National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 2nd May 2019

Masood Azhar: Jaish-e-Mohammed leader listed as terrorist by UN

Topic: International Relations

In News: Masood Azhar is the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which carried out a suicide bombing in February killing 40 troops in Kashmir.The UN move comes after China dropped its objection to the listing. India hailed it as a diplomatic victory.

More on the Topic

• Masood Azhar will be subject to an assets freeze and a travel ban. The proposal had been brought forward by the US, Britain and France after the Kashmir attacks – the deadliest in the disputed region during a 30-year-long insurgency.
• The attack worsened tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India, with war temporarily appearing a real possibility.
• China – a long-time ally of Pakistan – had previously blocked the sanctions committee from imposing sanctions on Masood Azhar in 2016 and 2017 but agreed to the proposal recently.

About Jaish-e-Mohammad

• Jaish-e-Mohammad literally means the Army of Mohammad.Masood Azhar founded the group after he was released by India in 1999, one of three men set free in exchange for the crew and passengers of an Indian Airlines plane hijacked and flown to then Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
• Masood Azhar reportedly met the former Taliban leader Mullah Omar and al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden when he was in the country.
• JeM is the organisation behind attack on parliament in Delhi in December 2001 – a claim JeM denies.
• JeM was officially banned in Pakistan soon after that attack, but the group still operates, sometimes using the names Afzal Guru Squad, Al-Murabitoon and Tehreek-al-Furqan.
• India has also blamed JeM for an attack on an airbase near the Pakistani border in January 2016, which left three members of the security forces dead.
• JeM commander Noor Mohammad Tantray was killed by Indian forces in 2017, which was seen as a massive blow to the organisation.
• But the violence did not abate, and many analysts believe the group still enjoys support from members of the Pakistani intelligence services.
• JeM has however attacked Pakistani military targets and even made an attempt on then-leader Pervez Musharraf’s life in 2003.

UN Security Council Resolution 1267

• The Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee (officially Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities) was established on 15 October 1999, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267.
• Initially dealing with both al-Qaeda and the Taliban, hence previously known as the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, it was split on 17 June 2011, creating the new Taliban Sanctions Committee to separately deal with the Taliban.
• Resolution 1267 (1999) and subsequent resolutions have all been adopted under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter and require all UN Member States to inter alia: “freeze the assets of, prevent the entry into or transit through their territories by, and prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer of arms and military equipment to any individual or entity associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and/or the Taliban as designated by the Committee”.
• Pursuant to resolution 1390 (2002) the committee established and maintains a list which serves as the foundation for the implementation and enforcement of the sanctions measures imposed against those individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaeda as designated by the Committee.
• The list is split into two sections covering: individuals associated with Al-Qaeda and B. entities and other groups and undertakings associated with Al-Qaeda.
• Masood Azhar has been linked to Osama bin Laden he can be sanctioned under it.

Model Mains Question: Terrorism is an alarming concern that impacts everyone and requires effective international collaboration to develop international law to combat it.” Comment.

Source: The Hindu

GSI installed geological display boards at Mawmluh cave, Therriaghat

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: In Meghalaya, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) North Eastern Region (NER)  installed two geological display boards at two important geological sites in the State with geo-scientific information which will help in creating awareness among visiting tourists, students and the general public.

More on the Topic:

• The boards are unvieled at Mawmluh cave and Therriaghat, Sobhar in East Khasi Hill District.
• Mawmluh cave made headlines earlier as high resolution stable isotopic studies of the stalagmites from the cave have shown that there was a major climatic event about 4200 years ago.
• The stalagmite in the Mawmluh cave has been tagged a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) which is the first formally ratified marker of a geological time period in India.
• Therriaghat marks the Cretaceous (K)-Palaeogene (Pg) mass extinction event. The Um-Sohryngkew (Wahrew) river section at Therriaghat is known for having the most complete records of the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) boundary transition in India.

Source: The Hindu

Global Food Policy Report

Topic: Important Reports

In News: Global Food Policy Report, 2019 prepared by global experts of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was released recently. It primarily assesses level of malnutrition and food availability across the world during an ongoing year. The report, considered an important advisory, is consulted by policymakers in most countries.

