India is witnessing an unprecedented construction boom,this growth brings economic opportunities and improved living standards but also poses significant environmental challenges.Therefore, addressing energy inefficiency in residential buildings is crucial, given India’s rising energy and cooling demand due to economic growth, urbanisation, heat islands, and climate change.
1: Dimension-Unprecedented construction boom
2: Dimension-Initiatives to make construction sector energy efficient
Initiatives like the Eco-Niwas Samhita (ENS) and the Residential Energy Conservation Building Code are steps in the right direction.
3: Dimension-Challenges and Required Measures:
The world is facing a critical threat with climate shifts. Though governments are employing carbon trading as a strategy to decrease their emissions, their “effectiveness” is questionable.
1: Dimension-Global shift towards Carbon Trading
2: Dimension-Role of Carbon credits in combating climate change
The increasing pressure to act on nature loss led governments and companies worldwide to ramp up their decarbonisation commitments.Though carbon crediting offers a multitude of benefits, making it an effective tool in the fight against climate change, there persist some issues:
Way forward
Carbon credits provide a mechanism to quantify and incentivize emission reductions at a time when the world is trying to mobilize all the forces to fight climate change. It represents a crucial step towards a more sustainable future, and it encourages the adoption of more methods to reduce GHG emissions. Additionally, considering the fact that almost all of the criticisms facing carbon credits are due to the lack of a well-established management mechanism, more standardized frameworks formed through multilateral cooperation will definitely help it to maximize its potential.
Case Study: Australia's carbon credit scheme Australia's carbon credit scheme was undermined by new research, which found a world-leading reforestation project had been an underperforming "catastrophe". Australis’s offsets program was "one of the world's largest" natural carbon offset projects.Australia’s offsets program is the world’s fifth biggest nature-based offsets program, with projects covering nearly 42m hectares, an area larger than Japan. Claims made by the Study
The researchers called on the Australian government to stop issuing carbon credits to regeneration projects in un-cleared areas “for the sake of the integrity of Australia’s carbon market and the country’s decarbonisation efforts”. |
UPSC Mains PYQ Q: Should the pursuit of carbon credit and clean development mechanisms set up under UNFCCC be maintained even though there has been a massive slide in the value of carbon credit? Discuss with respect to India’s energy needs for economic growth. (UPSC 2014) |
The Indian economy is grappling with a slowdown in foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2022-23, FDI equity inflows dropped by 22% year-on-year to USD 46 billion, following a 1% contraction from the previous year.
1: Dimension-Slowdown in FDI flows to developing countries
2: Dimension-Risks for global market
3: Dimension-Need of FDI in Indian Economy
Fact Box India’s FDI equity inflows
About FDI
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UPSC PYQ Q: Justify the need for FDI for the development of the Indian economy. Why is there a gap between MOUs signed and actual FDIs? Suggest remedial steps to be taken for increasing actual FDIs in India. (UPSC 2016) |
In a historic move, the Kerala Kalamandalam has decided to lift the ban on males studying 'Mohiniyattam'.
India’s recognised classical dances: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri, and Mohiniyattam. |
China (Sri Lanka’s primary bilateral creditor) has pledged to develop Sri Lanka’s strategic deep sea port and the capital's airport after talks with his counterpart in Beijing.China says it is willing to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the spirit of the Rubber-Rice Pact.
Fact Box: Rubber-Rice Pact
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IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) gave the go ahead to launch a new online marketplace for insurance. It’s called ‘Bima Sugam’.
Meme coins, a unique category of cryptocurrencies, have gained significant popularity in the digital currency space.
What are meme coins?
India's stock market is set to usher in the T+0 settlement system, making it among the handful of countries to implement the shorter trade settlement cycle.
What is T+0 system?
S.No. |
Term |
About |
1. |
Carbon offsets |
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2. |
Cryptocurrency |
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3. |
Debt restructuring |
Debt restructuring is a process used by companies, individuals, and countries to change the terms on loans to make them easier to pay back. |
4. |
Greenwashing |
Greenwashing is the act of making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or practice. |
5. |
Heat islands |
Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. |
Context:
Amidst escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, India finds itself strategically positioned with strong interests but is unlikely to engage militarily in any conflict over Taiwan.
Maintain the Status Quo
Preventing Calamity
Context:
The issue revolves around the politics of humanitarian aid, particularly concerning Gaza, Taiwan, and other conflict zones. Recent events highlight the intersection of geopolitical interests and humanitarian concerns, impacting the lives of vulnerable populations.
Gaza Humanitarian Crisis:
Global Patterns of Humanitarian Aid:
Context:
The failure to adopt the agreement on investment facilitation for development (IFD) at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has raised concerns regarding the inclusion of investment within the WTO framework and the negotiation process followed for the IFD agreement.
Concerns over IFD Agreement:
Reconsidering Approach to Plurilateral Agreements:
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