Daily Current Affairs – 04-05-2023

Ajay Banga Selected 14th President of the World Bank

Syllabus: GS2/ Important International Institutions

In News

• Recently, the Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023.

More about ‘Ajay Banga’

• Indian origin:
  • Ajay Banga is the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• Previous portfolios:
  • Ajay Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. 
  • Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization.
  • He was the Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. 
• Padma Shri:
  • Banga received Padma Shri award in 2016, India’s third highest civilian award. 

About World Bank

• Origin:
  • It traces its origin to the Bretton Woods Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.
  • It was a gathering of delegates from 44 nations that met from July 1 to 22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire (USA), to agree upon a series of new rules for international financial and monetary order after the conclusion of World War II.
• Partnerships:
  • The World Bank Group is an international partnership comprising 189 countries and five constituent institutions that works towards eradicating poverty and creating prosperity. 
• Significance:
  • The World Bank is dedicated to providing financing, advice, and research to developing nations to aid their economic advancement. 
  • The bank predominantly acts as an organisation that attempts to fight poverty by offering developmental assistance to middle- and low-income countries.
• The five development institutions under the World Bank Group are:
  • International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
  • International Development Association (IDA)
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
  • International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
  • India is a member of four of the five constituents of the World Bank Group. [India is not a member of ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes)].
• The President of the World Bank Group:
  • The President of the World Bank Group is also the Chair of the Board of the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). 
  • The President is also ex officio chair of the Board of Directors of the International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and of the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
• Reports and Publication:
  • World Development Report:
    • The World Development Report is an annual report published since 1978 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or World Bank. 
      • Each WDR provides in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development. 
  • Global Economic Prospects:
    • Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group flagship report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies. 
    • It is issued twice a year, in January and June. 
      • The January edition includes in-depth analyses of topical policy challenges while the June edition contains shorter analytical pieces.
  • Ease of Doing Business:
    • The World Bank has discontinued the practice of issuing ‘Doing Business report’ following an investigation reported “data irregularities”.
      • The report was above all a benchmark study of regulation.

Criticisms

• Pushing for unsustainable economic growth models:
  • The Bank has also been blamed in the past for pushing unsustainable economic growth models for countries, heavily investing in fossil fuel companies to the detriment of the environment and supporting economic changes in developing countries that have resulted in higher levels of inequality.
• Undermining the sovereignty of nations:
  • Like the IMF, the World Bank is also accused of undermining the sovereignty of nations that it lends to, with both institutions setting economic policy conditions for its aid.
• Skwed representation:
  • Lower and middle-income countries are also heavily under-represented in the Bank’s all-important Executive Board.
  • Perhaps the most prevalent criticism of the World Bank is that it severely under-represents the ‘global south’ in its governance structures. 
  • While the bank did reform its voting process in recent years, much of the decision-making power still lies in the hands of western countries and their allies such as Japan.
• Veto power to USA:
  • Most prominently, as the largest shareholder in the World Bank, the US still retains an unprecedented veto power of sorts over the Bank’s decisions. 

Way ahead

• With India looking to propose the formation of a dedicated G20 group for the purpose of suggesting reforms for the World Bank — particularly in regard to increasing the Bank’s lending capacity for climate financing in lower and middle-income countries — Banga could be ideally placed to aid in such efforts as he is elected as the leader of the institution.

Source: WB

Organ Donation Policy in India

Syllabus:GS2/Health, Government policies & interventions

In News

• The Union Health Ministry has said that it will soon release a transplant manual and a standard course for training transplant coordinators.

About

• The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) is working on a Transplant Manual as a step by step guide for implementation of Organ Donation and Transplantation Progamme in the Hospitals and also on a Standard Course for training of Transplant Coordinators. 
• Four verticals for coordination, IEC, Training and HR/accounts have been created in the NOTTO for better implementation of the programme.  
• Recently, Govt. of India has granted Special Casual Leaves of up to 42 days to Central Govt. Employees, who donate an organ to another human being, as a special welfare measure in public interest.

What organs can be transplanted?

• Various parts of the body can be transplanted, ranging from the cornea and the heart to the stomach, hand and intestines, and even skin and bones. But all of these are not equally common.

Organ Transplantation in India

• The number of total organ transplants in the country has substantially increased from less than 5000 in the year 2013 to more than 15000 in the year 2022.  
• Now, more organs per deceased donor are being utilized due to better coordination through the network of Organ & Tissue Transplant Organizations at National (NOTTO), Regional (ROTTO) and State level (SOTTO).

