Pakistan out of FATF''s grey list after 4 years

• The FATF is a global watchdog that was founded to tackle money laundering initially but its role became prominent post the 9/11 terror attacks. Following the attacks, the FATF expanded its operations and included terror financing under its purview.
• There are currently 39 members of the FATF; 37 jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations (the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Commission).
• The FATF maintains two lists –
  • a blacklist and a grey list.
• Countries on its blacklist are those that the watchdog deems non-cooperative in the global effort to curb money laundering and terror-financing.
• The grey list are officially referred to as ‘Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring’.
  • 23 countries remain under watch.
  • Among these countries are the Philippines, Syria, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Morocco, Jamaica, Cambodia, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan, and the tax havens of Barbados, Cayman Islands, and Panama.
• It constitutes those nations that present significant risks of money laundering and terror-financing but which have committed to working closely with the FATF in the development and implementation of action plans that address their deficiencies.
• If the country is not actively tackling money laundering or terror funding, it is then blacklisted.
• So far, only two countries have been blacklisted, they are Iran and North Korea.

Viral spillover risk increases with climate change in High Arctic lake sediments

• In this study, while it was found that the risk of viral spillovers increases with changes in the environment at a particular location, driven by global warming, this by itself does not guarantee a higher possibility of a pandemic occurring via viruses here.
• This is because there is another important link in the process.
• As long as viruses and their ‘bridge vectors’ – that act as hosts and lead to their spread – are not simultaneously present in the environment, the likelihood of dramatic events probably remains low.
• Climate change leads to shifts in species ranges and distributions, new associations can emerge, bringing in vectors that can mediate viral spillovers, as simulations recently highlight.

‘Viral spillover’:

• Viruses are some of the most abundant entities on earth, but they need to infect a host’s cell in order to replicate.
• According to the research, these virus/host relationships seem relatively stable within superkingdoms, the major groupings of organisms.
• However, below this rank, viruses may infect a new host from a reservoir host (in which it usually resides) by being able to transmit sustainably in a novel host – a process defined as ‘viral spillover’.

Draft of National Credit Framework (NCrF) for public consultation

• National Credit Framework is a next generation, multidimensional instrument under National Education Policy (NEP).
• National Credit Framework (NCrF) aims to enable the integration of academic and vocational domains to ensure flexibility and mobility between the two.
• It is an umbrella framework for skilling, re-skilling, up-skilling, accreditation & evaluation encompassing our people in educational & skilling institutions and workforce.

‘Credits’ in the education system:

• Credits are essentially a “recognition that a learner has completed a prior course of learning, corresponding to a qualification at a given level”, according to the draft document.
• In other words, it is a way of quantifying learning outcomes. For example, the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) followed by many universities in India.

Credit frameworks:

• Credit frameworks are guidelines to be followed by schools, colleges and universities in adopting the credit system.
• For example, the National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) lays out the guidelines for higher educational institutions that want to implement the credit system.

NCrF different from the existing frameworks:

• The proposed NCrF seeks to integrate all the frameworks under one umbrella.
• Moreover, it also brings the entire school education system under the ambit of credits for the first time.
• So far, only the National Institute of Open Schooling followed a credit system. The NCrF also covers skill and vocational education.

Central committee to probe ‘illegal’ felling of trees in Corbett National Park: NGT

• The NGT’s move came after reports on the felling of trees in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR).
• The report had quoted a Forest Survey of India (FSI) report stating that over 6,000 trees were illegally cut to pave the way for the Pakhro tiger safari project at the tiger reserve.

Jim Corbett National Park:

• Jim Corbett National Park is a part of the larger Corbett Tiger Reserve
• It is located in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.
• The park encompasses the Patli Dun valley formed by the Ramganga river.
• The national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger.
• It is named after Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment.
• Key facts:
  • It is the oldest national park in India.
  • It was the first area to come under the Project Tiger initiative in 1973.

Are critically endangered Great Indian Bustards now migrating to Pakistan?

