India to chair 3 important committees of UNSC: All you need to know about them - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India to chair 3 important committees of UNSC: All you need to know about them.

India began its eighth term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on Monday with the stated objective of raising its voice against terrorism.

India has been asked to chair three important committees of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Ambassador of India to UN TS Tirumurti said on Friday.

India began its eighth term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on Monday with the stated objective of raising its voice against terrorism, speaking for the developing world and bringing human-centric inclusive solutions to matters of global peace and security.

Here is everything you need to know about the committees that India will chair and why they are important.

• Tirumurti said the Taliban Sanctions Committee has always been a high priority for India. Chairing this Committee at this juncture will help keep the focus on the presence of terrorists and their sponsors, threatening the peace process in Afghanistan, he added. It is also called the 1988 Sanctions Committee.

The Libya Sanctions Committee is a very important subsidiary body of the council, which implements the sanctions regime, including a two-way arms embargo on Libya, an assets freeze, a travel ban, measures on illicit export of petroleum. “We will be assuming the Chair of this Committee at a critical juncture when there is an international focus on Libya and on their peace process,” Tirumurti said in a video message.

• India will also chair the Counterterrorism Committee in 2022, which coincides with the 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence. It was formed in September 2001 soon after the tragic terrorist attack of 9/11 in New York. India had chaired this committee in the Security Council in 2011-12. “The chairing of this Committee has a special resonance for India, which has not only been at the forefront of fighting terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism but has also been one of its biggest victims,” said Tirumurti.

India won the eighth term in an election last June securing 184 of the 192 votes cast. It was last on the council in a two-year term ending 2012. Its previous terms were 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985 and 1991-1992. (Source:hindustantimes.com)

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India to chair 3 important committees of UNSC: All you need to know about them.

Greenhouse gas emissions from man-managed grasslands similar to global croplands - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Greenhouse gas emissions from man-managed grasslands similar to global croplands.

Study highlight need to use sustainable management to preserve and enhance soil carbon storage of grasslands

A new study shows that emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from grasslands increased by a factor of 2.5 since 1750 mainly due to increased emissions from livestock. This has more than compensated for reduced emissions from the shrinking number of wild grazers, said the study published in Nature Communications.

The net carbon sink effect of grasslands (the ability of grasslands to absorb carbon and pack it in the soil) worldwide was estimated to have intensified over the last century but mainly in sparsely-grazed, natural grasslands.

Conversely, over the last decade, grasslands intensively managed by humans have become a net source of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, it has greenhouse gas emission levels similar to those of global croplands, which represent a large source of greenhouse gases.

To conduct the study published on January 5 2020, researchers from around the world collaborated to quantify changes in carbon storage and greenhouse gas fluxes in natural and managed grasslands between 1750 and 2012.

The processes and the greenhouse gas fluxes that are related to grassland are shown as red and blue arrows, respectively. The red-to-blue layout at the bottom of the figure indicates management intensity from high (red; intensively managed grassland) to low (blue; sparsely grazed and natural grassland)

Thomas Gasser from The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), who coauthored the study titled “Uncovering how grasslands changed our climate”, said:

“The recent trends we see towards the expansion of pasture land and higher livestock numbers lead us to expect that global grasslands will accelerate climate warming if better policies are not put in place to favour soil carbon increases, stop deforestation for ranching, and develop climate-smart livestock production systems."

In the face of climate change and increased demand for livestock products, these findings highlight the need to use sustainable management to preserve and enhance soil carbon storage in grasslands, the study said.

According to the authors, full greenhouse gas reporting for each country could facilitate the assessment of progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and better link national greenhouse gas budgets to the observed growth rates of emissions in the atmosphere.

