India ranked 5th in the CDP India annual report
Context :
India ranked 5th in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) India annual report. The non-profit organization surveyed among the countries for corporate commitments to science-based targets (SBT).
Report Highlights :
- The report identified that the investors demand better disclosure of climate change risk from Indian companies.
- The report examined the carbon reduction activities of the selected companies
- It stated that 98% of the firms surveyed between 2018 and 2019 have board-level oversight of climate-related issues.
- The report highlighted that the top responding Indian companies now have committees and members designated to address climate risk. This is because of increasing climate activism.
- Scores of investors will actively engage companies to disclose their climate risk and helping them to do better.
- Around 6,900 companies with over 55% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2018.
Top 5 ranks :
- The United Statestopped the list with 135 companies
- Japan ranked second with 83 companies respectively
- The United Kingdom ranked third with 78 countries
- France ranked fourth with 51 companies
- India ranked fifth with 38 companies
One Nation, One Ration Card scheme
Context :
One Nation, One Ration Card scheme will be implemented by 1 June 2020 in India.
One Nation, One Ration Card scheme :
- Under the scheme, the beneficiaries can avail of the benefits across the country using the same ration card.
- The scheme allows the portability of food security benefits across India, that is, poor migrant workers can buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country.
- This will overcome the issue when one person moe from one place to the other across India. When a person migrates, it takes around 2-3 months to get a ration card. A person’s identity will be ensured on the basis of Aadhaar authentication and validated data.
- On 1 January 2020, the facility was started in 12 states in India.
- Under this facility, the beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) of these states can get their share of rations in any of the 12 states in which they are residing.
Significance :
This will provide freedom to the beneficiaries as they will not be tied to any one PDS shop and reduce their dependence on shop owners and curtail instances of corruption.
One Nation, One Ration Card scheme
Global social mobility report
Context :
World Economic Forum has come out with its first-ever Global Social Mobility Report.
Performance of India :
- The report has ranked India a lowly 76 out of the 82 countries profiled.
- It lists India among the five countries that stand to gain the most from a better social mobility score.
- It ranks 41st in lifelong learning and 53rd in working conditions.
- The Areas of improvement for India include social protection (76th) and fair wage distribution (79th).
Global performance :
- The Nordic nations hold the top five spots, led by Denmark in the first place (scoring 85 points), followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden (all above 83 points) and Iceland (82 points).
- Among the G7 economies, Germany is the most socially mobile, ranking 11th with 78 points.
What is social mobility :
It can be understood as the movement in personal circumstances either “upwards” or “downwards” of an individual in relation to those of their parents.
- In absolute terms, it is the ability of a child to experience a better life than their parents.
- On the other hand, relative social mobility is an assessment of the impact of socio-economic background on an individual’s outcomes in life.
- It can be measured against a number of outcomes ranging from health to educational achievement and income.
Why does social mobility matter :
Research has shown that in high-income countries, since the 1990s, there is stagnation at both the bottom and the top end of the income distribution—a phenomenon which social mobility experts describe as ‘sticky floors’ and ‘sticky ceilings’.
- In other words, how far an individual can move up in the society determines a lot whether one is closer to the income “floor” (or poor) or “ceiling” (or rich).
- Social mobility levels, then, can help us understand both the speed – that is, how long it takes for individuals at the bottom of the scale to catch up with those at the top – and the intensity – that is, how many steps it takes for an individual to move up the ladder in a given period – of social mobility.
Why the need for a new index :
- Social mobility has become the pressing issue of modern life, and as the index highlights, while major improvements have been made in some areas, notably extreme poverty, in others, the situation is deteriorating.
- Globalization and technology are frequently blamed for this, but as the report highlights, there are a plethora of reasons – not least of which is poor policy-making – and it is the responsibility of a range of stakeholders to redress these.
Government to seek green clearance for water aerodromes
In news:
- The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has given in-principle clearance to set up aerial airports (AIRDROME) in the country.
- Five states – Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Assam – have been identified for its launch.
- In the first phase of the project, Chilka Lake (Odisha), Sabarmati River Front and Sardar Sarovar dam (Gujarat) have been marked for the development of such facilities.
UDAN : ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik’
- scheme is a part of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP)
- UDAN is a regional connectivity scheme spearheaded by the Government of India (GoI).
- Aims to develop smaller regional airports to allow common citizens easier access to aviation services.
Objectives :
- Operationalization and development of 425 underserved or unserved airports in the country
- Boost inclusive economic development by providing faster connectivity
- Development of air transport infrastructure in remote areas aiding job growth
Iran to quit NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)
In news:
Iran threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if European countries bring alleged violations of the historic nuclear deal with world powers to the United Nations Security Council
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons :
- The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
- The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
- Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Iran Nuclear deal :
- Iran agreed to rein in its nuclear programme in a 2015 deal struck with the US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany.
- Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) Tehran agreed to significantly cut its stores of centrifuges, enriched uranium and heavy-water, all key components for nuclear weapons.
- The JCPOA established the Joint Commission, with the negotiating parties all represented, to monitor implementation of the agreement.