PRASHANT MAVANI. Senior Faculty: StudyIQ

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2 . P R O F I L E PRASHANT MAVANI MSc. in Management, University of Surrey (UK) Senior Faculty: StudyIQ Follow/Contact Download PDF notes of this lecture from my FB Page

3 .P o s i t i v e S t a r t

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5 Ẹ d i t o r i a l C o m m e n t s

6 Adapting better to climate change- In addition to vulnerabilities and costs, adaptation projects should also consider issues around equity Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restrict global warming to below 2 C or even below 1.5 C However, a 2010 survey by James Ford and his colleagues of over 1,700 projects concluded that adaptation projects were not helping the most vulnerable communities, and benefits were simply reaching those who had been assisted earlier. When several projects from the global Adaptation Fund, an international fund managed by the United Nations climate secretariat to help developing countries with climate change adaptation projects, were analysed, they too were found not to take into account unequal power structures.

7 - Benjamin Sovocool and his colleagues studied various adaptation projects across the world For their study, they developed a new framework involving four main themes to show that failures in adaptation projects fell under one or more of these categories. 1. The first is enclosure, which is when private agents acquire public assets or expand their authority over them. 2. Exclusion is the second mode of failure, which is associated with some stakeholders getting excluded or marginalised, thus limiting their access to decision-making processes. 3. The third is encroachment, in which the adaptation actions undertaken during the project end up intervening in areas that are rich in biodiversity, thereby interfering with ecosystem services and often resulting in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. 4. The last is entrenchment, where the condition of those who are already disempowered or marginalised in the local social context, such as the poor, women or other minorities, worsens from the intervention.

8 - There are various examples of projects from both developing and advanced industrial countries that fail under these themes. A desalination plant was constructed in Melbourne, Australia, by seizing valuable land from the Bunurong aboriginal community and turning it over to private actors. In Norway, as there was low representation of community organisations and environmental groups during the coastal planning process, their interests were not represented or heard over the well-organised commercial actors in the area. In Alaska, the Army Corps of Engineers and private contractors built a barrier against the sea even though this was against the wishes of the local community. An example of encroachment from Tanzania shows how marine protection areas that were set up to boost the resilience of coral reefs encroached on the lands of traditional fishing communities who then turned to energy-intensive farming which led to higher rates of greenhouse gas emissions. In Burkina Faso, efforts to increase options for livelihood during drought led to distress selling of productive assets that people owned, such as livestock. Disaster relief funds provided to cities first led to crises in rural communities in Kenya. Each of these situations may not fall under separate distinct problems, but may also result in multiple harmful effects. Studying a range of adaptation projects in Bangladesh in another report, these authors found that these projects also suffer from the same types of problems.

9 - Politics and power struggles to control resources need to be acknowledged as being part and parcel of adaptation projects. Sovocool and his colleagues recommend undertaking a thorough analysis of stakeholders interests and power relationships between allies and competitors in adaptation projects, alongside free, prior and informed consent from any potentially affected community. India, a deeply stratified society with entrenched elite networks and growing levels of inequality. Thus, while considering and designing climate change adaptation projects, in addition to vulnerabilities and costs, issues around equity, justice and social hierarchies must be equally considered.

10 Expanding horizons: India s West Asia engagement must focus on strengthening its presence as an economic and security partner- As India seeks to pursue a multi-dimensional engagement with West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi s latest visit to the region has merely underscored its growing salience in the Indian foreign policy matrix. While much focus is often given to India s Act East policy, India s Look West policy too is evolving rapidly. This is Mr. Modi s fifth visit to West Asia in the last three and a half years and sustained high-level engagements have ensured that India s voice is becoming an important one in a region that is witnessing major power rivalries playing out. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called for a potential Indian role in the West Asian peace process.

11 India s West Asia engagement - Trade and economic ties are becoming central to the India-UAE relationship. A landmark pact awarding a consortium of Indian oil companies a 10% stake in offshore oil concession will be the first Indian investment in the UAE s upstream oil sector, transforming a traditional buyer-seller relationship into a long-term investor relationship with stakes in each other s strategic sectors. MoU aimed at institutionalising the collaborative administration of contractual employment of Indian workers. There is also growing convergence between the two countries on tackling terrorism.

