GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

The G20 Leaders’ Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was headlined by the official launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (“the Alliance”).

About the Alliance:

• The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, an initiative crafted by the Brazilian Presidency of the G20.
• It aims to offer an ambitious and urgent platform for accelerating progress towards achieving the international pledges of eradicating poverty and hunger by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2) as well as to reduce inequalities (SDG 10).
• Any member country can access proven best practices from other members and identify potential partners willing to assist in the development of its own national model.
• Assistance may be in the form of technical expertise or financial support.
• The Alliance has identified an evidence-based policy basket, which comprises more than 50 policy instruments that member countries can avail support for.
  • Of particular importance are the six “Sprints 2030”, high-impact areas which will see target-oriented initiatives catering to the most vulnerable. These include:
    • school meals
    • cash transfers
    • smallholder and family farming support programs
    • socio-economic inclusion programs
    • integrated maternal and early childhood interventions
    • water access solutions
  • Funding:Unlike many initiatives, the Alliance does not boast an exclusive fund. Rather it envisions playing a matchmaking role, connecting countries in need with motivated donors and technical support. The $2-3 million required annually for its operations will come from member countries and institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, and the World Bank.
  • Participants: 81 countries (including India), 26 international organisations, 9 financial institutions, and 31 philanthropic foundations and non-governmental organisations have already joined the Alliance.
  • Headquarters: The Alliance may be headquartered in Brasilia, or some other Global South country. It will also likely have an office at the FAO headquarters in Rome.

What was the need of the alliance?

• In 2015, all 193 UN Member States adopted the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ which aimed to, among other things, end poverty and hunger, and achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030.
• Pandemic:But the Covid-19pandemic led to significant reversals in the progress made towards these ends, as extreme poverty rose and nutrition standards fell, especially in the Global South.
• Global conflicts:The uneven economic recovery since, along with a rise in global conflicts, and the harmful impacts of climate change, have further weakened the fight against hunger and poverty.
• Climate change:Extreme weather events are having devastating effects on every corner of the planet. Social, racial, and gender inequalities are deepening in the wake of a pandemic that has claimed more than 15 million lives.
• Slow progress:As things stand, progress is too slow to meet the 2030 targets.
  • Current projections indicate that 622 million people will live below the extreme poverty line of $ 2.15 per day by 2030 — double the target level
  • If current trends persist, 582 million people will live in hunger by 2030, approximately the same number as in 2015”
• It is in this context that Brazil chose to launch the Alliance during its G20 presidency.

Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, faces serious charges in the United States for allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials. These bribes were supposedly given to secure contracts for a large solar power project in India. The total amount of the bribes is said to be over $250 million. The project in question is related to a bid won by Adani Green Energy, a part of the Adani Group, to supply 8 gigawatts of solar power to a state-owned company in India.

What are the Charges?

• The criminal charges against Gautam Adani in the U.S. are as follows:
  • Foreign Bribery: Paying bribes to foreign officials (Indian officials) to secure business deals.
  • Securities Fraud: Providing false or misleading information to investors about the company's activities.
  • Wire Fraud Conspiracy: Involving the use of electronic communications to carry out fraudulent activities.
• Under U.S. law, companies can be charged for bribing foreign officials, even if the bribery takes place outside the U.S., especially if they are raising money from U.S.-based investors.

The Issue: The Solar Power Project

• In June 2020, Adani Green Energy won a major bid to supply 8 gigawatts of solar power to a state-owned electricity company in India.
• However, there was a problem—local power companies did not want to buy the power at the prices set by the government, which could have led to the deal collapsing.
• To fix this problem, U.S. authorities allege that Gautam Adani decided to bribe local officials to persuade them to buy the electricity. The bribes were allegedly worth $250 million, and the money was meant to secure the solar contracts.

How the Alleged Scheme Unfolded?

• 2020-2021:Adani Green Energy and another company, Azure Power, were awarded major contracts for solar power projects.Local power distributors did not want to buy the power at the agreed prices, which delayed the deal.Adani's associates (including his nephew Sagar Adani) allegedly discussed paying bribes through encrypted messages (like WhatsApp) to push the local distributors to buy the power.
• August 2021:Gautam Adani reportedly promised a $228 million bribe to officials in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh to get them to agree to buy the power.
• December 2021:The Andhra Pradesh government agreed to buy the power, and other states followed suit.The sudden success of the project raised suspicions in the market about how the deals were signed.
• 2022:The S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department began investigating the payments. They found evidence of misleading statements made to investors about anti-bribery practices.

Legal Actions in the U.S.

