Current Affairs 29-06-2020

China Study Group (CSG):

what is in news?

• The China Study Group (CSG), headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, met  to discuss the prevailing situation along the LAC.
• The Ministry of External Affairs had issued a statement that the “Chinese side took premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties”.

What is CSG?

• CSG is a government body in which cabinet secretary and secretaries of Home, external affairs, Defence and representatives of the Army are members.
• In the wake of heightened road and track construction work undertaken by China along India’s Northern and Eastern frontiers in 1997, India constituted a China Study Group (CSG) to study the requirement of road communication along the China border for brisk movement of troops in case of any aggression.
• The idea was to assert the country’s territorial claims and upgrade logistic sustenance capability in these areas.
• The group's suggestions are recommendatory in nature for the government.
• China Study Group (CSG) studies the frequent complaints of incursions by the People's Liberation Army along the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC)

what is in news?

As per provisional data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, the exports declined by 10.89% to about $5.07 billion in 201920 from $5.69 billion in 201819.

About :

• “Our major markets in Europe and the U.S. [to which 70% of our exports are directed] have been severely affected.
• Exporters were facing difficulties on account of order cancellations because insurance offered by the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) was not extended to preshipments.
• India was now a preferred sourcing destination for major markets in the U.S. and Europe.
• The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) will be signing memoranda of understanding (MoU) with Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America and the U.S. Fashion Industry Association to further strengthen and enhance its presence in the U.S. market,

What is Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC)

• Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India ECGC Ltd is wholly owned by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The Government of India had initially set up Export Risks Insurance Corporation in 1957.
• After the introduction of insurance covers to banks during the period 1962-64, the name was changed to Export Credit & Guarantee Corporation Ltd in 1964.
• It was changed to ECGC Ltd in August 2014.
• Its objective was to promote exports from the country by providing credit risk insurance and related services for exports.

Financial Action Task Force  ( FATF ):

what is in news ?

• A ccording to reports in Pakistan and India, the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog group, has decided to grant Pakistan and other countries on its watch list a threemonth extension on fulfilling commitments, in view of the pandemic.
• Pakistan was placed on the grey list or “increased monitoring” list in June 2018, and given time until October 2019, in order to complete a 27point action plan on countering terror finance and antimoney laundering.

what is FATF?

• 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 FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
• 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.
• 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 is the blacklist and greylist?

• FATF maintains two different lists of countries: those that have deficiencies in their AML/CTF regimes, but they commit to an action plan to address these loopholes, and those that do not end up doing enough. The former is commonly known as grey list and latter as blacklist.
• Once a country is blacklisted, FATF calls on other countries to apply enhanced due diligence and counter measures, increasing the cost of doing business with the country and in some cases severing it altogether. As of now there are only two countries in the blacklist — Iran and North Korea — and seven on the grey list, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Yemen.

Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG):

• FATF Asia-Pacific Group is one of the regional affiliates of the Financial Action Task Force.
• The Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering works to ensure that all the countries adopt and implement the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards that are set out in the FATF’s 40 Recommendations and Eight Special Recommendations.
• APG assists countries in implementing laws to deal with crime, assistance, punishment, investigations; provides guidance in setting proper reporting systems and helps in establishing financial intelligence units.
• At present, there are 41 members of APG. Of these, 11 countries are also the members of the head FATF – India, China, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand Singapore and the United States.

Mapillah rebellion of 1921 :

What is in news?

Prithviraj  Sukumaran announced his role as the lead actor in the film Variyamkunnan that celebrates the life and exploits of Variyamkunnath Kunhahamed Haji, a leading figure in the Mapillah revolt against British rule.

