1) Critically discuss how the poor people around the world will be affected by

climate change effects and other natural disasters. What global institutional
mechanism do they have to support their cause? Examine. (200 Words)
While the developed nations have historically been largest emitters
of GHGs, it is the poor of the world who have been the worstaffected by its consequences.
Rising sea level would make islands with Low Elevation Coastal
Zones and low lying nations prone to submergence. Eg.
Maldives, Netherlands, Micronesia. This can generate millions
of climate refugees.
Greater variability in large scale climatic phenomena (like
Monsoon, El Nino, Walker circulation) primarily affects South
Asia, Peruvian coast and East Africa which have a larger
proportion of the worlds poor. It can lead to severe droughts,
crop failure, decrease in fisheries, unseasonal rainfalls,
outbreak of epidemics, fall in export income causing overall
havoc.
Increased intensity of Climate Change Extremities (eg. heat
waves in India and rainfall in Afghanistan) leave little gap in
between for fruitful economic activities, keeping the countries
perennially poor.
It nullifies government expenditure on mitigation of poverty.
Finances have to be diverted from public investment to
disaster mitigation.
As majority of the worlds poor are directly dependent on
natural systems like land, rainfall etc for their livelihood, their
vulnerability is higher.
Institutional arrangements:
The Warsaw agreement has created a mechanism for addressing
Loss and Damage due to long term impact of climate change
The World Bank Institute has launched learning programmes
targeting poverty reduction in different setups.

 Individual country missions such as Indias National Action Plan on

Climate Change address the issue at national level
Green Climate Fund can be utilized for climate change adaptation
and mitigation strategies
The World Bank-IMF-UN monitors, finances and supplements the
actions taken to combat climate change.
For successful international collaboration on the issue of climate
change it is important to resolve conflicts on technology sharing,
financing of emission reduction and adaptation initiatives and
quantum of emission reduction targets. This is crucial for
safeguarding the future of millions of poor.
2) In the light of recent controversy over relations between RBI and the
finance Ministry, it is argued that the regulators of important sectors of
economy that enjoy autonomy should be made accountable. In this regard,
how can Parliament ensure fine balance between autonomy and accountability
for these regulators? Discuss. (200 Words)
Regulators are institutions responsible for reducing social risk, market failure or
addressing equity concerns by ensuring that everybody follows the basic rules of
the game. Considering their pivotal role, there have been demands for both greater
accountability and autonomy of these institutions.
Before the creation of regulators, their functions were carried out by the Executive.
This allowed legislative control over regulatory policies through parliamentary
questions and special debates. But liberalization requires reduced government
interference in policy matters to ensure parity between the public and the private
sector. The Union Government is authorized to issue directives to the regulators in
public interest (eg. Section 7 under RBI Act), however, such provisions have never
been invoked in the spirit of respecting their autonomy. Thus, it falls under the
prerogative of the Parliament to strike a fine balance between accountability and
autonomy.
The Parliament can take following measures in this regard

Extending the ambit of departmental standing committees or setting up

specialized sub-committees to cover sector regulators. The committees can
present a report on their policies and actions to the Parliament.
Clearly defining the role and responsibilities of regulators through statutory
laws to prevent confusion and intrusion into each others domain. Eg
controversy over ULIPs between RBI and IRDA.

Introducing the practice of signing MOUs with the regulators for autonomy in
exchange of agreed performance commitments.
Agreeing on a Results Framework Document to ensure that the governments
mandate is clearly expressed to the regulator.
Establishing a troubleshooting mechanism to resolve any conflict and build
consensus.

This will help reconcile the responsibilities of the regulators towards the market,
which demands autonomy, and the public, which demands accountability.