The rules-based international order, established after World War II with the United Nations as its cornerstone, is experiencing significant erosion as major powers increasingly prioritize national interests over international legal norms. This breakdown manifests through violations of sovereignty (e.g., Iraq War 2003, Russia-Ukraine invasion), humanitarian law breaches (e.g., Gaza conflict, Marupole attack), and environmental governance failures (e.g., Paris Agreement challenges). The erosion stems from structural weaknesses in the UN Security Council's veto power, lack of enforcement mechanisms, and the rise of geopolitical rivalries like the US-China competition. For India, this creates vulnerabilities in energy security (85% crude oil imports), maritime trade routes (90% through ocean), and regional stability. Strengthening multilateral institutions, enhancing developing country representation, and promoting climate-responsive urban planning are essential measures to address these challenges.
Current Affairs Today 30 May 2026 I UPSC Daily Current Affairs I The Hindu Analysis I The AnalystAñadido:
Hello and warm greetings. Welcome to the analyst by Ajay Raandavi where we will try to comprehensively analyze seven articles in two different sections along with the daily main answer writing program. In the analysis part, we'll first talk about the rise of power politics among nations and the resulting breakdown of the rules-based international order. Then in the second article, we'll have a discussion regarding the intense heat waves across the country and the phenomena of urban heat islands. Then in the prelims pointer section, we'll discuss five different topics from a special perspective of the upcoming UPSC prelims examination along with the valid edition. So stay tuned. Come to the very first topic of today's discussion. This is about the breakdown of rulesbased international order. Way back in 416 BC, the great historian Thusiditis in his work, the history of Piloponian war gave a very important philosophical concept. What he said was the strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must. He was primarily implying one of the very important aspects of power politics which in simple terms means that the strong people, strong entities, strong nations decide the rule of the game, not the weak ones. Now let me give you a context.
Aftermath the second world war post 1945 what we witnessed was the development or the evolution of a particular framework a structure where it was said that different nation states must abide by certain international rules and regulations and norms. The biggest manifestation of this particular structure was United Nations and its organs in the form of the United Nations Security Council.
But what we have been witnessing since then is that there has been a growing divergence between legal norms and geopolitical realities.
There has been a growing divergence which in simple terms means that countries themselves are not abiding by these international rules and regulations. And the irony is that it is primarily the major powers for example the US who are openly flouting these international rules and regulation and this is leading to a situation of geopolitical cues turmoil and this is not good for humanity.
Multilateral institutions are crumbling.
They're falling apart and this is a very grave situation. We have one of the very beautiful articles which has been published in the Hindu written by none other than Mr. Shashi Taru who basically says that even though these institutions these norms these regulations are crumbling falling apart but they are the last recourse which humanity has only they can save the humanity. What he talks about is the aspects of multilateralism that different countries should come on board and follow these international rules and regulations.
There cannot be the law of the jungle.
very important topic with respect to the international relations keeping in mind the interests of India GS2 now what we'll talk about is the various issues which we are having across the globe how they are basically compromising the interests of the humanity what is India's position what are the implications on India what are the overall consequences and what should be the way forward believe me it's going to be a very comprehensive discussion and this would make us understand various aspects of international conduct international affairs. Now let's begin.
First of all, what do we mean by international law? In simple terms, rules-based order. It basically comprises the body of rules, the book of rules or the principles, treaties, conventions, customs which basically determine the interaction among various nation states. interaction among various nation states and also with and among the international institutions. So there is a common framework which we have agreed and we would abide by that particular framework. That is what rules-based international order is all about. Now if we go into the evolution of this particular order, we're not just talking about the post 1944 scenario because people are normally comfortable with that. Let's talk about let's go earlier in time and talk about the very basis of international rules and regulation. The very first is the peace of Westfailia 1648.
The peace peace of Westfailia or in simple terms the treaty of Westfailia for the very first time recognized the aspects of sovereign state based on territorial integrity based on non-inference in international internal matters. So this is for the very first time the aspects of sovereign states were recognized. Then let's go to the H convention of 1899 and 1907 which primary talked about the conduct of warfare.
How the warfare is to be conducted and how there should be the peaceful settlement of these disputes. Then let's talk about the UN charter. UN charter for the very first time talked about that there cannot be any force on a particular sovereign state except when you are talking about the self-defense or except once the United Nations Security Council has ordered that. So it prohibited the use of force on a particular sovereign state. Then we have the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It primary talked about the international humanitarian law.
What does it mean? See, you have a lot of people who are not a party to the war. Let's say there's a particular country which is at war with the other country. So, the militaries are fighting, but the civilians are not fighting. The prisoners of war are not fighting. They're cap they're captured.
So, how to deal with the civilians of the country which is engaged in warfare?
How to deals with the prisoners of war or the wounded prisoners? That is what international humanitarian law is all about. And that is what is incorporated in the Geneva Convention of 1949. Next we have the United Nations Convention on Law of the Seas. Very important. It talks about the rights which a particular nation has, the responsibilities which a particular nation has in its territorial waters, the waters surrounding the borders in the exclusive economic zone.
What are the rules? were the rights and the responsibilities of respective nations. Then we have the Rome Statute of 1998 which established the international criminal court so as to prosecute those individuals who are basically alleged to have committed the crimes of aggression, genocide, war crimes.
Right? Then we have the Paris agreement of 2015 which basically talked about that how to basically deal with the ill effects of climate change. How to reduce the overall temperatures to make sure that we do not cross the temperatures by 2°C pre-industrial level preferably 1.5 but maximum 2°C.
So this is the overall structure which we have with respect to the international rules and regulations.
There are many more conventions but this is if you want to give the example to the examiner if you want to quote you can quote these. Now why international law matters what is the importance of these international laws? The very first is predictability in state behavior.
You have a set of rules and regulation and different nation states are abiding by that. So there is stability in the system stability and people are aware of what would happen.
There is a kind of a normalization of relations which is expected right. Next we have protection of sovereignity.
Sovereignity forms the very crucial aspects of different nation states and most of the states in fact all the states around the world for them the most important concern with respect to the survival of the state is sovereignity and once you have different states following rules and regulation this is guaranteed. Then we have regulation of warfare. Whenever the wars are taking place, how the conduct of the war would be, there should not be disproportionate use of force. Civilians should not be attacked. Okay. Next, we have protection of human rights. So these international rules and regulation what they ensure is that we have a common standard framework with respect to the human rights based on freedom, liberty.
That's what we call as the international human rights. Right? Then we have the freedom of navigation. It ensures that there is a free movement of different vessels, ships in the international waters so as to make sure that trade is not hindered. So as to make sure that the geoeconomics is not hindered.
Then we have climate and environmental governance.
We have certain environmental challenges in terms of the anthropogenic climate change, the rise of global greenhouse gases, the loss of biodiversity. So in order to deal with these transboundary issues which are not just restricted to one particular country, we have these rules and regulation.
These are all the benefits of the international rules and regulation. And one of the prominent scholars of the English school, you may not write this in the GS, but those who have PSR as an option can quote it in in your answers.
As a value edition, I have provided this. He very famously said that international rules and regulations are the glue which bind the international society together. So that is what you can use in your answers. Now what is the status?
Now over here we'll talk about the present status queue with respect to different events and crisis which are taking place. Status of international law signs of erosion. First of all, there is the aspect of violation of sovereignity and territorial integrity.
