[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 23 January 2023

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources/Infrastructure-Energy/Environmental Conservation

Source: TH

Direction: The challenges, especially financial, that India faces as it prepares to transition from a high-carbon emission economy to a low-carbon emission economy are discussed in the article.

Context: According to a study in the Global Environmental Change journal, India’s financial sector is highly exposed to the risks of the economy transitioning from being largely dependent on fossil fuels to clean energy.

Background:

• Coal currently accounts for 44% of India’s primary energy sources and 70% of its power generation.
• The country’s coal-fired power plants have an average age of 13 years and India has 91,000 MW of new proposed coal capacity in the works, second only to China.
• According to the Draft National Electricity Plan 2022, coal’s share in the electricity generation mix will decrease to 50% by 2030.
• In 2021, the PM of India announced India’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 and to source half of its electricity needs from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Highlights of the study:

• The financial decisions of Indian banks and institutional investors are forcing the nation to rely on a more expensive, more polluting source of energy. For example,
  • Oil and gas extraction accounted for 60% of lending to the mining industry, while petroleum refining accounted for one-fifth of debt in the manufacturing industry.
  • Only 17.5% of bank lending to the power sector has been to renewables.
• Consequently, India has much higher electricity from carbon sources than the world average, despite its vast potential for cheap solar, wind, and small hydropower.

Challenges:

• High-carbon industries – power generation, chemicals, iron and steel, and aviation – account for 10% of outstanding debt to Indian financial institutions.
  • However, these industries are also heavily indebted and therefore have the less financial capacity to respond to shocks and stresses.
• Mapping India’s policy commitments against these lending and investment patterns reveal that India’s financial sector is heavily exposed to potential transition risks.
• A shortage of experts in India’s financial institutions who had the expertise to appropriately advise the institutions on such a transition.
• Trillion dollars needed: To meet net-zero and power generation from non-fossil fuel sources commitments.

In general, the following are a few reasons a nation’s economy may be at risk from moving to clean energy:

• High upfront costs: The initial investment required to transition to clean energy, such as building solar or wind power plants, can be significant.
• Job losses in certain industries: This could have negative effects on the economy and could lead to higher unemployment.
• Dependence on foreign technology: Many countries may have to import clean energy technology from other nations, which can be expensive.
• Lack of infrastructure: The transition to clean energy requires a significant overhaul of the existing energy infrastructure, which may be costly and time-consuming.
• Uncertainty of investments and regulations: The transition to clean energy may be slowed down by the lack of clear regulations and policy frameworks, which can make it difficult for companies to make long-term investments.

Way ahead:

• Financiers, regulators and policymakers should be acting swiftly to ensure an orderly transition to net zero.
• RBI is expected to launch India’s first-ever sovereign green bonds auction worth ₹40 billion.
• India’s presidency of the G-20 also means a focus on the energy transition and mobilising sustainable finance.
• Major financial institutions should collect information on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and systematically incorporate data into financial planning.

Conclusion: There is a linkage between financial risk, renewable energy technology budgets, and environmental quality as the transition to clean energy can have an impact on all three areas.

Shifting financial resources towards these renewables would deliver huge benefits for India like cheaper electricity, cleaner air, and fewer emissions. Thus, on the other side of risk is a tremendous opportunity.

InstaCurious:

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It refers to a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. Environmental standards assess a company’s impact on the natural world. Social standards assess a company’s impact on its employees, customers, and community. Governance standards assess a company’s leadership, financial transparency, and ethical behaviour. ESG criteria can help investors evaluate the long-term sustainability of a company and its potential financial performance.

Related News:

Insta Links:

India Ranks Third in Renewable Energy Installations in 2021

Mains Links:

Q. Describe the benefits of deriving electric energy from sunlight in contrast to conventional energy generation. What are the initiatives offered by our government for this purpose? (UPSC 2020)

Prelims Links:

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Source: TH

Direction: The article highlights what needs to be done as well as the efforts made by India to eradicate measles and rubella.

Context: India set a goal (in 2019) to eradicate measles and rubella (MR) by 2023 after missing the previous deadline of 2020 (an earlier target of 2015 was also missed) for a number of reasons, worsened by the pandemic’s disruptions.

Why is eliminating MR crucial?

• According to the WHO, the measles virus is one of the world’s most contagious human viruses that kills more than 1,00,000 children every year globally and rubella is a leading cause of birth defects.
• An outbreak of measles in Maharashtra in 2022, particularly in Mumbai, killed 15 children among several hundred who contracted the infection.

What has India done to achieve targets?

• During 2010-2013, India conducted a phased measles catch-up immunisation for children aged 9 months-10 years in 14 States, vaccinating approximately 119 million children.
• Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to ramp up vaccinating the unvaccinated population.
• During 2017–2021, India adopted a national strategic plan for MR elimination, and introduced rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) into the routine immunisation programme, besides launching a nationwide MR supplementary immunisation activity (SIA) catch-up campaign.
  • Additionally, it changed the focus of acute fever and rash surveillance from outbreak-based to case-based.
  • Also, the number of laboratories in the MR network has more than doubled.

What needs to be done to achieve the target?