• S. Authorities: The Justice Department and SEC allege that Adani’s companies raised billions of dollars from international investors (including U.S. investors) between 2021 and 2024.
• They say that in the process, Adani’s companies lied to investors, falsely claiming that they had not paid any bribes. This, according to the U.S. authorities, was fraud.
• In March 2023, the FBI seized devices from Sagar Adani, Gautam Adani’s nephew, as part of their investigation.
• In October 2024, a grand jury indictment was issued against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and others involved. The indictment was made public in November 2024, causing a major drop in the value of Adani’s companies (a loss of $27 billion).
• The Extradition Issue: Gautam Adani is believed to be in India and not in U.S. custody. If U.S. authorities want to charge him, they would have to request his extradition (send him to the U.S. for trial).
• Extradition would be complicated, as India would have to decide whether the charges apply under Indian law and whether any political or human rights issues exist.

A powerful bomb cyclone approached the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, causing high winds, heavy rain and snow.

What is a bomb cyclone?

• A bomb cyclone, also known as bombogenesis, is a fast-developing storm(low pressure area)that occurs when atmospheric pressure drops at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period.
  • A millibar is a way of measuring pressure.The lower the pressure, the more powerful the storm. In order to approximately qualify, the pressure needs to drop about 1 [millibar], or more, every hour over a 24-hour period.
• A bomb cyclone occurs when atmospheric pressure at the center of the cyclone drops rapidly.
• This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters.
• The vast majority of such storms occur over the ocean. The storm can be tropical or non-tropical in nature.
• The term ‘bomb cyclone’ was first used around the 1940s.
• Effects of a bomb cyclone: The band of intense pressure can create heavy winds, blizzard conditions, heavy snow that can possibly reduce visibility and rainfall. Heavy precipitation can also cause coastal flooding.
• Hot spots for Bomb Cyclone:There are four active regions which are hot spots for Bomb Cyclone
  • The Northwest Pacific
  • The Northern region of the Atlantic Ocean
  • The Southwest Pacific
  • The Southern region of the Atlantic Ocean

India and Australia have signed an arrangement to enable the Indian armed forces and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to conduct air-to-air refuelling of their aircraft.

Key Highlights

• India and Australia have firmed up an air-to-air refueling agreement. This will allow the Indian Air Force to refuel its planes during operations using the Royal Australian Air Force's KC-30A multi-role tanker transport aircraft.
• The refueling arrangement will significantly enhance the Indian Air Force's operational capabilities, allowing it to extend its reach and efficiency in the Indo-Pacific region, which is vital for both nations' strategic interests.
• The deal is aimed at improving interoperability between the Indian and Australian air forces, enabling both nations to operate more effectively in diverse military scenarios.
• The partnership builds on the growing defense ties between India and Australia under their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, reflecting a shared interest in ensuring Indo-Pacific stability.
• In addition to the air-to-air refueling arrangement, the Royal Australian Air Force continues to train and engage with India on the P-8I Neptune surveillance aircraft, further deepening defense cooperation.

The Indian government is working to improve the way it tracks and measures farm fires (specifically stubble burning) in states like Punjab and Haryana. This is because there are issues with the current satellite systems that are used to monitor these fires, and gaps in data collection have been identified.

Why the Problem Exists

• Farm Fire Data Issues:Satellites, particularly polar-orbiting satellites (like those used by NASA), are currently used to detect farm fires by capturing images of the Earth as they pass over the regions. However, these satellites can only capture data when they pass overhead, meaning they miss some fires happening in between these passes. This creates a problem called “undercounting bias,” where some farm fires are not being counted.
• Supreme Court’s Involvement: The issue of undercounting was brought to the attention of the Supreme Court of India.
  • The court was informed that data from NASA satellites might be missing some farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, which is important for understanding the extent of air pollution caused by these fires. The court then directed the Centre (Indian government) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to use other satellites, including geostationary satellites, in addition to NASA's polar-orbiting ones.

Efforts to Improve the System

• To address this problem, government agencies like the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), and remote sensing centers from Punjab and Haryana have come together to develop a new methodology to better track farm fires.
  • These agencies are working on a pilot project to test and improve the system during this Kharif season (the season when rice is harvested,
• The agencies are now using the Sentinel-2 satellite from Europe, which has a better resolution of 20 meters and passes over the region every 5 days.
  • This satellite provides images in multiple wavelengths (optical, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared), which helps detect burned areas more accurately.

