Answer:
Tribunals are judicial or quasi-judicial institutions established by law. They intend to reduce the caseload of the judiciary with faster adjudication. Also they bring in subject expertise for technical matters. They were originally not part of the Indian Constitution. In 1976, Articles 323A and 323B (42nd Amendment) empowered Parliament and State legislature to constitute tribunals.
The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 authorises the central government to establish one Central Administrative Tribunal and the State Administrative Tribunal. The Act also makes a provision for setting up of Joint Administrative Tribunals for two or more states.
Differences between Article 323A and 323B of the Indian Constitution

• Functionality: While Article 323A contemplates establishment of tribunals for public service matters only, Article 323B contemplates establishment of tribunals for certain other matters like taxation, forex, land reforms, rent and tenancy rights, etc.
• Who can establish: While tribunals under Article 323A can be established only by the Parliament, tribunals under Article 323B can be established by both the Parliament and State Legislatures with respect to matters falling within their legislative competence.
• Hierarchy of Tribunals: Under Article 323A, only one tribunal for the Centre and one for each state or two or more states may be established. There is no question of hierarchy of tribunals, whereas under Article 323B, a hierarchy of tribunals may be created.

Originally, appeals against the orders of these tribunals could be made only in the Supreme Court and not in the High Courts. However, in Chandra Kumar Case 1997, the Supreme Court declared those provisions of these two articles which excluded the jurisdiction of high court and the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Hence, the judicial remedies are now available against the orders of these tribunals. The tribunal system has developed as a parallel to the traditional court system over the last eighty years. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was created in 1941 to reduce pendency of cases in courts. After the insertion of Articles 323A and 323B, several tribunals such as the Central Administrative Tribunal as well as sector specific tribunals were set up from the 1980s to 2010s. The Finance Act, 2017 consolidated several tribunals.

Answer: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries in the Caribbean, fifteen member States and five associate members, together forming a single market of political and economic entity established through the Treaty of Chaguaramas on July 4, 1973. The presence of a large Indian diaspora in the region and traditionally close relations of most member countries of CARICOM with India is an important factor in their relationship. The recent 4th India-CARICOM summit highlighted the potential areas of cooperation, such as:

• Health and pharmaceuticals: India, with its strong pharmaceutical industry and expertise in traditional medicine, can collaborate with CARICOM countries in promoting affordable healthcare and medical tourism.
• Culture and Education: Both India and CARICOM have rich cultural heritage and can collaborate in promoting cultural exchange programs, joint research projects, and educational initiatives.
• IT and ICT capacity building: India and CARICOM can collaborate in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital transformation, including sharing expertise and technology in areas such as e-commerce, cyber security, and digital financial services.
• Climate Change: India and CARICOM can collaborate on efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and promote sustainable development.

To further deepen and strengthen this relationship, certain recent measures taken in this regard are as follows:

• Developmental funding: India’s assistance of $ 14 million grant for Community Development Projects (CDP) in the CARICOM (1 million for each country) and India’s membership of the Caribbean Development Bank aims to promote trade in goods, services, and investments with greater Indian participation in Caribbean infrastructure development.
• Pharmaceuticals: India’s solidarity during the pandemic was highly appreciated among the Caribbean as India’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative resulted in the humanitarian donation of 5.7 lakh doses of vaccines for the Caribbean Region. India also has vouched for a supply of retroviral drugs for fighting HIV/AIDS as well.
• Climate change and Disaster resilience: India has lent 150 million in the form of a line of credit for projects related to solar, renewable energy, and climate change. Recently, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
• Trade and cooperation: India exports mostly pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, machinery, and instruments to CARICOM. Crude petroleum, gold, metalliferous ores, and scrap are major items that India imports from the Caribbean.
• Tourism promotion: India is looking to acquire and renovate hotels in the CARICOM region to popularize and establish Ayurveda/Yoga / Wellness centers in these hotels to boost tourism and travel between both regions.

The India-Caribbean story is a true example of South-South solidarity. India through CARICOM should continue to be an active partner in the region’s endeavor to convert these challenges as opportunities for growth, investment, and trade to realizing its true potential.

Answer: India has come up with a New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism System (NORMS) to reform the multilateral institutions. It envisages reforms in all three pillars of the current multilateral architecture – peace and security, development, and human rights with the United Nations at its center. The rationale behind India’s recent pitch for NORMS to reflect the present-day geo-political realities is as follows:

• Lack of inclusivity and representation: The basic structure of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has remained almost unchanged since its foundation. Member states from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Small Island Developing States do not have adequate representation.

• • Misuse of veto power: Misuse of veto power is criticized for stalling the governing capacity of the UNSC.
• Altered global order: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many vulnerable nations of the Global South got their first vaccines from beyond their traditional sources. This diversification of global production was itself a recognition of how much the old order has changed. Also, recent concerns over food, fertilizer, and fuel security were not adequately articulated in the highest Councils of decision-making.
• Dominated by the Western countries: Multilateral Institutions are dominated by the Western countries where European and American interests have prevailed. For instance, institutions like the International Monetary Fund condition loans on features like trade liberalization, private enterprise, and an overall reduction in public spending.
• Procedural issues: Established multilateral organizations arguably do not meet standards of accountability and transparency that are considered legitimate. A recent example is ambiguity and lack of transparency in the World Health Organization’s investigation of the origins of COVID-19.
• The backlash against globalization: Recent events like Brexit, trade wars among nations, paralysis of the dispute settlement body of the WTO due to blocked appointments/reappointments of judges in its Appellate Body, etc. point towards it.
• Funding gap: Despite a growing share of official development assistance channeled through multilateral organizations, their resources fall short in aiding the developing and least developed countries.

The multi-dimensional crises facing the world today demand a representative multilateral architecture that is reflective of contemporary global realities and is well-equipped to meet emerging challenges. The rapidly shifting global security landscape, the persistence of traditional security challenges, and the emergence of new and complicated challenges such as climate change demand a clear, pragmatic, nimble, and effective platform for collaboration to ensure sustainable peace. Adoption of NORMS by the global multilateral institutions will be the right step in this direction.

Answer: Established in 2015, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an action-oriented collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies as a means for bringing energy access, ensuring energy security, and driving energy transition in its member countries. In 2022, global solar capacity was approximately 1 Terawatt (IRENA) out of the total solar energy irradiant (1,73,000 TW), which can be utilized for usable energy generation. Despite the huge economic and environmental benefits of Solar Energy, many countries have not been able to realize its potential. In this regard, ISA can play an important role in the global adaptation of solar energy in the following manner:

• Affordable Finance Mobilization: The Solar alliance with its international reach, and contributions from multilateral development institutions and developed countries has the potential to bring in much-needed affordable funds for the development, deployment, and distribution of solar energy.
  • Towards 1000 strategy, which aims to mobilize USD 1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030 is one such step in this regard.
• Infrastructure development: The creation of solar power plants, evacuation transmission lines, etc. are critical in harnessing solar energy. ISA is hand-holding countries like Benin, Togo, etc. in building solar infrastructures through solar park concepts, which allows for the deployment of solar panels in a cluster-based approach.
• Capacity development: Skilling manpower for the production of solar modules, installations, and operations is critical for the effective large-scale adoption of solar technologies. Initiatives like Solar Mama, ISA Solar Technology and Application Resource Centre (ISTAR C), and ISA Fellowship under the aegis of ISA are helpful in this regard.
• Technology development and standardization: ISA through collaboration and cooperation with different technical institutes and the private sector is promoting technology development and standardization for the smooth adoption of solar energy. Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use (SSAAU) – focuses on decentralized solar applications in rural settings.
• Development of energy markets: Ensuring guaranteed markets for solar energy is critical. ISA is adopting regulatory alignment in this direction. The cue can be taken from India’s example of power purchase agreements (PPA’s) between DISCOMs and solar power generators, creating power exchanges like the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), and Power Trading Company (PTC).
• Development of interregional integrated grids for reliable access: To tackle the problem of the availability of solar and the prohibitive cost of storage solutions, ISA through its Green Grid Initiative-ONE SUN ONE WORLD ONE GRID is ensuring the reliability and affordability of Solar power.

However, challenges like fossil fuel subsidy, performance of industrial solar panels, commissioning of massive scale solar power plants, addressing adverse raw material and technology transfer dynamics from the developed western world need to be addressed by the International Solar Alliance for better penetration and performance of solar energy and to make it the energy of future.