• The Great Indian Bustard, found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, is the flagship grassland species of India.
• It is one of the largest flying birds in the world, and India’s heaviest flying bird.
• The male bird weighs upto 12-15 kg and female bird up to 5-8 kg.
• Physical description:
  • Black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale neck and head.
  • The body is brownish and the wings are marked with black, brown and grey.
• Diet:
  • They feed on grass seeds, insects like grasshoppers and beetles, and sometimes even small rodents and reptiles. The species primarily feed on meswak, sewan grass.
• Distribution:
  • Its population of about 150 in Rajasthan accounts for 95% of its total world population.
  • They are mainly in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, including the Desert National Park which is the natural habitat of the species.
  • Grasslands of Kutch in Gujarat which is home to second-largest bustard population in India.
  • Arid regions of Maharashtra (Solapur), Karnataka (Bellary and Haveri) and Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool)
  • It is the State bird of Rajasthan.
• Conservation status:
  • Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972,
  • Listed in Appendix I of CITES,
  • Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• Breeding season:
  • The breeding season spans from March to October.
• Captive breeding:
  • The captive breeding of GIBs was taken up in the DNP through a project executed by the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India in 2019.
  • As many as 24 GIB chicks are being reared in DNP by a team supported by the International Fund for Houbara Conservation of United Arab Emirates.
• Threats:
  • Occasional poaching outside Protected Areas,
  • Habitat loss due to widespread agricultural expansion, infrastructural development such as irrigation, roads, electric poles, as well as mining and industrialization,
  • Bustards, with their poor frontal vision and heavy bodies, have also died due to collision with high tension electric wires.

Centre launches programme to strengthen Kashi-Tamil Nadu bond

• ‘Kashi-Tamil Sangamam’ programme would be held from November 16 to December 16.
• This programme, which would be a part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative which is aimed at rekindling the civilisational link between the new Kashi and Tamil Nadu — both deep centres of knowledge.
• Building a heritage bridge for the new generation was a key feature of the National Education Policy.
• As part of the programme, 2,500 people divided into 12 groups would be travelling to Varanasi by train during the period.
• The journey points in Tamil Nadu would be Chennai, Rameswaram and Coimbatore.
• The groups would include students, teachers, artisans and people from various walks of life.
• The tours would include seminars, lectures, group meetings and visits to the Kashi Vishwanath temple and centres of important Tamil cultural heritage in Varanasi.
• The knowledge partners for the programme would be IIT-Madras and the Banaras Hindu University, while the Uttar Pradesh government would be the host State.

Don’t wait for complaints to act against hate speech, Supreme Court tells police

• There is no specific legal definition of ‘hate speech’.
• In general, hate speech is considered a limitation on free speech that seeks to prevent or bar speech that exposes a person or a group or section of society to hate, violence, ridicule or indignity.
• Provisions in law criminalise speeches, writings, actions, signs and representations that foment violence and spread disharmony between communities and groups and these are understood to refer to ‘hate speech’.

Article 19 and Hate Speech:

• Article 19(2) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens of India.
• This article is subjected to certain restrictions, namely, sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
• Provisions in clauses (2) to (6) of Article 19 authorizes the State to restrict the exercise of the freedom guaranteed under the article.

Legal Provisions:

• Sections 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code are generally taken to be the main penal provisions that deal with inflammatory speeches and expressions that seek to punish ‘hate speech’.
• Under Section 153A, ‘promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony’, is an offence punishable with three years’ imprisonment.
• Section 505 of Indian Penal Code (IPC)makes it an offence to making “statements conducing to public mischief”.
• Section 8 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 disqualifies a person from contesting election if he is convicted for indulging in acts amounting to illegitimate use of freedom of speech and expression.

U.P. bags top honours at PMAY-U Awards 2021

• The Mission will be implemented during 2015-2022.
• It is implemented by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• Mission:To achieve the goal of Housing for All in Urban areas by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
• Features:Under it, central assistance will be provided to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other implementing agencies through States/UTs for:
  • In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation
  • Credit Linked Subsidy
  • Affordable Housing in Partnership
  • Subsidy for Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.
• Funding:Credit linked subsidy component will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
• Eligibility:All statutory towns as per Census 2011 and towns notified subsequently would be eligible for coverage under the Mission.

“Quality, quantity and continuity” are the core principle for success of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Vice President

• Mission Objective:To ensure HarGharJal (piped water supply) to all rural households by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Executing agency:Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Jal Shakti Mantralaya.
• Strategy:
  • This Mission will focus on integrated demand and supply side management of water at the local level, including creation of local infrastructure for source sustainability like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse in agriculture.
  • The Mission will converge with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable water supply management across the country.
• Funding Pattern:
• The fund sharing pattern is in the proportion of:
  • 50:50 between Centre and States,
  • 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern states case of UTs, 100% funding is provided by the Central government.

Uttarakhand Governor felicitates astronomers, encourages young scientists at commemoration of 50 years of telescope

• It is a world-class telescope located near Nainital.
• The telescope at Manora Peak was established in 1972 when ARIES was known as the UP State Observatory (UPSO).
• It has been extensively used for optical observations of comets, occultation by planets and asteroids, star-forming regions and star clusters, variable stars, transients, active galactic nuclei, etc.
• Some of the breakthrough science results contributed by the telescope include the discovery of new rings around Saturn and the rings of Uranus.
• The instrumentation and science capabilities of ST have paved the way for setting up National and International facilities by ARIES, such as the 3.6m DOT and the 4 meter International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal.