1. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: Prime Minister of India recently urged world leaders assembled at the G20 leaders’ summit to make global structures, including the UN Security Council (UNSC), reflective of current realities.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

• About: It is one of the six principal organsof the United Nations (UN).
• Formation: By the UN Charter in 1945.
• Objective: Primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
• Members: 15 (5 permanent + 10 non-permanent members).
• Headquarter: New York, USA.
• UNSC Presidency: Held by each of the 15 members in turn for one month, based on English alphabetical order.

o Eligibility for presidency: Both permanent and non-permanent members are eligible for the UNSC presidency.

o Presidential Powers: In the UNSC, the Council President has a broad range of procedural powers: They can call and preside over meetings, approve the UN body agenda for the month, issue presidential statements, decide the content & theme of debates, etc.

o India as a non-permanent member: 8 times. The latest membership was for the year 2021-22.

UNSC REFORMS: MEANING

• The aim for UNSC reforms encompasses: Reform in categories of membership (permanent, non-permanent)èQuestion of the veto held by the five permanent membersèRegional representationèSize of an enlarged Council and its working methodsèRelationship between UNSC & UNGA etc.

---

2. BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE (BRI) (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni recently outlined Italy's plan to pull out of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit.

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

• Proposed: In 2013 to improve connectivity and cooperation on a transcontinental scale.
• Purpose: Of restoring the ancient Silk Route (land-based infrastructure connection) that connected Asia and Europe.

o 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: Emphasizes maritime routes connecting China with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Europe.

• Involves: Building a big network of roadways, railways, maritime ports, power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and associated infrastructure projects.

Criticism and Concerns:

• Debt Burden: Some countries have expressed concern about potential debt burdens resulting from BRI projects.
• Environmental Impact: Environmental sustainability and social impacts have raised concerns in certain areas.
• Geopolitical Considerations: The initiative has been criticized for potential geopolitical implications and concerns about China's influence in participating countries. Ex: BRI’s project CPEC (China-Pakistan economic corridor) is against India’s territorial sovereignty.

---

3. GLOBAL BIOFUEL ALLIANCE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env & Eco)

Context: The Prime Minister of India along with the leaders of 9 other countries, launched the Global Biofuel Alliance recently, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

Global Biofuel Alliance

• About: It is an initiative by India as the G20 Chair. The Alliance intends to expedite the global uptake of biofuels through facilitating technology advancements, intensifying utilization of sustainable biofuels, shaping robust standard setting and certification through the participation of a wide spectrum of stakeholders.
• Aim: To serve as a catalytic platform, fostering global collaboration for the advancement and widespread adoption of biofuels.
• Function: The alliance will also act as a central repository of knowledge and an expert hub.
• Countries involved: India, Singapore, Bangladesh, Italy, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mauritius and UAE

  Biofuels and Types

  • About: Any hydrocarbon fuel that is produced from an organic matter(living or once living material) in a short period of time (days, weeks, or even months) is considered a biofuel.
  • Examples: Ethanol, biodiesel and biogas.
  • Types: 1st,2nd , 3rd and 4th Generation of biofuel depending upon the their source of origin and production process.
  • Steps taken in India for biofuels: National Biofuel Policy (2018), Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana (2019), GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) scheme,(2018) etc.

---

4. PARIS AGREEMENT (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env & Eco)

Context:  The Delhi Declaration captures the intent of the G20 countries, responsible for 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions, to meet Paris Agreement goals.

• One of the most important aspects of the declaration is that it underlines the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR).

 Paris Agreement

• Successor of: Kyoto Protocol.
• Adoption: 2015, during COP 21 of UNFCCC entered into force in 2016, after receiving ratification or acceptance from at least 55 Parties representing at least 55% of GHGs.
• Objective: To combat climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an aspiration to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• Parties: 195.

Common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)

• About: This principle recognizes that all countries share a common responsibility to address climate change, but their responsibilities should be differentiated based on their historical contributions to emissions and their varying capacities to take action.

---

5. PM VISHWAKARMA SCHEME (Syllabus: GS Paper 2– Government schmes)

Context: The Union government is set to launch the PM Vishwakarma scheme to support artisans and workers soon which was announced by the PM of India in his independence day speech.

PM Vishwakarma scheme

• About: It is a pioneering scheme designed to uplift individuals skilled in traditional craftsmanship, particularly from the OBC community.
• Aim: To strengthen and nurture the Guru-Shishya parampara or family-based practice of traditional skills by artisans and craftspeople working with their hands and tools.

o Improving the quality, as well as the reach of products and services of artisans and craftspeople and to ensure that the Vishwakarmas are integrated with the domestic and global value chains.

• Features: The artisans and craftspeople will be provided recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, Credit Support upto Rs.1 lakh (First Tranche) and Rs.2 lakh (Second Tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5%. 

o The Scheme will further provide Skill Upgradation, Toolkit Incentive, Incentive for Digital Transactions and Marketing Support.

o The scheme will provide support to artisans and craftspeople of rural and urban areas across India. 

o 18 traditional trades will be covered in the first instance under PM Vishwakarma.

