Top News Highlights-24 October 2024

Global Threats to Biodiversity

• Over 518 KBAs face threats from oil and gas activities.
• These projects compromise both carbon sequestration and biodiversity – two important elements of the global climate system.
• In other places, there is a window for the final, irreparable impacts to be halted by judicial and environmental intervention.

India’s Response to Air Quality Challenges in NCR

• GRAP Stage II was introduced for Delhi NCR to make the deteriorating air quality better.
• Measures include a ban on coal, firewood, and specific diesel generators to control the AQI levels.
• Continuous monitoring with strict enforcement is in dire need to counter seasonal pollution.

Redefining Space Economy with RISE Mission

• The European Space Agency’s RISE mission focuses on the objective of attaining sustainable in-orbit services with refueling and recycling within its scope.
• It will be launched by 2028, and RISE would allow geostationary satellites to extend their lifecycles.
• This mission is a pointer towards the requirement of international cooperation in space debris management with resource preservation.

Impacts of the White Revolution 2.0

• The NDDB scheme increases milk production by 50% within five years and accelerates economic development that is female-oriented in rural India.
• This program further aligns with the national program on dairy development as it focuses on building infrastructure and cooperative structure.
• Monitoring with adaptive management strategies would be crucial as challenges such as scalability and sustainability need to be judged continuously.

Economic Outlook and Structural Reforms in India

• The IMF World Economic Outlook presents projections that India is going to grow at 6.5% in 2025-26, which is an indication of the need for structural reforms.
• Effective communication and mitigation strategies have to be implemented to ensure public support for those necessary economic adjustments.
• The policies must enhance inclusive growth so that the benefits of reforms are broadly based.

Judicial Approach to Contentious Issues and Public Interest

• Recent judgments of the Delhi High Court underline the role of the judiciary in maintaining the sanctity of the court proceedings against public misinformation.
• A good example is the interference by the high court that demonstrates that freedom of expression leans quite obviously against the need to maintain judicial proceedings.
• This always reminds the judiciary what their role in ensuring democratic values and legal integrity entails.

Key Policies and Concepts

• Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs): Important areas identified and recognized for having global environmental importance so that conservation efforts there can contribute to meaningful biodiversity gains.
• GRAP: Sequential changes that the region is scheduled to undertake in response to the air quality, in terms of reducing pollution in the National Capital Region.
• RISE (Remove Debris In-Orbit Servicing) Mission: An initiative from the European Space Agency to make space a circular economy in terms of satellite servicing, and managing debris.
• White Revolution 2.0: A massive Indian program to help increase dairy production and deal with rural livelihoods through cooperative development and technological advancement.