Background of Mapillah Rebellion

• Muslims had arrived in Kerala in the 9th century AD as traders via the Arabian Sea even before north India was invaded by Muslim armies from the west.
• They were given permission to carry on trade and settle by the native rulers. Many of them married local women and their descendants came to be called Mapillahs (which means son-in-law in Malayalam).
• Most Mapillahs were, however, not descended from the Arabs and were predominantly converted Hindus during Tipu Sultan’s capture of Malabar.
• Before Tipu Sultan’s attack on Malabar, in the traditional land system in Malabar, the Jenmi or the landlord held the land which was let out to others for farming. There were mainly three hierarchical levels of ownership including the cultivator, and each of them took a share of the produce.
• The Mapillahs were mostly cultivators of the land under this system and the Jenmis were upper caste Hindus.
• During Hyder Ali’s invasion of Malabar in 1765, the Mapillahs supported him.
• During this time, the Moplah tenants were accorded ownership rights to the lands.
• After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Malabar came under British authority as part of the Madras Presidency.
• The British set out to restore ownership rights to the Jenmis who had earlier fled the region.
• Jenmis were now given absolute ownership rights of the land which was not the case previously.
• The peasants were now facing high rents and a lack of security of tenure.

Mapillah Rebellion of 1921

• The Khilafat Movement had started in 1919 in India in support of the restoration of the caliphate in Turkey. The Indian National Congress (INC) was aligned with it.
• The Khilafat meetings in Malabar incited communal feelings among the Mapillahs and it became a movement directed against the British as well as the Hindu landlords of Malabar.
• There was large-scale violence which saw systematic persecution of Hindus and British officials. Many homes and temples were destroyed.
• The prominent leaders of the rebellion were Ali Musaliyar and Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji.
• From August 1921 till about the end of the year, the rebels had under their control large parts of Malabar.
• By the end of the year, the rebellion was crushed by the British who had raised a special battalion, the Malabar Special Force for the riot.
• In November 1921, 67 Moplah prisoners were killed when they were being transported in a closed freight wagon from Tirur to the Central Prison in Podanur. They died of suffocation. This event is called the Wagon Tragedy.

P.V. NARASIMHA RAO

What is in news ?

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Prime minister Narendra modi paid tributes to former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao on his birth anniversary (June 28, 2020).

About:

• Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (1921 –2004) was a politician who served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He also became the Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1971.
• He sought to dismantle the License Raj system, reduce red tape and make Indian industries more competitive. He laid the foundation for trade liberalization and re-integration of Indian economy with the global economy, especially East Asian economies.
• Among his bold moves in foreign policy were establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and reversing decades of frosty relations between India and the United States by bringing them together. He also launched the Look East policy.
• He energised the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program, which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests by Vajpayee-led NDA government (the tests were planned in 1996 but they were not carried out as government at centre got changed due to 1996 general election).
• He was also fairly successful in controlling the separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir.
• The path-breaking 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments empowering local bodies during Narasimha Rao’s tenure as the Prime Minister are worthy of mentioning.
• Rao's term also saw the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh when BJP's Kalyan Singh was Chief Minister, which triggered one of the worst Hindu-Muslim riots in the country since its independence.
• He was also referred to as Chanakya for his ability to steer economic and political legislation through the parliament at a time when he headed a minority government.

AK203 assault rifles and Ka226T light utility helicopters

what is in news?

Russia has agreed to quickly address some urgent defence requirements sought by India .The longpending deals for AK203 assault rifles and Ka226T light utility helicopters were also discussed in a review of the entire gamut of defence cooperation.

About:

• The deal was for over 7.5 lakh rifles of which one lakh would be imported and 6.71 lakh rifles manufactured by a joint venture ( JV) IndoRussian Rifles Private Ltd. (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
• However, the deal for 200 Ka226T utility helicopters remains stuck over the level of indigenisation.
• Of the 200 helicopters, 60 will be imported directly and the remaining will be manufactured by a JV between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and the Russian Helicopters (RH).

Exotic wildlife species:

what is in news?

The Environment Ministry’s wildlife division has introduced new rules to regulate the import and export of ‘exotic wildlife species’.

 What are exotic live species?

