Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Economy, Topic: Trade and External sector, Issue: WTO MC 13

Context: The 13th Ministerial Conference (MCA 13) of the World Trade Organization announced new rules to streamline the international trade in services.

Highlights:

• Aim: To simplify procedures, make authorization processes more transparent and accessible.
  • promote equal opportunities for service suppliers world wide.
• India is not a party to the agreement.
• Dialogue on Plastic Pollution: To reduce plastics pollution and promote environmentally sustainable trade in plastics.

Fact: India is the fifth-highest generator of plastic waste in the world.

Source: Mint

Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Economy, Topic: Trade and External sector, Issue: Fisheries Subsidies

Context: WTO negotiation session on fisheries subsidies in the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference-13.

Fisheries Subsidies:

• India urged for a moratorium on subsidies for fishing beyond the exclusive economic zone (EEZs).
• Current approaches for addressing “Over Capacity and Over Fishing” (OCOF) are deeply flawed.
• Any agreement on fisheries subsidies should be built on the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR- RC).
• Sovereign rights of members for sustainable management of fisheries within their Exclusive Economic Zones should be protected.

Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies – Geneva Package MC 12 : Prohibited harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing and depletion of fish stocks.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic:  Pollution, Issue: Air Pollution

Context: withdrawal of all measures to control pollution in Delhi-NCR, on the account of improvement in air quality.

Air Quality Index (AQI):

• It is a measure of air quality. The higher the AQI, the worse the air.
• There are six categories of AQI, namely ‘Good’ (0-50), ‘Satisfactory’ (50-100), ‘Moderately polluted’ (100-200), ‘Poor’ (200-300), ‘Very Poor’ (300-400), and ‘Severe’ (400-500).
• The pollutants measured include PM 10, PM 2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb.

Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP:

• It is a set of emergency measures used to prevent deterioration of air quality in the Delhi-NCR region.
• Implemented by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

Prelims Connect : (Institutions in News)

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

• It is a statutory body.
• Established under Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021
• Responsible for forming air pollution reduction strategies for the region and overseeing their implementation.
• Replaced the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA).

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Citizenship, Issue: Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019

Why in News: notifying the rules for implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.

Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019

• amended the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• Objective: To provide Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from three specific neighbouring countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
• It allows migrants from these three countries to apply for Indian citizenship through the naturalisation

Criticisms:

• Violates Article 14 (equality): For discriminating based on religion.
• Difficult to differentiate between illegal migrants and those persecuted.
• Other refugees, that include Tamils from Sri Lanka not covered under the Act.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Science and Technology, Topic: Bio technology, Issue: Genome India Project

Context: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) announced the completion of the ‘10,000 genome’ project.

Genome Sequencing:

• the process of determining the complete order of the chemical building blocks, called bases, that make up an organism’s DNA.
• The bases are Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine.

The Genome India Project:

• Aim: To collect 10,000 genetic samples from citizens across India.
  • to build a reference database of whole genome sequences.
• Led by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Centre For Cellular And Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.
• Benefits:
  • gain deeper insight into India’s population diversity,
  • find genetic predispositions to disease,
  • develop personalised and customisable drugs,
  • improve gene therapy etc.

Human Genome Project:

international research effort to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Legislature,  Issue: Rajya Sabha Elections

Context: Elections to 15 Rajya Sabha seats conducted by Election Commission.

Elections to Rajya Sabha:

• Composition: Maximum strength is fixed at 250.
  • 238 are elected indirectly and 12 are nominated by the president.
• The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution: allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and union territories.
• Term: 6 years as provided in the Representation of the People Act (1951)
  • elections to one-third seats are held every two years.
• Procedure: Elected by the elected MLAs of the State in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
• Open ballot system – an MLA has to show the ballot paper to a nominated agent of that political party.

Can a whip be issued for Rajya Sabha election?

• A whip cannot be issued for voting in the Rajya Sabha elections as the election is not a business of the house.
• However, cross-voting can be interpreted by the speaker as “voluntarily giving up the membership of a party” and disqualification proceedings can be initiated under Xth schedule.

