What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is G-20? 
• What is the Significance of G20?
• India’s G20 Presidency and India’s aim of global leadership
• How is the G20 structured?

Why in news?

• The 18th annual G20 Heads of State and Government Summit is less than a week away.
• It will take place at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.

G-20

• 
• G-20, started as a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 individual countries and European Union. It was established in 1999.
• G20 was elevated to a forum of Heads of State/Government in 2008 to effectively respond to the global financial crisis of 2008.
• G-20 is a forum, not a legislative body. Its agreements and decisions have no legal impact, but they do influence countries' policies and global cooperation.

Significance of G20

• Carries significant weight
  • G20 members represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.
  • G20 members contribute 79% of the world carbon emissions and hence this platform assumes significance in shaping the discussion on climate change.
• Promotes Multilateralism
  • Since 2011, the G20 summit has been held annually, under a rotating presidency.
  • The practice of rotating the chair gives all the members a chance to shape the global agenda.
• A number of overarching themes
  • Initially, the G20 focused on broad macroeconomic policy, but has since expanded its ambit to include trade, sustainable development, energy, environment, climate change, anti-corruption etc.
    • E.g., 2021 summit decided to stop funding coal-fired power plants in poor countries by the end of 2021.
    • It also committed to seek carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century”.
    • 2021 summit endorsed the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy.
• United Fight against COVID-19 Pandemic
  • In March 2020, G20 leaders pledged to inject $5 trillion into the global economy to reduce the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • In addition to this, they also agreed to contribute to WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on voluntary basis.

India’s G20 Presidency and India’s aim of global leadership

• The theme India selected for its G20 presidency is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The world is one family).
• India's G20 leadership has sought to make the Global South the Centre point of global conversations.
• During its year-long presidency, New Delhi, through different initiatives, has made an intense effort to showcase India's claim to global leadership.
• A visible dimension of this exercise is reflected in its participatory nature.
  • While inaugurating the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Diyas Convention in Indore in January 2023, PM Modi noted that India has to make the G20 not just a diplomatic event but a historical event of the people's participation.
  • India has envisaged janbhagidari (people's participation) in the G20 through various civic engagements and its hosting of more than 200 meetings, ranging across 50 cities and 32 working streams.
• Another significant aspect of this participatory diplomacy is the prioritisation of provinces and regions and the showcasing of cultures that weren't given due attention earlier.
• As a nation that wants to be a 'leading player' in the global order, India is keen to address the world's pressing issues through its leadership, including climate change, food security, health care, and technology.
• As part of this, New Delhi has highlighted issues that matter for emerging economies: digital public infrastructure, entrepreneurship and innovation, climate justice, and affordable access to health care.

Structuring of G20

• The G20 works in three major tracks — two of them are official and one is unofficial.
• The official tracks are the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. The unofficial track includes engagement groups or civil society groups.
• Finance Track
  • The Finance Track is headed by the finance ministers and central bank governors, who usually meet four times a year.
    • Two meetings are usually held on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings.
  • It mainly focuses on fiscal and monetary policy issues such as the global economy, infrastructure, financial regulation, financial inclusion, international financial architecture, and international taxation.
  • Today, it has eight working groups.
• Sherpa Track
  • The Sherpa Track was established after the forum became a leaders’ summit in 2008.
  • It consists of representatives of heads of state.
    • Each representative is known as a Sherpa — it is the metaphor from the mountaineering domain, where the Sherpa is supposed to do the heavy lifting or assist the mountaineer.
  • It focuses on socio-economic issues such as agriculture, anti-corruption, climate, digital economy, education, employment, energy, environment, health, tourism, trade, and investment.
  • There are 13 working groups within the Sherpa Track.
• Engagement Groups
  • The unofficial track comprises engagement or civil groups.
  • These groups often draft recommendations to the G20 Leaders that contribute to the policy-making process.
  • The engagement groups are as follows: Business20, Civil20, Labour20, Parliament20, Science20, SAI20, Startup20, Think20, Urban20, Women20, and Youth20.

Q1) What is Sherpa Track? 

The Sherpa Track was established after the forum became a leaders’ summit in 2008. It consists of representatives of heads of state. Each representative is known as a Sherpa — it is the metaphor from the mountaineering domain, where the Sherpa is supposed to do the heavy lifting or assist the mountaineer.

Q2) What is the theme of G20 2023?

