TOP 5 TAKKAR NEWS OF THE DAY (23rd JUNE 2023)

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1. NEW COLLECTIVE QUANTIFIED GOAL ON CLIMATE FINANCE

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: The recently-concluded Bonn climate conference in Germany, expected to outline the political agenda for the crucial end-of-year Conference Of Parties-28 (COP28) in Dubai, was critical for reviewing and reforming the climate finance architecture.

EXPLANATION:

What is the NCQG?

• A commitment of ‘$100 billion per year till 2020’ to developing nations from developed countries was a target set at the Conference of Parties (COP) in 2009.
• But estimates since then show addressing climate change may cost billions, and even, trillions of dollars.
• Therefore, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement agreed on setting a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCGQ) for climate financing prior to 2025 a reference point which accounts for the needs and priorities of developing nations.
• The NCGQ is thus, termed the “most important climate goal”. It pulls up the ceiling on commitment from developed countries, is supposed to anchor the evolving needs and priorities of developing countries based on scientific evidence and should respond “to the ever-increasing sums of funding necessary for Loss and Damage in response to failed and/or delayed financial support.
• It is stated under paragraph 53 of Decision 1/CP.21 that “developed countries intend to continue their existing collective mobilization goal through 2025 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation.” All actors, from Parties to non-state stakeholders, must work together to create a bolder commitment to climate finance with the necessary tools and capacities to reduce adaptation and mitigation gaps and avoid any further loss and damage (L&D), in aid of climate-resilient development.

Guiding principles

• The formulation and operationalization of the NCQG need to be bound within the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, anchored on climate justice.

• The new goal must be grounded on the long-established principles of the “polluter pays”, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, and intergenerational justice. It must be inclusive of the needs and priorities of developing countries and the most vulnerable sectors and communities (from both developed and developing nations), using the lens of gender, youth, indigenous peoples, and other highly-vulnerable sectors.
• It should also be primarily based on national climate policies and plans, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). All established financial glows must abide by Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement, where Parties agreed to “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.”

• The NCQG must be regularly updated to reflect the changing needs of developing countries and the most vulnerable sectors.

• Climate finance is never static, as risks, vulnerabilities, social, economic, and environmental conditions, development goals, and corresponding needs for adaptation and mitigation evolve as a response to GHG emissions, climate change impacts, and among themselves.
• The quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the new goal to be determined by 2025 must reflect the dynamic nature and interlinkages between and among impacts, solutions, and stakeholders relevant to developing countries, with subsequent finance goals being updated to cover changes to these factors and actors.

Structure and components

• The NCQG must be established as a matrix that categorizes targets according to the three pillars of climate action. These pillars are mitigation, adaptation, and L&D, with a specific list of quantitative and qualitative sub-goals listed under each of these components that differentiates needs for direct (i.e., project funding) and indirect (i.e., investments) modes of finance.
• Gaps, needs, and priorities must be based on what developing countries indicated in their policy documents under the UNFCCC, including NDCs, NAPs, and National Communications. With the understanding that current metrics for mitigation are mostly quantitative and those for adaptation are qualitative, the resulting formats for reporting data under the NCQG must reflect these characteristics.
• The funding allocated for adaptation and resilience must be at least half of the NCQG.
• Despite Article 9.4 of the Paris Agreement stating the need for a financing balance between mitigation and adaptation, the latter has been underfunded. The lack of adaptation finance places billions of people, especially those in Least Developed Countries and Small-Island Developing States, at even higher climate risk and worsens vulnerabilities that perpetuates climate injustices. Developed countries must commit to ensuring that at least 50% of the new goal will be dedicated to adaptation, with this percentage evolving in subsequent settings of the NCQG depending on global and national circumstances related to adaptation and mitigation.
• The NCQG must include allocated finance for averting or minimizing loss and damage. L&D must be officially recognized at COP27 as the third pillar of climate action and finance, separate from adaptation and mitigation, in words as much as in actions. Key to this call is the establishment of a L&D finance mechanism at COP27, which is vital to the survival of the victims of sudden onset disasters and slow onset events.
• Aligned with the justice and rights-based principles that are also reflected within the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreements, modalities under this finance facility must be grants-based, needs-based, gender-responsive, comprehensive in coverage of economic and non-economic L&D, and driven by inputs from those experiencing L&D themselves.
• The NCQG must allocate a portion of the finance in advancing climate change education. Education is the foundation on which to build the road to climate resilience and low- emissions sustainable development, a vital component of adaptation that strengthens multiple facets of climate action, especially long-term competencies, continuity within the climate sphere, and intergenerational justice.
• A fund under the NCQG must be allotted to support the implementation of the Glasgow Work Programme, which was adopted at COP26 to enhance the implementation of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE), as defined under Article 6 of the UNFCCC. The decision-making process in determining this “ACE Fund” must include youth representation and be largely driven by the inputs of this sector.
• The NCQG must increase every five years and embedded with monitoring, review, transparency, and accountability mechanisms. Updating the NCQG post-2025 should be based on the findings of the latest Global Stocktake (GST) through an evidence-based, comprehensive, regular, and inclusive review process. This must result in higher ambition and corresponding pledges for the next collective goal to be set, aligned with the principle of increasing ambition as stipulated within the Paris Agreement. Spaces and mechanisms must be placed such that the inputs of non-state actors, especially civil society groups and the most vulnerable communities and sectors, are meaningfully integrated into the process.
• Standardized terminologies, methodologies, formats, and communications of NCQG-related pledges by developed countries and other funding stakeholders must also be established to obtain as accurate of an assessment of the progress being made as possible, and avoid double- counting that dilutes the intended impact of such financing and collective pursuit of addressing the climate crisis, especially for developing countries.

2. NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (NMC)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: While first year MBBS classes are likely to begin on August 1 of each year, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has also brought in changes in the undergraduate medical curriculum with the latest overhaul bringing in time limit on completing the MBBS course (by 9 years), fixed number of attempts to clear failed papers, compulsory attendance for both theory and practical papers and a family outreach programme.

EXPLANATION:

• Additionally, some subjects, including biochemistry and microbiology, have seen a reduction in the number of papers that need to be taken by the students.
• Reacting to the changes, senior doctors expressed fear that medical education is growing in its dependency on coaching institutes while medical students feel the changes are welcome.
• Meanwhile, as per the latest format, the four-and-half-year MBBS course will be divided into three phases with first and second phases of 12 months each, and phase three will be of 30 months — part I of 12 months and part II of 18 months.
• Each academic year will have at least 39 teaching weeks with a minimum of eight hours of study on each day and a total of 15 hours per week clinical posting is necessary from second year onwards. A minimum of 75% attendance in theory and 80% in practical or clinical is must for eligibility to appear for the examinations in that subject.
• Students failing in university examinations at the end of each professional year will appear in supplementary exams. As per the guidelines, supplementary exam results will be processed within three to six weeks from the date of declaration of the results of the main examination for every professional year, so that the candidates who pass can join the main batch for progression. The council has also specified the time that can be taken for clearing supplementary papers at various stages.
• Also, the National Exit Test (NExT), a comprehensive computer-based examination, that will replace the corresponding existing examinations for medical graduates in India, is to be conducted in December-January in the subjects of General Medicine, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, among others. NExT is also set to replace the NEET-PG entrance exams in India after 2023.

National Medical Commission (NMC)

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
• The Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India constituted under section 3A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 stands dissolved thereafter.
• While the MCI members were elected from within the medical community, the members of the NMCwere to be appointed by the government. NMC was thus prone to politicization of its very governing structure. It also summarily eroded the medical fraternity’s privilege of self-regulation.
• The Aim of the National Medical Commission are to (i) improve access to quality and affordable medical education, (ii) ensure availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals in all parts of the country; (iii) promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens; (iv) encourages medical professionals to adopt latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research; (v) objectively assess medical institutions  periodically in a transparent manner; (vi) maintain a medical register for India; (vi) enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services; (vii) have an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

3. INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROCESS

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: The low-cost airline Go First (originally GoAir) filed for the initiation of insolvency proceedings recently. The company had been struggling with engine troubles for some time, which had led to the grounding of a large number of its aircraft. The percentage of grounded aircraft had risen from 7% of Go First’s fleet in December 2019 to 50% in December 2022. As a consequence, the market share of the airline crashed from 11% in November 2019 to 6.9% in March 2023. This significantly affected its cash flows, weakening its ability to meet its obligations.

EXPLANATION:

• A revival plan is reportedly in the works. But airfares are as of now through the roof, and the IBC process has been slower and less productive than expected. The longer this process is delayed, the more will be the value lost, and the more difficult it will be to restart operations.
• It is a struggling company’s financial creditors (banks) and operational creditors (who supply goods and services) who typically initiate proceedings under The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 for non-payment of their dues. In Go First’s case, however, it was the company that filed for the initiation of these proceedings. The airline had not defaulted on its loan repayments to banks, but had reportedly defaulted on obligations to its operational creditors.

 What is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code?

• In 2016, the government put in place a framework to deal with the problem of bad loans in the country’s banking system. The IBC provides a framework for a time-bound resolution process.
• Broadly, if a company is unable to service its obligations (payments that are due to its financial and operational creditors), one of two processes could follow: (i) the company’s liabilities are restructured, and it gets a chance to continue its operations, perhaps under new owners; (ii) its assets are liquidated, and the money is recovered.
• Before the IBC, there were other regulatory frameworks to deal with bad loans. But it usually took very long for the process to conclude. As per the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report, it would take 4.3 years on average to resolve insolvency cases before the IBC was enacted.
• The IBC put strict timelines in place. Initially, the process was to be completed within 270 days, failing which the company would be pushed into liquidation; the deadline was subsequently extended to 330 days. The time-bound nature of the process under IBC was appealing, because delays in resolution lead to further destruction in the value of the firm.

So did the introduction of the IBC help creditors?

