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The second meeting of the G20 Culture Working Group Meeting, which begins in Bhubaneswar, will focus on achieving sustainability through crafts and heritage.
In keeping with that theme, an exhibition — ‘Sustain: The Craft Idiom’ — will be inaugurated by Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on Monday at Odisha Crafts Museum.
The four-day event will be attended by delegates from G20 members, guest nations and several international organisations to discuss “issues facing the culture sector to further deliberate in-depth work towards tangible, action-oriented recommendations”, as per a statement by the Ministry of Culture.
Officials said it will also build upon the deliberations held during the first cultural track meeting, which was held in Khajuraho in February.
The first meeting had an exhibition of artefacts that have been repatriated to India in recent years from various countries on the sidelines, called ‘Re(ad)dress: Return of Treasures’.
In fact, each of the culture track meetings has an exhibition on the sidelines pertaining to the theme. The next Culture Working Group meeting will be held in Hampi in July, followed by the ministerial meeting in August, likely to be held in Varanasi.
The meetings of the Culture Working Group focus on four key priority areas: Protection and Restitution of Cultural Property; Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future; Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy; and Leveraging Digital Technologies for the Protection and Promotion of Culture.
A highlight of the meeting will be a sand art exhibit by artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on Puri beach, titled ‘Culture Unites All’. Officials said ‘Culture Unites All’ is a campaign to highlight India’s belief in multilateralism based on peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures and communities.
The theme recognises that by embracing cultural exchange and understanding, we can transcend boundaries, foster connections, and inspire meaningful dialogue among individuals, communities and nations.
Opinion
A call for algorithmic justice for SC/STs (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The dawn of the metaverse demands an inclusive anti-caste tech policy to eliminate caste-based discrimination on online platforms and emerging technologies. India’s deep-rooted caste-based system of discrimination is expanding online.
The metaverse is a new convergence of emerging technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality, and Blockchain) that create new opportunities for learning, employment, social connections, entertainment, digital economy, games, fashion, fitness, and commerce in the 3D world.
Without an equitable policy and ethical framework, the current caste disparities in offline and online communities will extend to the metaverse.
To promote equity and justice in AI and metaverse technologies, it is crucial to address the gaps in India’s anti-caste tech policy.
The caste system is the most invisible identity-related systemic human rights issue worldwide, affecting over one billion people globally.
A study by Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy says approximately 27% of modern Indian families practice untouchability, and historically marginalised groups are excluded from the decision-making process in digital media to communicate caste-based discrimination.
Dominant caste groups perpetuate caste discrimination on social media, promoting violence and caste supremacy. According to a 2019 report based on a survey by the Delhi-based Lokniti and Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) appear two times less frequently on social media than Hindu dominant caste users.
Observer Research Foundation’s research report reveals that caste identities are reproduced, and caste norms violations have increased on social media in India.
Economy
SCO member state adopt India’s Digital Public infra proposal (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) agreed to support adoption of digital public infrastructure (DPI) developed by India such as Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface, DigiLocker and CoWin.
In a meeting on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), chaired by India, Vaishnaw proposed to the SCO member states to support adoption of India’s digital public infrastructure.
The minister also emphasised that India stack being interoperable and open application programming interface (API) based, it is enabling digital inclusion, innovation and social empowerment.
The minister also urged them to assess, evaluate and adopt India Stack and benefit from this DPI. “DPI is very important from the perspective of having completion, making sure that technology is democratised and making sure of digitally inclusive growth among member states.
He also said there was also a need for interoperability between different systems being developed by the member states and the body recognised the need for setting up an organisation for setting common standards for interoperability of digital systems among member states.
This year, India will chair the Annual Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit in December. “Indian ethos is based on the firm belief that the entire humanity is one family.
The minister also shared with the SCO member states about India’s investment of $3 billion to take mobile connectivity to villages in remote areas and $5 billion to bring broadband connectivity to all 250 thousand Gram Panchayats.
IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw proposed to the SCO member states to support adoption of India’s digital public infrastructure.
