Comprehensive Current affairs 30 September 2020

 Centre relaxes rules for beneficiaries of family pension.

Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh has said that rules have been relaxed for divorced daughters to receive Family Pension. He said, now a daughter will be entitled to receive the Family Pension even if the divorce had not finally taken place, but the divorce petition had been filed by her during the lifetime of her deceased parent employee or pensioner.

He said, the earlier rule provided for payment of Family Pension to a divorced daughter only if the divorce had taken place during the lifetime of deceased parent pensioner or his spouse.

According to him, the new circular will not only bring ease in the life of pension receiving individuals but also ensure respectable and equitable rights for the divorced daughters in the society.

 The Minister said, one of the most noteworthy initiatives taken by the Pension Department is with regard to the Digital Life Certificate. Keeping in view the difficulty faced by the senior citizens who have gone and settled abroad with their children after retirement, Dr Singh said, circular has been brought out on Consolidated Instructions on Life Certificate and commencement of Family Pension for those living abroad.

He said, the concerned Bank Branch abroad and the Indian Embassy, Consulate and High Commission have been instructed to provide Life Certificate and commencement of Family Pension there itself.

Mr Singh said, at the same time, all Pension Disbursing Banks have been instructed to provide doorstep Life Certificate to those pensioners who are unable to visit the bank.

Chendamangalam Saree.

Recently, the Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) is an initiative supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected Weavers.

Highlights:

Chendamangalam Saree:

▶ It is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs side by side with the sari’s selvedge.

▶ It has extra-weft chuttikara and stripes and checks of varying width. It is widely believed that weaving in Chedamangalam was introduced by the Paliam family.

▶It is called the Paliath Achans, the family was hereditary to the prime minister post to the Maharaja of Cochin, having been associated with Chendamangalam from the 16th century onwards.

▶The other GI Tagged Products from Kerala: Kasaragod Sarees, Pokkali Rice, Nilambur Teak, Wayanad Robusta Coffee, Tirur Betel Leaf, etc.

 Kerala Kasavu Sarees:

▶ The term kasavu refers to the zari (gold thread) used in the border of the Kerala saree. The identity of the saree comes from the geographical cluster they are associated with.

▶ Geographical Clusters: The Indian government has identified three clusters in Kerala -Balaramapuram, Chendamangalam and Kuthampully - that have been given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Over one lakh activities taken under NYKS scheme.

A total of over one lakh activities have been taken up so far by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghathan, NYKS during PoshanMaah. More than 51 lakh youth and villagers took part in these activities.

▶Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the youth volunteers are continuously engaged in nation building activities like education, health and sanitation, environment, awareness on social issues, women empowerment and civic education among others. He said, NYKS is one of the largest youth organisations in the world.

▶Mr Rijiju said, the Ministry has undertaken several activities during PoshanMaah started from 1st September this year. PoshanMaah aims to create mobilization across the country for improving Nutrition indicators.

HIV/AIDS Patients in India

As per the latest HIV estimates report (2019) of the Government, India is estimated to have around 23.49 lakh people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in 2019. The HIV epidemic has an overall decreasing trend in the country with the estimated annual new HIV infections declining by 37% between 2010 and 2019.

Causes of HIV Infection in India:

• Engagement in High-Risk Behaviours:

 ✓ Unprotected Sexual Behaviours

✓ Unsafe injecting drug use behaviour

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO):

NACO is a division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies.

• In 1986, following the detection of the first AIDS case in the country, the National AIDS Committee was constituted in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• As the epidemic spread, the need was felt for a nationwide programme and an organization to steer the programme. In 1992 India’s first National AIDS Control Programme (1992-1999) was launched, and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was constituted to implement the programme.

• NACO envisions an India where every person living with HIV has access to quality care and is treated with dignity.

• Effective prevention, care and support for HIV/AIDS is possible in an environment where human rights are respected and where those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS live a life without stigma and discrimination.

• NACO works to contain the spread of HIV in India by building an all- encompassing response reaching out to Diverse Populations.

WB approves loan for water & Sanitation facilities in Bangladesh.

The World Bank (WB) has approved a 200 million dollar loan for Bangladesh to improve access to safe water and sanitation services in the rural areas of the country. The Bangladesh Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project will help 6 lakh people to have access to clean water through piped water schemes in rural areas.

 The WB said that the project will help prevent diseases and protect from pandemics like COVID 19 by providing better access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities at homes and in public places.

World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon said that the project will provide clean water and sanitation services that will reduce diarrheal diseases, improve nutrition, health and reduce stunting among children under five.

