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Search 26th April, 2021 Spotlight here: http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx
TOPIC:
General Studies 2:
General Studies 3
ON COVID CARE
In News: The US government has stepped up assistance to India in its battle against a deadly wave of the COVID-19. The India-U.S. cooperation is proving crucial to confront the health challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, including future vaccine development and distribution.
As both India and the United States combat a pandemic of unprecedented scale, the two countries have drawn upon the strength of their long-standing health-care ties to help them better understand the novel coronavirus and find workable solutions
The India-U.S. partnership in medical research has been complemented by the strength of our cooperation in pharmaceuticals. India’s capabilities in R&D and in manufacturing have made its pharmaceutical sector the world’s third-largest by volume. These strengths have been bolstered by government incentives to encourage investments in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Indian generic drugs have found a ready market across the globe, with Indian firms supplying about 40% of generic formulations marketed in the United States.
This has allowed American health-care consumers to save billions and enjoy enhanced access to quality medicines. The pharmaceutical sector has also been a significant job creator in the United States, with Indian firms investing billions to establish manufacturing facilities in different states in this country.
Immediate U.S. Emergency COVID-19 Assistance
U.S.-India Health Partnership: Seven Decades Strong
ON CLIMATE CHANGE
In News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India and the US are launching a clean energy Agenda 2030 partnership to mobilise investments and enable green collaborations.
Addressing the virtual summit on climate, hosted by US President Joe Biden and attended by 40 global leaders, PM Modi pitched for concrete action at a high speed and on a large scale globally to combat climate change. He asserted that India has taken several bold steps on clean energy, energy efficiency and bio-diversity despite its development challenges, adding that the country’s carbon footprint is 60% lower than the global average.
The Prime Minister said as a climate-responsible developing country, India welcomes partners to create templates of sustainable development in India, and these can help other developing countries as well who need affordable access to green finance and clean technologies.
Launch of the India-US Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership – A Green Partnership
The Partnership will proceed along two main tracks: the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue, which will build on and subsume a range of existing processes.
The partnership will aim to mobilise finance and speed clean energy deployment; demonstrate and scale innovative clean technologies needed to decarbonise sectors including industry, transportation, power and buildings; and build capacity to measure, manage and adapt to the risks of climate-related impacts
Through this collaboration, India and the United States aim to demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, taking into account national circumstances and sustainable development priorities. Led by Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, the partnership will represent one of the core venues for India-US collaboration and focus on driving urgent progress in this critical decade for climate action.
Both countries have also agreed to prioritise greater collaboration in the clean energy sector, such as biofuels, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), hydrogen production and carbon sequestration, through technology exchange, joint research and development (R&D) through Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R) as part of the strategic partnership.
The Way Forward
Both the US and India have taken important strides together to advance their strategic partnership in the domain of climate action and policy. However, existing efforts continue to rely mainly on an incremental approach to tackling climate change. Such measures are welcome but insufficient. As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded of the human and economic costs associated with weak international cooperation, delayed action, and the lack of investments in important infrastructure and capabilities. Climate-induced disasters may make the current pandemic look meek, and the world could ignore this risk at its own peril. Thus, it is vital for India and the US to double down on efforts to drive structural change, hurdle institutional barriers, and overcome the inertia inhibiting green growth and development.
Connecting the Dots:
