Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – Environment

Context: On Tuesday (April 23), thousands of negotiators and observers from 175 countries arrived in Ottawa, Canada, to begin talks regarding the very first global treaty to curb plastics pollution.  Scheduled to run till April 29, this is the fourth round of negotiations since 2022, when the UN Environmental Assembly agreed to develop a legally binding treaty on plastics pollution by the end of 2024. The final round will take place in November this year, in South Korea.

Background:-

• Plastic waste is everywhere, from the peak of Mount Everest to the floor of the Pacific Ocean, inside the bodies of animals and birds, and in human blood and breast milk. A global plastics treaty is urgently required to limit plastic’s contribution to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Key Takeaways

• Since the 1950s, plastic production across the world has skyrocketed. It increased from just 2 million tonnes in 1950 to more than 450 million tonnes in 2019. If left unchecked, the production is slated to double by 2050, and triple by 2060.
• As plastic takes anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose, and less than 10% has been recycled till now, nearly 6 billion tonnes now pollute the planet, according to a 2023 study published by The Lancet.
• Much of this plastic waste leaks into the environment, especially into rivers and oceans, where it breaks down into smaller particles (microplastic or nanoplastic). These contain more than 16,000 chemicals which can harm ecosystems and living organisms, including humans.
• Plastic production and disposal are also contributing to climate change. According to a report by the OECD, in 2019, plastics generated 1.8 billion tonnes of GHG emissions — 3.4% of global emissions.Roughly 90% of these emissions come from plastic production, which uses fossil fuels as raw material.

What can the treaty entail?

• Experts believe that the proposed treaty will be the most important environmental accord since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
• While none of the treaty’s details have currently been finalised, experts believe that it can go beyond just putting a cap on plastic production in UN member states. The treaty can theoretically lay out guidelines on how rich nations should help poorer ones meet their plastic reduction target.
• It may also ban “particular types of plastic, plastic products, and chemical additives used in plastics, and set legally binding targets for recycling and recycled content used in consumer goods,” according to a report by the Grist magazine.
• The treaty can mandate the testing of certain chemicals in plastics.
• It can also have some details on just transition for waste pickers and workers in developing countries who depend on the plastic industry for a living.

What are the roadblocks to the treaty?

• Some of the biggest oil and gas-producing countries, as well as fossil fuel and chemical industry groups are trying to narrow the scope of the treaty to focus just on plastic waste and recycling.
• Treaty negotiations, so far, have been deeply polarising. Since the first round of talks in Uruguay in November 2022, oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran have opposed plastic production caps, and are using myriad delay tactics (like arguing over procedural matters) to derail constructive dialogues.
• On the other end, there is a coalition of around 65 nations — known as the “High-Ambition Coalition” — which seeks to tackle plastic production. The coalition, which includes African nations and most of the European Union, also wants to end plastic pollution by 2040, phase out “problematic” single-use plastics, and ban certain chemical additives that could carry health risks.
• The US has not joined the HAC. While it has said it wants to end plastic pollution by 2040, unlike the HAC, it advocates that countries should take voluntary steps to end plastic pollution.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Event

Context: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape criticised U S President Joe Biden for implying that his uncle was eaten by cannibals in New Guinea during World War II.Biden had said that after his uncle’s plane was shot down in New Guinea, “they never found the body because there used to be, there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.”

Background:

• The people of New Guinea have long tried to shed the cannibal label. While there have been documented cases of cannibalism among tribes on the island, the use of the stereotype has as much to do with European ideas on race and civilisation.

Key takeaways :

