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GS Paper: GS3

  • Exercise Al–Mohed Al–Hindi

    The maiden bilateral naval exercise between India and Saudi Arabia named ‘AL–Mohed AL–Hindi’ has got underway.

    Must read:

    [Prelims Spotlight] Various Defence Exercises in News

    Ex Al-Mohed AI-Hindi 2021

    • This is the first edition of a bilateral naval exercise between India and Saudi Arabia.
    • It comprises several shore and sea-based drills between the two navies.
    • It reflects the growing defense ties between the two nations in the wake of the Indian Army chiefs’ first visit to the West Asian country last year.
    • INS Kochi is the Indian warship participating in the exercise.
    • The exercise is being held against the backdrop of growing tensions in the Persian Gulf following a drone attack on the tanker MV Mercer Street off Oman.

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  • Privatizing Indian Railways

    Context

    On July 1, 2020, the Indian Railways launched the formal process of inviting private parties to run trains on the Indian railway system. Hopes of a large participation were belied as there were no bids for nine clusters and only two bids for three clusters.

    Why current model of inviting private players to run trains has failed?

    • Lack of equal relationship: IR wants the capital and technology without giving up control, while the concessioner wants a far more equal relationship to be moderated by a regulator.
    • Constraints on efficient decision-making: IR has imposed constraints that prevent efficient decisions and adopted an organisational design that does not take into account the characteristics and associated risks that will determine outcomes and investment decisions.
    • Lumpiness of investment: The biggest dampener is the lumpiness of investment before a single passenger can be carried.
    • High risk involved: Train sets have to be purchased without really knowing how much traffic the service will be able to attract in the face of rising competition from airlines.
    • IR does not guarantee the investor that, in case the concession fails, it will acquire the train sets.
    • Absence of regulator: The other big dampener is the absence of a regulator for resolving disputes.

    Suggestions

    1) Remove the lumpiness of investment by establishing rolling stock company

    • The central issue is how to align the three interests.
    • 1) India’s need to be capable of designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art rolling stock.
    • 2) IR’s need for private capital participation.
    • 3) Private capital’s necessity of earning a profit.
    • Establish a company to lease rolling stock: The above 3 interests can be aligned provided the lumpiness of investment in train sets can be eliminated by establishing a company that leases rolling stock not only to concessioners but also to IR.
    • The rolling stock company, apart from leasing train sets, can also be the window for bringing in new technology.
    • This will also enable reducing the concession period from 35 years to a more reasonable 10-15 years, bringing in competition.
    •  For starters, IRFC, which is already into leasing rolling stock, can be that company.

    2) Bring in new technology by opening IR’s rolling stock market to international manufacturers

    • There is need to move the rolling stock industry up the industrial value chain and bring about a structural change of the Indian economy.
    • Long term arrangement with suppliers: This can only be brought about by a vision that encourages long-term arrangements with rolling stock suppliers.
    • Open the market for global players: An arrangement that gives access to IR’s rolling stock market is the only way to compel global players to share technology and form joint ventures with Indian companies.

    3) Investment in research

    • Technology transfer requires understanding the critical elements of the technology and absorbing them into the design-production process.
    • This calls for the investment of large sums of money and the involvement of universities, research institutes and national laboratories.

    4) Make changes to attract private investors

    • For attracting private players, the risks for the concessioners needs to be reduced.
    • The period of the concession needs to be reduced to around 15 years.
    • Establish regulator: There is a need to establish a regulator and moderate charges like the amount for the maintenance of tracks and stations.

    Conclusion

    With these changes, the plan may still take off. However, the initiative will remain limited to just running trains if there is no long-term vision.

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  • Why central government schemes for discoms have not worked

    Context

    A recent report of Niti Aayog has assessed the losses of discoms to be about Rs 90,000 crore in 2020-21.

