G-20 finance chiefs meet
Finance chiefs and central bankers from the world’s 20 largest economies say they see downside risks to global economic growth persisting and have agreed on a “menu of policy options” amid a viral outbreak that’s disrupted supply chains worldwide.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22944-g-20-finance-chiefs-meet.html
#G20 #finance #OECD #COVID19 #Riyadh #IMF
India to block EU’s WTO panel request
India will block the European Union’s request for a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against New Delhi’s customs duties on imports of certain information and communications technology (ICT) products.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22943-india-to-block-eu-s-wto-panel-request.html
#India #WTO #ICT #EU #NewDelhi #EuropeanUnion
Mystery even scientists can’t crack
The amount of water in the atmosphere of Jupiter has been a mystery scientists have been unable to crack. U.S space agency NASA recently had sent a mission to the planet which has found results contrary to the findings of an earlier mission sent by NASA in 1995.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22942-mystery-even-scientists-can-t-crack.html
#Mystery #NASA #telescope #Junoprobe #planet
Archaeological discovery in Haryana
Sirsa, a district in Haryana, houses a mound which is believed to unravel some clues about the ancient city ‘Sarishika’. In order to study the ancient ruins, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has to relocate nearly 50,000 people residing on around 82 acres of land.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22941-archaeological-discovery-in-haryana.html
#Archaeological #Haryana #ASI #Sarishika #FY19 #Sirsa
Finance chiefs and central bankers from the world’s 20 largest economies say they see downside risks to global economic growth persisting and have agreed on a “menu of policy options” amid a viral outbreak that’s disrupted supply chains worldwide.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22944-g-20-finance-chiefs-meet.html
#G20 #finance #OECD #COVID19 #Riyadh #IMF
India to block EU’s WTO panel request
India will block the European Union’s request for a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against New Delhi’s customs duties on imports of certain information and communications technology (ICT) products.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22943-india-to-block-eu-s-wto-panel-request.html
#India #WTO #ICT #EU #NewDelhi #EuropeanUnion
Mystery even scientists can’t crack
The amount of water in the atmosphere of Jupiter has been a mystery scientists have been unable to crack. U.S space agency NASA recently had sent a mission to the planet which has found results contrary to the findings of an earlier mission sent by NASA in 1995.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22942-mystery-even-scientists-can-t-crack.html
#Mystery #NASA #telescope #Junoprobe #planet
Archaeological discovery in Haryana
Sirsa, a district in Haryana, houses a mound which is believed to unravel some clues about the ancient city ‘Sarishika’. In order to study the ancient ruins, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has to relocate nearly 50,000 people residing on around 82 acres of land.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22941-archaeological-discovery-in-haryana.html
#Archaeological #Haryana #ASI #Sarishika #FY19 #Sirsa
Ksgindia
G-20 finance chiefs meet | KSG India | Khan Study Group
Finance chiefs and central bankers from the world’s 20 largest economies say they see downside risks to global economic growth persisting and have agreed on a “menu of policy options” amid a vir
Today's Headlines - 19 July 2023
BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ meet
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)
The first-ever Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) began in Bangkok, Thailand. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also present, and said that areas of coordination challenge that were discussed, including health and energy security.
What is BIMSTEC?
BIMSTEC is a regional organisation that was established in 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven members, with Myanmar joining towards the end of 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in 2004.
Around 22% of the world’s population lives in the seven countries around the Bay of Bengal, with a combined GDP close to $2.7 trillion.
All seven countries have sustained average annual rates of growth between 3.4% and 7.5% from 2012 to 2016. A fourth of the world’s traded goods cross the bay every year.
Cooperation within the BIMSTEC had initially focused on six sectors in 1997 (trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries) and expanded in 2008 to other areas.
In 2021, a reorganisation led to each of the Member States leading certain sectors. India focuses on security, along with counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy.
Growth of BIMSTEC as a regional forum
Despite having been in existence for many years, the grouping had been largely ignored until India gave it a renewed push in October 2016, a month after the terrorist attack in Uri.
Alongside the BRICS summit in Goa, India hosted an outreach summit with leaders of BIMSTEC countries.
Weeks earlier, some of these countries had supported New Delhi’s call for a boycott of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled in Islamabad that November.
SAARC includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as its members. When that summit was postponed, India claimed victory in isolating Pakistan.
