• UGI USER
  • Oct 05, 2023
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Preliminary Pointers

Money Laundering

News: Enforcement Directorate summons actor Ranbir Kapoor in Mahadev betting app case.

About the case

  • Allegedly, the app uses a book betting application for user enrollment and money laundering through benami accounts.
  • Extensive hawala operations were done to redirect betting profits offshore.
  • The Mahadev Online Book App is headquartered in the UAE.

About Money Laundering

  • Money laundering is the process of making illegally gained proceeds appear legal by disguising the true source, ownership, or control of funds.
  • It involves a series of transactions making it difficult for authorities to trace the origin of the illicit funds.
  • India enacted The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 to fight money laundering.
Hawala vs Money Laundering

Hawala involves a one-sided transfer of funds, where you pay someone other than the intended recipient, and the money doesn’t come back to you directly. Money laundering, on the other hand, completes the full circle by making the illicit funds reappear in one’s possession, often through indirect means like gifts from family members.

 About Enforcement Directorate 

  • The ED is a multi-disciplinary organisation mandated with investigation of offences of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.
  • Under: Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance.
  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Headed by : Director of Enforcement.
  • Five regional offices : Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi.

 

Flash Flood 

News: Sikkim is witnessing Flash Flood which resulted in killing 5 and 42 missing persons.

About Flash Flood In Sikkim

Reason

  • The Glacial Lake Outburst Flood in portions of Lhonak Lake, Mangan district, which caused the rise of water levels with very high velocities downstream along the Teesta River basin and the release of water from Chungthang Dam.
  • With the rising global temperatures, glaciers in Sikkim Himalayan have been melting rapidly, giving rise to many glacier lakes.

 About Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)

A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) refers to a catastrophic deluge resulting from the failure of a glacier-fed lake’s natural or artificial containment (Dam), leading to the sudden release of a substantial amount of water.

Causes

  • Rapid Glacial Melting
  • Heavy Precipitation
  • Earthquake, etc.

Indian Context

  • According to IMD, Since 2009 nearly 25 lakes and water bodies have witnessed Increase in water spread.
  • Similar Event: 2013 Kedarnath Flash Flood

Cough Syrups found to be toxic

News: CDSCO has found that A cough syrup and an anti-allergy syrup made by Norris Medicines are toxic.

About Toxic Cough Syrups

  • The Medicines were contaminated either with diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG).
  • This is the same contaminants found in the cough syrups that caused the deaths in Gambia , Uzbekistan and Cameroon since the middle of last year.
  • According to WHO; Safe limit of DEG and EG is not more than 0.10%.

About Central Drug Standard Control Organization

  • CDSCO is a National Regulatory Authority, under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
  • Headquarter: New Delhi
  • Derives Power Under Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940

Responsible for

    • Approval of Drugs.
    • Conduct of Clinical Trials.
    • Laying down the standards for Drugs.
    • Control over the quality of imported Drugs and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations.
    • Bring uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
    • Sets standards for the manufacturing, sales, import, and distribution of drugs in India.

Expected Credit Loss (ECL) Provisioning. 

News: RBI has established an external working group focused on Expected Credit Loss (ECL) provisioning.

Purpose

  • The primary purpose of this group is to define the principles that banks should follow when designing credit risk models for assessing and measuring expected credit losses, particularly in the context of provisioning.
  • The goal of this move is to enhance the resilience of the banking system.

 

About Expected Credit Loss (ECL) provisioning

  • ECL Provisioning: It’s a proactive accounting approach used by banks to account for potential future losses on loans and financial assets.
  • Forward-Looking: ECL provisioning considers potential losses over the life of an asset, contrasting with the older incurred-loss model.
  • Risk Assessment: It assesses credit risk by considering borrower creditworthiness, economic conditions, etc., to estimate default probability and loss magnitude.

Three Stages: ECL provisioning has three stages based on credit risk changes: 12-month ECL, lifetime ECL, and credit-impaired ECL.

  • Financial Impact: Reducing reported profits and asset values.
  • Regulatory Requirement: Many financial regulators mandate ECL provisioning to enhance transparency and ensure banks are adequately prepared for credit losses, contributing to financial system stability.

 

Delhi Most Polluted City

News: Delhi Remained the most polluted city in September with PM 2.5 level 3 times above Government limit.

About Pollution Level in various cities

Analysis was conducted by Independent Think Tank Climate Trends using IoT based air monitoring Device.

  • Analyse PM 2.5 level.

    Trends

    • Delhi came out to be the most Polluted.
    • 4 more cities of NCR among top 10.
    • Aizawl has Cleanest air.

    Air Pollution Monitoring

    • Major Air Pollutants in India are PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, NH3, Ozone, Lead, Benzene, Benzo-Pyrene, Arsenic and Nickel.

    Administrative steps

    • The Air (Prevention and Control of Air Pollution) Act, 1981.
    • Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

    National Clean Air Programme is the first effort towards, national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target.

    Prescribed Limits 

    • PM 10 – 60 (ug/m3).
    • 5 – 40 (ug/m3).

    Targets under NCAP 

    • Reducing pollutants PM10 and PM2.5 by 20-30% till 2024
    • Base Year : 2017

    Other Measures towards Controlling Air Pollution

    • SAFAR Portal.
    • Graded Responsibility Action Plan( GRAP).
    • Polluter Pay Principle.
    • BS – VI vehicles.
    • Turbo Happy Seeder.
    • National Air Quality Index.
    • Turbo Happy Seeder.