The project will also help in setting up more than 2500 handwashing stations in public places with overhead tanks for running water and sanitation facilities. To ensure quality and sustainability of piped water scheme and fecal sludge management, the project will also train local entrepreneurs.

The 30 year concessional credit has a five year grace period. It comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA). Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over USD 13.5 billion.

Swiss rejects bid to reduce immigration from European Union.

The Swiss have rejected a bid to dramatically reduce immigration from the European Union, but have embraced offering paid paternity leave for the first time, projections from several votes in the country Sunday showed.

Shortly after polls closed at noon (1000 GMT), projections from gfs.bern polling institute indicated that 63% of Swiss voters had balked at the initiative to tear up an agreement permitting the free movement of people between Switzerland and the surrounding EU.

The initiative, backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — had been opposed by the government, Parliament, unions, employer organisations and all other political parties out of fear it would jeopardise overall relations with the bloc.

Public support for the initiative had also been seen slipping in recent opinion polls, but the suspense remained high since SVP has eked out surprise victories in the past in its war against tightening relations with the EU.

 Most people vote in advance in the popular polls and referendum held in Switzerland every few months as part of the country’s famous direct democratic system, usually making it possible to quickly surmise which way the vote is headed.

SVP’s initiative called for Switzerland to revise its Constitution to ensure it can autonomously handle immigration policy.

Srilanka seeks fresh currency swap agreement from India.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sought an additional currency swap facility and deferment of debt payments from India during an online bilateral summit with Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday, Indian officials said.

•Sri Lanka owes about $960 million to India and earlier this year India agreed to a $400 million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka until November 2022.

•Sri Lanka, located off the southern tip of India, has become an arena of competing influence between India and China, which has built ports, power stations and highways as part of President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road Initiative", designed to boost trade and transport links across Asia.

•But the terms of some of these projects have drawn domestic criticism in Sri Lanka and opened the way for countries such as India, the United States and Japan to rebuild ties in the Indian Ocean country that lies near key shipping lanes.

•Rajapaksa, who won a general election last year after promising to pull the country out of its deepest economic slump, has to service mounting external debt amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Virtual meet on tourism and rural development held.

On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, Petroleum Minister addressed a virtual meet on the theme of Tourism and rural development, along with Tourism and Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

 ▶Minister commended the Ministry of Tourism for its novel initiative Dekho Apna Desh that promotes and encourages local heritage and tourist sites. He spoke about India's rich culture, history and ancient architectural marvels which offer immense scope for the growth of tourism industry.

▶Talking about Internet’s role in making the world a global village, Mr Pradhan called for effective use of technology to further strengthen India's position as a global tourist hotspot.

▶Minister said that tourism industry offers unprecedented potential for employment generation and empowerment of our youth, also in the rural areas.

▶He said that every district of our country has a historic story to share or a legend to narrate, and as India celebrates 75 years of independence in 2022, we must work on creating more tourism sites around the heroism of our freedom fighters.

Spike disease threatening India’s sandalwood forests.

India’s sandalwood trees, the country’s pride particularly of Karnataka are facing a serious threat with the return of the destructive Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD).

The infection has resurfaced in the aromatic tree’s natural habitats in Karnataka and Kerala.

According to a study by scientists R. Sundararaj and R. Raja Rishi of the Bengaluru-based Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST), the natural population of sandalwood in Marayoor of Kerala and various reserve forests in Karnataka, including MM Hills, are heavily infected with SSD for which there is no cure as of now.

Presently, there is no option but to cut down and remove the infected tree to prevent the spread of the disease, caused by phytoplasma — bacterial parasites of plant tissues — which are transmitted by insect vectors.

With between 1 and 5% of sandalwood trees lost every year due to the disease, scientists warn that it could wipe out the entire natural population if measures are not taken to prevent its spread. Also, they fear that any delay in arresting the trend may result in the disease spreading to cultivated sandalwood trees.

The present rapid spread of the infection is largely due to restrictions on green felling in forests, which has allowed vectors to spread the disease to healthy trees, says the IWST study.

In an effort to combat the killer disease, the IWST will join hands with the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Sciences for a three-year study, initiated by the Union Ministry of Ayush with a financial allocation of ₹50 lakh.

East Bengal becomes new team in ISL.

The East Bengal club was, on Sunday, officially inducted into the Indian Super League as the 11th team.

▶Football Sports Development Limited’s chairperson Nita Ambani, who made the announcement, welcomed East Bengal for the 2020-2021 season.

