Daily Current Capsules - 21^st JUNE 2019

Environment Conservation
A water clinic for elephants opens in Mathura

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the hydrotherapy treatment for elephants)
What's the NEWS

• India has opened its first specialised hydrotherapy treatment for elephants suffering from arthritis, joint pain and foot ailments, near the Wildlife SOS' Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC), which currently houses 20 rescued animals and is run in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the NGO Wildlife SOS.

Know! more about the water clinic for elephants

• Situated on the banks of the Yamuna in Mathura, the hydrotherapy jumbo pool is 11-foot-deep and has 21 high pressure jet sprays that create water pressure that massage the elephants' feet and body and help in increasing blood circulation.
• The hospital started in 2018 already offers state-of-the-art facilities, including wireless digital X-ray, laser treatment, dental X-ray, thermal imaging and ultrasonography to treat injured, sick and geriatric elephants
• Osteoarthritis and foot issues are common ailments. Water resistance is useful for muscle strengthening and cardiovascular training while water pressure can reduce oedema and swelling
• The elephants at the Wildlife SOS have been rescued from extreme distress. Some were privately owned and had the cruel history of being used for begging.

Economic Development
FM chairs the 20^th Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about FSDC) + Mains ( GS III economic development)
What's the NEWS

• The 20^th Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The Meeting reviewed the current global and domestic economic situation and financial stability issues including, inter-alia, those concerning Banking and NBFCs.
• The Council was also apprised of the progress made towards setting-up of the Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC) to facilitate integrated data aggregation and analysis as also a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-Fin) towards strengthening the cyber security framework for the financial sector.
• The Council also took note of the activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee Chaired by Governor, RBI and the action taken by Members on the decisions taken in earlier Meetings of the Council.

Know! more about FSDC

• Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is an apex-level body constituted by the government of India.
• The idea to create such a super regulatory body was first mooted by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008.
• Finally in 2010, the then Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, decided to set up such an autonomous body dealing with macro prudential and financial regularities in the entire financial sector of India.
• An apex-level FSDC is not a statutory body. The recent global economic meltdown has put pressure on governments and institutions across the globe to regulate their economic assets.
• This council is seen as India's initiative to be better conditioned to prevent such incidents in future.
• The new body envisages to strengthen and institutionalise the mechanism of maintaining financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination along with monitoring macro-prudential regulation of economy. No funds are separately allocated to the council for undertaking its activities.

Information Technology
ICANN & NASSCOM to focus on updating Internet of Things (IoT) devices
Relevance IN -Prelims ( about the agreement between ICANN and NASSCOM + about IoT )
What's the NEWS

• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global internet body and Indian apex body for IT industry NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) announced collaboration for working in developing standards and identifier technology that will feed into the global consultation for managing Internet of-Things (IoT) devices and infrastructure using internet.

Know! more about the partnership

• ICANN & NASSCOM will focus on updating Internet of Things (IoT) devices using domain name system (DNS) even in situation when manufacturer or supplier has closed down the business.
• The collaboration will provide a structure for both bodies to jointly identify research projects, predominantly in new technologies related to internet's system of unique identifiers.
• The research project undertaken will look at directing people who are looking to update their IoT to other manufacturers/vendor in case if original vendor has closed down his business.

Know! about NASSCOM

• The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is a trade association of Indian Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.[3] Established in 1988, NASSCOM is a non-profit organisation.
• NASSCOM initiated a program called '10000 Startups' in 2013. The purpose of 10000 Startup is to support and impact 10,000 startups in India by 2023

Know! more about ICANN

• It is non profit global organization that is responsible for allocating IP addresses, managing domain name system (DNS) and also overlooks all internet plumbing on behalf of governments, universities and companies, as well as public.
• It is often dubbed as phone book of internet as it matches domain names with appropriate IP address numbers.
• Although this global multi-stakeholder organization was created by United States (US) government but since March 2016, ICANN is no longer overseen by US government and has roped in now into the hands of lesser known organisation that will have a number of countries on board.

Know! about IoT

• The Internet of things (IoT) is the extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects.
• Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware (such as sensors), these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled.
  
• The definition of the Internet of things has evolved due to the convergence of multiple technologies, real-time analytics, machine learning, commodity sensors, and embedded systems.
• Traditional fields of embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home and building automation), and others all contribute to enabling the Internet of things.
• In the consumer market, IoT technology is most synonymous with products pertaining to the concept of the "smart home", covering devices and appliances (such as lighting fixtures, thermostats, home security systems and cameras, and other home appliances) that support one or more common ecosystems, and can be controlled via devices associated with that ecosystem, such as smartphones and smart speakers.
• The IoT concept has faced prominent criticism, especially in regards to privacy and security concerns related to these devices and their intention of pervasive presence.

Bilateral Relations
India provides USD 15 million assistance to Niger for holding AU summit
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about India -Niger relation + about AU summit) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• India has extended USD 15 million grant to Niger in support of organising the African Union summit scheduled in July in Niamey.
• The grant assistance of USD 15 million was symbolically handed over to Niger's Deputy Foreign Minister by Indian Ambassador to that country Rajesh Agarwal at a ceremony held in Niamey.
• The support was in response to a specific request by the Niger government, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) s.
• Niger is hosting the AU Summit for the first time. The AU Summit, from July 7-8 in Niamey ( capital of Niger) is also expected to launch the historic African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• This will be the 1st time that Niger will be hosting an AU summit.
• India's grant assistance to Niger for organizing AU Summit will further contribute towards enhancing bilateral ties between two countries.
• This grant assistance is also reiteration of India's firm commitment to its developmental partnership with Africa.
• This is more important at a time when India is competing for influencing the continent with China.

Know! about the AU and AfCFTA

• The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa, with exception of various territories of European possessions located in Africa.
• The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union.
• The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa.
• The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
• The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa.
• It is also expected to launch historic African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• The AfCFTA is the largest free trade area in world in terms of participating countries since formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), outlined in African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 52 out of 55 African Union (AU) nations.
  
  

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