In news:

• The Report on Municipal Finances, published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is a compilation and analysis of budget data of 201 Municipal Corporations (MCs) across all states.
• It explores "Alternative Sources of Financing for Municipal Corporations."

Beyond News:

Key highlights of the Report:

• Municipal Finances (MF) are dominated by property tax collections and devolution of taxes and grants from upper tiers of government, resulting in a lack of financial autonomy.
• MCs’ expenditure of administrative costs and interest and finance charges is rising, but capital expenditure is minimal.
• MFs, consisting of tax revenue, non-tax revenue, and transfers - are estimated at 0.61 per cent of GDP in 2017-18.
  • Non-tax revenue accounted for 30 % of the total revenue receipts of MF.
  • Property tax accounts for 50% of the total tax collections of MF.

Other findings:

• MC’s inappropriate working: Due to numerous flaws in the functioning of MCs and little discernible improvement, India's urban people continue to have low access to and quality of key services.

Income/Expenditure Stability:

• In India, municipal revenues and expenses have remained constant for more than a decade at 1% of GDP.
• In contrast, municipal income and expenditures make for 6% of GDP in South Africa and 4% of the GDP in Brazil.   

Inefficient State Financial Commissions

• State Financial Commissions (SFCs), which must be established every five years, have not been established by governments in a timely way or on a regular basis.
• As a result, in the majority of the States, SFCs have not been successful in ensuring the devolution of funding to local governments in accordance with the rules.

Recommendations

• Create Pooled financing mechanism that involves financing through the pooled revenue stream.
• Develop a Credit rating system that incentivized municipal bodies to undergo reforms.
• Create a sub-sovereign/municipal debt market for investors.
• Develop Land-based financing mechanisms such as vacant land tax, land monetization, etc.
• Municipalities must balance their budgets by law, and any municipal borrowing needs to be approved by the State government.

Content Source Link:

• https://www.taxmann.com/research/fema-banking-insurance/top-story/104010000000101527/rbi-releases-report-on-municipal-finances-compiling-and-analysing-budgetary-data-for-201-municipal-corporations-cirnot

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In News:

Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has recently notified E-waste (management) rules 2022 under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Beyond News:

• The rule is applicable to electrical devices and radiotherapy and nuclear medicine equipment and will come into force from 1 April 2023.
• It shall be applicable to every manufacturer, producer refurbisher, dismantler and recycler involved in the manufacturing, sale, transfer, purchase, refurbishing, dismantling, recycling and processing of e-waste or electrical and electronic equipment.
• The metal in e-waste includes mercury, lead, cadmium, polybrominated flame retardants, barium and lithium, all of which are hazardous to human health.
• According to a United Nations report, out of nearly 44 million tonnes worth of electronics produced annually, only 20 per cent is recycled sustainably.
• India generates nearly 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste last year, ranking third after China and the United States.

 Major highlights of the rule:

• Ban on notified items: The new rule has restricted the use of hazardous substances in manufacturing electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).
• Need: Exposure to hazardous toxins and radioactive material from e-waste scrap have an adverse impact on human health and the environment.
• Mandate: The rules make it obligatory on companies to reduce the use of lead, mercury, and cadmium among others in the manufacturing of electronic equipment.
• Recycling: The manufacturer shall use the technology or methods to make the end product recyclable.
• Compatibility: Manufacturers shall ensure that components or parts made by the different manufacturers are compatible with each other so as to reduce the quantity of e-waste.
• Verification: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will conduct random sampling of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market to monitor and verify the compliance of reduction of hazardous substances provisions.
• Permission for Imports: New electrical and electronic equipment import or placement in the market will be permitted only for those which are compliant with provisions laid down by the government failure to which will lead to the withdrawal all samples from the market.

Source:

• https://www.livemint.com/industry/manufacturing/centre-issues-e-waste-management-rules-11668098469013.html

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In news

The report titled, ''Finance for climate action: Scaling up investment for climate and development'', was launched at the COP27 climate summit, held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Beyond News:

• Climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing, that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.
• Existing pledges
  • The initial commitment came from the '1992 UNFCCC' being that developed countries should provide financial resources to meet costs incurred by developing country parties.
  • At COP15 in Copenhagen, various countries agreed to mobilise $100 billion a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries, with a formal decision coming at COP16 in 2010.
  • At COP21 in Paris, Parties extended the $100 billion goals through 2025.
• Financing Mechanisms include Global Environment Facility (1994), Green Climate Fund (2011), Special Climate Change Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund, and Adaptation Fund.

