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Insights Daily Current Affairs, 29 June 2018
Insights Daily Current Affairs, 29 June 2018
Paper 1:
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from
ancient to modern times.
Sant Kabir
About Kabir:
What’s important?
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18/04/2019 Insights Daily Current Affairs, 29 June 2018
Paper 2:
Context: Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL) has released the Global Real Estate Transparency
Index 2018.
The 2018 Global Real Estate Transparency Index covers 100 markets and is based on 186
indicators.
These variables are divided into six areas –performance measurement, market
fundamentals, governance of listed vehicles, regulatory & legal frameworks, transaction
process and environmental sustainability.
The Index scores markets on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1.00 being the highest possible score).
Depending on their overall performance, markets are assigned to one of five transparency tiers.
Highly Transparent.
Semi-Transparent.
Low Transparency.
India is one of the 10 countries that have registered maximum improvement in transparency in
real estate over the last two years. Since 2014, India has moved up by five spots from 40th in
the global real estate transparency index.
However, India has moved up just one spot despite the implementation of the Real Estate
(Regulation And Development) Act or RERA. RERA was implemented in May 2016 to
bring accountability and transparency into the sector. However, unlike a few states such
as Maharashtra and Karnataka, several states have been slow in its implementation.
India is thus yet to figure among the transparent markets, despite the regulatory changes
and the possibility of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listing.
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What’s important?
For Prelims: Global realty transparency index- features and rankings of various countries,
RERA.
For Mains: RERA- performance, challenges its implementation.
Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.
Context: In a blow to Pakistan, the Financial Action Task Force has placed it on the ‘grey list’
for failing to curb anti-terror financing. The decision was taken at the global financial watchdog
Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) plenary session held recently in Paris.
Implications:
The placement on the ‘grey list’ could hurt Pakistan’s economy as well as its international
standing.
Developments so far:
The process began in February 2018 when FATF approved the nomination of Pakistan
for monitoring under its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) commonly
known as ‘grey List’.
Pakistan was asked to prepare a plan to address international body’s concerns and get
its approval or it could risk being moved to the black list.
It presented a 26-point plan of action to the FATF planery with the commitment to
implement it over a period of 15 months to address the concerns of the global community.
The endorsement of the plan means that FATF formally placed Pakistan on the list. In
case it had rejected the plan, Pakistan would have been on FATF’s Public Statement,
also called as the black list.
Efforts by Pakistan:
On June 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued Anti Money
Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Regulations 2018, in compliance with
FATF recommendations.
On June 8, the National Security Committee (NSC) reaffirmed its commitment to
cooperate with the FATF.
By January next year, Pakistan will publish updated lists of persons and entities
proscribed under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the UN-designated entities.
About FATF:
What is it?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on
the initiative of the G7. It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary
political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas. The
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Objectives:
The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal,
regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and
other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
Functions:
The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews
money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the
adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. In collaboration with other
international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim
of protecting the international financial system from misuse.
What’s important?
Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.
Context: A total of 20 countries, including India, announced contributions to the 2018 budget of
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees. India has
pledged USD 5 million. The contributions are to help bolster “severe funding crisis” following
US’ cut in its annual aid to UNRWA.
Background:
UNRWA has been providing health, education, relief and social services, as well as emergency
humanitarian assistance, to some 5.3 million Palestinian refugees across its five fields of
operation — Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — for 65 years.
However, in January, the agency’s financial situation became catastrophic due to the sudden
loss of USD 300 million in voluntary contributions. The Trump administration in January US said
it would withhold USD 65 million of USD 125 million it had planned to send to UNRWA.
About UNRWA:
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by United Nations
General Assembly to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine
refugees. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950.
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In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has
repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2020.
UNRWA is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region
or conflict and is separate from UNHCR.
Funding: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
(UNRWA) is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States.
UNRWA also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations,
which is used mostly for international staffing costs.
The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services,
camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including
in times of armed conflict.
What’s important?
Paper 3:
Topic: biotechnology.
Ban on Oxytocin
The drug is misused in the dairy industry where livestock is injected with Oxytocin to
make them release milk at a time convenient to farmers.
Oxytocin is also used to increase the size of vegetables such as pumpkins, watermelons,
eggplants, gourds, and cucumbers.
About Oxytocin:
Oxytocin has also been dubbed the hug hormone, cuddle chemical, moral molecule, and
the bliss hormone due to its effects on behaviour, including its role in love and in female
reproductive biological functions in reproduction.
Oxytocin is a hormone that is made in the brain, in the hypothalamus. It is transported to,
and secreted by, the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain.
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Carbetocin: The World Health Organization (WHO) has come up with a safe and
effective alternative to the controversial drug oxytocin.
While Oxytocin, must be stored and transported at 2–8 degrees Celsius, and becomes
less effective when exposed to heat, Carbetocin does not require refrigeration and retains
its efficacy for at least three years even if it is stored at 30 degrees Celsius, and in 75%
relative humidity.
Why Helium- 3?
Even if ISRO finds helium-3 on the moon, there are obstacles that need to be addressed before
it can be utilised. The space agency will have to figure out how it will mine and bring back the
isotope to Earth. Building fusion power plants to convert this resource into energy is another
issue that has to be looked at. Additionally, there is no international treaty on commercial
entities allowed to keep what they have mined from space, said the report. Only the US and
Luxembourg have passed legislations to this effect.
Way ahead:
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He-3 fusion is untested technology. Considering prevailing commitments like the Paris
Agreement, it would simply be foolish for India to attempt stewarding a nuclear fusion
programme involving heavier isotopes when a prototype hydrogen fusion experiment (ITER)
itself has sucked in over Rs 96,550 crore (about 9% of which India contributes) while another
billion-dollar facility in the US has been struggling to kickstart fusion chain reactions for over
four years now.
About Chandrayaan-2:
What’s important?
Union Home Ministry has instituted ‘Home Minister’s Special Operation Medals’ to honour
officers of state police, central paramilitary forces and other security organisations engaged in
special operations.
The three medals are — Antarik Suraksha Medal, Asadharan Aashuchan Padak and
Utkrisht & Ati-Utkrisht Seva Medal.
While the Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal and Asadharan Aashuchan Padak
will be awarded on August 15, Antarik Suraksha Medal and Utkrisht & Ati-Utkrisht Seva
Medal will be announced on Republic Day.
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