The Prayas ePathshala

Exams आसान है !

Q1. What do you understand by transition to clean energy. Discuss some of the government initiatives in this regard.

Paper & Topic: GS – III Environmental Conservation related issues

Model Answer:

Why is it so important to cook with clean fuel?

The National Multidimensional Poverty Index, which was created by NITI Aayog and will be made public in 2021, includes the difficulty to obtain clean cooking fuels as one of its contributing causes.

Clean cooking fuel has the following benefits:

Lowering the level of pollutants inside.
Enhancing health strategies to enhance the general wellbeing of mothers and children.
Achieving environmental goals.

What types of activities does the government carry out?

The transition from conventional fuels to LPG has been substantially hastened by the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), which was launched in 2016.
8 crore low-income women were able to obtain LPG connections through PMUY phase I without having to make a deposit.
The participants of PMUY phase II received free LPG hookups and stoves in addition to a free initial refill.

To accomplish this, many initiatives have been made over time to raise LPG consumption, including:

200 rupees are subtracted for each 14.2 kg of refill.
Twelve refills are allowed annually at the maximum DBC 14.2 kg to 5 kg with a 5 kg option, double bottle connection.
Use of PM GARBI BALYA is limited to three complimentary refills per recipient. The government is actively promoting PNG as part of the 2020 strategy since it is more commercially viable than LNG.
Take as an example the National Gas Grid, which is now being constructed.
The Union Power Ministry started this campaign in February 2021 to promote EVs and electric cookery.
It might result in an annual saving of Rs. 8 crore on import expenses.

Indra Nutan:

A solar-powered stove was created by IOCL and the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (Indian Oil Corporation Limited).
In order to decrease the demand for gas, this fixed, rechargeable indoor cooking platform was announced in June 2022.

It has several methods of operation, making it a surefire fix whatever the weather:

hybrid means simply using solar electricity; online means using solar power in addition to a backup energy source.

What are the difficulties?

Many of the poor rural migrant workers who live in metropolitan areas reside in illegal slums and have no legal claim to the property. You need to have specific credentials in order to open a bank account, which is necessary for DBTs to work.
They also contend with a lot of antagonism, a bad sense of community, and limited access to public services.
Some houses accidentally resumed burning firewood because of regulations like kerosene sales restrictions that were meant to promote the switch to clean cooking. Kerosene is becoming more expensive on the illicit market in other residences.
Gas is provided in cylinders with a monthly fuel capacity and is subject to full payment. The result is suffering for the less fortunate.

Conclusion:

For the population’s health and wellness, clean cooking is crucial. The transition away from conventional, dirty fuels has been simpler as a result of recent measures, but the current price instability may undo the change. It might be easier to maintain the benefits by diversifying clean cooking fuel sources and lowering reliance on just LPG and PNG.

Q2. What is the Global Pandemic Treaty India’s role in this regard.

Paper & Topic: GS II – International Relations

Model Answer:

Particularly in the early stages of the epidemic, the healthcare systems in the countries were overworked. There was a significant disparity in the distribution of diagnosis, treatments, and vaccinations.
More than 32,000 cases of monkeypox were reported globally in more than 80 countries in August 2022, leading the WHO to designate the epidemic as a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern). This classification implies that before the COVID-19 pandemic is gone, there may be another health disaster.
While high-income countries are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, low- and low-middle-income countries have suffered irreparable socioeconomic effects.

About the Global Pandemic Treaty:

The outbreak has brought attention to the shortcomings of the current global health systems and the need for new regulations.
In this setting, the feasibility of a worldwide pandemic treaty was considered in the World Health Assembly Special Session (WHASS). The Assembly determined that in order to enable global pandemic governance, which was ineffective during the COVID-19 pandemic, work would start on writing an international convention in December 2021.
In accordance with Article 19 of Who’s Constitution, the Assembly passed the “The World Together” decision, which created a global negotiating team to draught and negotiate the treaty’s clauses.
It’s expected that the agreement will cover a wide range of issues, including data exchange, genome sequencing of newly emerging viruses, fair treatment and vaccine distribution, research, and other things.
The EU has proposed a language in the agreement that would forbid the selling of wildlife in addition to these other justifications. To put things in perspective, the SARS CoV 2 is thought to have started in a Chinese wildlife market.

For the following reasons, India is perfectly positioned to take the lead:

Legislators around the world have used India’s response to the pandemic and role in the global issue as a model.
India produces 60% of the vaccines and contributes 60–80% of the UN’s annual vaccine procurement as a result of the “vaccine maitri” initiative. It is crucial that India continued to market COVID-19 diagnostics and immunizations despite domestic shortages. This vaccine support was only briefly discontinued when the second wave was at its peak.
By the year 2021, India had exported more than 594 lakh doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 173.43 lakh doses were offered as part of the COVAX project, 81.25 lakh doses were distributed as gifts, and 339.67 lakh doses were delivered commercially (under GAVI).

Way Ahead:

Since the outbreak initially began, many programmes, like the Vaccine Alliance, have been launched. Even though they are valuable, a treaty under the WHO is necessary to promote cohesiveness and avoid fragmentation.
Along with crucial topics like data exchange and the sequencing of developing diseases, the agreement should specifically oblige the governments to establish early warning systems and appropriately fund quick reaction mechanisms.
It need to persuade governments to accept common standards for health investment outcomes. The gap between the public and private sectors needs to be bridged by these programmes.

Conclusion:

A global pandemic treaty would improve pandemic preparedness while reducing socioeconomic differences between countries. India needs to take the lead in this.