Challenges with Satellites:

• Thermal Imaging Satellites: While these satellites are good at detecting heat (and therefore fires), even those with fine resolution cannot capture every single fire. They only detect fires when the satellite is overhead, meaning some fires will still be missed.
• Impact of Smog: The presence of smog or smoke in the air can also make it harder for satellites to detect fires accurately.
• Geostationary Satellites (Like GEO-KOMPSAT 2A): Another important satellite, the GEO-KOMPSAT 2A (a Korean satellite), can pick up farm fires that happen after the NASA satellite has passed. However, the scientists pointed out that geostationary satellites have lower resolution and are not as sensitive to small fires, which may still limit their effectiveness in detecting all farm fires.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is offering technical expertise to help India tackle the impact of climate change on its aquaculture (fish farming) and fishing industry. These industries are crucial for India's food security, nutrition, and livelihoods, especially in coastal regions.

Key Issues Identified:

• Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries: Climate change will reduce ocean productivity and affect the types of fish available for catch. Fish populations and catch compositions will change.
  • The blue economy, which includes the fishing and aquaculture sectors, is vital for food security but faces constraints like overfishing and overcapacity.
• Aquaculture Growth: Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector globally, and in India, it’s growing faster than the global average. However, to fully realize its potential, India needs to ensure sustainable and equitable growth in aquaculture.
• Adapting to Changing Fish Species: With changing climate conditions, India needs to adapt its fishing practices. This includes using new fishing gears and catching different species of fish. This would also involve marketing new varieties of fish to consumers, so they are not just accustomed to traditional types but are open to newer, climate-resilient fish species.
• Focus on Small and Medium Players: Many micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India’s fishing and aquaculture sectors face difficulties, such as lack of access to resources, and are often excluded from decision-making processes.
  • The FAO emphasizes the importance of including these smaller players because they contribute significantly to global fish production (about 40% of global marine fisheries) and provide livelihoods to millions of people.

In an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia fired longer-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

What is an ICBM?

• ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) are long-range missiles designed primarily to carry nuclear warheads and can travel distances of over 3,400 miles.
• These missiles are strategic weapons used as part of a country's nuclear deterrence.
• ICBMs are powerful and difficult to intercept because they travel at extremely high speeds (up to 4,000 mph), making them challenging for defense systems like Patriot to stop.
• The use of an ICBM in this conflict is seen as escalating the war because it signals the potential use of nuclear capabilities and could lead to a broader confrontation.

The RS-26 Rubezh ICBM:

• According to reports, the missile fired at Dnipro was likely a RS-26 Rubezh, a relatively new and experimental ICBM.
  • Range: The RS-26 can travel up to 5,800 km (about 3,600 miles), making it capable of reaching distant targets.
  • Speed: It can reach supersonic speeds, around 4,000 mph, making it nearly impossible for current missile defense systems to intercept.
  • Payload: The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 1,200 kg, which is equivalent to three Iskander missiles.
• Challenges: The RS-26 is still in the testing phase, and its use in combat could result in inaccurate strikes and collateral damage due to the missile's unproven technology.

Russia's ICBM Arsenal:

• Russia has around 306 strategic ICBMs, capable of carrying a total of 1,185 nuclear warheads.
• Some of Russia’s ICBMs include:
  • Topol-M (SS-27 Mod 1) and Yars (SS-27 Mod 2), both capable of carrying multiple warheads.
  • Sarmat (SS-X-30), a new missile under development, larger and more capable than previous ones.
  • Avangard, a hypersonic glide vehicle under development, designed to evade missile defenses.
  • The Sarmat ICBM, also called Satan II in the West, has recently been deployed and can replace older Soviet-era missiles.

International Implications:

• The use of an ICBM by Russia in the Ukraine conflict raises fears of nuclear escalation, though this strike did not carry a nuclear warhead.
• The West, especially countries like the U.S. and NATO members, have been cautious about commenting on the use of such missiles, fearing it could worsen the conflict.
• Although the RS-26 Rubezh is part of Russia’s nuclear deterrence, its use in this conflict indicates the possibility of further escalationif tensions increase.

The appointment of the new Chief Justice of India (CJI) provides an opportunity to address systemic administrative inefficiencies that hinder the judicial system, as highlighted in the 2023 report “State of the Judiciary” and the reforms suggested by CJI Sanjiv Khanna.

Administrative Bottlenecks in the Judiciary

• Backlog and Delays: Over 45 million cases are pending in subordinate courts, contributing to a widespread sense of despair and delayed justice.
• Judicial Officer Inefficiency: Judicial officers spend over half their day on administrative tasks like issuing summons, rather than substantive judicial work.
• Infrastructure Challenges: Poor infrastructure, such as a shortage of courtrooms and judicial officers, combined with inadequate staffing, exacerbates delays in case disposal.

