Context

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched the World Migration Report 2024, which reveals significant shifts in global migration patterns, including a record number of displaced people and a major increase in international remittances.  

World Migration Report 2024

The World Migration Report 2024 plays a crucial role in elucidating the complexity of human mobility through evidence-based data and analysis.

• In an era marked by uncertainty, understanding migration dynamics is essential for informed decision-making and effective policy responses. 
• The World Migration Report sheds light on longstanding trends and emerging challenges.” 
  • Addressing Challenges of Human Mobility: The IOM Report aims to help dispel myths, provide critical insights, and inspire meaningful action in addressing the challenges and opportunities of human mobility.  

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Key Findings from the World Migration Report 2024

• Resilience of International Migration and Remittances Amidst COVID-19: International migration remains a driver of human development and economic growth.
  • This is highlighted by a more than 650 per cent increase in international remittances from 2000 to 2022, rising from USD 128 billion to USD 831 billion. 
  • The growth continued despite predictions from many analysts that remittances would decrease substantially because of COVID-19.  
• Remittance to Low and Middle-income Countries: Of the 831 billion in remittances, 647 billion were sent by migrants to low and middle-income countries. 
  • These remittances can constitute a significant portion of those countries’ GDPs, and globally, these remittances now surpass foreign direct investment in those countries. 
• Challenges: Highlighting key findings, the report reveals that while international migration continues to drive human development, challenges persist. 
  • Unprecedented Levels of Displacement: The global population of international migrants stands at approximately 281 million, while the number of individuals displaced by conflict, violence, disasters, and other factors increased to a record high of 117 million. 
    • This underscores the pressing need to address displacement crises urgently.
  • Misinformation and Politicization: Most migration is regular, safe, and regionally focused, directly linked to opportunities and livelihoods.
    • Yet, misinformation and politicization have clouded public discourse, necessitating a clear and accurate portrayal of migration dynamics.  

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Context

The usage of the Widal test has declined in many countries due to inherent flaws. However, the widespread use of the test in India highlights its limitations.

Typhoid Fever 

Typhoid fever is also called enteric fever, is a bacterial infection that can spread throughout the body, affecting many organs.

• Spread: Typhoid spreads through contaminated food and water and is caused by Salmonella typhiand which is related to the bacteria that cause salmonella food poisoning.
• Symptoms: It presents with a high fever, stomach pain, weakness, and other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation, and a rash. 
  • Some people, called carriers, may remain symptom-free and shed the bacteria in their stool for several months to years.
• Typhoid Disease Burden: If left untreated, typhoid can be life-threatening. As per the World Health Organisation, 90 lakh people are diagnosed worldwide with typhoid every year and 1.1 lakh die of it. 
  • A 2023 study reported the burden to be 576-1173 cases per 100,000 child-years (one child year is one child being followed up for one year) in urban areas and 35 per 100,000 child years in rural Pune.

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Diagnosis of Typhoid Fever

• In addition to a detailed medical history and a thorough examination, the process includes isolating the bacteria from a patient’s blood or bone marrow and grow them in the lab. 
  • Stool and urine samples can also yield the same but with lower sensitivity.
• Concerns with Culture Tests: Cultures are time-consuming and skill- and resource-intensive.  Prior antibiotic treatment can also affect the results of cultures.
• PCR Based Methods: Some PCR-based molecular methods are known to be better but are limited by cost, the need for specialized infrastructure and skilled personnel  and the inability to retrieve live bacteria for further tests.

Widal Test

Clinicians in India widely use the Widal test for diagnosing typhoid across both public and private healthcare sectors.

• Antibodies detection: Similar to other infections, our immune system generates antibodies in response to the bacteria responsible for enteric fever. 
  • The Widal test rapidly detects and quantifies these antibodies. It serves as a point-of-care test and does not require specialized skills or infrastructure. 

Concerns Related to the Widal Test

• Ineffectiveness of Single Diagnosis: A positive result from a single Widal test does not definitively indicate the presence of a typhoid infection, and conversely, a negative result does not confirm the absence of the disease.
  • To diagnose an active infection accurately, clinicians need to test at least two serum samples collected at intervals of 7-14 days. However, obtaining two samples is often impractical and time-intensive.
• Standardization of Widal Test Cut-off Values: In areas with high and continuous typhoid burden, certain level of antibodies against the bacteria may already be present in the blood. 
  • Interpreting the test accurately is not feasible without knowledge of the baseline cut-off. 
  • Additionally, various manufacturers of the test specify different cut-off values in their kit’s user manuals, further complicating interpretation.
• Impact of Reagents: The reagents used in the Widal test to reveal the presence of various antibodies can cross-react with antibodies produced against infections by other bacteria, viruses or parasites, or even in typhoid-vaccinated individuals, leading to false positive results. 
  • Prior antibiotic treatment can also affect antibody levels and yield a false negative.
• Correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment of enteric fever are important because serious complications, like severe intestinal bleeding or perforation, can develop within a few weeks if the disease is mismanaged. False negatives can thus delay diagnosis and lead to fatal outcomes.

