Sex offenders’ registry launched with 4.4 lakh entries

Why in news?

India became the ninth country in the world to have a National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO), accessible only to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of investigation and monitoring.

Details

• The first-of-its-kind national sex offenders’ registry has names and details of some 4.4 lakh people convicted for various sexual offences across the country.
• The database is for those convicted for sexual offences 2005 onwards.
• It includes name, address, photograph and fingerprint details of the convict.
• The database will include offenders convicted under charges of rape, gang rape, Protection of Children from Sexual Offenders Act (POCSO) and eve teasing.
• The database will be maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau, that will also track whether the State police were updating the records on time.
• The proposal to set up a registry was mooted by the UPA government after the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case in New Delhi.

Portal

• Another portal was launched, cybercrime.gov.in, that will receive complaints from citizens on objectionable online content related to child pornography, child sexual abuse material, and sexually explicit material such as rape and gang rape.
• There are other features, such as a victim or complainant can track his/her report by opting for ‘report and track’ option using his/her mobile number.
• The complaints registered through this portal will be handled by police authorities of respective State/UTs.

Merged bank could see rise in NPAs: India Ratings

Why in news?

The proposed merger of three public sector banks, Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, is expected to result in better operating efficiency in the long run but there could be an increase in slippages in the short-term, India Ratings has said.

What rating agency said?

• The merged entity may see reduced operating costs, lower funding cost and strengthened risk management practices apart from increasing the scale and reach moderately.
• However, in the short-term, the slippages could increase as recognition of non-performing assets is harmonised and accelerated.
• Proposed merger would require significant bandwidth of management along with deft handling so that operational aspects such as business growth and resolution of large stock of delinquent assets continue receiving adequate attention.
• It also said the asset-liability mismatch of the smaller banks (Vijaya and Dena Banks) can be better addressed at the consolidated level.
• The success of the proposed merger could impact the incremental capital ask from the government as efficiencies improve, resulting in stronger internal accruals and may act as a roadmap for further consolidations in the public-sector banking space.
• consolidated entity’s core equity tier 1 capital is about 9.3% and that Dena Bank’s lower capital buffers are offset by Vijaya’s higher capital buffers.

Preventive vigilance is key to good governance in PSEs: Patel

Why in news?

Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel emphasised on preventive vigilance for improving governance standards in public sector enterprises (PSEs) and said punitive vigilance may not achieve the desired results.

Details

• He said preventive vigilance takes centre stage and becomes a key effective tool of governance in a public-sector institution.
• When lapses can arise due to background noise outside of the employee control (which is often the case in public sector due to the complexity of the interaction with a multitude of other public-sector entities), punitive vigilance becomes even less attractive due to further demotivation that it might induce; in turn, so does detective vigilance.
• While not taking away from the need to engage in some detective and punitive vigilance, preventive vigilance is conceptually likely to be the most effective governance mechanism at public sector institutions.
• Punitive vigilance was difficult in a public-sector institution for several reasons, adding the rewards were low to start with, thereby limiting the possibility of downward revisions.

Plug tax gaps in consent route: SEBI

Why in news?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) wants the government to amend the Income Tax Act to plug loopholes wherein individuals and companies managed to avail tax benefits on the money paid to the regulator to settle matters under the consent mechanism.

Background

• The regulator had already taken up the matter with the government highlighting cases where entities showed the settlement amount paid to the SEBI as a deductible business expense to lower their taxable income and thereby the tax liability.
• A committee formed to review consent framework has highlighted this issue.

Examples

• The past has seen at least three instances wherein such a tax benefit was availed by entities that settled their respective matters with the SEBI through the consent mechanism that involves paying a monetary penalty.
• In February 2016, the Income Tax department allowed Anil Ambani to treat ₹50 crore paid as settlement charges to the SEBI as an expenditure. Later on, the I-T Appellate Tribunal upheld the observation of the tax department.
• In other two instances, Pranav Securities and Reliance Share & Stock Brokers claimed such similar tax benefits.
• The premise put forth by the tax authorities was that the settlement amount was not a penalty and the money had been paid without admission of guilt.

