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Daily Current Capsules - 01st May 2020

Prelims Factoids
AYURAKSHA

Relevance IN - Prelims (about AYURAKSHA programme)
What's the NEWS
  • The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), under Ministry of AYUSH and Delhi Police organised AYURAKSHA programme for Delhi Police personal
Know! about the programme
  • The joint programme titled AYURAKSHA "Corona Se Jung- Delhi Police Ke Sang" aims to fight against corona through simple and time tested Ayurveda immunity boosting measures.
  • These measures are as per the advisory issued by the Ministry of AYUSH. The recommended formulations like Chyawanaprasha (Amla as main content), Anu Taila and SanshamaniVati (prepared from Guduchi) have simple herbs which are time tested and scientifically proven for enhancing the immunity.
ATULYA

Relevance IN - Prelims (about ATULYA)
What's the NEWS
  • Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, a deemed university supported by Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a microwave steriliser named as ‘ATULYA' to disintegrate (COVID-19).
Know! more about ATULYA
  • The virus gets disintegrated by differential heating in the range of 560 to 600 Celsius temperatures.
  • The product is cost effective solution, which can be operated in portable or fixed installations. This system was tested for human/operator safety and has been found to be safe.
  • Depending upon size and shape of various objects, time of sterilisation is from 30 seconds to one minute.
  • Approximate weight of the system is three kilogrammes and it can be used for non-metallic objects only.
Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2019

Relevance IN - Prelims (Global Terrorism Index (GTI) and its findings)
What's the NEWS
  • Niti Aayog has questioned the methodology adopted by an Australian based institute to rank India as the seventh worst terrorism affected country ahead of conflict-ridden countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Palestine and Lebanon.
Know! all about Global Terrorism Index (GTI)
  • An Australia-based think-tank called the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) publishes the Global Terrorism Index (GTI)
  • Global Terrorism Index (GTI) provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2000.
  • India has moved to the seventh position from the previous year's eighth in the annual Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2019. The countries ahead of it are Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan and Somalia.
  • The GTI report issued by the IEP is based primarily on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, besides other sources.
Know! the use of GTI Scores
  • GTI scores are directly used in the Global Peace Index, the Global Slavery Report published by the Walk Free Foundation, and indirectly used in computing country scores in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness and Global Competitiveness Indices and compilation of Safe Cities Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Miscellaneous
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)

Relevance IN - Prelims (about IDMC and its report highlights)
What's the NEWS
  • Five million people were displaced in India last year, the highest in the world, due to disasters, including cyclones and monsoon floods.
Know! The IDMC report highlights
  • The report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) states that
  • the displacements were a result of a combination of increasing hazard intensity, high population exposure and high levels of social and economic vulnerability
  • South Asia recorded 9.5 million new displacements associated with disasters in 2019, the highest figure since 2012 and the floods triggered by the monsoon in India and Bangladesh and cyclones Fani and Bulbul were among the events that forced most people to flee their homes both in the region and globally.
  • While India reported 50,37,000 displacements, Bangladesh recorded 40,86,520 in the year 2019.
  • The Other countries with new displacements are Afghanistan (5,78,000), Nepal (1,21,000) and Pakistan (1,16,000), according to the data provided in the report by the Geneva-based centre.

Know! about IDMC
  • Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world's authoritative source  of data and analysis on internal displacement.
  • Since its establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian Refugee Council, IDMC has offered a rigorous, independent and trusted service to the international community.
  • The work of IDMC informs policy and operational decisions that improve the lives of the millions of people living in internal displacement, or at risk of becoming displaced in the future.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom downgrades India in 2020 list
Relevance IN - Prelims (about USCIRF and its report highlights)

What's the NEWS
  • The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has downgraded India to the lowest ranking, "countries of particular concern" (CPC) in its 2020 report.
Know! about the report findings
  • The report, released in Washington by the federal government commission that functions as an advisory body, placed India alongside countries, including China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
  • India was categorised as a "Tier 2 country" in last year's listing.
  • This is the first time since 2004 that India has been placed in this category. India took a sharp downward turn in 2019
Specific concerns noted by the commission
  • the Citizenship Amendment Act,
  • the proposed National Register for Citizens,
  • anti-conversion laws and
  • the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
  • The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998.
  • USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
  • USCIRF's principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.

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