Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for November 8, 2024. If you missed the November 7, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-I and GS II: Indian culture, Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story- From the country’s religious diversity to sending a message of peace to the world “at a time when it is needed the most”, India’s “strategic position along the ancient silk and spice routes” to its “continued rise on the global stage” — all these form part of the Indian Olympic Association’s pitch for the 2036 Olympic Games.

Key Points to ponder:

• What is the International Olympic Committee (IOC)?

• What is the process for an Olympics bid?

• Read about India’s ancient Silk and Spice Routes

• What would be the benefits of hosting the Olympics for India?

• Read about Sports Authority of India’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC)

Key takeaways:

• The IOA’s letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sent last month, declaring its “intent to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Bharat (India)”, was drafted in consultation with the government. It marks an important step in India’s bid for the 2036 Games. Other countries in the race include Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

• Confirming the contents of the letter, two officials involved in India’s 2036 bid said it has dipped into the country’s “vast cultural diversity, shaped by thousands of years of history”. “Our society is a mosaic of religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism, each contributing to our rich cultural heritage and society,” the letter is learnt to say.

• “The spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’—a Sanskrit word that means ‘the world is one family’—unites the entire nation in this dream of seeking peace, friendship, and collaborative progress among all nations. This is India’s and our Olympic bid’s message to the world at a critical time,” according to insiders.

• The ambition to host the Olympics is a national objective with widespread backing from government, the public, and the private sector. Our unique location along the ancient Silk and Spice Routes made India a hub for travellers from Persia, China, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Do You Know:

• India’s primary contenders are likely to be Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as there is an unwritten law of continent rotation, with the 2036 Games scheduled for Asia following Paris 2024 (Europe), Los Angeles 2028 (Americas), and Brisbane 2032 (Oceania).

• After submitting the ‘Letter of Intent’, India advances from the ‘Informal Dialogue’ to the ‘Continuous Dialogue’ stage of the host election process. During this stage, the IOC performs a ‘feasibility study’ on the status of Games-related projects in the possible host country. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will consult with independent sources on a wide range of topics, including human rights, business for social responsibility (BSR), and sustainability.

• The concept was initially addressed in December of last year, two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics during a meeting of the Sports Authority of India’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC). The MOC is made up of some of India’s best former athletes, high-ranking federation executives, and representatives from the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

???? 2036 Olympics: India makes hosting bid with ‘Letter of Intent’ to International Olympic Committee

???? India’s Olympic bid: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia among major competitors

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Prelims

1. Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics: (UPSC 2021)

1. The official motto for this Olympics is “A New World”.

2. Sport: Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Karate and Baseball are included in this Olympics.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity & Governance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Judiciary, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story- The Supreme Court said a sexual harassment case cannot be closed after a compromise is reached between the rival parties as such offences have serious impact on the society.

Key Points to ponder:

• Read about the Supreme Court

• What is section 482 of CrPC?

• Read about the POCSO Act and gaps in its implementation.

• What is the quality of justice under POCSO?

Key takeaways:

• The apex court made the observation while setting aside the Rajasthan High Court’s decision to quash a POCSO case against a school teacher following a compromise reached between him and the father of the minor victim.

• The HC had quashed the case exercising its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC “to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, or to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.”

• A bench of Justices C T Ravikumar and Sanjay Kumar referred to the SC’s 2012 decision in Gian Singh v. State of Punjab, which it said had laid down in unambiguous terms…that “before exercising the power under Section 482, CrPC, the High Court must have due regard to the nature and gravity of the crime” and held that “heinous and serious offences could not be quashed even though a victim or victim’s family and the offender had settled the dispute”.

• Justice Ravikumar reported that “this court held that such offences are not private in nature and have a serious impact on the society” , and since “it is the bounden duty of the court concerned to consider whether the compromise is just and fair besides being free from undue pressure we will proceed to consider the matter further” .

• According to the court, “the objects and reasons for the enactment of the POCSO Act… would undoubtedly show that quashing of proceedings initiated under POCSO Act abruptly… would go against the very intention of the legislature behind the enactment.”

Do You Know:

• The Supreme Court has ruled that in cases of “bodily injuries such as sexual assault, particularly on minor children and women,” Sessions Courts must order compensation be provided to the victim while convicting or acquitting the accused.

• A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Pankaj Mithal further ruled that the instruction must be carried out by the District Legal Services Authority or the State Legal Services Authority.

• The court further noted that the appellant had already served slightly more than half of the sentence imposed by the Sessions Court, and that the sentence was unlikely to be expanded as such by the high court. “In the circumstances, we find that the appellant is entitled to suspension of sentence and release on bail”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Sexual offence against minors, women | Sessions Courts must order compensation: SC

????10 years of POCSO: An analysis of India’s landmark child abuse law

 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of International importance.