Nearly one lakh winged visitors arrive at Bengal sanctuary

Why in news?

The number of winged visitors at the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinjapur district has crossed all previous records.

Details

• As per a census carried out by the State Forest Department, the wildlife sanctuary, spread over 130 hectares, recorded 98,532 birds this year.
• This the highest number of birds which has visited Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary over the past several years.
• The number of migratory birds is increasing every year.
• Not only has the number of birds increased, but the number of species has also increased from 50 in 2012-13 to over 120 this year.

About Rajganj Wildlife Sanctuary

• The sanctuary, which is also known as the Kulik Bird Sanctuary, drawing its name from the river Kulik, attracts a large number of tourists every year, including birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts.
• Situated near Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal, the sanctuary is home to 164 bird species.
• The sanctuary has one of the highest numbers of Openbill stork population not only in India but in Asia and this makes the sanctuary unique. Openbill storks have a conservation status of Least Concern.
• Birds visit the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary in June and stay till November, when the temperature drops.
• Of the new bird species visiting the sanctuary for the first time in 2018 are the Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Indian Pitta.

About Asian Paradise Flycatcher

• It is native to Asia but is widely distributed.
• As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004.
• They are migratory and spend the winter season in tropical Asia.
• Indian paradise flycatchers inhabit thick forests and well-wooded habitats from Central Asia to south-eastern China, all over India and Sri Lanka to Myanmar.

About Indian Pitta

• It is native to the Indian subcontinent.
• It is a passerine bird (passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes, three pointing forward and one back, which facilitates perching).
• It is considered Least Concern by IUCN as its range is very large.
• Indian pittas breed mainly in the Himalayan foothills from the Margalla hills northern Pakistan in the west to at least Nepal and possibly up to Sikkim in the east.
• They also breed in the hills of central India and in the Western Ghats south to Karnataka.
• They migrate to all parts of peninsular India and Sri Lanka in winter.

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Why in news?

The government along with United Nations body FAO has launched an agriculture project with $33.5 million grant from Global Environment Facility (GEF) that seeks to bring transformative change in the farm sector through conservation of biodiversity and forest landscapes.

Details

• The project is being funded by the GEF and implemented by the government of India (agriculture and environment ministries) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
• The project aims to transform agricultural production to generate global environmental benefits by addressing biodiversity conservation, land degradation, climate change mitigation and sustainable forest management.
• The project, to be implemented in five landscapes in Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, strives to bring harmony between conservation and development efforts of the country.

 About GEF

• The Global Environment Facility was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems.
• It is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector that addresses global environmental issues.
• GEF funds are available to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet the objectives of the international environmental conventions and agreements.
• It is a FINANCIAL MECHANISM for five major international environmental conventions: the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission

Why in news?

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of timeline for implementation of the Special Package under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) for Jammu & Kashmir for another period of one year during 2018-19.

Benefits

• This will help in covering all the vulnerable rural households in the State (estimated at two thirds of the total number of households) within a definite time frame.
• It will ensure mobilization of households under the auto inclusion category and households with at least one deprivation category listed in the Socio Economic Caste Census – 2011.
• It will also ensure coverage of all the blocks in Jammu & Kashmir under DAY-NRLM and ensures social inclusion, social development, promotion of livelihoods leading to poverty alleviation in the State.

About DAY-NRLM

• The Government is implementing DAY-NRLM across the country in all States and Union Territories (except Delhi and Chandigarh).
• The financial support under the programme is mainly in the form of Revolving Fund and Community Investment Funds, given as grants to the Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations.
• The programme has a special focus on women empowerment including a dedicated component for promoting farm and non-farm based livelihoods for women farmers in rural areas.
• DAY-NRLM also focuses on bank linkage of the institutions.