Bilateral Relations
BIMSTEC Day

Relevance IN - Prelims (about BIMSTEC) + Mains (GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• In a message on the occasion of 24th BIMSTEC Day the Prime MINISTER said he was confident that the grouping will continue to grow and "scale new heights" of cooperation in the common pursuit of building a secure, peaceful and prosperous Bay of Bengal region.
• The BIMSTEC has emerged as a promising regional grouping and it made progress on several fronts including finalisation of a master plan for connectivity

Know! about BIMSTEC Day highlights

• Besides India, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
• BIMSTEC has emerged as a promising regional grouping to fulfil the common aspirations of its people and serve the shared interests of the Member States
• Progress has been made on several fronts including the finalization of the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity and the text of the BIMSTEC Charter
• The prime minister complimented Sri Lanka, the current Chair of BIMSTEC, for providing "able leadership" to the grouping during this time.
• India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

• It is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and Southeast Asia, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.8 trillion (2021).
• The BIMSTEC member states - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand - are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.
• Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several BIMSTEC centres have been established to focus on those sectors.
• A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation (c. 2018), also referred to as the mini SAARC.
• Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names.
• The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

National
Push for citizenship to minority migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the CAA notification + about NRC + citizenship certificate) + Mains ( GS II Centre-state relations)
What's the NEWS

• Migrants belonging to six non-Muslim minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on valid documents before 2014 are eligible to apply online for citizenship from any part of the country
• In March, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) wrote to all States, including Assam, sensitising them of the relevant provisions under the Citizenship Act, 1955 that could help the six communities- Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis, who entered India before 2014 and are here on long term visa (LTV), expedite their citizenship application.
• This particular awareness drive was not related to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) that is intended to benefit undocumented (illegal migrants) from the six persecuted communities who entered India before December 31, 2014.
• The CAA is yet to come into force as the rules that govern the law have not been notified by the Ministry yet.

Assam NRC

• Assam is the only State where a National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been compiled.
• More than 19 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants in the State have been excluded from the final register.
• The State government has demanded reverification of the process as a large number of Hindus were left out.
• The excluded persons from the six communities, who are yet to be declared illegal migrants, will benefit from the CAA as and when it is implemented as legislation benefits such migrants from the three neighbouring countries who entered India illegally before 2014.

Citizenship certificates

• On May 28, The MHA empowered 13 more District Collectors in Gujarat Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab to grant citizenship certificates to applicants belonging to the six communities under Section 5 (registration) and Section 6 (naturalisation) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• Earlier in 2016, 16 Collectors were granted such powers that was extended again in 2018.
• Citizenship is a Home Ministry subject but it can delegate powers to States for specific objective.
• Though the precise number of such migrants who availed the LTV and are eligible for citizenship is not known, officials estimate the number to be around two lakh.
• In 2011, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government decided to grant LTV to hundreds of Hindus and Sikhs who came to India, claiming religious persecution in Pakistan.
• In 2015, the ministry amended the Citizenship rules and legalised the stay of the foreign migrants belonging to the six communities who entered India on or before December, 2014 due to persecution on grounds of religion by exempting them from provisions of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act as their passports expired.

Governance
NITI Aayog's 2020 SDG Index
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the NITI Aayog's 2020 SDG Index - highlights) + Mains ( GS II Governance)
What's the NEWS

• India saw significant improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean energy, urban development and health in 2020, according to the NITI Aayog's 2020 SDG Index.
• However, there has been a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth.

Know! about NITI Aayog's 2020 SDG Index

• Developed by a global consultative process on holistic development, the 17 SDGs have a 2030 deadline.
• The NITI Aayog launched its index in 2018 to monitor the country's progress on the goals through data-driven assessment, and foster a competitive spirit among the States and Union Territories in achieving them.

NITI Aayog's 2020 SDG Index (highlights)

• Kerala retained its position at the top of the rankings in the third edition of the index, with a score of 75, followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, both scoring 72.
• At the other end of the scale, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing States.
• However, all States showed some improvement from last year's scores, with Mizoram and Haryana seeing the biggest gains.
• In March, a UN assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the SDGs said the region India is part of may see rising inequality due to the pandemic.
• The NITI Aayog Index shows some improvement in the SDG on inequality, but a look at the indicators used to assess this goal shows that the think tank has changed the goalposts.
• In 2019, the indicators for inequality included the growth rates for household expenditure per capita among the bottom 40% of rural and urban populations, as well as the Gini coefficient - a measure of the distribution of income - in rural and urban India.
• The 2018 indicators included the Palma ratio, another metric for income inequality