Mains Examination: GS-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story- As the dust settles on a keenly contested US presidential election, the focus will shift to the likely consequences and disruptions in the foreseeable future – for one, in terms of the economic impact of Donald Trump’s second term as president. Trump ran a campaign centered on the promise to Make America Great Again (MAGA).

Key Points to ponder:

• Read about India-US relations.

• What tariffs did Donald Trump plans to introduce? How it will impact Indian market?

• Comparison – Indian Constitution and American Constitution

• India-US relations in Trump 1.0

Key takeaways:

• Outside of the United States, such a campaign promise appears unusual, owing to the fact that the United States has long been and continues to be the world’s dominant economic power. Within the United States, however, there has been tangible resentment of the globalisation process, fuelled by a belief that the rest of the world has profited at the expense of the United States. Since the beginning of his first presidential campaign in 2016, Trump has forcefully expressed his dissatisfaction and consistently promised to preserve US interests by implementing policies that are firmly “America First”.

• Since the end of World War II, and particularly following the Cold War, the United States has guided the world order by military strength as well as by establishing the rules and regulations for global trade and business. During his first term, Trump’s policies aimed to upend the global order by taking a more inward-looking, insular, and transactional approach. This surprised both its supporters and competitors. For example, Trump has questioned the role of other NATO countries, demanding that they contribute their fair amount.

• A prominent element of his first administration was a sharp increase in tariffs and trade restrictions on China. During his second term, Trump promises or threatens to do more of the same. He aims to utilise punitively high import tariffs as the major weapon for reducing the US’s trade deficits with EU countries and Asian economies such as China and South Korea.

• He has also promised not to drag the United States into new international conflicts and is unlikely to increase support for existing ones, including as Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Do You Know:

• While Trump’s promise to curb both legal and illegal immigration could be inflationary in a full-employment situation, as the US has experienced in the past months, the President elect also proposed recently to “automatically” giving green cards to foreign nationals who graduate from an American college.

• Domestic investment demand-related topics and financials may profit from a weak US currency due to cheaper import prices and higher interest rates, respectively. In the short term, however, the anticipated reduction in the corporate tax rate (21% to 15%) may free up funds for US-based end consumers of India service providers, resulting in increased demand.

• Analysts believe that Trump’s projected hefty tariffs on Chinese goods might reduce China’s growth by more than 2 percentage points over the following year.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????What Trumponomics means for India, the world

????Recalling India-US relations in Trump 1.0

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Mains

“The USA is facing an existential threat in the form of China, that is much more challenging than the erstwhile Soviet Union.” Explain. (UPSC 2021)

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity & climate change

Mains Examination: GS-III and GS II: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment, Important International institutions.

What’s the ongoing story- Aarti Khosla writes securing better climate finances for the Global South has emerged as the pre-eminent goal for CoP29. It’s a necessary pursuit as the developing world houses the majority of the worst-affected regions. However, the Global South and the Global North should not come to the table as adversaries.

Key Points to ponder:

• Read about CoP 29

• What is UNFCCC?

• What are GHG emissions?

• Read about Paris Agreement

• By which year India targets to achieve net-zero emissions?

Key takeaways:

• The Global South’s finance needs have shot up to over $1 trillion a year today, compared to the $100 billion a year offered back in 2009. Yet, the numbers suggest that it was only in 2022 that the financing went past $100 billion for the first time.

• Nonetheless, more than half of it is believed to be in the form of loans to already suffering countries. As a result, neither the amount of monies nor the way in which they are disbursed instill confidence. According to reports, some of the poorest Global South countries spend around 40% of their budgets just on debt servicing, despite the fact that they sorely need to channel every dollar into new clean-energy capacity and climate-resilient towns and cities.

• This is worsened by a lack of access to concessional financing, as the cost of capital for investing in critical infrastructure (such as utility-scale solar) in, instance, Germany would be three to four times lower than in India. It worsens in historically riskier markets, such as Sub-Saharan Africa.

• However, climatic impacts are not just threatening to disrupt important sectors in the Global South, such as agriculture and insurance. The wealthy countries are also experiencing unexpected wildfires, severe floods, and heatwaves. So it’s understandable that their investors would be hesitant to take on further risk by lending to the developing countries.

• The amended draft of the UN’s New Collective Quantified Goal states that “parties with high GHG emissions and economic capabilities” will be obliged to contribute to the global climate fund corpus.