As I told you, these are the core aspects of any nation state m any nation state which gives the most importance to any of the aspect. It is sovereignity and territorial integrity. But it has been openly flouted. We have article 2 sub clause 4 of the United Nations charter which prohibits the use of force except in self-defense or if the UNC has authorized that United Nations security council has authorized that otherwise no state would force the other state would use force to infringe its sovereignity but what we saw during the Iraq war of 2003 US made certain claims which were later found to be untrue that Iraq is using or developing chemical weapons and it unleashed force on Iraq and that led to havoc in Middle East what we call as West Asia. So that was unilateral use of force by the US and UK. Then we have Russia Ukraine.
First Russia invaded Cremia part of Ukraine annexed it in 2014 and later it started a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. Russia may have its own reasons.
Russia may want the buffer zones across the borders. Why? Because if you look at the geography of Russia, there are no natural defenses with respect to Russian borders and it want a kind of a strategic buffer. So it started the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Again a violation of UN charter. Next we have the US Israel military action against Iran. Now the point which you have to understand is we're not talking about right now that what is happening in Iran internally definitely people are not satisfied with the regime but what we're talking about is that there were negotiations going on in DHA negotiation negotiations between Iran on one side and then you had US and Israel on the other amid these negotiations unilateral unprovocative actions were carried out by Israel and US by attacking the Iranian land or Iranian nuclear facilities in terms of natans and foro. So this is also a violation of sovereignity of Iran. So these are the issues which you'll have to understand.
Next we have humanitarian law under stress. But as I told you earlier what is international humanitarian law. Here we are talking about the protection of civilians.
The protection of prisoners of war, the wounded prisoners.
So those prisoners who are wounded or who are captured or the civilians, they should not be harmed. That is what the international humanitarian law talks about Geneva Convention. But has it been followed? No. In Syria, allegedly there was a use of chemical weapon. Civilians were harmed. Yemen. The conditions of civilians in Yemen is deteriorating day by day. Many have been killed.
Right? Then we have Tigray conflict in Ethiopia. What we have seen is that there has been there has been the usage of mass starvation. People have not been given food so that they can die. Ethnic cleansing is being witnessed. Then we have the Gaza conflict. Thousands of innocent women and children have been brutally killed by disproportionate use of force by Israel. Then we have Marupole in Ukraine. Russia unleashed attack in Marupole in Ukraine on the hospitals and the schools. That was absolute violation of Geneva conventions. All these are absolute violations of Geneva Convention. Please pay attention. Why? Because in the question in the practice question which I would provide over there you'll have to mention what all things are happening all around right next is human rights regime under strain let's talk about the zenziang aspect region of China over there you have yurus the ethnic Muslim minority of China there have been allegations that there are detention camps over there people are being forced possibly converted.
They are basically not they are being harassed. Human rights violations are being carried out.
Ethnic cleansing what what we are witnessing or in other ter in other terms what you can say is racial extermination is being done. Then we have Rohhinga crisis. We already know what is happening. And because of that there is influx of Rohingya in India.
Right? Then we have Iran Messini's death. So, Mahazamin after one of the girls in Iran, she basically did not accept to put the hijab. She was brutally killed, allegedly brutally killed by the forces and then you had different women coming on the street protesting against that particular incident and then they were also brutally killed. So, human rights are being openly flouted. Then it's not just restricted to these countries, even democratic countries. You would say how?
Let's talk about the Guantanome Bay prison of US which is in Cuba.
Guantanome Bay prison. You can just Google it and see. This is one of the most horrific detention camps which US military has. US the you know the harbinger or the which which says that it is the leader of democratic rights in the world which values democracy rights of the people.
So it has one of the severest form of prisons in the world.
Similarly, what European countries, they talk about the liberties, civil liberties, what they are doing with respect to the migrants who are coming within their countries. They're being pushed back. Many of them are dying in the Mediterranean Sea when they are crossing the waters. Right? So, these are some of the examples. Then we have maritime law crisis. We have the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. Is that being followed? The answer is no. Let's talk about South China Sea.
In South China Sea, China unilaterally says that we have a particular area and this comes under the overall sovereignity of China what it calls as 9- line.
Now in 2016 what you'll have to understand is the permanent court of arbit arbitration said very clearly that this 9- line is illegal but still China maintains the same status queue and therefore it has disputes with the neighboring countries Vietnam, Philippines, Japan. So that is what you have to understand. We'll also talk about this in the last topic today.
So make sure that you watch it. Then we have straight of hormones. Straight of hormones why it is important. See there has to be unhindered movement of trade.
India is not a party to this dispute.
What is happening in trade of hormones but still we are being critically affected because we are dependent on energy supplies and energy supplies are being blocked.
There is a naval blockade over there. So therefore this must be stopped because our kitchens are being affected because of it. So that is what you'll have to understand. Then we arms control architecture.
Let's talk about the intermediate range nuclear forces treaty. Now this collapsed in 2019. This was a treaty which maintained a kind of a restraint, a control over the nuclear weapons but it collapsed because of it almost 2,700 nuclear missiles were eliminated but now it has collapsed. Next is open skies treaty erosion. What is open skies treaty? First of all, it is a treaty which first came into being in 1992.
What it says is that we have agreed to this particular treaty, right? As of now, there are almost 30 participants in this particular treaty. Previously, there were 32 which basically agree that you can conduct unarmed surveillance operations in our airspace.
So let's say if Russia is a party to open skies treaty and USA is a party to open skies treaty previously they were so Russia could conduct a surveillance unarmed surveillance operation over the skies of USA and US would conduct over Russia. So there was a kind of a mutual confidence which was established. Russia first US first came out of it and then Russia came out of it. Now this is growing the mutual suspicion among nations and this is very serious right.
Next we have new start uncert uncertaintity. New start basically stands for the strategic arms reduction treaty primary in terms of that we have to reduce the strategic arms primarily the nuclear weapons. But what is happening Russia sorry US did not renew the treaty. what it said that we would renew the treaty if now not just Russia but China also comes and signed this China said we don't have nuclear weapons how polite and calm China is so therefore right now the future of this particular treaty lies in doldrums then we have North Korea conducts the nuclear exercises as a kind of a morning walk almost on a daily basis they conduct the nuclear tests the Japanese people fear that there is a test of nuclear weapon. So this is the condition which we have. and Iran they are there are suspicions specifically by the US and that is the reason it came out from the JCPOA joint comprehensive plan of action where the US authorities said that Iran is actively enriching the uranium and making the weapons grade uranium in facilities like Natans and Foro these are the places in Iran which were bombed by the B2 bombers of the But I don't think anything happened. Then we have the environmental governance failures. The very first is Paris agreement challenges.
Whenever you have a country like US which comes out of an international agreement or an institution, the credibility of that institution or agreement, it lowers, it comes down.
Same thing happened with Paris agreement. US has come out of the Paris agreement. Countries are not abiding by the nationally determined contributions.
They're the voluntary targets. Even then the people are not adhering to their contributions, adhering to their limits which they have set. And what many of the environmentalists are saying is that if we continue with the present pace of development, present pace of emissions of greenhouse gases, there would be almost 3.52°C rise in temperatures by 2,100 above the pre-industrial levels.
