Trump starts withdrawal of U.S. from WHO
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Why in news:
President Donald Trump formally started the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), making good on threats to deprive the UN body of its top funding source over its response to the coronavirus.
Key details:
- Trump had earlier issued threats to deprive the UN body (WHO) of its top funding source over its response to the coronavirus.
- He had also threatened to suspend $400 million in annual U.S. contributions.
- The withdrawal is effective in one year — July 6, 2021. And could be reversed by a new administration or if circumstances change.
- The U.S. is WHO’s largest donor and provides it with more than $450 million per year, but owes about $200 million in current and past dues.
Concerns:
- WHO is the only body capable of leading and coordinating the global response to COVID-19.
- Terminating the US relationship would undermine the global effort to beat this virus and could jeopardize global health.
Background:
- Since assuming office in January 2017, Trump has pulled the US out of many global organisations and treaties — the most notable being the 2015 Paris Climate Accord and the Iran nuclear deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
- He pulled out of Trans-Pacific Partnership.
- The trade deal covered nearly 40 % of the world’s economy and was negotiated by countries like the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, among others with an aim to boost growth, improve economic ties and reduce tariffs.
- Following the US withdrawal, the remaining 11 countries renegotiated parts of the TPP and later signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), also known as TPP-11.
- Trump pulled the US out of UNESCO in 2017, citing anti-Israel bias as Washington was upset with UNESCO for granting full membership to Palestine.
- The US pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 citing it as a hypocritical body that “makes a mockery of human rights.”
UAE in support of open skies agreement with India
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Why in news:
UAE is keen to have an open sky agreement with India.
Details:
- India has an open skies policy with SAARC countries and those beyond the 5,000-km radius, which implies that nations within this distance need to enter into a bilateral agreement and mutually determine the number of flights that their airlines can operate between the two countries.
- It is this policy that the Ambassador wants India to revisit.
- The issue of fifth and sixth freedoms of air has been a sore point between airlines in India and the UAE.
Freedoms of the air:
- The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country’s airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country’s airspace.
- The first freedom of air allows a carrier to take off from its home state, the second freedom of air allows it to land in a second country.
- The third and fourth freedoms of air allow the airline to take off from the country it has landed in and come back to land at its home base.
- The fifth freedom allows an airline to carry revenue traffic between foreign countries as a part of services connecting the airline’s own country. It is the right to carry passengers from one’s own country to a second country, and from that country onward to a third country (and so on).
- Fifth freedom traffic rights are intended to enhance the economic viability of an airline’s long-haul routes, but tend to be viewed by local airlines and governments as potentially unfair competition.
- Sixth freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from a second country to a third country by stopping in one’s own country.
- An open sky air service agreement allows for airlines from the two countries to have an unlimited number of flights as well as seats to each other’s jurisdictions.
Indian trawlers are back, say Sri Lanka’s fishermen
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Why in News:
Sri Lanka’s northern fishermen have reported a “sudden increase” in the number of Indian trawlers spotted in the island’s territorial waters, flagging an old problem that seriously impaired their post-war recovery.
Key Detail:
- Fishermen along the northern coast of Jaffna Peninsula, especially Point Pedro, have complained about the large Indian trawlers that were reportedly in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.
- This is an old problem that seriously impaired their post-war recovery.
- The Indo-Lanka fisheries conflict became a strain on the countries’ bilateral ties, with talks at the highest levels and among fisher leaders on both sides proving futile for years.
- The issue started because of Indian fishermen using mechanized trawlers, which deprived the Sri Lankan fishermen (including Tamils) of their catch and damaged their fishing boats.
- In the last couple of years, Sri Lanka introduced tougher laws banning bottom-trawling, and heavy fines for trespassing foreign vessels.
- While the Sri Lankan Navy arrested over 450 Indian fishermen in 2017, they arrested only 156 in 2018 on charges of poaching.
- A total of 210 arrests were made in 2019, while 34 have been made so far in 2020.
Concerns:
- Familiar with the brutal impact that Indian trawlers had on their fish production and the marine habitat in the post-war decade — scooping out marine organisms, including fishes and prawns — the northern Tamil fishermen fear that their livelihoods, now under strain due to the coronavirus pandemic that has impaired exports, would be further hit by the trawlers.
Initial results of survey show ‘high’ seroprevalence in Delhi: officials
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations
Why in News:
After blood samples of over 22,000 people were randomly collected from the city to test for antibodies formed against COVID-19, the initial results of the serological survey showed at least 15% of them have developed antibodies against the virus, according to officials.The data from the survey is still being analysed and a report is yet to be released by the government.
Key Details:
- The initial results of the serological survey showed at least 15% of them have developed antibodies against the virus.