---

6. PGII & IMEC (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between countries including India to establish the India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)

• About: The IMEC is being envisioned as a network of transport corridors, including railway lines and sea lanes, that is expected to aid economic growth through integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe.
• Part of: The project is a part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII).
• Countries involved: India, USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE, European Union, Italy, France and Germany

  Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII)

  • About: It is a West-led initiative for funding infrastructure projects across the world, seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
  • Announced: June 2021, during the G7 (or Group of Seven) summit in the UK. In 2022, during the G7 summit in Germany, the PGII was officially launched as a joint initiative to help fund infrastructure projects in developing countries through public and private investments.
  • Aim: To mobilise nearly $600 billion from the G7 by 2027 to invest in critical infrastructure that improves lives and delivers real gains for all of our people.”

---

7. MGNREGS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – ECONOMY)

Context: A deficit in monsoon in recent times has resulted in skewing the employment pattern and agricultural distress and increased employment percentage under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) as per the data available at the Management Information System (MIS). 

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

• Objective: Guaranteed Right to Work: MGNREGS is a demand-driven scheme, that seeks to provide guaranteed 100 days of wage employment per year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Features: Legal right to work, a time-bound guarantee of work and unemployment allowance (within 15 days), Decentralised planning – i.e. Gram Sabha recommends work, demand-driven scheme.
• MGNREGA Act, 2005: It specifies a list of works that can be undertaken to generate employment such as water conservation, land development, construction, agriculture.
• Role of MGNREGA in addressing rural distress: Jobs to unskilled/semi-skilled, Reduction in poverty levels, Women labour force participation, Benefits to agri-sector, Rural Development, Creation of rural assets, Reviving MSME sector.
• MGNREGA: Challenges: Employment provided remains below guaranteed minimum, Non-payment of unemployment allowance, Low wage rate, Corruption and leakages, Poor quality of assets and inefficient monitoring and maintenance, Regional disparity, Too much centralisation weakening local governance, Insufficient budgetary allocation.

---

8. GREENHOUSE GASES (GHGs) (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env & Eco)

Context: Rising sea levels in the Indian Ocean are primarily caused by human-induced warming (GHGs) linked to climate change, a recent study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune has found. It poses an imminent threat to coastal communities, low-lying islands, and marine ecosystems.

Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)

• About: A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits infrared radiation. 

o They absorb infrared energy (heat energy) emitted from the earth’s surface and reradiates it back to the earth’s surface. 

o They contribute to the Greenhouse Effect, which is the resultant heating effect.

• Most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere: Water vapour, Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Ozone, Chlorofluorocarbons, Hydrofluorocarbons.

o Among the greenhouse gases, only water vapour can absorb both incoming (UV) and outgoing (infrared) radiation.

o Oxides of Nitrogen with general formula NOx - NO, NO2 - Nitrogen oxide, Nitrogen dioxide etc. are global cooling gases.

• Other GHGs: Carbon monoxide, fluorinated gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), black carbon (soot), and brown carbon.

o Carbon monoxide (CO) is not considered a direct greenhouse gas, mostly because it does not absorb terrestrial thermal IR energy strongly enough. 

o But CO is able to modulate the production of methane and tropospheric ozone.

• Global Initiative to fight GHGs: Kyoto protocol, Paris Agreement, SDG (2030) etc.

---

9. AFRICAN UNION (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: The African Union (AU) was recently admitted as a new member of the G20 after India floated the idea of including the organisation. The development took place at the recent 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi.

African Union (AU)

• About: The AU is an intergovernmental organisation of the 55 member states located on the continent of Africa.
• Established: In 2002 as the successor of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was formed in 1963.

o Main objective of OAU: To help liberate the colonised countries on the continent. 

• Aim: The AU seeks to build “an Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens”.

o Unlike the OAU, the AU concentrates its energy and resources on achieving greater unity and solidarity between African countries and their people.

o It seeks to accelerate the process of the political and socio-economic integration of the continent.

• Secretariat: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

G20

• Origin: Formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular.
• Aim and objective:  To secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
• Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU.
• Presidency: Rotates every year among members, and the country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda.
• No permanent secretariat: The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term.

---

10. NARCOTIC DRUGS AND SUBSTANCES (NDPS) ACT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Health & Governance)

Context: With the Himachal Pradesh government inching closer to legalise cannabis (hemp) cultivation in the State, growers are upbeat and optimist about getting an economic boost. It is produced in parts of Himachal Pradesh though it is illegal under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

Narcotic Drugs and Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985:

• About: The NDPS Act, 1985 is the principal legislation through which the state regulates the operations of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• Amendment: Initially enacted in 1985, the Act was amended four times in 1988, 2001, 2014 and 2021.
• Application: The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
• Prohibition: It prohibits a person the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
• Penalties: Section 27A of the NDPS Act, 1985, prescribes the punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders.

o Section 27 makes drug consumption a punishable offence that can attract a fine of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment of six months or both. Bail provisions are also quite stringent.

• NDPS Act and Cannabis: The NDPS Act defines cannabis (hemp) as a narcotic drug based on the parts of the plant that come under its purview.

---