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13 India s West Asia engagement - China s expanding footprint in the Indian Ocean Region has alerted India to the possibility of strengthening security ties with littoral states. India is likely to step up its military presence in Oman. Cooperation in the field of health, tourism and peaceful uses of outer space India s engagement with West Asia should now focus on delivering on its commitments and strengthening its presence as an economic and security partner.

14 Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman,-

15 India, Oman agree to isolate sponsors of terror-

16 The jallikattu challenge: Any effort at securing animal welfare will have to be grounded in our own rights as human beings- What must the Supreme Court do when a community s right to cultural freedom comes into conflict with values of animal welfare? A group of cases which the Supreme Court referred on February 2 to a Constitution Bench for final determination. The issue before the Supreme Court arises out of Tamil Nadu s amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA Act) made early last year amidst vociferous protests in the State. Part III of the Constitution, which lists the various fundamental rights, provides to persons different manners of guarantees, including in Article 14 a right to equality, and in Article 21 a right to life.

17 - In 1960 the Union government brought into force the PCA Act, which criminalised several different types of actions resulting in cruelty to animals. 2014, in A. Nagaraja, the Supreme Court found that the practice treated bulls in a way that caused the animal unnecessary pain and suffering, and, therefore, that any attempt by Tamil Nadu to regulate these events could not be afforded any sanctity. Given that the subject of preventing animal cruelty falls in the concurrent list of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, State governments possess an equal authority to determine what actions constitute cruelty to animals within their respective territories.

18 - To unravel this conundrum, the court can do one of two things: 1. It can simply follow its decision in A. Nagaraja, and hold that animals too possess a right to live with dignity, and, therefore, enjoy a right to life under Article Or, it could hold that this right under Article 21 includes within its ambit a larger freedom to live in a society free of animal cruelty. Point 1: it simply doesn t fit with the Constitution s text and structure. Point 2: it does present us with a rationally justifiable answer. It mustn t, in endeavouring to read Article 21 widely, borrow generously from the list of fundamental duties contained in Article 51A.

19 Rethinking trafficking: India should not follow the raid-rescue-rehabilitation model- Last year, India protested against the release of a report, Global estimates of modern slavery: forced labour and forced marriage, a collaborative effort of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Walk Free Foundation, and the International Organisation for Migration. The report estimated that there were 40.3 million modern slaves worldwide in 2016, with 24.9 million in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriages. The Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and member of NITI Aayog, Bibek Debroy, was scathing in his critique.

20 - The report forms the baseline for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 (eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and end child labour by 2025), and since NITI Aayog is the body entrusted with the task of overseeing implementation of the SDGs in the country. India could be more ambitious. It could assert a leadership role in the global fight against exploitation by countering the influence of neoabolitionism, a discourse that perpetuates sensationalist accounts of modern slaves as victims tricked by unscrupulous traffickers and whose only hope is to be rescued by law-enforcing heroes. After all, long before neoabolitionist groups and indeed Western countries set the global policy agenda on trafficking, in the 1970s and 1980s India and Brazil had developed a rich, indigenous jurisprudence on exploitation.

21 - But sadly today, the Indian government is set to introduce the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016, which exemplifies neoabolitionism. There is no clarity on how the Bill relates to the ITPA and to labour laws. As the introduction of the Trafficking Bill in Parliament appears imminent, only a bold, holistic response to what is a socioeconomic problem of labour exploitation can help India realise SDG 8.7. They called instead for a multi-faceted legal and economic strategy; robust implementation of labour laws; a universal social protection floor; self-organisation of workers; improved labour inspection, including in the informal economy; and corporate accountability for decent work conditions. They also reiterated the need for systemic reforms to counter distress migration, end caste-based discrimination, enforce the rural employment guarantee legislation, avoid the indiscriminate rescue of voluntary sex workers, and protect migrants mobility and rights.