So what we thought was controlling it to almost 1.5 to 2°C but it would go beyond 3.5°C. You can just imagine the condition which we would have. Then we have Amazon deforestation. Amazon is the Amazon forest in Brazil and in in the other parts of the other countries also in Latin America in South America. It is termed as the lungs of the planet because it sequesters a lot of carbon dioxide. But what is happening? There is a lot of unhindered deforestation which is going on and this compromises the very sustainability of the planet. Then we have deep sea mining. Why? Because we have polymetallic nodules, maganesees, cobalt, nickel which are again one of the very important components for the emerging technologies, batteries, storage systems, renewable energies, critical infrastructure, data banks, artificial intelligence which are used in these machines. Different countries are going for deep sea mining. It is affecting the aquitic life and there are no rules and regulations which are being followed. So this is a point of concern.
These are the instances which you can quote in your answers. Now why is international law weakening. The very first thing which you'll have to understand is that we have United Nations Security Council which has a total of 15 countries five permanent and 10 non-permanent. Five permanent countries have veto powers because of the usage of veto powers primarily for selfish geopolitical purposes. What we have seen and veto power since 1945 has been used more than 300 times by various P5 countries not for the global welfare global interests no but for for their own selfish geopolitical interests. So that is what you'll have to understand. That is the reason what we find is that there is no effective international solution. Why the crisis are continuing? Why international society or international community is not able to do anything?
Because of the failure of the UNC and that is what India says that UNC should be made more representative. We'll talk about that. Lack of enforcement mechanism. See in a country for example domestic according to the domestic laws we have the police we have the enforcement agencies who have basically the mandate to enforce the law but what about the global architecture do we have international police no there is no enforce you have the rules and regulations in place but ba you don't have the enforcement mechanism how would you enforce it so again a point of concern then limitations of international criminal court international criminal court has prosecuted many individuals including Vladmir Putan but are they being arrested see is a very dear friend of India but still I'm just trying to explain you that we have these institutions like international criminal court who can prosecute individuals Rome statute 1998 who can prosecute individuals for the crimes against humanity genocide are they being really prosecuted something substantial happening by countries like USA, India which we are democracies we are not even part of ICC international criminal court so that is a point of concern rise of geopolitical rivalries right now what we are witnessing is that we had the old cold war the cold war now there's a rise of new cold war previously there was a fight between the USSR and US where we saw the nuclear wars versus the nuclear wars the rise of nuclear weapons versus the nuclear weapons proxy wars were going on. Right now the war is not visible but we know who are the participants. It's primarily between the US and China and the war is taking place in terms of in the areas of artificial intelligence, semiconductor supply chains, emerging technologies, cloud computing, satellites, drones. So these are the areas where the fight is taking place and that is the reason you have strategic limitations which are being imposed by US on China.
Right. Return of geop real politics.
Return of real politic means that now different nation states they are primarily looking at their own nation national interest and there is no harm in it. But if this goes to a level where it compromises the international peace and stability then it is an issue. But America talks about America first. We don't have an issue.
You give jobs to your people if they're talented.
But you have more talented Indians.
That's the reason they're working over there.
So you'll have to understand. But if you are imposing tariffs on the other countries, destabilizing the whole scenario and saying America first, then it is a point of concern. India if it is saying national interest is supreme as the honorable minister for external affairs has said many times Dr. Dashankar. So that is not an issue. But the point is India never goes beyond that a point beyond a point where it compromises the interest of other countries. US does that. So that is again a serious issue consequences. The very first is political in terms of the unilateral actions which are being imposed by the countries. What US is doing right now unilaterally imposing actions sanctions on different countries. Then we have multilateral institutions. The collapse of multilateral institutions. If different countries would take decisions or actions, what is the utility or the use of multilateral institutions? Nothing.
Security interstate conflicts. If there would be no international rules and regulation, no framework, the interstate conflicts would increase. What we are witnessing more than 120 conflicts are active as of now, the highest since 1945.
arms races in terms of the nuclear arms in terms of the strategic arms hypersonic missiles economic in terms of trade disruptions we very well know what US is doing different countries not just US even the European countries they are becoming quite protect protectionist in terms of for example take the case of European Union's carbon border adjustment mechanism what is this it's they may say that it's we it's primarily for protection of the environment but it is a protectionist move.
Okay. Next, we have the energy supply shocks. What we are witnessing right now in India, humanitarian, civilian sufferings. Those civilians who are not even interested in the war, who are not even party to the war, they are being killed. Innocent civilians are being killed. Refugee crisis.
Refugees are moving from one portions.
One country to the other. The other country is not allowing the entry. That is an issue. Then environmental climate actions delays. climate actions they we are not able to fractify the objectives which we have set with respect to the Paris agreement or others there is a delay why because technology transfer is not taking place finances are not being given to various countries around the world so these are some of the issues what are the implications for India in terms of the challenges we have first as security concerns and the very important is energy security india is a country which is deeply dependent on the energy imports almost more than 85% of the crude oil is imported in India. Then you have the LG supplies. So just imagine if such a quantum of energy is being imported and if there is a shock if there is an event which takes place which is taking place as of now how seriously it is affecting the interests of common Indians.
That is what you'll have to understand.
Then you have maritime issues. If something happens in the Indian Ocean region that is again a security threat for India then we have trade vulnerability what you'll have to understand is that India we have almost 90% of the trade which is through the ocean roots and what happens is that if any of the event takes place at the maritime choke points sways canal straight of Malaka straight of hormos so that is a point of concern for India also supplies would be affected to India which is critically dependent with respect to various items on various countries from various countries rules based order. We deeply value the United Nations convention of the law of the sea. We talk talk about the free and open Indoacific. Why?
Because that is important for us. We also talk about Saga and Mahas Saga.
Free and open Indopacific net security provider in the Indoacific. So these are the terms. Why? Because this is critically important for us. Okay. But opportunities here there are lots of opportunities.
India is a country which has a very good will in countries of Africa in countries of Latin America. So why not we in real sense become the voice of the global south. Prime Minister may say it but you'll have to work on that part. You'll have to increase the diplomatic presence in various countries around the world.
You'll have to increase the funding with respect to these smaller countries in Africa or Latin America. Right? Defender of multilateralism. We have always said that that we talk about the rules-based international order. If you'll hear the conferences of Dr. Shanka Jashanka, he always talk about the strengthening or reinforcing these institutions by making them more representative. Okay. Then we have champion of reforms in global institutions. For example, in 2020 23 sorry, we enhanced the membership of the G20. We incorporated African Union. We have come up with the international solar alliance in partnership with France. We have come up with the coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure CDR.
We have come up with the international big cat alliance.
So we are taking steps in that direction. But what should be the way forward overall? The very first is strengthening the multilateral institutions primarily the UNC. You'll have to make sure that these institutions which were made during the years of 1940s they reflect the geopolitical realities of the present times.