Laws and Rules governing Organ Transplant in India

Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) 1994: 

• It was enacted to provide a system of removal, storage and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs. 
• THOA is now adopted by all States except Andhra and J&K, who have their own similar laws. Under THOA, source of the organ may be:
  • Near Relative donor (mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, spouse),
  • Other than near relative donor: Such a donor can donate only out of affection and attachment or for any other special reason and that too with the approval of the authorisation committee.
  • Deceased donor, especially after Brain stem death e.g. a victim of road traffic accident etc. where the brain stem is dead and person cannot breathe on his own but can be maintained through ventilator, oxygen, fluids etc. Other types of deceased donor could be donors after cardiac death.
• Brain Stem death is recognized as a legal death in India under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, like many other countries, which has revolutionized the concept of organ donation after death. 
• After natural cardiac death only a few organs/tissues can be donated (like cornea, bone, skin and blood vessels) whereas after brain stem death almost 37 different organs and tissues can be donated including vital organs such as kidneys, heart, liver and lungs.

Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011:

• The Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 was enacted: 
  • Tissues have been included along with the Organs.
  • ‘Near relative’ definition has been expanded to include grandchildren, grandparents.
  • Provision of ‘Retrieval Centres’ and their registration for retrieval of organs from deceased donors. Tissue Banks shall also be registered.
  • There is provision of mandatory inquiry from the attendants of potential donors admitted in ICU and informing them about the option to donate – if they consent to donate, inform the retrieval centre.
  • Provision of Mandatory ‘Transplant Coordinator’ in all hospitals registered under the Act.
  • To protect the vulnerable and poor there is provision of higher penalties for trading in organs.
  • National Human Organs and Tissues Removal and Storage Network and National Registry for Transplant are to be established.
  • The Act has made provision of greater caution in case of minors and foreign nationals and prohibition of organ donation from mentally challenged persons.

 National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP)

• The Government of India is implementing NOTP to promote organ donation and transplantation across all States/Union Territories (UTs).  The provisions under the programme include:
  • Setting up of State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTOs) in each State/UT.
  • Setting up of National/ Regional/State Bio-material centres.
  • Financial support for establishing new Organ Transplant/retrieval facilities and strengthening of existing Organ Transplant/retrieval facilities.
  • Training to transplant experts including surgeons, physicians, transplant coordinators, etc.
• Objectives of National Organ Transplant Programme:
  • To organize a system of organ and Tissue procurement & distribution for transplantation.
  • To promote deceased organ and Tissue donation.
  • To train required manpower.
  • To protect vulnerable poor from organ trafficking.
  • To monitor organ and tissue transplant services and bring about policy and programme corrections/ changes whenever needed.

Challenges Associated with Organ Donation in India

• High Burden (Demand Versus Supply gap).
• Poor Infrastructure especially in Govt. sector hospitals.
• Lack of Awareness of the concept of Brain Stem Death among stakeholders.
• Poor rate of Brain Stem Death Certification by Hospitals.
• Poor Awareness and attitude towards organ donation— Poor Deceased Organ donation rate.
• Lack of Organized systems for organ procurement from deceased donor.
• Maintenance of Standards in Transplantation, Retrieval and Tissue Banking.
• Prevention and Control of Organ trading.
• High Cost (especially for uninsured and poor patients).
• Regulation of Non- Govt. Sector.

Way Ahead

• Despite a facilitatory law, organ donation from deceased persons continues to be very poor. In India there is a need to promote deceased organ donation as donation from living persons cannot take care of the organ requirement of the country. 
• Also there is risk to the living donor and proper follow up of the donor is also required. 
• There is also an element of commercial transaction associated with living organ donation, which is a violation of Law. In such a situation of organ shortage, rich can exploit the poor by indulging in organ trading.
• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is imbibing learnings from international best practices for further policy reforms towards augmentation of organ donation and transplantation in the country which is a step in the right direction.

Source: TH
 

Report on Currency & Finance 2022-23

Syllabus:GS 3/Economy

In News

• Recently, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR) released a Report on Currency & Finance 2022-23.

