[su_heading size=”18″ margin=”0″]NEWS ANALYSIS[/su_heading]
THE HINDU NEWS ANALYSIS
Three Himalayan medicinal plants enter IUCN Red List (Important for Environment: GS lll) Page 5
Hot test of scramjet engine conducted successfully (Important for S&T : GS lll).
ILO declaration urges countries to ensure labour protection (Important for Economy: GS lll)
China’s Xi calls for oil trade in yuan at Gulf Summit in Riyadh (Important for IR: GS ll) Page 11
[su_heading size=”18″ margin=”0″]EDITORIAL ANALYSIS[/su_heading]
THE HINDU EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
THE INDIAN EXPRESS EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
THE HINDU NEWS ANALYSIS
Three Himalayan medicinal plants enter IUCN Red List (Important for Environment: GS lll) Page 5
Three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have made it to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Meizotropis pellita, assessed as ‘critically endangered’, is a perennial shrub with restricted distribution that is endemic to Uttarakhand. The species is threatened by deforestation, habitation fragmentation and forest fires.
Fritilloria cirrhosa assessed as ‘vulnerable’, is a perennial bulbous herb with a decline of its population 30% during the assessment period itself. The species is threatened by long generation length, poor germination potential, high trade value, extensive harvesting pressure and illegal trade.
The third listed species, Dactylorhiza hatagirea (Salampanja), is assessed as ‘endangered’. It is threatened by habitat loss, livestock grazing, deforestation and climate change
Hot test of scramjet engine conducted successfully (Important for S&T : GS lll).
The Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) quest to fabricate credible next generation air-breathing scramjet engines, in order to launch satellites in a predetermined orbit at a low cost, crossed a key-milestone on Friday.
The engine’s 11 second-long hot test was conducted successfully at ISRO’s Propulsion Research Complex.
The scramjet, a more advanced version of the ramjet engine, can operate efficiently at hypersonic speeds.
It allows supersonic combustion by breathing oxygen from the atmosphere during flight. It then allows oxygen to mix with hydrogen already stored in the vehicle to trigger combustion, and produce the desired thrust to lift the satellite to its designated orbit, reducing 70% of the propellant that has to be carried in the vehicle.
ILO declaration urges countries to ensure labour protection (Important for Economy: GS lll)
The 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization (APRM of ILO) set ten point priorities of national action for the member countries to deal with the issue of dwindling wages of workers, inflation and unemployment.
The ‘Singapore Declaration’, which was adopted, urged the governments to ensure labor protection for all through the promotion of freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining throughout the regions.
It called for closing gender gaps through measures that increase women’s labor force participation, promoting equal pay for equal work, and women’s leadership.
It also urged to strengthen governance frameworks and respect for freedom of association to protect rights of migrant workers.
China’s Xi calls for oil trade in yuan at Gulf Summit in Riyadh (Important for IR: GS ll) Page 11
Xi Jinping told Gulf leaders that China would work to buy oil and gas in yuan, in order to establish its currency internationally and weaken the U.S. dollar.
It would import large quantities of crude oil from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, expand imports of liquefied natural gas, strengthen cooperation in upstream oil and gas development, engineering services, storage, transportation and refining.
Mr. Xi proposed other areas for cooperation such as finance and investment, innovation and new technologies, aerospace, language and cultures.
China will also establish bilateral investment and economic cooperation working mechanisms, carry out local currency swap cooperation and deepen digital currency
THE HINDU EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
UNSC REFORMS:
The geopolitical environment of the world underwent major change as a result of the decolonization process, in which the United Nations and its Security Council played a vital role. The global order has undergone a significant transformation over the last 25 years, moving from American unilateralism to the emergence of multilateral institutions and multi-polarity.
The impact of India on global politics and the economy has grown alongside that of other developing countries. These modifications, however, are not reflected in the UNSC, where all critical choices are still made by the veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council.
The Indian External Affairs Minister emphasized the outdated and ineffectual character of the current organizational structure of the UNSC in his speech during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
Therefore, efforts to find a more democratic and representative security council must be conducted independently of the P5.
What function does the UN Security Council serve?
According to the organization’s charter, the Security Council was created in 1945.
It is one of the UN’s six principal organizations.
There are 15 members of the UNSC. 10 non-permanent members are selected to two-year periods, together with 5 permanent members (P5).
The United States, the Russian Federation, France, China, and the United Kingdom are the five permanent members.
From 1950-1951 to 1967-1968, 1972-1973 to 1977-1978, 1984-1985 to 1991-1992, and 2011-2012, India was a non-permanent member of the Council. India joined the UNSC for the ninth time in 2021 and will continue to do so in 2021–2022.
How may a member of the UNSC change their status?
A reform to the UN Charter is necessary in order to change the composition of the UNSC.
Two-thirds of the U.N.’s members, including the P-5’s concurring votes, must approve this.
This implies that the P5 members each have a veto.
Once, in the 1960s, the Charter was changed to add more non-permanent seats to the Council.
What issues do the UNSC deal with:
Lack of Appropriate Representation: According to some speakers, the UN Security Council is less successful because it is less representative, with Africa’s absence—a continent with 54 countries— being particularly notable.