They have to be made more representatives primary in the form of the Iran Nation Security Council. Those countries who have become powerful who have a substantial weightage in the international arena they should be given the seat in the UNC. Then we have representation of developing countries in important bodies in important decision-making bodies should be enhanced so that they also feel that we are a part of the system right enhance accountability strengthen the ICC come up with those provisions where more and more countries become a part of the international criminal court where more and more numbers of individuals can be prosecuted those who have really affected the humanity have done crimes against humanity improve the compliance monitoring whether compliance monitoring with respect to the international tribunals with respect to the orders for example let's say ICG international criminal court international court of justice comes up with a particular verdict whether countries are abiding by that or not there has to be a proper compliance monitoring then we have revitalize the arms control we have different nuclear restraints agreement why not revitalize it if US is saying that China should be also made a part of this with respect to the nuclear restraints agreement it should be China has supposedly many of the nuclear warheads. So what there's nothing wrong in that promote the confidence building measures in terms of the open skies treaty for example more confidence building measures should take place then we have defend the United Nations convention of law of sea and maritime rules ensure the freedom of navigation for example the recent quad summit talk talked about that free and open Indo-Pacific freedom of navigation rules-based international order this should be adhered to then we have peaceful dispute resolution there should not be uni unilateral use of force by one particular country. If we have given the responsibility to UNC for maintaining the international peace and stability that should take a decision but over there veto plays more important role. So therefore you have to enhance the participation in UNC so as to come up with a proper consensus a proper decision strengthen human rights mechanisms go for independent investigations if there are some allegations that human rights violations have taken place but these authoritarian regimes for example China they won't allow but there has to be an impetus on independent investigations then we have greater transparency among different countries so that the trust develops so that the suspicion reduces then we have promote rules-based global governance what Dr. Rajashanka talks about reformed multilateralism that the institutions which were set up post second world war they should not reflect the realities of those times realities have changed India is on the path of becoming a superpower see there are defects definitely we're not living in a world of dreams there are definitely critical issues which India has to handle but the fact of the matter is that India is among the top contenders to become one of the most important global superpowers. By power, I don't mean to just talk about the military power, but also in terms of the demography, also in terms of the economic power, also in terms of the skills which people have. So, if we really want to become the visu, we'll have to always stand with this aspect of reformed multiliterism or rules-based order. and different countries around the world they must make sure that they adhere to the system because if the international rules and regulations would be openly flouted we'll have the rule of jungle and then everything collapses so this is what you'll have to understand let's discuss a mains practice question whatever we have discussed accordingly write an answer I have said this many times answer writing is only is only the solution with respect to the means the more you write the better your answer writing ability becomes. The contemporary international order is increasingly witnessing a return of real politic wherein power often overrides the principle and legal norms. Discuss this statement in the light of the recent violations of the international law. Over here we'll talk about the examples.
Okay. Analyze the reasons behind this particular trend. We have this is the first part examples. You'll have to elaborate that. This is the second part.
Then we have behind this trend its implications for the rules-based international order the third part and suggest measures to strengthen and this is going to be the fourth part. So you have the intro, you have the first, second, third, fourth and finally the conclusion.
Okay, this is going to be the flow of the answer. I hope everyone understands.
Uh please write that is really very important and yes if you're liking the discussion do not forget to press the like button and also let us know in the comments. Let's go to the next topic.
Come to the next topic. This is about the intense heat waves and urban heat islands. What you'll have to understand is that because of humaninduced climate change or in other words the anthropogenic climate change we are witnessing an average increase in temperatures. If you talk about India the duration of the heat waves the intensity of the heat waves is increasing. It has increased if you compare it with the previous decades.
Now one thing becomes quite important here. See, climate change happens because of the increase in temperatures.
Why? Because of the emission of greenhouse gases. Over here, one thing is very important to understand and please pay attention. Those people who contribute least to the emission of greenhouse gases, they are the worst affected because of the climate change.
Let's talk about those people who are most or most exposed to the heat waves.
construction workers, sanitation workers, street vendors.
So they may suffer from various diseases, from various health issues, heat strokes, dehydration.
So they suffer the most and those people who contribute most to the emissions of greenhouse gases they because of the facilities they have in terms of the air conditioning in terms of the secure facilities in terms of the finances they are most secured. This also creates what we call as climate inequality.
Okay. So this article talks about the issue of heat waves in India which is again it's not just an issue which relates to the public health aspect but it is also an issue which also talks about the urban planning aspect the governance aspect.
We'll have to look at this particular issue from different perspectives and then we'll have to come up with solutions. Then it talks about the phenomena of urban heat islands. Why?
Because if you look at the urban places, you'll find that the average temperatures during the summer times it is more than the surrounding areas. Why?
Because the urban places there is a dominance of the gray infrastructure, the buildings. There's a dominance of the glass infrastructure. There's a dominance of those asphalt for example on the road. So these items they basically absorb and reraiate heat. they do not reflect the heat. So what usually happens is that the on average the temperatures in the urban places it is slightly more than the surrounding regions and because of that those people who are exposed to the conditions the outer conditions they suffer the most. So we'll talk about the UHI urban heat islands. This is what you'll have to understand very very important part of GS3 environment. Now context I already told you that Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan has already crossed 48°C.
This is the highest ever recorded this particular year by the IMD. Now the southwest monsoon this is one particular factor that we have increasing heat waves AC across the country. Now the southwest monsoon is also delayed which gives a respite which gives a relief with respect to the heat. This is delayed. Now this is leading to the increase in pre-monsoon heat.
Now the heat is increasing. It is not stopping. Why? Because the monsoons have been delayed. So it is again aggravating the conditions of specifically the urban regions which suffer from urban heat island effect. We'll talk about that.
Heat waves as I said it's not just about the governance. It's not just about public health crisis but it's also an issue of urban planning and the public health challenge. We'll have to take it or look it from that particular perspective. We'll have to come up with strategies in the urban planning so that we reduce the ill effects of this particular effect. What is heat wave?
According to the Indian Meteorological Organization Department, a heat wave is declared when temperatures exceed specified threshold relative to normal temperatures. Normally the temperature of the of a particular place is at remains at almost x°C but now what we are witnessing is x + 4 or 5°C or + 2 or + 1. So it is it relatively to the normal temperature it has increased.
Now which are the regions in the country why I have provided this particular definition and the map is so that if there's a question with respect to the heat wave you can also draw a rough sketch of India the rough map and you can site the regions right the core heatwave zones cover the central India.
If you just look at this particular map you have the central India the north western India and the eastern coastal regions. Look at this.
You have the northwestern part of the country.
Then you have the central part of the country and then you have the eastern part east coastal. So this is these are the three regions which are the core heat waves region of India. That is what you'll have to understand. This accounts for nearly 30% of India's geographical area and most vulnerable to extreme heat events. And again mind that if you talk about the central regions and the eastern regions you'll see that soio economically it is not that well off. So ultimately the social economic data is suffering the brunt of the climate change suffering the brunt of the ill effects of heat waves. For example in bhvaneshwar the temperature rise so much.
Now let's talk about the status of heat waves becoming more frequent and intense. How we can gauge that? How we can measure that? Now according to IMD research itself the frequency if you talk about the frequency of the heat waves in India it has increased by almost 0.1 per day 0.1 day per decade since 1961.
So at the absolute level this would look quite small but if you look at the overall span the change would be tremendous. Okay. Duration of heat waves increased by almost 0.55 days per decade 2015 to 2025. Warmest 11-year period on record. And this is by WMO, World Meteorological Organization scientific evidence that since the time the humanity started recording the climate numbers, this is the warmest ever decade ever. Okay. Urban heat islands 2 to 10°C hotter than the surrounding rural areas.
Now what is urban heat islands? As I told you when the relative temperature of an urban area because of the gray infrastructure because of the use of concretization of roads, concretization of the buildings. So the buildings and these areas they absorb more of heat.
They reraiate the heat. They do not reflect. That is what you'll have to understand. A phenomena where the urban areas become significantly hotter than the nearby nearby rural areas due to human activities and built infrastructure. Let's study this. So let's see this. We have the green spaces right parks or something. And then we have the buildings. This curve represents the temperatures rise in the urban areas. Over here there would be on an average a higher temperature because of more absorption of heat and less reflection of heat. Okay.
Then you can just have a look urban canons the the alleys which we have the galleries trap heat and pollutants. And over here one thing is also more important. If you go into the parts of old Delhi, you'll find that there are very narrow lanes over there. In those narrow lanes, the air gets trapped and because of that the pollution also increases. There is no effective ventilation over there and that also leads to the rise in temperatures. Okay, dark imperous surface absorbs and retains the heat. Waste heat from the vehicles and the air conditioners warms the air. So you have these alleys, you have these galleries and then you have the exhaust of the air conditioners. So it warms these galleries or these narrow spaces to a great extent. Okay. Lack of greenery decreases the shade and evapot transpiration. Evapot transpiration.
What is evapo transpiration? It is made up of two words evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation you understand you know the conversion of water into water vapors which leads to a kind of a cooling effect. Similarly, you have the movement of water from the pores stomata of the plants to that of the air which also gives a cooling effect. If you have less of the green space, you'll have less of evapo transpiration and then more of the average heat in that particular area. Okay. Now, why Indian cities are heating up? Because of excessive see there is we are definitely urbanizing but the way in which urbanization is taking place that is a point of concern. you we we have good places even in Delhi we have the the best places like Lutons but over there the system is very things are very systematic and it's primary the rich people the political class the bureaucrats the s senior civil servants who live over there what about the rest of the areas are we giving due importance to the greenery aspect over there no roads flyovers buildings again heat absorbing made up with the heat absorbing materials reduce natural killing coolings. Why? Because we are not adequately focusing upon the green spaces. We are not focusing upon for example there is too closed there is too closed construction of buildings which is taking place. Natural spaces adequate spaces are not there. So that is again a point of concern. Loss of green cover decline in the tree cover. Why? Because of the construction activities trees are being uprooted.
That is also again very important.
Reduce evapo transpiration. sealed surfaces. Let's say there is a particular soil surface. Whenever the rain comes, it absorbs the water and then it percolates deep down and then the ground water is also recharged. The acryers are recharged. But now what we have done is we are we have basically come up with the concrete. Now the water cannot go down. The water flows and leads to the urban floods. Chennai, Mumbai for example.
And the acryers also lose the water. So it's a kind of a double sword right less groundwater recharge increased heat retention because if you have soil if you have moisture that would create cooling conditions but because of the concrete there is absorption of the heat and ultimately there is increase in the temperatures waste heat from the air conditioners. See we have the air conditioners what they do is they take the heat and release it outside. So the people who are inside they may feel comfortable but what about the heat which is going out. There are there have been instances where a lot of these ACs the compressors have blasted off. People have died because of the extreme heat.
The ACs themselves cannot bear the brunt of the heat. Okay vicious cycle because the more heat you have the more usage of the AC is. The more usage of the AC is the more of electricity you need. The more of electricity you need, more of greenhouse gas, more of coal you would use or other fossil fuel and that would lead to more of greenhouse gases, more heat again, more of use of the air conditioner. So it's a vicious cycle which takes place. Why heat waves are a social justice issue as I told you that primary it's those people who contribute least to the climate change who are worst affected. Let's talk about the construction workers, street vendors, the delivery workers. We call them delivery partners as such. But you know their condition. They have to climb up floors. Sometimes when there is no availability of the escalators or the lifts in the buildings and in this heat they have to work so much. People can't even go out you know go to the ground floor and uh pick their stuff. They ask the delivery workers to come and that use the stairs and that person that person does it for almost hundreds of times during the day. So that is what you'll have to understand. sanitation workers, agricultural laborers, migrant workers. Okay? Now, this is what you'll have to understand. The wealthier population, it has access to the air conditioned homes, access to the healthcare. If anything happens, I have the money. That person can go and seek the service of a medical practitioner, a doctor, ability to avoid heat. But what about the vulnerable population? I have to work outside limited healthcare access because don't have that much amount of money with respect to the expenditure on the health income depends on working outdoors because if you won't work you won't earn. So it all depends your livelihood depends on those occupations which are outside street vendors no other option. What are the impacts? The first is public health impacts. You have direct impacts in terms of the heat stroke, dehydration and indirect impacts in terms of increasing blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory issues. Okay. Economic consequences ultimately what happens is because you know if let's say there's a person who is effectively working outside he's contributing to the overall economy with a particular livelihood option. Now he gets dehydration or he suffers from dehydration or heat stroke and now he's admitted. Now there is a loss to the overall contribution to the economy. There is loss with respect to the labor productivity and ILO estimates that because of the increasing spells of the heat waves in India specifically some sectors are greatly affected construction sector agriculture sector because over there people suffer a lot because of these heat waves and it ultimately compromises the contribution to the economy. Okay. The air conditioners paradox why more ACs are not the solutions? I already told you the more AC's we use the more is the greenhouse gas emissions more is the greenhouse gas emissions what ultimately happens is the more ACs we use so there is a paradox which you'll have to understand key issues in India's heat wave response the very first thing is that we just look at the heat waves as a public health issue we're not looking it from an aspect of urban planning we'll have to make sure the urban places in India they have adequate green spaces they have adequate for example in terms of the cool roofs reflective structures why don't we go with reflective structures we have totally closed the buildings with glasses the heat gets trapped inside and for that we use AC's now ACs again release the heat outside so average temperatures outside increases again there is more trap of heat inside so that is a vicious cycle urban planning deficit we don't have adequate green spaces heat trapping infrastructure in terms of the gray infrastructure concretization of the roads of the buildings poor ventilation we have totally enclosed spaces is no natural ventilation, weak labor production, enforcement remains weak. So if you talk about what are the facilities which informal workers have, what are facilities or protections which employers are giving to those workers who are employed outside? Have you seen anywhere where construction workers are said or given water or asked to take rest? No. Nowhere.
The conditions are really very demeaning. So they have to work in extreme heat right informal workers with respect to lack of dedicated heat budgeting. So we don't have explicit plans with respect to manage the heat crisis. So we don't have the dedicated heat adaptation fund, heat resilient urban infrastructure financing because ultimately we have to fight with this in terms of establishing more green belts, more plants, more green corridors, cool roofs, natural ventilation. But for that you need money, right? Public awareness.
People don't have the risks. People don't have the awareness. They think, you know, we'll go outside and then we'll, you know, we'll work outside and then we'll not have anything. We'll keep on drinking water. But the point is that they suffer from a lot of health issues.
Heat strokes. So that creates a lot of even to the extent of the the damage to the nervous system of the humans. Okay.
often underestimated limited health advisories even though the government is trying its best in terms of the NDMA advisories but still people are not aware of it okay now what have been the government's initiative the very first is national mission for sustainable habitat which focuses on the resilient urban spaces a part of the national action plan on climate change then heat action plans the very first pioneering step was taken in 2013 by Ahmedabad which came up with a heat action plans talked about that we would provide uh for cooling shelters, emergency responses during heat waves. Then we have the NDMA guidelines on heat waves again talks about the preparedness aspect divorce responsibilities to the respective district magistrates to make sure that adequate provisions are made with respect to water facilities, cooling shelters. Okay, what should be the way forward? The very first is climate responsive urban planning. We already know that temperatures are soaring. So why not we integrate this aspect in the infrastructure development in terms of the cool roofs, green roofs for example in terms of utilizing mudkas for example we have the terra cotta right that can be used reflective building materials.
