Deepak UPSC Notes

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Greater One-Horned Rhino

Quick Facts For Prelims

GS Paper - 3

Conservation

Government Policies & Interventions

Why in News?

Recently, a case of poaching of the world-famous one-horned rhino has been suspected inside the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

What are the Key Points related to One-Horned Rhino?

About:

There are five species of rhino – white and black rhinos in Africa, and the greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhino species in Asia. 

IUCN Red ListStatus:

Black Rhino:Critically endangered. Smaller of the two African species.

White Rhino: Near Threatened. Researchers have created an embryo of the northern white rhino by using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.

One-Horned Rhino: Vulnerable

Javan: Critically Endangered

Sumatran Rhino: Critically Endangered. It has gone extinct in Malaysia.

Only the Great One-Horned Rhino is found in India.

Also known as Indian rhino, it is the largest of the rhino species.

They primarily graze, with a diet consisting almost entirely of grasses as well as leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.

Habitat:

The species is restricted to small habitats in Indo-Nepal terai and northern West Bengal and Assam.

In India, rhinos are mainly found in Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

Assam has an estimated 2,640 rhinos in four protected areas, i.e. Pabitora Wildlife Reserve,Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Manas National Park.

About 2,400 of them are in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR).

Protection Status:

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.

Threats:

Poaching for the horns

Habitat loss Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Marital Rape Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:43:10 Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:43:10 Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:43:10 AntiMicrobial Resistance

GS Paper - 3

GS Paper - 2

Health

Why in News

According to the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) report, 1.27 million people died in 2019 as a direct result of AMR (AntiMicrobial Resistance).

The death due to AMR is now a leading cause of death worldwide, higher than HIV/AIDS or malaria.

Most of the deaths from AMR were caused by lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, and bloodstream infections, which can lead to sepsis.

About:

Antimicrobial resistance is the resistance acquired by any microorganism (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasite, etc.) against antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics) that are used to treat infections.

As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified AMR as one of the top ten threats to global health.

Reasons for Spread of AMR:

The misuse of antimicrobials in medicine and inappropriate use in agriculture.

Contamination around pharmaceutical manufacturing sites where untreated waste releases large amounts of active antimicrobials into the environment

AMR in India:

India, with its combination of large population, rising incomes that facilitate purchase of antibiotics, high burden of infectious diseases and easy over-the-counter access to antibiotics, is an important locus for the generation of resistance genes (such genes help bacteria in surviving on being exposed to antibiotics).

The multi-drug resistance determinant, New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1),emerged from this region to spread globally.

Africa, Europe and other parts of Asia have also been affected by multi-drug resistant typhoid originating from South Asia.

In India, over 56,000 newborn deaths each year due to sepsis are caused by organisms that are resistant to first line antibiotics.

Measures Taken to Address AMR (India):

National Programme on AMR containment: Launched in 2012. Under this programme, AMR Surveillance Network has been strengthened by establishing labs in State Medical College.

National Action Plan on AMR: It focuses on One Health approach and was launched in April 2017 with the aim of involving various stakeholder ministries/departments.

AMR Surveillance and Research Network (AMRSN): It was launched in 2013, to generate evidence and capture trends and patterns of drug resistant infections in the country. Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:30:01 India and UAE Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:30:01 In 2019, UAE awarded the ZAYED Medal, their highest civilian award, to the Prime Minister of India for consolidating the long-standing friendship and joint strategic cooperation between the two nations.

The Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the UAE in August 2015 marked the beginning of a new and comprehensive and strategic partnership.

Economic Relations:

India-UAE trade was around USD 60 billion making UAE, India’s third-largest trading partner for the year 2019-20 after China and the USA.

The UAE is the second-largest export destination of India with an amount of over USD 29 billion for the year 2019-20.

For the UAE, India is the second-largest trading partner for the year 2019 with an amount of around USD 41.43 billion for non-oil trade.

Cultural Relations:

The two nations share historical ties and havemaintained regular cultural exchanges both at official and popular levels.

They signed a Cultural Agreement in 1975 and the embassies continue to organise various cultural activities on their own as well as by collaborating with other cultural organisations.

Indian Community:

The UAE is home to the Indian expatriate community of more than 2.6 million, the largest expatriate community in the UAE, which has played a major role in the economic development of the UAE. Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:30:01 India- UAE Virtual Summit

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India and its Neighbourhood

Bilateral Groupings & Agreements

Why in News?

Recently, a virtual summit was held between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Earlier in September 2021, India and the UAE formally launched negotiations on the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

What are the Key Highlights of the Meeting?

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Issued a Joint Vision Statement "Advancing the India and UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestone”.

The Statement establishes a roadmap for a future-oriented partnership between India and UAE and identifies focus areas and outcomes.

The shared objective is to promote new trade, investment and innovation dynamics in diverse sectors.

Defence and Security: Agreed to enhance maritime cooperation contributing to maintenance of peace and security in the region.

