NABARD Grade A Current Affairs — 30 September 2026

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the Asia Society, declared that the global shift toward a multipolar world order has accelerated and is now undeniable, stating the pretence of a unipolar world has dropped. He noted the United States is increasingly acting in its own interest rather than as a global rule-setter. Jaishankar framed India's foreign policy as suited to this transition, engaging multiple power centres rather than aligning exclusively with any single bloc.

Jaishankar's remarks at the Asia Society crystallise a doctrine that has quietly underpinned Indian foreign policy for over a decade: strategic autonomy in a multipolar world. The concept of multipolarity — multiple roughly equal power centres replacing US-led unipolarity — is not new, but Jaishankar's framing marks a shift from diplomatic suggestion to open assertion.

For exam aspirants, the static hinterland here is India's Non-Alignment 2.0 thinking, the Panchsheel principles, and India's consistent rejection of bloc-politics since independence. Unlike the Cold War Non-Alignment Movement (founded 1961, Belgrade), today's strategic autonomy is not about staying out of conflicts but about retaining the freedom to engage selectively — with the Quad, the SCO, BRICS, and bilateral partners simultaneously.

The Asia Society, founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III, is a New York-based policy forum that frequently hosts senior government officials. Jaishankar's choice of this platform — a US-headquartered institution — to openly declare US unipolarity over is itself a signal.

Key policy frameworks connected to this theme include India's Act East Policy, the Indo-Pacific construct, BRICS expansion (new members joined January 2024), and India's presidency of the G20 in 2023. Examiners test whether aspirants can link India's multilateral memberships to its broader foreign policy doctrine — not just name the organisations but explain why India joined them and what they signal about India's worldview.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav recognised frontline forest personnel as the backbone of India's wildlife and forest conservation, crediting them with translating policy into on-ground action. Speaking at an event, he underscored that beat guards, foresters, and range officers shoulder the real burden of protecting biodiversity, managing protected areas, and enforcing wildlife laws — work that sustains India's commitments under its National Biodiversity Targets and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Frontline forest staff — beat guards, forest guards, foresters, and range officers — form the operational base of India's three-tier forest management structure under the Indian Forest Service (IFS). They implement the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, the Forest Conservation Act 1980, and the Forest Rights Act 2006 at the ground level.

India manages approximately 21.76% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover (State of Forest Report 2021, FSI). Within this, roughly 5% is under Protected Areas (PAs) — National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves, and Community Reserves — all of which require daily patrolling and anti-poaching vigilance by frontline staff.

The acknowledgment is also significant in the context of India's biodiversity commitments. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted at COP15 in 2022, countries agreed to the '30x30' target — protecting 30% of land and ocean by 2030. India's National Biodiversity Action Plan and its NDC under the Paris Agreement (which includes a target to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through forests by 2030) both depend critically on effective ground-level enforcement.

Frontline staff also interface with Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs), linking community participation to formal conservation. Their role in Community Reserves — where traditional practices and non-timber forest produce (NTFP) collection are permitted — is especially exam-relevant after recent UPSC questions on those provisions.

Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, now serving as Principal Secretary-2, argued that the global economy's centre of gravity is moving eastward, creating a structural opportunity for Global South nations. Speaking at a recent policy forum, he outlined challenges including fragmented trade, debt vulnerabilities, and climate finance gaps, while urging developing economies to strengthen South-South cooperation, diversify supply chains, and leverage digital infrastructure to convert this geopolitical shift into sustained economic gains.

The phrase 'Global South' refers broadly to developing and emerging economies across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania — nations historically peripheral to Western-led multilateral institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. Das's remarks reflect a structural realignment: Asia's share of global GDP (in purchasing power parity terms) already exceeds that of North America and Europe combined, and institutions like BRICS, SCO, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are reshaping global economic governance.

For India, the Global South narrative is central to its foreign policy identity. India hosted the Voice of Global South Summit (first edition January 2023, second edition November 2023) and used its G20 Presidency (2023) to champion developing-nation priorities — debt restructuring, climate finance, and digital public infrastructure. The 'eastward shift' Das references is measurable: the IMF projects Asia-Pacific economies to contribute over 60% of global growth through 2028.

The exam-relevant static layer here involves: (1) India's institutional role in Global South diplomacy, (2) key multilateral platforms where this agenda plays out (G20, BRICS, UN), (3) Das's own profile — he served as RBI Governor from December 2018 to December 2024, one of the longest tenures in recent history, and is now Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister, a senior PMO role. Examiners frequently test both the institutional framework and the person's current designation.