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Subject: Global Groupings and Conventions

Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

  • A template for Indian engagement with the West

    The article highlights the significance of the recent G-7 summit for India.

    India’s engagement with the West

    • Two important messages emerge from India’s participation in G-7 with the members of the G-7 and three other invited guests — Australia, South Africa and South Korea.
    • First is that India is a “natural ally” of the G-7 and its partners.
    • The other is the emphasis on shared democratic values that bind India with the West.
    • The two ideas are certainly not new to India’s foreign policy, but they acquire special importance at the current juncture.
    • In the last few years, India embarked on an expansive engagement with Europe.
    • This G-7 summit can be seen as the beginning of an institutionalisation of India’s cooperation with the West.

    What makes this G-7 Summit different from the past Summits?

    • China factor: After the 2008 financial crisis, the more representative G-20, which includes China, Russia, India and many others, seemed to supersede the G-7.
    • But amidst the growing sense that China has gamed the global economic order to America’s disadvantage, there has been renewed interest in like-minded coalitions like the G-7.
    • Widening the base of G-7: There is also the recognition of the case for widening the base of institutions like the G-7 beyond the geographic West to include large democracies like India.
    • Coalition of democracies: The case for a “coalition of democracies” was certainly gaining ground over the last two decades within American academia and the political class.
    • But economic globalisation and the absence of great power rivalry meant there was no compelling policy urgency to construct an “alliance of democracies”.
    • That condition has altered radically in the last few years amidst the growing US tensions with China and Russia. 

    Dealing with the challenges presented by China

    • U.S. President Biden declared his main objective as rallying democracies to meet the great challenges of our time, especially those presented by China.
    • G-7 summit has responded to Biden’s call in the following forms:
    • 1) By offering the outline of a potential alternative to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
    • 2)By calling for a reorientation of global supply chains away from China.
    • 3) By demanding a fresh inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in China.
    • 4) By reprimanding Beijing policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
    • 5) By raising concerns about the conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
    • However, there is a strong view that the door must be kept open for engagement with China on issues like climate change while calling out its unacceptable policies.

    India’s relations with China: New context for engagement with West

    • The rupture in the US engagement with China coincides with the rapid deterioration in India’s relations with China.
    • This also sets up a new context for India’s partnership with the West.
    • If the Indo-Pacific provides a regional basis for India’s engagement with the US and Europe, mitigating climate change and the management of the Covid-19 pandemic provides a global template for India’s engagement with the West.

    Way forward

    • The case for renewal and reform of democratic institutions is urgent in both the US and India.
    • So is the need for sustained consultations between India and its Western partners on a range of new challenges presented by digital technologies, including radicalisation, disinformation, electoral interference, cyber-attacks and the role of large social media companies. 
    • The statement on open societies provides a sound basis for such an engagement.

    Conclusion

    India must begin institutionalisation of its relationship with the West and increase its engagement on various common issues including the China challenge.

  • Can the G-7 give new direction to globalisation?

    The article highlights the challenges associated with the globalisation and important role G-7 can play in dealing with these challenges.

    The context that makes this G-7 Summit significant

    • The most significant expectation of the summit is that it will help determine the shape of globalisation.
    • There has been much discussion of the possibility of the G-7 pushing for global coordination on minimum corporate taxation.
    • The summit also seeks to redefine the broader relationship between states and markets in three ways.

    Redefining the relationship between states and market in 3 ways

    1) States reasserting the control over markets

    • States are reasserting control over the terms on which markets operate.
    • The idea of Neoliberalism did convey the idea that states should follow where the market leads, or step in only where there is a market failure.
    • However, this account of the relationship between states and markets had four harmful consequences.
    • 1) It provided a misleading picture of what makes economies vibrant.
    • 2) It led to a sense of loss of collective control over our economic future.
    • 3) It led to great inequality.
    • 4) In some fields like technology, it created new forms of corporate power.
    • To reverse some of these consequences, some coordination at the global level on taxation, or treatment of technology monopolies etc is required.

    2) Global interdependence cannot be managed without global public goods

    • At one level the global roles of the G-7 or even the G-20 were something like the political steering committee for global capitalism.
    • Their most useful political roles were during the financial crisis, when global financial coordination was required.
    • But there was relatively little attention to the systemic vulnerabilities that globalisation might create.
    • These could be vulnerabilities because of the way supply chains were distributed, or those that arose from the creation of winners and losers within globalisation.
    • Most importantly, there was short shrift given to global public goods like health.
    • The Covid crisis has reminded us of all of these vulnerabilities.
    • The commitment of G-7 to provide one billion vaccine doses is a welcome step.
    • But whether this crisis-driven commitment will translate into an enduring and just framework for providing global public goods on health and environment remains to be seen.

    3) Geopolitical context

    •  There are two geopolitical “cold wars” that cast a shadow on the G-7.
    • The first involves China.
    • In the context of rising geopolitical tensions with China, greater coordination and unity of purpose amongst the G-7 will become more important.
    • The second is a threat of authoritarian disruption.
    • Greater global disarray strengthens the possibility of giving political support to these political tendencies.
    • It is important, therefore, to demonstrate that the G-7 countries are part of a functional democratic civilisation.

    Challenges ahead

    • Despite the directional changes, many of the central distributive conflicts that beset globalisation are likely to continue.
    • The talk of global public goods works only in a context where the advanced economies are at the receiving end.
    • Take the G-7 proposal for the coordination of taxation.
    • In principle, this is not a bad idea, if it can close off tax havens and prevent a global race to the bottom.
    • However, it is sobering to read the Tax Justice Network’s “The State of Tax Justice Report” 2020.
    • According to this report, the United States, Netherlands and United Kingdom are three of the top five countries (along with Cayman Islands and Luxembourg) responsible for tax losses inflicted on other countries.
    • The US, Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong are amongst the highest on the Financial Secrecy Index.
    • So, the visible corporate tax rate, or taxing at point of sales, may just be the window dressing the global tax problem that allows countries to hold onto their privileges.
    • Similarly, on climate change. There is a lot of encouraging talk of ambitious targets, investment-led transformations.
    • Intelligently done, this might be for the good.
    • But it could also repeat the familiar pattern of regulation serving to preserve the dominance of advanced economies.
    • There is also, in the talk of a new global economic order, the curious absence of discussions on finance.
    • But if one is looking at potential sources of vulnerability, the ability to create winners and losers, and possible threats to global resilience, then regulation and coordination of global finance deserve more attention.

    Consider the question “What are the vulnerabilities associated with globalisation. Suggest the solutions to deal with these vulnerabilities.”

    Conclusion

    If the G-7 wants to truly exercise more leadership, it will have to convince the world that all its wonderful new principles, resilience, inclusion, global public goods, are not simply ruses to serve only the interests of the developed world.

  • G-7 agenda this year and what is in it for India

    At the invitation of UK PM, PM Modi will participate in the Outreach Sessions of the G7 Summit this week.

    Note the members of G7 and G20. UPSC may puzzle you asking which G20 nation isn’t a member of G7.

    The Group of 7

    • The G-7 or ‘Group of Seven’ includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
    • It is an intergovernmental organization that was formed in 1975 by the top economies of the time as an informal forum to discuss pressing world issues.
    • Initially, it was formed as an effort by the US and its allies to discuss economic issues.
    • The G-7 forum now discusses several challenges such as oil prices and many pressing issues such as financial crises, terrorism, arms control, and drug trafficking.
    • It does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.
    • Canada joined the group in 1976, and the European Union began attending in 1977.

    Evolution of the G-7

    • When it started in 1975—with six members, Canada joining a year later—it represented about 70% of the world economy.
    • And it was a cosy club for tackling issues such as the response to oil shocks.
    • Now it accounts for about 40% of global gdp.
    • Since the global financial crisis of 2007-09 it has sometimes been overshadowed by the broader g20.
    • The G-7 became the G-8 in 1997 when Russia was invited to join.
    • In 2014, Russia was debarred after it took over Crimea.