Consequences of the Test’s Use

• Challenges in Determining Typhoid Prevalence in India: Due to the inaccuracy of the results, the true prevalence of typhoid in India remains unclear. 
  • Insufficient awareness regarding the optimal timing for blood sample collection, coupled with a lack of standardization of kits and inadequate quality control, exacerbates the issue.
• Economic Burden on patients: A single test costs a couple hundred rupees. 
  • Patients in many states reported being charged Rs 500 to Rs 4,000 per dose of antibiotic injections by local healthcare providers following a typhoid diagnosis based on a single Widal test. 
  • Patients in both urban and rural areas have reported selling assets to receive these antibiotics.
• Irrational Use of Antibiotics: It is a major cause of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Bacteria have been known to be able to transmit AMR between strains and species, and they are not limited by geographical borders. 
  • Thus, the threat of AMR in one country represents the threat of AMR everywhere. 
  • Some strains of Salmonella are also resistant to multiple drugs. Continued irrational use of the Widal test, which facilitates unnecessary use of antibiotics, will make it more and more difficult to control this preventable disease.

Way Forward

• Adoption of Best-Practice Strategies: Better point-of-care tests need to be discovered that can replace the Widal test. 
  • Until they’re available, clinicians can use best-practice strategies that provide a rational diagnosis and subsequent treatment options based on the regional data of effective antibiotics available against the bacteria.
  • These options should be coupled with ensuring adequate and safe food and water and functional sanitation to address the disease’s root cause.
• Improving Access to Better Diagnostic Tests: Doing a blood or bone marrow culture is often not feasible as it requires laboratory infrastructure lacking in most parts of the country. 
  • Healthcare workers can instead benefit from a ‘hub and spoke’ model, with sample collection sites at the periphery and district hospitals and medical colleges as the hubs that process samples. 
  • The latter facilities could also serve as research centres that generate regional prevalence and susceptibility data.

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• Improved Surveillance: To effectively combat AMR attributed to the overutilization of the Widal test, improved surveillance measures are imperative. 
  • As per the latest report of Indian Council for Medical Research from 2021, the number of samples tested to determine susceptibility varied widely, ranging from one in the ‘East’ region to 126 samples in the ‘North’.
  • Given that typhoid also has symptom-free carriers, constant environmental vigilance and data-sharing are crucial.

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Context

The US directed NASA to establish a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) to standardize cislunar operations with Earth’s universal time to enhance scientific missions.

Deadline for Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)

The US has established a deadline of December 31, 2026, for NASA and its international partners to devise a strategy for LTC implementation. NASA has been directed to engage with the 39 nations who have signed the Artemis Accords for this project. 

• Demand for Unified Lunar Time: In November 2022, the need for a unified lunar time was voiced globally by space agencies and academic organizations that agreed on “a common lunar reference time.’’

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Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)

Standard for Cislunar Operations: The Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)  will be the standard to measure cislunar operations — space activities between the moon and Earth — with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the global time used to regulate time on Earth. 

• Need for LTC: In 2023, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a project called ‘Moonlight’ to design satellites for astronauts and robotic explorers, which will be used to support NASA’s moon mission ‘Artemis.’ 
• During the project, discussions emerged regarding establishing a unified time zone for the moon and the approach to achieving it.
• On Earth, a 24-hour day is adhered to based on the planet’s rotation. However, the moon rotates much slower—every 29.5 Earth days.”  
• Due to its slow rotation, it would be feasible to implement fewer time zones than Earth’s 24 time zones.
• This concept mirrors the structure of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
• Establishing a Permanent Human Presence on the Moon: With space agencies across the world aiming to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, LTC is required.
  • Commercial operations on the lunar surface involving transactions and logistics will be more reliable with the LTC.
• Role of LTC in Lunar Navigation and Coordination: A dedicated global satellite navigation system (GNSS) for the moon is to be developed by 2030. 
  • This system will function similar to how the Global positioning system (GPS) and other navigation networks work on Earth.
  • Thus, moon missions of various agencies will need an official lunar time to communicate with Earth-based stations and each other. 
  • All these must be linked to a single time reference, otherwise, coordination would become challenging.