The theme for the G20 Summit 2023 is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which translates to “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

Source: Sherpa Track, Finance Track, and Engagement Groups: What are the G20 ‘workstreams’?
 

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• Background
• Government’s Plans of Introducing “Import Management System”
• National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector
• Reasons Behind the Introduction of Import Management System

Why in News?

• On 3^rd August, the Union Government had imposed restrictions on import of laptops, tablets and similar electronic goods.
• This import restriction will come into effect from 1^st November, 2023.

Background:

• On 3^rd August, the Union Government imposed restrictions on import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers and ultra-small computers and servers with immediate effect.
• However, this decision was later suspended till 1^st November, 2023.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) had to suspend the implementation as custom officials stationed at ports started holding up shipments of the specified electronic items.
• The issue has also come up in meetings between US and Indian officials after American companies including Apple, Dell, and HP urged the US government to ask Indian government to reconsider its policy.

Government’s Plan to Introduce Import Management System

• The Union government is conducting consultations on a new system through which it aims to monitor the sources from which IT hardware is being imported.
• Through a system known as “Import Management System”, the government will monitor the sources from which IT hardware is being imported.
• After the introduction of this system, finished IT hardware such as laptops, personal computers and servers can only be imported from “trusted geographies”.
• Beyond laptops, personal computers and servers, the directive could be applied on a large range of finished IT hardware equipment including 5G sensors, which are predominantly being imported from China.
• The Import Management System is currently in draft stage. Once finalised, it is expected to replace the licensing requirement.
• There is precedence to this idea of allowing imports only from trusted sources.

National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector:

• In June 2021, the Central government launched the ‘trusted telecom portal’ and signaled the implementation of the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector (NSDTS).
• Under the directive, telecom companies are mandatorily required to connect in their networks only those new devices which are designated as “trusted products” from “trusted sources”.
• Post the 5G spectrum auction last year, operators like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have signed agreements with companies like Ericsson and Samsung, excluding Chinese majors Huawei and ZTE.

Reasons Behind the Introduction of Import Management System:

• China Factor –
  • Data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry gives us a broad picture of India’s dependence on China with regard to the import of electronic goods such as laptops, computers etc.
  • Indeed, India’s imports of the aforementioned class of electronic goods have been steadily rising.
  • Whereas in 2019-20, India’s imports of electronic goods stood at $5.3 billion, that figure climbed to $10.3 billion in 2021-22, before declining slightly to hit $8.7 billion in 2022-23.
  • Given this fact, a rise in indigenous manufacturing would not only help India reduce its dependence on its diplomatic and business rival but would also help indigenous manufacturers expand their footprint globally.
  • The introduction of Import Management System could force IT hardware companies to establish new supply chains, as China is unlikely to be classified as a trusted geography.
• Security Factor –
  • Another factor behind the restrictions imposed on this class of electronic goods is concerns about ‘security’.
  • The restrictions may have been brought in to guard against electronic hardware coming in with “in-built security loopholes that may potentially endanger sensitive personal and enterprise data”.
  • Across the world, many red flags have been raised about cybersecurity with regard to Chinese-manufactured electronics.

Q1) What is the role of DGFT?

This Directorate, with headquarters at New Delhi, is responsible for formulating and implementing the Foreign Trade Policy with the main objective of promoting India's exports. The DGFT also issues scrips/authorization to exporters and monitors their corresponding obligations through a network of 24 regional offices.

Q2) What is the meaning of Anti-Dumping Duty?

Anti-dumping duties are taxes imposed on imported goods in order to compensate for the difference between their export price and their normal value, if dumping causes injury to producers of competing products in the importing country.

Source: Why the Govt is rushing an alternative to its laptop licensing scheme  | Indian Express 

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)?
• What are the Key Highlights of the Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control?

Why in news?

• The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has released its new publication – the “Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control’’.
• Approved in Bonn, Germany, by representatives of the 143 member States of IPBES, the Assessment Report analyses the impact of alien species on biodiversity.
  • The study, which has taken place over a period of four years, has been done by 86 leading experts from 49 countries, drawing on more than 13,000 references.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

• About
  • It is an independent intergovernmental body established by States.
    • It was established in Panama City in April 2012 by 94 Governments.
  • It aims to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.
  • It is not a United Nations body.However, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services to IPBES.
  • HQ – Bonn, Germany
  • IPBES has produced several influential assessment reports, including the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in 2019.
    • This report highlighted the alarming rate of biodiversity loss and its implications for human well-being
• Functions
  • The work of IPBES can be broadly grouped into four complementary areas:
  • Assessments:
    • On specific themes (e.g. “Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production”); methodological issues (e.g. “Scenarios and Modelling); and at both the regional and global levels (e.g. “Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services”).
  • Policy Support:
    • Identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies, facilitating their use, and catalyzing their further development.
  • Building Capacity & Knowledge:
    • Identifying and meeting the capacity, knowledge and data needs of the member States, experts and stakeholders.
  • Communications & Outreach:
    • Ensuring the widest reach and impact of work.

