Topic 1: Terms in news
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Mikveh:
- A mikveh, also spelled as mikvah or miqwe, is a pool of water, in the open or stored, in Judaism in which one bathes for ritual cleansing.
- It is often part of a synagogue, the Jewish prayer house.
- Even the ocean or a lake can be a mikveh.
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Requiescat:
- It is a prayer for the repose (rest) of the dead and also comes from Latin requiescat in pace (abbreviated as R.I.P.), literally “may she (or he) begin to rest in peace”.
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Joie de vivre:
- It is a French phrase.
- Its literal translation is joy of living.
- It means the extreme enjoyment of living, taking delight in simply being alive.
- Savoir faire: an almost instinctive ability to act appropriately in a given situation
- Savoir vivre: an art of knowing how to live well, graciously and elegantly.
Topic 2: Compassionate appointment
Context: The Supreme Court rejected some applications for ‘compassionate appointment’ that were filed by the dependents of deceased government employees in West Bengal.
What are compassionate appointments?
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Origin:
- The concept of compassionate appointments can be traced to the Indian Constitution’s Article 39, which is under the Directive Principles of State Policy, and talks about the right to livelihood.
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Aim:
- It aims to provide employment on compassionate grounds to the dependent family members of a government servant who dies in harness or retires on medical grounds, leaving the family without any source of sustenance.
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Factors for consideration:
- financial condition of the family,
- the presence of earning members,
- family size,
- children’s ages,
- the essential needs of the family.
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Eligibility:
- Compassionate appointments can extend to dependent family members of a government servant who:
- Dies while in service (including death by suicide)
- Retired on medical grounds before 55 years of age (57 years for erstwhile Group ‘D’ Government servants);
- The measure can also extend to the family members of an Armed Forces employee who:
- Dies during service;
- Is killed in action; or
- Is medically boarded out and is unfit for civil employment.
- Compassionate appointments can extend to dependent family members of a government servant who:
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Ineligibility:
- The government servant must have been appointed on a regular basis and not on a daily wage, casual, apprentice, ad-hoc, contract, or reemployment basis.
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Competent Authority:
- Compassionate appointments are made by either the Joint Secretary in charge of administration in the Ministry or Department concerned or the Head of the Department in the case of attached and subordinate offices.
- They can also be made by the Secretary of a Ministry or Department in special cases.
The Court also referred to a slew of its rulings from 1989 and 1994 in ‘Sushma Gosain vs. Union of India’ and ‘Umesh Kumar Nagpal vs. State of Haryana’ respectively, to say that there shouldn’t be any delay in compassionate appointments and the same should be “provided immediately to redeem the family in distress”, provided that the government or public authority examines the financial condition of the deceased’s family and is satisfied that “but for the provision of employment, the family will not be able to meet the crisis.”
Topic 3: Least Developed Country
Context: Bhutan becomes the seventh nation to graduate from the United Nations’ (UN) list of Least Developed Countries (LDC).
What is a Least Developed Country (LDC)?
- The LDCs are developing countries listed by the UN that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development.
- According to the UN, an LDC is defined as a country that exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with:
- low levels of income, human capital and economic diversification,
- high levels of economic vulnerability, and
- a population that is disproportionately reliant on agriculture, natural resources, and primary commodities.
- The UN identifies three criteria for a country to be classified as an LDC:
- It must have a gross national income (GNI) per capita below the threshold of USD 1,230 over a three-year average.
- It must perform poorly on a composite human assets index based on indicators including nutrition, health and education.
- The country must demonstrate economic vulnerability such as being prone to natural disasters and possessing structural economic constraints.
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How many LDCs are there?
- There are currently 46 LDCs, the vast majority of which are in Africa.
- The list is reviewed every three years by the UN Economic and Social Council.
- Six countries have graduated from LDC status between 1994 and 2020.
How does a country get off the LDC list?
- To graduate from the LDC list, a country must meet certain criteria in the three areas:
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Income:
- A nation must have a GNI per capita of at least USD 1,242 for two consecutive triennial reviews in order to meet the income requirement.
- The nation must also show that this level of income can be sustained over the long term.
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Human assets:
- By using measures like education, health, and nutrition, a nation must show that it has improved its human capital in order to achieve the human assets requirement.
- This entails expanding literacy rates, lowering malnutrition rates, and enhancing access to healthcare and education.
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Economic vulnerability:
- A nation also must show that it has improved its ability to withstand external economic shocks like natural catastrophes or shifts in commodity prices in order to pass the economic vulnerability test.
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For eg.
- Diversifying the economy,
- investing in infrastructure, and
- raising the standard of institutions and governance
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Income:
Challenges faced by LDCs
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Poverty:
- Today, the 46 LDCs are home to some 1.1 billion people, that’s 14 per cent of the world’s population, and more than 75 per cent of those people still live in poverty.
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Climate change:
- Currently, the planet is on course to warm by about 2.7°C this century, which would devastate LDCs.
- These countries have contributed the least to carbon emissions, and yet face some of the highest risks from climate change.
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Effect of pandemic:
- LDCs are among those most affected by COVID-19 and the pandemic fall-out is predicted to last longer than in richer countries.
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Debt:
- Debt is a major problem for all LDCs: four are classified as in debt distress (Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia and Sudan) and 16 LDCs are at high risk of debt distress.
- They are also vulnerable to:
- external economic shocks,
- natural and man-made disasters,
- communicable diseases
The Doha Programme of Action
- The Doha Programme of Action is the development road map for LDCs agreed in 2022.
- It includes six key focus areas:
- Eradicating poverty and building capacity.
- Leveraging the power of science, technology, and innovation to fight vulnerabilities and to achieve the SDGs.
