DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
22nd October 2021
| S. No. | Topic Name | Prelims/Mains |
| 1. | About the UDAN Scheme | Prelims & Mains |
| 2. | India’s Covaxin yet to receive WHO’s approval | Prelims & Mains |
| 3. | Pakistan to remain in FATF’s Grey List; Turkey is the new addition | Prelims & Mains |
| 4. | Fossil Fuel Production of India has gone higher than the Paris Agreement Commitments | Prelims & Mains |
| 5. | About the Sakharov Prize | Prelims Specific |
| 6. | What is Georissa Mawsmaiensis | Prelims Specific |
- About the UDAN Scheme:
GS II
Topic – Government Policies and Interventions for the vulnerable sections:
- Why in the News:
- The Indian government has designated October 21 as UDAN Day, the date on which the program was first released.
- About the UDAN scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme:
- The program aims to improve air connectivity in remote and regional parts of the country and to make air travel cheaper.
- It is an integral part of the National Aviation Policy led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and launched in June 2016.
- Under the scheme, around 50 % of the seats are reserved at subsidized rates, and the air carrier companies are provided the requisite viability gap funding.
- The cost is borne by the central government and the concerned states.
- The plan will be valid for ten years and may be extended thereafter.
- UDAN 4.0:
- The fourth version of the UDAN Scheme was launched in December 2019 with a strong focus on the North-Eastern regions, the Hilly States and the Islands.
- Airports already built by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are prioritized for the provision of VGF (Viability Gap Funding) under the Scheme.
- Under UDAN 4.0, the operationalization of helicopters and marine aircrafts are also included.
- Prelims Hot-Link:
- When was the UDAN scheme established?
- Program implementation and funding.
- Overview of National Aviation Policy.
- Under the scheme, who provides the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) funding to fund the flights?
- The role of state governments under this program.
- Source – https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/analysis-why-alliance-air-is-key-to-the-success-of-the-governments-udan-scheme-7609111.html
- India’s Covaxin yet to receive WHO’s approval:
GS II
Topic – International Relations:
- Why in News:
- Emergency Listing Authorization of the Bharat Biotech’s vaccine ‘ COVAXIN provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) is still in the process and there has been quite a delay in the same.
- Reasons for the delay:
- The delay to get approval for emergency use is due to the WHO raising some questions about Covaxin and asking Bharat Biotech for further clarification.
- According to the World Health Organization, their officials are waiting for an additional source of information from Bharat Biotech before WHO tests the COVAXIN for emergency usage approval .
- Why is WHO approval necessary:
- If Covaxin is provided the approval of WHO, those who have been vaccinated with the vaccine can travel to countries that allow the entry of fully vaccinated people.
- The company can also export it to countries that comply with the guidelines approved by the WHO.
- What is the WHO’s Emergency Use List:
- It is a transparent procedure for testing and listing unlicensed vaccines, therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics with the aim of maintaining the speed of access to these products for people affected by public health emergencies.
- To qualify, the following criteria must be met:
- Disease for which the vaccine is made should life-threatening or should have the potential to cause an outbreak or an epidemic.
- Existing vaccines in the market must have failed to eradicate the disease or prevent outbreaks.
- The product is manufactured in accordance with the accepted Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) when it comes to medicines and vaccines and under the applicable Quality Control System (QMS) in the case of IVDs.
- The applicant undertakes to complete product design (validation and product validation in the case of IVDs) and then applies for WHO certification once the product become compliant.
- Prelims Hot-Link:
- About who EUL procedure of WHO.
- About WHO
- About COVAXIN, Covishield and other vaccines in India for COVID
- Difference between retro-virus and adeno-virus.
- Source – https://www.livemint.com/science/health/covaxin-data-on-inactivated-vaccine-causing-delay-in-nod-11634669677076.html
- Pakistan to remain in FATF’s Grey List; Turkey is the new addition:
GS II
Topic – International Relations:
- Why in the News:
- Pakistan will continue to be on the FATF’s “Gray List” as it needs to “continue to show” that action is being taken against UN-designated terrorists such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, who are wanted in many terrorist cases in India.
- What’s next:
- The Paris-based FATF requires Pakistan to conduct an investigation into funding terrorism and the persecution of leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups and their allies.
- Background:
- Pakistan was placed on the gray list by the Paris-based FATF in June 2018, and the country has since been struggling to get out of it.
- It has now completed 26 of the 27 demands asked to fulfill in 2018.