    Central government schemes for discoms

    • In 2001, the Accelerated Power Development Scheme was initiated.
    • This was followed by various other schemes with some differences between them.
    •  The government had launched the UDAY scheme in 2015.
    • UDAY did not involve any monetary assistance to the states, but only promised to help the states in reducing the cost of power through coal linkage rationalization, etc.
    • Recently, the government launched a new scheme with a total outlay of around Rs 3.03 lakh crore.
    • It seeks to improve the distribution infrastructure of the distribution companies (discoms) with the primary intention of improving their financial health.
    • The objective of the scheme is to bring down commercial losses in the range of 12-15 percent and also reduce the difference between the average cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realized (ARR) to zero by 2024-25.
    • The problem with all these schemes (including UDAY) is that they have not been delivered and the financial position of the discoms has only worsened.

    Why did schemes fail to improve the financial health of discoms?

    • Reduction of loss is a managerial issue: Reduction of commercial losses is not really about improving infrastructure, it is more of a managerial issue.
    • The average loss (inclusive of technical and commercial) is about 22 percent today.
    • But several discoms have losses in excess of 40 percent.
    • It is possible to bring down losses from 40 percent to about 15 percent without any significant investments in infrastructure.
    • Investments, however, would be required to bring down losses further to a single-digit level.
    • The governance issues of the scheme is a complex issue.
    • The two most popular parameters which are monitored are the loss levels and the difference between the ACS and ARR.
    • There are inherent problems with these parameters since they keep fluctuating and it is very difficult to fathom their trend on a quarter-wise basis, rendering the release of funds to be tricky and cumbersome.
    • In the scheme now announced by the government, about 26 parameters will be taken into consideration and assigned a score.
    • For some of the parameters, it may be difficult to assign a score across discoms which may lead to some amount of subjectivity.

    Way forward: Alternate approach

    • Provide transitional financial support: An alternate approach that could be considered by the Centre (in lieu of such assistance schemes) is providing only transitional financial support to all discoms, which are privatized under the private-public partnership mode. 
    •  A transitional support of Rs 3,450 crore spread over five years proved to be exceedingly beneficial in the case of discoms in Delhi.
    • Promote privatization: Since in an earlier policy statement the government had mentioned that privatization of discoms is to be promoted, it would make sense to consider this transitional support as a catalyst.

    Conclusion

    Adopting this approach will ensure that the central government moves away from the micro-management of discoms, which inevitably happens if the release of funds is linked to reform-linked parameters on a quarter-wise basis.

     

  • Net-zero emission targets do little to retard carbon grab

    Context

    Earlier this week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported on climate science, warning against the folly of a business-as-usual development model.

    What does science say about future pathways

    • Globally, average surface temperatures have already risen by 1.09°C between 1850-1900 and 2010-2019.
    • What happens next depends on our development and technological choices.
    • High fossil fuel use path: As per the the IPCC document, if we followed high fossil fuel development (doubling emissions by 2050), temperatures would rise by 4.4°C (range of 3.3-5.7°C) by 2100.
    • Sustainable pathways: If a more sustainable pathway were pursued average global temperature rise would be 1.4°C (range of 1.0-1.8°C).
    • Regardless, it is likely that the average rise in temperatures will breach the 1.5°C barrier within the next two decades.
    • If emissions are not mitigated rapidly, we are staring at rising climate risks and catastrophic impacts.
    • Human influence is very likely the main reason behind glacial retreat since the 1990s.
    • Since observations began, glaciers have lost the maximum mass during 2010-19.
    • Sea level rise: Even with warming restricted to 1.5°C, we are still on course for more than 2 metres of sea-level rise beyond this century.

    India’s vulnerability to climate change

    • If warming exceeds 4°C, India could see about 40% increase in precipitation annually, leading to extreme rainfall events.
    • Three-quarters of India’s districts are now hotspots of extreme weather events.
    • Since 1990, more than 300 such events have resulted in damages exceeding INR 5.6 lakh crore.

    Changes needed to stabilise temperature rise

    • The IPCC says that in order to stabilise rise in temperatures, two things have to happen:
    • 1) Anthropogenic emissions must become net-zero.
    • 2) In the interim cumulative emissions cannot exceed a global carbon budget.
    • Carbon Budget: To stay within the 1.5°C limit, starting in 2020 the remaining global carbon budget is 300-500 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) (with a likelihood of 50%-83%).