Indicators used for this SDG in the 2020 edition

• Such economic measures have been omitted from the indicators used for this SDG in the 2020 edition of the NITI Aayog's Index.
• Instead, it gives greater weightage to social equality indicators such as the percentage of women and SC/ST representatives in State legislatures and the panchayati raj institutions, and the levels of crime against SC/ST communities.
• The only economic indicator this year is the percentage of population in the lowest two wealth quintiles.
• The SDGs that do deal directly with wages and industrial growth better reflect the fact that India's economy has taken a beating over the last year.
• The country's score on the SDG related to industry and infrastructure dropped 10 points to 55, while the scores on decent work dropped three points to 61.
• The Clean Water and Sanitation SDG also saw a five-point drop, despite flagship government schemes in this sector.
• In a more welcome development, the SDGs on eradication of poverty and hunger both saw significant improvement

International Organisations
FATF's regional body retains Pakistan on ‘enhanced follow-up' for sufficient outstanding requirements
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about FATF) + Mains ( GS II international organisations)
What's the NEWS

• The Asia Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering, a regional affiliate of Paris-based FATF, has retained Pakistan on "enhanced follow-up" status for sufficient outstanding requirements, while improving the country's rating on 21 of the 40 technical recommendations of the global watchdog against money-laundering and terror-financing.

Know! about the APG meeting highlights

• Pakistan was put on the grey list by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2018 and the country has been struggling to come out of it.
• The second Follow-Up Report (FUR) on Mutual Evaluation of Pakistan released by the APG also downgraded the country on one criteria.
• Pakistan is now compliant or largely compliant with 31 out of 40 FATF recommendations.
• Pakistan will move from enhanced (expedited) to enhanced follow-up, and will continue to report back to the APG on progress to strengthen its implementation of anti-money laundering and combating financing terror (AML/CFT) measures
• FATF's Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) of jurisdictions is assessed in two domains - technical compliance or legal instruments (40 FATF recommendations) and demonstration of effectiveness (11 immediate outcomes).

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
• The inter-governmental body sets international standards that aim to prevent these illegal activities and the harm they cause to society
• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established in July 1989 by a Group of Seven (G-7) Summit in Paris, initially to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering.
• In October 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to money laundering.
• In April 2012, it added efforts to counter the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
• The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
• Starting with its own members, the FATF monitors countries' progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations; reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures; and, promotes the adoption and implementation of the FATF Recommendations globally.
• As a policy-making body, the FATF works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.
• With more than 200 countries and jurisdictions committed to implementing them.
• The FATF has developed the FATF Recommendations, or FATF Standards, which ensure a co-ordinated global response to prevent organised crime, corruption and terrorism.
• They help authorities go after the money of criminals dealing in illegal drugs, human trafficking and other crimes.
• The FATF also works to stop funding for weapons of mass destruction.
• The FATF reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and continuously strengthens its standards to address new risks, such as the regulation of virtual assets, which have spread as cryptocurrencies gain popularity.
• The FATF monitors countries to ensure they implement the FATF Standards fully and effectively, and holds countries to account that do not comply.

FATF Black List

• For identifying non-complying countries, FATF has maintained the FATF blacklist or the "Call for action" countries and the FATF grey list or the "Other monitored jurisdictions" since 2000.
• The FATF blacklist is the agency's official list of "Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories" (NCCTs) which it judges to be non-cooperative in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
• According to the FATF, the NCCTs are those having "significant strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation".
• In connection with the blacklisted countries, the agency cautioned its members "to apply enhanced due diligence, and in the most serious cases..., to apply counter-measures to protect the international financial system from the ongoing money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risks emanating from the country".
• As of 3rd August 2020, North Korea and Iran were on the FATF blacklist.

FATF Grey List

• The FATF grey list is the agency's official list of countries and jurisdictions that are identified as having strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
• Unlike the blacklisted ones, the grey list countries actively work with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes.
• When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolving swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring,
• These countries are mandated to periodically report on the progress made in addressing the identified strategic deficiencies, while the FATF closely monitors the progress of their agreed action plans expeditiously and within the proposed timeframes.

Education
NTA may conduct common entrance test for 45 Central universities
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NTA and about CUCET)
What's the NEWS

• With major school boards cancelling their Class 12 examinations, students looking to apply for college are now waiting for clarity regarding a new avatar of an old admission method - the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET).
• In March, about 45 Central universities were told that the National Testing Agency would conduct the CUCET this year for all aspiring students

Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET).

• When the CUCET began in 2010, it was used for admission to 1,500 seats in seven new Central universities.
• By 2020, when it was conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan, the entrance test had expanded to cover 14 new Central universities and four State universities.
• With the National Education Policy recommending a common entrance test for all undergraduate admissions, a committee was formed in December 2020 to examine the possibility of expanding the CUCET to cover at least all Central universities.
• Currently, the CUCET has a common merit list, but leaves each university to do its own counselling.
• It will reduce stress on students and institutions, as independently conducting exams in this pandemic is very challenging

National Testing Agency (NTA)

• It has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.
• To assess competence of candidates for admissions and recruitment has always been a challenge in terms of matching with research based international standards, efficiency, transparency and error free delivery.
• The National Testing Agency is entrusted to address all such issues using best in every field,
• from test preparation, to test delivery and to test marking.
• National Testing Agency (NTA) is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

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