About the report 

• The report, themed ‘Towards a Greener Cleaner India’, does not represent the views of the RBI, and is based on the findings and conclusions of the contributors from the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
• It covers four major dimensions of climate change to assess future challenges to sustainable high growth in India.
  • The areas are the unprecedented scale and pace of climate change; its macroeconomic effects; implications for financial stability; and policy options to mitigate climate risks.

Major Findings 

• The cumulative total expenditure for adapting to climate change in India is estimated to reach ?85.6 lakh crore (at 2011-12 prices) by 2030.
• India’s goal of achieving the net zero target by 2070 would require an accelerated reduction in the energy intensity of GDP by about 5% annually and a significant improvement in its energy mix in favour of renewables to about 80% by 2070-71.
• India’s green financing requirement is estimated to be at least 2.5% of GDP annually till 2030 to address the infrastructure gap caused by climate events.
• Results of a climate stress test reveal that public sector banks (PSBs) may be more vulnerable than private sector banks. 
• Globally, however, the measurement of climate-related financial risks remains a work in progress.
•  CBDCs can be more energy efficient than much of the current payment landscape, including credit and debit cards.
  • The CBDC helps curb emissions by nullifying operations such as printing, storage, transportation, and replacement of physical currency.

Recommendations 

• In order to speed up and drive green finance in the country and meet climate goals, India needs to put in place a broad-based carbon pricing system in-line with emerging global best practices and introduce a carbon tax.
• It also recommended introducing an Emissions Trading System (ETS) linked to green taxonomy, covering all sectors of the economy, which can partly balance subsidy and tax.
• There is a need to properly record public spending on climate change and related issues and report them in a climate budget report as a supplement to the annual budget.
• India should explore ways to improve access to technology and critical mineral resources through multilateral, regional, and bilateral strategic partnerships, and step up efforts to address the variability in wind and solar power supply through appropriate energy storage technology and demand management mechanisms using smart grids.
• Other suggestions: Complementing green building standards with the Internet of Things (IoT)-based monitoring and AI and ML to manage and reduce energy demand;
  • Boosting climate resilient agriculture;
  • Production of green hydrogen using renewable energy; and investment in carbon capture and storage technologies.
• Central banks could mandate banks and other financial institutions to consider climate and environmental risks through various regulations.

Future Outlook 

• A balanced policy intervention with progress ensured across all policy levers would enable India to achieve its green transition targets by 2030, making the net zero goal by 2070 attainable.

Source: TH

‘Go First’ Files for Voluntary Insolvency

Syllabus: GS3/ Indian Economy & related issues

In News

• The carrier Go Airlines (India) Ltd (Go First), filed for voluntary insolvency proceedings with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Why this drastic step?

• The Wadia Group-owned air carrier with more than 5,000 employees has taken the decision amid severe fund crunch.

• Go First took the step due to the increasing number of failing engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney’s International Aero Engines. This resulted in the airline being forced to ground 25 aircraft, which is approximately 50 percent of its Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet as of 1 May 2023.
• The engine supplier, according to the airline, has failed to repair those engines and/or provide sufficient spare leased engines as it was required to do pursuant to its obligations under the relevant agreements.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

• About: NCLT is a quasi-judicial authority incorporated for dealing with corporate disputes that are of civil nature arising under the Companies Act.
  • It was established on the recommendations of the V. Balakrishna Eradi committee.
  • Principal Bench: New Delhi
• Objectives: Adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies.
  • NCLT has to adjudicate the insolvency resolution process of companies and limited liability partnerships under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• Composition of NCLT bench: President, 16 judicial members, and 9 Technical members.

What are Voluntary Insolvency Proceedings?

• The voluntary insolvency means that the company has accepted its business is insolvent. 
• It is a process in which the company says it cannot pay debts and needs help from someone to sort it out. When the company goes insolvent, it can proceed to voluntary liquidation.
• This process refers to the dissolution of a company with approval from shareholders and creditors of the company. It is a time-bound process which needs to be completed in 270 days from the date of commencement of Voluntary Liquidation.

Sequence of Steps under IBC

For Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, Kindly follow https://www.nextias.com/editorial-analysis/22-04-2022/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-ibc

India’s Aviation Industry

• About:
  • India has become the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to overtake the UK to become the third-largest air passenger market by 2024. Indian aviation also contributed 5% of the GDP, creating a total of 4 million jobs. 
• Advantages:
  • The aviation sector offers global connection, which is crucial for advancing international trade and business. 
  • It plays a crucial role in promoting tourism by offering a robust transportation network. The promotion of the tourism industry also helps the economy and employment sector.
  • The aviation sector has played an important role in natural catastrophes or even in conflicts. 

