13 October 2023

• P20 Summit: the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit opened in New Delhi with the theme "Multilateralism for Inclusive Development."
• Green Hydrogen: Oil India commissioned India's first 99 per cent pure green hydrogen plant in Jorhat, Assam; NTPC began green hydrogen blending in PNG networks.
• Critical minerals royalty: the Union Cabinet amended the Mines and Minerals Act to set royalty rates for lithium, niobium, and rare earth elements.
• India-Pakistan at Cricket World Cup: India played Pakistan at Ahmedabad in one of the most-watched cricket matches ever. India won.

GS area: Polity, International Relations

The 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) was held in New Delhi on October 13-14, 2023.

• What P20 is: the parliamentary dimension of the G20. Speakers and presiding officers of national legislatures of G20 member countries meet alongside the G20 Leaders' Summit.
• Host: India's Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. India held the G20 presidency in 2023.
• Theme: "Multilateralism for Inclusive Development and Shared Future." Motto: "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (One Earth, One Family, One Future).
• Sessions: Sustainable Development Goals; Sustainable Energy Transition; Women-Led Development; Digital Public Infrastructure Platforms.
• Significance: parliamentary diplomacy complements executive diplomacy. P20 outcomes inform the G20 Leaders' Declaration.
• G20 India Presidency outcomes (2023): New Delhi Declaration adopted; African Union admitted as permanent G20 member; Global Biofuels Alliance launched.
• Frequency: annual, on a rotation basis corresponding to the G20 host country.

Static linkage: Polity (Parliament), international relations.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology, Environment

Two milestones in India's green hydrogen push were reported.

• Oil India Limited, Jorhat: commissioned India's first 99 per cent purity green hydrogen plant at Jorhat, Assam. Produced using electrolysis powered by renewable energy.
• NTPC (Kawas, Surat): started India's first green hydrogen blending in Piped Natural Gas (PNG) networks. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) approved 5 per cent blending; scalable to 20 per cent.
• National Green Hydrogen Mission: launched January 2023. Targets 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) per year of green hydrogen production by 2030. Allocated Rs 19,744 crore.
• SIGHT programme: Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership for R&D under the Mission.
• Green vs grey hydrogen: green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water powered by renewable energy. Emissions: under 2 kg CO2 per kg H2 (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy definition, August 2023). Grey hydrogen uses natural gas; average emissions 10 kg CO2 per kg H2.
• PLI scheme: Rs 15,000 crore Production-Linked Incentive scheme for electrolyser manufacturing.
• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE): the nodal authority for green hydrogen accreditation.
• Challenge: green hydrogen production currently costs USD 4-6 per kg versus less than USD 2 for grey hydrogen. Competitiveness requires cheap renewable electricity and scale.

Static linkage: Economy, environment, science and technology.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology

The Union Cabinet amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 1957 to set royalty rates for critical and strategic minerals.

• Context: these minerals were previously classified as atomic minerals under the Atomic Energy Act, barring private sector participation. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 delisted 24 critical minerals from the atomic minerals list, opening them to private sector auction.
• Why critical minerals matter: lithium is essential for EV batteries; niobium for high-strength steel and superconductors; REEs for EV motors, wind turbines, electronics, and defence systems.
• China's dominance: China controls about 60 per cent of global REE mining and over 80 per cent of processing and refining. India's 482.6 million tonnes of REE ore (GSI estimate) is largely untapped.
• RISE initiative: World Bank and Japan's joint Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE) initiative for emerging markets on critical minerals.
• India's critical mineral deposits: Karnataka, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu have significant deposits. The Geological Survey of India conducts exploration.

Static linkage: Economy, science and technology.

GS area: Sports

India beat Pakistan in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on October 14. (October 13 was the day before; coverage dominated both days.)

• Result: India won by 7 wickets. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were the key contributors.
• Narendra Modi Stadium: world's largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of 132,000. Previously called Sardar Patel Stadium; renamed after refurbishment in 2020.
• India-Pakistan World Cup history: India has never lost to Pakistan in ICC World Cup matches (all formats combined). The record includes World Cup wins in 1992, 1996, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019 (ODI WC) and multiple T20 WC matches.

Static linkage: Sports.

GS area: Governance, Education

The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for School Education 2023 was released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

• Five aims of school education: rational thought and independent thinking; health and well-being; democratic and community participation; economic participation; cultural participation.
• Ethical and moral values: empathy, sensitivity, integrity, and courage.
• Democratic values: liberty, equality, diversity, fraternal spirit, social responsibility.
• Epistemic values: scientific temper, recognition of diverse knowledge sources.
• NEP 2020 basis: the NCF 2023 implements the pedagogical framework of the National Education Policy, 2020. It covers foundational (3-8 years), preparatory (8-11 years), middle (11-14 years), and secondary stages (14-18 years).
• Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: ensuring all children can read and do basic arithmetic by Grade 3 is the priority. NIPUN Bharat Mission supports this.

Static linkage: Governance, education.

GS area: Agriculture, International Relations

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) joined One CGIAR.

• ICRISAT: established 1972; headquartered at Patancheru, Hyderabad. Focuses on crops for dryland agriculture: sorghum, pearl millet, pigeonpea, chickpea, groundnut.
• CGIAR: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. Established 1971. A network of publicly funded agri-food research centres. One CGIAR is a restructuring of the system into a unified entity.
• CGIAR mission: transform food, land, and water systems to address climate change and food insecurity.
• India link: India is a major contributor to CGIAR. ICRISAT's location in Hyderabad makes India a key hub for semi-arid tropics research.

Static linkage: Agriculture, international relations.

• World Standards Day (October 14): marked by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). India's standards body is the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the BIS Act, 2016.
• Project Nilgiri Tahr: Tamil Nadu launched a project to study and reintroduce the Endangered Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), endemic to the Western Ghats, into its historical habitats.