    Agenda of G-7 this year

    • The UK currently holds the presidency of the G7 and has invited India, along with Australia, Republic of Korea and South Africa, as guest countries for the Summit.
    • The meetings will be held in hybrid mode.
    • The theme for the summit is ‘Build Back Better’ and the UK has outlined four priority areas for its presidency:
    1. leading the global recovery from coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics;
    2. promoting future prosperity by championing free and fair trade;
    3. tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity; and
    4. championing shared values and open societies.

    Is India attending it for the first time?

    • Since 2014, this is the second time PM Modi will be participating in a G7 meeting.
    • India had been invited by the G7 French Presidency in 2019 to the Biarritz Summit as a “Goodwill Partner” and the PM participated in the Sessions on ‘Climate, Biodiversity and Oceans’ and ‘Digital Transformation’.
    • During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s UPA rule, India attended the G8 five times.
    • Russia was indefinitely suspended in March 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, reducing the count of the G8.

    What to watch out for at this G-7 summit?

    • This will be President Biden’s first visit to Europe, where he will signal his key message “America is back”.
    • He has flown down to the UK, where he will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and other allies at the G7 summit.
    • He’ll continue on to a NATO conclave in Brussels on June 14, before his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva two days later.
    • This sequencing of events has been done to coordinate Washington’s moves of consultations with allies before meeting the Russian President.
    • This ties in well with the US President’s initial foray into multilateralism — he held the first summit of leaders of “the Quad” — Australia, India, Japan and the US.
    • This was aimed at increasing vaccine production and aligning their positions toward Beijing.

    Why is this meeting important?

    • The US-Russia relations are going through a rough patch — some analysts even refer to it as possibly their nadir since the end of the Cold War.
    • Interestingly, the venue of the Biden-Putin meeting — Geneva — is the place where then US President Ronald Reagan held his first meeting with Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985.
    • The key element that is making Washington take the important step of engaging with Moscow to contain the damage in their bilateral ties is that the US wants to focus on its strategic rival, China.

    What’s in it for India?

    • India has long called for reforming global institutions and groupings to reflect modern-day geopolitical realities.
    • Trumps’ offer to expand G7 fitted into New Delhi’s idea of being part of the global high table.
    • With an assertive China looming, the US is calling all like-minded countries to partner in dealing with Beijing.
    • If Biden and Johnson want to take the leap forward and constitute a global democratic alliance of 10-11 countries, it will be an important signal.
    • India is likely to get vaccines from the US — both directly as well as through COVAX. Initial estimates suggest India will get about 2 to 3 million vaccines in the first tranche.

  • US, UK seek to sign New Atlantic Charter

    US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks to sign a new Atlantic Charter.

    What is Atlantic Charter?

    • The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II.
    • The charter’s adherents signed the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was the basis for the modern United Nations.
    • The charter inspired several other international agreements and events that followed the end of the war.
    • The dismantling of the British Empire, the formation of NATO, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) all derived from the Atlantic Charter.

    Why sign new charter?

    • At their meeting, the two leaders plan to sign what they’re calling a new Atlantic Charter, pledging to “defend the principles, values, and institutions of democracy and open societies.”
    • US hopes to reassure European allies that the US had shed the transactional tendencies of Donald Trump’s term and is a reliable partner again.
    • The US staunchly opposed the Brexit movement, the British exodus from the European Union that Mr. Johnson championed, and has expressed great concern with the future of Northern Ireland.
    • Biden once called the British leader a “physical and emotional clone” of Trump.

  • BRICS

    As India is gearing up to host this year’s BRICS summit, the grouping is facing fresh challenges, from disputes among member countries to tackling COVID-triggered crises and opportunities.

    What is BRICS?