Philippe Ciais, one of the authors associated with Laboratory for Sciences of Climate and Environment (LSCE), said, “In the context of low-warming climate targets, the mitigating or amplifying role of grasslands will depend on a number of aspects. This includes future changes in grass-fed livestock numbers, stability of accumulated soil carbon in grassland and whether carbon storage can be further increased over time or if it will saturate, as observed in long-term experiments.” (Source:downtoearth)

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Greenhouse gas emissions from man-managed grasslands similar to global croplands.

India’s rank slips 7 places at 54th in terms of housing prices appreciation globally - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India’s rank slips 7 places at 54th in terms of housing prices appreciation globally.

In its latest research report 'Global House Price Index Q3 2020', Knight Frank said that India moved 7 spots down in the global home price index to 54th rank in Q3 2020 against 47th rank in Q3 2019, with a decline of 2.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in home prices.

India’s rank slipped 7 places to 54th in terms of appreciation in residential prices as rates fell 2.4 per cent year-on-year during the July- September quarter, according to property consultant Knight Frank.

India is at 54th position amongst the 56 countries and territories tracked in terms of appreciation in residential real estate prices, the consultant said.

In its latest research report ‘Global House Price Index Q3 2020’, Knight Frank said that India moved 7 spots down in the global home price index to 54th rank in Q3 2020 against 47th rank in Q3 2019, with a decline of 2.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in home prices.

When compared with the June quarter, India’s ranking remained unchanged.

Turkey is at first position with prices up by 27.3 per cent YoY, followed by New Zealand at 15.4 per cent and Luxembourg with 13.4 per cent.

Morocco was the weakest-performing territory in Q3 2020, with home prices fallen to 3.3 per cent YoY.

Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal said, “In order to combat the adverse economic implications of the pandemic, real estate developers started innovating their marketing strategies which included financial benefits, discount, and easy payment options to attract buyers.”

While the overall real estate sector dynamics continue to remain strained, he said there has been a meaningful improvement in sales in the September quarter.

“Home loan rates at a multi-decade low of sub 7 per cent, fall in residential prices, aggressive marketing of ready inventory and indirect discounts to the buyers – have helped move the demand needle in Q3 2020.

“Going forward, though the economic fundamentals continue to remain strong, economic recovery is faster than expected. The housing trend remains strong and is expected to continue in the first quarter of 2021,” Baijal said.

The average residential prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide grew by 4.5 per cent on an annual basis. (Source: The Indian Express)

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India’s rank slips 7 places at 54th in terms of housing prices appreciation globally.

27 States avail benefits of the “Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure” - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

27 States avail benefits of the “Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure”.

All the States except Tamil Nadu have availed benefits of the newly announced scheme for “Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure”. The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister on 12th October, 2020 as a part of the AatmaNirbhar Bharat package.

The Scheme is aimed at boosting capital expenditure by the State Governments who are facing difficult financial environment this year due to the shortfall in tax revenue arising from the COVID 19 pandemic. Capital Expenditure has a higher multiplier effect, enhancing the future productive capacity of the economy, and results in a higher rate of economy growth. Therefore, despite the adverse financial position of the Central Government, it was decided to extend a special assistance to the State Governments in respect of capital expenditure, in financial year 2020-21.

The Scheme has got very warm response from the State Governments. So far capital expenditure proposals of Rs. 9,879.61 crore of 27 States have been approved by the Ministry of Finance. An amount of Rs. 4,939.81 crore has already been released to the States as the first instalment under the scheme. State-wise allocation, approval granted and funds released is attached.

The capital expenditure projects have been approved in diverse sectors of economy like, Health, Rural Development, Water Supply, Irrigation, Power, Transport, Education, Urban Development.

The Scheme has three parts. Part –I of the scheme covers the north-eastern region. Under this part, Rs.200 crores is allocated to 7 north-eastern States (Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura). In view of higher population and geographical area, Assam has been allocated Rs.450 crores under the scheme.

Part-II of the Scheme is, for all other States not included in Part-I.An amount of Rs.7,500 crores is earmarked for this part. This amount has been allocated amongst these States in proportion to their share of central tax as per the interim award of the 15th Finance Commission for the year 2020-21.