You must have seen that there are many people who cover their terraces or who paint their terraces with white color so as to make sure that it reflects more.
Then we have urban forests.
One very good example is that of the Delhi ridge area that provide this provides the cooling aspect the cooling to the the near populations because there is more of evapo transpiration.
Then we have strengthen the labor production mandatory work hour adjustment during those hours when there is peak heat. The workers must be given the rest to get with adequate facilities, midday work bands, employer accountability and if anything happens the employer should be accountable for that. Then we have expand the heat action plans district level heat action plans should be there. Why just we have for Ahmedabad or other cities also have but why it is limited to these cities?
Why not at every district level we have a particular heat action plan which is implemented whenever there is a whenever the temperature crosses one particular threshold. Okay. Interaction integration with the disaster management framework dedicated heat resilient funding. We have to come up with the funds so that we can have as as this particular mission also talks about national mission for sustainable habitat urban resilient infrastructure. If there is a particular space and we want to create a green corridor over there, green space for that we need funds. Okay. Climate adaptation financing with respect to the urban local bodies very very important.
Urban local bodies need to have a dedicated funding with respect to these green spaces. Nature based solutions.
Why not we go with urban forestation?
More and more of trees in those spaces in those dividers which we have on the road. Wetland restoration. Why? Because these are the areas which absorb heat provides respite to the animals source of water for animals.
Provides also a kind of an aquatic space. the it lowers the average temperatures in that particular area blue green infrastructure. We have many of the cities which basically talk about the sponges also whenever there's urban flood they can basically make sure that they take within themselves the excess water for example in terms of the canals which we have in terms of the lakes which we have in the cities that is again very much needed reduce dependence on ACentric cooling why don't we go with passive cooling architecture we're not saying that absolutely remove it but passive cooling means that why don't why don't you create shades why don't you create natural ventilation. Why don't you create a shelter belts of trees with natural ventilation? At least in those open spaces where you are utilizing the ACS right now, you won't require the ACS over there. Traditional building designs in medieval era. We have studied a lot about the kind of architecture which for example in red fort there is a natural ventilation which is there natural cooling which takes place that can be incorporated energy efficient cooling technologies for example we have different ratings by bureau of energy efficiency star ratings three star fourstar there has to be an incentive given to the people to buy more of these fivestar or fourstar appliances so that there is less consumption of electricity and ultimately less consum less emission of greenhouse gases because this is becoming a very serious issue not just a public health crisis but also if you look from the urban aspect that is creating and this is creating climate inequality where those people who have contributed least to the greenhouse gas emissions they are being they are suffering the most that is what you'll have to understand let's have a main factors question examine sorry extreme heat events have emerged as one of the most serious climate related risks facing India analyze the factors contributing to the increasing intensity and frequency of heat waves in India.
Suggests measures to build heat resilient cities and communities. Very important topic. UPSC has had has a habit of asking questions from those events or phenomenas which come in the news which take place. So make sure that you write an answer on this particular question also. Let's go to the next topic. Coming to the prelims pointer section, we have the very first topic which deals with the National Family Health Survey 6 data which is recently released. What we'll talk about is what this particular survey is all about.
What is this international institute for population studies and what are the various data with respect to the NFS which can be used in your means. You need not to memorize each and every data but whatever the data is important which can be used to enhance the credibility of your answer should be used. Now let's first talk about the NFS. National family health survey is a large scale multi- round survey conducted in a representative sample of households through India. It's a survey. Five rounds of survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992 93. The survey provides the state and national information on fertility on infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anemia utilization, quality of health and family planning services. So what you'll have to understand is that NFSS serves as the basis for the policy formulation as far as the health interventions are concerned. Okay.
Each successive round of NFS had two specific goals. The very first is to provide the essential data on the health and family welfare needed by the ministry of health and family welfare and other agencies for policy and program purposes which I told you to provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues. Now this is important. The ministry of health and family welfare government of India designated the international institute for population studies Mumbai remember this as the nodal agency responsible for providing coordination technical guidance with respect to the survey IPS collaborated with number of field organizations to survey implementation each field organization was responsible for conducting the survey activities in one or the more states this is the recently released let's talk about the international institute for operation studies It's a training and research organization based in Mumbai. It focuses on the population studies for the United Nations economic and social commission for the Asia and the Pacific region and operates under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. IIPS is responsible to conduct key studies including the NFS National Family Health Survey, the evaluation of National Rural Health Mission and the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. So this is what you'll have to understand. Now let's talk about the data points. Very very important. India made significant progress in the maternal and child health with improvements in vaccination and hospital birth and a drop in stunting and severe wasting among the young children. NFS 6 for which field work was conducted in 2023 and 24. What the data says with respect to the institutional deliveries it says institutional deliveries rose from 88.6% in the previous round of the NFS conducted between 2019 and 21 to 90.6% 6% this time. So there has been an increase. There has been an increase.
You can just see with respect to in institutional deliveries in the hospitals, right? While 95.6% of the infants under the 6 months were being breastfed during the survey period. The survey which is the first to be conducted after the coid9 pandemic recorded improvements in the child health indicators. Stunting among the children under 5 years declined from 35.5 to 29.3. Severe wasting dropped from 7.7% to 5.2. There has been an improvement especially with respect to the child health.
Percentage of underweight children in this age group slipped marginally from 32.1% to 31.8%.
Symptoms of acute respiratory infection among the children fell from 2.8% to 1.9% while the prevalence of severe diarrhea also dropped to 0.5%.
The survey flagged the increase in non-communicable diseases lifestyle related risks. Now what we are finding is if you look at the overall health paradigm.
Now we have the non-communicable disease which form the major reason with respect to the mortalities. Almost twothird of the mortalities are because of non-communicable diseases in terms of the strokes in terms of high blood pressure in terms of the cardiovascular diseases right cancer lifestyle related risks and the dual burden of under nutrition and increasing obesity among the adults as a persistent health crisis. India's total fertility rate held steady at 2.0 0 in 2324 just under the replacement threshold of 2.1%. While the contraceptive prevalence rate rose from 66.7% to 69.1. The survey highlights progress in maternal health services across country with 95.9 almost 96% of the pregnant women receiving antiatal care before the child's birth including 76.2 2 in the first trimester and an increase from almost 70% in the previous survey of the period. Mothers receiving at least four antennal care visits also increased from 58.5% to 65% four times before the birth of child.
