26 November 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – G 20: GS II – Topic International Organizations

Context:

• Since losing its special status as a state in 2019, the G20 summit is expected to be Jammu and Kashmir’s first significant occasion.

About G20:

• The G20 is a loose coalition of 19 nations, the EU, and officials from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
• The G20 membership is made up of a variety of the major advanced and emerging economies in the world, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of its gross domestic product, 80% of its investment, and more than 75% of its commerce.

Origin:

• 1997-1999 After the G7 welcomed both rich and emerging economies, the ASIAN Financial Crisis evolved as a ministerial-level meeting. Meetings between central bank governors and finance ministers first started in 1999.
• The globe recognised the need for new consensus building at the highest political level during the 2008 Financial Crisis. The G20 leaders will henceforth convene once a year, it was determined.
• The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors continue to meet separately twice a year to help prepare for these summits. They get together at the same time as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

How Does the G20 Operate?

There are two tracks for the G20’s work:

• All meetings with G20 central bank governors and their deputies fall under the umbrella of the finance track. They meet frequently throughout the year and concentrate on matters related to money and finances, financial rules, etc.
• Broader topics including political participation, corruption prevention, development, energy, etc. are the subject of the Sherpa track.
• Each G20 nation is represented by a Sherpa, who acts on behalf of the country’s leader to plan, direct, implement, etc. Shri Shaktikanta Das, an Indian Sherpa, attended the G20 in Argentina in 2018.

G20 Participant Nations:

• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union are the members of the G20.
• Spain participates in leader summits as a permanent, non-member invitee.

G20 Organization and Functioning:

• A structure that annually rotates the G20 Presidency provides a regional balance over time.
• The 19 nations are divided into 5 groups with a maximum of 4 nations each for the purpose of choosing the presidency. Each group takes turns holding the presidency. The G20 elects a nation from another group to serve as president each year.
• Along with Russia, South Africa, and Turkey, India is in Group 2.
• There is no fixed secretariat or headquarters for the G20. Instead, it is the responsibility of the G20 president to put together the G20 agenda after consulting with other participants and in reaction to changes in the global economy.
• TROIKA: Every year, when a new nation becomes the president (in this case, Argentina in 2018), it collaborates with the outgoing nation (Germany in 2017) and the incoming nation (Japan in 2019), and this is referred to as TROIKA collectively. This guarantees the group’s agenda’s stability and continuity.

Cooperation:

• Leaders proclaimed it to be the finest meeting for international business cooperation in Toronto in 2010.
• Several international organisations that offer policy guidance support the activities of G20 members. These businesses include:
• Board for Financial Stability (FSB). The G20 presidents created the FSB after the start of the world financial crisis.
• Organization for International Labor (ILO).
• Global Financial Institutions (IMF).
• The OED, or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• World Organization (UN)
• Global Bank
• Organization for World Trade (WTO)
• The G20 frequently interacts with non-governmental organisations. Throughout the year, key events are being held by engagement groups from business (B20), civil society (C20), labour (L20), think tanks (T20), and youth (Y20), the results of which will inform the G20 leaders’ discussions.

G20 Issues Addressed:

• The G20 focuses on a wide range of global concerns; while issues relating to the global economy predominate the agenda, other items have gained importance recently, including:
• Monetary markets
• Fiscal policy and taxes
• Trade
• Agriculture
• Employment
• Energy
• Combating corruption
• Women’s advancement in the workforce
• The Sustainable Development Goals for 2030
• Changing Climate
• World Health
• Anti-terrorism
• Enterprise that is inclusive

India’s Goals at the G20 Summit:

• Combating corruption by preventing tax evasion
• Limiting the funding for terrorism
• Lowering remittances’ price
• Market entry for important medications
• World Trade Organization changes to enhance performance
• The Paris Agreement’s “full implementation”

Achievements of G 20:

• With only 20 members, the G20 is small enough to act quickly and adjust to changing situations.
• A larger and more thorough view is possible when evaluating global concerns and forging consensus to address them thanks to the presence of invited countries, international organisations, and civil society organisations every year through engagement groups.
• Cooperation: The G-20 has been instrumental in improving cross-national coordination and strengthening the global financial regulatory framework.
• Helped multilateral development banks grow their lending by US$235 billion at a time when private sector sources of funding were declining.
• One of the G20’s major accomplishments was the prompt distribution of emergency funds during the global financial crisis of 2008.
• By enhancing monitoring of national financial institutions, it also contributes to reforms in international financial institutions. For instance, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which the G20 and OECD are driving, and the adoption of tax transparency norms.
• The WTO estimated that if the Trade Facilitation Agreement were completely implemented by 2030, it might contribute up to between 5.4 and 8.7 percent to the global GDP. The G20 was crucial in securing the agreement’s passage.
• Better Communication: The G20 brings together the world’s leading industrialised and developing nations to promote consensus and logic in decision-making through debate.

