The global cleavage on climate change is essentially between those that have grown rich enough to be climate-resilient and those that are not. The way to bridge this gap is not to set up any Loss and Damage Fund, but to spend any money that the rich countries have to spare on sucking carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere.
The G20 was conceived in 1999 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis as a platform for finance ministers and central bank governors to deliberate on issues pertaining to global finance and economy. In 2008, it was elevated to include the heads of State against the backdrop of global recession. Today, representing more than 80 per cent of the world’s GDP, 75 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of the global population amid a crisis of global multilateralism, G20 has emerged as a premier forum for deliberation on global issues.
An exclusive ₹5,650 crore military infrastructure development plan was finalized in 2019 to strengthen the capacity of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, providing for the stationing of additional military forces, warships, aircraft, missile batteries, and infantry soldiers at the islands. Parallelly, a comprehensive plan for “force accretion” at the Andaman and Nicobar Command by 2027 is also being nurtured, involving a phased increase in Army manpower and assets through an improvement of the existing 108 Mountain Brigade and a new infantry battalion, apart from other upgrades.
A significant shift away from the world’s major weapons-producing region is underway, with impressive gains for China and to an extent India. The world witnessed a significant surge in arms sales from countries in the Asia-Oceania region in 2021. Despite supply-related disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, arms sales by the 100 most important weapons manufacturing companies stood at $592 billion, representing an increase of 1.9 percent from 2020.
n December 2022, the World Bank revised upwards its GDP growth forecast for India to 6.9 percent for 2022-23, underlining the fact that the Indian economy was showing higher resilience to global shocks. This economic trajectory of India also gives India a distinct place in global politics today. There is a reason why the West, despite its differences with India over Ukraine, has continued to substantively engage with New Delhi.
The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come. When the year began, the debate on Ukraine had already started. Vladimir Putin was amassing his troops around Ukraine.
There has been a global call for justice and an end to discrimination and violence against women in the private and public domains of the post-pandemic world by the transnational feminist movements. The traditional wars in two hundred locations on this planet have devastated the lives of civilians. The feminist perspective on peace-making, peace-building and peacekeeping aver that the quest for peace is an eternal pursuit for human fulfilment. Peace or absence of antagonistic, violent, or destabilising conflict is essential for ‘existence’ to become ‘life,’ for ‘survival’ to become ‘human.’