The problems the world is facing right now are intricate and linked. The underrepresentation of states with substantial economies and geopolitical implications results in the exclusion of a considerable portion of the world’s perspectives from the top security conference.
It is concerning that South Africa, Germany, Brazil, and other internationally relevant nations are not on the list of permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Use of Veto Power Abuse: The use of the veto as a “self-selected club of the privileged” that prevents the Council from enacting significant measures if it offends one of the P-5 has come under persistent attack from many experts and the majority of States.
Elite decision-making mechanisms should not be used to determine the direction of present international security.
International Conflict Among the P5: The UNSC has struggled to develop successful plans to handle world issues because of the geopolitical rivalry among its permanent members.
Imagine the P5 nations as three poles at the edge of the world, with a plethora of geopolitical issues swirling around them. These nations are the United States, Russia, and China (Taiwan Issue and Russia-Ukraine War).
The state’s sovereignty is in jeopardy: The UNSC is in charge of preserving peace and handling crises as the foremost institution for international peacekeeping and conflict resolution. Unlike the General Assembly, its judgments, or resolutions, are binding on all member nations.
This implies that, if necessary, any state may enact legislation, such as sanctions, in order to infringe upon the sovereignty of another state.
What actions are necessary as a result?
Greetings from All Over the World: It is viewed as being incredibly unfair because it excludes entire continents (Africa) and regions from participating in discussions about their future.
Equal representation for all regions is crucial in order to decentralize the UNSC’s regulatory authority over nations.
All nations will have the opportunity to voice their concerns about how this shift can jeopardise the peace and democracy in their nations as a result of it.
Decentralization will also improve the democratic, participative, and representational aspects of UNSC decision-making.
Global Consonance for Global Governance: The UNSC should be conscious of the fact that there are more urgent global concerns that require attention than only safeguarding the rights of the P5 nations.
The disparity in power between the P5 and the rest of the world needs to be addressed immediately.
To ensure that all governments support global peace, security, and order, the UNSC must become more democratic and legitimate.
Renewal of Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) Discussions of such important subjects must be sincere and serious. The use of formalities to prevent them is unacceptable. • The IGN process, which serves as the main forum for discussion and debate on UNSC reform, has to be updated and revitalized.
The president of the 76th UN General Assembly’s suggestion to progressively transition the IGN process to text-based talks is a positive step.
Moving toward reformed multilateralism: The idea of reformed multilateralism is centered on changes to the Security Council and has broad support among UN members.
The basic issues with the UNSC must be carefully studied and resolved through international cooperation if belief in the ideals of the United Nations, in its charter, and in reformed multilateralism as a method of attaining global goals is to be upheld.
India Considering UNSC Reforms: Because India meets all requirements for permanent membership, its proposal for a seat on the UN Security Council is valid and supported by the facts.
In order to promote the use of solar energy while minimizing the use of fossil fuels, India founded the International Solar Alliance in 2015. Additionally, in terms of vaccination diplomacy, it has excelled.
At the premier security cooperation forum, India, one of the largest individual donors to the UN Peacekeeping Force, is ready to assume additional responsibility.
Additionally, it aims to ensure that the injustice that the Global South has to deal with is vigorously tackled. India can and will make a contribution on both fronts.
THE INDIAN EXPRESS EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
PM KISAN
About:
A central government program called PM-KISAN was introduced on February 24th, 2019 to help landowner farmers with their financial needs via a direct benefit transfer (DBT) approach.
The primary goals of PM Kisan are to financially support all qualified landowner farmers and their families.
The PM-KISAN program also aims to help farmers with their financial needs in order to ensure that their crops are healthy and that their yields are adequate and in line with their expected farm income.
The Central Government has fully supported this Central Sector Scheme. financing and carrying out.
It will be carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Advantages provided:
Every household of farmers who possess land would get a yearly cash benefit of Rs. 6000 under the PM KISAN scheme. It will be paid over the course of four months in three equal installments of Rs. 200 each.
A person’s capacity to get benefits under PM KISAN:
The PM KISAN Scheme was introduced on February 24, 2019, and its advantages were only available to SMF households with a total landholding of up to 2 hectares. Later, all farmer families were able to take part in the Scheme, regardless of how much land they owned.
The beneficiaries will be announced in what way?
The State/UT Governments alone have the power to determine whether farming families qualify for benefits under the program. The intended receivers for the transfer of plan benefits will be determined using the current land-ownership systems and land records of the various States and Union Territories.
The PM-KISAN Smartphone app was created in partnership by the National Informatics Center and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Farmers can check the status of their applications, update or alter their Adhere cards, and view the history of their bank account credits.
Issues:
Insufficient database is a problem. There have been claims that the database has inclusion and exclusion mistakes.
Finding farmers who will benefit is challenging: According to the 2015–16 agricultural census, there are 14.65 crore landholdings in the nation overall. The number of farmer families in the country, however, is not based on landholding because there may be multiple owners for a single parcel of land. In this case, all land-owning farmer families are welcome to participate in the program.
There is a compelling argument for incorporating low-income households and other tenants without land very quickly.
Local obstacles could be identified and eliminated with the use of different bottom-up strategies and careful implementation techniques.