International Organisations
India to host the first Internet Governance Forum in the country

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about IGF and IIGF + Multi-stakeholder model + about NIXI) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions + governance)
What's the NEWS

• The CEO, National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology(MeitY) and the Chairman of Coordination Committee, India Internet Governance Forum 2021 (IGF), announced the launch of India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) -2021

Know! about IIGF

• IIGF- 2021 will be planned for three days, starting from 20th October, 2021.
• The theme of this year's meeting is Inclusive Internet for Digital India.
• The Indian chapter of the United Nations based forum namely Internet Governance Forum has begun.
• It's an Internet Governance policy discussion platform to bring representatives together from various groups, considering all at par to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.

Multi-stakeholder model of Internet Governance

• This mode of engagement is referred to as the multi-stakeholder model of Internet Governance, which has been the key feature for the Internet's success.
• Multi Stakeholder concept is well adopted by IGF (Internet Governance Forum) under United Nations and by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
• India is the second-largest broadband subscription country in the world and also has the highest data consumption per user per month.

Internet governance in India

• Therefore, the aspirations of the Indians should be reflected in International policy formation and stakeholder discussion.
• India Internet Governance Forum is the correct initiative for the country to ensure that the growth of broadband adheres to the lifestyle and requirements of the Indian community.
• IIGF 2021 is adopting the multi-stakeholder concept in organizing the event as per the true spirit of global IGF.
• The coordination committee has apt representation from civil society, Government, Industry, Industrial association, trust, and other stakeholders.

The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

• It is a non-profit Company incorporated under Section 25 of the India Companies Act, 1956 (now section 8 under Companies Act 2013) with an objective of facilitating improved internet services in the country.
• Its Primary purpose is to facilitate exchange of domestic Internet traffic between the peering ISP, Content players and any other organizations with their own AS number.
• This enables more efficient use of international bandwidth, saving foreign exchange and also improves the Quality of Services (QoS) for Internet users by avoiding multiple international hops and thus reducing latency.
• NIXI is managed and operated on a neutral basis and currently has eight operational NOC
• Since 2005, NIXI has also created INRegistry (.in domain) as its autonomous body for maintenance of .IN domain.

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

• It is a multistakeholder governance group for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance.
• It brings together all stakeholders in the Internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the private sector or civil society, including the technical and academic community, on an equal basis and through an open and inclusive process.
• The establishment of the IGF was formally announced by the United Nations Secretary-General in July 2006.
• It was first convened in October-November 2006 and has held an annual meeting since then.

Environment
India welcomes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about IPCC 6th assessment report highlights+ about IPCC) + Mains ( GS III Environment conservation - steps taken by India)
What's the NEWS

• India welcomes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report "Climate Change 2021 : The Physical Science" released by the IPCC.
• Several Indian Scientists have participated in the preparation of this report.
• The report is a clarion call for the developed countries to undertake immediate, deep emission cuts and decarbonisation of their economies.
• The report, issued by the IPCC's Working Group I and approved by 195 member governments, is the first in a series leading up to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

Sixth Assessment Report highlights

• The IPCC report, prepared by over 200 authors from 65 countries and approved by 195 countries, revealed that the Indian Ocean is warming at a higher rate than other oceans, with scientists warning that India will witness increased heat waves, rainfall and flooding, which will be the irreversible effects of climate change.
• Reaching net zero alone is not enough, as it is the cumulative emissions up to net zero that determine the temperature that is reached.
• This has been amply borne out in the IPCC report.
• It vindicates India's position that historical cumulative emissions are the source of the climate crisis that the world faces today
• The report notes that the Carbon dioxide has been and will continue to be the dominant cause of global warming under all greenhouse gas emissions scenarios.

Steps taken by India to mitigate the menace of Climate Change

• India has taken tremendous actions to tackle the global collective action problem of climate change by taking several initiatives including, inter-alia, setting up of International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, raising the domestic renewable energy target to 450 GW by 2030 and putting in place an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission and continuing efforts to decouple its emissions from economic growth.
• India's actions to address global climate change are 2oC compliant and rated highly by several independent agencies of the world.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• It is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations that is dedicated to providing the world with objective, scientific information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of the risk of human-induced climate change, its natural, political, and economic impacts and risks, and possible response options.
• The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and was later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. Membership is open to all members of the WMO and UN.
• The IPCC produces reports that contribute to the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main international treaty on climate change.
• The objective of the UNFCCC is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system.
• The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report was a critical scientific input into the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement in 2015.
• The IPCC does not carry out original research, nor does it monitor climate or related phenomena itself. Rather, it assesses published literature, including peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources.

Assessment reports

• The IPCC has published five comprehensive assessment reports reviewing the latest climate science, as well as a number of special reports on particular topics.
• These reports are prepared by teams of relevant researchers selected by the Bureau from government nominations.
• Expert reviewers from a wide range of governments, IPCC observer organizations and other organizations are invited at different stages to comment on various aspects of the drafts.
• The IPCC is currently preparing its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed in 2022.
• Each assessment report is in three volumes, corresponding to Working Groups I, II, and III.
• It is completed by a synthesis report that integrates the working group contributions and any special reports produced in that assessment cycle.

Prelims Factoids
International Army Games

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about International Army Games - 2021)
What's the NEWS

• A 101 member contingent of the Indian Army will proceed to Russia to participate in International Army Games - 2021 from 22 August to 04 September 2021.