Reaffirmed joint commitment to fight against extremism and terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, in all forms, at both regional and international levels.

Climate Action and Renewables: Agreed to support each other’s clean energy missions and establish a joint Hydrogen Task Force to help scale up technologies, with special focus on production of Green Hydrogen.

Emerging Technologies: Agreed to expand cooperation on critical technologies and mutually promote e-businesses and e-payment solutionsand promote start-ups from both countries.

Education Cooperation: Agreed to establish anIndian Institute of Technology in the UAE.

Health Cooperation: Decided to collaborate in research, production and development of reliable supply chains for vaccines and enhance investments by UAE entities in the health infrastructure in India as well as collaborate in providing healthcare in underprivileged nations.

Food Security: Acknowledged the need to enhance the resilience and reliability of food supply chains.

Also decided to expand cooperation through enhanced bilateral food and agriculture tradeand, promote and strengthen the infrastructure and dedicated logistic services connecting farms to ports to final destinations in the UAE.

Skills Cooperation: Agreed to enhance cooperation in skill development so as to align with the market needs and address the changing needs for the future of work.

Released Joint Commemorative Stamp on the occasion of 75th anniversary of India's independence and 50th year of UAE's foundation.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA): In a significant development, the two sides inked a CEPA to further boost trade and investment ties.

Plastic, agriculture, food products, automobile, engineering, pharmaceuticals are some of the areas that will be boosted because of the pact.

The deal will open up to 10 lakh jobs for the young people in the country and would also open access to broader African and Asian markets for India.

The CEPA is expected to increase bilateral trade from the current level of USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years (2022-27).

What is CEPA?

It is a kind of free trade pact which covers negotiation on the trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic partnership. It may even consider negotiation on areas such as trade facilitation and customs cooperation, competition, and Intellectual Property Rights.

Partnership agreements or cooperation agreements are more comprehensive than Free Trade Agreements.

CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade and encompasses an agreement covering the regulatory issues.

India has signed CEPAs with South Korea and Japan.

What is the Current State of India-UAE Relations?

About:

India and the UAE enjoy strong bonds of friendship based on age-old cultural, religious and economic ties between the two nations.

The relationship flourished after the accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and subsequently with the creation of the UAE Federation in 1971.

Political Relations: Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:30:01 PMLA Amendment Act, 2012 Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-21 02:30:01 Misuse of Prevention of Money Laundering Act

GS Paper - 3

Money Laundering

Challenges to Internal Security Through Communication Networks

Why in News

The Supreme Court (SC) is examining allegations of rampant misuse of Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) by the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

What are the Major Allegations?

Being Used for Ordinary Crimes:

PMLA is pulled into the investigation of even “ordinary” crimes and assets of genuine victims have been attached.

PMLA was enacted in response to India’s global commitment (including the Vienna Convention) to combat the menace of money laundering. Instead, rights have been “cribbed, cabined and confined

PMLA was a comprehensive penal statute to counter the threat of money laundering, specifically stemming from trade in narcotics.

Currently, the offences in the schedule of the Act are extremely overbroad, and in several cases, have absolutely no relation to either narcotics or organised crime.

Lack of Transparency and Clarity:

Even the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) - an equivalent of the FIR - is considered an “internal document” and not given to the accused.

The ED treats itself as an exception to these principles and practises [of criminal procedure law] and chooses to register an ECIR on its own whims and fancies on its own file.

There is also a lack of clarity about ED’s selection of cases to investigate. The initiation of an investigation by the ED has consequences which have the potential of curtailing the liberty of an individual

What is the Prevention of Money Laundering Act?

PMLA (Amendment) Act, 2012:

Adds the concept of ‘reporting entity’ which would include a banking company, financial institution, intermediary etc.

PMLA, 2002 levied a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, but the amendment act has removed this upper limit.

It has provided for provisional attachment and confiscation of property of any person involved in such activities.

What is Money Laundering?

About:

Money laundering is the process of making large amounts of money generated by criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come from a legitimate source.

Criminal activities like illegal arms sales, smuggling, drug trafficking and prostitution rings, insider trading, bribery and computer fraud schemes produce large profits.

Thereby it creates the incentive for money launderers to "legitimise" the ill-gotten gainsthrough money laundering.

The money generated is called 'dirty money' and money laundering is the process of conversion of 'dirty money', to make it appear as 'legitimate' money.

Some of the Common Methods of Money Laundering:

Bulk Cash Smuggling, Cash Intensive Businesses, Trade-based laundering, Shell companies and trusts, Round-tripping, Bank Capture, Gambling, Real Estate, Black Salaries, Fictional Loans, Hawala, False invoicing.

What is the Enforcement Directorate?

Directorate of Enforcement is a specialised financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance..

On 1st May 1956, an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in the Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations underForeign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.

In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.

ED enforces the following laws:

Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA)

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) Ochish/sharhlash