Features Needed for a Time Standard

• Traceability to Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC): Lunar Time is analogous to Terrestrial Time on Earth (TAI+ 32.184 seconds). Similar to Terrestrial Time, Lunar Time may be set through an ensemble of clocks on the moon. 
  • This time standard, i.e., LTC may directly employ or distribute the UTC offsets required to maintain local and UTC time within tolerance limits.
• Scalability beyond the Earth-Moon system: Conversion of LTC to UTC for operations involving interactions with Earth will be possible by using the above approach to set the LTC. 
  • This approach is also extensible to space environments beyond the Earth-Moon system (for example, for Mars).
• Accuracy for precision navigation and science: The LTC will give users in cislunar space a reference time standard near the gravitational environment in which they operate. 
  • Space assets can synchronize with each other with precision for navigation.
• Resilience to loss of contact with Earth: The reference time, LTC must survive independently when contact with Earth is lost.
  • Unlike Earth, the moon will have only one time zone and daylight saving will be unnecessary.

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Issues in Defining and Implementing Coordinated Lunar Time

• Gravitational Pull of Moon: The process of defining lunar time is complicated by the effect of the moon’s gravitational pull. 
  • As per special relativity theory, due to the weaker gravitational pull of the moon, a clock on the moon would run faster than one on Earth.
• Impact of Lunar Surface Position on Clock Speed: A clock’s speed would also change depending on its position on the lunar surface, because of the moon’s rotation.
  • Any clock on the moon would gain 56 microseconds over 24 hours. Each lunar day spans approximately 29.5 Earth days. 
  • With the Artemis Programme aiming for a lunar landing as early as 2026, addressing this challenge for long-duration stays is imperative.
  • It is estimated that at least three master clocks, synchronized with the moon’s natural pace, need to be installed. These clocks, along with an algorithm are expected to produce a more precise time standard.

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Context

Vietnam is putting its case forward for the USA to change its “non-market economy” status to market economy status in the review process.

US Considers Vietnam Market Economy Upgrade

• The US Commerce Department is reviewing Vietnam’s status which is set to end by late July.
• The change in status to the market economy will help Vietnam get rid of the anti-dumping duties, making its products more competitive in the US market.
• Vietnam has been on Washington’s list of non-market economies for more than two decades now.

What is a Non-Market Economy?

The Non-Market economy list includes 12 countries, the are Republic of Armenia; Republic of Azerbaijan; Republic of Belarus ; People’s Republic of China; Georgia; Kyrgyz Republic; Republic of Moldova; Russian Federation; Republic of Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Republic of Uzbekistan ; Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

• Objective: The Non-Market Economy label allows the US to impose “anti-dumping” and countervailing duties on goods imported from the designated countries. 
• Process: The US determines the duties by relying on a third-market economy country, The US will assess the value of a product to be imported from a non-market economy based on what it is worth in the other country and extrapolate the supposed production cost to a Vietnamese company without considering the company’s own data and cost.
  • Example:  U.S. anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese frozen farmed shrimp are currently 25.76%, while similar duties on shrimp from Thailand, a market economy, are only 5.34%.

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• Factors considered by the USA to designate a country as a non-market economy 
• • If the country’s currency is convertible.
  • If the wage rates are determined by free bargaining between labour and management
  • If  joint ventures or other foreign investments are allowed.
  • State control: If the means of production are owned by the state and the state controls the allocation of resources and price and output decisions. 
  • Other factors like human rights are also considered.

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Context

Nepal decided to include a map on its Rs 100 currency note, depicting certain areas administered by India in Uttarakhand as part of its territory. 

Nepal’s Map on Currency Notes Sparks Controversy Amid Tensions with India

• Parliament Reaction:  The map was adopted by consensus in Nepal’s Parliament four years ago. 
  • In contrast to 2020 when the new map was embraced, the recent decision to feature it on the currency note has been met with skepticism and criticism in Nepal.
• India’s Response: India asserted that such “unilateral measures” by Nepal would not alter the ground reality.India stated that discussions regarding boundary matters are in progress through an established platform. 
  • However, it seems that Kathmandu is dissatisfied with the pace and urgency of this process.

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India Nepal Border Dispute

The India Nepal border dispute is about a 372-sq-km area that includes Limpiadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani at the India-Nepal-China trijunction in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. Nepal has claimed for long that these areas belong to it both historically and evidently.

