What's the NEWS

• To supplement the efforts of Jal Shakti Ministry, NITI Aayog has prepared the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0).
• Scientific management of water is increasingly recognized as being vital to India's growth and ecosystem sustainability.
• Government is being proactive about water management and has created the Ministry of Jal Shakti to consolidate interrelated functions pertaining to water management.
• The newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has strived to over bridge the water challenges by launching the Jal Shakti Abhiyan - a campaign for water conservation and water security.

Know! about Composite Water Management Index 1.0

• NITI Aayog first launched and conceptualized the Composite Water Management Index in 2018 as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states.
• This was a first ever attempt at creating a pan-India set of metrics that measured different dimensions of water management and use across the lifecycle of water.
• The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources.
• This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Rural Development and all the States/ Union Territories.
• The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.

Know! about Composite Water Management Index 2.0

• CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17.In the report released today, Gujarat hold on to its rank one in the reference year (2017-18), followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Himachal Pradesh has been adjudged number 1 in 2017-18 followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura and Assam.
• The Union Territories have first time submitted their data and Puducherry has been declared as the top ranker.
• In terms of incremental change in index (over 2016-17 level), Haryana holds number one position in general States and Uttarakhand ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States.
• On an average, 80% of the states assessed on the Index over the last three years have improved their water management scores, with an average improvement of +5.2 points.
• The overall ranking for reference year 2017-18and change in the rankings from the base year 2016-17 of different States in the Report is given in Charts-1 and Chart 2.

Chart-1: Ranking of Different States in CWMI 2.0 2019

Chart-2: Incremental Ranking of Different States in CWMI 2.0


Bilateral Relations
PM Modi conferred UAE's highest civilian honour, launches RuPay card
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Prime Minister's recent foreign visits and its takeaways) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)

What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Abu Dhabi for a bilateral visit, was conferred the Order of Zayed, the highest civil decoration of the UAE.
• The award was conferred earlier in April 2019 in recognition of the leadership of the Prime Minister for his contribution towards boosting bilateral ties between the two nations.
• The award in the name of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, acquires special significance as it was awarded to Prime Minister Modi in the year of the birth centenary of Sheikh Zayed.

Order of Zayed

• The Zayed Medal is the highest civilian decoration of the UAE, which is awarded to kings, presidents and heads of states. The medal has been previously conferred to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the RuPay card in the UAE on August 24, 2019 at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. With this, UAE has become the first gulf country where the Indian RuPay card has been launched.
• Modi, who is on a tri-nation tour to France, the UAE and Bahrain, reached Abu Dhabi on Friday from Paris. From Abu Dhabi, he will visit Bahrain before returning to France for the G7 summit.

Know! about India - Bahrain relationship and agreements signed

• PM Narendra Modi was conferred Bahrain Order- First Class by Bahrain's King, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations of India with the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Order - First Class is also known as the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance.
• India welcomed the interest of the Kingdom of Bahrain to join the International Solar alliance (ISA), recognising the importance of it as international intergovernmental organisation, which has become an effective platform to facilitate the deployment of solar energy.
• India and Bahrain reaffirmed their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of the identity of the perpetrators and their motives and they agreed to further enhance cooperation in the field of security, counter-terrorism and the exchange of intelligence and information.
• India and Bahrain further discussed ways and means to further promote cooperation in cyber security, including prevention of use of cyber space for terrorism, radicalization and for disturbing social harmony.
• India and Bahrain agreed to enhance cooperation in energy, covering the areas of joint exploration and training of human resources.
• India and Bahrain agreed to enhance cooperation to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf region, vital for the security and safety of sea lanes.
• Both Nations also emphasized on the urgent need to pursue UN reforms, including the Security Council through an expansion of both categories of its membership, to make it more representative and effective in tackling global challenges.

Economic Developments/Security challenges
FATF Asia-Pacific Group puts Pakistan in 'enhanced blacklist'
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about APG and about FATF) + Mains ( GS III security challenges + economic developments)
What's the NEWS

• In a huge victory for India, the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering and Terror Financing has put Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Blacklist) for its failure to meet its standards
• Pakistan was put in the Enhanced Blacklist of Asia Pacific Group (APG)
• The Asia Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has also found that Pakistan was non-compliant on 32 of the 40 compliance parameters of terror financing and money laundering and it ranked low in 10 of the 11 Effectiveness Parameters.
• The FATF APG meeting was held in Canberra, Australia and the discussions lasted over seven hours over two days.

Know! more about the recent developments during the APG meeting

• The APG has placed Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow-up List (Black List) for failure to meet its standards
• On 11 effectiveness parameters of terror financing and money laundering, Pakistan was adjudged as low on 10. The official said despite its efforts, Pakistan could not convince the 41-member plenary to upgrade it on any parameter.
• Now, Pakistan has to focus on avoiding the blacklist in October, when the 15-month timeline ends on the FATF's 27-point action plan
• FATF will hold a Plenary meeting in Paris October 2019 to decide on Pakistan's Grey list status.
• FATF added Pakistan on its Grey List in June 2018. The decision to put Pakistan on the blacklist was taken during the 41 member APG Plenary meeting that lasted for over 7 hours on two days in Canberra, Australia.
• In June, the FATF had warned Pakistan that its failure to complete its action plan on terror financing could possibly lead to the country getting blacklisted.

Know! more about FATF and its Blacklist criteria

• Countries that support terror funding and money laundering activities are placed in the Blacklist of FATF. These countries are known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs).
• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2018 added Pakistan to its ‘Grey List' for being involved in providing terror funding and related issues. It was not the first time that Pakistan was added to FATF's Grey List. Pakistan had earlier been in the grey list of FATF during 2012 - 2015.

Know! more about Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)

• FATF Asia-Pacific Group is one of the regional affiliates of the Financial Action Task Force.
• The Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering works to ensure that all the countries adopt and implement the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards that are set out in the FATF's 40 Recommendations and Eight Special Recommendations.
• APG assists countries in implementing laws to deal with crime, assistance, punishment, investigations; provides guidance in setting proper reporting systems and helps in establishing financial intelligence units.
• At present, there are 41 members of APG. Of these, 11 countries are also the members of the head FATF - India, China, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand Singapore and the United States.

Know! about the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

• It is an international anti-money laundering regulator that establishes international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism.
• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was is established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris (France) as an inter-governmental body by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions. FATF Plenary consists of around 39 member countries including India. China is the current President of the FATF.
• FATF Secretariat is headquartered in Paris as ‘Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'. The FATF decisions are taken by the 'FATF Plenary', the decision-making body that holds FATF plenary sessions in February, June and October every year.

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