Key Highlights of the Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control

• 37,000 alien species have been introduced
  • There are 37,000 alien species, including plants and animals, that have been introduced by many human activities to regions and biomes around the world.
  • More than 3,500 out of the 37,000 introduced alien species pose major global threats to nature, economy, food security and human health.
• Invasive species: one of the major drivers for bio-diversity loss
  • Invasive alien species (IAS) play a key role in 60% of global plant and animal extinctions, and cost humanity more than $400 billion a year.
  • These species are one of the five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss
    • The other four are land and sea use change, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, and pollution.
  • Most negative impacts are reported on land (about 75%) – especially in forests, woodlands and cultivated areas – with considerably fewer reported in freshwater (14%) and marine (10%) habitats.
  • Invasive alien species are most damaging on islands, with numbers of alien plants now exceeding the number of native plants on more than 25% of all islands.
• Number of alien species increasing at unprecedented rates
  • The report has noted that the number of alien species (species introduced to new regions through human activities) has been rising continuously for centuries in all regions.
  • However, these are now increasing at unprecedented rates, with increased human travel, trade and the expansion of the global economy.
  • The report warned that warming temperatures and climate change could favour the “expansion of invasive species’’.
• Not all alien invasive species have negative impacts
  • Not all alien species establish and spread with negative impacts on biodiversity, local ecosystems and species, but a significant proportion do – then becoming known as invasive alien species.
  • About 6% of alien plants; 22% of alien invertebrates; 14% of alien vertebrates; and 11% of alien microbes are known to be invasive, posing major risks to nature and to people.
  • Nearly 80% of the documented impacts of invasive species on nature’s contribution to people are negative.
• Examples of invasive alien species
  • The water hyacinth is the world’s most widespread invasive alien species on land.
  • Lantana, a flowering shrub, and the black rat are the second and third most widespread globally.
  • The brown rat and the house mouse are also widespread invasive alien species.
• The global economic cost of invasive alien species
  • The report said that the annual costs of invasive alien species have at least quadrupled every decade since 1970, as global trade and human travel increased.
  • In 2019, the global economic cost of invasive alien species exceeded $423 billion annually.
• Other impacts ofinvasive alien species
  • The reduction of food supply, has been cited by the report as the most common impact of alien invasive species.
  • For example,
    • the European shore crab impacting commercial shellfish beds in New England
    • the Caribbean false mussel damaging locally important fishery resources in Kerala, by wiping out native clams and oysters.
    • The Caribbean false mussel was originally from the Atlantic and Pacific coast of South and Central America, but are believed to have travelled to India via ships.
  • Invasive alien species like Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegyptii spread diseases such as malaria, Zika and West Nile Fever.
  • Others also have an impact on livelihood such as the water hyacinth in Lake Victoria in East Africa led to the depletion of tilapia, impacting local fisheries.
  • Invasive alien species can also amplify the impacts of climate change.
    • For example, invasive alien plants, especially trees and grasses, can sometimes be highly flammable and promote more intense fires.
• Response of countries
  • Most countries (80%) have included targets related to managing invasive alien species in their national biodiversity plans.
  • Only 17% specifically address the issue in national legislation. Nearly half of all countries (45%) do not invest in management of biological invasions.
  • In December 2022, governments agreed to reduce the rate of introduction and establishment of invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030 under target 6 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Q1) What is Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)?

The CBD is an international treaty that was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and entered into force in 1993. The CBD aims to promote the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.

Q2) What is Invasive alien species (IAS)? 

Invasive Alien Species (IAS), also commonly referred to as Invasive Species or Alien Invasive Species, are plants, animals, fungi, or microorganisms that are introduced to new environments outside of their native range and, as a result, have a negative impact on the ecosystems, economies, and/or human health of the receiving region. These species are often introduced intentionally or unintentionally by human activities, such as trade, transportation, agriculture, and tourism.