22 More nukes?: The implication of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review is worrying- A case to develop low-yield atomic bombs, largely in response to Russia and China s advances over the years, forms the cornerstone of the Pentagon s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), released this month. The new policy emphasis on low-yield weapons lends credence to the view that the renovation and upgrade of U.S. nuclear arsenals is being seen as an excuse to build usable nukes. An instance is the Chinese flight-testing of a hypersonic glide vehicle, which can destroy missiles through sheer impact of energy generated from this ultra-high speed warhead. Russia is designing a long-range submarine-launched nuclear torpedo that could potentially unleash radioactive contamination across vast areas.

23 How can a convict head a party? - CJI says such a lapse is a huge blow to the purity of the election process Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra questioned the logic behind having a criminal and corrupt person to head a political party, and said such a lapse was a huge blow to the purity of the election process. Far worse is the prospect of democracy when such a criminal has the power to choose candidates for elections under his party s banner, observed the CJI, heading a three-judge Bench. Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who filed the petition, reasoned that if a convicted person was banned from elections, he or she should also be debarred from heading a party and controlling its other elected members. The petition had also sought to declare Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, arbitrary, irrational and ultra vires the Constitution, and to authorise the Election Commission to register and de-register parties as suggested by the Goswami Committee on Electoral Reform. The petitioner, however, withdrew this prayer.

24 Russia seeks 125 cr. to carry out repairs on INS Chakra-

25 Industrial activity posts robust growth for second month- Industrial activity saw robust growth for the second consecutive month in December, with the Index of Industrial Production growing 7.07%. The rise follows strong growth in the manufacturing, capital goods, and consumer non-durables sectors, according to official data released on Monday. The Consumer Price Index quickened by 5.07% in that month, boosted by the persistently high inflation in the food and fuel segments, a separate data release on Monday showed.

26 Kingfisher loses court battle in U.K. - Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya lost another legal battle linked to his nowdefunct Kingfisher Airlines after the U.K. High Court awarded Singaporebased BOC Aviation an estimated $90 million in claims. In his order, Justice Picken awarded BOC Aviation the amount overdue along with interest payments and legal costs, which overall amounts to nearly $90 million.

27 Nasheed s claim baseless: China- Denies that Beijing has any plans to grab land in the island nation China has accused the former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed of making false remarks about its ongoing projects in the Indian Ocean country. The verbal duel between Beijing and Mr. Nasheed has intensified since he called upon India to compel President Abdullah Yameen to free political opponents following the Supreme Court s recent verdict.

28 Prayers at a 125-year-old temple in the desert- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he felt extremely blessed after praying at the 125-year-old Siva temple in Muscat, one of the oldest in the region.

29 Open to talks with N. Korea, says Mike Pence- Comments by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence suggest that the United States may be looking more favourably at diplomatic engagement with North Korea as South Korea considers a rare summit with its neighbour. Mr. Pence said in an interview that the U.S. and South Korea had agreed on terms for further diplomatic engagement with North Korea, first with Seoul and then possibly leading to direct talks with Washington. South Korea said it would seek ways to continue engaging North Korea, including trying to arrange more reunions for families divided by the war and lowering military tensions.

30 Industrial policy must create jobs - The proposed new Industrial Policy, while addressing ways to incorporate the use of modern smart technologies for advanced manufacturing in India, should also look at creating more jobs as well as boosting the economic activities of Self-Help Groups (SHG), said Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu. Meeting economists, academicians and industry leaders for inputs regarding the formulation of the new Industrial Policy, the Minister said we need to think about linking the economic activities of the SHGs [to the new policy to give them a boost]. These are grass-root level organisations that are both informal and a bit formal.

31 India records marginal increase in forest cover -

32 Answers- 1. Fa Hein s mission to India was to Learn about the administrative system of Gupta Kings Understand the social position of women during Gupta period Visit the Buddhist institutions and to collect copies of Buddhist manuscripts Get full knowledge about the condition of peasants during the period of Gupta Kings. 2. Which Arab traveller calls the Pala kingdom as Ruhma? Al-Mashar Al-Masudi Sulaiman Al-Beruni

33 Questions- 1. Name and arrange the capitals of these countries from East to West. Palestine Oman Bahrain Qatar Syria Israel Yemen

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