Genesis of the India Nepal Border Dispute

• Treaty of Sugauli: The treaty at the end of the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-1816, resulted in Nepal ceding a portion of its territory to the East India Company. 
• Article 5 of the treaty revoked Nepal’s rulers’ jurisdiction over the land situated to the east of the Kali River.
• Maps issued by the British Surveyor General of India in 1819, 1821, 1827, and 1856 showed the Kali River as originating in Limpiadhura. 
• Publishing of New Map:  The next map, published in 1879, used the name of the river in the local language: “Kuti Yangti”.
  • The map that was published in 1920-21 retained the name Kuti Yangti but it identified a different “Kali” which was shown as a stream originating from a temple site, and joining the main stream about a kilometre downstream. 
  • However, the last map issued by the British before they left India in 1947 showed the initial position of the Kali River originating in Limpiadhura.
• Transition Following India-China War: Until 1962, villages in this area—Gunji, Nabhi, Kuti, and Kalapani, also recognized as Tulsi Nyurang and Nabhidang were included in the Nepal government census, and residents paid land revenue to the Kathmandu government. 
  • Following the war between India and China, India approached King of Nepal asking for permission to use Kalapani, which was strategically located close to the trijunction, as a base for the Indian Army.
• India-Nepal Dispute resolution Talks: Prime Minister I K Gujral (April 1997-March 1998) promised to give up these areas if Nepal was able to produce evidence for its claim.
  • In July 2000, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee assured Nepal that India had no interest in Nepali territory. However, the mechanism led by the two nations did not make progress.
  • During the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Nepal in 2014, both nations agreed to set up a boundary working group for speedy settlement of the border issue in Kalapani and Susta.
  • Susta is a 145-sq-km area that had fallen on the Indian side after the River Gandak changed course.

Frictions in India Nepal Relations

• Deterioration of Indo-Nepal Relations Post-2015: The goodwill of the 2005-14 period when India mediated the transition of Nepal into a secular federal republic deteriorated in 2015.
  • Maoists rejected the Indian suggestion that Nepal’s new constitution should be delayed until the concerns of the Terai parties were addressed.
• Erosion of Trust and Strategic Pivot: The 134-day blockade of Nepal, commencing in September 2015 created significant distrust against India. 
  • Nepal initiated a trade and transit agreement with China to establish an alternative source for the supply of essential goods.
  • In 2020, Nepal spearheaded efforts to garner parliamentary consensus for Nepal’s new map, which officially incorporated the 372 sq km area in Uttarakhand and pledged to bring it back.
• India’s Response: India condemned Nepal’s “cartographic aggression” as unacceptable but emphasized that the issue must be resolved through diplomatic channels based on evidence. 
• Difference in Map of 2024 from 2020: Unlike 2020, when the new map was adopted by Parliament, there is no consensus on putting the map on the currency note. 
• Call for Dialogue: Resolving the issue through dialogue has been advocated, avoiding actions that could provoke drastic measures from India.
  • Despite the in-principle agreement on resolution through appropriate platforms based on evidence, India and Nepal have not fixed a timeframe or called a meeting for the purpose.

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Kali River

River Kali is the largest and the most important river of the Kumaon region. 

• Border Countries: It forms the border between India and Nepal, draining both Eastern Kumaon and Western Nepal. 
• Tributaries: Saryu, Gori, Kuti, Dhauli East and Ramganga East. 
  • Saryu is the largest tributary, which rises in the north-west area of Baijnath in Central Kumaon.It merges with the Kali River at Pancheshwar. 
  • The temple towns of Baijnath and Pancheshwar are important settlements along the Saryu River. 

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Context

The Bombay High Court recently invalidated a section of a central government memorandum, which allowed public sector banks to seek the issuance of lookout circulars (LoCs) for wilful defaulters.

• The court ruled in the case of Viraj Chetan Shah v Union of India, stating that this provision violated fundamental rights to life (Article 21) and equality (Article 14). 

About Wilful Defaulter

Definition: A wilful default occurs when a borrower deliberately fails to repay a loan despite possessing the means to do so.

• Large defaulter: it is a borrower with the balance of Rs. 1 crore or more. Whose account has been marked as doubtful or a loss. 
• Misuse of Funds: Another scenario of wilful default arises when the borrower diverts the borrowed funds for purposes other than the intended use.
• Asset Disposal: Wilful default also includes all situations where the borrower sells or disposes of the asset pledged as collateral for the loan.
• Penalty Threshold: Any borrower classified as a wilful defaulter with an outstanding balance of Rs 25 lakh or more is subject to penal provisions.
• Threshold Application:  The Rs 25 lakh limit also applies when funds are misused.

