30 November 2023

• Environment: COP28 (the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC) opened in Dubai, UAE on 30 November 2023. The UAE's Sultan Al Jaber served as COP28 President.
• International Relations: UNLF (United National Liberation Front), formed in Manipur on 24 November 1964, signed a peace deal with the Centre, potentially ending 59 years of insurgency in the valley.
• International Relations: Henry Kissinger, the most influential American diplomat of the Cold War era, died aged 100 on 29 November 2023.
• Economy: PLFS (Periodic Labour Force Survey) data for July-September 2023 showed unemployment at 6.6 per cent, with female labour force participation at 24.5 per cent.
• Environment: Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka faced an NGT-imposed deadline to finalise its Eco-Sensitive Zone notification.

GS area: Environment (Climate Change, International Relations)

The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP28) opened in Dubai, UAE on 30 November 2023, running until 12 December 2023. The UAE's Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, served as COP28 President.

• COP structure: COP is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), adopted in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. India ratified it in 1993.
• Key COP28 themes: Technology and Innovation, Inclusion, Frontline Communities, and Finance.
• Loss and Damage Fund: operationalised at COP27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, 2022) and given its first funding pledges at COP28. Designed to help vulnerable nations cope with climate impacts that cannot be adapted to.
• Global Stocktake: COP28 was the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, assessing progress toward the 1.5 degrees Celsius target. The conclusion was that current policies put the world on track for over 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming.
• Fossil fuel controversy: Sultan Al Jaber's dual role as COP President and head of an oil company drew criticism. Some nations and activists called for a clear commitment to phasing out fossil fuels.
• India's position at COP28: India opposed a simple "phase out" of fossil fuels, arguing for a "phase out of all fossil fuels" with equity, noting that developed nations' historical emissions created the problem. India also sought enhanced climate finance commitments from developed nations.

Static linkage: Environment (Climate Change, International Relations, UNFCCC).

GS area: Internal Security (Insurgency, North-East India)

The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest active valley-based militant group in Manipur, signed a peace agreement (Suspension of Operations) with the Indian government on 29 November 2023.

• UNLF profile: formed on 24 November 1964. Armed wing: Manipur People's Army. Ideology: Meitei nationalism. Objective: sovereign socialist Manipur, independent of India.
• Significance: UNLF was the last major valley-based group to come to the negotiating table. Its agreement followed deals with several groups in the Northeast under the Peace Process.
• Peace process results: the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that civilian deaths in Manipur's valley insurgency declined by approximately 80 per cent between 2014 and 2023.
• Manipur ethnic context (2023): separately, intercommunal violence between the Meitei majority and the Kuki-Zomi communities had been ongoing since May 2023, unrelated to the UNLF insurgency.
• AFSPA: the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act remained in force in parts of Manipur. AFSPA gives security forces powers to search, arrest and use lethal force without prior sanction in "disturbed areas."

Static linkage: Internal Security (North-East India, Insurgency), Polity (AFSPA).

GS area: International Relations (History, Cold War)

Henry Kissinger, former US National Security Advisor (1969-1975) and Secretary of State (1973-1977), died on 29 November 2023 aged 100. He is the longest-serving American diplomatic official in modern history.

• Major achievements: detente with the Soviet Union; the opening of US relations with China (1972 Nixon visit); the Paris Peace Accords ending US involvement in Vietnam (1973 Nobel Peace Prize); shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East.
• Controversies: authorisation of secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos, Operation Condor (support for right-wing regimes in Latin America), the 1971 India-Pakistan War during which the USA tilted toward Pakistan despite the Bangladesh genocide.
• India-Kissinger relations: Kissinger was openly hostile to India during the 1971 war. He backed Pakistan while aware of atrocities in East Pakistan. Declassified tapes show his contempt for Indian leadership.
• Realist school: Kissinger embodied "realism" in international relations, the view that states pursue national interest and that moral considerations are secondary to power and stability.

Static linkage: International Relations (Cold War, India's History).

GS area: Economy (Labour, Data)

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) quarterly bulletin for July-September 2023 showed the Unemployment Rate (UR) in urban India at 6.6 per cent. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) was 49.3 per cent and the Worker-Population Ratio (WPR) was 46.0 per cent.

• PLFS background: launched in April 2017 by the NSO (National Statistical Office) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Measures employment and unemployment in both urban and rural areas.
• Four metrics measured: Usual Status (employment over the past year), Current Weekly Status (over the past week), Current Daily Status (over a reference day), and Usual Principal Status.
• Female LFPR concern: urban female LFPR for the quarter was 24.5 per cent, much lower than male LFPR. India's female LFPR is one of the lowest among comparable economies, a structural challenge for GDP growth.
• Rural PLFS: annual PLFS reports cover rural areas. Quarterly bulletins cover urban areas only.

Static linkage: Economy (Labour, Data, Statistics).

GS area: Environment (Fisheries, International Relations)

The 19th Working Party on Data Collection and Statistics of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC-WPDCS19) met in Mumbai.

• IOTC profile: a regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO) established under FAO auspices. Manages tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean. India is a member.
• Tunas in trade: global tuna trade is valued at approximately USD 41 billion annually. Principal tuna species: Skipjack, Yellowfin, Bigeye, Albacore, Atlantic Bluefin and Southern Bluefin.
• India's tuna fisheries: India has substantial tuna fishing in the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean EEZ. The main species caught are Yellowfin and Skipjack.
• Overfishing concern: Yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean is assessed as overfished. IOTC has imposed catch limits to allow stock recovery.

Static linkage: Environment (Fisheries, International Relations), Economy.

GS area: Environment (Wildlife, Governance)

Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary in Shimoga district, Karnataka, had an NGT-imposed deadline to finalise its Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) notification. The sanctuary covers approximately 395 square kilometres.

• Location: on the Bhadra River in the Western Ghats. Established in 1974. Part of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot.
• Eco-Sensitive Zones: buffer areas around protected wildlife areas where industrial activities, mining and construction are restricted or prohibited. Required under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and Supreme Court orders.
• SC order on ESZs: the Supreme Court in June 2022 directed that all protected areas must have a minimum 1-km ESZ unless a greater distance was already notified. This order was modified after states objected that it would affect villages and farms inside the zone.
• Shettihalli's importance: the Bhadra reservoir within the sanctuary is a major water source for Shimoga. The sanctuary has significant elephant and gaur (Indian bison) populations.

Static linkage: Environment (Wildlife, Conservation, Governance).

• Walking pneumonia surge in China: Mycoplasma pneumoniae-caused pneumonia (informally called "walking pneumonia" because patients often continue normal activity) saw elevated incidence in China, particularly among children, in November 2023. Chinese health authorities attributed the surge to post-COVID-19 immunity debt and normal seasonal respiratory illness. The WHO monitored the situation and did not declare a public health emergency.
• DAOs (Decentralised Autonomous Organisations): in context of crypto and blockchain regulations, DAOs are organisations governed by smart contracts on a blockchain, with decisions made by token holders without a central executive. India's Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill is still pending; DAOs occupy a regulatory grey area.