Part-III of the Scheme is aimed at pushing various citizen-centric reforms in the States. Under this Part, an amount of Rs.2000 crores is earmarked. This amount will be available only to those States who carry out at least 3 out of the 4 reforms specified by the Ministry of Finance in its letter dated 17th May, 2020 regarding reform linked additional borrowing permissions. The 4 reforms are - One Nation One Ration Card, Ease of doing Business Reform, Urban Local Body/ Utility Reform and Power Sector Reform. (Source: pib)

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27 States avail benefits of the “Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure”

Covid pandemic drove a record drop in global carbon emissions in 2020 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Covid pandemic drove a record drop in global carbon emissions in 2020.

• Global greenhouse gas emissions plunged by roughly 2.4 billion tons this year, a 7% drop from 2019 and the largest decline on record, triggered by worldwide Covid-19 restrictions.

• Researchers said emissions will likely rebound in 2021 and urged governments to prioritize a shift to clean energy and policies that tackle climate change in their economic recovery plans.

• A decline in transportation activity drove the global drop in carbon emissions. The U.S. had the largest drop in carbon emissions, 12%, followed by the European Union, at 11%. India saw a drop in emissions of 9%, and China had a drop of 1.7%.

Global greenhouse gas emissions plunged by roughly 2.4 billion tons this year, a 7% drop from 2019 and the largest decline on record, triggered by worldwide Covid-19 restrictions, according to new research from the University of East Anglia, the University of Exeter and the Global Carbon Project.

Researchers said carbon emissions will likely rebound in 2021 and urged governments to prioritize a shift to clean energy and policies that tackle climate change in their economic recovery plans.

Daily global carbon emissions dropped by 17% during the peak of pandemic lockdowns in April but have since surged and neared 2019 levels again, according to the report, published on Thursday in the journal Earth System Science Data.

“All elements are not yet in place for sustained decreases in global emission, and emissions are slowly edging back to 2019 levels,” Corinne Le Quere, a professor at the UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, said in a statement.

“Government actions to stimulate the economy at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic can also help lower emissions and tackle climate change,” she added.

The U.S. saw the largest drop in carbon emissions, 12%, followed by the European Union, at 11%, the report said. In both, pandemic restrictions accelerated drops in the use of coal in electricity production and oil in transportation.

Among developing nations, India saw carbon emissions decline 9%, but China had a drop of just 1.7%. China’s lockdown measures happened earlier in the year and were shorter in duration, and restrictions on carbon emissions occurred on top of the country’s rising carbon emissions.

A decline in transportation activity drove the global drop in carbon emissions. Emissions from automobiles and air travel fell by about half during the peak of Covid restrictions in April and by December dropped about 10% and 40%, respectively, from 2019 levels, according to the report.

“Incentives that help accelerate the deployment of electric cars and renewable energy and support walking and cycling in cities are particularly timely given the extensive disturbance observed in the transport sector this year,” Le Quere said.

The historic drop in global emissions has also had a negligible effect on carbon concentrations in the atmosphere, which are heating up the Earth and worsening climate disasters, ice melt and sea-level rise.

In 2020 alone, climate change-fueled wildfires burned a record amount of land in the U.S. West and the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record devastated Central America and the Gulf Coast states.

“The climate system is driven by the total amount of CO2 put in the atmosphere over centuries,” said Glen Peters, a research director of the International Climate Research in Norway and a member of the Global Carbon Project.

“Even though emissions fell in 2020, they were still around the same levels as in 2012, and the drop is insignificant in comparison with the total amount of CO2 emitted over the past centuries,” he said.

While global carbon emissions have risen steadily over the last decades, researchers said that emissions growth has started to increase more slowly in recent years, largely due to changes in the production of coal.

“Global warming stops when emissions get to around zero, and Covid-19 has not changed that,” Peters said.

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Covid pandemic drove a record drop in global carbon emissions in 2020