IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

It is in Sri Lanka’s ‘own interest’ to meet expectations of Tamils, says Jaishankar

News

  • India called on Sri Lanka to meet the expectations of its minority Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united country for its “own interest”, as part of the reconciliation process.

Minority Tamil community

  • Indian External Affairs Minister is in the island nation for his first overseas visit of the year, underlined India’s backing for Lanka’s reconciliation process and an “inclusive political outlook” that encourages ethnic harmony.
  • The 13th Amendment provides for devolution of power to the Tamil community. India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

US welcomes arrest of 26/11 attack mastermind and LeT commander Lakhvi

News

  • The US has welcomed the arrest of Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi in Pakistan, terming it an “important step” in holding him responsible for his role in supporting terrorism and its financing.

Important step

  • Lakhvi was arrested in Pakistan on terror financing charges, amidst growing international pressure on Islamabad to bring to justice terrorists roaming free in the country.
  • UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province.
  • Lakhvi was designated as a global terrorist by the UN in December 2008 for being associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and al-Qaeda and for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of” both the entities.
  • Last month, the UN Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee allowed for a monthly payment of Pakistani Rupees 1.5 lakh for Lakhvi to meet his personal expenses.
  • The LeT, led by Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
  • The global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is instrumental in pushing Pakistan to take measures against terrorists roaming freely in Pakistan and using its territory to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere.
  • The Paris-based FATF placed Pakistan on the Grey List in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action to curb money laundering and terror financing by the end of 2019 but the deadline was extended later on due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Karnataka promulgates anti-cow slaughter ordinance

News

  • Karnataka promulgated the anti-cow slaughter ordinance that provides for punishment for killing of cattle and offers protection to those “acting in good faith” to save them, as the bill to this effect is yet to be cleared by the Legislative Council.

Anti-cow slaughter ordinance

  • Under the ordinance, slaughter of cattle will lead to imprisonment of up to 3 to 7 years and a fine ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, and subsequent offences will attract imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
  • According to it, cattle is defined as a cow, calf of a cow, bull and bullock of all ages and he or she buffalo below the age of thirteen years, while beef has been defined as the flesh of the cattle in any form.
  • Once it comes into effect, there will be a blanket prohibition of slaughter of cows in the state, however, slaughter houses will continue to function and beef consumption will not be prohibited with respect to buffalo meat, as buffaloes above the age of 13 can
    be slaughtered.
  • Exemption has been given to slaughtering of terminally ill cattle or cattle suffering from contagious diseases or operated upon for experimental or research purposes.
  • Also, buffaloes above the age of 13 years can be slaughtered with certification from a competent authority.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Govt. approves advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict across the country.

News

  • The Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife (SC-NBWL) in its 60th meeting has approved the advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict(HWC) in the country.

Advisory for management of HWC

  • The advisory makes important prescriptions for the States/ Union Territories for dealing with Human-Wildlife conflict situations and seeks expedited inter-departmental coordinated and effective actions.
  • The advisory envisages empowering gram panchayats in dealing with the problematic wild animals as per the section 11 (1) (b) of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
  • Utilising add-on coverage under the Pradhan MantriFasalBimaYojna for crop compensation against crop damage due to HWC and augmenting fodder and water sources within the forest areas are some key steps envisaged to reduce HWC.
  • Payment of a portion of ex-gratia as interim relief within 24 hours of the incident to the victim/family.
  • The advisory also envisages prescribing inter-departmental committees at local/state level, adoption of early warning systems, creation of barriers, dedicated circle wise Control Rooms with toll free hotline numbers which could be operated on 24X7 basis, Identification of hotspots and formulation and implementation of special plans for improved stall-fed farm animal etc.
  • Some of the other important approvals took place during the meeting are, inclusion of Caracal, a medium size wild cat found in some parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, into the list of critically endangered species for taking up conservation efforts with financial support under Centrally sponsored Scheme-Development of Wildlife Habitat.
  • Now, there are 22 wildlife species under recovery programme for critically endangered species.

The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is constituted by the Central Government under Section 5 A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA).

Government of India & NDB sign two loan agreements for USD 646 million for upgrading State Highway Network and District Road Network in Andhra Pradesh

News

  • The Government of India, the Government of Andhra Pradesh, and the New Development Bank (NDB) signed loan agreements of up to USD 323 million each for two projects.

Two projects

  • The first project – Andhra Pradesh Roads and Bridges Reconstruction Project – comprises widening 1,600 km of State Highways to double lane and reconstructing dilapidated bridges on the State Highway network.
  • The second project Andhra Pradesh Mandal Connectivity and Rural Connectivity Improvement Project – comprises widening 1,400 km of district roads to double lane and reconstructing dilapidated bridges on the district road network.
  • The two projects are expected to improve mobility and connectivity to the socioeconomic centres, enhance transport efficiency, improve road safety and riding quality, and provide all-weather accessibility for the State’s road users.
  • The projects would increase the roads’ daily traffic capacity to 15,000 passenger car units, which is expected to meet the projected traffic growth over the next 20 years.

New Development Bank

  • The NDB was established based on the Inter-Governmental agreement among the BRICS countries (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa) signed on July 15, 2014.
  • The Bank’s purpose is to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries.

Bird flu outbreak in four states, Centre issues advisory to contain spread

News

  • The Centre said that Avian Influenza, or the bird flu outbreak, had so far been reported at 12 epicentres across four states Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and issued advisories to contain further spread of the infection.

Avian Influenza

  • Avian influenza or bird flu is a highly contagious viral disease caused by Influenza Type A viruses, which generally affects poultry birds such as chickens and turkeys.
  • There are many strains of the virus; some of them are mild and may merely cause a dip in egg production or other mild symptoms among chickens, while others are severe and lethal.

460 Naxals killed, 161 security personnel dead since 2018: RTI data

News

  • A total of 460 Left Wing Extremists, also called Naxals, have been killed by security forces in the country since 2018, an RTI response has revealed.
  • During the same period, 161 security force personnel laid down their lives in the line of duty, the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Division, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, stated in the reply.

Left Wing Extremists

  • The division stated that 460 Left Wing Extremists have been killed and 161 security force personnel died in LWE violence from 2018 to November 2020.
  • The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in September 2020 said the LWE or Naxal violence had reduced considerably in the country with the menace being prevalent in just 46 districts.
  • The combined fatalities of civilians and security force personnel stood at 263 in 2017, 240 in 2017, 202 in 2019 and 102 in 2020 (till August), the ministry had stated.
  • The MHA states that between 2004 and 2019, as many as 8,197 people have been killed by the LWE in different parts of India and the majority of the civilians killed are tribals, often branded as ‘police informers’ before being brutally tortured and killed.