About Report

• The report was prepared by a new independent high-level expert group on climate finance, launched by the presidencies of COP26 and COP27 and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions.
• The report analysed the financial structures required to deliver the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming.

Report findings

• Developing and emerging economies, except China, will need $2 trillion per year by 2030 for energy transition, adaptation resilience, loss and damage and sustainable agriculture.
• The failure to deliver the climate finance commitment of $100 billion per year by 2020 made by developed countries at successive COPs has eroded trust.
• The report pointed out that, Mobilising private finance can be crucial in unlocking the funds needed.

• Key investment priorities must encompass transformation of the energy system, responding to the growing vulnerability of developing countries to climate change, and restore the damage to natural capital and biodiversity.
• There has been an urge for developed countries to double concessional finance by 2025 from 2019 levels while expanding the envelope of low-cost finance through innovative ways — including special drawing rights (SDR), voluntary carbon markets, philanthropy and guarantees.

Source:

• COP27: Developing countries need $2 trillion annually to tackle climate change, says report
• Finance for climate action: scaling up investment for climate and development

Image source:

• https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IHLEG-Finance-for-Climate-Action.pdf

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In news

At the COP27 climate summit, countries representing more than 50% of global GDP set out sector-specific ‘Priority Actions’ to decarbonise power, transport and steel, scale up low-emission hydrogen production and accelerate the shift to sustainable agriculture under the 'Breakthrough Agenda'.

About the 'Breakthrough Agenda'

• The Breakthrough Agenda, launched at COP26 (Glasgow Summit) by 45 countries accounting for 70% of the global GDP, represents a global commitment to work together this decade to scale and speed up the development and deployment of clean technologies to help keep the 1.5 degree Celsius goal in reach, in line with the goals of Paris Agreement.
• Leaders agreed at COP26 to review progress annually and explore priority international actions needed to accelerate towards the Breakthroughs, informed by an annual report by IEA, IRENA & UN High-Level Champions.
• The inaugural Breakthrough Agenda Report 2022 warned that an “international collaboration gap” threatens to delay net zero by decades.
• Also, India was among 40 nations to back and sign up to the Glasgow Breakthroughs at COP26.

Related Priority Actions at COP27

The Priority Actions at COP27, in line with the agenda, include agreements to:

• Develop common definitions for low-emission and near-zero emission steel, hydrogen and sustainable batteries to ensure credibility and transparency.
• Ramp up the deployment of essential infrastructure projects in direction of net zero.
• Set a common target date to phase out polluting cars and vehicles, consistent with the Paris Agreement.
• Use billions of pounds of private and public procurement and infrastructure spending to stimulate global demand for green industrial goods.
• Systematically strengthen financial and technological assistance to developing countries and emerging markets to support their transitions.
• Drive investment in agriculture research to generate solutions to address the challenges of food insecurity, climate change and environmental degradation.

Source:

• THE BREAKTHROUGH AGENDA
• The Breakthrough Agenda: a master plan to accelerate the decarbonization of five major sectors

Image source:

• https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/session_8_slides_for_wto_session_on_decarbonisation.pdf

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• Context: Nanoparticle cancer drugs are looked upon to act like biological missiles that can destroy tumours while minimizing damage to healthy organs.

• Nanomaterials (particles less than 100nm in length) based cancer treatment help alter drug toxicity profile with enhanced surface characteristics to deliver an optimal concentration of drugs at tumour sites.
• Nanomaterials hold significant promise to improve disease diagnosis and treatment based on their unique features, such as their:

(a)    Higher surface-to-mass ratio to other particles.

(b)    Quantum properties.

(c)     Ability to adsorb and carry other compounds.

• Concerns: difficult to distinguish the toxicity of the drug from that of the nanoparticle, nanoparticle-based drugs may increase toxicity in other organs etc.

Sources:

• https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/science-and-environment/researchers-look-to-nanoparticles-for-treating-cancer-1107663.html

Image source:

• https://etp-nanomedicine.eu/about-nanomedicine/what-is-nanomedicine/

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• Context: 19^th India-ASEAN Summit was recently held in Cambodia.
• It also commemorated the 30th anniversary of the India-ASEAN dialogue. 2022 is being celebrated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year.

