25 September 2024

• International: The UN Summit of the Future (22-23 Sep 2024) adopted the Pact for the Future, a landmark global governance agreement.
• Disaster resilience: The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) marked its 5th anniversary and launched a $2.5 million Urban Infrastructure Resilience Programme.
• Employment: PLFS 2023-24 data showed the urban unemployment rate held at 6.7 per cent.
• Environment: A Supreme Court ruling set a 14-day mandatory timeline for UAPA preventive detention review.

GS area: International Relations, Governance

The United Nations Summit of the Future (22-23 September 2024, New York) adopted the "Pact for the Future," a major agreement aimed at revamping global governance for the 21st century.

Key dimensions:

• What is the Pact: A political commitment by all 193 UN member states to reform global governance, address AI risks, reform the Security Council and act on climate change.
• Global Digital Compact: A component of the Pact. Addresses AI governance, data flows and digital cooperation. Calls for a body to oversee AI risks to international peace and security.
• Declaration on Future Generations: Commits states to consider the interests of those not yet born in today's decisions (intergenerational equity).
• UNSC reform: The Pact reaffirms commitment to expand the Security Council (both permanent and non-permanent members). India, Germany, Japan and Brazil (G4) have long sought permanent seats.
• IMF/World Bank reform: The Pact calls for more voice for developing countries in international financial institutions.
• SDGs: Reaffirms commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, noting that many are off-track.
• India's position: India supports UNSC reform as a P5 aspirant. India also has interests in the Global Digital Compact, being a significant data-producing nation.

Static linkage: UN system, multilateralism, UNSC reform, digital governance.

GS area: Disaster Management, International Relations

The CDRI marked its fifth anniversary and launched the Urban Infrastructure Resilience Programme (UIRP) with $2.5 million in funding.

Key facts:

• Founded: 2019, launched by PM Modi at the UN Climate Action Summit.
• Headquarters: New Delhi, India.
• Membership: 39 countries and 7 international organisations (as of 2024).
• Mandate: Promote disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure across developing countries.
• Urban Infrastructure Resilience Programme (UIRP): Targets the rapid urbanisation challenge where poorly planned infrastructure is highly vulnerable to climate shocks and natural disasters.
• DRR connection: Connects to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). The Sendai Framework's targets include reducing disaster mortality, economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure.
• India's hosting: India hosts CDRI headquarters, enhancing its soft power in the disaster governance space.

Static linkage: Disaster risk reduction, Sendai Framework, climate resilience.

GS area: Economy (employment)

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2023-24 released data on India's labour market.

Key findings:

• Urban unemployment rate (UER): 6.7 per cent (ages 15 and above, Usual Status). Slightly improved from previous years.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): Increased to 60.1 per cent (overall, urban and rural combined). Female LFPR improved but remains significantly below male LFPR.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): Proportion of employed people among the working-age population.
• Self-employment dominance: A large share of India's workforce remains self-employed (own-account workers, employers). Formal wage employment is a minority.
• PLFS methodology: Conducts both annual (household panel for annual data) and quarterly surveys (urban areas only for quarterly urban employment data).
• Conducting agency: National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

Static linkage: Employment statistics, labour economics, PLFS.

GS area: Environment (biodiversity)

World Rhino Day is observed on 22 September each year. The Indian one-horned rhinoceros (greater one-horned rhinoceros) is a conservation success story.

Key facts:

• Scientific name: Rhinoceros unicornis.
• Status: Vulnerable (IUCN Red List). Population approximately 3,700 globally.
• Habitat: Terai grasslands and floodplains of the Himalayan foothills. In India: Assam (Kaziranga NP, Pobitora WLS, Orang NP), Uttar Pradesh (Dudhwa NP) and West Bengal (Jaldapara NP).
• Kaziranga: Hosts approximately 2,613 rhinos (2022 census), two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhino population.
• Conservation milestones: India's rhino population was under 200 in the early 20th century. Conservation under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and community engagement drove the recovery.
• Indian Rhino Vision 2020: A programme that translocated rhinos from Kaziranga to other habitats in Assam. Extended to Vision 2030 with a target of 3,000 rhinos in Assam by 2030.
• Threats: Poaching for horn (rhino horn is keratin, same as human fingernails; there is no scientific basis for its claimed medicinal properties). Habitat loss from agriculture encroachment.

Static linkage: Wildlife protection, biodiversity conservation, IUCN categories.

GS area: Polity (security laws), Human Rights

The Supreme Court ruled that courts must mandatorily review UAPA preventive detention orders within 14 days of them being challenged.

Key background:

• UAPA: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. India's primary counter-terrorism law. Amended significantly in 2008, 2012 and 2019.
• Key provisions: Sections 43D and 43E provide for extended detention without bail. In UAPA cases, the accused bears the burden of proving they are not guilty of the alleged offence (inverse of the normal presumption of innocence).
• SC ruling significance: The 14-day mandatory review timeline prevents prolonged detention without judicial scrutiny, balancing security imperatives with fundamental rights (Article 21).
• Article 21: Right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that this includes the right not to be imprisoned for disproportionately long periods without bail.
• NIA Act: The National Investigation Agency Act (2008) gives the NIA jurisdiction over UAPA cases.

Static linkage: Fundamental rights, security legislation, preventive detention jurisprudence.

GS area: Governance (cybersecurity), Technology

The Computer Security Incident Response Team for the Power Sector (CSIRT-Power) was formally operationalised.

Key details:

• Under: Ministry of Power, with technical support from CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team).
• Purpose: Detect, prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats targeting India's power infrastructure. Distributes threat intelligence, issues advisories and coordinates incident response.
• Why the power sector: India's power grid increasingly uses networked SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems and smart meters. The 2021 Mumbai grid failure was attributed to a Chinese state-backed cyberattack on Maharashtra's power system.
• CERT-In: India's national agency for cybersecurity incidents, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Established under Section 70B of the IT Act 2000.
• Sector-specific CSIRT: Follows the global model of sector-specific CERTs that coordinate with the national CERT.

Static linkage: Cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, CERT-In.

• Rubber production: India's rubber production declined in 2024, with Kerala (accounting for 75 per cent of national production) affected by irregular rainfall. Natural rubber competes with synthetic rubber derived from petrochemicals. India imports rubber from Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to meet industrial demand.
• India at the UN General Assembly: India raised issues of terrorism, multilateral reform, climate finance and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, where PM Modi addressed world leaders.