Source: Biodiversity loss: 37,000 ‘alien species’ introduced by human activities, says report | IPBES | UN Environment Programme | European Commission

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• What is Hop Test?
• Why is the Hop Test Important?
• Updates after the Hop Experiment
• Chandrayaan 3 Mission's Achievements So Far

Why in News?

• Exceeding its mission objectives, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander Vikram has achieved another significant milestone as it successfully undertook a hop experiment.

What is Hop Test?

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that the lander (on command) successfully fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30-40 cm away.
• It demonstrated ISRO’s capability to get the lander to fire its engines and produce the thrust to lift it off the ground.

Why is the Hop Test Important?

• Though ISRO is yet to announce follow-up missions to the Moon, scientists are of the view that a sample return mission was the next logical step to Chandrayaan-3.
  • In fact, if Chandrayaan-2 had been successful in 2019, Chandrayaan-3 would have been a sample return mission.
  • The human lander mission would also come at a later point.
• The Chinese Chang’e lunar programme has also progressed on similar lines. China sent an orbiter (2007), its first lunar mission, and then followed it up with a lander and sample return mission (last one in 2020).
• As a result, the hop test is critical for future lunar missions, as in the case of return missions or human lander missions, the lander must lift off from the lunar surface and return to Earth.
  • Of course, the thrust required in those situations would be much higher.
  • But as a technology demonstration, the ‘hop experiment’ would remain one of the highlights of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
• The successful hop experiment also signifies India's capabilities in space exploration, potentially attracting international investments into the country.

Updates after the Hop Experiment:

• ISRO said the spacecraft and the instruments onboard were all working fine after the ‘hop’.
• Deployed ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA (instruments) were folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment.
• Shortly thereafter, the payloads onboard the lander were put to sleep in preparation for the incoming night time.
  • The solar-powered instruments were not designed to survive the extreme low temperatures of lunar night, which drops well below -120 degree Celsius.
  • Hence, the instruments onboard the rover were put in sleep mode, a few days earlier than the beginning of the night-time.
  • The remaining battery would try to keep the instruments warm during the night-time, which too extends for 14 Earth days.
  • If the battery does not completely drain during this time, the instruments can become active once again when sunshine becomes available.
• Soon after the launch of the Aditya-L1 mission, the ISRO Chairman also announced plans to extend the mission life of both the lander and rover.
  • The mission life of both the lander and rover was supposed to be only one lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth.

Chandrayaan 3 Mission's Achievements So Far:

• Rover Exploration:
  • Prior to activating the Pragyan rover's sleep mode, ISRO reported that it covered a distance of over 100 meters.
  • Notably, the rover's communication range is limited to 500 meters from the Vikram lander.
• Historic Sulphur Discovery:
  • The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the rover confirmed the presence of Sulphur (S) in the lunar surface near the south pole.
  • Additionally, LIBS detected Al, Ca, Fe, Cr, Ti, Mn, Si, and O.
• Pioneering Plasma Measurements:
  • The RAMBHA-LP payload onboard Chandrayaan-3 Lander conducted groundbreaking measurements of the near-surface lunar plasma environment over the south polar region.
  • These quantitative measurements hold promise for mitigating interference in radio wave communication and enhancing future lunar mission designs.
• Seismic Activity Recording:
  • The ILSA payload on Chandrayaan 3 Lander - the first Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology-based instrument on the moon, recorded the movements of the rover and other payloads.
  • Additionally, it captured an event deemed to be of natural origin, which is currently under investigation.
• Thermal Behaviour Exploration:
  • The ChaSTE instrument measured the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole to better understand the thermal characteristics of the moon's surface.
  • This marked the first such profile for the lunar south pole, with ongoing detailed observations.
• Alternate Sulphur Confirmation:
  • Another instrument onboard the rover corroborated the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region using a distinct technique.
  • The APXS detected S alongside other minor elements.

Q1) What is the Aditya-L1 mission?

Aditya-L1 is a satellite dedicated to the comprehensive study of the Sun. It has 7 distinct payloads, 5 being developed by ISRO and 2 by Indian academic institutes in collaboration with ISRO.

Q2) What is the name of China's lunar programme?

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, also known as the Chang'e Project after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration.

Source: Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram comes up with a surprise, makes a ‘jump’ on the Moon | TH | HT