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Prohibitions and Rules for Wilful Defaulters in India

The concept of a wilful defaulter in India carries significant weight, essentially blacklisting borrowers from financial opportunities. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

• Designation Authority: Commercial lenders like banks and NBFCs have the power to designate borrowers as wilful defaulters.
• Consequences: This designation comes with severe consequences, prohibiting access to:
  • Additional credit facilities from the designating lender.
  • Any credit for new ventures.
  • Issuing equity shares (listed companies).
  • Launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
  • Submitting a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
• Evolution of Institutional Arrangements for Wilful Defaulters
  • The designation of wilful defaulters by commercial lenders has undergone significant institutional changes over time. 
    • Central Vigilance Commission Directive (1998): It initiated the first layer of institutional design in 1998.
      • It instructed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to gather information on wilful defaults exceeding Rs 25 lakh. 
    • Parliamentary Standing Committee Recommendations (2000): This committee has recommended blacklisting wilful defaulters from institutional finance and equity markets. 
      • However, it didn’t propose adequate procedural safeguards
    • Penal measures: The RBI circular in 2002 introduced penal measures, which were updated over time due to judicial intervention.
      • RBI kept on updating these through circulars, primarily on account of judicial intervention
    • The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) of 2016: it allowed  creditors to take over a defaulted company regardless of the default being wilful or not.
    • Procedural Safeguards: These safeguards were prioritized  in 2019 when the supreme court rulings emphasize the need for proper procedures before designating a wilful 
      • Natural Justice: Borrowers must be granted access to relevant investigation material before being labelled a wilful defaulter.
      • Right to Respond: This aligns with the concept of allowing inspection of documents in securities law enforcement proceedings.
        • The rights of wilful defaulters: In September 2023, the RBI provided an initial guideline proposing changes to the procedures aimed at better protecting the rights of wilful defaulters and those with significant defaults.

Reasons for Criticism with Lenders Classifying Wilful Defaulters

The current system of wilful defaulter designation in India faces criticism due to potential conflicts of interest:

• Lender as Judge: Banks and NBFCs, who are parties to the loan agreement, are responsible for classifying borrowers as wilful defaulters. This raises concerns about impartiality.
• Shifting Blame: A lender’s poor initial credit assessment could lead to a default. 
  • However, the system incentivizes the lender to classify the borrower as wilful, deflecting blame.
• No Impact on Lender: Wilful defaulter designation doesn’t affect the lender’s financial obligations, further raising questions about their objectivity.
  • This structure violates the principle of natural justice: “nemo judex in causa sua” (no one can be a judge of their own cause).

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Context

Recently, Multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato unveiled India’s first crowd-supported weather infrastructure. 

Zomato Unveils India’s First Crowd-Supported Weather Infrastructure to Empower Businesses with Real-Time Data

The initiative is in line with the Indian government’s effort to predict weather patterns better and take timely decisions to mitigate damages to lives, livelihoods and economy. 

• In 2023, the Indian government launched the Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS).
  • According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, extreme weather events and climate-related disasters have caused significant economic losses, reaching nearly $1.5 trillion globally in the decade to 2019. 

About Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS)

• Deals with: It is a national level initiative that will integrate the existing infrastructure and expertise available with IMD, various State Governments and public/private technical organizations. 
• Launched by: It is a programmatic initiative by the Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare (DA&FW) and the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) to generate long-term, hyper-local weather data.  
• Aim: To create a large network of weather stations at the block and gram panchayat levels and to close the knowledge gap and empower decision-makers, farmers, and stakeholders at the grassroots level.

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Significance of Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS)

• Data & Information: It will provide farmers with critical weather-related information and data.
• Strengthening of Infrastructure: It prioritizes the establishment of a robust network of meteorological stations.
  • It is a programmatic initiative to strengthen weather data infrastructure in India and to provide good quality weather datasets from a single digital platform. 
• Assessment: This vast network of weather stations will allow for accurate weather pattern monitoring, effective planning, risk assessment, and rapid response to meteorological concerns.
  • It set up a robust mechanism to integrate weather data, pooled from different weather observation systems in the country, into a single national level WINDS portal. 
  • It will synergise the efforts and the data collected by different stakeholders for larger usage in risk mitigation strategies of the Governments and ensure seamless and near real time dissemination of services.

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Context

A new World Bank report, Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System has been released.

Key Highlights from the Report World Bank Report On Agrifood System

Emission Reduction Potential in the Global Agrifood System: The global agrifood system offers an opportunity to reduce nearly one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This can be done through accessible and affordable measures, while ensuring the continued sustenance of a growing population. The report outlines actions that every country can take. These measures enhance food security and help the food system better withstand climate change, and protect vulnerable people during this transition.

• Leveraging the Agrifood System for Climate Change Solution: The agrifood system is a huge, untapped source of low-cost climate change action. 
  • Unlike other sectors, it can have an outsized impact on climate change by reducing emissions and drawing carbon naturally from the atmosphere.
• Investment Imperative for Agrifood Emission Reductions: The benefits of investing in reducing agrifood emissions outweigh the costs. 
  • Annual investments must rise to $260 billion by 2030 to halve agrifood emissions and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 
  • Currently, twice the amount is spent annually on agricultural subsidies which have negative environmental impacts.
  • Investing in these initiatives would result in benefits of over $4 trillion with enhancements in human health, food and nutrition security, increased job quality and profits for farmers, and heightened carbon retention in forests and soils.

