India’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) approach 

The latest ruling on tax treaties by the Supreme Court clarifies India’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) policy.

What is the Most Favoured Nation (MFN)?

• It is a diplomatic and commercial tenet that encourages fairness in dealing between trading partners. When one nation accords MFN status to another, it commits to providing that partner with the same trade benefits and favorable conditions as it does with its most preferred trading partner.

Explanation:

• For instance, if Country A grants Country B the MFN designation, it has to provide Country B with the same trade advantages as it provides to Country C, which is its greatest trading partner. This guarantees impartiality and absence of bias in global commerce.

MFN’s Legal Status:

• WTO member nations are required by Article 1 of GATT 1994 to confer Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status on one another, guaranteeing equitable trade treatment. There may be some exceptions, such as agreements on bilateral trade or preferential access for underdeveloped countries.
• For example, Pakistan was initially awarded MFN status along with all other WTO members by India. However, Pakistan never granted India’s MFN status back, and India revoked Pakistan’s MFN status in 2019 for security concerns.

Why is the MFN Controversy so old?

• India modified its dividend tax laws in 2020, giving investors from specific nations comparable advantages. Because of the reduced tax rates in the treaties that India individually signed with new OECD members, investors from these nations benefited relatively.
• Currently, investors from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France—ancient members of the OECD—have also begun to search India for advantages related to reduced tax rates. The topic of whether the three countries should automatically get the lower tax rates without any formal notification gave rise to dispute, though.

Kozhikode as ‘City of Literature’ and Gwalior as the ‘City of Music’

• The cities of Gwalior, in Madhya Pradesh, and Kozhikode, in Kerala, are part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
• These cities were selected to symbolize particular artistic disciplines; for example, Gwalior was selected to symbolize music, and Kozhikode to represent literature.
• This network includes the following Indian cities: Hyderabad (gastronomy), Jaipur (crafts and folk arts), Varanasi (music), Chennai (music), and Srinagar (crafts and folk arts).

About Kozhikode

• It is renowned for turning out well-known authors and cultural icons and has a strong literary heritage. The city has a long history of making important literary contributions; in 1887, Kundalatha, the first Malayalam book, was written there.

Creative Cities Network of UNESCO:

• There are 350 cities in more than 100 countries that are part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which was founded by UNSECO in 2004. Its goal is to promote collaboration between cities that understand that innovation is essential to long-term, sustainable urban growth.
• Categories include: Crafts and folk arts 2. Media arts 3. Film 4. Design 5. Gastronomy 6. Literature and 7. Music.
• The network aims to leverage the creative, social, and economic potential of cultural industries, aligning with UNESCO’s objectives of promoting cultural diversity and enhancing resilience to challenges like climate change, inequality, and rapid urbanization.
• It promotes a culture of creativity in urban planning and solutions to urban issues.

2023 British Academy Book Prize: Nandini Das

The 2023 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding has been awarded to Indian-born author Nandini Das. She will receive GBP 25,000 for her book, “Courting India: England, Mughal India, and the Origins of Empire.”

Regarding the book

• The novel tells the tale of Sir Thomas Roe, the first English envoy to India in the seventeenth century, offering a novel viewpoint on the beginnings of the British Empire. The award honors nonfiction publications that advance knowledge of many global cultures and their interactions.

About the Prize:

• Renamed the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize in 2013, the British Academy Book Prize honors exceptional non-fiction books in the humanities and social sciences. It honors works of literature that are rigorous, innovative, and contribute to our understanding of world cultures and interactions.

Hydroclimate extremes

• The effect of global warming on hydroclimate extremes over the Indian River Basins (IRBs) was investigated in a recent study conducted at Banaras Hindu University.
• Extreme weather events with significant potential effects on ecosystems and human society are known as hydroclimatic extremes. Droughts, heat waves, rainstorms, and floods are some of these occurrences.
• High-resolution simulations of precipitation from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-6 (CMIP6) experiments were employed in the study.

Findings:

• The results show that whereas heavy rainfall intensity is predicted to increase across the Upper Ganga and Indus basins, the frequency of extreme rainfall is forecast to increase over the Western Ghats and Northeast River basins.
• The study draws attention to an agricultural drought brought on by a drop in mean rainfall in the lower Ganga basin.

Significance:

• It highlights how important it is for decision-makers to create plans for handling excess or insufficient water. The study projects notable variations in precipitation in certain locations and an increase in heavy rainfall of 4% to 10% throughout the western portion of the Indian River basins.
• These modifications to the hydroclimate extremes may have a significant effect on socioeconomic situations, agriculture, and health.
• In order to reduce the risk associated with extreme events in these basins, policymakers should develop basin-specific climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, such as water and emergency services policies, as the study also identifies major hotspots for future urban flooding in densely populated cities.

Mercury contamination

• A recent study found that artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations in Central and South America are causing mercury pollution in tropical birds.
• Mercury concentrations in birds were found to be more than four times greater in those residing near 7 km of gold mining activities than in other locations.

Why is mercury used in the mining of gold?

• Mercury and gold combine to produce an amalgam, gold can be extracted from ore by the use of mercury in gold mining. Although amalgamation is a straightforward and efficient method of capturing tiny gold particles, mercury pollution from this process poses serious risks to human health and the environment.

Key Results:

• According to the research, there may be a connection between mercury exposure and the decline in tropical bird species that has been seen in recent years.
• Mercury poisoning has been connected to immunological disorders, neurological conditions, and infertility in birds and humans. Because of their capacity to detect environmental problems, birds are regarded as sensitive indicators of the health of ecosystems and are sometimes referred to as the “canary in the gold mine.”

Rafah border crossing

Egypt consented to take in injured Palestinians from Gaza and dual nationals from Palestine via the Rafah border crossing. This decision is a reaction to the recent confrontation between Israel and Hamas fighters.

Regarding the Rafah Bridge:

• The Rafah Crossing connects the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt with the Gaza Strip, making it the southernmost point of departure. It is the sole outlet that does not lead into Israeli territory, and it is under Egyptian authority. The Israeli-controlled border crossings at Erez and Kerem Shalom are now closed, making Rafah the main point of entry and exit for Gaza residents and humanitarian aid.