Maternal nutrition indicators also showed improvement with mothers consuming iron folic acid supplements so as to make sure that they have proper iron in their bodies and they're not anemic for 100 days or more during the pregnancy rising from 44 to 54% while those consuming supplements for 180 days or more rose from 26 to 37%. However, it found that cesarian's uh section deliveries had increased sharply from 21.5 to 27.2 because many of the hospitals especially the private care providers they see this particular thing as a major form of revenue. The cesarian deliveries with with substantially higher rates in several states and in private healthcare facilities. In urban areas the rate of cesarian sections stood at 40% far exceeding the world health organization optimal threshold of 10 to 15%. It's much more what happens at the global average the cesarian deliveries in India conducted by the health ministry along with the international institute of operation studies. newspaper tries to give you all the information and that is the reason I have always said that there are people who say that we can can we just go for the magazines can we just for go for some other sources you can definitely but don't skip the newspaper that is very important it's indispensable as far as a preparation is concerned the survey documented the progress towards the universal immunization coverage improved vaccination based on the vaccination cards full vaccination coverage among the children aged 12 to 23 months rose from 83 83.8 to 87.1 with 95.6 of% of the children getting most of their vaccinations through the public health facilities. Again, it's a quite great achievement feat.
Among major vaccines, roto virus vaccine coverage rose substantially from 36.4% to 85.4%. The coverage of the second dose of the measles containing vaccines also increased significantly from 58.66% to 71.8%. The survey found that the use of hygienic methods of menstrual production among women aged from 15 to 24 has increased from 77 to 79% again are good news. So what you'll have to understand is again not every data is important but whatever data with respect to the stunting or the wasting or the undernutrition which you can easily memorize you can quote in your answers.
Let's go to the next topic. Coming to the next topic is a mention of a particular disease particular infection which has basically infected a lot of lions in Gujarat. Let's talk about that.
But before that let's first talk about the lion sensors which we had in 2025.
The key findings of the 16th asiatic line census of 2025. 891 asiatic lines recorded in Gujarat. A 32.2 increase from 674 lines in 2020. Population distribution 384 lines live inside the protected forest and sansory areas.
Lines in nonforested areas have risen from 340 to almost 507. 44% of the line population now resides outside the traditional protected habitats. Gir national park and adjoining centuries.
The Gil the Gir wildlife century and Panea wildlife century house 394 lines forming the core population in Gujarat.
Amili district has highest count with 257 lines while Mitiala wildlife century doubled its population to 32 lines.
Barda wildlife century near Porbandhar has become a newly established line population area with 17 lines recorded for the first time since 1879. The 2025 census also identified new satellite populations around Jatpur and Barbara Jazdan. Adult females 330 adult females recorded a 27% increase since 2020 indicating strong potential for further growth. Reasons for population boom project lion has helped in restoring the habits strengthening the prey base on which the lions depend and mitigating the conflicts to support asiatic loin conservation conflict with respect to human wildlife conflict. Mitigating that, reducing that sensor methodology conducted using the direct beat verification a more scientific and statistically robust method compared to the pugmark based tiger surveys completed in just 3 days unlike the tiger census which takes almost 2 years. Let's talk about the infection which has been talked about in the article. A total of eight line cubs have died this week from suspected babycia infection in Girnat and Amli district. Forest department has intensified disease control measures in and around the wildlife century and launched large-scale tick removal operations even as lines within a 10 kilometer radius of the affected areas are being isolated. This is important.
Besia is a parasitic disease transmitted through ticks and cause weakness, fever, cuffing and nasal discharge in the infected animals. The infection is being treated as a potential threat because of the possibility of rapid transmission among the lines in the open forests and adjoining areas. According to the last census in 25, Gujarat has a population of 891 asiatic lines spread across gear and adjoining districts.
The death triggered a series of containment measures including emergency rescue preparedness at the Sassan line hospital. So this is what you'll have to understand. It's a parasitic disease and lines have been isolated because of that. Let's go to the next topic. Coming to the next topic, here's a mention of the National Green Tribunal. As we talked in the second analysis topic, heat waves are increasing. So now the NGT, the National Green Tribunal has sought the response from the center and the states about the heat wave conditions. The national green tribunal has sought response from the center several states and other regarding the scorching maximum temperature and intense extreme heat waves across the country that what all preparatory steps have you taken the statutory body this itself tells you what kind of body NG is all about so it's based on an act of the parliament was hearing a matter in which it had taken somoto on its own cognizance of a newspaper report about the rising temperatures that are affecting the people's health learning and productivity besides impact ing the economy. The latest IMD bulletin shows a scorching maximum temperatures across the northwest, west, central and adjoining eastern and north peninsula India with the highest temperature recorded at almost 40°C in UP's bandha.
Delhi remains under the heatwave conditions through May. The bench said it cited it added that after distinguishing between urban and rural heatwave conditions a policy with region specific strategies and adaptation planning is required. That is what we discussed even the article that there's a need for incorporating these plans at the local and the rural levels at the urban and the rural levels not just a top- down approach but rather with respect to that place itself. Let's talk about the NGT. The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunals Act of 2010 to expedite the environmental justice in India. As a specialized body, the entity is dedicated to hearing the cases related to the environmental protection, forest conservation and enforcement of legal rights associated with the environment including compensation for damages to the individuals and property from environmental violations. The tribunals also issues related to accidental health impacts from the environmental causes. So primarily it is there to make sure that that the environment remains protected and the cases with respect to the environment are expedited. Okay.
National green tribunal features the NG ensures efficient environmental dispute resolution with expert input. Aims to resolve cases within 6 months operates independently of the civil procedure codes and has regional benches in New Delhi, Bopal, Pune, Kolkata. Remember this and Chennai expertise and speed and framework includes multi-disiplinary experts to ensure efficient and information informed handling of the cases.
Independence from civil procedures guided by the natural justice principles rather than the civil procedure codes 6 months disposal aim. The tribunal and to resolve the cases within a span of 6 months. Jurisdiction and accessibility accessibility initially proposed five locations and began functioning um in 2011 with the main seat in Delhi with regional benches in Bopal, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai and it follows a circuit procedure for accessibility.
The National Green Tribal Composition is defined with the National Green Tribunals Act of 2010. Let's talk about the composition. Chairperson, a retired Supreme Court judge or a chief justice of a high court appointed by the central government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India serving for 5 years or until the age of 70 years.
Judicial members between 10 to 20 former Supreme Court or high court judges appointed by the central government based on merit serving for 5 years or until attain the age of 67 for high court judges or 70 for Supreme Court judges. Expert members includes 10 to 20 members with master's degree in science, engineering, technology and relevant environment experience appointed by the central government serving for 5 years or until the age of 65. Engine powers and jurisdiction. The injury educates adjudicates environmental cases, imposes penalties, acts as a civil court, follows natural justice, handles multi-disiplinary disputes, ensures timely case disposal, and provides relief for compensation for environment damage. Adjudication, the entity handles civil cases and provides relief and disputes related to seven laws related to the environment. It has also implemented a provision where it can impose strict penalties for non-compliance with its orders. The tribunal conducts proceedings under the sanctions of the Indian penal court. Now the bharty sahaba bns it has the power to act as a civil court while settling the cases.
The entity operates under the principles of natural justice and has the authority to create its procedures rather than following those outlined in the code of civil procedures 1908.
Now the bharty suraka samita the environmental laws. The National Green Tribunal addresses the violations of key environmental laws and decisions made by the government authorities under these statutes. For example, the water act, air act, environment act, forest act, biological diversity act, public liability expertise. The entity is equipped to handle the expert environment related disputes and issues multi-disipline nature co powers on its own. For example, what it has done in this particular case, entities endowed with SEO motor powers, allowing it to take up environmental issues on its initiative without requiring a formal complaint.
