COntext: 

According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), average time taken for resolution of stressed assets under the insolvency law reached a three-year high in the June quarter.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 

• It lays down the provisions for conducting insolvency or bankruptcy of individuals, partnership firms, LLP and companies.
• Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (‘CIRP’) is a recovery mechanism for the creditors of a corporate debtor. 
• A corporate Debtor (CD) means a company or Limited Liability Partnership (‘LLP’) that owes a debt to its creditors.
• When a company or LLP becomes insolvent or commits a default, the financial creditor, operational creditor or the corporate debtor can file an application to initiate the CIRP by the Adjudicating Authority, i.e. National Company Law Tribunal (‘NCLT’). 
• Timeline for completion of resolution under IBC: 270 days.
  • It can be extended subject to certain conditions. 

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• Resolution Delay: The average timeline for resolution of cases for corporate debtors (CDs) was 541 days in Q1 FY24, same as in FY23. 
  • The longest delay was 643 days for the Financial Creditors (FCs) in the first quarter of this fiscal.
• Liquidation Delay: A total of 45 per cent of the cases under the IBC have ended in liquidation.
  • In cases of liquidation, the average time taken during the June quarter was 480, 458 and 391 days for FCs, OCs, and CDs, respectively, which is the highest in the past three years.

News Source: Indian Express

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Context: Recently, military officers in Gabon say they have taken power and put the president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest.

About Gabon

• Location: It’s an oil-rich country on the west coast of Central Africa, with a small population of just 2.4 million.
• Gabon is a member of the Opec oil cartel, with a production of 181,000 barrels of crude a day, making it the eighth-largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa. 
• Political Stability: Gabon till date has not been afflicted by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable. 
• Unemployment: According to World Bank, nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15-24 were out of work in 2020.
• About Ali Bongo: He was declared the winner of Saturday’s disputed elections and has been president since 2009. 
  • Before that, his father was in power for 41 years.

Why so many coups?

• Gabon becomes the latest in Africa to suffer an attempted coup.
• If successful, the coup would be the eighth in west and central Africa since 2020. 
• The most recent one, in Niger, was in July, while the military has also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.
• Coup threaten a reversal of the democratization process the continent has undergone in the past two decades.
• Reason for Rampant Coup: Corruption, mismanagement and poverty, 

News Source: BBC

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Context: 

Recently, revised production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware has received an “excellent” response from 38 companies, including global ones such as HP, Dell, Lenovo and Foxconn as well as local maker Dixon Technologies.

About Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware

• Aim: Broadening and deepening the IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
• Incentive: It extends an average incentive of around 5 per cent on net incremental sales (over the base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under the target segment, to eligible companies, for a period of six years. 
• Local Boost: Companies that locally manufacture certain components including memory modules, solid state drives and display panels will get additional incentives.
• Target Segment: Laptops, Tablets, All-in-One PCs, Servers,Ultra Small Form Factor (USFF), Semiconductor design, IC manufacturing, and packaging are included.
• Flexibility: It provides increased flexibility and options for applicants and is tied to incremental sales and investment thresholds to further incentivise growth. 
• About PLI schemes: As part of its AatmaNirbhar and Make in India plan, the government launched PLI schemes in varied sectors to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain and reduce dependency on imports.

News Source: Livemint

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Context: 

Recently, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has brought 44 new drugs under price control.

About Drug Price Control

• Drug (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013: Prices of drugs in India are regulated as per provisions of Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, by NPPA, under the aegis of Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP).
• Role of DPCO: It controls the prices of all essential medicines by fixing ceiling prices, limiting the highest prices companies can charge. 
• National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is drawn up to include essential medicines that satisfy the priority health needs of the population. 
  • NLEM is updated periodically by an expert panel set up under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 
  • It forms the basis of price controls under the DPCO.
• Role of NPPA: It fixes the ceiling price of scheduled medicines. 
  • It also fixes retail price of ‘new drugs’ for existing manufacturers of scheduled formulations. 
  • For non-scheduled formulations, a manufacturer is at liberty to fix its maximum retail Ppice (MRP) but cannot increase the same by more than 10% of what was prevalent during the preceding 12 months.

News Source: Livemint

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Context: 

According to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report for 2023, air pollution shortens the lives of the residents of Delhi by around 11.9 years.