    • To be clear, BRICS was not invented by any of its members.
    • In 2001, Goldman Sachs’ Jim O’Neill authored a paper called “Building Better Global Economic BRICs”, pointing out that future GDP growth in the world would come from China, India, Russia and Brazil.
    • Significantly, the paper didn’t recommend a separate grouping for them, but made the case that the G-7 grouping, made up of the world’s most industrialized, and essentially Western countries, should include them.
    • O’Neill also suggested that the G-7 group needed revamping after the introduction of a common currency for Europe, the euro, in 1999.
    • In 2003, Goldman Sachs wrote another paper, “Dreaming with BRICs: Path to 2050”, predicting that the global map would significantly change due to these four emerging economies.
    • In 2006, leaders of the BRIC countries met on the margins of a G-8 (now called G-7) summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, and BRIC was formalized that year.

    Issues in its consolidation

    • Common ground for the members was built by ensuring that no bilateral issues were brought up, but the contradictions remained.
    • Many economists soon grew tired of “emerging” economies that didn’t reach the goals they had predicted.
    • Others saw India’s closer ties with the US after the civil nuclear deal as a sign its bonds with BRICS would weaken.
    • Meanwhile, Russia, which had hoped to bolster its own global influence through the group, had been cast out of the G-7 order altogether after its actions in Crimea in 2014.
    • China, under Xi Jinping, grew increasingly aggressive, and impatient about the other underperforming economies in the group, as it became the U.S.’s main challenger on the global stage.

    Long-term prospects

    • China’s decision to launch the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative in 2017 was opposed by India, and even Russia did not join the BRI plan, although it has considerable infrastructure projects with China.
    • South Africa’s debt-laden economy and the negative current account have led some to predict an economic collapse in the next decade.
    • Brazil’s poor handling during the Covid-19 crisis has ranked it amongst the world’s worst-affected countries, and its recovery is expected to be delayed.
    • India’s economic slowdown was a concern even before Covid-19 hit, and government policies like “Aatmanirbhar” were seen as a plan to turn inward.

    Issues with BRICS nations

    • Concerns about aggressions from Russia in Ukraine and Eastern Europe and China in the South China Sea, the border with India and internally in Hongkong and Xinjiang are clear visible.
    • There is creeping authoritarianism in democracies like Brazil and India have made investors question long-term prospects of the group.
    • In the market, BRICS has been mocked for being “broken”, while others have suggested it should be expanded to include more emerging economies like Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey, called the “Next-11”.

    A roadmap to progress

    • BRICS is an idea that has endured two decades, an idea its members remain committed to, and not one has skipped the annual summits held since 2009.
    • Along the way, BRICS has created the New Development Bank (NDB) set up with an initial capital of $100 billion.
    • There is a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement fund to deal with global liquidity crunches, and a BRICS payment system proposing to be an alternative to the SWIFT payment system.

    Reforming the multilaterals

    • The BRICS ministerial meeting held this week sent several important signals to that end, issuing two outcome documents.
    • It included the first “standalone” joint statement on reforming multilateral institutions, including the UN and the UNSC, IMF and World Bank and the WTO.
    • It remains to be seen how far countries like China and Russia, which are already “inside the tent” at the UNSC, will go in advocating for the other BRICS members.
    • Another important agreement was the BRICS ministerial decision to support negotiations at the WTO for the waiver of trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPs) for vaccines and medicines to tackle the Coronavirus.

    Way forward

    • What appears clear is in the post-Covid world, priorities for all economies will change, and offer up a churning in the world of the kind seen two decades ago, when the idea of a grouping of emerging economies was first floated.
    • For BRICS, the next few months could crystallize that idea, or sink it further, leaving others to wonder whether the “Rise of the Rest” as it was once called, is an idea whose time will ever come at all.

  • G7 members endorse global minimum tax

    Finance Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations have reached a landmark accord setting a global minimum corporate tax rate, an agreement that could form the basis of a worldwide deal.

    Why a global minimum?

    • Major economies are aiming to discourage multinationals from shifting profits — and tax revenues — to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made.
    • Increasingly, income from intangible sources such as drug patents, software and royalties on intellectual property has migrated to these jurisdictions, allowing companies to avoid paying higher taxes in their traditional home countries.
    • With its proposal for a minimum 15% tax rate, the Biden administration hopes to reduce such tax base erosion without putting American firms at a financial disadvantage, allowing competition on innovation, infrastructure and other attributes.