• Challenges to the Aviation Sector
  • Financial: The aviation sector came under severe financial stress during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
  • Infrastructure: Many airports in the country are old and need modernization, while others are located in areas that are difficult to access, which can lead to congestion, delays, and safety issues.
  • Skilled Workforce: One of the main challenges in developing a skilled workforce is the high cost of training. Aviation training is expensive and requires significant investment in infrastructure and equipment.
  • Cost Structure: The cost of ATF in India is among the highest in the world due to high taxes and other levies. 
  • Security: Aviation security is a critical issue for the industry, given the potential for terrorist attacks and other security threats. 
  • Environmental Concerns: The aviation industry significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global climate change.

For reading more about the Aviation Sector, Kindly follow the https://www.nextias.com/current-affairs/05-12-2022/aviation-safety-in-india

 

Source: IE

 

EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act

Syllabus: GS3/ Science & Technology, Information Technology

In News

• The European Parliament reached a preliminary deal on a new draft of the European Union’s ambitious Artificial Intelligence Act.

Provisions of the Act

• Aims:
  • Bringing transparency, trust, and accountability to AI and creating a framework to mitigate risks to the safety, health, fundamental rights, and democratic values of the EU.
  • Strike a balance between promoting “the uptake of AI while mitigating or preventing harms associated with certain uses of the technology”.
• Provisions:
  • Act defines AI as “software that is developed with one or more of the techniques that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, generate outputs such as content, predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing the environments they interact with. It identifies AI tools based on machine learning and deep learning, knowledge and logic-based approaches and statistical approaches.
  • There are four risk categories in the Act— unacceptable, high, limited and minimal.
    • The Act prohibits using technologies in the unacceptable risk category with little exception. These include the use of real-time facial and biometric identification systems in public spaces.
    • The Act lays substantial focus on AI in the high-risk category, prescribing a number of pre-and post-market requirements for developers and users of such systems.it includes AI used in healthcare, education, employment etc. ‘conformity assessments’ is mandatory for high-risk AI before coming to market. It also comply with mandatory post-market monitoring obligations such as logging performance data and maintaining continuous compliance.
    • AI systems in the limited and minimal risk category such as spam filters or video games can be used with a few requirements like transparency obligations.
  • Generative AI such as the language model-based ChatGPT will have to disclose any copyrighted material used to develop their systems.
  • EU’s regulatory framework proposal states that “as AI is a fast-evolving technology, the proposal has a future-proof approach, allowing rules to adapt to technological change”.

Global AI regulations

• USA’S AI Bill of Rights (AIBoR) as a guidance or a handbook rather than a binding legislation.
• China regulations targeting specific types of algorithms and AI. It told companies to “promote positive energy”, to not “endanger national security or the social public interest” and to “give an explanation” when they harm the legitimate interests of users.
• India: NITI Aayog has published a series of papers on the subject of Responsible AI for All. However, the government is not considering bringing a law or regulating the growth of artificial intelligence in the country.”

Need of AI Regulation

• Omnipresence: AI is capable of performing a wide variety of tasks including voice assistance, recommending music, driving cars, detecting cancer etc.
• Black Box: Many AI tools are essentially black boxes, meaning even those who design them cannot explain what goes on inside them to generate a particular output. 
• Complex and unexplainable AI tools have already manifested in wrongful arrests E.g.  GPT-4 can generate versatile, human-competitive and genuine looking content, which may be inaccurate and use copyrighted material created by others.
• Industry stakeholders including Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed an open letter asking AI labs to stop the training of AI models more powerful than GPT-4 for six months, citing potential risks to society and humanity.

Challenges in AI regulation

• Lack of understanding: AI is a complex and rapidly evolving technology, which makes it difficult for regulators to fully understand its capabilities and potential risks. Sometimes it is often not possible for even developers to explain the functioning of algorithms.
• Privacy and security: AI systems can collect, store, and analyze vast amounts of personal data, raising concerns about privacy and security. Companies are criticizing transparency requirements, fearing that it could mean divulging trade secrets.
• Accountability: It can be challenging to hold individuals or organizations accountable for the actions of AI systems, particularly if the systems are autonomous and evolving.
•  International coordination: AI is a global technology, which means that regulation must be coordinated across borders to be effective. However, different countries may have different regulatory approaches and priorities.