• The monetary system promotes profitability, thus the first step could be for Global South countries to permit bigger returns. For example, if a private investor expects a 12-13 percent annual return on a big infrastructure project in India and takes 8-10 years to break even, perhaps it is time to increase it to 17-18 percent (or even more) over the same period. This would allow the investor to recoup the funds faster, earn a larger profit, and have the same money available for reinvestment much sooner.

Do You Know:

• The newest World Meteorological Organisation data reveals that 2023 was the warmest year on record. It finds that GHG levels reached a new high in 2023, “committing the planet to rising temperatures for many years to come”. Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere at a rate unprecedented in human history, with levels rising by more than 10% in only two decades.

• Another analysis highlighted the “immediate health impacts” of rising temperatures. The Lancet Countdown’s ninth report on health and climate reveals that “last year, people across the world faced unprecedented threats to their health from the rapidly changing climate”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Express View: The task at CoP 29

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Mains

Discuss in detail the photo chemical smog emphasising its formation, effects and mitigation. Explain the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol. (2022)

Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (2021)

 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity & Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: GS-II: Indian Constitution, Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary.

What’s the ongoing story- At the heart of the Supreme Court’s nine-judge bench decision in the Property Owners Association v State of Maharashtra (2024) case is an old conflict: Property rights versus the state’s power of eminent domain. This was one of the defining constitutional issues in the first three decades of the republic, resulting in a long tussle between the court and the legislature.

Key Points to ponder:

• Read about Property Owners Association v State of Maharashtra (2024)

• What is Article 31-C?

• What are material resources with reference to the private property?

• Read about Article 39 (b)

Key takeaways:

• Courts kept striking down laws which infringed on the right to property and Parliament kept amending the Constitution to narrow the right further.

• In 1971, Parliament enacted Article 31-C, which stated that if a law was meant to advance the Directive Principles enshrined in Articles 39 (b) and (c) of the Constitution, it could not be considered to contradict the Right to Equality or the freedoms granted by Article 19.

• The nine-judge bench was asked to define the word “material resources of the community” as it appears in Article 39(b). Though not obligatory, Article 39(b) encourages the State to implement policies that ensure “that the ownership and control of the community’s material resources are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.”

• In the context of a 1986 amendment to the Maharashtra Housing and Development (MHADA) Act, which permitted the state government to take over decaying buildings from their owners and rent them out to renters, the question arose: would “material resources of the community” necessarily include private property? If they did, building owners would be unable to challenge the statute on the basis that it violated their rights under Articles 14 and 19.

• The majority judgement, written by CJI DY Chandrachud (on behalf of himself and six other judges), maintains that “material resources of the community” may include private property, but not all types of private property. The majority believes that whether private property constitutes “material resources” is “context-dependent” and provides a non-exhaustive list of variables to consider when determining whether such private property is a “material resource”. These aspects include the resource’s nature, impact on “community well-being,” scarcity, and so on.

• The Court’s ruling is on two provisions. First, on Article 31C, the “safe harbour” provision that shielded laws enacted to give effect to Article 39(b). Second, and consequently, the interpretation of Article 39(b) and what comprises “material resources.”

Do You Know:

• The Supreme Court’s decision in the Property Owners Association is actually about judicial review. Article 31C attempted to limit the scope of judicial review of laws restricting the right to property.

• The majority decision in this case broadened judicial scrutiny of such laws in a new fashion, allowing the court to evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether a statute transferring private property infringes fundamental rights or not.

• Now, the court will determine what 39(b) means in each case before considering whether the law is beyond its jurisdiction. The court effectively avoided Article 31C’s attempt to prohibit judicial scrutiny of specific types of statutes.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????The meaning of private property has evolved. SC verdict on Article 39(b) recognises this

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Prelims

2. Under the Indian constitution concentration of wealth violates (UPSC 2021)

(a) The Right to Equality

(b) The Directive Principles of State Policy

(c) The Right to Freedom

(d) The Concept of Welfare

3. With reference to the provisions contained in Part IV of the Constitution of India, which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC 2020)

1. They shall be enforceable by courts.

2. They shall not be enforceable by any court.

3. The principles laid down in this part are to influence the making of laws by the State.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 2 and 3 only

 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic & Social Development

Mains Examination: GS-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development and employment.

What’s the ongoing story- Changing over a decade-old practice of releasing the closely watched retail inflation and factory output data at 5:30 pm on the 12th of every month, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday announced new timings for data released at 4 pm.

Key Points to ponder:

• What is retail inflation?

• What is Consumer Price Indices (CPI)?

• How is the base year calculated or fixed?

• Read about different types of inflation.

