Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Exam – 22 February 2020

Contents:

1. Pakistan Retained in FATF’s Grey List
2. Forex reserves rise to record $476 billion
3. Scientists oppose study into ‘qualities’ of indigenous cows
4. New solar energy park to come up in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer
5. Gurmukhi script
6. Vivad se Vishwas Scheme

PAKISTAN RETAINED IN FATF’S GREY LIST 

Why in news?

Pakistan has been retained on the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for another four months, with a stern warning from the global watchdog that met in Paris (February 19-21) to complete the 27-point action plan it has been given by June 2020 or face being put on the “black list”

What did the FATF tell?

According to the FATF summary report released on Friday evening, Pakistan needs to continue to work on eight specific areas, including demonstrating it is “identifying and investigating” all terror financing activity in the country, freezing the funds of all designated terrorists and that its prosecutions result in “effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions” against all terror entities in Pakistan

What is FATF?

• Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering
• Is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering
• In 2001 its mandate expanded to include terrorism financing.
• It monitors progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations through “peer reviews” (“mutual evaluations”) of member countries
• The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
• The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
• The FATF is, therefore, a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas

FOREX RESERVES RISE TO RECORD $476 BILLION

Why in News?

• The country’s foreign ex­ Mumbai change reserves swelled by $3.091 billion to a lifetime high of $476.092 billion in the week to February 14, mainly due to a rise in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data
• The Foreign exchange reserves of India consists of below four categories:
  1. Foreign Currency Assets
  2. Gold
  3. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
  4. Reserve Tranche Position

SCIENTISTS OPPOSE STUDY INTO ‘QUALITIES’ OF INDIGENOUS COWS

• According to a concept note on the DST website SUTRA-­PIC or ‘Scientific Utilization Through Research Augmentation­ Prime Products from Indigenous Cows’, has five themes:
  • Uniqueness of Indigenous Cows
  • Prime products from Indigenous Cows for Medicine and  Health
  • Prime ­products from Indigenous Cows for Agricultural Applications
  • Prime ­products from Indigenous Cows for Food and Nutrition
  • Prime ­products from Indigenous Cows based Utility Items

Causes for concern?

The programme does not encourage fair comparison with other breeds of cows around the world or other bovine species within India

NEW SOLAR ENERGY PARK TO COME UP IN RAJASTHAN’S JAISALMER

Context and Details:

• A new 925 MW solar energy park will come up shortly at Nokh in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district
• The agreement is likely to bring an investment of ₹ 4,000 crore to the State
• While the NTPC Limited will develop solar photovoltaic projects in the park at an estimated investment of ₹3,500 crore, the RSDCL will build the basic infrastructure at the solar park’s 1,856.73 hectare land at an investment of ₹450 crore

GURMUKHI SCRIPT

Why in news?

Punjab govt. signboards to be in Gurmukhi

Details:

• Gurmukhi is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552).
• Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official script of the Punjabi language
• Gurmukhi evolved in cultural and historical circumstances notably different from other regional scripts, for the purpose of recording scriptures of Sikhism, a far less Sanskritized cultural tradition than others of the subcontinent

VIVAD SE VISHWAS SCHEME

• Introduction of the Vivad Se Vishwas scheme during budget speech with a view to “provide for resolution of pending tax disputes.”
• The scheme was introduced after the success of the “Sabka Vishwas Scheme,” which was introduced to reduce indirect tax disputes.
• It provides waiver from interest and penalty.
• The bill shall apply to all the appeals filed by declarants or the Government, which are pending with the Commissioner (Appeals), DRP, Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, High Court or Supreme Court and revision cases that are pending before the CIT as on the January 31, 2020
• The scheme applies to all the pending litigation except the following cases:-
  • Cases related to search or seizure;
  • Cases where the prosecution has been instituted on or before the date of filing of declaration;
  • Cases related to any undisclosed foreign income or assets;
  • Cases which are completed based on information received as a result of exchange of information with other tax jurisdictions
  • Cases where the CIT (Appeals) has issued a notice of enhancement;
  • Cases in which an order of detention has been made or prosecution has been instituted/ conviction has been made under specified Acts or notification has been made under the Special Court (Trial of Offences Relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992.