What is the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, which India joined at COP27?

 

The Mangrove Alliance for Climate seeks to educate and spread awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.

At the 27th Session of Conference of Parties (COP27), this year’s UN climate summit, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) was launched with India as a partner on Tuesday (November 8). The move, in line with India’s goal to increase its carbon sink, will see New Delhi collaborating with Sri Lanka, Indonesia and other countries to preserve and restore the mangrove forests in the region.

Attending the event in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on Tuesday, Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said that India is home to one of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world — the Sundarbans — and has years of expertise in restoration of mangrove cover that can be used to aid global measures in this direction.

The MAC

An initiative led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) includes India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain. It seeks to educate and spread awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, while launching the alliance, said that her country intends to plant 3 million mangroves in the next two months, in keeping with UAE’s COP26 pledge of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.

“Increasing reliance on nature-based solutions is an integral element of the UAE’s climate action on the domestic as well as international level, therefore, we seek to expand our mangrove cover,” she said, as per a report in Dubai-based news channel Al Arabiya. “We are pleased to launch MAC jointly with Indonesia, and believe it will go a long way in driving collective climate action and rehabilitating blue carbon ecosystems,” she added.

However, the intergovernmental alliance works on a voluntary basis which means that there are no real checks and balances to hold members accountable. Instead, the parties will decide their own commitments and deadlines regarding planting and restoring mangroves. The members will also share expertise and support each other in researching, managing and protecting coastal areas.

The significance of mangroves

Mangroves have been the focus of conservationists for years and it is difficult to overstate their importance in the global climate context. Mangrove forests — consisting of trees and shrub that
live in intertidal water in coastal areas — host diverse marine life. They also support a rich food web, with molluscs and algae-filled substrate acting as a breeding ground for small fish, mud crabs and shrimps, thus providing a livelihood to local artisanal fishers.

Equally importantly, they act as effective carbon stores, holding up to four times the amount of carbon as other forested ecosystems. Mangrove forests capture vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and their preservation can both aid in removal of carbon from the atmosphere and prevent the release of the same upon their destruction.

The current state of the mangroves

South Asia houses some of the most extensive areas of mangroves globally, while Indonesia hosts one-fifth of the overall amount. India holds around 3 percent of South Asia’s mangrove population. Besides the Sundarbans in West Bengal, the Andamans region, the Kachchh and Jamnagar areas in Gujarat too have substantial mangrove cover.

However, infrastructure projects — industrial expansion and building of roads and railways, and natural processes — shifting coastlines, coastal erosion and storms, have resulted in a significant decrease in mangrove habitats.

Between 2010 and 2020, around 600 sq km of mangroves were lost of which more than 62% was due to direct human impacts, the Global Mangrove Alliance said in its 2022 report.

ndia at COP

Unlike other world leaders — US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — Prime Minister Narendra Modi has skipped this edition of the conference, with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav representing India instead. Yadav has said that India’s focus currently is on concessional and climate-specific grants to drive climate finance, and has teamed up with Brazil, South Africa and China (the BASIC bloc) to negotiate agreements.

Demands by various negotiating blocs

As seen in the previous sessions of the climate conference, building consensus among the 190+ countries who are members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a tough task. China, for instance, has ramped up the use of coal amidst energy security risks and rising tensions with Taiwan. Its deteriorating relationship with the US, the second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gas behind Beijing, has further complicated possibilities of negotiations. The European Union, which negotiates as a single entity for its 27 members, is at the lower end of the spectrum of gas emitters, but is under pressure to ease its resistance to its staunch position

against the issue of ‘loss and damage’, which calls for rich and developed countries to compensate poorer, developing countries who are disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change. 

G77 and China is the largest intergovernmental organisation of developing countries in the UN. Pakistan, which currently chairs the group and faced devastating floods this year, will lead the group in its demand for a dedicated fund for compensation from wealthy countries, Reuters reported. The Climate Vulnerable Forum, which represents 58 countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change such as Bangladesh and Maldives, reportedly demands a dedicated fund in which rich polluting nations help bear the costs of “loss and damage”.