Know! about International Army Games

• The International Army Games is an annual Russian military sports event organized by the Ministry of Defense of Russia (MoD).
• The event, which was first staged in August 2015, involves close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which is the most skilled.
• The games have been referred to as the War Olympics.
• The competition also fosters military to military cooperation while building upon the best practices of participating nations.
• Previously India stood first amongst the eight countries that had participated in Army Scouts Master Competition 2019 in Jaisalmer.

Space Awareness
Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CHAPEA)
What's the NEWS

• NASA is recruiting applicants now for a year-long simulation of life on Mars, in which successful candidates will get a fully immersive sense of what it's like to be an astronaut stationed on the red planet for a remote, long-duration mission.

Know! all about CHAPEA

• CHAPEA is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars.
• It is set to begin in 2022 and will give four successful applicants the chance to live and work in a 1,700 square-foot module that is created by a 3D printer and is called the Mars Dune Alpha.
• Each mission will consist of four crew members living in Mars Dune Alpha, an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat.
• During the mission, the crew will conduct simulated spacewalks and provide data on a variety of factors, which may include physical and behavioral health and performance.
• The 3D printed habitat will include private crew quarters, a kitchen, and dedicated areas for medical, recreation, fitness, work, and crop growth activities, as well as a technical work area and two bathrooms.
• The results of CHAPEA and the knowledge gained from the analogs could impact future NASA missions including those to the surface of Mars.

CHAPEA Missions

• Analog mission 1 - Starting fall of 2022, recruitment beginning August 6, 2021
• Analog mission 2 - Starting 2024
• Analog mission 3 - Starting 2025

Purpose of this mission

• The habitat in which the crew members will stay will be as Mars-realistic as possible.
• The results from this analog mission will provide scientific data that will help in validating the systems that will be used for actual missions to Mars and also help in solving problems for spaceflight research.
• CHAPEA is not the only analog mission, there are others including Aquarius/NEEMO, Concordia, Desert RATS and HESTIA.
• Analog missions are required because not all experiments can be carried out in space because resources and money are limited.

Prelims Factoids
150^th Birth Anniversary of Abanindranath Tagore

Know! about Abanindranath Tagore

• Abanindranath Tagore, the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore, was one of the most prominent artists of India.
• He was the first major supporter of swadeshi values in Indian art.
• Abanindranath first created the ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art' and later went on to establish Bengal school of art.
•  His sole aim for establishing the school was to counter the English influence on Indian artists.
• He did that by incorporating Indian elements in his works and achieved success when British art institutions gave in and accepted to teach and propagate his style of works in their organizations.
• His idea of modernizing Mughal and Rajput paintings eventually gave rise to modern Indian painting, which took birth at his Bengal school of art.
• Abanindranath is also regarded as a proficient and accomplished writer.
• Most of his literary works were meant for children.
• Some of his books like ‘BudoAngla', ‘KhirerPutul' and ‘Rajkahini' are best examples of Bengali children's literature.
• William Rothenstein helped Rabindranath Tagore to publish his work ‘Gitanjali' in English.
• In the year 1930, he came up with a series of paintings titled ‘Arabian Nights'. The paintings depicted Calcutta's emerging cosmopolitanism but used the stories from Arabian Nights as its trope
• Most of his works revolved around Hindu philosophy.
• Abanindranath Tagore believed in the traditional Indian techniques of painting.
• He rejected the materialistic art of the West and emphasized on returning to the Indian traditional art forms.
• He was very much influenced by the Mughal School of painting as well as Whistler's Aestheticism.
• In his later works, Abanindranath started integrating Chinese and Japanese calligraphic traditions into his style.
• The intention behind this move was to construct an amalgamation of the modern pan-Asian artistic tradition and the common elements of Eastern artistic and spiritual culture.

Abaninranath's Notable Paintings

• Ganesh Janani
• Bharat Mata
• The Victory of Buddha
• The Passing of Shah Jahan (1900)
• My Mother (1912-13)
• Fairyland illustration (1913)
• Journey's End (circa 1913)

Prelims Factoids
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about AMOC)
What's the NEWS

• According to a scientific study the Atlantic Ocean's current system, an engine of the Northern Hemsiphere's climate, could be weakening to such an extent that it could soon bring big changes to the world's weather
• The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is losing its stability.
• According to the IPCC's Report (AR6) released on August 9, it is very likely that AMOC will decline over the 21st century.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

• The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a large system of ocean currents
• It is the Atlantic branch of the ocean conveyor belt or Thermohaline circulation (THC), and distributes heat and nutrients throughout the world's ocean basins.
• AMOC carries warm surface waters from the tropics towards the Northern Hemisphere, where it cools and sinks.
• It then returns to the tropics and then to the South Atlantic as a bottom current.
• From there it is distributed to all ocean basins via the Antarctic circumpolar current
• As the atmosphere warms due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, the surface ocean beneath retains more of heat.
• A potential collapse of the system could have severe consequences for the world's weather systems.
• Climate models have shown that the AMOC is at its weakest in more than a 1,000 years.
• It has not been known whether the weakening is due to a change in circulation or it is to do with the loss of stability.
• The loss of dynamical stability would imply that the AMOC has approached its critical threshold, beyond which a substantial and in practice likely irreversible transition to the weak mode could occur
• The findings support the assessment that the AMOC decline is not just a fluctuation or a linear response to increasing temperatures but likely means the approaching of a critical threshold beyond which the circulation system could collapse
• If the AMOC collapsed, it would increase cooling of the Northern Hemisphere, sea level rise in the Atlantic, an overall fall in precipitation over Europe and North America and a shift in monsoons in South America and Africa

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