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Challenges Posed by Agrifood Systems

• GHG Emissions: Agrifood generates almost a third of GHG emissions, averaging around 16 gigatons annually. 
  • This is about one-sixth more than all of the world’s heat and electricity emissions.
• Pollution From Developing Countries: Three-quarters of agrifood emissions come from developing countries, including two-thirds from middle-income countries. 
• Financing Gap: There is insufficient investment in cutting agrifood emissions, and agrifood lags other sectors in financing for climate action. 
  • Finance for reducing or removing emissions in the agrifood system remains low at 2.4 percent of total mitigation finance.

Actions Suggested by the World Bank Report

• High-income countries can lead the way: This can be done by giving more support to low- and middle-income countries so they can adopt low-emission farming methods and technologies. 
  • This includes technical assistance for forest conservation programs that generate high-integrity carbon credits. 
  • They can also shift subsidies away from high-emitting food sources. This would reveal their full price and help make low-emission food options cheaper.
• Role of Middle-income countries: They can curb up to three-quarters of global agrifood emissions through greener practices.
  • These include reducing emissions from livestock and rice, investing in healthy soils, and cutting food loss and waste — and using land more efficiently. 
  • One-third of the world’s opportunities to reduce agrifood emissions relate to sustainable land use in middle-income countries.
• Role of Low-income countries: They can start by avoiding the mistakes made by richer countries and seizing climate-smart opportunities for greener and more competitive economies. 
  • Preserving and restoring forests would promote sustainable economic development in low-income countries, given more than half of their agrifood emissions come from clearing forests to produce food.
• Comprehensive Approach to Achieving Net Zero Emissions: Emissions need to be reduced in food systems, including in fertilizers and energy, crop and livestock production, and packaging and distribution across the value chain from farm to table.

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Context

Recently, The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in a circular, has issued guidelines that put the onus of verifying merchant details on acquiring banks for BHIM Aadhar Pay.

BHIM Aadhar Pay 

BHIM Aadhaar Pay enables Merchants to receive digital payments from customers over the counter through Aadhaar Authentication. 

• It allows for any Merchant associated with any acquiring bank live on BHIM Aadhaar Pay, to accept payment from customers of any bank by authenticating customer’s biometrics. 
• Prerequisite : 
  • To be able to effect the same, merchants should have an Android mobile or any supported device with BHIM Aadhaar Pay app and certified biometric scanner attached with mobile phone/Kiosk/Tablet on USB Port or Micro-ATM/POS, mPOS. 
  • Both Customer and Merchant should have their Aadhaar linked to their Bank Account.

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Reference Guidelines for Merchant Acquisition Standards- BHIM Aadhaar Pay

The NPCI issued these guidelines to an acquiring member bank’s key responsibilities and accountabilities when managing merchants.

• An Acquiring Member Bank must monitor its Merchant activity (viz., on-boarding criteria, transaction monitoring & control, training, assessment of the portfolio metrics, etc.) periodically. 
  • These monitoring standards for merchants is a baseline for the level of oversight on Merchant performance. 
  • Acquiring Member Banks can use both manual as well as digital modes of merchant due diligence.
• Acquiring Member Bank should ensure the following points are in place and the same is adequately addressed:
  • Board approved policy for Merchant acquisition : 
    • Implement policies that include standards to ensure quality / business conduct to mitigate risk to the NPCI operated payment system in terms of financial or reputational risk.
    • The policies must be approved by the Acquiring Merber Bank’s Board of Directors and should have a periodic review mechanism.
  • Agreements with various stakeholders (as appropriate) : 
    • Merchant agreement in place with each merchant/ aggregator (as appropriate) before any service is provided.
  • Merchant underwriting : 
    • It has advised members to assign appropriate Merchant Category Code (MCC) while taking on board merchants. 
  • Merchant portfolio and risk monitoring : 
    • They are required to ensure that cash withdrawal transactions are not allowed on the BAP service’s merchants by categorizing Merchant Criteria &  Prohibited Merchants.
  • Merchant training
  • Third party agent risk oversight and governance

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Context

Over the past few years, waste management has seen a paradigm shift in policies and perspectives. Waste is no longer something to discard instantly but a reservoir of resources, given all the materials to be recovered for reuse.

About Waste & Waste Management

Waste is unwanted or unusable materials. It is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use.

