21 July 2023

• Economy: An independent expert group commissioned by the Indian G20 Presidency proposed a "Triple Agenda" to reform Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).
• Investment: UNCTAD recommended that developing countries redirect investment to close a 4 trillion US dollar annual gap for SDG attainment.
• Politics: Rajya Sabha made history: women achieved equal representation (4 of 8) on the Panel of Vice-Chairpersons for the first time.
• Science: A fossil discovery in northeastern China showed a badger-like mammal (Repenomamus robustus) attacking a dinosaur 125 million years ago, overturning assumptions about Mesozoic food webs.
• Finance: Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), the world's largest office building by single-project footprint, was nearing completion.

GS area: International Relations, Economy

An Independent Expert Group commissioned by India's G20 Presidency released its report calling for a "Triple Agenda" reform of the major Multilateral Development Banks.

• Post-WWII context: The IMF and World Bank were created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 to stabilise the international monetary system and finance reconstruction.
• Approximately 15-16 MDBs exist today, including regional banks such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
• The Triple Agenda has three components:
  • A "triple mandate": eliminating extreme poverty, boosting shared prosperity, and contributing to global public goods (climate, health, biodiversity).
  • Triple lending: scale up sustainable and climate-aligned lending to developing countries by 2030.
  • A third funding mechanism: create a new window for flexible investor participation alongside traditional sovereign lending.
• The problem: MDBs collectively lack the "resources, cultural ethos, methods and will" to address climate change and pandemic preparedness at the scale required.

Static linkage: International finance, multilateral institutions, G20, climate finance.

GS area: Economy, International Relations

UNCTAD published a guide showing that developing countries need approximately 4 trillion US dollars annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

• Concentration problem: Sustainable investment is overwhelmingly concentrated in wealthy countries, leaving developing nations behind.
• Investment promotion versus facilitation:
  • Promotion attracts potential investors who have not yet chosen a location.
  • Facilitation assists investors who have committed to a country, helping with pre-establishment requirements and day-to-day operations.
• Invest India: India's national investment promotion and facilitation agency (established 2009) is cited as a best practice. It operates an online Industrial Land Bank showcasing available development land across Indian states.

Static linkage: FDI, SDGs, investment policy.

GS area: Polity

For the first time, women achieved equal representation on the Panel of Vice-Chairpersons of the Rajya Sabha, with 4 of the 8 positions held by women.

• S. Phangnon Konyak: First woman from Nagaland elected to the Rajya Sabha (April 2022) and among the four women Vice-Chairpersons.
• Panel of Vice-Chairpersons: Assists the Deputy Chairman in presiding over Rajya Sabha sessions. Members preside in the absence of the Chairman or Deputy Chairman.
• Rule 267: A Rajya Sabha rule allowing suspension of the day's listed business to take up an urgent matter. It can suspend all business, unlike Rule 176 (short notice discussion) which is time-limited to 2.5 hours.

Static linkage: Parliament, women's representation, Rajya Sabha.

GS area: International Relations, Security

NATO held its annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Key outcomes:

• Finland: NATO's 31st member, having joined in April 2023 after Sweden's application was still pending (Turkey had not yet withdrawn its objection at this time).
• Ukraine-NATO Council: A new institutional mechanism created to coordinate NATO's support for Ukraine.
• Article 5: The collective defence clause: an attack on one member is an attack on all. Invoked once, after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
• Sweden's accession: Turkey's final approval came in July 2023, making Sweden the 32nd NATO member shortly after.

Static linkage: NATO, European security, international relations.

GS area: Economy, Agriculture, Government schemes

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched a Credit Guarantee Scheme for the livestock sector.

• Fund size: 750 crore rupees under NABARD.
• Coverage: Provides up to 25 per cent credit guarantee for MSMEs and entrepreneurs in the livestock sector.
• Target beneficiaries: First-generation entrepreneurs and underprivileged livestock farmers who lack collateral for conventional bank loans.

Static linkage: Agriculture, NABARD, credit and finance for rural sector.

GS area: Economy, Geography

The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), nearing completion in Surat, Gujarat, is designed as the world's largest office building by area in a single project.

• Area: 66 lakh square feet (approximately 6.2 million square metres).
• Purpose: Consolidate Surat's diamond cutting, polishing, and trading operations under one roof.
• Surat's position: Accounts for approximately 90 per cent of globally traded diamonds by volume.

Static linkage: Trade, Gujarat, Indian economy.

• Biofortified foods: Foods with enhanced nutritional content (vitamins, minerals) through breeding. Target crops include rice, wheat, maize, and beans. Industry bodies seek to create consumer recognition similar to the "organic" label.
• Fossil discovery (Repenomamus): A 125-million-year-old fossil from northeastern China shows a badger-like Repenomamus mammal attacking a plant-eating dinosaur. This challenges the long-held assumption that Mesozoic mammals were small, timid, and prey rather than predators.
• China+1 window: India has an estimated 3 to 5 years to capitalise on companies diversifying supply chains away from China after COVID disruptions. Electronics, chemicals, and textiles are the targeted sectors.
• Invest India: National investment promotion agency; Ms. Nivruti Rai (former Intel India head, Nari Shakti Puraskar recipient) appointed as Managing Director and CEO.