25 October 2024

• International Relations: India and China announced a patrolling arrangement for the Depsang Plains and Demchok areas along the LAC, marking the most significant de-escalation since the 2020 Galwan clash.
• Energy: The Ethanol Blending Programme reached 15 per cent blending by 2024, against the 1.53 per cent achieved in 2014. Foreign exchange savings totalled over 1,06,072 crore rupees.
• Environment: The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2024 found global greenhouse gas emissions grew 1.3 per cent in 2023. India's emissions grew 6.1 per cent.
• Wildlife: India achieved the first-ever artificial insemination birth of a Great Indian Bustard at Jaisalmer on 16 October.

GS area: International Relations (India-China)

India and China announced an agreement restoring traditional patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control, covering Depsang Plains and Demchok.

• Three-phase framework: The agreement was described as covering three phases: Disengagement (physical separation of troops from contact points), De-escalation (reduction in forward troop levels), and De-induction (withdrawal of equipment and troops from forward areas). The patrolling arrangement is part of the disengagement phase.
• What was restored: India's traditional patrol points in Depsang Plains (blocked since approximately 2020) and Demchok (where China had set up tents on contested land) are to be reopened for Indian patrols.
• Traditional grazing activities: Both sides agreed to restore traditional grazing activities by local communities in the areas covered by the arrangement.
• What was not resolved: The agreement is explicitly a patrolling arrangement. It does not resolve the underlying boundary dispute. Previous disengagement points (Galwan, Pangong Tso, Gogra-Hotsprings) remain where they were after earlier agreements. The boundary question remains undecided.
• Significance: The Galwan clash in June 2020 killed 20 Indian soldiers. The bilateral relationship had been frozen at a transactional level since then. This agreement is described as the first meaningful step toward normalisation.

Static linkage: LAC management, India-China border, bilateral relations (International Relations).

GS area: Economy (Energy, Agriculture)

The Centre's Ethanol Blending Programme hit a milestone of 15 per cent blending in 2024.

• Progress trajectory: Blending rose from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 15 per cent in 2024. The target is 20 per cent by 2025-26 (brought forward from 2030).
• Foreign exchange savings: 1,06,072 crore rupees saved by substituting ethanol for imported crude oil since the programme's acceleration.
• Emissions reduction: 544 lakh metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions reduced compared to an equivalent quantity of petrol.
• Ethanol sources: Primarily produced from sugarcane molasses and grain-based feedstocks (maize, damaged food grains). Multi-feedstock capacity is important for supply security.
• Key policy enablers: Modified PM JI-VAN Yojana supports second-generation (cellulosic) ethanol from agricultural residue. GST on ethanol reduced to 5 per cent. Interest subvention for distillery capacity addition. Free inter-state movement of ethanol permitted.
• Challenges: Limited feedstock diversity, geographic concentration of sugarcane, and infrastructure gaps in distribution to fuel stations.

Static linkage: Biofuels, energy security, agricultural diversification (Economy and Environment).

GS area: Environment (Climate Change)

The United Nations Environment Programme released its annual Emissions Gap Report in October 2024.

• Global GHG emissions: Rose 1.3 per cent in 2023. This is slower than the growth rate of previous years but still moving in the wrong direction.
• Temperature trajectory: Global temperatures were 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels in 2023. The Paris Agreement's 1.5°C threshold was nearly breached.
• India's emissions: India's emissions grew 6.1 per cent in 2023. India now accounts for approximately 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• China's growth: China's emissions grew 5.2 per cent in 2023, reinforcing its position as the world's largest emitter.
• Gap: Current nationally determined contributions (if fully implemented) would lead to warming of approximately 2.5°C to 2.9°C by end of century. A 42 per cent reduction in global emissions by 2030 is needed to stay on a 1.5°C pathway.
• Emissions Gap: The difference between what countries have pledged and what is needed. This gap has not closed materially in a decade of UNFCCC negotiations.

Static linkage: UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, NDCs, climate finance (Environment).

GS area: Environment (Wildlife Conservation)

India achieved the world's first artificial insemination birth of a Great Indian Bustard at the breeding centre in Sam, Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan on 16 October 2024.

• Conservation status: Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Fewer than 100 to 150 individuals are estimated to survive in the wild, primarily in Rajasthan's Thar Desert.
• Why so few: Habitat conversion to agriculture, collisions with high-voltage power lines, hunting (historical), and disturbance by vehicles.
• Power line deaths: The Supreme Court had directed power line operators in the Thar to bury cables underground in GIB habitat. This remains partially implemented.
• Breeding programme: The Wildlife Institute of India and international partners run an ex-situ breeding programme. Artificial insemination allows genetic diversity to be managed even when birds are held in separate facilities.
• IUCN classification: Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. State bird of Rajasthan.

Static linkage: Critically endangered species, ex-situ conservation, Rajasthan ecology (Environment).

GS area: Environment, International Relations (Africa, Wildlife)

Reports of lion poaching at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park were covered alongside conservation challenges in southern Africa.

• What Hwange is: Zimbabwe's largest wildlife reserve at 14,600 square kilometres. It holds approximately 50,000 elephants and over 500 lions.
• KAZA transfrontier park: Hwange is part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, one of the world's largest conservation areas spanning Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Angola.
• Conservation challenge: High elephant populations compete with local farming communities. Poaching for ivory and bushmeat continues. Climate change is reducing water availability in the semi-arid park.

Static linkage: African wildlife conservation, transfrontier parks, CITES (Environment and International Relations).

GS area: Governance, Economy (Agriculture)

The National Plant Health Management Authority's role in overseeing pesticide use and plant quarantine was highlighted in the context of the Modified Eco-mark Scheme and agricultural input reform.

• Function: Implements India's Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order. Controls the import of planting material, seeds, and produce to prevent introduction of exotic pests and diseases.
• Plant Quarantine Stations: Located at international airports, seaports, and land ports. All imported agricultural material must be inspected and cleared.
• Phytosanitary certificates: India requires these from exporting countries to certify that plant material meets India's import health standards. Indian produce also requires phytosanitary certification for markets that demand it.
• Agricultural exports: India's agricultural exports exceeded 50 billion dollars in FY 2022-23. Phytosanitary non-compliance can lead to rejection of entire consignments.

Static linkage: Agricultural regulation, food safety, export competitiveness (Economy and Governance).