Written by Navmi Krishna

Source: Indian Express, 11/09/22

Quote of the Day November 10, 2022

 

“In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.”
Anthony J. D'Angelo

“सफल होने के लिए आपको असफलता का स्वाद अवश्य चखना चाहिए, ताकि आपको यह पता चल सके कि अगली बार क्या नहीं करना है।”
एंथनी जे. डीएंजेलो

Current Affairs- November 10, 2022

 

INDIA

– 19 Indian universities among top 200 in QS Asia Universities Ranking 2023; IIT Bombay best at 40th

– Private channels to have 30-min slot for ‘national & public interest’ programmes daily

Statehood day of Uttarakhand celebrated on Nov 9; state carved out of UP in 2000

– EAM S. Jaishankar holds talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow

– EAM Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei in Delhi

– Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat releases Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report

– Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launches Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2 and Citizen Perception Survey 2022

– Atal Innovation Mission launches women centric challenges under ANIC (Atal New India Challenge) program

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approves Sovereign Green Bonds framework to attract investment in environmentally sustainable & climate-suitable projects

– Govt to exit Axis Bank with 1.55% stake sale, expects to garner Rs 4,000 cr

– Centre allows trade settlement for export promotion schemes in Indian rupee

– National Payments Corporation introduces BHIM App open-source license model

– Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) acquires 49.38% stake in Indian Oiltanking for Rs 1,050 cr

WORLD

– CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) announces Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund at COP27 being held at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt

– Russia says withdrawing from Ukraine’s city of Kherson and nearby areas

– International Week of Science and Peace being observed from Nov 9 to 14

SPORTS

– ICC T20 World Cup: Pakistan (153/3 in 19.1) beat NZ (152/4 in 20) in semifinal in Sydney

Insider tips to build a successful startup from scratch: A guide for entrepreneurs

 In the contemporary world, initiating a business requires minute in-depth understanding and knowledge of many subjects, which also includes legal, sales, financial, marketing, liability protection, intellectual property protection, and human resources. However, if entrepreneurship is something that interests you then there are also stories of incredible success of early stage startups which have turned into multi-billion dollar organisations such as Uber, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Airbnb. To understand the entire process of investing and building a big business right from scratch, our start-up expert Ravi Ranjan shares his insights on what an entrepreneurial mindset should look like.

1. Is there anything called a startup mindset? If yes, what are few of the elements of those?

I think the fundamental of having a career as a founder is realising that it's not the first time that there are startups coming up in India or anywhere. There have been businesses around us for thousands of years. But, I believe that there are fundamentally two reasons as to why startups have become a movement in recent times. Firstly, we have a very large population who are currently online. This means that organisations now have an opportunity to discover their audience very fast. Lastly, another difference between a business and a startup is that the latter can scale up very fast. So, for a young student who is just about to start their career, a keen observation of how the ecosystem is evolving might be of great help. I believe in a class full of students there are always some students who will have an interest in talking about technology, AI, crypto or something like that. These are the people who have leadership qualities and the entrepreneurship mindset to take it further. However, people who have a traditional mindset and wish to become an entrepreneur need to start figuring out these trends to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

2. You mentioned, it is very easy for a startup to scale up and grow into a big business but in the past there have been instances where a startup has faced challenges or even closed down. What are your views on that?

I strongly believe that it is not just with startups but with everything in life, be it going to a college or managing a family, one can fail in anything. But how one deals with it depends upon how mature they are as a person or what capabilities they have to move ahead in life. There are challenges everywhere but the reward is also extremely high once you take risks. One of the biggest advantages of building a startup is that you will never fail but always end up learning as to how things work. If one looks at some of the big businesses in the world, it's not their first attempt; the founders always had 2-3 companies in the past that did not work out. Not everyone becomes successful in the first go and entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted. I believe young students need to understand that every disappointment is going to train you on how to not give up. Young entrepreneurs need to be 5 times more courageous than their friends and peers.