• Both parties adopted a joint statement announcing the elevation of the existing Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• India-ASEAN relations:
  1. Political: India began formal engagement with ASEAN in 1992 as a “Sectoral Dialogue Partner” and agreed to forge a strategic partnership in 2012.
  2. Economic: Both signed AITGA and ASEAN-India Agreement for Trade in Services. Currently, two-way trade is worth $110 billion.
     • Cumulative FDIs (dominated by Singaporean investments) from ASEAN to India, between 2000-2021, was $117.88 billion.
  3. Security cooperation through forums like ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting+ (ADMM+) etc.
  4. Connectivity through India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the Kaladan Multimodal Project

Source:

• https://www.aistic.gov.in/ASEAN/HomePage
• https://www.livemint.com/news/india/vp-dhankhar-leads-delegation-at-the-19th-asean-india-summit-in-cambodia/amp-11668262807727.html

Image source:

• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/asean-is-50-and-it-s-come-a-long-way-here-s-why-you-should-care/

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• GNA Regulations were released by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to streamline the regulatory framework for the country’s power transmission.

• GNA regulations seek to do away with pre-determined point-to-point transmission access to instead enable both access or drawal on the entire transmission corridor to generators and procurers.
• Users at present have to pay long-term charges under a point-to-point connectivity regime and are charged for any deviations from the agreed path.
• GNA will enable them to supply from any point.
• Benefits of GNA
  1. Provide more flexibility and the possibility of open access to the buyers and sellers of power in terms of scheduling.
  2. Encourages investments in the generation and transmission sectors, while moving towards a predominant market-determined pricing structure.
  3. Ensures reliable transmission access to power utilities irrespective of their power purchase contracts.
• Concerns raised:
  1. Could potentially favour the bigger players in the sector.
  2. Complexity and uncertainty in demand assessment.
  3. State discoms may find it challenging to assess the number of open-access customers that may source power from outside the state.

Source:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/business/commodities/regulatory-loopholes-may-end-up-favouring-bigger-players-experts-8266697/lite/
• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1760545

Image source:

• https://powerline.net.in/2017/12/10/introducing-gna/

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• Context: As many as 392 reported incidents of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) were monitored in 2021 in Indian Ocean Region (IOR), mostly in Northern IOR.
• IUU monitoring is done by Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), the nodal agency for maritime data fusion set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
• IUU fishing violates both national and international fishing regulations and undermines global efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries.
• Initiatives are taken against IUU:
  1. WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies prohibits harmful fisheries subsidies.
  2. Cape Town Agreement and Agreement on Ports State Measures (India is not a signatory to both).
  3. Regional fisheries management such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, and the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement under the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
  4. Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) of Quad (India, Australia, Japan and U.S).

Source:

• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/extra-regional-fishing-fleets-present-in-indian-ocean-navy/article66131872.ece/amp/
• https://www.fao.org/iuu-fishing/background/what-is-iuu-fishing/en/

Image source:

• https://twitter.com/eu_mare/status/668126753341046784?lang=gl

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In News: Grant-based and concessional international public climate finance will continue to play a key role in addressing the needs and priorities of developing countries.

The UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) released a report before COP27, on the progress made by developed countries towards achieving the goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year.

The SCF report relied mainly on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Oxfam reports.

Climate finance refers to local, national, or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.

The UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement call for financial assistance from Parties with more financial resources (Developed Countries) to those that are less endowed and more vulnerable (Developing Countries).

Significance:

• lower greenhouse gas emissions: Climate finance helps countries lower greenhouse gas emissions such as by funding renewable power like wind or solar. It also aids communities to adapt to climate change impacts.
• Introduction of climate-resilient seeds: It allows farmers to continue producing food and making money in the face of droughts and other extreme weather.
• Limiting the temperature: It helps to achieve the goal of limiting the rise in the earth’s average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels,

Some examples of climate finance initiatives

• Green Climate Fund (GCF),
• Global Environment Facility (GEF), and
• Adaptation Fund (AF)

Way Forward

The SCF report: Mobilization of private finance as a means of achieving the $100 billion goal, should not come at the expense of, or involve a trade-off in addressing the needs of developing countries.

The public and private finance: It would need to expand by another 21% to 22% in order to reach the $101 billion low-end forecast by 2023. The urgent demands for climate finance of developing nations cannot be left to the whims of false pledges of trillions of dollars in private climate funding.

Grant-based and concessional international public climate finance: It will continue to play a key role in addressing the needs and priorities of developing countries, especially when challenges are growing due to extreme weather, food, and energy crises.

Therefore, addressing the urgent climate finance needs of developing countries cannot be left to the mercy of false promises of trillions of U.S. dollars in mobilised private climate finance. Many activities needing financing may have little or perhaps even no direct mobilisation potential.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/behind-the-smokescreen-around-private-climate-finance/article66133002.ece/amp/

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Why in the news? Recently, the Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership appreciated the “unprecedented leadership by the Government of India” in leading the global TB elimination response.

