G20’s Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) Meeting in Brazil
The G20 ministers who participated adopted a declaration that was along the framework of Sendai on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) to reduce risks from disasters globally.
The framework, agreed upon in 2015, focuses on risk understanding, improving risk governance, and building resilience.
The G20 DRRWG’s priority areas include early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, financing for DRR, and nature-based solutions.
Increased financial support and an eco-system approach were the way forward in executing DRR.
ILO Report: Gender Gap in Labour Force Participation
A staggering 24 percent gap exists between world male labor force participation of 73 percent and females 48.7%.
Care responsibilities are holding back 748 million people out of work globally, and this includes 708 million women.
Investment in early childhood care and promoting the 5R framework; recognizing, reducing, redistributing, rewarding, and representing will improve the rate of women’s participation.
India has been offering support to the women workforce through the Maternity Benefit Act of 2017 and the Social Security Code of 2020.
Namo Drone Didi Scheme: Empowering Women SHGs in Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture has launched this scheme where 15,000 women SHGs will be equipped with drones to be let to farmers for agricultural activities by 2025-26.
The funding of 80% on the costs of drones and up to ₹8 lacks, rest amount shall be availed with a 3% interest subsidy for SHGs
Lead fertilizer companies would provide their support to the SHGs in procurement and maintenance as well as the marketing of nano fertilizers.
A dedicated Drone Portal would be operated to track in real-time the operational activities, keeping it open and transparent with efficient management.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) CoP-16 Outcomes
Major deliverables include the operationalization of the Cali Fund for Indigenous People and the Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF) towards the achievement of 2030 biodiversity goals.
Achieving a 30% global conservation target by 2030 and cutting invasive species introduction by half are included in CBD’s aims.
Other key topics included in the discussion were synthetic biology, significant marine areas, and benefit-sharing from digital sequence information.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is characterized by sustainable biodiversity management and protecting vulnerable ecosystems.
India’s Analog Space Mission in Leh
India’s first-ever analog space mission, under the leadership of ISRO, which will be launched in Ladakh, tests out equipment in simulated lunar environments, studying the behavioral effects of isolation.
The mission is being partnered with ISRO’s Human Spaceflight Center, AAKA Space Studio, and University of Ladakh, and IIT Bombay.
A location like Leh provides perfect analog conditions to lunar Martian terrains.
Analog missions like NASA’s NEEMO enable the testing of robotic tools, psychological responses, and mission protocols in extreme conditions.
Global TB Report 2024: India’s TB Burden and Initiatives
India accounted for the highest 26% of the global TB burden in 2023, and TB surpassed COVID-19 as the leading global infectious killer.
TB treatment coverage in India reached 75%, close to the 90% target by 2027.
Some of the landmark initiatives are Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing, and a new drug added that is Bedaquiline.
All these notwithstanding, fund flows for TB prevention, just 26% for Global Target, are well under the required funding stream.
Key Concepts and Policies
Sendai Framework for DRR – An initiative developed globally to reduce risks emanating from disasters through its resilience enhancement while there should be an understanding to have control over the happening disasters.
5R Framework: The decent work policy within the care sector on matters of recognition, reduction, redistribution, reward, and representation.
KMGBF – International accord aimed at providing global coverage with 30% of the world’s land and water areas covered in 2030.
Analog Space Mission – a set of simulations meant for mimicking extreme conditions of extreme equipment testing as well as studying how human responses might be.
Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan – The program through which India aims to control and eliminate tuberculosis with help from access to treatment, drug-resistant TB management, and community engagement.