• The IBC attempted to reshape the credit culture in the country by titling the balance in favour of creditors. The threat of losing their company under this framework, as soon the proceedings are initiated, the existing promoters/ management lose control over the firm works as a powerful deterrent for errant promoters and puts pressure on them to honour their obligations.
• This framework has also given a negotiating tool to operational creditors, who are typically small firms, to negotiate the payment of their dues by larger firms. Data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India show that of all the cases admitted under IBC, proceedings in almost half have been initiated by operational creditors, signalling how widely this is being used by these firms.

4. SUMMER SOLSTICE

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: The longest day of the year, for anyone living north of the Equator, is June 21. The day is referred to as the summer solstice, and it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or more specifically right over 23.5 degrees north latitude.

EXPLANATION:

Why do we have the summer solstice?

• Since Earth rotates on its axis, the Northern Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of a day, which also means people living in the Northern Hemisphere experience summer during this time. The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight.
• During the solstice, the Earth’s axis around which the planet spins, completing one turn each day is tilted in a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the Sun and the South Pole is away from it.
• Typically, this imaginary axis passes right through the middle of the Earth from top to bottom and is always tilted at 23.5 degrees with respect to the Sun. Therefore, the solstice, as NASA puts it, is that instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the Sun than at any other time during the year. Solstice means “sun stands still” in Latin.
• While the solstice occurs at the same time across the world, different countries experience it at different times according to their time zones.

What happens during the solstice?

• This day sees the Earth receiving a greater amount of energy from the Sun.
• The maximum amount of sunlight received by the Northern Hemisphere during this time is usually on June 20, 21 or 22. In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere receives most sunlight on December 21, 22 or 23 when the northern hemisphere has its longest nights or the winter solstice.
• The amount of light received by a specific area in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer solstice depends on the latitudinal location of the place. The further north one moves from the equator, the more light one receives during the summer solstice. At the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set during the solstice.
• Summer solstice, however, does not necessarily mean the earliest sunrise or latest sunset. That depends on the latitudinal location of the country.

5. TITAN, THE MISSING TITANIC TOURIST SUBMERSIBLE

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: On June 18, a submersible named Titan went missing. On board the missing vehicle were one pilot and four crew members travelling to see the wreckage of RMS Titanic, which is nearly four thousand metres under water in the frigid North Atlantic ocean. One hour and forty-five minutes into the journey, contact with Titan was lost.

EXPLANATION:

• United States and Canadian authorities have been using airplanes and boats, and are leveraging sonar technology to locate the sub.
• Titan has 96 hours of life support for a crew of five. Authorities are working round the clock to re-establish contact with the undersea vehicle. One of the crew members is Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Inc., the company that runs these tours to the sunken ship.

What is the Titan submersible?

• Titan is a submersible, or an underwater vehicle. It is operated by the privately owned U.S. company OceanGate that organises underwater expeditions for both research and tourism.
• The company claims that Titan, which it said was built with “off-the-shelf” components, is lighter and more cost-efficient than other deep diving submersibles. The 6.7-metre-long manned submersible is intended for site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deep sea testing of hardware and software.
• The company said its expeditions were meant to document the Titanic and its rate of decay on the ocean floor, and that all expeditions were in line with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Guidelines for Research Exploration and Salvage of RMS Titanic, as well as the UNESCO guidelines for the preservation of underwater world heritage sites.

What do these guidelines say?

• The UNESCO guidelines stress on the long-term preservation of “underwater cultural heritage” and the need to protect the surrounding waters as well by ensuring “responsible non-intrusive access.”
• The NOAA guidelines are similar and insist that recovered material and artefacts must be managed as per professional standards. In other words, taking souvenirs from the wreckage site is strongly discouraged.

What is the difference between a submarine and a submersible?

• While the two categories can overlap, a submarine refers to an underwater vehicle that is largely independent and has power reserves to help it depart from a port or come back to the port after an expedition.
• Meanwhile, a submersible is generally smaller in size and has less power, so it needs to work with a ship in order to be launched and recovered.

How was the submersible operated?

• Titan is made of carbon fibre and titanium, and weighs 10,432 kilograms, according to OceanGate’s website. It is capable of going 4,000 metres undersea, and moves as fast as three knots per hour (5.56 kph). Based on images from the company website, there is space for the five crew members to sit on the floor, though not stand.
• A small porthole window is at one end, but below 1,000 metres no sunlight reaches the ocean so the submersible would have to rely on its own lighting. The submersible is dependent on external crew members, as it is bolted from the outside. Titan also has an integrated launch and recovery platform
• The sub’s interior was filmed when it was on land. In a 2022 video interview with BBC, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush said that Titan had only one button inside and that the submersible was run with a “Sony PlayStation-style controller” made by Logitech. The company has explained that “off-the-shelf” technology helped make it easier to replace parts.
• While it may sound strange that a submersible on such a high-risk expedition was operated with a gaming-style controller, the fact is that such devices are also used by some drone operators, navy personnel, and robot operators. Game controllers are cheap, easy to buy in bulk, designed to be intuitive, and respond quickly to the users’ hand movements.
• Before the expedition, OceanGate also said in a tweet that it was relying on satellite-based internet from the Elon Musk-founded company SpaceX’s Starlink for communication from the middle of the ocean, throughout the Titanic expedition.