Enforcement. The tribunal is bound to make every effort to dispose any appeal or applications within 6 months from the date of filing. Other functions, it can reimburse damaged property or monetary compensation and reimbursement of the areas of the environment as deemed necessary by the tribunal. The national green terminal can provide relief and composition to the environment and pollution injury victims including the accidents involving hazardous substances. So this is what you need to know with respect to NGT probably a question can come in the prelims. Let's go to the next topic. Coming to the next topic is a mention of the smart border security project very important from the perspective of the prelims. Let's first talk about the information which is given on the website of the ministry of home affairs and the schemes which are there for the border management and this particular scheme and this I have taken from the ministry of home affairs itself. So you can have a look. Securing the country's borders against the interest hostile to the country and putting the place putting in place systems that are able to interdict such elements while facilitating legitimate trade and commerce are among the principal objectives of the border management as a part of the strategy to secure the borders and also to create infrastructure in the border areas of the country. Several initiatives have been taken have been undertaken by the border management division. So there's a division in the ministry of home affairs which deals with this aspect. These includes the construction of the fence, flood lighting, roads, border outposts, boops, company operating bases, cobs, deployment of technological solutions along the India, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, India, China, India, Nepal, India, Bhutan, India, Myanmar borders.
India shares borders with the countries as below. This is very important can be added in the problems with Bangladesh almost 4,100 kilometers running along West Bengal, Assam, Meghala, Tripura, Mizorum. Please know this again I'm repeating very important a question can be asked the adjoining state Pakistan almost 3,300 kilometers running across Gujarat Rajasthan Punjab Union territories of Jammu Kashmir duties of Ladak China 3,488 km running along Arunachal Pradesh Sikkim Utakhand Himatra Pradesh Union Tritory of Ladak Nepal almost 1751 km running along the Uttarakand up Bihar West Bengal Sikkim Bhutan 699 kilometers running across Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh. Myanmar 1643 km running along Arunasal Pradesh, Nagarand, Manipur and Mizorum.
Afghanistan 106 km running along the union territory of Ladak. So remember the adjoining states there can be a probable question in the prelims. Now which all schemes the Ministry of Home Affairs has come up with? The very first is border infrastructure and management BIM scheme. This scheme is a central sector scheme where all the funds are contributed by the central government comprising of the projects aimed at infrastructure development of India's international borders which is being implemented by the border management division. The approved cost of scheme during the period 21 22 to 2526 is almost 13,000 crores. The scheme aims to enhance the security along the borders of the country and involve implementing a number of projects for the development of border infrastructure such as border fence, border roads, border flood lights, border outposts, helipads and foot tracks along the international borders of the country. It also involves deployment of technological solutions in such patches of the borders which are not feasible for physical fence. This is again very important scheme comprehensive integrated border management scheme to improve the situational awareness at different levels of hierarchy to facilitate prompt and quick response to emerging situations along the India Pakistan, India, Bangladesh. A comprehensive integrated border management system CIBS has been conceptualized with which is the integration of manpower, sensors, technological integration, intelligence, command control solutions. Now what home minister has said is this. The government has decided to completely transform the country's border security arrangements. Home minister has said in the days to come a quadrangular security grid which would incorporate the public, the civil administration, the local police, the military alongside the border security force to strengthen the borders. A new concept of territorial security will replace the traditional approach of mere border security. So it's not just about the borders, it's about the territory near the border itself. The whole territory with the help of civilians and the other instruments under the smart border security projects, efforts are underway to fortify the security grids along the borders. This andware involves an investment running into thousands of kores of rupee. The minister has said the minister expressed the confidence that the deployment of drones, radars, watchtowers, state-of-the-art technology and the security personnel will result in creation of a robust security grid.
Government is planning to assign additional areas of responsibilities to the BSF. The most significant gap in the security grid according to the minister lay in the incomplete fencing along the West Bengal boundary. Again, a very critical issue because there is a lot of smuggling of cows which takes place. the smuggling of the arms, illicit traffic, human trafficking, illegal infil in infiltration across the borders. So these are some of the issues. Once fencing is completed, the government will succeed in curbing the infiltration. Work on installing the technological fencing is being expedited is being made fast in forested regions and along the riverine channels to prevent infiltration through the these through these particular routes. In the days to come, the entire border would be will be secured. So this is what the minister has said. That is what you'll have to understand. Let's go to the last topic. Coming to the last topic of today's discussion is a mention of the disputes which we are having in the South China Sea primary with respect to the territorial claims uh being made by China aggressive territorial claims. Now there were negotiations which were supposed to go between Japan and Philippines. China has said that these negotiations are absolutely illegal.
China expressed strong opposition on Friday to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to start maritime border negotiations calling the talks as illegal and claiming exclusive control over the waters concerned. China says that all these places in the South China Sea we'll talk about that it comes under its own jurisdiction right what it calls as 9- line the two island announced on Thursday that they will start a formal talks to delimmit to demarcate the maritime boundary of economic zone and continental shelf between them but Beijing again asserted on Friday that it has an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the waters to the east of Taiwan even to the east of Taiwan okay So this is a dispute. Now let's look at this. We have first of all this 9- line. So you have over here different countries. We have China over here. We have Vietnam. We have Malaysia.
We have Brunai. We have Philippines. Now what you'll have to understand is China says that all this area which comes can you see this red lines which comes within these lines what it calls as the nine dash line. It comes within its own territorial sovereignity.
So China according to China these areas are within its own control but we have the other countries respective countries like Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam who say that we also have including Indonesia we also have a claim with respect to these waters oceanic waters China cannot unilaterally decide and in the year 2016 the permanent court of arbitration very clearly said that these claims by China including the 9-9 they are illegal But China has rejected that completely.
That is what you'll have to understand.
And because of it, there are a lot of issues because there are certain important islands and shors, coral reefs which are under claims by respective countries, primary China. For example, we have the Scarbor Shaw. For example, we have Spratley Islands. We have Parasel Islands. Very very important. Let's look at this different claims by different countries.
We have the claim by China, which is a red line. You can just see we have this claim by Vietnam. So there is an overlap of the claim. Vietnam Vietnam's claims are overlapping with China with overlapping with the other countries.
For example, if you look at the claims made by Philippines the yellow line and then you have the claims by different countries and we have among this particular area in this particular area different islands which are contested.
We have Parasel Islands, we have Spratley Islands, we have Scarbug Shaw.
And what China is doing is China is creating artificial islands. It's reclaiming the islands and militarizing them. So that is a point of concern for all the countries in the region. That is what you'll have to understand. Make sure that you remember the the Spratley Islands, the Parasel Islands and the Scarbak and various it's not just China is having the claim. Various countries have overlapping claim in South China Sea. Why? is this is one of the critical lines of C lines of communication SLOC one of the critical aspects in the world trillions of dollars of the goods and communities pass through the South China Sea it's a critical line of communication for China that is only the X's with respect to the water China has so therefore it has aggressive claims in this particular region make sure that you go through this particular thing that's all from my side I hope you really enjoyed the discussion all the very best thank you so much.
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Did China Get to Marco Rubio?
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Sonko Is Now Speaker. But Who Are the Two Men Who Made His Return Possible?
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Why Was There No Mention of Israel or Gaza in The DNC's Autopsy Report
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Trump Just Got HUMILIATED... And It's Going VIRAL
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