

Prerequisites:

— What is Global South?

— What is Digital Public Architecture (DPI)?

— What is the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?

Key takeaways:

— “What is striking about these forecasts is that for the next two to three decades, nearly three-fourths of the global growth will come from middle- and low-income countries, with Asia leading the way… It is in the interest of the Global North to support the growth potential of the Global South. But the present international financial architecture is ill-suited for this purpose. That must change.”

— There are several areas to tackle, including the role of multilateral institutions and redressing their governance framework, addressing three specific areas — climate financing, liquidity provisions for the Global South, and global architecture for the development of digital public architecture (DPI) — can produce lasting wins.

— “With the surge in technological innovations including Artificial Intelligence (AI), the digital transformation of daily lives is now in focus. The pandemic demonstrated the power of DPIs. Countries with effective DPIs could provide emergency fiscal transfers to hundreds of millions… Those that did not have this infrastructure, unfortunately, struggled.”

— “A recent Bretton Woods Committee Report proposes a complementary approach to focus more forcefully on capital markets. Research shows that 1 per cent of publicly listed companies are responsible for 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, could a focus on market based solutions provide significantly more financing (and impact) than the focus on public resources?”

— “Such a solution would entail three elements: One, mandatory disclosure requirements applied globally for publicly listed companies and large state-owned enterprises. Two, a digital public infrastructure that translates data disclosed by companies into machine-readable data. And, three new rating agencies that will rate corporates on the sustainability front.”

— Several international panels, including the G20 Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Architecture and the recent UN Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Panel have noted that the global financial system is not providing financing at scale and in time to emerging markets.

For Your Information:

— In the simplest sense, Global South refers to the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. Most of these countries, where 88 per cent of the world population lives, experienced colonial rule and historically lagged in achieving substantial levels of industrialisation.

— The developed countries of North America and Europe, on the other hand, are often referred to as the Global North. These countries have a history of pursuing imperial policies.

Points to Ponder:

— What are the criticisms of the IMF?

—What are the reforms suggested for IMF?

— How can the IMF temporarily expand its balance sheet to meet the large liquidity needs of its members?

— What is the significance of DPI for a nation like India?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

“Gold Tranche” (Reserve Tranche) refers to

(a) a loan system of the World Bank

(b) one of the operations of a Central Bank

(c) a credit system granted by WTO to its members

(d) a credit system granted by IMF to its members

Mains

The rise of the Global South as an economic and political force has brought focus on the changing global order. Comment.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

As voice of Global South, India pushes for change in global order

Explained

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India

Mains Examination: GS-I: Indian Heritage and Culture

What’s the ongoing story- The campus of Nalanda University was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19th June, 2024. Spread across 455 acres, it is located in Rajgir, roughly 100 km from Patna, and merely 12 km away from the ruins of the eponymous ancient Buddhist monastery, considered to be among the greatest centres of learning in all of Antiquity.

Prerequisites:

— Where is Nalanda University located?

— What is the historical significance of the Nalanda University?

— What is the East Asia Summit?

Key takeaways:

— It was then President APJ Abdul Kalam who officially proposed ‘reviving’ Nalanda in 2006. In 2007, the proposal to re-establish Nalanda was endorsed at the East Asia Summit in Mandaue, Philipines. This endorsement was re-iterated in the East Asia Summit of 2009, in Hua Hin, Thailand.

— In total, 17 countries other than India — Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam — have helped set up of the university. Ambassadors of these countries attended Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony.

— In 2013, the masterplan for the campus, proposed by renowned architect B V Doshi’s Vastu Shilpa Consultants, was chosen after an international competion.

— Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, who had been associated with the project since 2007, became the University’s first Chancellor, and then-President Pranab Mukherjee became the first Visitor.

— Water bodies — Kamal Sagar ponds — cover over 100 acres of the campus’s area. Another 100 acres are covered in greenery. The campus boasts a drinking water treatment plant, and a water recycling plant, as well as a yoga centre, a state-of -the-art auditorium, a library, an archival centre, and a fully equipped sports complex.

— Mahavira in Sanskrit/Pali means ‘great monastery’. Nalanda Mahavira was active from the fifth to thirteenth century CE.

— The chronicles of seventh century Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang provide the most detailed description of ancient Nalanda. Hsuan Tsang estimated that at the time of his visit, the monastery housed 10,000 students, 2,000 teachers, and a gargantuan retinue of servants.

For Your Information:

— Located at a mere 12 km from the ruins of Nalanda, the new campus of the University has been taking shape over the last four years in Rajgir — a town that is over a 100 km from Patna.

— The ruins of ancient Nalanda University in Bihar was declared as the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2016.

Points to Ponder:

— What is the cultural significance of the Nalanda University?

— What was the contribution of the Gupta dynasty to Indian art and architecture?

— Who destroyed the Nalanda University?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements about the Nalanda University:

1. According to Huien-tsang, the Mahavihara was founded by Kumar Gupta-I.

2. It is believed that Mahavihara was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji.

Which of the following statements are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

As PM Modi unveils Nalanda University’s new campus, what do we know about it?

