21 February 2023

• International: Russia suspended its participation in the New START Treaty, the last remaining major US-Russia nuclear arms control agreement. Biden visited Kyiv on the eve of the invasion's first anniversary.
• Environment: India and China identified as among the countries facing maximum climate risk by 2050. Bihar ranks highest among Indian states.
• Governance: Jadui Pitara, play-based learning materials for 3 to 8 year olds under the NEP 2020 framework, released in 13 Indian languages.
• Blue economy: Indian advocates called for early conclusion of the BBNJ Treaty for high seas conservation. High seas cover over 60 per cent of the ocean.

GS area: International Relations

Russia announced the suspension of its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) on 21 February 2023, one day before the first anniversary of the full-scale Ukraine invasion:

• New START: the last major bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia. Signed in 2010, entered force in 2011. Extended by five years to February 2026 in 2021.
• What New START limits: deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and heavy bombers. Caps deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 per side. Also limits delivery vehicles.
• Predecessor START-I (1991): capped warheads at 6,000 and ICBMs at 1,600. Much more restrictive.
• Verification: on-site inspections and data exchanges. Russia suspended inspections first in 2022 (claiming COVID-related restrictions); the US suspended reciprocal inspections in response.
• Impact of suspension: does not abrogate the treaty. But without verification, neither side can confirm compliance. This increases strategic uncertainty.
• Nuclear risk: if New START collapses, both countries could exceed current warhead limits. A new arms race cannot be ruled out.
• India's concern: India is in the vicinity of nuclear-armed states (China and Pakistan). Global nuclear arms control erosion increases strategic instability in Asia.

Static linkage: International Relations (nuclear arms control, US-Russia, disarmament).

GS area: Environment, International Relations

A climate risk assessment by XDI (Cross Dependency Initiative) ranked India, China and the US as facing the highest physical climate risks by 2050:

• India's most vulnerable states: Bihar ranked highest in India for climate-related economic damage by 2050. Uttar Pradesh and Assam follow.
• Global leaders in risk: Chinese provinces Jiangsu and Shandong ranked 1st and 2nd globally for projected damage.
• Types of climate risk measured: flooding (riverine and pluvial), extreme heat, wildfire, sea-level rise, and drought.
• Period assessed: 1990 to 2050. The report found Southeast Asia shows the greatest escalation in damage.
• India's adaptation challenge: Bihar and eastern UP are heavily agricultural, flood-prone, and densely populated. Their adaptive capacity (resources, infrastructure, institutional quality) is low relative to the projected risk.
• CBDR and loss and damage: the XDI data directly supports the "loss and damage" argument made by developing countries at COP27 (2022), where a Loss and Damage Fund was established.

Static linkage: Environment (climate change, adaptation, COP, India's vulnerabilities).

GS area: Environment, International Relations

India called for early conclusion of the BBNJ Treaty at negotiations in New York:

• BBNJ: Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction. The proposed treaty addresses conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the "high seas").
• High seas: areas beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones of any country. Cover more than 60 per cent of the world's oceans and about 43 per cent of Earth's surface.
• Current gap: no comprehensive legal framework for the high seas. The UNCLOS (1982) does not fully address biodiversity conservation beyond EEZs.
• India's advantages in blue economy: major global fish producer, 95 per cent of trade by volume passes through sea routes, poly-metallic nodule fields in the Central Indian Ocean.
• Sagarmala Project: India's port-led development initiative.
• Matsya Sampada Yojana: scheme for sustainable fisheries development.
• Abandoned fishing gear: one of the leading marine pollution threats. Derelict nets (ghost fishing) trap and kill marine life.

Static linkage: Environment (marine biodiversity, UNCLOS, blue economy).

GS area: International Relations

India's Permanent Representative at the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, was elected chair of the 62nd session of the UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD):

• CSocD: established in 1946. Reports to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Advises ECOSOC on social policies relating to living standards, family, youth, ageing and disability.
• India's election: underlines India's active engagement in UN governance structures during its G20 Presidency year.
• Ruchira Kamboj: India's first woman to serve as Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
• ECOSOC: one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. Coordinates the work of UN specialised agencies on economic, social, cultural, educational and health matters.

Static linkage: International Relations (United Nations, India's multilateral diplomacy).

GS area: Science and Technology

A geomagnetic storm was observed in early 2023, prompting a review of India's infrastructure vulnerability:

• Geomagnetic storm: a temporary disturbance in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave or Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun's corona. CMEs are massive eruptions of plasma and magnetic field.
• Effects on Earth: disrupts satellites, GPS signals, high-frequency radio communication, and power grid infrastructure (through geomagnetically induced currents in transmission lines).
• Auroras: the visible effect of geomagnetic storms at high latitudes, as charged particles energise atmospheric gases.
• Historical impact: the 1989 Quebec storm (caused by a major CME) blacked out Quebec's power grid for nine hours. The 1859 Carrington Event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record.
• India's vulnerability: India's high-voltage long-distance transmission lines, satellite navigation systems, and aviation (GPS-based) could all be affected in a major storm.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (space weather, satellite communications, geography).

GS area: Economy (fisheries, governance)

Sagar Parikrama Phase-III was launched from Hazira Port, Gujarat:

• Sagar Parikrama: a government outreach programme conducting tours of India's coastline on a vessel, stopping at fishing harbours to meet fishermen, deliver scheme information and register grievances.
• Implementing ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
• Objectives: disseminate information about schemes (PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, Kisan Credit Card for fishermen), collect data on artisanal fishing, promote sustainable fishing practices.
• Previous phases: Phase I covered Gujarat and Maharashtra. Phase II covered Karnataka and Goa. Phase III started from Gujarat and extended to other states.

Static linkage: Economy (fisheries, Blue Economy, PM Matsya Sampada Yojana).

• Jadui Pitara: play-based learning material for 3 to 8 year olds, released in 13 Indian languages. Includes playbooks, activity cards, puzzles and storybooks reflecting local cultures. Part of the NEP 2020 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) framework.
• Gorakhpur nuclear plant: Haryana's Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP), India's first nuclear plant in north India, features two 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). Construction has faced delays.
• Unying Festival: the spring new year festival of the Adi community of Arunachal Pradesh. Celebrated with traditional dances and rituals. An example of the rich intangible cultural heritage of the Northeast.