Facts in News

Facts in News

Financial Action Task Force

Recently, an evaluation by the global organisation Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to analyse the effectiveness of India’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing regime has been postponed for the second time.

• FATF is an inter-governmental decision-making body, established in 1989 during the G7 Summit to develop policies against money laundering.
• Functions
  • Bring national legislative and regulatory reforms in money laundering and efforts to stop funding for weapons of mass destruction.
  • Review money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and continuously strengthen its standards to address new risks, such as the regulation of virtual assets, which have spread as cryptocurrencies gain popularity.  
  • Monitor countries to ensure they implement the FATF Standards fully and effectively and hold countries to account that do not comply with the standards.
• FATF Lists
  • Black List: Countries known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are put on the blacklist.
    • These countries support terror funding and money laundering activities.
    • The FATF revises the blacklist regularly, adding or deleting entries.
    • Enlisted nations: North Korea and Iran.
  • Grey List: Countries that are considered a safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list.
    • This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
    • Enlisted nations: As of June 2021, there are 22 countries enlisted including Pakistan.
• India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. Since then, it has been working towards full-fledged membership. On 25^th June 2010, India was taken in as the 34^th member country.
• Secretariat: Paris.

NEA Scout

Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) new spacecraft Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout has completed all required tests.

• NEA Scout is a small spacecraft, about the size of a big shoebox and has been safely tucked inside the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
• It is one of several payloads that will hitch a ride on Artemis I, expected to be launched in November 2021.
• Its main mission is to fly by and collect data from a NEA, which despite its size, could pose a threat to Earth.
  • Understanding NEAs’ properties could help develop strategies for reducing the potential damage caused in the event of an impact.
• It will also be USA’s first interplanetary mission using a special solar sail propulsion, which uses sunlight to propel vehicles through space.
  • It uses solar photons (sunlight) which are reflected off giant, mirror-like sails made of lightweight, reflective material.
  • The continuous photonic pressure provides enough thrust to perform maneuvers.
    • NEA Scout will use stainless steel alloy booms and deploy an aluminum-coated sail measuring 925 square feet.
    • Energetic particles of sunlight bounce off the solar sail to give it a gentle, yet constant push, which can accelerate the spacecraft to very high speeds over time.
  • Since the Sun supplies the necessary propulsive energy, solar sails do not require onboard propellant, thus reducing payload mass.
  • So, this type of propulsion is especially useful for small, lightweight spacecraft that cannot carry large amounts of conventional rocket propellant.
• The spacecraft will take about two years to cruise to the asteroid and will be about 93 million miles away from Earth during the asteroid encounter.
• NEA Scout is equipped with special cameras and can process the image before sending them to the earth-based Deep Space Network via its medium-gain antenna.
• The images will provide critical information on the asteroid’s physical properties such as orbit, shape, volume, rotation, the dust and debris field surrounding it, plus its surface properties.
• Scientists will use this data to determine what is required to reduce risk, increase effectiveness, and improve the design and operations of robotic and human space exploration.

(Image Courtesy: NASA)

National Logistics Excellence Awards

Recently, the Government has announced the launch of National Logistics Excellence Awards

• The framework of awards has been finalised in consultation with the logistics associations and forum user industry partners.
• The awards are in two categories:
  • Logistics infrastructure/service providers
    • Through these awards, the government aims to turn the spotlight on logistics service providers who have attained operational excellence, adopted digitisation and technology, improved customer service and pursued sustainable practices, among other achievements.
  • User Industries
    • For user industries, the awards will showcase efforts towards supply chain transformation, supplier ecosystem development, skill development, automation, and other similar endeavours.
• The awards will also be an opportunity to laud the extraordinary measures organisations have taken to address the deficiencies exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Need
  • While the Indian logistics sector has been growing at a CAGR of 10.5 per cent, reaching approximately USD 215 billion in value in 2020, there are systemic, interconnected problems that must be addressed to enhance its efficiency.
  • Closing India’s competitiveness gap vis-à-vis the global average of 8 per cent, would make the Indian logistics sector advanced, organised and efficient, on par with global peers with the ambition of being amongst the top 25 countries in the global Logistics Performance Index (LPI).
• Organisations will be invited to submit entries via the Ministry of Commerce and Industry website and the National Jury panel, which will decide the winners on 31^st October 2021.

Monkey B virus

• A Beijing-based veterinary surgeon was infected with the Monkey B virus after he dissected two dead monkeys in early March this year.
• It was confirmed as China’s first human infection case with Monkey B virus (BV).

Monkey B virus

About:

• It is a very rare viral infection and is one of the groups of herpes viruses.
• It is traditionally found in an ancient variety of monkeys like macaques, chimpanzees and capuchin.
• B virus is also commonly referred to as herpes B, monkey B virus, herpesvirus simiae, and herpesvirus B.

Earlier cases:

• Since 1932, only around 60-80 cases of Monkey B virus have been reported in the world.

Transmission:

• Infections due to the B virus in humans are rare and occur as a result of exposure to either macaques or their secretions or tissues.
• The incubation period for infection in humans after an identified exposure is reported to range from 2 days to 5 weeks.

Symptoms:

• Initial symptoms of the virus include — fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, and rash-itchy wounds, among others. 
• In the later stage, the virus can lead to the loss of muscle coordination and neurological damage.
• In humans, it tends to attack the central nervous system and cause inflammation to the brain, leading to a loss of consciousness.

Treatment:

• There are currently no vaccines that can protect you against B virus infection.
• Only precautions could be taken to stay away from macaques, chimpanzees and capuchin.

DRIP Scheme

• The Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) is a State sector scheme.
• It was formulated to  bridge the funding gap and provide urgent finance to States for repair and maintenance of Dams.

Key Points

• Launched by: Central Water Commission (CWC) with assistance from World Bank in 2012.
  • Under the scheme, financial Assistance is being provided by the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
• Objective:To improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner.
  • To strengthen the dam safety institutional setup of participating States / Implementing Agencies.
• Implementation Agencies: Water Resources Departments and State Electricity Boards in the participating States and Central Water Commission at Central Level. 
• Need: Indian dams and reservoirs play an important role in the economic and agricultural growth of our country by storing approximately 300 billion cubic meter of water annually.
  • These dams present a major responsibility in terms of asset management and safety.
• Phases: On October 29, 2020, CCEA has cleared the Phase II and Phase III of the scheme.
  • The duration of the scheme is of 10 years, to be implemented in two Phases i.e. Phase-II and Phase-III, each of six years duration with an overlap of two years.

Initiatives

• DHARMA is a web-based asset management software to support the effective collection and management of asset and health data for all large dams in India.
• SHAISYS is an interactive program to estimate Seismic Hazard at a point in the South Indian region.