Key takeaways:

• The Ministry said the revision in data release timings is being done “to provide more time on the day of release to access CPI (Consumer Price Index) & IIP (Index of Industrial Production) data.

• However, some financial markets like the government bond markets and the foreign exchange futures, which are sensitive to inflation data, remain open till 5 pm and hence, may be sensitive to data released during market hours.

• Retail inflation data, a frequently monitored indicator for the Indian economy, would thus become an important input for trading and establishing positions in markets, particularly forex and government bond markets.

• The retail inflation data has always been released monthly, while the wholesale inflation data was released weekly until December 2012. It is now distributed on the 14th of each month, around noon.

• The ministry stated: “The CPI & Index of Industrial Production plays a critical role in economic policy and financial markets by reflecting inflationary trends across rural, urban, and combined sectors and industrial growth in the country.”

• Currently, the MoSPI releases the CPI and IIP on the 12th of every month at 5:30 p.m. If the 12th is a holiday, CPI data is released the next working day, while IIP data is released the day before. In November, data for both CPI and IIP will be released at 4 p.m.

• According to the Ministry, the revised release timing coincides with the closing hours of India’s major financial markets, “ensuring that CPI data dissemination does not interfere with active trading”. “This adjustment also adheres to MoSPI’s commitment to transparency and accessibility in data dissemination.”

Do You Know:

• Consumer Price Indices (CPI) measure changes over time in the general level of prices of goods and services that households purchase for consumption. CPI is widely used as a macroeconomic indicator of inflation and as a tool by governments and central banks for inflation targeting and for monitoring price stability, and as deflators in the national accounts.

• Inflation is the rate at which prices for a basket of selected goods and services rise over a period of time and it is calculated by measuring year-on-year change in CPI, that is, current month CPI over CPI of the same month of last year. At present, the CPI (combined), which is the most closely watched indicator for retail inflation, is linked to base year 2012 since the time of release in January 2015.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????October CPI number is going to be very high than September: RBI Governor Das

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Prelims

4. With reference to the Indian economy, consider the following statements: (UPSC 2022)

1. If the inflation is too high, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to buy government securities.

2. If the rupee is rapidly depreciating, RBI is likely to sell dollars in the market.

3. If interest rates in the USA or European Union were to fall, that is likely to induce RBI to buy dollars.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

5. With reference to the Indian economy, demand-pull inflation can be caused/increased by which of the following? (UPSC 2021)

1. Expansionary policies

2. Fiscal stimulus

3. Inflation-indexing wages

4. Higher purchasing power

5. Rising interest rates

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1, 2 and 4 only

(b) 3, 4 and 5 only

(c) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity & Governance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Judiciary

What’s the ongoing story- On Friday (November 8), the Supreme Court ruled on whether Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) can claim minority status under Article 30 of the Constitution. In February, a seven-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had reserved its verdict.

Key Points to ponder:

• What is Article 30 of the Constitution of India?

• What does the minority status mean?

• Read about S Azeez Basha vs Union of India, 1967

• What are the criteria an institution must meet to be considered a minority educational institution?

Key takeaways:

• In a 4-3 majority ruling, the court overruled an earlier Supreme Court decision, which held that AMU was not a minority institution. Though a separate bench will determine whether AMU is a minority institution, the verdict laid down a test for determining whether an educational institution can claim minority status.

Background of the AMU dispute

• In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled on a challenge to two changes to the university’s founding Act, claiming that they denied the Muslim community, which had established AMU, the ability to run it under Article 30.

• The first of these reforms, passed in 1951, permitted non-Muslims to serve on the University Court, the university’s highest governing body at the time, and replaced the Lord Rector with the Visitor, India’s President.

• The second, enacted in 1965, strengthened the powers of AMU’s Executive Council, removing the University Court as the primary governing body.

• The Supreme Court ruled that AMU was not formed or controlled by the Muslim minority, but rather by an Act of the Central Legislature (Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920). (S Azeez Basha vs. Union of India, 1967).

• Faced with criticism for the verdict, the government revised the AMU Act in 1981, claiming that it was formed by the Muslim community to promote the cultural and intellectual growth of Muslims in India.

• For the first time in 2005, AMU granted Muslims 50% of the available postgraduate medical seats. The next year, the Allahabad High Court overturned both the university ruling and the 1981 modification, arguing that AMU was not a minority institution, as per Azeez Basha.

• The HC order was promptly appealed in the Supreme Court. In 2019, the case was referred to a seven-judge bench. Friday’s decision will determine if Azeez Basha will be overruled, or whether AMU is a minority institution protected by Article 30 (“Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions”).