China on mind
The Bay of Bengal is crucial for an increasingly assertive China in maintaining its access route to the Indian Ocean.
As China has undertaken a massive drive to finance and build infrastructure in South and Southeast Asia through the Belt and Road Initiative in almost all BIMSTEC countries, except Bhutan and India, BIMSTEC is a new battleground in the India-China battle for dominance.
BIMSTEC could allow India to push a constructive agenda to counter Chinese investments, and instead follow best practices for connectivity projects based on recognised international norms. The Chinese projects are widely seen as violating these norms.
The two organisations — SAARC and BIMSTEC — focus on geographically overlapping regions. However, this does not make them equal alternatives.
SAARC is a purely regional organisation, whereas BIMSTEC is inter-regional and connects both South Asia and ASEAN.
Since the SAARC summit has only been postponed, not cancelled the possibility of revival remains.
#upsc #news #bimstec #foreignminister #bangkok #technical #economic #cooperation #affairsminister #thailand #jaishankar #energy #security #bangladesh #myanmar #bhutan #nepal #sevencountries #terrorism #disaster #management #SAARC #finance #india #china #south #asian #newdelhi #maldives #srilanka
BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ meet
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)
The first-ever Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) began in Bangkok, Thailand. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also present, and said that areas of coordination challenge that were discussed, including health and energy security.
What is BIMSTEC?
BIMSTEC is a regional organisation that was established in 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven members, with Myanmar joining towards the end of 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in 2004.
Around 22% of the world’s population lives in the seven countries around the Bay of Bengal, with a combined GDP close to $2.7 trillion.
All seven countries have sustained average annual rates of growth between 3.4% and 7.5% from 2012 to 2016. A fourth of the world’s traded goods cross the bay every year.
Cooperation within the BIMSTEC had initially focused on six sectors in 1997 (trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries) and expanded in 2008 to other areas.
In 2021, a reorganisation led to each of the Member States leading certain sectors. India focuses on security, along with counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy.
Growth of BIMSTEC as a regional forum
Despite having been in existence for many years, the grouping had been largely ignored until India gave it a renewed push in October 2016, a month after the terrorist attack in Uri.
Alongside the BRICS summit in Goa, India hosted an outreach summit with leaders of BIMSTEC countries.
Weeks earlier, some of these countries had supported New Delhi’s call for a boycott of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled in Islamabad that November.
SAARC includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as its members. When that summit was postponed, India claimed victory in isolating Pakistan.
China on mind
The Bay of Bengal is crucial for an increasingly assertive China in maintaining its access route to the Indian Ocean.
As China has undertaken a massive drive to finance and build infrastructure in South and Southeast Asia through the Belt and Road Initiative in almost all BIMSTEC countries, except Bhutan and India, BIMSTEC is a new battleground in the India-China battle for dominance.
BIMSTEC could allow India to push a constructive agenda to counter Chinese investments, and instead follow best practices for connectivity projects based on recognised international norms. The Chinese projects are widely seen as violating these norms.
The two organisations — SAARC and BIMSTEC — focus on geographically overlapping regions. However, this does not make them equal alternatives.
SAARC is a purely regional organisation, whereas BIMSTEC is inter-regional and connects both South Asia and ASEAN.
Since the SAARC summit has only been postponed, not cancelled the possibility of revival remains.
#upsc #news #bimstec #foreignminister #bangkok #technical #economic #cooperation #affairsminister #thailand #jaishankar #energy #security #bangladesh #myanmar #bhutan #nepal #sevencountries #terrorism #disaster #management #SAARC #finance #india #china #south #asian #newdelhi #maldives #srilanka
Today's Headlines - 24 August 2023
Poor nations forced to rely on fossil fuels
GS Paper - 3 (Energy)
Poor countries with heavy debts have been forced to continue to rely on fossil fuels for generating revenue to return the loans taken from richer countries and private lenders to meet various economic exigencies like the pandemic three years ago, a new report said. These countries, mostly in the global south, may find it impossible to phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy as revenues from fossil fuel projects “are often overinflated and require huge investments to reach expected returns, leading to further debt”.
What is the “debt-fossil fuel trap”?
The report, ‘The Debt-Fossil Fuel Trap’, published on 21 August 2023 by the anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners in affected countries.