- Seroprevalence surveys use serology tests to identify people in a population or community that have antibodies against an infectious disease.
- The serological survey is part of a ‘Revised COVID Response Plan’ by the Delhi Government based on the directions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
- The source said that a higher seroprevalence is a good sign as it means a larger part of the population has developed antibodies against the virus and chances of them again contracting the virus are very low. Thus, they can break the chain of transmission of the virus and reduce the spread of the disease.
Rental housing scheme for migrants cleared
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations
Why in News:
A scheme for providing affordable rental housing to about 3 lakh urban migrants has been approved by the Union Cabinet.
Key Details:
- The creation of affordable rental housing complexes was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May 2020 as a part of the package to address the COVID-19 crisis.
- Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme will be a sub-scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban that is implemented by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
- The target beneficiaries would be workers who come from rural areas or towns to work in manufacturing, hospitality, health, construction, etc.
- Also, existing vacant government-funded housing complexes will be converted into ARHCs through a concession agreement for 25 years.
- ARHCs will create a new ecosystem in urban areas making housing available at affordable rent close to the place of work.
- Investment under ARHCs is expected to create new job opportunities. ARHCs will cut down unnecessary travel, congestion and pollution.
Three NGOs linked to Congress under Home Ministry scanner
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations
What’s in News?
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to probe alleged violation of various legal provisions by three NGOs — the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT).
Key Details:
- The violations being probed pertain to the legal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Income Tax Act and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
- As per the MHA website, both the RGF and the RGCT are registered FCRA associations, a pre-requisite for NGOs and other associations to receive foreign donations.
- The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust is not an FCRA registered association.
Need for FCRA
The act aims at keeping a check on foreigners influencing the Indian electoral politics, journalists, public servants etc. for wrong purposes or activities detrimental to the public interest. Those violating the provisions of FCRA can be jailed up to a term of 5 years.
Salient features of FCRA 2010
Here is a brief introduction to the provisions of the FCRA 2010:
- A provision was made for the cancellation of registrations of NGOs if the Home Ministry believes that the organisation is political and not neutral.
- The registration certificate granted to the NGOs under the 2010 act came with a five-year validity.
- A provision was inserted stating that the assets of the person who has become defunct needs to be disposed of in a manner stated by the government.
- A separate account needs to be maintained by the organizations to deposit the Foreign Contributions received and no other funds except for Foreign Contributions shall be deposited in that account.
- Every bank would be obligated to report to the prescribed authority, the amount of foreign remittances received and other related details such as the source, manner of receipt etc.
Who can accept Foreign Contribution?
Organizations working for definite cultural, social, economic, educational or religious programs, if and only if they are
- Registered with the Home Ministry
- Maintaining a separate account listing the donations received from foreigners, getting it audited by a Chartered Accountant and submitting it to the Home Ministry, every year.
Who are debarred from receiving Foreign Contribution?
- Candidate contesting an election
- Cartoonist, editor, publishers of registered newspaper
- Judge
- Government servants or employee of any corporation
- Member of any legislature
- Political parties
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
- Under the PMLA, the Enforcement Directorate is empowered to conduct money laundering investigation.
- The most crucial amendments are the deletion of provisos in sub-sections (1) of Section 17 (Search and Seizure) and Section 18 (Search of Persons), doing away with the pre-requisite of a FIR or charge sheet by other agencies that are authorized to probe the offences listed in the PMLA schedule.
- Another important change is the insertion of an explanation in Section 44. It says that the jurisdiction of the Special Court, while dealing with the offence under this Act, during investigation, enquiry or trial under this Act, shall not be dependent upon any orders passed in respect of the scheduled offence, and the trial of both sets of offences by the same court shall not be construed as joint trial.
- The changes are in line with the intent to treat proceedings under the Act as separate from those under the scheduled offences.
- Some of the changes tend to treat money laundering as a stand-alone crime and also expand the ambit of “proceeds of crime” to assets that may have been derived from any other criminal activity related to scheduled offences.
- An explanation added to Section 45 clarifies that all PMLA offences will be cognizable and non-bailable.
- Therefore, ED officers are empowered to arrest an accused without warrant, subject to certain conditions.
- Another vital amendment to Section 3 makes concealment of proceeds of crime, possession, acquisition, use, projecting as untainted money, or claiming as untainted property as independent and complete offences under the Act.
- These activities have been explicitly declared to be continuing offences until such time a person is directly or indirectly enjoying the proceeds of crime.
- Amendments have been made to Section 72 to include a part, giving power to the Centre to set up an Inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee for inter-departmental and inter-agency coordination for operational and policy level cooperation, besides consultation with all stakeholders on anti-money laundering and counter-terror funding initiatives.