• Solid Wastes: These are unwanted or useless solid materials generated from human activities in residential, industrial or commercial areas. 
  • Classification: It may be categorized in three following ways:
    • Origin: Domestic, industrial, commercial, construction or institutional
    • Contents: Organic material, glass, metal, plastic paper etc
    • Hazard Potential: Toxic, non-toxin, flammable, radioactive, infectious etc
  • Solid Waste Management: It reduces or eliminates the adverse impact on the environment & human health. 
    • A number of processes are involved in effectively managing waste for a municipality. These include monitoring, collection, transport, processing, recycling and disposal. 
• Liquid Wastes: These wastes are generated from washing, flushing or manufacturing processes of industries.
• Gaseous Wastes: These are the wastes that are released in the form of gases from automobiles, factories or burning of fossil fuels like petroleum. 
  • They get mixed in the other gases’ atmosphere and occasionally cause events such as smog and acid rain.
• Sustainable Waste Management: It relies on the waste management hierarchy, a system that focuses on avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, and finally, treatment or disposal.

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Difference in Current Policies from Traditional Waste Management Practices

Traditional System: The last 150 years have seen informal workers in the waste management sector, commonly known as kabaadiwalas, creating and following best practices such as sorting and segregating waste, trading it at various levels and even recycling plastic and paper. 

Concerns Related to the Traditional Waste Management Practices

• Insufficient Income: This method is not sustainable because their insufficient income limits their ability to scale up and adopt the modern structure, systems and technology needed for the task. 

• The current operations of informal kabaadiwala aggregators (now known as ‘swachhata warriors’) struggle to meet operational costs as they are dependent on a single stream of revenue- selling the waste.
• Rampant Exploitation: Also, there is rampant exploitation of informal sector workers; their working conditions are often hazardous, especially in the context of toxic waste. 
• Current Dismal Situation: As per a report by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), India generates over 62 million tonnes of waste in a year.
  • Of this, only 43 million tonnes of total waste generated gets collected, 12 million tonnes is treated before disposal and the rest is simply discarded in waste yards.
  • Responsibility: The responsibility for institutionalizing waste management in India lies not just with governance bodies but, importantly, with waste generators, i.e. citizens and businesses.

Regulations of Waste Management in India

Institutional Arrangement: In India, waste management is governed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and the ULBs (12th Schedule of the Constitution).

• Responsibility of Local Bodies: Under the 74th Constitutional Amendment, Disposal and management of Municipal Solid Waste is one of the 18 functional domains of the Municipal Corporations and Nagar Panchayats. 
• A Fundamental Duty: Article 51 A (g) of the Indian Constitution that deals with fundamental duties states that every citizen of India should protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
• Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a state subject and it is the responsibility of the state government to ensure appropriate solid waste management practices.

Basis of Management: 

In India, rules regarding the management of waste are based on the ideas of “sustainable development,” “precaution,” and “polluter pays.”

• These principles require cities and businesses to act responsibly and take care of the environment, fixing any harm they cause. There are laws to regulate how waste is handled under the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
  • The ‘polluter pays’ principle states that whoever produces pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.

Various Rules & Regulations for Waste Management: 

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Mechanism: EPR makes producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, including their collection, recycling, and disposal.
  • It aims to reduce the environmental impact of products by shifting the financial and physical burden of waste management from governments and taxpayers to producers.
  • In 2022, EPR initiatives were implemented for plastic packaging, E-waste, battery waste, and used oil. 
• Solid Waste Management Rules 2016: It replaced the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 and focused on segregation of waste at source, responsibility on the manufacturer to dispose of sanitary and packaging wastes, user fees for collection, disposal and processing from the bulk generator.
• Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016: It mandates the generators of plastic waste to take steps to minimize generation of plastic waste, prevent littering of plastic waste, and ensure segregated storage of waste at source among other measures.
  • In February 2022, Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022 were notified.
• Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022: It specifies the responsibilities of various stakeholders in ensuring that plastic waste is managed properly and does not end up polluting the environment.
• Zero Waste Policy: India’s current policy framework aims to eliminate landfills or have less than 10% of waste going into these. 
  • This forms the basis of ‘zero waste’ policies that are part of the Solid Waste Management Rules in India. 
  • Need: To achieve positive results on ‘zero waste’ policies, India will need to introduce a holistic system, including collection of segregated waste, followed closely by further sorting into multiple categories, the aggregation of each category, and finally its dispatch to various recyclers. 
  • Significance: If this process is followed meticulously across the country, we will have a system calibrated for maximum resource recovery, with 95% of the waste sent for processing and just 5% put into a landfill.