Challenges faced by G 20:

• No enforcement mechanism: The G20’s toolkit includes straightforward information exchanges and best practises, as well as agreements on shared, quantifiable goals and coordinated action. Except for the motivation of peer review and public accountability, none of this is accomplished without consensus and is not enforceable.
• The decisions are not legally binding because they are the result of discussions and consensus that take the form of statements. These statements are not contractual obligations. There are just 20 people in this advising or consultative group.

Steps to Take:

• The G20 cannot solve all of the world’s issues. The G20, however, has played a significant role in fostering global collaboration over the last ten years.
• As emerging nations look for ways to influence and contribute to the world order, effective global governance, like the G20, is crucial.

Source The Hindu

 2 – Provisions against Insulting Tricolour of India: GS II – Topic Indian Laws

History of the Indian Flag Adoption:

1906:

• According to legend, the first national flag, which included three horizontal red, yellow, and green stripes, was raised on August 7, 1906, in Calcutta at Parsee Bagan Square, close to Lower Circular Road (now Kolkata).

1921:

• Freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya later met Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 and suggested the basic layout of the flag, which consists of two red and green bands.

1931:

• The Tricolour was finally chosen as our national flag at a Congress Committee meeting in Karachi in 1931 after going through a number of revisions.

1947:

• On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly met and accepted the Indian flag in its current configuration.

Guidelines for the Tricolor:

• Act of 1950 to Prevent Improper Use of Emblems and Names:
• It prohibits the use of the national flag, a department’s coat of arms, the president’s or governor’s official seal, a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi or the prime minister, and the Ashoka Chakra.

Act of 1971 to Prevent Insults to National Honour:

• The national flag, the Constitution, the national song, and the Indian map are only a few examples of the national symbols that are forbidden from being insulted or desecrated.
• A person is barred from running in the Parliamentary and state legislative elections for six years if they are found guilty of the following offences under the Act.
• disrespecting the national flag is a crime,
• disrespecting the Indian Constitution is a crime,
• obstructing the singing of the national anthem is a crime.

The 2002 Indian Flag Code:

• As long as the flag’s honour and dignity were maintained, it permitted the exhibition of the Tricolor without restriction.
• The pre-existing regulations controlling the proper display of the flag were not repealed by the flag code.
• However, it was an attempt to include all of the earlier laws, customs, and practises.
• It is broken down into three sections: a general description of the tricolour, guidelines for use in displaying the flag by government entities and commercial, public, and academic organisations.
• It states that the tricolour cannot be utilised for profit-making endeavours or to pay respect to anyone or anything.
• The flag should also not be used as a festoon or for any sort of decoration.
• Only flags that meet the requirements established by the Bureau of Indian Standards and bear their mark may be used for official display.

The Constitution’s Part IV-A:

• The Constitution’s Part IV-A, which has just one Article 51-A, lists the eleven Fundamental Duties.
• Every Indian citizen has a responsibility to uphold the Constitution, its principles and institutions, the National Flag, and the National Anthem, as stated in Article 51A (a).

Source The Indian Express

 3 – Indian Meteorlogical Department: GS II – Topic Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies

About the Indian Meteorological Department:

• The India Meteorological Department, also known as IMD, was founded in 1875. It is the nation’s National Meteorological Service and the leading government body for all matters pertaining to meteorology and related topics.
• In 1875, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) was founded. It is a department of the Indian government’s Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• It is the main organisation in charge of seismology, meteorological observations, and weather forecasting.
• The World Meteorological Organization has six regional specialised meteorological centres, and IMD is one of them.
• The cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean are named by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) of Tropical Cyclones in New Delhi.
• IMD’s main office is in New Delhi

Objectives of IMD:

• for the best performance of weather-sensitive industries including agriculture, irrigation, shipping, aviation, offshore oil explorations, etc., to collect meteorological observations and to give current and forecast meteorological information.
• to issue warnings about dangerous weather conditions that can destroy both life and property, such as tropical cyclones, nor’easters, dust storms, heavy rain, snow, cold, and heat waves.
• IMD is necessary to offer the meteorological data needed for managing water resources, industry, oil exploration, and other nation-building endeavours.
• to carry out and advance research in meteorology and related fields.

Source The Hindu

4 – Enforcement Directorate: GS II – Topic Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies

About the Enforcement Directorate:

• This Directorate was first established on May 1st, 1956, when the Department of Economic Affairs established a “Enforcement Unit” to handle Exchange Control Law infractions under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA ’47).
• This unit was given the new name “Enforcement Directorate” in 1957.
• Currently, it is a division of the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Revenue.
• The Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 are two special fiscal laws that the Organization is tasked with executing (PMLA).

Composition:

• In addition to hiring people directly, the Directorate also deputises officers from several investigating agencies, such as Customs & Central Excise, Income Tax, and Police.

Other features:

• the 2018 Fugitive Economic Offenders Act is being used to process cases involving fugitives from India.
• Promote cases of preventative detention for FEMA violations under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA).

Particular courts:

• The Central Government designates one or more Sessions Courts as Special Courts for the trial of an offence punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA (in collaboration with the Chief Justice of the High Court) (s). PMLA Court is another name for the court.
• Any appeal against a decision made by the PMLA court may be brought directly before the High Court for that region.

Source The Indian Express