Highlights of Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report

• Ranking: India ranked second among the countries worst hit by air pollution with Bangladesh topping the list. 
  • Nepal ranked third followed by Pakistan and Mongolia.
• PMI in South Asia: Particulate pollution has increased 9.7 percent from 2013 to 2021 in South Asia.
  • In India, PM2.5 levels rose 9.5 percent; in Pakistan 8.8 percent; and in Bangladesh, levels rose by 12.4 percent over this same time interval.
• Life Expectancy: An average Indian citizen loses around 5.3 years of life expectancy due to air pollution.
  • While an average citizen in Bangladesh loses 6.8 years of their life to air pollution
  • An average Chinese citizen has seen an improvement — from 4.7 years of life expectancy being lost in 2013 to 2.5 now, an improvement of 2.2 years,
• Pollution in India: Pollution in India has increased from 56.2 µg/m3 in 2020 to 58.7 µg/m3 in 2021. 
  • This is more than 10 times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m3.
• Health Risk: Pollution is biggest threat to human health in India in terms of lowering life expectancy, beating cardiovascular diseases and child and maternal malnutrition. 
  • While particulate pollution takes 5.3 years off the life of the average Indian, cardiovascular diseases reduce life expectancy by about 4.5 years, and child and maternal malnutrition reduces life expectancy by 1.8 years.
• Poor AIr in Delhi: It is the most polluted city in the world.
  • Delhi’s annual average PM2.5 level in 2021 was found to be 126.5 µg/m3, which is more than 25 times the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 5 µg/m3.
  • Delhi residents are on track to lose 11.9 years of life expectancy on average relative to the WHO limit and 8.5 years relative to the national guideline if the current pollution levels persist.

About Air Quality Life Index (AQLI)

• AQLI measures the impact of particulate pollution on life expectancy.
• It is released by Energy Policy Institute at University of Chicago (EPIC). 

News Source: Indian Express

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Context:

• In a recent directive called General Comment No. 26 concerning children’s rights and the environment, the United Nations officially acknowledged and reinforced the rights of children to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. 

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• It emphasizes the urgent need to address the adverse effects of environmental harm and climate change on children.
• It promotes a holistic understanding of children’s rights as they apply to environmental protection.
• It clarifies the obligations of States parties to the Child Rights Convention and provide authoritative guidance on legislative, administrative and other appropriate measures to be undertaken with respect to environmental issues, with a special focus on climate change.

Need of the Guidelines:

• As per WHO-UNICEF-Lancet 2020 report, the future of children around the world, including India, is being threatened by environmental degradation and climate change. 
• Water crisis: Approximately 415 million children are living in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability.
  • In these regions, risks of drought, groundwater table decline, water stress, annual and inter-annaul seasonal variability intersect with low levels of access to water services.
• Health crisis: Children are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat waves, as they have a reduced capacity to regulate their body temperature and protect themselves. 
  • Nearly 90 per cent of the global burden of disease associated with climate change is borne by children under five.

• Nutrition crisis: With increasing frequency and severity of droughts, floods and severe weather, food security gets compromised threatening the nutrition of children.
  • According to UN estimates, by 2030, climate change is expected to generate 95,000 more deaths of children under five years of age each year due to malnutrition.
• Education crisis: Climate change and environmental degradation affects children’s ability to go to school, through its impact on health and well-being of both students as well as teachers. 
• Social protection crisis: Climate change strains the systems to accommodate the needs of the most vulnerable. 
• Climate-related migration:  The 2020 Global Trends report by UNHCR revealed that out of the 79.5 million people displaced by the end of 2019, around 30-34 million were children.
• Ignorance of child rights: International and national frameworks on climate change largely ignore children’s rights. 
  • Children are excluded from key policy processes under the UNFCCC.

Highlights of the General Comment No. 26 guidelines:

• Protection against environmental damages: The UN member states have to take measures to protect children harms caused by environmental degradation and climate change.
• Energy transition: Nations have been urged to equitably phase out the use of coal, oil and natural gas. 
  • Ensure a fair and just transition of energy sources and invest in renewable energy, energy storage and energy efficiency to address the climate crisis.
• Inclusive early warning systems: Priority of all nations to establish them to protect children from impacts of the extreme weather events.
• Grants for children rights: Developed countries have been urged to offer grants instead of loans to address issues affecting children’s rights. 
• Effective Emissions reductions: The nations have been asked to prioritize emissions reductions to support children’s full enjoyment of their rights in the shortest possible period of time and to avoid irreversible damage to nature.
  • According to UNICEF estimates, reducing carbon emissions can prevent 4,000 to 6,000 child deaths due to heat in Africa every year.
• Mitigating climate change-induced migration: Adaptation frameworks should address climate change-induced displacement and include provisions for ensuring a child rights-based approach to these issues.
  • In 2022, extreme weather events around the world displaced at least 12 million children.