    Where are the talks at?

    • The G7 talks feed into a much broader, existing effort.
    • The OECD has been coordinating tax negotiations among 140 countries for years on rules for taxing cross-border digital services and curbing tax base erosion, including a global corporate minimum tax.
    • The OECD and G20 countries aim to reach a consensus on both by mid-year, but the talks on a global corporate minimum are technically simpler and less contentious.
    • If a broad consensus is reached, it will be extremely hard for any low-tax country to try and block an accord.

    How would a global minimum tax work?

    • The global minimum tax rate would apply to overseas profits.
    • Governments could still set whatever local corporate tax rate they want, but if companies pay lower rates in a particular country, their home governments could “top-up” their taxes to the minimum rate.
    • This would eliminate the advantage of shifting profits.

    What about that minimum rate?

    • Talks are focusing on the U.S. proposal of a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15% – above the level in countries such as Ireland but below the lowest G7 level.
    • Any final agreement could have major repercussions for low-tax countries and tax havens.
    • The Irish economy has boomed with the influx of billions of dollars in investment from multinationals.
    • Dublin, which has resisted EU attempts to harmonize its tax rules, is unlikely to accept a higher minimum rate without a fight.
    • However, the battle for low-tax countries is less likely to be about scuppering the overall talks and more about building support for a minimum rate as close as possible to its 12.5% or seeking certain exemptions.

    Back2Basics: G7

    • The G7 or the Group of Seven is a group of the seven most advanced economies as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
    • The seven countries are Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. The EU is also represented in the G7.
    • These countries, with the seven largest IMF-described advanced economies in the world, represent 58% of the global net wealth ($317 trillion).
    • The G7 countries also represent 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 requirements to be a member of the G7 are a high net national wealth and a high HDI (Human Development Index).

  • SCO Agreement on Mass Media Cooperation

    The Union Cabinet has accorded an ex post facto approval for signing and ratifying an agreement on cooperation in the field of mass media between all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

    Highlights of the Agreement

    • The agreement, which was signed in June 2019, would provide an opportunity for the member states to share best practices and new innovations in the field of mass media.
    • It aims to promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among associations in the field of mass media.
    • The main areas of cooperation in the agreement are the creation of favorable conditions for the wide and mutual distribution of information through mass media in order to further deepen the knowledge about the lives of the peoples of their states.
    • It will assist in broadcasting television and radio programmer and those, distributed legally within the territory of the state of the other side.

    What is SCO?

    • After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the then security and economic architecture in the Eurasian region dissolved and new structures had to come up.
    • The original Shanghai Five were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
    • The SCO was formed in 2001, with Uzbekistan included. It expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan.
    • Since its formation, the SCO has focused on regional non-traditional security, with counter-terrorism as a priority.
    • The fight against the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and extremism has become its mantra. Today, areas of cooperation include themes such as economics and culture.

    Try this PYQ now:

    Q. In the context of the affairs of which of the following is the phrase “Special Safeguard Mechanisms” mentioned in the news frequently?

    (a) United Nations Environment Programme

    (b) World Trade Organization

    (c) ASEAN- India Free Trade Agreement

    (d) G-20 Summits

    India’s entry to the SCO

    • India and Pakistan both were observer countries.
    • While Central Asian countries and China were not in favor of expansion initially, the main supporter — of India’s entry in particular — was Russia.
    • A widely held view is that Russia’s growing unease about an increasingly powerful China prompted it to push for its expansion.
    • From 2009 onwards, Russia officially supported India’s ambition to join the SCO. China then asked for its all-weather friend Pakistan’s entry.

  • Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

    West African leaders were due to meet in Ghana to discuss a response to Mali’s second coup in nine months.

    • Since 1960, when Mali gained independence from France, there have been five coups — and only one peaceful transition from one democratically elected president to another.
    • But on Monday, soldiers detained transitional President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, releasing them on Thursday while saying that they had resigned.

    Recent coup

    • Nine months ago, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in the wake of mass anti-government protests.
    • Last week, the announcement of a new cabinet was made that excluded two key military leaders. Following this, the army has detained the President and the Prime Minister.

