Blogs

All about Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the IPCC in 1988. The United Nations endorsed the creation of the IPCC later that year.

It has a secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by the WMO. It has 195 member states who govern the IPCC.

Behavioral Economics

Behavioral economics is grounded in empirical observations of human behavior, which have demonstrated that people do not always make what neoclassical economists consider the “rational” or “optimal” decision, even if they have the information and the tools available to do so.

For example, why do people often avoid or delay investing in 401ks or exercising, even if they know that doing those things would benefit them? And why do gamblers often risk more after both winning and losing, even though the odds remain the same, regardless of “streaks”?

By asking questions like these and identifying answers through experiments, the field of behavioral economics considers people as human beings who are subject to emotion and impulsivity, and who are influenced by their environments and circumstances.

This characterization draws a contrast to traditional economic models that have treated people as purely rational actors—who have perfect self-control and never lose sight of their long-term goals—or as people who occasionally make random errors that cancel out in the long run.

Several principles have emerged from behavioral economics research that have helped economists better understand human economic behavior. From these principles, governments and businesses have developed policy frameworks to encourage people to make particular choices.

GRAPHENE AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern. It is an  is an allotrope of carbon. Graphene is considered to be the world's thinnest, strongest and most conductive material - of both electricity and heat. All of these properties are exciting researchers and businesses around the world - as graphene has the potential to revolutionize entire industries - in the fields of electricity, conductivity, energy generation, batteries, sensors and more.

INDIA AT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL

India assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 1st December 2022.

This leads to very significant visibility for India on the global stage. India has been a non-permanent member of the security council for around two years now, and will now preside over the Council with its presidency.

India, along with other members of the G4 (Brazil, Japan, and Germany) support the expansion of the UNSC’s permanent membership—a move that is yet to materialise. As such, the presidency offers a unique opportunity to India to display leadership skills, establish itself is a responsible stakeholder, and indicate its commitment to global governance.

NARCO-TERRORISM: AN EMERGING SECURITY THREAT IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed a 2000 percent surge in heroin-related drug seizures between 2017 and 2022—from 3,000 to more than 10,000. Most recently, in August 2022, the Border Security Force (BSF) recovered eight packets of heroin worth Rs 8 crores in the Samba district after a wounded terrorist fled back to Pakistan.  Hundreds of crores worth of illegal consignments have been seized by the J&K police this year alone, particularly in Shopian and Pulwama.

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), there has been a more than 75 percent decrease in net infiltration from across the border between 2018 and 2021 and more than 80 per cent reduction in the number of terrorist incidents during the same period. Despite such efforts by the security forces in eliminating those infiltrating the Line of Control, the drug menace has not abated.

TAPI PIPELINE AND INSTC

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015, work on the Afghan section began in February 2018, and work on the Pakistani section was planned to commence in December 2018. The abbreviation TAPI comes from the first letters of those countries. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States. It was established on September 12, 2000, by Iran, Russia and India. It is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. The main purpose of the corridor was to reduce carriage costs and transit time between India and Russia. Another objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali, etc.

This corridor connects India Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, Islamic Rep., and is then connected to Saint Petersburg and North European via Russia.

SCO Summit: An Analysis

The 22nd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place in Samarkand on 15 September 2022. This was the first in-person event since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Summit took place against the backdrop of tumultuous geopolitical flux, including the war in Ukraine. The main focus of the Summit was on strengthening regional cooperation and trade connectivity in Eurasia.

Also, during this summit, India took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. During this summit, member states discussed global challenges and threats, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, challenges of economic recovery, obstacles in global supply chains, and energy and food crises.

International Trade Theories

As quoted by Wasserman and Haltman, international trade can be connoted as transactions among the inhabitants of different countries. International trade acts as a major contributing factor in global economic activity and a catalyst of economic growth in developing as well as developed countries. Differences in various conditions, like resource availability, natural climatic conditions, cost of production, etc., act as the motive behind trade between the countries. International trade has made it all possible and has provided a large number of employment opportunities as well as several goods and services for the consumer. It has been a major reason for the rising living standards of people all over the globe.

With time, economists have established theories that explain global trade. These theories explain the mechanism of international trade which is how countries exchange goods and services with each other. International trade theories help countries in deciding what should be imported and what should be exported, in what quantity, and with whom trade should be done internationally. Initially, economists developed international trade theories on the basis of the country which were termed - Classical Theories. However, these theories, later on, shifted from country-based to firm or company based by the mid-twentieth century which were termed - Modern Theories.

Space Communication

There are two types of communication systems: radio frequency (RF) and free space optical (FSO) also referred to as laser communications (lasercom).

Most spacecraft communications systems are radio frequency based - one part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. The antennas then capture those signals and process the information coming from those signals. Information can include:

• scientific data (like the pictures the satellite took),
• the health of the satellite, and
• where the satellite is currently located in space.

Mental Health in India

In India, having a mental health disorder is perceived with a sense of judgement and there is stigma associated with those having mental health issues (The Live Love Laugh Foundation, 2018). Mental disorders are also considered as being a consequence of a lack of self-discipline and willpower. The stigma associated with mental health as well as lack of access, affordability, and awareness lead to significant gaps in treatment. The National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015-16 found that nearly 80% of those suffering from mental disorders did not receive treatment for over a year.

Important Treaties, Conventions and Protocols

XaaS: Everything as a Service

A new concept has emerged i.e Everything as a Service (XaaS) means anything can now be a service with the help of cloud computing and remote accessing. Where cloud computing technologies provide different kinds of services over the web networks. In Everything as a Service, various tools and technologies, and services are provided to users as a service. Before XaaS and cloud services, companies had to buy licensed products and install them. They had to buy all securities on their site and provide infrastructure for business purposes. With XaaS, business is simplified as they have to pay for what they need. This Everything as a Service is also known as Anything as a Service. Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) simply denotes the increasing servitization of technology.

XaaS is a collective term that refers to the delivery of anything as a service. It encompasses the many products, tools and technologies that vendors deliver to users as a service over a network -- typically, the internet -- as an alternative to providing them locally or on-site to an enterprise.

This umbrella term refers to service offerings that are accessed as needed and financed using a pay-as-you-go cloud computing pricing model. XaaS offerings can scale up or down as needed with IT services delivered on demand by a managed service provider.