Front

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Governance and International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- The Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) was launched as a “key deliverable” of India’s G20 Presidency during the Health Ministers’ meeting in Gujarat on August 19 last year in the run-up to the September 9-10 summit in New Delhi. It became part of the New Delhi declaration and India promised to make a $10-million contribution to it as a seed fund…But India is yet to make its contribution of $10 million.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH)?

— What is Global South?

— What were the commitments made by India at the G20 summit in India?

Key takeaways:

— The GIDH is a World Health Organization (WHO)-managed network of organisations, institutions and government technical agencies engaged in supporting national digital health transformation. In the Delhi Declaration, the G20 leaders welcomed the establishment of the GIDH “within a WHO-managed framework to build a comprehensive digital health ecosystem in compliance with respective data protection regulations”.

— In view of the fact that the entire Global South and the West, including African Union and the Latin American nations, look upon India as the “torchbearer” in digital health, the matter of contributing $10 million to the GIDH was “reconsidered” in the Health Ministry with the approval of the Health Minister, said a source.

— India took over the G20 Presidency from Indonesia. Now, Brazil heads the G20 Presidency. Under Brazil’s G20 Presidency, the GIDH is one of the health sector priorities, the sources said.

For Your Information:

— Achieving one of the three priority areas agreed upon during India’s G20 presidency in 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) in February launched the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) virtually, a platform for sharing knowledge and digital products among countries.

— The initiative will be a network of networks with four main components — country needs tracker, country resource portal (a map of resources available in a country), transformation toolbox that will share quality-assured digital tools, and knowledge exchange.

Points to Ponder:

— What is the significance of creating a platform for sharing knowledge and digital products related to health?

— What are the initiatives taken by India for Digital Health?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements:

1. The Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) has been launched by India in collaboration with the United Nations.

2. This initiative constitutes one of the three priority areas outlined during India’s G20 presidency in 2023.

Which of the following statements is correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

WHO launches digital health platform agreed upon in India’s G20 presidency

Govt & Politics

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity

Mains Examination: GS-II: Government policies and interventions

What’s the ongoing story- In a bid to have more scientific investigations across the country to achieve better conviction rates in criminal cases, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved the National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES).

Prerequisites:

— What is the need for a National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES)?

— What are the new criminal laws?

— What is forensic investigation?

Key takeaways:

— The scheme, with a financial outlay of Rs 2,254.43 crore during the period from 2024-25 to 2028-29, aims to establish campuses of National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) across the country apart from setting up more central forensic science laboratories enhancing existing infrastructure of NFSU, Delhi.

— According to the MHA, with the enactment of the new criminal laws which mandates forensic investigation for offences involving punishment of seven years or more, a significant increase in the workload of forensic science laboratories is expected. Further, there is a significant shortage of trained forensic manpower in the Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) in the country.

For Your Information:

— The new criminal law code makes some crucial changes. The Bills for the first time bring terrorism, corruption and organised crime under the ambit of ordinary criminal law. These aspects were reserved for stringent special legislation since they upend the general protections by reversing the burden of proof on the accused to restrict bail. Other changes, like extending the time limit for police custody from 15 to 90 days, raise concerns about personal liberty and misuse of police powers.

Points to Ponder:

— What was the need for new criminal laws?

— What are the various crucial changes made to the criminal laws?

— What are the concerns related to the criminal laws?

Post Read Question:

What is the significance of revamping the criminal justice system in India? What are the issues & challenges? Suggest the way out of it.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Three new criminal laws kick in from July 1, Delhi’s judges and lawyers gear up for changes

Express View on new criminal law code: Law and liberty

The World

China eyes plan to link railways across Southeast Asia, expand BRI

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- China said it was willing to study a plan to connect Malaysia’s $10-billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to other China-backed railway projects in Laos and Thailand, potentially expanding Beijing’s Belt and Road initiatives across Southeast Asia.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI)?

— Which nations constitute the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)?

— What is the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL)?

Key takeaways:

— Li was speaking during a ground-breaking ceremony at a construction site for the ECLR- a 665-km railway that will link peninsular Malaysia’s east and west coasts by the end of 2026.

— Malaysia’s government said in March it would consider extending the China-backed project to its border with Thailand.

— The two countries also vowed to review visa-free travel arrangements set to expire in the coming months. China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009, and the foreign ministry said total trade was valued at $98.9 billion in 2023.

Points to Ponder:

— What are the issues related to the South China Sea?

— What is the status of the India-Maldives relationship?

— What is the significance of ASEAN for India?

— What are India’s concerns with BRI?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

Southeast Asia has captivated the attention of the global community over space and time as a geostrategically significant region. Which among the following is the most convincing explanation for this global perspective? (UPSC CSE 2011)

(a) It was the hot theatre during the Second World War

(b) Its location between the Asian powers of China and India

(c) It was the arena of superpower confrontation during the Cold War period

(d) Its location between the Pacific and Indian oceans and its preeminent maritime character

Mains

Discuss the political developments in Maldives in the last two years. Should they be of any cause of concern to India? (UPSC CSE 2013)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Development of India-Maldives ties based on mutual interests, reciprocal sensitivity: Jaishankar

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