More on the topic:

• According to the report, South Asia, which comprised of some of the fastest growing economies in a year marked by global slowdown, also faced the economic impact of rural crisis. In India, home to 70 per cent of South Asia region’s rural dwellers, too, remained largely impacted by the rural crisis.
• India is continuously facing the challenge of climate change, risks on land degradation, deterioration of soil quality and loss of biodiversity has potentially slowed the rural transformation.

Key Findings of the Report:

• Rural population account for 3% of the world’s total population and at least 70% of the world’s population remains extremely poor.
• The rural population suffers from rapid population growth rates, inadequate job and enterprise creation, poor infrastructure, scarce financial services.
• Nearly 50% of rural youth all over the world do not have any formal job they are either unemployed or under-employed.
• The world is not yet on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Poverty and malnutrition rates are falling in many places, but not fast enough.
• An estimated three quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas, and most are among the 2.5 billion people who work in small-scale agriculture in developing countries.
• Almost one billion people, most living in rural areas of Africa and South Asia, still lack access to electricity.
• South Asia remained the fastest growing region in the world in 2018, as economic growth continued to strengthen. However, growth rates varied greatly across the region.
• Rice and wheat are the region’s major staple crops, accounting for about two-thirds of total dietary energy. But food consumption patterns have changed in the region over the past few decades.

Model Mains Question: Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in india, poverty is still existing.’ explain by giving reasons.

Source: The Hindu

Indo-French naval exercise begins

Topic: International Relations

In News: The first part of the Indo-French joint naval exercise, Varuna 19.1 is being held in the month of May.

More on the Topic

• From the Indian side, the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, the Teg-class frigate, INS Tarkash, the Shishumar- class submarine, INS Shankul, and the Deepak- class fleet tanker, INS Deepak, are taking part in the exercise.
• The exercise is being conducted in two phases. The harbour phase at Goa would include cross-visits, professional interactions and discussions and sports events. The sea phase would comprise various exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations.
• Varuna 19.2, the second part of the exercise, is scheduled to be held in May end in Djibouti.

Source: The Hindu

ADB steps up metro rail funding

Topic: Economy

In News: Asian Development Bank (ADB), traditionally strong in funding social sector projects in education, water and irrigation in India, is moving into financing metro rail projects in the country in a big way.

More on the Topic

• The bank is involved with the $1 billion Mumbai metro, and is in talks with the respective State governments for funding the Bhopal Metro and Bengaluru Metro. It is also engaged in discussions to extend assistance to Chennai Metro.
• Funding for the Mumbai project is the largest extended to India by the ADB. ADB has financed the Jaipur Metro as well. The bank is also working with the Centre to finance the newly-announced Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail project.

About Asian Development Bank

• It is a multi-lateral lending agency.It is modeled on the World Bank
• It has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed based on member’s capital subscriptions.
• ADB borrows from international capital markets with its capital as guarantee.
• Japan and USA are its major donors.
• There has been criticism that ADB’s large scale projects cause social and environmental damage due to lack of oversight.
• India has about 6% voting rights (4th highest; Japan highest, USA 2nd highest)
• It is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region including India.
• It is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
• It provides finance to both sovereign countries as well as to the private parties.
• It provides hard loans to middle-income countries and soft loans to poorer countries.

Source: The Hindu

Chandrayaan-2

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: India’s much-delayed second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, has got yet another launch window. The mission is now set to be launched any time between July 5 and July 16 this year.

More on the Topic

• The moon landing is likely to be around September 6, 2019, nearly two months after the launch, close to the lunar South Pole.
• Chandrayaan-2 is a fully-indigenous mission that comprises three modules an Orbiter, a Lander named ‘Vikram’, and a Rover named ‘Pragyan’ and will be launched on board a GSLV-MkIII rocket.
• The GSLV-MkIII is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle that has been designed to carry four-tonne class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched on board a PSLV.
• The Chandrayaan-2 weighs around 3,290 kg. It would orbit around the moon and carry out remote sensing of the moon.
• The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.

Integrated module:

• The Orbiter and the Lander will be stacked together as an integrated module, while the Rover will be housed inside the Lander.
• Once the Orbiter reaches the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander will separate from it and ISRO will carry out a controlled descent at a specific site and deploy the Rover.
• The six-wheeled Rover will “move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands. The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.

Source: The Hindu