Do You Know:

• Article 15(5), which was added to the Constitution in 2006, exempts minority educational institutions from reserving seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The university does not have SC/ST quotas because AMU’s minority status is under appeal, and the Supreme Court ordered that the status quo be upheld in 2006.

• This year, the Centre contended before the Supreme Court that if AMU is labelled a minority institution, “it will continue not to provide for reservation for SCs/STs/OBCs/EWS, [in jobs and seats, but] it will provide for reservation for Muslims which can be up to 50 percent or even more”.

• In addition, “the administrative structure” of AMU “will change from the current set-up which provides for the supremacy of the Executive Council consisting of people from various fields of life with domain expertise”—and despite being an institution of national importance, AMU would have an admission procedure separate from other such institutions.

• In 1992, the Supreme Court addressed the minority status of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, as well as the institution’s freedom to manage itself and have its own admissions process. The college reserves 50% of its places for Christian students.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????‘Minority character of an institution not a rigid concept’: SC overrules 1967 verdict that removed AMU’s minority tag

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Mains

“The most significant achievement of modern law in India is the constitutionalisation of environmental problems by the Supreme Court.” Discuss this statement with the help of relevant case laws. (UPSC 2022)

Whether the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) can enforce the implementation of constitutional reservation for the Scheduled Castes in the religious minority institutions? Examine. (2018)

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity & climate change

Mains Examination: GS-III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story- At the 2015 climate summit in Paris, India formed the International Solar Alliance (ISA) with a few other countries, notably conference host France, to expedite the deployment and absorption of solar energy around the world, with a focus on developing countries. Over time, the ISA has expanded into an intergovernmental institution with over 110 member countries. However, its impact on accelerating the adoption of solar energy in the poor countries has been exceedingly limited till now.

Key Points to ponder:

• Read about Indian Solar Alliance (ISA)

• What is India’s solar capacity as of now?

• How India can switch from non-renewable sources to renewable sources for its energy consumption?

• How much India has achieved in domestically producing solar modules?

Key takeaways:

• ISA was envisaged as a facilitator, or a force multiplier, which would help countries overcome financial, technological, regulatory, or other barriers in harnessing solar energy.

• Given the tremendous development in solar energy deployment, ISA’s failure to facilitate a large number of projects is notable. Over the previous five years, the global installed capacity of solar power has increased at a rate of more than 20% yearly. It increased by more than 30% last year, according to the International Solar Alliance’s World Solar Market Report 2024.

• Ajay Mathur, ISA’s director general, pointed out that the majority of these installations are taking place in a few nations, with China accounting for the lion’s share. Of the 345 GW of solar capacity added in 2023, more than 216 GW, or over 62%, occurred in China alone.

• Developed countries, China, and large emerging countries such as India receive more than 80% of all solar energy investments.

• Many of these countries lack prior experience with large-scale power projects, particularly solar projects, which are a newer technology. There are no local developers, thus international corporations must invest. However, international investors seek policy stability and a sound regulatory framework.

• The ISA has collaborated with governments and local institutions to develop regulatory frameworks, draft power purchase agreements, and train personnel.

Do You Know:

• Solar is the most crucial element of the global energy transition that is critical to tackle the challenge of climate change. It is the fastest-growing renewable energy source, despite its inherent limitation of being intermittent.

• In most regions of the world, solar is now also the cheapest source of energy when sunshine is available. Solar energy installed capacity is projected to grow between 3 and 15 times in different scenarios for achieving global net zero by 2050.

• China alone accounts for around 43% of global solar PV capacity installations. The top ten markets account for more than 95% of installed capacity. Less than 2% of new additions occur in Africa, which houses almost 80% of the nearly 745 million people who currently lack access to electricity.

• The ISA was established to serve a far greater strategic objective for India. It is a significant aspect of India’s outreach to the Global South, notably African countries.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Africa ready to drive growth of solar, says ISA director general

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Prelims

6. With reference to solar power production in India, consider the following statements:

1. India is the third largest in the world in the manufacture of silicon wafers used in photovoltaic units.

2. The solar power tariffs are determined by the Solar Energy Corporation of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Also in News

• Australia is testing an age-verification system to help prevent youngsters from accessing social media sites, as part of a ban that could go into effect as early as the end of next year.

• Albanese emphasised the hazards to children’s physical and mental health posed by excessive social media use, particularly the risks to females from negative images of body image and misogynistic content aimed at boys.

• They had discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance, and how Chabahar Port can be utilised by the business community in Afghanistan for transactions and for export and import and any other thing that they would like to do.

• Providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is an important part of our assistance programme and India have dispatched several shipments of humanitarian assistance. We have longstanding ties with the people of Afghanistan, and these ties will continue to guide our approach towards the country.

 

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