International
Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX)
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about APVAX)
What's the NEWS

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a USD 9-billion initiative that will offer support to its developing member economies to procure and deliver COVID-19 vaccines.

Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX)

• ADB has launched a USD 9-billion vaccine initiative, the Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), offering support to its developing members as they procure and deliver vaccines for COVID-19
• ADB is also making available a USD 500-million vaccine import facility to support the efforts of the developing members to secure safe and effective vaccines, as well as the goods that support distribution and inoculation.
• APVAX provides a comprehensive framework and resource envelope for supporting Asia's vaccine programmes
• Under this, the Rapid Response Component will provide timely support for critical vaccine diagnostics, procurement of vaccines and transporting vaccines from the place of purchase to ADB's developing members.
• The Project Investment Component will support investments in systems for successful distribution, delivery and administration of vaccines along with associated investments in building capacity, community outreach and surveillance.
• This may include such areas as cold-chain storage and transportation, vehicles, distribution infrastructure, processing facilities, and other physical investments.
• The component may also be used to develop or expand vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing members
• The ADB's financing for vaccines will be provided in close coordination with other development partners including the World Bank Group, World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX), GAVI, and bilateral and multilateral partners.
• For a vaccine to be eligible for financing, it must meet one of three criteria, that it must be procured via COVAX, prequalified by WHO, or authorised by a stringent regulatory authority.
• The USD 500-million vaccine import facility is part of ADB's trade and supply chain finance programme. Co-financing with private sector partners could result in the import facility supporting USD 1 billion in vaccine and related imports within a year.

Prelims Factoids
ABTO (Association of Buddhist Tour Operators) International Convention

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about ABTO)
What's the NEWS

• The Tourism Minister virtually inaugurated the ABTO (Association of Buddhist Tour Operators) International Convention

Know! about ABTO Convention

• ABTO Convention a three-day event is being held in partnership with Ministry of Tourism from 10-12 Dec 2020 in Bodhgaya, Bihar.
• Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO)is a forum of the Buddhist Pilgrimage Travel industry. It was established in 2015 in Nalanda
• The objectives of the convention is to promote the Buddhist tourism in the country, to boost up the nations integration via cultural links and to provide information about tours and travels through portals
• It has close connections and constant interaction with other Buddhist associations in the world, and is increasing its international networking with professional bodies for better facilitation to national or international Buddhist Pilgrims and travellers visiting Buddhist heritage sites in the region.

Steps taken by the government to promote Buddhist tourism

• Government has been making special efforts to promote Buddhist tourism in the country.
• Government has taken several measures like Swadesh Darshan Scheme and PRASHAD Yojana.
• The Ministry has sanctioned more than Rs 350 cr for the development of Buddhist Sites under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and more than Rs.900 crore have been sanctioned under the PRASHAD Scheme.
• The Tourism Ministry is making efforts to register accommodation units in the country in the Ministry's portal National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry (NIDHI).
• Till date, around 32000 accommodation units have been registered on the portal which was activated this year.

Prelims Factoids
Tharu tribe
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Tharu tribe)
What's the NEWS

• The Uttar Pradesh government has recently embarked upon a scheme to take the unique culture of its ethnic Tharu tribe across the world.
• The intention is to put Tharu villages on the tourism map, and to create jobs and bring economic independence to the tribal population.

Know! about the scheme

• The state government is working to connect Tharu villages in the districts of Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur and Pilibhit bordering Nepal, with the home stay scheme of the UP Forest Department.
• The idea is to offer tourists an experience of living in the natural Tharu habitat, in traditional huts made of grass collected mainly from the forests.
• The Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation will train the Tharu people to communicate effectively with visitors, and encourage villagers to acquaint them with aspects of safety and cleanliness, and with the rules of the forest.
• Tharu homeowners will be able to charge tourists directly for the accommodation and home-cooked meals.
• The UP government expects both domestic and international tourists to avail of the opportunity to obtain a taste of the special Tharu culture by staying with them, observing their lifestyle, food habits, and attire.
• The homestay scheme will be expanded to include the Tharu villages in a few weeks' time,