3. What are some of the reasons an organisation fails?

I feel there are three fundamental reasons as to why an organisation fails. To avoid the same, before they start, students must do enough research. Secondly, they also need to analyse and understand whether their business needs funding immediately or can they manage without funding for a certain period of time. Lastly, they should have the expertise as to how to exactly scale a business. For example, if an entrepreneur is starting a small startup in Kolkata–is he or she able to scale the business to multiple cities? If not they are not going to be successful.

4. Do you think young students should worry about having a safety net when they are eventually starting on their own or they should be fully focused on what they are doing?

As an individual I feel different people have different challenges. In the case of some students their family expects them to start earning as soon as they finish their college. For them I feel they should not be giving time to a startup without having a safety net. On the other hand, 90% of students are also not in that category and they can absolutely take risks for the first few years. I believe that if one really wants to be successful they should have zero backup plans. They should be 100% focused on the startup they are building and in some cases, students should also take the initiative of starting from the second or third year of the college itself so that by the time they finish college, they would either have a successful company or a lot of experience to hold upon. Eventually there is nothing to lose as a young student as they only end up learning.

5. Do you think a business can be started with zero funds?

Yes, there are businesses that can be initiated with zero external funding. Though this is true for about 60% of all businesses today. For instance, one of the very successful organisations today, Zoho, was started without any external funding.

6. What are some other insights you can share with young professionals who are looking to start a business?

One of the most important things is that they must understand the market they are going to target. For instance, if they are building something on web3 or metaverse, they must understand the market well. Here, I don’t mean that they must be an expert, but at least they must know how big the market is and at the same time they must also have a few members in their team who compliment their skills.

7. What are some of the non negotiable things which a young student must consider before beginning a business?

I think the most crucial thing to bear in mind before beginning a business is that nobody should start a business just because there is funding available. A startup venture should be initiated to solve a problem. If a business is solving a problem right from its initial days then it is good to go and if not then it is totally non negotiable. Furthermore, a young student should also make it a point to be ethical and have the utmost integrity without compromising on it. Lastly, not bringing your 100% to the table when working on a startup is also a non negotiable quality.

8. How can a young student make it easier for themselves to approach someone for funds?

India has more than ten thousand angel investors in the current time, clearly indicating that our country has the best opportunities for people to invest in the present period and future as well. Students today have the option to raise money from the government, angel investors, private equities, grants, business plan competitions and many more. I believe a young student can make it easier for themselves by preparing a list of top investors via researching on the internet as everything is available for free, and then start reaching out to them on Linkedin and meeting them at different events. Initially a young student should speak more about their ideas rather than pushing the prospective investors to put money on their business. I believe by following these steps a student can get an investor interested in their business idea.

A startup ecosystem uplifts the future of any country. It is often seen that a small company with big ideas turns out to be more innovative when weighed against a lot of big companies and as our expert Ravi Ranjan says, if you are ethical, have integrity and are looking to solve a problem in the long term, you are good to go.

 

Source: Nancy Jaiswal

Telegraph India, 8/11/22

For an equal India

 As per the World Social Protection Report, only 24.4% of the country’s population is covered by at least one social protection benefit

At a time when India is debating free welfare schemes, inadequate investment on a basic, universal social protection system is making millions of lives vulnerable and unequal. In its latest World Social Protection Report, 2020-2022, the International Labour Organization has listed a few areas of concern for countries lagging in investments in social protection to its needy population.