About:

• It is an international organization working to align stakeholders from across the world.
• The mission aims to serve every person who is vulnerable to TB and ensure high-quality diagnosis, treatment, and care.
• It was founded in 2001.
• Its Secretariat is hosted by United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Geneva, Switzerland.
• At present, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare is heading the board of Stop TB Partnership as Chairperson for three years term till 2024.
• India has committed to eliminating TB in the country by 2025.

https://theprint.in/india/stop-tb-partnership-executive-director-lauds-pradhan-mantri-tb-mukt-bharat-abhiyaan/1210042/

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Why in news? Recently, the 2022 WJP Rule of Law Index released.

About:

• It was released by an international civil society organisation, World Justice Project (WJP).
• According to the report, the rule of law has declined globally for the fifth consecutive year.
• It says that the checks on executive power are weakening, and respect for human rights is falling.
• India has ranked 77 out of 140 countries.
• The top-ranked country is

https://www.thequint.com/news/law/world-justice-project-rule-of-law-index-fundamental-rights-open-government-india-ranking 

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Why in news? Recently, Digi Locker has completed its second level of integration with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

About:

• It was launched in September 2021 by the Prime Minister through a video conference.
• Implementing Agency:
  • National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Aims:
  • To develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country.
  • To provide digital health IDs for all Indian citizens to help hospitals, insurance firms, and citizens access health records electronically when required.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/digilocker-users-can-now-store-health-records-link-them-with-ayushman-bharat-account-11668063954068.html

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Why in news? Recently, Global Carbon Budget 2022 report was released.

About:

The report was released by the Global Carbon Project – a group of scientists who track carbon emitted by human activities.

Key findings of the Report:

• The global carbon emissions are expected to reach 6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2022.
• There is no sign of the decrease that is urgently needed to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsius
• Global CO2 concentrations set new record of 2 parts per million.
• Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are now 51% above pre-industrial levels.
• Projected CO2 emissions decrease in China and European Union, but increase in US, India (6%), and rest of the world.

https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/1234876866

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Why in news? Recently, the report entitled “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): The Gender Snapshot 2022” was launched.

About:

Report is launched by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Key findings

• The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal-5 (SDG-5), or gender equality by 2030.
• 380 million women and girls live in extreme poverty.
• Nearly 1 in 3 women face food insecurity.
• It will take close to 300 years to achieve full gender equality at the current rate of progress.
• Over 1.2 billion women and girls of reproductive age (15-49) live in countries and areas with some restrictions on access to safe abortion.
• In India, in a quarter of rural households’ women and girls devote more than 50 minutes per day to collecting water.

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/gender-snapshot/2022/

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Why in news? Recently, the “Altitude decides simian attitude to diet” article was published in The Hindu.

About:

• Differences in altitude make Himalayan grey langur choose between flowers and fruits as food options beyond their staple menu of leaves.
• Himalayan Gray Langur or the Chamba Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus ajax) is a colobine, meaning leaf-eating monkey.
• IUCN Status: Endangered.
• Threats: Fragmentation, deforestation, persecution and retaliatory killing due to crop raiding, commercial horticulture expansion etc.
• Habitat: subtropical, tropical moist temperate, alpine, coniferous, and broadleaved forests and scrublands.

https://www.ajcb.in/journals/short_others_july_2020/AJCB-Vol9-No1-Singh-Thakur.pdf

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/same-monkey-different-diet-just-208-metres-apart/article66125207.ece 

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Background

The Government of Odisha signed MoU with Tata Steel Foundation, for implementing the Jaga Mission across five municipal corporations of Odisha.

About Jaga Mission

• Jaga Mission is the World's Largest Slum Land Settlement Programme by the Government of Odisha launched in 2018, which aims to transform Slums Into Liveable Habitats with all necessary civic infrastructure and services at par with the better-off areas within the same urban local body.
• Objectives of Jaga Mission include:
  • Working towards slum upgradation by addressing the primary inequalities prevailing in urban areas to integrate the informal settlements into the mainstream city fabric.
  • Create the 4^th tier of governance by strengthening SDAs (Slum Dweller Associations) community organisations. Empower SDA to make decisions and take on the implementation of infrastructure upgradation.
  • Create conditions for reducing the growth of slums in urban areas in the future by addressing the core issues of access to land, services, housing, and other necessities of urban life for the poor.
  • Moving up the ladder of building resilience in urban areas and slum-proofing the city by progressing from individual to community level to city level benefits, thereby ensuring increased urban stability.
• Also, Odisha won the 'World Habitat Award' for its Jaga Mission in 2019.

Source:

• Jaga Mission

Image source:

• https://twitter.com/bjd_odisha/status/1571178532730195968/photo/1

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