- Supporting structural transformation as a driver of prosperity.
- Enhancing international trade of LDCs and regional integration.
- Addressing climate change, environmental degradation, recovering from COVID-19 pandemic and building resilience against future shocks.
- Mobilizing international solidarity and reinvigorating global partnerships.
Conclusion:
- The Doha Programme of Action reminds us that global recovery depends on LDCs getting the support they need.
- They need investments in health, education and social protection systems — all the resources required to fully implement Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
- As LDCs take the first step towards those goals, they will meet certain targets which will enable them to graduate from the least developed country status.
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Six countries have gone through this process:
- Botswana (in 1994),
- Cape Verde (2007),
- Maldives (2011),
- Samoa (2014),
- Equatorial Guinea (2017), and
- Vanuatu (2020).
Topic 4: Oscars awards
Context: Oscar awards were held recently.
About the awards:
- These awards are also known as the Academy Awards.
- These are given for artistic and technical merit for the American film industry.
- It is given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
- It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony.
What is the Academy?
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is made up of more than 9,000 motion picture professionals.
- It was established in 1927.
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Academy membership:
- Theoretically, any artiste involved in the business of production of theatrically-released films can be a member of the Academy.
- Potential members cannot apply per se, they just need two individuals in the same branch who can sponsor them.
- Nominees are considered for membership automatically and do not need any sponsorship.
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Oscar nomination process
- Oscar nominations, conducted using both paper and online ballots, are selected by members of a particular branch voting for artistes from their own category.
Quote: Agitation is incomplete without the strength of women
Key details:
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Full quote:
- Unity is meaningless without the accompaniment of women. Education is fruitless without educated women and agitation is incomplete without the strength of women.
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Given by:
- This quote is given by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
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Meaning:
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Unity is meaningless without the accompaniment of women.
- Here unity is stressed as an aspirational ideal.
- But the role of women is also highlighted, to add that unity cannot be exclusionary of women in society, and they must be thought of when we discuss solidarity and togetherness.
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Education is fruitless without educated women.
- At the time of independence, women in India had limited access to education.
- But even as of the 2011 Census, there was a significant gap in terms of gender, as the literacy rate stood at 82.14 per cent for males and 65.46 per cent for females.
- The rate for India was, therefore, 74 per cent.
- Educated parents help in turn nurture educated, healthy kids.
- Among the key findings of the NGO Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report in rural areas, 2019 was that the mother’s education often determines the kind of pre-schooling or schooling that the child gets.
- Finally, the quote mentions that agitation is incomplete without women.
- Agitation refers to protests or people-led movements, and women have been part of important protests in history.
- Some of the first women-led protests took place in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the 19th Century, when women from the Nadar caste, an OBC community, demanded to be allowed to cloth the upper part of their body, an act then limited to upper caste women.
- It marked an important step forward not only for women but also for other marginalised groups’ right to protest against unequal laws.
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Ambedkar and women’s rights
- Ambedkar’s greatest contribution, apart from the Constitution, was the Hindu Code Bill.
- It offered women the right to marry by choice and across caste boundaries, give them the right to divorce, and the right to inherit property.
- He resigned when the Bill was stalled by orthodox religious groups but it became the law in the form of the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, etc.
- He also noted that the Workmen’s Compensation Act could not leave out women workers.
- It is in the interests of the nation that the mother ought to get a certain amount of rest during the pre-natal period.
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Unity is meaningless without the accompaniment of women.
Topic 5: The rise of the ESG regulations
Context: Over the last decade, regulators and corporations around the world have embraced the idea of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance).
What is ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)?
- ESG is a framework that helps stakeholders understand how an organization is managing risks and opportunities related to environmental, social, and governance criteria.
- ESG takes the holistic view that sustainability extends beyond just environmental issues.
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Environmental
- Environmental factors refer to an organization’s environmental impact(s) and risk management practices.
- These include:
- direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions,
- management’s stewardship over natural resources, and
- the firm’s overall resiliency against physical climate risks (like climate change, flooding, and fires).
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Social
- The social pillar refers to an organization’s relationships with stakeholders.
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Examples:
- human capital management metrics (like fair wages and employee engagement)
- an organization’s impact on the communities in which it operates.
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Governance
- Corporate governance refers to how an organization is led and managed.
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Example:
- How leadership’s incentives are aligned with stakeholder expectations,
- how shareholder rights are viewed and honored, and
- what types of internal controls exist to promote transparency and accountability on the part of leadership.
How ESG differs from CSR?
Relevance of ESG for India:
- India has long had a number of laws and bodies regarding environmental, social and governance issues, including:
- the Environment Protection Act of 1986,
- quasi-judicial organisations such as the National Green Tribunal,
- a range of labour codes andlaws governing employee engagement and corporate governance practices.
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revised the annual Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).
- It was a notable departure from previous disclosure requirements.
- New disclosures range from greenhouse gas emissions to the company’s gender and social diversity.
- Reserve Bank of India announced recently that it would be auctioning ₹80 billion ($981 million) in green bonds.
Implications for Indian companies
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Compliance:
- In particular, compliance by Indian companies with the ESG regulations of the U.S., the U.K., the European Union and elsewhere will be critical if India is to take full advantage of the growing decoupling from China and play a more prominent role in global supply chains and the global marketplace overall.
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Due diligence:
- As Indian companies look to expand their ESG risk management, thorough due diligence will play a key role.
- Due diligence that can stand up to scrutiny means going deeper.
- This can include:
- looking at company records,
- interviewing former employees and
- making discreet visits to observe operations to ensure that the measures to comply with international ESG standards are in effect.
- Companies that wish to maximise their opportunities in the global economy need to embrace these new requirements and adjust their organisations accordingly.