Prelims Connect (Terms in News):

• A whip is a written order that party members be present for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way.
• Proportional representation: an electoral system in which the distribution of seats corresponds closely with the proportion of the total votes cast for each party.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: Global groupings, Issue: G-20

Importance of culture in global co-operation:

• plays a pivotal role in achieving all 17 SDGs.
• It has transformative impact on society.
• the potential to ensure a more equitable, just, and sustainable world for generations to come.

Alignment with India’s foreign policy:

• Reflects India’s rich heritage and commitment to holistic sustainability.
• India leverages its cultural heritage to develop innovative solutions, promoting sustainable choices and embracing a circular economy.
• Embracing culture as a core component of the global development agenda is essential for a brighter, more harmonious future for all nations and peoples.

Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Economy, Topic: Trade and external sector, Issue: India’s trade policy

 Tariff regime of India:

• India steadily reduced tariffs from the early 1990s until 2014.
• Increase in tariff is driven by the call for self-reliance.
• India’s tariffs are now higher than China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, affecting export competitiveness and hurting consumers.

Conclusion:

• A more balanced approach to protectionism.
• Reduction in duties on components to attract manufacturers.
• Alongside tariff reduction, India must pursue trade agreements with countries like the UK and the EU to boost exports and promote manufacturing.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS- III, Subject: Science and technology, Topic: Space Technology, Issue: Gaganyaan-Human space flight mission

 Context: Prime Minister released the name of shortlisted candidate for Gaganyaan Mission

Significance:

• Gaganyaan aligns with Indian Space Policy 2023.
• Emphasizes maintaining India’s edge in human spaceflight and developing sustained presence in space.   

 The way ahead:

• Future missions must justify objectives transparently for public scrutiny.
• Emphasis should be on democratic space exploration over geopolitical aims.
• Space exploration should prioritize scientific and societal value over “space superpower” status.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Economy, Topic: Growth, Development and inclusion, Issue: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey

Context: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey released by Statistics Ministry

• Conducted by NSSO every five years.
• Average monthly per capita consumer expenditure rose more than 30% in cities and more than 40% in rural areas since 2011-12.
• Proportion of monthly spends on food has slipped below 50% in rural homes (to 46.4%), and under 40% in urban homes.

Key concerns:

• The average spending increase in rural and urban areas over the last 11 years falls considerably below inflation and GDP growth rates.
  • Despite significant transfers under welfare schemes,
• Decrease in monthly spend towards food suggest a possible decrease in Consumer inflation.
• The finding of survey becomes more important due to absence of census data.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III, Subject: Science and Technology, Topic: Policy and Mission, Issue: India’s Research & Development (R&D) spending

 Spending on R&D:

• India’s R&D expense has decreased.

Issues:  

• Insufficient and primarily dependent on public funds.
• Private sector is resistant due to.
• Poor capacity to evaluate R&D in India.
• ambiguous regulatory roadmaps.
• lack of clear exit options for investors in sectors, and
• fears of intellectual property rights theft.
• Underutilization of government budget.

Suggestions:

• Increase contributions from the private sector
• Mitigating under-spending and under-utilization of R&D funds.
• Incentives for private investment like tax rebates and clear regulatory roadmaps.
• Bureaucratic capacity to evaluate and monitor science projects.

Conclusion:

Sustainable funding for science is crucial for India’s journey towards sustainable development.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: Global issues, Issue: Issues in Global Order

 Global Order: aimed at upholding sovereign equality and collective security among nations

• Post-World War order initiated with
  • Declaration of the United Nations in 1942
  • endorsement of the Atlantic Charter in 1941.
• International economic order created by: Bretton Woods Conference (1944) through the establishment of
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • World Bank (WB)
  • General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), later succeeded by World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994.

• Key issue with the global order:
• Bias: The WB and IMF governance structures favor the United States and Europe reflecting old power structures.
• UN system, based on international treaties, favors original signatories.
• Efforts to challenge the biased global order–
  • the Non-Aligned Movement and
  • G-77,
  • ad hoc groups like OECD, QUAD
  • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank etc.

The emergence of regional, ad hoc organizations indicates a need for reform in the global order.

Source: The Hindu