    About ECOWAS

    • The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975 via the treaty of Lagos.
    • Mission: To promote economic integration in “all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters.
    • Vision: Creation of a borderless region where the population has access to its abundant resources and is able to exploit same through the creation of opportunities under a sustainable environment.
    • ECOWAS can be divided into two sub-regional blocs:
    1. West African Economic and Monetary Union – established in 1994
    2. West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) – established in 2000
    • ECOWAS is meant to be a region governed in accordance with the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance.
    • The member countries of ECOWAS comprises: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.

  • What the easing of IP norms on Covid vaccines means for India

    Background of waiver proposal

    • U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced its support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.
    • Following the onset of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation proposed a COVID-technology access pool as a knowledge sharing initiative to rapidly scale up vaccine output around the world.
    • As vaccine research progressed last year, wealthy and advanced countries, placed huge advance purchase orders for vaccines.
    • This meant that smaller, developing countries would take longer to get vaccines and find resources to pay for them.
    • In October 2020, India and South Africa floated a proposal at the World Trade Organisation’s TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Council to waive certain provisions of the WTO’s TRIPS pact till the pandemic subsides.
    • The proposal envisaged facilitating wider access to technologies necessary for the production of vaccines and medicines.
    • While a majority of the least developed countries backed the proposal, some like China, Turkey and Thailand sought more clarity.
    • However, the proposal was nixed with the E.U., the U.S., Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.K. rejecting it outright, along with Brazil.
    • Among other things, the argument was that such waivers could dampen innovation and research in areas such as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic technologies.

    What next

    • The WTO’s TRIPS Council is tentatively expected to hold a meeting on the waiver proposal again later this month.
    • If and when an agreement is reached here, the WTO’s Ministerial Council will also have to sign off.
    • Since WTO decisions are based on consensus, all 164 members need to agree on every single aspect of the negotiated waivers and conditions attached.

    Way forward for India

    • The Centre can take two steps immediately in consonance with its stance at the WTO, following the U.S.’ statement of support.
    • The Union government must issue notification under Sections 92 and 100 of the Patents Act to freely licence all patents necessary for vaccine and drug production to treat COVID-19.
    • Issues of the amount of royalties can be decided in due course as laid out in the Patents Act, but that should not come in the way of immediate licensing by the government.
    • The government need to provide full support to companies to scale up vaccine production.
    • Indian industry has a well-respected expertise and capability to rapidly manufacture raw materials, consumables and equipment necessary to produce drugs, vaccines, medical devices and equipment if Intellectual Property barriers are removed.

    ————————————————-//—————————————

    BACK2BASICS

    • COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) will compile, in one place, pledges of commitment made under the Solidarity Call to Action to voluntarily share COVID-19 health technology-related knowledge, intellectual property and data. C-TAP works through its implementing partners, the Medicines Patent Pool, Open COVID Pledge, UN Technology Bank-hosted Technology Access Partnership and Unitaid to facilitate timely, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health technologies.

    Understand how the story has progressed:

    India seeks TRIPS waiver for Vaccines

    How IPR served as barrier to the right to access healthcare

  • G7 to consider mechanism to counter misinformation

    G7 considering rapid response mechanism

    • The G7 members are Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan and their combined gross domestic product is about $40 trillion – a little less than half of the global economy.
    • G7 will look at a proposal to build a rapid response mechanism to counter Russian propaganda and disinformation.
    • Speaking ahead of a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in London British Foreign Secretary said the United Kingdom was getting the G7 to come together with a rapid rebuttal mechanism to counter Russian misinformation.
    • Britain has identified Russia as the biggest threat to its security though it views China as its greatest long-term challenge, militarily, economically and technologically.

    Britain to engage more in Indo-Pacific

    • Britain has invited India, Australia and South Korea to attend this week’s meeting and the full leaders’ summit in June.
    • There was no concrete proposal as yet about Britain joining Quad.
    • Britain has been looking at ways to engage more in the Indo-Pacific.