Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 6th April 2025

International News 

1. European Union envoys discuss climate action with Indian ocials 

•  Climate envoys representing Denmark, -Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the European External Action Service (EEAS) held. a series of meetings in New Delhi earlier this week with officials from the Prime Mi nister's Office, the Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and New and Renewable Energy, and representatives from industry and research institutions.
•  The joint diplomatic mission aimed to reinforce RU-India cooperation on climate action, trade, and investment, particularly in the leadup to future international climate negotiations. Organised in coordination with the European Commission (EC), the talks come in the wake of the recent visit by the College of Commissioners in Febru-ary, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EC President Ursula von der Layen announced expediting the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement by 2025-end.
•   Speaking at a briefing on Friday, Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Climate Envoy for the Netherlands, highlighted the significance of the relationship. "India is an incredibly important trade. We are recalling partners. We are breathing and refocusing on our partners. The EU is a stable partner in a very dynamic world. Following our meetings, I sense that India too is extremely receptive," he said.
•  Anthony Agotha, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment at the EEAS, emphasised the reliability of the European Union. "Coming from the EU, you Indial do not always have not always have to like us. We do not have monopoly virtue, but neither vice. What you see is what you get. We fulfil our treaties. As PM 
•  Modi and the EC President have reiterated, we are big democracies, huge pluralist societies with an intent to uphold the multilateral order," Mr. Agotha said. This year, the 30th edi-tion of the annual climate meet is expected to take place in Belem, Brazil in November. While bilateral meetings involving climate envoys are not unusual, the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement as well as the tariff war unleashed by President Donald Trump has thrown up questions on decisive future action on climate. The joint diplomatic mission, organised in coordination with the Euro-pean Commission, comes in the wake of the recent visit by the college of European Commissioners in February. 
•  The five European envoys travelled to Delhi not only to underline that the EU is staying the course on its clean transition but also to listen to and better understand India's challenges and objectives with a view to the further diplomatic strengthening of India-EU cooperation on multilateral climate diplomacy and hilateral climate related trade and investment, an accompanying statement added. 

Science and Technology News

 2. UGC notifies system to grant equivalence to foreign degrees 

•  The University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified the establishment of a standardised framework to streamline the recognition of, and grant of equivalence degrees for, academic qualifications obtained from foreign edu-cational institutions. 
•  The framework will, however, not be applicable for professional qualifications in disciplines such as medicine, law, pharmacy, and nursing. 
•  "These regulations may be called the University Grants Commission (Re-cognition and Grant of Equivalence to Qualifications obtained from Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2025," the UGC notification dated April 4 said. 
• "They shall not apply to professional qualifications awarded by foreign educa-tional institutions in disci-plines such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Law, and Architecture, and such other qualifications regulated by the norms of respective Statutory Councils in India," it said. 
• UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said many students returned with international qualifications to seamlessly integrate with India's higher education system or workforce. Such students needed a structured procedure to evaluate foreign credentials without unpredictable delays and procedural ambiguity. Acknowledging this challenge, the UGC had decided to establish a standardised equivalence framework by bringing in a new regulation. 
•  He said that this move was crucial given the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020's vision of transforming India into a global study destination. 
• Among the parameters that would govern the equivalence process would be the legitimacy of the foreign institution, the duration and level of the qualification, and its comparability to Indian programmes. 
• The new framework involves setting up a Standing Committee on Equivalence that will vet institutions and qualifications for their validity and parity with Indian standards. It provides for the establishment of a portal for applicants to submit requests for equivalence and track their status. Each application submitted on the portal will be evaluated by a Standing Committee of education experts, which must issue its recommendation within 10 working days.