Way forward for AI Regulation

• Compliance: Compliance is at the heart of policy implementation. Policymakers should consider how the regulations and the implementation machinery could be adjusted to lower costs and barriers to innovation without adversely impacting safety or public good.
• Multi-stakeholder approach: AI can be a major driver of economic growth and social progress if industry, civil society, government, and the public work together to support development of the technology and implement checks and balances to ensure accountability.
• International cooperation: In the context of various interrelated technological applications, and the cross-border reach of AI technology, international engagement and cooperation, and regulatory harmonization are crucial.  

Source: TH

World Press Freedom Index 2023

Syllabus:GS2/Governance/Miscellaneous

In News

• India ranked 161 out of 180 countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index.

About the World Press Freedom Index

• Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) publishes the yearly report on press freedom in countries across the world.
• It Evaluates the environment for journalism in 180 countries and territories and is published on World Press Freedom Day (3 May). 
• RSF defines press freedom as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.

Methodology used for compiling the World Press Freedom Index 2023

• Each country or territory’s score is evaluated using five contextual indicators that reflect the press freedom situation in all of its complexity: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.
• The Index is based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country or territory, with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.
• The press freedom map offers a visual overview of the scores of all the countries in the index. The colours and classifications are assigned as follows:
  • [85 – 100 points]  good (green)
  • [70 – 85 points[  satisfactory (yellow)
  • [55 – 70 points[  problematic (light orange)
  • [40 – 55 points[  difficult (dark orange)
  • [0 – 40 points[ very serious (dark red)

Findings of the 2023 World Freedom Index

• The situation is “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “problematic” in 55, and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52 countries. 
• The environment for journalism is “bad” in seven out of ten countries, and satisfactory in only three out of ten.
• Top Scorer: Norway is ranked first for the seventh year running. But – unusually – a non-Nordic country is ranked second i.e. Ireland , ahead of Denmark at 3rd. The Netherlands is at 6th has risen 22 places, recovering the position it had in 2021.
• Last Place: The last three places are occupied solely by Asian countries: Vietnam (178th); China (down 4 at 179th), and North Korea (180th).
• India and Neighbourhood: India is ranked 11 spots down from last year i.e. at 161st, Bangladesh is ranked 163rd, Afghanistan 152nd, Pakistan 150th, Sri Lanka 135th, Thailand 106th, and Bhutan 90th. 

Source: IE

 

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) granted Navratna Status

Syllabus: GS3 / Indian Economy & Related issues

In News

• Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Central Public Sector Enterprises of Ministry of Railways, has been granted Navratna Status.
  • The company was granted Mini-Ratna status in September 2013.

About RVNL

RVNL was incorporated as PSU in 2003, with following functions:

• Undertaking project development and execution of works covering full project life cycle.
• Creating Project specific SPVs for individual works, if required.
• On completion of a Railway project by RVNL, the concerned Zonal Railway will undertake its operation and maintenance.

Benefits of Navratna status

• When a company achieves Navratna status, it gets enhanced financial and operational freedom
• It empowers it to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore or 15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval. 
• They will also have the freedom to enter joint ventures, form alliances and float subsidiaries abroad.

 

Source: PIB

 

Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP)

Syllabus: GS 3/Energy

In News

• NTPC has marked its first overseas capacity addition, beginning with Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP) in Bangladesh 

About Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP)

• Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP) is located in Rampal, Mongla, Bagerhat, Bangladesh. 
• NTPC recently added Unit-1, a 660 MW capacity, of the 1320 MW (2×660)
  • The new addition takes the Installed Capacity of NTPC to 72304 MW.

• This demonstrates the company’s global reach and commitment to providing reliable and sustainable power. 
• The project was executed in collaboration with the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Pvt Ltd. (BIFPCL), a foreign joint venture company of NTPC Ltd.

NTPC

• Established in 1975, NTPC aims to be the world’s largest and best power major.
• It is India’s largest power utility with an installed capacity of 72,304  MW (including JVs) and plans to become a 130 GW company by 2032. 
• It has comprehensive Rehabilitation & Resettlement and CSR policies well integrated with its core business of setting up power projects and generating electricity. 
• It became a Maharatna company in May 2010.
•  It is ranked No. 2 Independent Power Producer(IPP) in Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company rankings.

Source: ET