As per this ILO report, only 24.4% of India’s population is covered by at least one social protection benefit as against more than 70% coverage in neighbouring East Asian countries. In India, the low social protection coverage for children (24.1%), mothers with newborns (41.5%), person with severe disabilities (5.6%), older people (42.5%) and labour force benefiting pension scheme (15.5%) are a few areas that stand against the building of an inclusive, equal society. Unfortunately, there is no social protection scheme for unemployed young people either. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy data suggest that 53 million people are unemployed in India. This is largely due to the decline of 8 million jobs in rural India on the back of a sluggish monsoon followed by a loss of 2.5 million salaried jobs. Failing to generate jobs for its young people and not implementing any social protection scheme for this vast population would have a devastating impact on India’s progress. The National Crime Records Bureau says that 1,64,033 people claimed their lives in 2021;  most of these deaths were related to employment. 

The ILO report further says that public employment programmes, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee schemes, can offer a degree of protection for informal sector workers, but coverage is usually limited and workers can only rely on benefits for up to 100 days. The need for expanding the safety net programme to increase rural demand notwithstanding, the Centre’s budgetary allocation for this flagship rural jobs scheme in 2022-23 was cut by 25% compared to last year’s expenditure. During the first Covid-19 lockdown, the scheme provided a critical lifeline for a record 110 million workers in rural areas. The government should have increased its allocation to enhance the social safety net of people desperately looking for such temporary jobs scheme for sustenance.

Next is the issue of injuries reported among workers. Only 3.7% of workers a recovered in case of an injury (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation reported injuries among 24.1 million workers in 2016-17 while 32 million were injured in 2017-18). In countries where a large proportion of health services are provided by the private sector, considerable effort should be deployed to ensure that the population is adequately protected financially. The ILO report says that evidence from Bangladesh, India and Nigeria indicates that dominant private-sector provisions without appropriate social health protection mechanisms contribute to high out-of-pocket expenditure on health.

Owing to the relatively low investment in social protection, the amounts transferred under non-contributory benefits are usually too low to provide adequate protection. For instance, India’s and Bangladesh’s disability benefits are equivalent to only about 5% of GDP per capita and non-contributory old-age pensions in India, Thailand and Sri Lanka are even lower. Even though social assistance programmes targeted at poor or vulnerable individuals can provide some relief in case of loss of employment, the benefit levels are usually too low to ensure minimally adequate living conditions for  the beneficiaries. Moreover, registration and qualification for these programmes can be slow or only available at specific times, leaving many workers unprotected. These gaps in the existing programmes must be examined to strengthen India’s social protection system.

Until the country includes every single citizen in its social protection system (from the current 24%), ending free welfare schemes will be counter-productive and stand as a big hindrance to building an equal India. 

(Sachi Satapathy works as Director, AF Development Care, New Delhi)

Source: Telegraph India, 10/11/22

India@75, Looking at 100: The new teacher – beyond a knowledge provider

 

Educators play a key role as nation builders and today more than ever we need to provide learning opportunities to our students that will not just educate them but also skill them. We can no longer just don the role of knowledge providers — rather we need to rewrite the paradigms of conventional curricula and imbue learning with vocational and skill development opportunities.

A glorious future beckons our country, home to one of the oldest civilisations. Carrying immense wisdom, fortitude and resilience, owing to centuries of hardship, India today stands at a critical juncture. We can no longer rest on the laurels of an illustrious era and be complacent about the many noteworthy inventions and discoveries bestowed on the world by our resolute forefathers. To be the global vanguards, our youth need to unshackle themselves from casteism, inequality, hatred and discrimination that remain in the contemporary social fabric.

Our mythological stories abound with lessons in compassion, cooperation and unity paving the way for inclusive success. We as educators need to delve deeper into this very wisdom and sensitise our children. Educators play a key role as nation builders and today more than ever we need to provide learning opportunities to our students that will not just educate them but also skill them. We can no longer just don the role of knowledge providers — we need to rewrite the paradigms of conventional curricula and imbue learning with skill development opportunities.

