COP 27 and 28
- The 2022 edition of the Conference of Parties, or the 27th COP, will take place at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and the 28th edition in 2023 will be held in the UAE.
- Developing countries such as India and China are pushing for formal acknowledgement from the West that they have not delivered on past promises of providing $100 billion annually until 2020.
- Developed countries have promised to deliver on this by 2023-24 but India and several other low-income and developing countries have demanded financing post 2025 and also funds for the loss and damage that has already been incurred in their countries due to climate catastrophes.
THE HINDU
General Secretary in Rajya Sabha
- Pramod Chandra Mody, a 1982-batch retired IRS officer and former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), appointed the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, replacing P.P.K. Ramacharyulu. Mr. Ramach.
- Parliamentary Adviser to the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha and through him to the House.
- Administrative Head of the Secretariat of Rajya Sabha and overall in-charge of all administrative and executive functions on behalf and in the name of the Chairman.
THE HINDU
Remote access of education
- Only 20% of school-age children in India had access to remote education during the pandemic, of whom only half participated in live online lessons, according to a new national sample survey by ICRIER and LIRNE Asia, a think tank focused on digital policy.
- In fact, 38% of households said at least one child had dropped out of school due to COVID-19.
- The survey, released on Friday, found that although digital connectivity shot up 40% during the pandemic, low access to devices, poor signal and high costs prevented most children from reaping the benefits.
- Among children aged 5- 18, it found that 80% of those who were enrolled in schools prior to the pandemic did not receive any educational services at all during school closure
- Among the 20% who received education, only 55% had access to live online classes, while 68% had access to recorded audio or video lessons.
- Three-fourths of the students had work sent to them over a smartphone, usually via WhatsApp, and 61% via text messages. Almost 70% had contact with their teachers via phone call.
THE HINDU
Longevity of organization
- Non-alignment was the least costly policy for promoting India’s diplomatic presence, a sensible approach when India was weak and looked at askance by both blocs, and the best means of securing economic assistance from abroad. India played a lone hand against colonialism and racism.
Longevity of organization
- Every international organization has a shelf life, though many survive for years in semi-neglect.
- The League of Nations was given the coup de grâce after seven years of inactivity only in 1946, even after the United Nations had come into being.
- The Commonwealth will last only as long as the British find it useful.
- It is hard to see any future for Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) or its various institutional off spring, given the state of India-China relations.
- The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has faded into oblivion.
- Few among even our serving diplomats could tell what transpired at the last Non-aligned Conference or where the next will be held, while the symbolic anniversary, unanimously agreed upon in 1981 of ‘The First September, Day of Nonalignment’, has come and gone unnoticed.
THE HINDU