Proposed Solutions for Efficiency

• Learning from Past Successes: Strategies like the Cataract Blindness Project of the 1990s can be adapted, such as enlisting retired administrative officers to manage logistics and coordination.
• Performance Monitoring: High courts should conduct open reviews of case disposals to measure the performance of judicial officers and identify areas of improvement.
• Retired Administrative Officers: Retired officials from other sectors, such as the railways, could manage administrative tasks efficiently, allowing judicial officers to focus on actual case hearings.

Way Forward and Implementation

• No Overhaul Needed: A structural overhaul is not required; instead, administrative will and collaboration across various bodies can streamline judicial processes.
• Collaborative Effort: A combined effort of law secretaries, high court registrars, and retired officers from large organizations could bring about the desired reforms.
• Enhanced Justice System: By freeing judicial officers from administrative burdens, the system could become more efficient, resulting in a leaner, faster, and fairer justice system.

Practice Question:

Examine the administrative inefficiencies within India’s judicial system and discuss how inducting retired administrative officers could help in streamlining the functioning of subordinate courts, thus improving case disposal and judicial performance.

Professor G.N. Saibaba, after being wrongfully imprisoned for a decade, was exonerated in March 2024 but passed away in October. His case highlights the severe mistreatment faced by prisoners with disabilities in India, especially in terms of inadequate prison conditions and denial of basic rights.

Lack of Accessible Infrastructure

• Inadequate Facilities: Prof.Saibaba’s imprisonment in Nagpur Central Jail exposed the lack of wheelchair accessibility, forcing him to rely on fellow inmates for basic tasks.
• Systemic Neglect: Prisons, including Tihar, fail to meet the needs of prisoners with disabilities, with inaccessible toilets and cells, and limited availability of wheelchairs.
• Violation of Rights: India’s failure to enforce laws like the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act exacerbates the suffering of disabled prisoners, exemplified by the denial of basic assistive devices to Father Stan Swamy.

Legal Framework and Political Will

• International Obligations: India is bound by international treaties like the Nelson Mandela Rules and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but implementation remains poor.
• Lack of Accountability: Despite legal provisions, political will and adequate governance remain missing, leading to the continued mistreatment of prisoners with disabilities.
• Call for Reform: The tragic death of Prof.Saibaba should serve as a wake-up call for the state to prioritize reforms that ensure dignity and justice for all prisoners, including those with disabilities.

Practice Question:

Discuss the challenges faced by prisoners with disabilities in India and evaluate the effectiveness of current legal provisions in ensuring their rights and dignity.

Air pollution in Delhi has become a significant concern, with minimal impact from efforts like the National Clean Air Programme. The National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court have emphasized the urgent need for transformative measures, while comparing Delhi’s struggles to those of cities like Los Angeles and Beijing.

Air Pollution Challenges

• Persistent Pollution: Despite measures since 1984, air pollution in Delhi persists due to rapid urbanization and vehicle emissions, with pollution worsening each year.
• Ineffective Interventions: The National Clean Air Programme has made little impact as it focuses mainly on monitoring and emergency measures, failing to address the root causes.
• Court’s Concern: The Supreme Court has raised questions about the limited effectiveness of agencies like the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and their failure to address systemic causes.

Root Causes and Dispersed Sources

• Vehicular Emissions: In Delhi, 60% of pollution stems from vehicles, exacerbated by traffic congestion and photochemical reactions leading to high PM2.5 levels.
• Limited Impact of Stubble Burning: Stubble burning, often blamed for pollution spikes, contributed less than 1% to PM2.5 levels in Delhi on October 17, yet remains a focal point.
• Societal and Agricultural Factors: Solutions targeting vehicular emissions and farm fires have been ineffective, as farmers face challenges like groundwater conservation and limited technological solutions.

Lessons from Beijing and Required Reforms

• Beijing’s Approach: Beijing’s success in controlling air pollution includes public awareness, forecasting severe smog, and a massive public transport system with over 30,000 buses.
• Need for Regional Cooperation: Pollution in Delhi requires integrated regional efforts, as air toxicity is a complex problem driven by both local and regional sources.
• Court's Role in Reform: The Court should mandate a comprehensive toxicity management plan, with clear budgetary allocations, instead of episodic measures like targeting farmers.

Practice Question:

Evaluate the challenges and measures required to combat air pollution in Delhi, drawing comparisons with other global cities like Beijing, and suggest a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of urban air toxicity.