India continues to contribute the largest number of qualified engineers and technologists to the global workforce even today. It is at the forefront of new technologies and will soon become the cradle of innovation. New ventures by Indian entrepreneurs are already making a mark in the global economy.However, many children still do not have access to quality education that will harness their inherent abilities and talent. We need to ensure that our children, growing up in villages and Tier-2 and 3 cities, do not lag behind and have the same access to opportunities as their counterparts in urban areas do. We need to develop digital models, consisting of apps, digital tutorial content and virtual teachers to ensure that no child is left behind. Our children also need vital lessons in wealth management, financial literacy and entrepreneurship to succeed in life.

Providing contemporary and relevant vocational learning opportunities to our children will motivate them to innovate. At our school, we have envisioned a perfect amalgamation of curricular and co-curricular pursuits along with an emphasis on vocational education and life skills. Experiential learning is facilitated through workshops and infrastructural adaptations, with provision for sensorial and medicinal gardens, learning centres and interactive walls. Research and project-based learning inculcate essential life skills. Integrated learning is implemented by incorporating art, music, dance and drama in curriculum transactions.

The vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat is shaped in the well-furnished Atal Tinkering Lab, where budding scientists design mobile and AI applications, drone technology and Arduino-programmed robotics applications using 3D design. Technology-integrated learning is enabled through wi-fi-enabled zones, Hi-Tech Interactive Panels, Digital Library and Microsoft education tools. Environmental conscientiousness is instilled through initiatives like Mission SDGs, tree plantation drives and paper recycling projects.

I envision an India where all children can grow up in an environment that fosters their holistic well-being and development, irrespective of their socio-economic status. A country where each child is safe from the many evils that still mar our society. Our nation stands at a pivotal point, buoyed by the aspirations of one of the largest youth populations, yet it could all go awry if we don’t effectively harness the passion, dreams and strength of our young citizens. What we do today as educators can just make all the difference.

The writer is principal, Bal Bharati Public School Dwarka and winner of the National Award for Teachers, 2021. This article is part of an ongoing series, which began on August 15, by women who have made a mark, across sectors

ricula and imbue learning with vocational and skill development opportunities.

Written by Suruchi Gandhi

Source: Indian Express, 9/11/22

Part-time degrees, no need to publish research: what new PhD regulations say

 

The UGC has notified new regulations on PhD degrees, introducing a set of sweeping changes in eligibility criteria, admission procedure and evaluation methods.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified new regulations on PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degrees, introducing a set of sweeping changes in eligibility criteria, admission procedure and evaluation methods governing doctoral programmes in college and universities.

The mandatory requirement of publishing research papers in refereed journals or presenting in conferences has been scrapped. Part-time PhDs have been launched for working professionals, and there is a relaxation of 5 per cent marks in eligibility for admissions even for the new EWS category.

How will the changes impact doctoral aspirants?

First and foremost, the eligibility criteria for admissions have been changed. Anyone with a four-year/eight-semester Bachelor’s programme degree with a minimum 75 per cent marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade will be eligible for a PhD.

Those joining PhD programmes after a four-year UG programme can do so after a one-year Master’s degree. Graduates with conventional three-year UG degrees need to have completed two-year Master’s degrees.

So far, a Master’s degree with at least 55 per cent marks in aggregate was mandatory for doctoral aspirants. Many universities also insisted on using M.Phil as the gateway. Those who had completed their M.Phil dissertation and were awaiting viva voce could also be admitted to PhD programmes.

The new Rules discontinue the M.Phil programme altogether. However, that will have no bearing on those holding or pursuing M.Phil degrees currently. Apart from reserved category applicants, those falling under the EWS bracket will also be granted five per cent relaxations.

Will there be changes in the procedure for admissions?

There are no major changes in the procedure for admissions. As was the norm so far, universities and colleges will be free to admit students through the NET/JRF qualification route as well as entrance exams at the level of the institutions. The entrance syllabus shall consist of 50 per cent of research methodology, and 50 per cent shall be subject-specific, the Regulations say.

