Panchsheel

In June 1954, when Chou En-lai visited Delhi, he and Nehru agreed on the following principles to guide their relations:

1) Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty;

2) Non-aggression;

3) Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;

4) Equality and mutual benefit;

5) Peaceful co-existence

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

Alarmed by the sharp decline in the Child Sex Ratio (calculated as number of girls for every 1000 boys between age group of 0-6 years, with an all time low of 918 in 2011 from 976 in 1961) , the Government of India has introduced Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme to address the issue of decline in CSR in 100 gender critical districts. 

• Coordinated & convergent efforts are needed to ensure survival, protection and education of the girl child.

The Overall Goal of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao(BBBP) Scheme is to Celebrate the Girl Child & Enable her Education . 

The objectives of the Scheme are as under :- 

• Prevent gender biased sex selective elimination 
• Ensure survival & protection of the girl child 
• Ensure education of the girl child 

The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) initiative has two major components. 

1. Mass Communication Campaign and 
2. Multi-sectoral action in 100 selected districts (as a pilot) with adverse CSR, covering all States and UTs.

Multi Sectoral Action

Coordinated & convergent efforts are undertaken in close coordination with MoHFW and MoHRD to ensure survival, protection and education of the girl child. 

The District Collectors/Deputy Commissioners (DCs) lead and coordinate actions of all departments for implementation of BBBP at the District level

1. Through Ministry of Women & Child Development - 
• Promote registration of pregnancies in first trimester in Anganwadi Centres (AWCs); 
• Undertake training of stakeholders; 
• Community mobilization & sensitization; 
• Involvement of gender champions; 
• Reward & recognition of institutions & frontline workers
2. Through Ministry of Health & Family Welfare -
• Monitor implementation of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCP&DT) Act, 1994; 
• Increased institutional deliveries; 
• Registration of births; 
• Strengthening PNDT Cells; 
• Setting up Monitoring Committees 
3. Through Ministry of Human Resource Development -

• Universal enrollment of girls; 
• Decreased drop-out rate; 
• Girl Child friendly standards in schools; 
• Strict implementation of Right to Education (RTE); 
• Construction of Functional Toilets for girls

Sustainable Development Goals

1. No Poverty
1. By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day 
2. By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
2. Zero Hunger
1. By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2. By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons 
3. Good Health and Well Being
1. By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births 
2. By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births 
4. Quality Education
1. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes 
2. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
5. Gender Equality
1. End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation 
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
1. By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
2. By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations 
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
1. By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
2. By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix 
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
1. Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries 
2. Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
1. Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
2. Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all 
10. Reduced Inequalities
1. By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
2. By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
1. By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons 
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
1. Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
2. By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources 
3. By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
13. Climate Action
1. Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
2. Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning 
3. Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning 
14. Life Below Water
1. By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution 
2. By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans 
3. By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics 
15. Life on Land
1. By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and dry-lands, in line with obligations under international agreements 
2. By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally 
3. By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world 
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 
1. Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere 
2. End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children 
17. Partnership for the Goals
1. Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection 
2. Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries 

Eco-Sensitive Zone

The National Wildlife Action Plan (2002–2016) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) stipulated that state governments should declare land falling within 10 km of the boundaries of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as eco fragile zones or ESZs under section 3 (v) of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986. 

• The purpose of the ESZ was to provide more protection to the parks by acting as a shock absorber or transition zone. 

Section 5 C (1) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 states that it shall be the duty of the National Wildlife Protection Board to conserve and promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests by such measures as it deems fit.

Why ESZ?

The protected areas are based on the core and buffer model of management. The core area has the legal status of being a national park. 

• The buffer area, however, does not have legal status of being a national park and could be a reserved forest, wildlife sanctuary or tiger reserve. 

The ESZ did not permit change of land use from agriculture to commercial under section 143 of the Zamindari Abolition Act. This was implemented from November 2012.

ESZ Guidelines classify activities under three categories:

 Prohibited: Commercial Mining, Setting of Saw Mill, Setting of industries causing pollution, establishment of major hydroelectric projects etc.

 Regulated: Felling of Trees, Establishment of hotels and resorts, erection of electrical cables, Drastic change of agricultural systems etc.

 Permitted: Ongoing agriculture and horticulture practices by local communities, rain water harvesting, organic farming etc.

Heat is produced at the surface of the Earth by sunlight (shortwave electromagnetic radiation) that is converted to heat energy (long-wave radiation). The distance between the Earth and the sun has little effect on heat production at the surface of the Earth. 

Instead, heat production is due to the following: 

1. Angle of the sun’s rays 
2. Length of exposure (number of daylight hours) to sunlight 
3. Albedo (reflectivity)

Stiglitz on Economy

• The obstacles the global economy faces are not rooted in economics, but in politics and ideology.
• While our banks are back to a reasonable state of health, they have demonstrated that they are not fit to fulfill their purpose. They excel in exploitation and market manipulation; but they have failed in their essential function of inter-mediation. Between long-term savers (for example, sovereign wealth funds and those saving for retirement) and long-term investment in infrastructure stands our short-sighted and dysfunctional financial sector.
• If the country cannot resolve its own problems in a way that the rest of the world believes is fair; if it cannot, with all of its wealth, even provide health care for all of its citizens; if it cannot, with all of its wealth, deliver quality education for all of its young; if it cannot, with all of its wealth, afford to spend the money required for the kind of modern infrastructure, energy, and transportation systems that global warming demands—then how can it provide advice to others on how they should resolve their problems?

Climate Action Plan Suggested by Jim Yong Kim

First, we need to approach development differently. Climate change must be considered in all of our work – from building cleaner cities to producing more food on less land – with a much stronger focus on adapting to changing climate patterns.

Second, we need a clean-energy transformation at the speed and scale of the digital revolution.Dramatic decreases in the cost of low-carbon technologies also support an ambitious global transition toward renewable energy.

Third, businesses must immediately become climate literate.

Fourth, world leaders must push harder for carbon pricing. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels carry a hefty price. It’s a bill that comes to all of us in the form of public-health costs, damage to the environment, and adverse weather effects.

Finally, finance will be critical. National climate action plans – submitted by more than 180 countries – identify trillions of dollars of climate-related needs. This global economic transition holds tremendous investment opportunities for the private sector.

Lord Curzon on India

India is indeed the only part of the British Empire which is an empire. Though, we speak of the British empire but we never call its monarch the Emperor but use the title of King. But, in India he is rightly termed as Emperor. 

                                     -Lord Curzon "The place of India in the Empire"

Lord Beaconfield's , The Royal Titles Act, 1876 which authorized the queen to assume the title of Empress of India.  

During Lord Lytton's time in the autumn of 1876 preparations were commenced for the "Imperial Assemblage," which it was announced by the Viceroy would be held at Delhi on the first day of January, 1877, for the purpose of proclaiming to the Queen's subjects throughout India the assumption by Her Majesty of the title of "Empress of India."

Delhi Durbar was held on January 1, 1903 during Lord Curzon's time to commemorate the coronation of the Kind Emperor of India.