    Unjust climate politics and net-zero emission targets

    • Of late, several large emitters have promised net-zero emission targets. 
    • CEEW analysts calculate that despite their self-laudatory targets, China would consume 87% of the global carbon space (if it reached net-zero in 2060) and the US would eat up 26% (if it reached net-zero in 2050).
    • Mere announcements of net-zero targets do little to retard the “carbon grab” of the largest emitters.
    •  Rich countries, as a whole, emitted ~25 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2eq) more than their estimated emission allowance during 2008-20, thanks to non-participation in pre-2020 climate agreements and misuse of accounting loopholes. 
    • Climate justice demands that developed countries now take steps to free up carbon space for others.

    Way forward for India

    • India must adopt a more climate-friendly development pathway for its own sake.
    • Its per capita incomes, energy consumption and carbon footprint are well below the global average but it must deliver high rates of economic growth within a shrinking carbon budget.
    • Shift discourse to economy: The discourse must shift from energy to the economy.
    • There are very few sunrise sectors that are not low-carbon.
    • India must tap new technology frontiers (green hydrogen), new business models (distributed and digitalised services, for distributed energy, EV charging, cold chains), new construction materials (low-carbon cement, recycled plastic), new opportunities in the circular economy of minerals, municipal waste and agricultural residue, and new practices for sustainable agriculture and food systems.
    • Policy and regulatory support: Many of above technologies and business models are proven but need policy and regulatory support.

    Conclusion

    The climate crisis is a strategic threat to our development prospects. It deserves sober, continuing analysis, deliberation and action. The headlines look bad; reality will get worse.

  • Unpacking the resiliency of global trade

    Context

    Past experiences suggest there is hope for global trade recovery in the post-COVID-19 world.

    Impact of pandemic on the global and Indian economy

    • In the last year, the devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic has shrunk the world economy by 4.4% and global trade by 5.3%.
    • Job losses in the world have been estimated to be to the tune of 75 million.
    • India’s GDP contracted by 7.3% according to the National Statistical Office.
    • About 10 million jobs were lost in India according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd.
    • Around the world, countries have responded to pandemic-induced shortages with protectionist reactions and nationalist aspirations.
    • Such a response has the potential to disrupt complex cross-border supply chains.

    How economic shocks in the past laid foundation for institutional changes

    • The Second World War was responsible for the creation of the Bretton Woods Institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Trade Organisation (ITO) were created to help rebuild the shattered post-war economy.
    •  The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was negotiated in 1947 as a means to reducing barriers to international trade.
    • The oil shocks of the 1970s led to the establishment of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974 and went on to create awareness on the need for global energy security.
    • The financial crisis of 2008 led to the G20 Leaders Summit, an elevation from the G20 Finance Ministers forum in 1999.
    • Increase in global trade: As a result of these developments global trade increased from a mere $60.80 billion in 1950 to $2,049 billion in 1980; $6,452 billion in 2000; $19,014 billion in 2019.

    Changes in the global trade in post-Covid world

    • Financial buffers due to stimulus package: Stimulus packages and forced savings in several countries in the last year have created financial buffers.
    • Resilient supply chain: Global supply chains are expected to be resilient to help revive manufacturing with lower production costs, induce investments and promote technology transfers.
    • Anti-dumping measures at WTO: In a post COVID-19 world, members of the World Trade Organization are expected to make rules to discipline errant nations that are known to dumping goods and erecting trade barriers through multilateral rules.
    • Deeper economic integration through trade arrangements: Mutually beneficial trade arrangements that seek deeper economic integration will be entered into at the bilateral and regional levels.
    • Dominance of technology: Countries that harness technology are expected to dominate international trade in future with a transformational impact on the global economy.
    •  Businesses will aim to harness data for innovation to remain ahead of the curve in a post-COVID-19 world.

