24 Jan 2024

#GS2–#GS4 –01. Two-State Solution for Israel-Palestine

Peace and stability cannot be built only by military means. -EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell EU foreign ministers pressed Israel for an eventual two-state solution with the Palestinians after the war in Gaza, at meetings with the top diplomats from the two sides and key Arab states in Brussels.
– Commentary in News
Key Terms/Issues : Two-state solution

#GS3 — 02. EU’s supply chain reconfiguration

European Union (EU) will take the next step in its effort to recreate itself into a global power that can leverage its massive single market to rebuff coercive actions from the likes of Beijing, Moscow and even Washington.

The covid pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine exposed the EU’s over-reliance on supplies from other nations, as well as trade vulnerabilities with partners that don’t share the bloc’s values.
– Commentary in News

#GS2–#GS4 –03. On Migration

UN’s migration agency is launching its first“global appeal,”seeking $7.9 billion to help people on the move and ensure smoother pathways to migration, at a time when the fallout from climate change, conflict and both economic distress and opportunities has caused millions to leave their homes.
-Guidelines for Registration and Regulation of Coaching Centre 2024

Irregular and forced migration have reached unprecedented levels and the challenges we face are increasingly complex. The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well-managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress.
–IOM’s DG Amy Pope
Key Terms/Issues : International Organization for Migration (IOM)

#GS3 –04. Nano Urea

Iffco, the largest producer of crop nutrients in India, launched nano-urea,claiming that a 500ml bottle is as effective as a 45kg bag of urea. Many farmers have questioned the efficacy of the product and say they are forced to purchase it. In addition,the farmers incur labour costs for spraying. Some soil scientists have termed the product dubious, calling for an extensive review before scaling up production.A recent study reported a significant drop in wheat and rice yields.
–SBI Research Paper
Key Terms/Issues : Nano Urea

#GS4 –05. Leadership and Data Dashboards

‘Dashboards’ put in place to ensure transparency and authenticity not only failed,but were rigged to paint a picture so false that shareholders,analysts, oversight boards and even industry bodies that were supposed to assess these companies objectively, were beguiled. While there are extreme failures like Satyam/Volkswagon, many companies have a huge gap between what they state and what they practise. No wonder the rank and file of such firms have little faith in management declarations.

Focus on short-term gains, which prioritizes immediate profits over long-term sustainability and ethical considerations.This usually results in unethical decisions such as lying about product quality, ignoring checks and balances and the cooking of books.

When leaders insist on ‘no error’ and penalize every failure, employees are tempted to fudge reality. If mistakes are unforgiven,then they will be underplayed or not reported.
–Former National Intelligence Grid CEO Raghu Ram

#GS3 –06. Water Crisis

The notion of a ‘triple planetary’ crisis encompassing climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss has become outdated in the face of complexities captured by the relatively new term ‘polycrisis.’ This modern challenge involves the intertwining of climate change, environmental disruptions, widening social inequalities, pandemic effects and geopolitical polarization.

At the recently concluded CoP-28 summit held in Dubai under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries agreed on the need to “drive water up the climate agenda,” focusing on freshwater eco- systems, urban water resilience and water-resilient food systems. Highlighting the gravity of the situation, data from the World Bank underscores the fact that water scarcity could depress growth in gross domestic product (GDP) by 6-14% across significant regions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

This shows the link between climate solutions, development initiatives and water-related challenges. For India, integrating water solutions with its climate and development strategies is of paramount importance in navigating the multifaceted challenges posed by the current polycrisis. India constitutes 18% of the world’s population but has access to only 4% of its water resources. This in itself points to an imbalanced demand-supply structure, which has only grown weaker. In the 1960s, the country’s bountiful groundwater resources were critical in driving the ‘green revolution,’ making it a self-reliant food producer.