• ‘Exotic live species’ will mean animals named under Appendices I, II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora.
• It will not include species from the Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

About Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES):

• It is an International agreement to regulate worldwide commercial trade in wild animal and plant species. It also restricts trade in items made from such plants and animals, such as food, clothing, medicine, and souvenirs
• It was signed on March 3, 1973 (Hence world wildlife day is celebrated on march 3).
• It is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Secretariat — Geneva (Switzerland).
• CITES is legally binding on state parties to the convention, which are obliged to adopt their own domestic legislation to implement its goals.

Classifications:

It classifies plants and animals according to three categories, or appendices, based on how threatened. They are.

• Appendix I: It lists species that are in danger of extinction. It prohibits commercial trade of these plants and animals except in extraordinary situations for scientific or educational reasons.
• Appendix II species: They are those that are not threatened with extinction but that might suffer a serious decline in number if trade is not restricted. Their trade is regulated by permit.
• Appendix III species: They are protected in at least one country that is a CITES member states and that has petitioned others for help in controlling international trade in that species.

 Additional info :

• According to World Wildlife Crime Report 2016 of the UN, criminals are illegally trading products derived from over 7,000 species of wild animals and plants across the world.
• In its first global report on the illegal wildlife trade, released last week, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) described wildlife trafficking as a “global threat”, which also has links with other organised crimes such as modern slavery, drug trafficking and arms trade.
• The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is an organisation that is tasked with monitoring illegal trade.

Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia)

What is in news?

A peculiar dragonfly the Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia), in the Puzhakkal area of the Kole wetlands in Thrissurlast year, little did they know that they were documenting a very rare biological phenomenon.

About:

• Gynandromorphs are chimeric individuals having both male and female tissues and it is viewed by the scientificcommunity as a genetic aberration.
• Even though common in some arthropod taxa such as Crustacea and Arachnida, the paper says it is very rare in odonates and only 30 individuals from seven families have been reported with the condition worldwide.
• The spotted individual showed bilateral gynandromorphism of only the thorax  half of which showed blood red colouration asmales and the other half pale yellow characteristic of females.
• The base of the wing of the red half was marked with rich amber, in contrast with the other wing base which was paler.
• The head, legs and abdomen showed typical female morphology.

Statistics Day :

what is in news?

“Statistics Day” to be celebrated on 29th June, 2020 . Theme: SDG- 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) & SDG- 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)

About PC Mahalanonobis :

• PC Mahalanonobis (1893 –1972) was an Indian scientist and applied statistician. He is referred to as the chief architect of Indian statistical system as well as father of statistical science in India.
• He established the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1931 in Kolkata. The institute founded the journal Sankhya, along the lines of Karl Pearson’s Biometrika. In 1959 it was made an autonomous body of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
• Post-independence, he helped in the establishment of Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the National Sample Survey (NSS) and the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI).
• His most important contributions are related to Large-Scale Sample Surveys. He introduced three key concepts to the theory and practice of sample surveys which are: Pilot surveys, Optimum survey design and Inter Penetrating Network of sub-samples technique (IPNS)
• He also advocated the usefulness of sampling methods. He was elected Chairman of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Statistical Sampling in 1947, and held this post until 1951.
• In 1936 he introduced a statistical measure named the Mahalanobis distance. It is widely used in cluster analysis and classification techniques.
• In 1926, he analysed 60 years’ data related to floods in Orissa, which led to the construction, after three decades, of the Hirakud dam on the Mahanadi.
• He was one of the members of the first Planning commission of free India. The Mahalanobis model, was employed in the Second Five Year Plan, which worked towards the rapid industrialisation of India.

Khumukcham sanjita chanu

What is in news ?

Two-time Commonwealth Games gold-winning weightlifter K. Sanjita Chanu, who was recently exonerated of doping charges, will receive the Arjuna Award for 2018.

About:

• Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu (born 1994) is an Indian weightlifter from Manipur.
• She is a two time Commonwealth Games Champion. Chanu won the gold medals at the 2014 Glasgow and the 2018 Gold Coast events in the women's 48 kg and 53 kg weight category respectively.