• The main concern is the under-one-year population. But if the immunisation at 95% can be maintained, it will be possible.
• However, it needs to be done district by district –
  • Give each district a target to achieve the required rate of immunisation,
  • Conduct a robust fever and rash surveillance programme, testing for MR.
• Monitoring the progress and providing additional inputs to the districts that are lagging in implementing the immunisation.
• In the process, it is important to provide full support (improve their service conditions, and salaries) to the ground-level staff (village health nurses, ASHA, Anganwadi and ICDS workers) who implement the programme.

Conclusion:

• Having strong immunisation infrastructure, States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala will find it easier to reach the targets, unlike the other States where more effort will be needed to do so.
• As the saying goes – “a threat of infection anywhere is a threat everywhere,” India needs to improve its surveillance by finding, investigating, collecting, and testing a sample for every suspected case in every district across every State and UT.

Insta Links:

Measles

Prelims Links: (UPSC 2014)

GS Paper 4

Syllabus: Moral Thinkers

Source: The Hindu, Live Mint

Context: New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern who announced her resignation citing burnout, offered an alternative leadership model rooted in a moral vision rather than political opportunism and rose to become a global hero of liberalism.

• She is considered a classic example of ethical leadership.

About Ethical Leadership:

Ethical leadership is the practice of demonstrating appropriate conduct inside and outside the office. It is mainly concerned with moral development and virtuous behaviour. Ethical leaders display good values through their words and actions.

Lessons from the life of Jacinda Ardern:

Motherhood is powerful

• Jacinda Ardern became the second world leader (After Benazir Bhutto) to ever give birth and subsequently take maternity leave while in office. She said, “I’m just pregnant, not incapacitated”.
• Multitasking: The Prime Minister then made history and headlines worldwide when her three-month-old child accompanied her to a United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Keeping calm under pressure

• The New Zealand Prime Minister has demonstrated her ability to stay cool numerous times throughout the coronavirus pandemic, but it was her response to a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that set the tone for her approach to a crisis. During a live television broadcast, the parliament building she was in was hit with a mammoth natural disaster.
• Her ability to immediately gather her thoughts and address a crisis can be a learning lesson for all of us.

Act swiftly, decisively and do not downplay situations

• Her decisiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on how the country handled the crisis and the measures she implemented.
• Not once did she attempt to downplay the severity of the crisis. Instead, she offered facts, educated herself on the data, and made tough choices that would ultimately allow New Zealand to handle the pandemic astutely and save many live

Responsible leadership: The PM, along with her ministers took a pay cut of 20% for 6 months during the pandemic. In her own statement – “While it in itself won’t shift the government’s overall fiscal position, it is about leadership”.

Emotional intelligence

• During the pandemic, Prime Minister Ardern showed her humane side and fostered the public’s trust by acknowledging the emotional aspect brought on by the crisis.
• She even went so far as to reassure children that the Easter Bunny was classified as a key worker and would be able to do their Easter rounds as always. While this may seem like a small gesture, the fact that she incorporated such an emotional response into her address showed her humanity and her relatability.

Effective Communication: The underrated value of listening and asking

• Ardern used regular Facebook Live sessions to check in with citizens during their relatively brief time in lockdown.
• In an incredibly informal, chatty manner, she effortlessly demonstrated consideration and empathy, whilst also delivering some tough messages, and providing clear direction to mobilize effort.  
• To support citizens through lockdown, Ardern also conducted a series of video interviews in which she conversed with experts, including a psychologist about coping with the stresses of the pandemic, and an experienced business mentor about supporting small businesses.

Clear vision and humility

• Jacinda had earlier mentioned child poverty as the reason why she joined politics at the age of 17. She often visited refugee children as a part of working for an international youth organization.

Trust

• Demonstrate credibility – for instance, by gaining the necessary knowledge and data and/or drawing upon relevant experience
• Show reliability – be honest and do what you say you will do
• Create intimacy – share some of yourself and be interested in others
• Limit self-orientation – keep your self-interest in check

Strength and solidarity are key

• In March 2019, Jacinda Ardern responded to a series of terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch with an approach that supported the people of New Zealand and quickly banned military-style assault weapons in the country. The leader refused to name the shooter in order to avoid giving him notoriety and assisted in uniting not only the people of Christchurch but New Zealand as a whole.
• Ms Ardern wore a hijab and went to mourn with the grieving families. By keeping the focus on the victims rather than the perpetrator, she brought a healing touch to an otherwise tense, polarising moment.

Inclusivity

• She appointed Nanaia Mahuta, a Maori woman, in the high-profile portfolio of foreign ministers, while her party vowed that schools in the country would have the Māori language integrated into their curriculum by 2025.

In a world where politics is synonymous with realpolitik, she demonstrated that politics informed by a moral vision — doing the right thing rather than what best suits one’s interests — is not unthinkable.

InstaCurious:

Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that causes a change in individuals and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. It refers to a leadership style that focuses on inspiring and motivating followers to not only achieve their goals but also to develop their own leadership potential.

Nolan Committee Recommendations – Find the link below.

Insta Links:

Anonymity or Fame

Mains Link: UPSC 2019

Q. What are the basic principles of public life? Illustrate any three of these with suitable examples.