Know! about the Tharu people

• The community belongs to the Terai lowlands, amid the Shivaliks or lower Himalayas. Most of them are forest dwellers, and some practice agriculture.
• The word tharu is believed to be derived from sthavir, meaning followers of Theravada Buddhism.
• The Tharus live in both India and Nepal. In the Indian terai, they live mostly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
• According to the 2011 census, the Scheduled Tribe population in Uttar Pradesh was more than 11 lakh; this number is estimated to have crossed 20 lakh now.
• The biggest chunk of this tribal population is made up of Tharus.
• Members of the tribe survive on wheat, corn and vegetables grown close to their homes. A majority still lives off the forest.
• They speak various dialects of Tharu, a language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup, and variants of Hindi, Urdu, and Awadhi. In central Nepal, they speak a variant of Bhojpuri, while in eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of Maithili.
• Tharus worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev, and call their supreme being "Narayan", who they believe is the provider of sunshine, rain, and harvests.
• Tharu women have stronger property rights than is allowed to women in mainstream North Indian Hindu custom.

International Relations
Bhasan Char
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about bhasan char - location + about Rohingya)
What's the NEWS

• Bhasan Char, the site where Bangladesh has begun sending Rohingya refugees from the overcrowded camps at Cox's Bazar, is an island formed by sedimentation (char is Bengali for sediment) close to the coast.
• It is estimated that more than 8 lakh Rohingya, who fled an army crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine Province in 2016 , live in the camps at Cox's Bazar in unhygienic conditions.
• Bangladesh's plan is to move some 1 lakh refugees to Bhasan Char, 39 km from Naokhali on the mainland.

Know! about Bhasan Char

• Bhasan Char is less an island and more mud flat, and is vulnerable to going under water from tides and flooding.
• Much of it is submerged during the monsoon. Located near the mouth of the river Meghna where it flows into the Bay of Bengal, Bhasan Char surfaced only in 2006 from the sediment deposited by the river.
• Located close to the much larger Sandwip, Bhasan Char spans 40 sq km. The government has built shelters, hospitals and masjids.

Know! about Rohingya and the developments so far

• Rohingya are an ethnic group, largely comprising Muslims, who predominantly live in the Western Myanmar province of Rakhine. They speak a dialect of Bengali, as opposed to the commonly spoken Burmese language
• The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken throughout Myanmar.
• They are not considered one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless.
• Nearly all of the Rohingya in Myanmar live in the western coastal state of Rakhine and are not allowed to leave without government permission.
• It is one the poorest states in the country, with ghetto-like camps and a lack of basic services and opportunities.
• Due to ongoing violence and persecution, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to neighbouring countries either by land or boat over the course of many decades.
• Myanmar, which does not recognise Rohingya as an indigenous group and refers to them only as Bengalis, has not reacted to the relocation to Bhasan Char.
• Two years ago, Myanmar had reluctantly agreed to take back some Rohingya, but hardly any went back.
• Last November, Gambia, with backing from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, took Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.
• In January, the ICJ passed a provisional order directing Myanmar to take "all measures within its power" to prevent atrocities against members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
• The orders are not binding on Myanmar

Prelims Factoids
Havana syndrome
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Havana syndrome + about microwave weapons)
What's the NEWS

• Nearly four years after a mysterious neurological illness, referred to as "Havana syndrome", started to afflict American diplomats and intelligence operatives in Cuba, China, and other countries, a report by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) has found "directed" microwave radiation to be its "plausible" cause.

Microwave weapons

• "Microwave weapons" are supposed to be a type of direct energy weapons, which aim highly focused energy in the form of sonic, laser, or microwaves, at a target.
• People exposed to high-intensity microwave pulses have reported a clicking or buzzing sound, as if seeming to be coming from within your head.
• It can have both acute and long-term effects - without leaving signs of physical damage.

Havana syndrome

• In late 2016, US diplomats and other employees stationed in Havana reported feeling ill after hearing strange sounds and experiencing odd physical sensations in their hotel rooms or homes.
• The symptoms included nausea, severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness, sleep problems, and hearing loss, which have since come to be known as "Havana Syndrome".
• American diplomats and members of their families in Cuba and China and at least 14 Canadian citizens in Havana reportedly have experienced similar symptoms.

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