• The Korowai tribe of New Guinea number between 2,000 and 4,000. Anthropologist Rupert Stasch wrote that “their spectacular treehouses, their limited possession of factory-made commodities such as cotton clothing, and their practice of cannibalism” make them “a perfect fit with Westerners’ stereotypes of ‘primitive’ humanity”.
• Although some anthropologists say the practice has been discontinued, the Korowai gained global notoriety as cannibals. But they themselves do not identify as such.
• “The Korowai have no knowledge of the deadly germs that infest their jungles, and so believe that mysterious deaths must be caused by khakhua, or witches who take on the form of men,” a 2006 Smithsonian Magazine article said. When a member of the tribe dies, his or her male relatives kill the khakhua responsible (the dying person names him). And then they eat him. As a Korawai man told the Smithsonian Magazine: “We don’t eat humans, we only eat khakhua.”
• Cannibalism in New Guinea has also been documented among the Fore (pronounced FOR-ay) people who live in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. This tribe of approximately 20,000 individuals (today) consumed human flesh as part of mortuary rituals till about the 1960s.
• For the Fore, this was an act of love and grief. “If the body was buried it was eaten by worms; if it was placed on a platform it was eaten by maggots; the Fore believed it was much better that the body was eaten by people who loved the deceased than by worms and insects
• The Fore stopped consuming human flesh in the 1960s after it was discovered that it was this practice that was leading to the spread of a deadly disease — kuru (literally “shivering” or “trembling”), later identified as a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy — that was annually killing as many as 200 Fore in the mid-20th century. The incidence of kuru has now declined, and no Fore has succumbed to the illness since 2010.
• In both the above cases, consumption of human flesh was a part of social custom, which helped the tribes make sense of the inexplicable, or process difficult emotions.
• New Guinea’s famous cannibal tribes did not eat just anybody, as Biden’s remarks appeared to imply. They were not “savages” — stereotype that has historically followed cannibals.
• During the last years of the 15th century, millions of indigenous people living in the Caribbean and Mexico were summarily reclassified as cannibals for reasons that had little to do with people-eating. Instead, it paved the way for them to be robbed, beaten, conquered, and slain, all at the whim of their new Spanish masters.
• Biden’s remarks — and Papua New Guinea’s reaction to them — must be seen in this context, where the cannibal stereotype has been used to justify the excesses of European colonialism.

Papua New Guinea

• Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia).
• It encompasses the eastern half of New Guinea, the world’s second largest island (the western half is made up of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua); the Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland, the Admiralty Islands, and several others); Bougainville and Buka (part of the Solomon Islands chain); and small offshore islands and atolls.
• Officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, it shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and it is directly adjacent to Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east.
• Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby.
• The country is the world’s third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Event

Context: The Ministry of Mines is organizing the “Critical Minerals Summit”.

Background:

• This significant event take place from April 29th to April 30th, 2024, at the India Habitat Centre in Lodhi Estate, New Delhi.

About CRITICAL MINERALS SUMMIT

• The Critical Minerals Summit 2024 is set to be a significant event, focusing on the strategic importance of critical minerals.
• It is organized by the Ministry of Mines, in collaboration with the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (Shakti), Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD).
• The summit aims to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation in the field of critical mineral processing.
• The summit will address the importance of domestic production of critical minerals for India’s economic development and clean energy targets.
• Discussions will revolve around eight key minerals: Glauconite, Lithium, Rare Earth Elements, Chromium, Platinum Group, Graphite, Tungsten, and Vanadium.
• Critical minerals are essential for economic development, national security, and are vital for various industrial sectors including technology, defence, energy, and healthcare.
• Technical sessions will cover policy incentives, mineral auction progress, and environmentally sustainable solutions for CRM ecosystem development.

Source: AIR

Syllabus

• Prelims – Environment

Context: The RBI and the Finance Ministry could take inspiration from the developing world, especially the ASEAN region, where a layered green taxonomy as a living document keeps getting updated with sectoral views of possible sustainable trajectories.

Background:

• This taxonomy continually evolves, incorporating sector-specific perspectives on potential sustainable pathways.

Green Taxonomy :

• A green taxonomy serves as a framework for defining environmentally sustainable investments.
• It classifies economic activities and assets based on their environmental impact. Essentially, it helps identify which activities are “green” or environmentally sustainable.

Purpose and Benefits:

• Preventing Greenwashing: Taxonomies play a crucial role in preventing greenwashing—the deceptive practice of conveying false impressions about a company’s environmentally friendly products or practices.
• Informed Investment Decisions: By providing clear criteria, taxonomies assist investors in making informed decisions by identifying genuinely sustainable opportunities.
• Channelling Investments: They guide investments toward sustainable economic activities and assets.

Structural Aspects:

• Environmental Objectives: Most taxonomies include goals related to climate mitigation and adaptation. Some also address other environmental objectives like biodiversity conservation.
• “Do No Significant Harm” Criteria: Activities considered green should not harm other environmental objectives.
• Social Safeguards: Compliance with human rights is often part of taxonomies.

