IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

IASTODAY CAPSULES are available free -date wise => CLICK HERE

Pakistan placed under blacklist of FATF Asia-Pacific Group

News

• Pakistan has been placed on the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force’s Asia Pacific Group (APG) for non-compliance and non-enforcement of safeguards against terror financing and money laundering.

FATF

• The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation, which was formed to fight money laundering.
• While money laundering was the only goal since its formation in 1989, as intended by G7 countries, the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. made the task force add terror financing to its mandate.
• The FATF is to effectively implement legal barriers to the use of money for terrorism purposes, and for this purpose, it also assumes a role as a policy-making body.

Blacklist

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has already greylisted Pakistan for failing to curb anti-terror financing.
• The two processes are separate, the APG blacklisting, or ‘Enhanced Expedited Follow Up’ status would impair Pakistan’s chances at extricating itself from the FATF greylist.
• According to the APG’s final report, Pakistan failed in 32 of 40 ‘compliance’ parameters for its legal and financial systems, and failed 10 of 11 ‘effectiveness’ parameters for enforcing safeguards against terror-financing and money-laundering by UN-sanctioned entities and other non-government outfits.
• Last week, Islamabad had submitted a 450-page compliance document that details all the changes the government has made to existing laws, and actions against terror groups in the past year and a half.
• The compliance document will be reviewed against a 27-point action plan set out by the FATF, which could decide one of three options: to remove Pakistan from the greylist, to continue to keep it on the greylist, or to downgrade it further to its blacklist. Review meetings will be held in Bangkok.
• India is a member of both the APG and the FATF consultations and is represented by a team of officials from the Ministries of Finance, External Affairs and Home Affairs. However, the actions demanding Pakistan’s review have been pushed by the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France.

Source: The Hindu

WTO reforms

News: WTO reforms must be taken up by all member countries: Piyush Goyal.

Beyond News:
•Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have become increasingly frustrated with all three of its main functions: monitoring member states’ trade policies, providing a forum to negotiate new trade agreements, and arbitrating trade disputes.
1.two-thirds of the WTO’s 164 member states continue to claim “developing country” status, a designation that allows them to take advantage of certain benefits and exemptions to obligations not granted to advanced economies.[For example, 10 Group of Twenty (G20) members claim developing country status at the WTO]
•Since the WTO allows for self-classification, there is no universal definition for developed or developing status.
•The United States, the European Union, and others have called for rules that would punish members for not complying with their transparency obligations
2.United States is concerned the Appellate Body, which permits countries to appeal against adverse rulings, has exercised decisionmaking and arbitration power beyond its original mandate.

Source: The PIB india

South-South and Triangular Cooperation:

News:Recently held in New Delhi

Beyond News:
•South-South cooperation is a broad framework of collaboration among countries of the South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains
•Triangular cooperation: It is collaboration in which traditional donor countries and multilateral organizations facilitate South-South initiatives through the provision of funding, training, management and technological systems as well as other forms of support.
•Objectives: increase and improve communications among developing countries, leading to a greater awareness of common problems and wider access to available knowledge and experience as well as the creation of new knowledge in tackling development problems.

Source: The PIB india.

Ready to open Kartarpur Corridor, says Pakistan

News

• Pakistan said that despite tensions with India, it stands ready to open the Kartarpur Corridor and welcome the Sikh pilgrims to take part in celebrations in connection with the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

Connecting Karturpur with Gurdaspur

• Tension between India and Pakistan has escalated after New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.
• The Kartarpur corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak Dev.
• Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak up to the border will be constructed by India.

Source: The Hindu

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

National Green Tribunal seeks eco-sensitive zone tag for Assam wetland Deepor Beel

News

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Assam government to declare the area around Deepor Beel a major wetland on the western edge of Guwahati an eco-sensitive zone.

Eco-sensitive zone

• Deepor Beel is an ‘Important Bird Area’ and a Ramsar Site, with a reserve forest nearby.
• Eco-sensitive zone entails declaring up to 10 km around a protected area a buffer zone and restricting industrial and other human activities.
• The NGT, in its order also directed the government to remove existing encroachment on the wetland, take steps to prohibit any further encroachment and manage a municipal solid waste dumping ground inside Deepor Beel’s system.
• The order, has also sought an end to the land utilisation character for a rail track alignment through three elephant corridors Segunbari, Mikirpara and Matia.
• The track runs between the southern edge of Deepor Beel and the reserve forest.

Source: The Hindu

High alert in Coimbatore following intel about terrorist intrusion

News

• High alert was issued in Coimbatore following an intelligence input that six LeT terrorists had intruded into Tamil Nadu and had settled in Coimbatore.

High alert

• Intelligence input said the six member group intruded into Tamil Nadu via Sri Lanka.
• Of the six men, one was a Pakistan national and the others were Muslims from Sri Lanka. The Pakistani was identified as Illyas Anwar in the alert.
• It said that the men were in the disguise of Hindus with vibhuti ortilak smeared on their foreheads.

Afghan, Pashtun fighters poised to enter J&K: Defence sources

News

• Intelligence inputs have warned that Pakistan is recruiting Afghan and Pasthun fighters for infiltration into Kashmir and over 100 of them are positioned at various launchpads along the Line of Control (LoC).

Border Action Team (BAT) attempts

• There have also been specific intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has deployed over a dozen Afghan and Pathan terrorists for Border Action Team (BAT) attempts, comprising of Afghan militants and highly trained Special Services Group (SSG) of the Pakistan Army and for infiltration across the LoC into Lipa valley in North Kashmir.
• Pakistan is desperately trying to keep the LoC active in an attempt to keep international focus on Kashmir in the aftermath of recent developments there.
• Intelligence inputs also warned of attempts by a group of terrorists to carry out major attacks in major cities across the country.
• The major attempt to push in terrorists was due to the longevity issues of local recruits which has been from few days to four to five months with sustained counter insurgency operations by security forces. On the contrary, the foreign terrorists are well trained and battle hardened.
• There is also a major recruitment drive in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, especially in areas opposite Keran, Lipa and Poonch sectors.
• There has been regular exchange of fire on the LoC and usually Pakistan Army resorts to ceasefire violations (CFV) to aid infiltration.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DATE WISE CURRENT AFFAIRS