    Way forward for India

    • The projections of the International Monetary Fund for India’s economic growth ahead are positive and in line with the general trends world-wide.
    • Focus on value-added manufacturing: Building an ecosystem that incentivises value-added manufacturing and technology-induced finished products should form a part of our long-term strategy.
    • Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) schemes, if carefully nurtured, could lead the industry on that path.
    • Support MSMEs: Supporting MSMEs with cheaper input costs, including raw material and intermediate goods would help sustain them with job creation at the local level.
    •  Developing a synergistic relationship between the big industry and MSMEs is at the core of a successful Atmanirbhar Bharat.
    • Skill upgradation: Skills upgradation to global standards should form a part of India’s strategy in a post-COVID-19 world.

    Conclusion

    The patterns in the past leave much hope for optimism for global trade in the post-COVID-19 crisis in the collective belief that international trade is vital for development and prosperity.

  • What is India Plastics Pact?

    The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has long been at the forefront of having an India Plastic Pact.

    What are Plastics Pacts?

    • The Plastics Pacts are business-led initiatives and transform the plastics packaging value chain for all formats and products.
    • The Pacts bring together everyone from across the plastics value chain to implement practical solutions.
    • All Pacts unite behind four targets:
    1. to eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation;
    2. to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable;
    3. to increase the reuse, collection, and
    4. recycling of plastic packaging; and to increase recycled content in plastic packaging

    India Plastics Pact

    • The India Plastics Pact, the first in Asia, will be launched in September at the CII Annual Sustainability Summit.
    • It can be expected to boost demand for recycled content, investments in recycling infrastructure, jobs in the waste sector, and beyond.
    • The first Plastics Pact was launched in the U.K. in 2018.
    • The India Plastics Pact is supported by WRAP (UK based NGO), which supports many Pacts globally.
    • This association will ensure access to expertise and knowledge from different Pacts worldwide.

    Key provisions of the pact

    • Pact will support the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of the government and improve solid waste management as envisioned in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
    • Integral to the Pact’s framework is the involvement of the informal waste sector crucial to post-consumer segregation, collection and processing of plastic waste.
    • While the India Plastics Pact will be active in India, it will link globally with other Plastics Pacts.

    How would this work?

    • The Plastics Pact is a network of initiatives that bring together all key stakeholders at the national or regional level to implement solutions towards a circular economy for plastics.
    • Each initiative is led by a local organization and unites governments, businesses, and citizens behind the common vision with a concrete set of ambitious local targets, for example in the following areas:
    1. Eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation
    2. Move from single-use to reuse where relevant
    3. Ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable
    4. Increase the reuse, collection, and recycling or composting of plastic packaging
    5. Increase recycled content in plastic packaging

    Benefits offered

    • Many Indian businesses and organizations have expressed an interest in signing up to the Pact.
    • Deeper and long-lasting benefits will be felt across the supply chains of these businesses, most of which comprise MSMEs.
    • The Pact will encourage the development and maturing of the entire plastics production and management ecosystem.
    • Apart from benefits to society and the economy, delivering the targets will drive the circularity of plastics and help tackle pollution. They will lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

    Why need such pact?

    • Of the many sustainability challenges that impact societies, climate change and plastic waste have a special significance.
    • A 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law suggests that by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach over 56 gigatonnes, 10-13% of the remaining carbon budget.
    • However, viewed from the angle of livelihoods, post-consumer segregation, collection and disposal of plastics make up about half of the income of 1.5- 4 million waste-pickers in India.

    Way forward

    • For India, the solution must be multi-pronged, systemic, and large scale, to create a visible impact.
    • The India Plastics Pact focuses on solutions and innovation.
    • Members’ accountability is ensured through ambitious targets and annual data reporting.
    • The Pact will develop a road map for guidance, form action groups composed of members, and initiate innovation projects.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q. In India, ‘extended producer responsibility’ was introduced as an important feature in which of the following? (CSP 2019)

    (a) The Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998

    (b) The Recycled plastic (Manufacturing and Usage) Rules, 1999

    (c) The e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011

    (d) The Food Safety and Standard Regulations, 2011

     

    Post your answers here: [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”pxfhhzah0l” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″][/wpdiscuz-feedback]

  • National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)

    The Centre has increased the financial outlay for the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).