- What is FATF:
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental organization agency founded in 1989 with the official launch of the G7.
- It is a “policy-making body” that works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legal and regulatory changes in various aspects ranging from counter-terrorism to counterfeit currency and money laundering, etc.
- The FATF Secretariat resides at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
- Roles and responsibilities:
- It was originally established to explore and develop ways to combat money laundering.
- In October 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to put in place efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to the money laundering.
- In April 2012, it added efforts to combat increasing arms funding as its function.
- Composition:
- The FATF currently has 37 member states and two regional organizations, representing major financial institutions in all parts of the world.
- What is the black and grey list of the FATF:
- Black List: Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are designated into the black list. These countries support terrorist financing and money laundering activities extensively. FATF regularly updates blacklist list on a periodic basis.
- Grey List: Countries that are considered a safe haven for funding and allocation of terrorist funds are included in the FATF grey list. This inclusion is a warning to the country that they can be moved into the blacklist.
- After-effects of a country being moved into the grey list:
- Economic sanctions from the IMF, World Bank, ADB.
- Problems in getting loans from the IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries.
- Reducing international trade.
- International boycott.
- Prelims Hot-Link:
- G7 vs G8 vs G20.
- Black vs Grey list.
- Are FATF resolutions binding on member states
- Who is in charge of the FATF?
- Where is its secretariat located?
- Source – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-to-remain-on-fatf-grey-list-till-april-2022/articleshow/87190490.cms
- Fossil Fuel Production of India has gone higher than the Paris Agreement Commitments:
GS III
Topic – Conservation related issues:
- Why in News:
- A recent report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Production Gap Report revealed that the top 15 oil-producing countries, including India, are unwilling to meet the requirements of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
- The Paris agreement seeks to keep global temperatures “below two degrees” above pre-industrial levels.
- Highlights of the Production Gap Report:
- Governments are planning to produce 110 percent more fossil fuel by 2030 than would be capable to keep the warming of earth below 1.5 ° C, and 45 percent more than would be capable to keep the warming of earth below 2 ° C as compared to the pre-industrial levels.
- By 2040, this excess will be growing at 190% and 89%, respectively.
- The 15 countries that were analysed as part of the report accounted for 75 % of global oil production by 2020.
- Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK) ) and the United States (US) were included in this report.
- What needs to be done:
- In order for the world to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, “global oil and gas production & consumption must begin to decline rapidly to keep the rise in earth’s temperature below the target of 1.5 ° C.
- Upcoming Challenges for India:
- India does not have a federal policy for reducing fossil oil production, or ensuring a positive shift into the renewable energy sector
- Why is there a need to reduce energy consumption:
- The global cost of air pollution from fossil oils is very high: It is about $ 2.9 trillion a year, or $ 8 billion a day, which was 3.3 percent of the world’s GDP at the time.
- India is estimated to bear the cost of $ 150 billion from air pollution caused by fossil fuels.
- How to overcome the challenges:
- Till now, the various human activities have caused global temperatures to rise by about 1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels (1950-1900).
- Currently, export targets are not in line with limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees.
- Prelims Hot-Link:
- What is the Paris agreement?
- Which countries have not yet signed?
- India’s INDC Commitments under the Paris Agreement
- Source – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-set-to-update-its-2030-climate-targets-under-paris-agreement/articleshow/87098192.cms
- About the Sakharov Prize:
Prelims Specific Topic:
- Arrested Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was recently awarded the European Union’s top human rights award.
- The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, better known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the protection of human rights and freedom of thought.
- The award was launched in December 1988 by the European Parliament and was named after a Russian scientist Andrei Sakharov
- What is Georissa Mawsmaiensis:
Prelims Specific Topic:
- A small snail named Georissa mawsmaiensis in was discovered in Mawsmai, Meghalaya recently after 170 years.
- It is discovered a stone cave.
- Georissa members are widely distributed and reported from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
- However, they are located in small areas dominated with limestone caves or karst landscapes.
- About the Mawsmai cave:
- It is located in the small village of Mawsmai, about four kilometers from Cherrapunjee (Sohra) in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
- The word ‘Mawsmai’ means ‘Oath of Stone’ in the Language of the Khasi Tribals.
- The Khasi Tribals used the local name ‘Krem’ for the cave.
- The Mawsmai Cave is located at an altitude of 1,195 meters above sea level and is indirectly influenced by the tributaries of the Kynshi River from the East Khasi Hills.