The minister also emphasised that India stack being interoperable and open application programming interface (API) based, it is enabling digital inclusion, innovation and social empowerment. He urged them to assess, evaluate and adopt India Stack and benefit from this DPI
Set targets under green open access Rules: Govt. (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Union New and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh on Saturday directed the industry to set targets under Green Open Access Rules 2022.
In June 2023, the government notified the Green Open Access Rules 2022 to further accelerate India’s renewable energy programmes.
These rules were notified for promoting generation, purchase and consumption of green energy including through waste-to-energy plants.It also enables a simplified procedure for the open access to green power.
Singh chaired a meeting with Industry and other stakeholders in New Delhi on Green Energy Open Access Rules, an official statement said.
The minister exhorts industry leaders to set targets for going green. He called upon the industry leaders to set targets for going green and take advantage of the provisions of Green Energy Open Access Rules to get green power at reasonable rates.
The Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022, Singh said, are a major step towards India cutting emissions by 45 per cent in line with NDC (nationally determined contribution) target for 2030.
The minister also asked the industry stakeholders to inform the government of such cases where the Green Energy Open Access Rules are not being followed so that the government can take up the issue with the concerned agencies and if required, take penal actions.
He assured Industry of all help in adoption of Green Energy Open Access Rules. Over 500 participants attended the meeting.
At G7 meet a warning about economic outlook as US debt crisis looms (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Finance leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations warned of heightening global economic uncertainty, as they wrapped up a three-day meet overshadowed by a U.S. debt ceiling stalemate and fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Their gathering in the Japanese city of Niigata came as worries over a U.S. default fuelled uncertainty over the global outlook, already clouded by stubbornly high inflation and U.S. bank failures.
The global economy has shown resilience against multiple shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and associated inflationary pressures," the leaders said in a communique after the meeting.
The communique made no mention of the U.S. debt ceiling stalemate, which hits markets at a time when borrowing costs are rising because of aggressive monetary tightening by U.S. and European central banks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday she would meet senior Wall Street bankers next week about the possibility that Washington could default on its debt for the first time since 1789.
Clearly, distress in the world's biggest economy would be negative for everyone," World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters on the sidelines of the G7 meeting the same day. "The repercussions would be bad to not get it done."
On the banking troubles, the communique said policymakers would tackle "data, supervisory, and regulatory gaps in the banking system".
They retained their April assessment that the global financial system was "resilient", thanks to regulatory reforms made after the 2008 global financial crisis.
Warning that inflation remains "elevated," the G7 central banks stressed their commitment to price stability and ensure inflation expectations remained well-anchored, the communique showed.
The grouping reiterated its condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pledge to strengthen monitoring of cross-border transactions between Russia and other countries.
China has also been much on the leaders' minds, with this year's chair, Japan, spearheading efforts to diversify supply chains and reduce their heavy reliance on the world's second-biggest economy.
The G7 finance leaders set a year-end deadline for launching a new scheme to diversify global supply chains in their communique.
World
Thousands flee as cyclone nears Bangladesh and Myanmar coasts (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
A powerful storm packing winds of up to 175 kph (109 mph) barrelled towards the coasts of eastern Bangladesh and Myanmar, threatening around a million Rohingya refugees and others living in low-lying areas.
Cyclone Mocha is likely to intensify further and make landfall on Sunday between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a bulletin.
Cox’s Bazar, a southeastern border district, is where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, most of them having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
Categorised as a very severe cyclonic storm that could unleash sea surges of up to 12 feet (3.66 metres), Mocha is expected to hit Myanmar’s Rakhine state and northwestern region, where six million people need humanitarian assistance and 1.2 million are displaced.
Since a junta seized power two years ago, Myanmar has been plunged into chaos and a resistance movement is fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on protests.
In Bangladesh, Mohammad Shamsud Douza, a government official responsible for refugees, said: “We are focusing on saving lives people who are at risk of landslides will be evacuated.
Thousands of community workers and volunteers had already been deployed, alongside medical and rescue personnel who are on stand-by, he said.
Outside the refugee camps, at least 5,000 people have moved to cyclone shelters and authorities have made arrangements to evacuate 500,000 people from the path of the storm.
In Myanmar, the World Food Programme said it was preparing food and relief supplies that could help more than 400,000 people in Rakhine and surrounding areas for a month.