G7
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II International Relations and International Organisations
Why in news?
UK invites PM Modi to G7 summit in June.
Key details
- Apart from India, Australia and South Korea are also invited to participate in the proceedings of the summit as guest countries.
- The summit will be held in Cornwall.
- This summit is an opportunity for global leaders to to build back better from the coronavirus, to make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous.
- The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental organization consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- The heads of government of the member states, as well as the representatives of the European Union, meet at the annual G7 Summit.
- As of 2018, the G7 represents 58% of the global net wealth ($317 trillion), more than 46% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) based on nominal values, and more than 32% of the global GDP based on purchasing power parity.
- The seven countries involved are also the largest IMF-advanced economies in the world.
- This organization was founded to facilitate shared macroeconomic initiatives by its members in response to the collapse of the exchange rate 1971, during the time of the Nixon shock, the 1970s energy crisis and the ensuing recession.
- The G-7 was known as the ‘G-8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997.
- The Group returned to being called G-7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.
- Calling the existing Group of Seven (G-7) club a “very outdated group of countries”, US President Trump said that he wanted to include India, Russia, South Korea, and Australia in the group.
- India will get more voice, more influence and more power by entering the G7. After UN Security Council (UNSC), this is the most influential grouping.
- The G-7 nations meet at annual summits that are presided over by leaders of member countries on a rotational basis.
To spur growth and jobs, booster for construction and low-cost housing
Paper:
Mains: G.S. III Indian Economy
Why in news?
Countdown for budget 2021 has begun and more funds for PM Awas, easing of FDI rules in construction development on table.
Key details
- The upcoming Budget is predicted to present a particular focus to building growth and inexpensive housing as elevated exercise in these areas present a better increase to total demand within the financial system due to their forward and backward linkages.
- One issue behind the exodus of migrants from cities throughout the pandemic was their lack of entry to secure, inexpensive housing in city clusters.
- While 100 per cent FDI is already permitted in construction development sector, certain legal structures such as LLP are not allowed to receive foreign investment in this sector. We have discussed these and other rules where there is a scope for liberalisation.
- To provide relief to stressed homebuyers, funds could also be set aside for the National Building Construction Corporation to complete stalled projects which have been stuck due to fund shortage.
- Revival of building development sector can be seen as essential for employment creation.
- Government plans additional liberalisation of international direct investment (FDI) laws for the development of development sector whereas a better allocation is expected in direction of a credit-linked subsidy scheme for reasonably priced housing.
Volcano erupts in Indonesia
Paper:
Mains: G.S. I Geography of the world and geophysical phenomenas
Why in news?
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru has erupted, spewing ash and smoke as high as an 5.6km into the sky.
Key details
- Mount Semeru, is an active volcano in East Java,
- It is located in the subduction zone, where the Indo-Australia plate subducts under the Eurasia plate.
- It is the highest mountain on the island of Java.
- This stratovolcano is also known as Mahameru, meaning “The Great Mountain” in Sanskrit. The name derived from the Hindu cosmology’s mountain of Meru or Sumeru, the abode of gods.
- It is situated in volcanic arc of ring of fire or Sunda arc.
- Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency didn’t issue any evacuation orders, but warned villagers to be on the lookout for any signs of danger.
- Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent volcanic activity as well as earthquakes.
- Indonesia is at the meeting point of three major continental plates – the Pacific, the Eurasian and the Indo-Australian plates – and the much smaller Philippine plate. As a result, several volcanoes on the Indonesian islands are prone to erupting. Indonesia is home to roughly 400 volcanoes, out of which 127 are currently active, accounting for about a third of the world’s active volcanoes.
- Around 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur in the Ring of Fire, and 80% of the world’s largest earthquakes.
Iran asks watchdog to not publish unnecessary nuke programme details
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II & III International Relations and Security related issues
Why in news?
Iran urged United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing unnecessary details on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Key details
- The report quoted a statement from Iran’s nuclear department that asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid publishing details on Iran’s nuclear program that may cause confusion.
- Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of uranium metal.
- IAEA said Iran had informed it that it had begun installing equipment for the production of uranium metal. It said Tehran maintains its plans to conduct research and development on uranium metal production are part of its “declared aim to design an improved type of fuel.”
- Tehran has long suspected that result of the inspections by the agency have leaked and caused further problems for Iran.
- Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a tweet criticized the Europeans for their failure in saving the nuclear deal, or JCPOA, after the U.S. withdrawal and said the deal remain alive because Iran did not withdraw from it. JCPOA is alive because of Iran and not E3.
- President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear deal, in which Tehran had agreed to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
- President-elect Joe Biden, who was vice president when the deal was signed during the Obama administration, has said he hopes to return the U.S. to the deal.