    About NMEO-OP

    • National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) was implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan, to expand the oil palm areas and increase the production of edible oils.
    • It was later merged with the National Food Security Mission.
    • NMEO-OP aims to resolve to allow India to be independent or self-reliant in edible oil production.
    • Through this mission, more than ₹11,000 crores will be invested in the edible oil ecosystem.
    • The government will ensure that farmers get all the needed facilities, from quality seeds to technology.
    • Along with promoting the cultivation of oil palm, this mission will also expand the cultivation of our other traditional oilseed crops.

    Why such a mission?

    • India is one of the major oilseeds growers and importers of edible oils.
    • India’s vegetable oil economy is the world’s fourth-largest after the USA, China & Brazil.
    • The oilseed accounts for 13% of the Gross Cropped Area, 3% of the Gross National Product, and 10% value of all agricultural commodities.
    • During the last few years, the domestic consumption of edible oils has increased substantially and has touched the level of 18.90 million tonnes in 2011-12 and is likely to increase further.
    • A substantial portion of our requirement of edible oil is met through the import of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia.
    • It is, therefore, necessary to exploit domestic resources to maximize production to ensure edible oil security for the country.

    Alternative sources

    • Oil Palm is comparatively a new crop in India and is the highest vegetable oil yielding perennial crop.
    • With quality planting materials, irrigation, and proper management, there is a potential of achieving 20-30 MT Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) per ha after attaining the age of 5 years.
    • Therefore, there is an urgent need to intensify efforts for area expansion under oil palm to enhance palm oil production in the country.
    • Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs), like Sal, Mahua, Simarouba, kokum, Olive, Karanja, Jatropha, Neem, Jojoba, Wild Apricot, Walnut, tung etc. are cultivated/grown in the country under different agro-climatic conditions.
    • These TBOs are also good sources of vegetable oil and therefore need to be supported for cultivation.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q.An objective of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the production of certain crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country. What are those crops?

    (a) Rice and wheat only

    (b) Rice, wheat, and pulses only

    (c) Rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds only

    (d) Rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables

     

    Post your answers here: [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”7x9t7q32mz” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″][/wpdiscuz-feedback]

  • [pib] Operation Greens Scheme

    The Union Minister of Food Processing Industries has provided useful information regarding the Op Greens Scheme.

    Operation Greens Scheme

    • Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched the Operation Greens scheme in November, 2018.
    • The scheme aims for integrated development of the Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP) value chain.
    • It aims to promote Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), agri-logistics, processing facilities and value addition etc. in identified production clusters.
    • Under the scheme, state-wise funds are not allocated as the scheme is demand-driven and projects are approved as per scheme guidelines on the basis of applications received for setting up of projects in eligible production clusters.

    Objectives:

    • To enhance value realization of TOP farmers
    • Reduction in post-harvest losses
    • Price stabilization for producers and consumers and
    • Increase in food processing capacities and value addition etc.

    Key provisions

    • Short term intervention by way of providing transportation and storage subsidy @ 50% and
    • long term intervention through value addition projects in identified production clusters with Grant-in-aid @ 35% to 70% of eligible project cost subject to maximum of Rs. 50 crore per project

  • No fossil fuels as usual

    Context

    The spread and speed of the destruction caused by climate change in recent weeks present our new Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas with a policy dilemma. The article offers five policy suggestions to deal with the dilemma.

    Energy dilemma facing India

    • The events of the past month all over the world have caught even the most alarmist of climate scientists by surprise.
    • These events brought into sharp relief the reality that there was no option of denying the consequential implications of the use of fossil fuels.
    • However, the dilemma India faces lies in the fact that the Indian economy is heavily dependent on fossil fuels and there is no end in sight to this dependence.
    • Further, India imports approximately 85 percent of its crude oil requirements and is exposed to the volatility of the international oil market.

    Five policy changes needed

    1) Reduce emphasis on domestic exploration

    • Not easy to locate and difficult to develop: A review of the public sector’s exploration and production (EP) track record suggests that whilst India may well be sitting on substantial hydrocarbon reserves, these reserves are not easy to locate and, even when located, difficult to develop and produce on a commercial basis.
    • The government has often compounded this economic challenge by placing administrative limits on marketing by companies and their pricing freedom.
    • High risk and structural softness in the market: The fundamental point is that EP in India is a high-risk activity, and this risk is even greater today because of the longer-term structural softness of the petroleum market.
    • The resources earmarked for exploration can be deployed more productively elsewhere.

