Global Terrorism Index (GTI)

• The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) places India at 13th. Even while assaults and fatalities declined, the report reveals that Afghanistan remained the nation most severely afflicted by terrorism for the fourth year in a row.

With connection to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI)

• The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a thorough study that examines the effects of terrorism on 163 nations, or 99.7% of the world's population.
• The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) uses information from Terrorism Tracker and other sources to generate the GTI report.
• GTI Score:
• The GTI generates a composite score in order to assess nations according to how much terrorism has affected them.
• Each nation is given a number from 0 to 10, with 0 denoting no damage from terrorism and 10 denoting the greatest quantifiable impact of terrorism.
• The GTI takes into account terrorism-related occurrences, hostages, and deaths.

What are the GTI's main highlights?

• The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), a think organisation, creates the GTI report using information from TerrorismTracker and other sources.
• Since January 1, 2007, Terrorism Tracker has kept records of terrorist attacks.
• Nearly 66,000 terrorist attacks from 2007 to 2022 are included in the dataset.
• Globally, terrorism-related fatalities decreased by 9% to 6,701 deaths, a 38% drop from their peak in 2015.
• Pakistan saw the second-largest increase in terror-related fatalities globally in 2022, with a substantial increase to 643.
• The region with the lowest average GTI score continues to be South Asia.
• In 2022, there were 1,354 terrorist-related fatalities in South Asia.
• For the eighth year in a row, Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates were the deadliest terrorist organisation on the planet, carrying out the most attacks and killings of any organisation in 2022.

Sahel and Af-Pak region:

• Attacks carried out by unidentified Jihadists resulted in eight times more fatalities worldwide than in 2017, accounting for 32% of all terrorism-related fatalities, and 18 times more in the Sahel.
• The Sahel is the area most affected by terrorism, accounting for 43% of all fatalities, a 7% increase over the previous year.
• The Sahel and Af-Pak region's jihadi upheavals continue to be major contributors to the rise in fatalities.
• Global trends: As terrorism declines in the West, attacks increase in other areas.
• Extreme far-right movements are expanding in both Europe and North America.

Challenges Related to Terrorism Globally

• Use of Emerging Technology by Terrorists: New advancements in computing and communications, such as widespread internet access, end-to-end encryption, and virtual private network (VPN), have allowed more radicalised people around the world to carry out different kinds of operations, increasing the threat.
• Politicisation of Terrorism Countermeasures: To varied degrees, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (P5) have used their veto authority to block efforts to identify terrorists.
• terrorism funding The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) believe that criminals launder up to $4 trillion annually. Terrorists have also used charities and auxiliary remittance systems to mask their financial moves.
• The public's confidence in the integrity of the system is damaged, and it affects the global financial system.
• Consequences for India
• Kashmir: After Article 370 was repealed in regards to organised terror, the security situation in Kashmir did improve, but new problems surfaced in the shape of an increase in lone-wolf attacks and increased use of drones for cross-border terrorism.
• Sikh separatism: As Punjab's socio-political climate takes a drastic turn, secret Sikh separatist sentiments are beginning to show indications of rebirth.
• Cross-border narco-terror networks: In Kashmir and Punjab, drug abuse is on the rise, and these networks are a major contributor to this trend.
• India currently lacks the necessary tools to handle the threat posed by terror drones, whose sightings drastically increased in 2022.

way forward

• Re-energizing the Global Counter-Terrorism Agenda: It is important to re-energize the global counter-terrorism agenda by highlighting the need for unity and limiting the P5's veto power over the identification of terrorists globally.
• Adopting a Universal Definition of Terrorism: A universal definition of terrorism is required in order for all UNGA members to be able to include it in their own criminal laws, outlaw terror organisations, try terrorists under special laws, and make international extradition a crime.
• At the UN, India made a proposal in 1986 for a drafting of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). The UNGA has yet to accept it, though.

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Rooppur Nuclear Plant

• Since using the Russian ruble to pay for the building of the Rooppur nuclear facility was not currently practical, Bangladesh and Russia have agreed to utilise Chinese yuan as the method of settlement.

Highlight

• Bangladesh is constructing the first of two nuclear power facilities together with Rosatom, the state-owned nuclear enterprise in Russia.
• At some point, the two reactors at the Rooppur facility, 160 km northwest of Dhaka, will continuously generate 2400 megawatts of clean electricity.
• The initiative is a part of a comprehensive plan to transform the developing country's economy into a developed one by 2041.
• The need for electricity is increasing by roughly 7% yearly, so Bangladesh is trying to increase, diversify, and decarbonize its electrical sector by including nuclear power and renewable energy. Currently, natural gas provides close to 80% of the nation's electricity.???????

India's Status

• India and Bangladesh have nuclear cooperation agreements. The first project to be undertaken as part of an Indo-Russian agreement to carry out atomic energy projects in third nations is the Rooppur project.
• The commanding authority on the Indian side is the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), which will support Russia, which will take the lead in designing, manufacturing, and supplying the facility's equipment, in addition to helping with installation and capacity building.
• Additionally, this will be the first opportunity for Indian businesses to take part in a nuclear power plant outside of their country. India is unable to directly take part in the development of atomic power reactors since it is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Relevance to India

• India has been progressively entering into strategic agreements with powerful nations like the US, Russia, and Japan, but this deal is the country's first project on foreign land and underscores India's increased role in the global civil nuclear business.
• It has also greatly aided the nation's "Make in India" effort by suggesting that some nuclear equipment for the plant be produced domestically.
• This pact is also significant in light of India's "Neighbourhood First" policy, which highlights its significance in South Asia. It advances India's reputation as a responsible nuclear state and advances the Gujral doctrine's goals of non-reciprocity towards India's weaker neighbours in South Asia.

participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency

• One of the 28 nations contemplating, planning, or beginning the use of nuclear power is Bangladesh. The IAEA supports nations interested in creating nuclear energy uses for peaceful purposes, such as nuclear power.
• The IAEA's milestones method offers detailed instructions on building the foundation for a new nuclear power programme.

IAEA

• The IAEA is the global hub for nuclear cooperation and is referred to as the world's "Atoms for Peace and Development" institution.
• In 1957, at the height of the Cold War (1945–1991) between the US and the Soviet Union, it was founded as an independent organisation.
• The agency reports to both the UN General Assembly and the Security Council while being founded independently by the UN under its own international treaty.
• To promote the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technologies, it collaborates with the member nations and other partners on a global scale.

NSG: Nuclear Suppliers Group

• It is an organisation of nations that export nuclear material that was founded in 1974 and aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons by putting two sets of export regulations into effect.
• Despite other provisions in the NSG Guidelines, the "Non-Proliferation Principle," adopted in 1994, states that a supplier may only authorise a transfer when confident that it will not aid in the spread of nuclear weapons.