The global south — a term used for developing, less developing and underdeveloped countries, located in Africa, Latin America, and Asia — countries are increasingly being burdened by enormous debts in recent years.
Their “external debt payments (money borrowed from richer countries, or multilateral creditors like the World Bank and IMF, or private lenders such as banks) has gone up by 150% between 2011 and 2023, reaching their highest levels in 25 years”, said the report.
Moreover, 54 countries are in a debt crisis — they had to cut their public sending budgets during the pandemic to repay the loans, the analysis found.
The situation is worsened by extreme weather events, which force these countries to borrow more money as they lack adequate finances and resources for adaptation, mitigation and tackling loss and damage.
For instance, Dominica’s debt as a percentage of GDP rose from 68% to 78% after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017.
To deal with the mounting debts, these countries have turned to extracting more fossil fuels.
The country’s strategy to reduce debt may end up adding to debt levels without generating adequate revenue to repay, which could force Argentia to further expand its fossil fuel projects, the report added. This is known as the “debt-fossil fuel trap”.
Ending the high debt burdens
The report has laid out a few recommendations to help global south countries exit the “debt-fossil fuel trap”.
It said clean energy, wealthy governments and institutions must implement “ambitious debt cancellation for all countries that need it, across all creditors, free from economic conditions.
They should also stop accepting repayments made through fossil fuel projects’ revenue.
Meanwhile, “Bilateral and multilateral finance should be aligned with a 1.5 degree warming scenario and fair shares calculations, and not be used to finance fossil fuels.
#upsc #news #headline #nations #fossilfuels #energy #countries #revenue #pandemic #globalsouth #fuel #trap #africa #latin #worldbank #IMF #payments #GDP #island #dominica #strategy #projects #warming #bilateral #multilateral #finance #fairshares #america #asia #justice #renewable #poornations #forced
Poor nations forced to rely on fossil fuels
GS Paper - 3 (Energy)
Poor countries with heavy debts have been forced to continue to rely on fossil fuels for generating revenue to return the loans taken from richer countries and private lenders to meet various economic exigencies like the pandemic three years ago, a new report said. These countries, mostly in the global south, may find it impossible to phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy as revenues from fossil fuel projects “are often overinflated and require huge investments to reach expected returns, leading to further debt”.
What is the “debt-fossil fuel trap”?
The report, ‘The Debt-Fossil Fuel Trap’, published on 21 August 2023 by the anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners in affected countries.
The global south — a term used for developing, less developing and underdeveloped countries, located in Africa, Latin America, and Asia — countries are increasingly being burdened by enormous debts in recent years.
Their “external debt payments (money borrowed from richer countries, or multilateral creditors like the World Bank and IMF, or private lenders such as banks) has gone up by 150% between 2011 and 2023, reaching their highest levels in 25 years”, said the report.
Moreover, 54 countries are in a debt crisis — they had to cut their public sending budgets during the pandemic to repay the loans, the analysis found.
The situation is worsened by extreme weather events, which force these countries to borrow more money as they lack adequate finances and resources for adaptation, mitigation and tackling loss and damage.
For instance, Dominica’s debt as a percentage of GDP rose from 68% to 78% after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017.
To deal with the mounting debts, these countries have turned to extracting more fossil fuels.
The country’s strategy to reduce debt may end up adding to debt levels without generating adequate revenue to repay, which could force Argentia to further expand its fossil fuel projects, the report added. This is known as the “debt-fossil fuel trap”.
Ending the high debt burdens
The report has laid out a few recommendations to help global south countries exit the “debt-fossil fuel trap”.
It said clean energy, wealthy governments and institutions must implement “ambitious debt cancellation for all countries that need it, across all creditors, free from economic conditions.
They should also stop accepting repayments made through fossil fuel projects’ revenue.
Meanwhile, “Bilateral and multilateral finance should be aligned with a 1.5 degree warming scenario and fair shares calculations, and not be used to finance fossil fuels.
#upsc #news #headline #nations #fossilfuels #energy #countries #revenue #pandemic #globalsouth #fuel #trap #africa #latin #worldbank #IMF #payments #GDP #island #dominica #strategy #projects #warming #bilateral #multilateral #finance #fairshares #america #asia #justice #renewable #poornations #forced