    2) Increase productivity of producing fields

    • The ONGC needs to allocate increasing resources to improving the productivity of its producing fields.
    • Low oil recovery rate: The average oil recovery rate in India was around 28 percent that is, for every 100 molecules discovered, only 28 were monetized.
    • This number did not compare well with the global average of around 45 percent for fields of comparable geology.
    • Use technology: The application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology offers a relatively low-risk avenue for increasing domestic production.

    3) Increase strategic reserves

    • We hold currently strategic reserves equivalent to 12 days of imports.
    • The government has approved plans to increase this buffer to 25 days.
    • By comparison, China, the EU, South Korea, and Japan hold between 70-100 days of reserves.
    • A significant portion of our oil imports came from the Middle East, predominantly Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran.
    • This region faces deep political and social fault lines and there is no knowing when our supply lines might get ruptured.
    • We would, therefore, be well-advised to build contingency safeguards.

    4) Restructure and reorganize public sector petroleum companies

    • Consolidate upstream assets: In the first instance, the upstream assets should be consolidated under ONGC (the upstream assets of BPCL, IOC, HPCL, and GAIL should pass onto ONGC) and GAIL should be unbundled into a public utility gas pipeline company
    • Diversify: Thereafter, these companies should be encouraged to look beyond hydrocarbons to build an “energy” enterprise.
    • The restructuring will help cut back the “avoidable” costs of intra public sector competition.
    • It will also reduce the inefficiencies of “sub-scale” operations.
    • It will provide a focused platform for balancing the shorter-term need to provide secure and affordable hydrocarbons with the medium and longer-term imperative of developing clean energy.

    5) Avoid siloed thinking

    • The petroleum minister should not see his responsibility through the siloed prism of oil and natural gas.
    • He should broaden the aperture and become the progenitor of the energy transition.

    Conclusion

    The dilemma referred to in the opening sentence will be easier to resolve our priorities are set within the framework of clean energy.

  • A circular economy for plastic

    Context

    The India Plastics Pact, the first in Asia, will be launched in September at the CII Annual Sustainability Summit.

    Issue of plastic waste

    • A 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law suggests that by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach over 56 gigatonnes, 10-13% of the remaining carbon budget.
    • Connection with livelihood: Viewed from the angle of livelihoods, post-consumer segregation, collection and disposal of plastics make up about half of the income of 1.5- 4 million waste-pickers in India.
    • For India, the solution must be multi-pronged, systemic, and large scale, to create a visible impact. The Plastics Pacts model offers such a solution.

    About Plastics Pacts model

    • Business-led initiative: The Plastics Pacts are business-led initiatives and transform the plastics packaging value chain for all formats and products.
    • The Pacts bring together everyone from across the plastics value chain to implement practical solutions.
    • Integral to the Pact’s framework is the involvement of the informal waste sector crucial to post-consumer segregation, collection and processing of plastic waste. 
    • All Pacts unite behind four targets:
    • 1) To eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation.
    • 2) To ensure all plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable.
    • 3) To increase the reuse, collection, and recycling of plastic packaging.
    • 4) To increase recycled content in plastic packaging.
    • It is active in a number of countries including the U.K., South Africa, and Australia.
    • The first Plastics Pact was launched in the U.K. in 2018, by WRAP, a global NGO based in the U.K.
    • It is now being brought to India by CII and WWF India.

    Advantages

    • Economic advantage: It can be expected to boost demand for recycled content, investments in recycling infrastructure, jobs in the waste sector, and beyond.
    • Support EPR framework: The Pact will support the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of the government and improve solid waste management as envisioned in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
    • The India Plastics Pact focuses on solutions and innovation.
    • Plastic production and management development: The Pact will encourage the development and maturing of the entire plastics production and management ecosystem.
    • Drive circulatory of plastic: Apart from benefits to society and economy, delivering the targets will drive the circularity of plastics and help tackle pollution.

    Conclusion

    The India Plastics Pact will benefit society, the economy and the environment.