1) Prevention of money laundering Act: The Finance Ministry has amended money laundering rules to incorporate more disclosures for non-governmental organisations by reporting entities like financial institutions, banking companies or intermediaries.
- It has also defined “politically exposed persons” (PEPs) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The amendment is in relation to foreign PEPs and not domestic ones.
- The amendment now considers an individual or group holding 10% ownership of reporting entities (such as banks, financial institutions, or any organization or business operating in real estate) as the beneficial owner. The previous threshold was 25% ownership.
- As per the recent amendments, reporting entities are now required to register details of the client if it’s a non-profit organisation on the DARPAN portal.
- NGO-DARPAN, a platform that provides space for interface between Non-Government organizations (NGOs)/ Voluntary Organizations (VOs) in the country and key Government Ministries / Departments / Government Bodies.
- Initially an initiative of PMO, now it is an e-governance application offered by NITI Aayog to electronically maintain data and transparency regarding NGOs/VOs in the country.
2) Dam safety in India: Of the operational dams, 234 have outlived their lifespan of 100 years (some even older than 300 years). Parliamentary Committee over the safety of ageing dams flagged 36 dam disasters. The worst was the 1979 Machhu dam disaster in Morbi, Gujarat.
- Under the 7th Schedule, water and water storage is a state subject.
- The existing dam safety regulations are part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under the EPA.
- At the national level, the Central Water Commission (CWC) under Ministry of Jal Shakti, issued guidelines for: Dam Safety Procedures; Safety Inspection of Dams; Development and Implementation of Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for Dams; etc.
- Central Water Commission (CWC) compiles and maintains nation-wide register of Large Dams i.e.National Register of Large Dams (NRLD)
3) Earth for All: it is a collective initiative of leading economic thinkers, scientists, and advocates.
- It is convened by The Club of Rome, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Norwegian Business School.
- It is guided by a Transformational Economics Commission, made up of economic thinkers from across the globe to explore new economic thinking and test the model outcomes.
- The researchers advance two scenarios:
- Too Little, Too Late: predicts that if economic development continues as it has in the last five decades, the world’s population would peak at 8.6 billion in 2050, and decline to 7 billion by 2100 and The Giant Leap: the researchers conclude that the population will peak at 8.5 billion by 2040 but then rapidly decline to around 6 billion by 2100.
- The Earth4All report contradicted the U.N. ‘World Populations Prospects 2022’ report, which predicted that the global population would steadily rise to 10.4 billion in 2080 and then stabilise around that number in 2100.
4) Livestock Insurance Scheme: Less than 1% of the country’s cattle population is currently insured
- Launched In Year 2008-09, it is a Centrally sponsored scheme by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries
- It is implemented in 100 selected districts, with a maximum of 2 animals per beneficiary for a maximum of three years and 100% subsidy cost borne by Central Government
- All states have implemented the scheme (except Goa) through the State Livestock Development Boards of their respective states.
5) Mifepristone: Medication abortion is a regimen of pills women can take at home, a method increasingly used around the world.
- Mifepristone, blocks a hormone called progesterone that is necessary for a pregnancy to continue. Misoprostol, brings on uterine contractions.