▶The club, which was recently acquired by Shree Cements, will be joining its archrivalMohunBagan, which merged with reigning ISL champion ATK earlier this year.

Focus on mains:

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 was recently passed in the Lok Sabha which seeks to make significant changes to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

Proposed Amendments- the Bill:

▶It seeks to prohibit ‘public servants’ from receiving any foreign funding.

▶It proposes to reduce the use of foreign funds to meet administrative costs by NGOs from the existing 50 per cent to 20 per cent.

▶ It seeks to “prohibit any transfer of foreign contribution to any association/person”.

▶ It proposes to make Aadhaar cards a mandatory identification document for all office-bearers, directors and other key functionaries of NGOs or associations eligible to receive Foreign Donations.

Controversial Provisions:

▶ To allow for the central government to hold a summary inquiry to direct bodies with FCRA approval to “not utilise the unutilised foreign contribution or receive the remaining portion of foreign contribution”.

▶To limit the use of foreign funds for administrative purposes. This would impact research and Advocacy Organisations which use the funding to meet their administrative costs.

Main Criticisms:

▶The Bill will enhance government power and restrict foreign-funded civil society work in India.

▶ It can be used as a means to “target those who speak against the Government”.

▶ It will curtail the ease of doing business for Civil Society Organisations.

Why these Amendments are Necessary?

▶The need to strengthen the Act has arisen due to several organisations “mis utilising or misappropriating” the funds leading to the government cancelling 19,000 such registrations in the past few years.

▶ The annual inflow of foreign contribution has almost doubled between the years 2010 and

2019, but many recipients of foreign contribution have not utilised the same for thepurpose for which they were registered or granted prior permission under the said Act.

▶Criminal investigations also had to be initiated against dozens of such non-governmental organisations which indulged in outright misappropriation or mis-utilisation of foreign contribution.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Over 2100 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were recently filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

• It identify at least USD 2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions.

About FinCEN:

▶ It was set up in 1990.

▶ It serves as the leading global regulator in the battle against money laundering.

▶ It collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other Financial crimes.

About Suspicious Activity Report (SAR):

▶ It is a document filed by banks and financial institutions to report suspicious activity to the USA FinCEN.

▶ These are meant to red flag, within 30 days of the transaction’s occurrence: criminal funds or any form of dirty money; insider trading; potential money laundering; terror financing; any transaction that raises suspicion.

▶ These are used to detect crime but cannot be used as direct evidence to prove legal cases.

▶ There are details of banking transactions that give a clear indication of round-tripping, money laundering or dealings with shell-like entities.

• It shares SARs with law-enforcement authorities including FBI, US Immigration and Customs.

Advantages:

▶The FinCEN Files highlight the dangers correspondent banking pose.

▶The term correspondent bank refers to a financial institution that provides services to another one—usually in another country.

▶It acts as an intermediary or agent, facilitating wire transfers, conducting business transactions, accepting deposits, and gathering documents on behalf of another bank.

▶ Individuals and companies being probed by Indian agencies in different cases are part of the SAR flagged to FinCEN.

▶ Like, transactions of Indian entities named in scams such as the 2G scam, the Agusta Westland scandal, and etc. cases have all been listed with the FinCEN.

About Indian Scenario:

▶The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) performs the same functions as FinCEN in the USA.

▶Under the Finance Ministry, this was set up in 2004 as the nodal agency for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.

▶The agency is authorized to obtain are Cash transaction reports (CTRs), Suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and Cross border wire transfer reports

▶ These reports are obtained from private and public sector banks every month.

▶ This happens under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

 ▶ It is mandatory for banks in India to furnish a monthly CTR to the FIU on:

▶ All transactions over Rs. 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency or a series of integrally connected transactions that add up to more than Rs. 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency.

▶The STRs and CTRs are analysed by FIU. Suspicious or doubtful transactions are shared with agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Tax Authority for the purpose of launching probes to check possible instances of money laundering, tax evasion and terror financing.

▶ FIU’s 2017-2018 annual report reveals that it had received a record number of 14 lakh STRs following demonetization which was three times the number of STRs filed in the Previous Year.

Way Ahead:

▶The clear Message for Agencies in India is that their cases of financial fraud and corruption are being flagged by the FinCEN.

▶There is a need to have Regular Information exchange between financial regulators to track and nullify the efforts for money Laundering.

▶ It has in many cases of Indian Entities and Individuals Mentioned their Financial History of alleged Irregularities.