The UGC has for now dropped its plan to stipulate that of the annual intake of PhD candidates in every institution, 60 per cent would have to be reserved for NET/JRF-qualified individuals.

Where the selection is done by entrance tests conducted by individual universities, a weightage of 70 per cent will be given to performance in the written test, and 30 per cent to the interview.

Based on the feedback from stakeholders, the proposed common entrance test for PhDs has been left out of the new Regulations.

Do the new Regulations change the way research supervisors function?

Eligible professors, associate professors, and assistant professors can continue to guide up to eight, six, and four PhD candidates respectively at any given time, as earlier.

However, earlier, professors, associate professors, and assistant professors could also guide three, two, and one M.Phil scholars respectively over and above their PhD candidates. The MPhil programme has been scrapped under the new National Education Policy, 2020.

The new Rules also bar faculty members with less than three years of service left before superannuation from taking new research scholars under their supervision.

Each supervisor can also guide up to two international research scholars on a supernumerary basis over and above the permitted number of domestic PhD scholars. Universities and colleges have been allowed to frame their own rules governing admissions of international PhD students.

How does the UGC plan to improve the quality of doctoral education and research?

It has introduced a new requirement for PhD scholars, irrespective of discipline, to train in teaching / education/ pedagogy/ writing related to their chosen subject during their doctoral period. They may also be assigned four to six hours per week of teaching/ research assistantship for conducting tutorial or laboratory work and evaluations.

Earlier, to ensure the quality of their output, research scholars had to appear before a Research Advisory Committee once in six months and present the progress of their work for evaluation and further guidance. They will now have to do this every semester.

The new Regulations retain the clause that mandates institutions to develop a mechanism using “well-developed software applications to detect plagiarism in research work”.

Why has the requirement to publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals before the submission of a PhD thesis been scrapped?

The UGC has been grappling with this issue for quite some time, particularly with the proliferation of so-called “predatory journals”, where many doctoral scholars were found publishing their research in return for a fee. In 2019, a UGC panel had recommended that publication of research material in such journals or presentations in conferences organised by their publishers should not be considered for academic credit in any form.

In draft regulations floated in March this year, the UGC had proposed universities be allowed to draw up their own guidelines in this area and sought public feedback on replacing the term “must” with “desirable”. But in the final regulations, that requirement has been dispensed with altogether.

Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, who is the UGC chairperson, said by removing the mandatory clause, the commission is trying to ease some pressure of scholars so that they can focus more on high-quality research. “That will automatically lead to their research finding space in top journals,” he said.

In a study involving one central university and an IIT between 2017 and 2019, the UGC found that in the case of the university, as much as 75 per cent of the submissions were in journals which are not Scopus-indexed. The IIT, where such submissions are not mandatory, saw 79 per cent scholars making it to Scopus-indexed journals. That also appears to have guided the UGC’s decision.

What is the provision for part-time PhDs?

This is a new category introduced by the regulations. Although an existing feature in the IITs, for most universities and colleges, this will be new.

The eligibility conditions are the same for both full-time and part-time candidates. Their PhD work will be assessed in the same way as is done for the full-time PhD students.

However, in addition to meeting the regular criteria, the part-time PhD candidates will also have to produce a No-Objection Certificate or NOC from their employer. Apart from stating that the prospective part-time PhD candidate employee is permitted to pursue studies on a part-time basis, the NOC will have to spell out that they will be given sufficient time for research work. The workplace will require facilities in the employee’s field of research as a doctoral scholar.

Over the years, annual enrolment figures in PhD have risen, but it still accounts for a very small share of the higher education pie. Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the enrolment at PhD level increased from 1,26,451 to 2,02,550 (0.5 per cent of the total enrolment in higher education), according to the latest available All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report 2019-20. Also, most PhDs in India are in the field of engineering and technology, followed by natural sciences.

Source: Indian Express, 9/11/22