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Climate change conferences are quite used to stalemates, especially in the final days, and a familiar one existed at the Dubai Expo Centre, the venue of COP28, as the conference went into extra-time. But never has the division been so sharp, the gap seemingly so unbridgeable.
On the issue of fossil fuel phase-out, almost every country has a strong opinion, with no meeting ground currently in sight.
Yet, an agreement was being drafted, for all to agree on, because a COP has to have an outcome decision. A previous draft, that came Monday evening, had made everyone unhappy and was immediately rejected by many. A new one, possibly the final, is being worked upon and expected to be finalised in the early hours.
There are countries like Saudi Arabia that have made it clear that they would not agree to a fossil fuel phase-out in the final decision of the COP28 climate meeting.
There are others like the European Union who insist that any decision that does not mention fossil fuel phase-out would be unacceptable.
Then there are climate groups, activists and observers who have declared that COP28 would be a failure if it did not call for a fossil fuel phase-out.
In Parliament
LS clears 2 bills extending woman’s quota to Puducherry, J-K assemblies (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Lok Sabha Tuesday passed two Bills that seek to extend the provisions of the women’s reservation law to the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.
The debate on the two Bills witnessed heated moments between the Opposition and the treasury benches.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha.
The two Bills seek to enable greater representation and participation of women as public representatives in law-making processes in the legislative assemblies of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.
During the debate, Home Minister Amit Shah took exception to TMC member Saugata Roy referring to the repeal of Article 370, the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and Uniform Civil Code as BJP’s “communal and divisive agenda”.
Govt & Politics
Leh, Kargil regions divided over verdict, united over Ladakh’s statehood demand (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution evoked contrasting reactions in Leh and Kargil regions of the Union Territory of Ladakh, almost similar to how the two regions had responded when Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated in August 2019.
The two regions, however, remained united over the issue of Ladakh’s statehood, one of the key demands in their four-point agenda.
On Tuesday, Apex Body Leh (ABL), a coalition of social, religious and political bodies from Leh, issued a statement welcoming the court’s decision as a “strong step in the direction of strengthening national integration”. The Kargil region, however, remained skeptical, particularly over the question of Ladakh’s statehood.
The (Article 370) judgment raised the hope that the Central government would reassess the situation and give Ladakh its due by elevating it as a full-fledged state. The large area, highly patriotic population waiting for due recognition, need for faster development, strategic location and distinct ethnic and cultural identity eminently entitled Ladakh to be made a state.
It recalled that it had “always opposed Article 370” and expressed satisfaction that the Supreme Court’s verdict had confirmed the “wisdom and maturity” of its approach.
Editorial
Eye on Kashmir (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Supreme Court’s judgment this week, validating the abolition of Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir and the separation of Ladakh from it — legislated by Parliament on August 5, 2019 — will make one big difference to the geopolitics of Kashmir.
It ends Delhi’s prolonged defensive strategic orientation on Kashmir that emerged at the turn of the 1990s when independent India was at one of its most vulnerable moments.
The legal clarity provided by the Supreme Court — that India’s “internal” relationship with Kashmir is not open for “external” negotiation — does provide a good basis to launch a new phase in India’s Kashmir strategy.
The task of the NDA government, which pushed hard to change the terms of engagement at home and abroad on Kashmir over the last decade, is not done.
The domestic legal closure on the question of India’s full sovereignty over Kashmir does not automatically end the external meddling in Kashmir.
Ideas Page
The go -to nation (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In 2007, China’s GDP was about $3.6 trillion. Today, India’s GDP is $3.7 trillion — perhaps more. This parallel is crucial to understanding the big moment that Indian diplomacy, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is recognising. A moment, if supported by India’s people, its companies and the state apparatus, will reshape the global order. An appreciation of this moment and putting its lessons into concrete actions is the big legacy of 2023 as India concludes a transformational diplomatic year — the year of its G20 stewardship.
Look back at history. In 2007, China was not yet the geoeconomic behemoth it is now. But with a GDP lower than India’s today, it became the go-to nation during the global financial crisis a year later.
Every nation sought to deepen relations with Beijing, and to create a special place in their diplomacy for the People’s Republic. Its leaders were the toast of Davos and at business salons.
China provided institutional and geoeconomic responses — a development bank, a cross-continental lending programme that galvanised infrastructure accretion without the legacy constraints of Western agencies, and a series of economic projects that eventually coalesced into the Belt and Road Initiative.
Explained
POMPE disease (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Nidhi Shirol, India’s first Pompe disease patient, passed away last month at the age of 24 years after battling the disease. She spent the last six years in a semi-comatose state.
In 2010, her father Prasanna Shirol started the Organisation for Rare Diseases India (ORDI), the first NGO in the country for rare diseases. Here, he explains what the disease is, how common it is, and how it is diagnosed.
Also known as Glycogen Storage Disease Type II, Pompe disease is a rare genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). This enzyme is crucial for breaking down glycogen into glucose within the lysosomes of cells.
Its prevalence estimates range from 1 in 40,000 to 1 in 300,000 births. It occurs across diverse ethnicities and populations. The age of onset and severity can vary, leading to a spectrum of clinical presentations.
The severity of the condition and the progression of symptoms may differ among individuals.
Food vs fuel: Case of Sugar (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
After banning sugar exports, the Centre has taken the next step towards augmenting domestic availability – restricting diversion of the sweetener for ethanol production.
On December 7, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution directed all mills and distilleries not to use sugarcane juice/syrup for making any ethanol “with immediate effect”.
Ethanol is 99.9% pure alcohol that can be blended with petrol. The ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme has been a significant accomplishment of the Narendra Modi government. The all-India average blending of ethanol with petrol has risen from 1.6% in 2013-14 to 11.8% in 2022-23.
Ethanol – or even 94% pure industrial-grade rectified spirit and 96% extra neutral alcohol for potable liquor – is normally made from so-called C-heavy molasses.
Mills typically crush cane with 13.5-14% total fermentable sugars (TFS). Around 11.5% of it can be recovered from the juice as sugar.
The uncrystallised, non-recoverable 2-2.5% TFS goes into C-heavy molasses. Every tonne of this liquid, containing 40-45% sugar, gives 220-225 litres of ethanol on fermentation and distillation.
Economy
Food prices drive November inflation to 3 month high, October IIP at 16 month peak (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Retail inflation jumped to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November, primarily due to a rise in food inflation, even as other components such as housing, clothing and footwear registered a moderation, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Data released separately by the NSO also showed that factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose to a 16-month high of 11.7 per cent in October, due to a favourable base effect and a general pick-up across sectors such as mining, manufacturing, electricity and capital goods.
The inflation rate for consumers had moderated to 4.87 per cent in October 2023 and has picked pace again in November, marking the 50th month of staying above 4 per cent mark in the 4+/- 2 per cent band of medium-term inflation target set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) recorded an inflation rate of 8.70 per cent in November, up from 6.61 per cent in October and 4.67 per cent in November 2022. However, core inflation – non-food, non-fuel segment – eased further to 4.2 per cent in November from 4.4 per cent in the previous month in an indication of moderate input cost pressures and weakening of demand.