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Initiatives Related to Waste Management in India

• Swachh Bharat Mission for Solid Waste Management: Central assistance is provided under Swachh Bharat Mission for solid waste management including plastic waste management in urban and rural areas.
• Swaccha Survekshan: It is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India. 
• Swachhata Hi Sewa Campaign: It has been launched for ensuring cleanliness through the various stakeholders’ engagement in the “Jan Andolan” (National Movement).
• Compost Banao, Compost Apnao Campaign: It aims to encourage people to convert their kitchen waste into compost to be used as fertilizer and to reduce the amount of waste getting to landfill sites.
• Project REPLAN: It aims to make carry bags by mixing processed and treated plastic waste with cotton fibre rags in the ratio 20:80.
• Waste to Wealth Portal: It aims to identify, develop, and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract resources of value.
• Waste to Energy: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched it to convert municipal and industrial solid waste into electricity and/or heat for industrial processing.
• Waste to Wealth Mission: It is the scientific mission of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PMSTIAC).
  • It aims to identify, develop, and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract resources of value.
  • The ‘Waste-to-Energy’ and Waste Management market in India is set to be a $14bn opportunity by the year 2025.

Challenges Faced in Waste Management in India

• Rising Waste Generation: Rapidly expanding population and economic growth leads to increase in waste generation consequent to rise in consumption and expansion of digital economy leads to increase in e-waste generation.
  • As per a Planning Commission Report of 2014, India will generate 165 million tonnes by 2030.
• Inappropriate Management: In India, the informal sector plays a significant role in extracting value from waste, but faces challenges due to mismanagement.
  • Sorting recyclable materials is also a problem, only about 30% of waste is properly sorted, leading valuable materials like aluminum to end up in landfills instead of being recycled.
• Rapid Urbanization: In India, there are huge urban areas with 377 million people generate about 62 million tons of solid waste every year. However, only 43 million tons are collected, and the rest ends up untreated or in landfills.
  • E-waste is another significant concern with a progressive rise.
• Inadequate Infrastructure & Lack of Financial Resources: India faces lack of adequate garbage collection infrastructure, evident from the only 21 million garbage collectors.
  • Lack of financial resources with local bodies lead to understaffed and underpaid cleaning and sanitation departments. 
• Lack of Responsibility: Limited environmental awareness along with low motivation has an impact on innovation. Inappropriate public attitudes to waste are also a major barrier to improving waste management in India.

Way Forward to Waste Management in India

• Infrastructure & Technology: 
  • Appropriate Infrastructure: A sustainable waste management system needs appropriate infrastructure in the form of collection and sorting centres and material recovery facilities, apart from wet waste processing and dry waste recycling facilities. 
  • Detailed Processes: It needs very detailed processes to operate the facilities, manage logistics and capture data. 
  • Technology: It also needs technology to track and trace waste and ultimately ensure the recycling of all that can be recycled.
    • It is desirable to integrate technology like RFID-enabled monitoring and GPS tracking that can also help in efficient waste management.
      • Real-time Monitoring and Visibility: RFID enables real-time monitoring of personnel movements, allowing supervisors and managers to make informed decisions based on up-to-date information.
  • Focus on Organic Waste: Treating organic waste through composting and bio-methanation can reduce the amount going to landfills and can convert organic waste into fuel, which is beneficial.
    • The concept of common waste treatment facilities is being promoted, involving public-private partnerships. India needs to ensure proper treatment facilities for biomedical and hazardous waste.
• An Integrated Roadmap: There is a need to adopt a business model focused on the environmental as well as social impact of waste management, meaning to achieve a balance of ‘people, planet and profits.’ 
  • Transformation: With proper practices and systems in place, the model should also integrate the informal sector and provide a roadmap for transformation.
  • Twin Revenue System: Such a business model could rely on a twin revenue system- a service fee that users are charged plus revenues from waste sales. 
  • These two revenue streams could cover the operational costs of an enterprise in the waste sector. 
• Strict Implementation of Rules & Regulations: Strictly implementing waste management rules, especially the “Polluter Pays Principle,” is crucial.
• Raise Awareness: There is a need to educate people through community organizations and self-help groups about separating waste, recycling, and composting to make the process more effective and sustainable.
  • Research and development can encourage technology-driven recycling at the university and school level to promote active participation in waste management.
• Individual’s Responsibility: Waste is everybody’s responsibility. A waste reduction strategy can be incorporated by each of us whether at home or at work by following the 4 R’s principle- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recovery or reclaim.

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Conclusion

Waste management stands as a critical pillar in ensuring a clean and healthy environment for all. Waste, once considered a mere byproduct, has now become a pressing challenge, demanding innovative solutions and comprehensive strategies to address its impact on human health and the environment.

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