Way Forward: Realizing children’s rights in a transforming climate:

• Protecting the rights of indigenous children: It is most affected by deforestation, fires, mercury contamination and climate change, losing their cultural heritage and their right to life.
  • As per a recent study,  indigenous communities in New South Wales were found to be disproportionately exposed to a range of climate extremes.
  • They also experienced higher rates of climate-sensitive health conditions and socioeconomic disadvantages.
• Recognizing Children As Agents Of Change: UNICEF works with young people to elevate their  voices on climate change through creative platforms, advocacy and participation at major United Nations summits. 
  • Children and young people can play a key role in addressing climate-related risks by promoting environmentally sustainable lifestyles and setting an example for their communities.
• Making Children The Centre Of Climate Change Strategies And Response Plans: Information on the impacts of climate change on children must be collected so as to enable interventions to be tailored to their specific needs. 
• Scaling-up of investment in adaptation: Industrialised countries should ensure that poorer countries are supported to transition to net-zero carbon economies to adapt and to prepare for loss and damage.
  • Currently, children receive merely twenty per cent of global public climate finance. 
• Protecting Children From The Impacts Of Climate Change And Environmental Degradation: It is done through:
  • Climate-smart water, sanitation and hygiene services 
  • Sustainable energy and disaster risk response in schools 
  • Sustainable energy and disaster risk response in health centres 
• Recognizing children’s right to climate and environmental education: Governments should take measures to integrate climate change in formal and informal education, including green skills.

News Source: DTE

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Context: According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, a combination of global warming and a cyclical event called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) could make tropical cyclones more frequent in the coming years.

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• The number of such tropical cyclones was 43% fewer in 1981-2010 compared with 1951-1980 as the PDO was in a  warmer or positive phase. 
• An El Nino is currently developing in the Pacific which has recorded rainfall deficits of 7% and 17% in central and southern India respectively.
• El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) with a positive PDO is generally not good, but when linked with a negative PDO, brings more rain to India.

Cyclone

• Cyclone: A cyclone is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above.
• Tropical cyclones are intense low-pressure areas confined to the area lying between 30° N and 30° S latitudes in the atmosphere.
• Some conditions for the emergence of a tropical cyclone are:
• Large and continuous supply of warm and moist air.
  • Strong Coriolis force that can prevent the filling of low pressure at the centre.
  • Unstable condition that creates local disturbances.
  • Absence of strong vertical wind wedge which disturbs the vertical transport of latent heat.

How Cyclones are formed

• Formation and Initial Development Stage
  • A warm sea with abundant and turbulent transfer of water vapor.
  • Atmospheric instability· 
• Mature Phase
  • Air rises and tends to spread out at the tropopause level.
  • Air warms up by compression and a warm ‘Eye’ is generated.
• Modification and Decay
  • Cyclone begins to weaken as its source of warm moist air begins to ebb, or is abruptly cut off.

Reasons for Increasing the Frequency and Intensity of Tropical Cyclone

• Climate Change: Rising sea surface temperatures provide more energy to fuel cyclones, allowing them to intensify more quickly and become more powerful. 
  • For example, cyclone Mocha over Bay of Bengal.
• Warmer Ocean Waters: As global temperatures rise, the Indian Ocean is warming, providing more heat and moisture to fuel cyclone development and intensification. 
  • For example, increasing sea surface temperature over Arabian Sea is providing ample supply of energy to intensify cyclones, for example, Cyclone Tauktae.
• Sea Level Rise: Higher Sea levels mean that storm surges can penetrate farther inland, causing more extensive coastal flooding and damage. 
  • For instance, Hurricanes are causing more intense rainfall and have increased coastal flooding.
• Changing Wind Patterns: Changes in atmospheric circulation patterns can steer cyclones towards more vulnerable areas and also contribute to their intensification.

• Ocean Heat Content: Increased heat content can result in stronger cyclones. For example, ocean heat content anomaly has led to an intensification of the Kyarr cyclone and Ockhi cyclone.
• Monsoon Variability: The Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can affect monsoon patterns, which in turn can influence cyclone development. 

Disaster Management

• Pre-Disaster Preparation:
  • Early Warning Systems: These systems can help communities prepare and evacuate in advance, reducing the loss of lives.
  • Disaster Preparedness: Educate communities about cyclone risks, preparedness measures, and evacuation procedures along with holding regular drills.
• Response During Disaster:
  • Activation of Emergency Operations Centers.
  • Evacuation Planning and Execution: Specially for areas prone to flooding, storm surges, and landslides.
  • Search and Rescue Operations: Trained search and rescue teams, including local emergency responders, like Aapda Mitras.
• Post Disaster
  • Medical Assistance: To treat injuries, provide medical care, and prevent the outbreak of diseases.
  • Distribution of Aid: Food, water, clothing, hygiene kits, and other essential supplies are distributed to affected communities. Humanitarian agencies and NGOs also play crucial role in this stage.
  • Psychosocial Support: To help victims better deal with trauma and stress.
• Recovery and Capacity Building
  • Resilient Infrastructure: This includes constructing cyclone-resistant buildings, reinforcing critical infrastructure, etc.
  • Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Agricultural practices that can withstand heavy rainfall, waterlogging, and flooding. 
  • Community-Based Adaptation: The traditional knowledge and practices can contribute to effective resilience-building efforts.

 Conclusion

• It’s important to recognize that addressing cyclone impacts is not a one-size-fits-all approach. 
• A combination of short-term disaster response and long-term climate adaptation measures is essential for creating a more resilient future in the face of increasing cyclone intensity.

 News Source: The Hindu

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