Source: Hindu

Syllabus

• Prelims – Polity

Context: A delegation from India visited Bangladesh for bilateral discussions on renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India’s National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Public Administration.

Background:

• The primary agenda of the visit is to negotiate the renewal of the MoU for the period 2024-2029, focusing on mid-career capacity-building programs for Bangladesh Civil Servants.

National CENTRE FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE (NCGG) :

• The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) is an autonomous institute under the aegis of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India.
• Its mission is to facilitate governance reforms through studies, training, knowledge sharing, and the promotion of innovative ideas.

Purpose and Functions:

• The NCGG focuses on public policy, governance, and reforms.
• It conducts policy-relevant research and prepares case studies.
• The centre curates training courses for civil servants from India and other developing countries.
• It collaborates with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to provide training to civil servants from various nations.
• The NCGG aims to enhance the capacity of civil servants in India and other developing countries.

Source: PIB

Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2 & GS 3

Context: Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Startup Mahakumbh event that India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, boasting over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns.

Background:

• The 182nd report on ‘Ecosystem of Startups to Benefit India’ was tabled by the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce last year. It has provided key insights which are discussed below.

Start-up:

• In India, a start-up is defined as an entity that is headquartered in India, which was opened less than 10 years ago, and has an annual turnover of less than ₹100 crore.
• It is typically characterized by its innovative ideas, products, or services.
• Start-ups often rely on a combination of personal savings, crowdfunding, angel investors, and venture capital to finance their growth.
• They are typically funded through bootstrapping, venture capital, or other means.

Significance/Impact of Start-ups:

• Approximately 47% of the recognised start-ups are from Tier 2 and 3 cities, which provide employment opportunities to the youth.
• Approximately 47% of recognised start-ups in the country have at least one-woman director.
• They promote new ideas and innovations. For instance, Deep Tech Start-ups.
• Fintech start-ups are now reaching out to remote areas, for instance, Paytm, etc.
• Start-ups have attracted multinational corporations to bring in foreign investments.

Issues/Challenges in the Start-up Ecosystem of India:

• Out of the total recognised startups, only 5.18% are in the agriculture sector.
• Only 11% of the patent applications filed by startups have been granted patents.
• The Economic Survey 2022-23 highlighted the flipping trend due to more access to overseas debt, eliminating the risk of angel tax, better IP protection, etc.
• Under Section 80-IAC of the Income Tax Act, 1961, only 1% of recognised start-ups have received the Certificate of Eligibility. This Section allows recognised start-ups a 100% tax exemption for three consecutive profit-making years.
• Absence of adequate and specific testing standards, particularly for startups dealing with hardware products.
• Funding from angel investors and venture capital firms becomes available to startups only after the proof of concept has been provided.

Recommendations of the Committee:

• Encourage the adoption of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, etc., to improve productivity, optimise resource utilisation, and enhance decision-making in agriculture.
• Establishing women entrepreneurs-focused funds to ensure uninterrupted access to capital.
• Relaxation in regulatory/legal framework to enable direct overseas listing of unlisted Indian start-ups and steps to facilitate reverse flipping.
• Amendments to the Income Tax Act of 1961 so that Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) are taxed only at the time of sale of shares and not on notional gains.
• Dynamic testing and certification standards shall be established as per international best practices.
• Filling up the talent gap by encouraging industries to collaborate with educational institutions to create customised courses.
• Encourage partnerships between start-ups and research institutes for collaborative innovation and R&D partnerships.

Source: PRS India

Q1.) With reference to the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), consider the following statements:

1. NCGG is an autonomous institute under the aegis of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.
2. The NCGG focuses on public policy, governance, and reforms.
3. It collaborates with the Ministry of External Affairs to provide training to civil servants from various nations.

How many of the above given statements are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Q2.) With reference to the green taxonomy, consider the following statements:

1. Green taxonomy serves as a framework for defining environmentally sustainable investments.
2. It classifies economic activities and assets based on their environmental impact.
3. Taxonomies play a crucial role in preventing greenwashing.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Q3.)With reference to the Critical Minerals Summit 2024, consider the following statements:

1. The summit aims to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation in the field of critical mineral processing.
2. It is organized by the Ministry of Mines.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  30th April  2024 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st

Q.1) – c

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – c