CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Abhas Jha is Practice Manager, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, South Asia Region within the Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice for the World Bank.

Detailed explanation-2: -Historically in South Asia, the four months of the monsoon supply 80% of annual rainfall. Climate change has accelerated that water cycle, leading to extreme levels of rain in short periods, and droughts otherwise.

Detailed explanation-3: -The World Bank study, “Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector”, which is also supported by the EU-GFDRR, finds that shifting to a more energy efficient pathway could lead to a substantial reduction in expected CO2 levels over the next two decades.

Detailed explanation-4: -Gill will be only the second Indian to serve as chief economist at the World Bank. Kaushik Basu was the first, having served in the job from 2012-2016. Raghuram Rajan and Gita Gopinath have served as chief economists at the International Monetary Fund, the sister organisation of the World Bank.

Detailed explanation-5: -Hans Timmer is the World Bank’s Chief Economist for South Asia.