Why in news?

• The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), retained Pakistan in the grey list and asked the country to work on money laundering investigations and prosecutions.
• The decision has been taken after the conclusion of the four-day FATF Plenary from March 1-4, 2022.The event took place in hybrid mode from Paris, France.
• FATF also added the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its grey watchlist.
• Pakistan has been on the grey list of FATF since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, and terror financing. It was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019 but it fails to comply with the FATF mandates.
• Pakistan is now targeting the full completion of the 2021 action plan on anti-money laundering and combating terror financing by the end of January 2023.

About Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental organization established 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.
• It was formed in 1989 by the G7 Summit which was held in Paris. The FATF is really a policy-making body that works with governments to bring about national legislation and regulatory reforms in these areas.
• Headquarters- Paris, France
• Members- 39 nations along with 9 FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs)

Why in news?

• India’s first indigenous Flying Trainer HANSA-NG designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has successfully completed the sea level trials at Puducherry.
• The aircraft was flown to Puducherry covering 140 nautical miles in one and half hours at a cruising speed of 155 km/hr on 19^thFebruary 22.
• The objectives of sea level trials were to evaluate handling qualities, climb / cruise performance, balked landing, structural performance including positive & negative G, power plant and other systems performance.
• HANSA-NG is one of the most advanced flying trainer powered by Rotax Digital Control Engine with unique features like Just-In-Time Prepreg (JIPREG) Composite light weight Airframe, Glass Cockpit, Bubble Canopy with wide panoramic view, electrically operated flaps etc.
• HANSA-NG is designed to meet the Indian flying club needs and it is an ideal aircraft for Commercial Pilot Licensing (CPL) due to its low cost and low fuel consumption. NAL has already received more than 80 nos. of LoIs (Letter of Intents) from various flying clubs.

Why in news?

• The Union Home and Cooperation Minister attended the 53rd Raising Day celebrations of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Ghaziabad today as the Chief Guest.
• The minister also released the Force’s magazine ‘Sentinel’-2022.

About Central Industrial Security Force

• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was established in 1969, under an Act of Parliament, “Central Industrial Security Force Act, 1968.”
• CISF is also responsible to provide protection to the persons classified as Z Plus, Z, X, Y.
• CISF is the only force with a customized and dedicated fire wing.
• CISF has carved a niche for itself with multi-skilled, multi-faceted and professional prowess.
• It provides integrated security cover to the Public Sector Undertakings, airports and SEZs on a case to case basis. CISF is present in 354 sensitive and critical installations with a strength of about 1,64,000 and more than 65 sensitive airports, seaports, nuclear units, space institutes, coal, oil and steel production sites and also offshore oil production plants.

Why in news?

• ‘Sambhav’ and ‘Svavlamban’ initiatives were launched by Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), at the International Summit on Plastics Recycling and Waste Management.
• These initiatives aim to encourage young entrepreneurs, especially from the aspirational districts of India.

About International Summit on Plastics Recycling and Waste Management

• It is a 2-day summit, inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
• This summit is being organized in New Delhi by the MSME Ministry in association with the All India Plastics Manufacturers’ Association (AIPMA).
• This motto of the summit is “Know your Waste and how Recycling is the right thing to do, which is to be done in a right way”. Around 1350 MSMEs are expected to attend the summit, which is being conducted in hybrid mode.
• This summit provides a platform for entrepreneurs, experts, businessmen, and other stakeholders to deliberate challenges and solutions in the MSME sector and plastics sectors. It will also create new livelihood and business opportunities in the plastics sector, at the same time helping India tackle the issue of plastic pollution and meet environmental goals.
• Thus, the ‘Sambhav’ and ‘Svavlamban’ initiatives and the summit will have multiple benefits i.e. formalizing the informal waste sector, job creation in the MSME sector, and reduction in plastic waste.

Why in news?

• Geological Survey of India (GSI), the premier Geological organization of India, celebrated its 172^ndFoundation Day across all the offices with great enthusiasm.
• GSI has been instrumental in identifying the mineral blocks and augmenting the vast mineral resources of the nation.
• Recently GSI has handed over more than 150 G2 and G3 Mineral Blocks as well as 152 G4 Mineral Blocks to various state governments for auctioning.

About Geological Survey of India

• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways.
• An attached office of the Ministry of Mines, GSI has six regional offices located in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata and unit offices in almost all states of the country.
• Its main functions relate to creating and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.
• These objectives are achieved through ground surveys, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multi-disciplinary geoscientific, geo-technical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, glaciology, seism tectonic study, and carrying out fundamental research.
• GSI’s chief role includes providing objective, impartial and up-to-date geological expertise and geoscientific information of all kinds, with a focus on policy making decisions, commercial and socio-economic needs. GSI also emphasises on systematic documentation of all geological processes derived out of surface and subsurface of India and its offshore areas. The organisation does so by using the latest and most cost-effective techniques and methodologies, including geophysical and geochemical and geological surveys.
• GSI’s core competence in survey and mapping is continuously enhanced through accretion, management, coordination and utilization of spatial databases (including those acquired through remote sensing).
• It functions as a ‘Repository’ or ‘clearing house’ for the purpose and uses the latest computer-based technologies for dissemination of geoscientific information and spatial data, through cooperation and collaboration with other stakeholders in the Geo-informatics sector.

Why in news

• Meghalaya has become the ninth state of the country to withdraw consent to CBI to investigate cases in the state.

About general consent

• The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, governs the CBI and it is mandatory to obtain the concerned state government’s consent before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
• States typically give a general consent to assist the CBI in conducting a seamless investigation of cases of corruption involving central government personnel in their states.
• This is consent by default otherwise CBI would have to seek permission from the state government in every case, even for small tasks.

Withdrawal of consent

• It means that the CBI will not be able to file any new cases involving central government officials or private persons in the state without the permission of the state government.
• CBI officers who will be entering the state that has withdrawn consent will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless they have received permission from the government of the state.
• Before Meghalaya, the eight other states that had withdrawn consent to the CBI are Punjab, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, and Kerala.
• The first state to withdraw consent was Mizoram which did so in 2015.

Why in News

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) received the ‘Special Jury Award’ for its considerable contribution in Ganga Rejuvenation at the 7th India Industry Water Conclave and the 9th edition of FICCI Water Awards, held virtually, from 2nd to 3rd March, 2022.
• The Jury acknowledged NMCG’s strategic role to bring about a paradigm shift in water management, besides its involvement in reviving the river Ganga.
• It also insisted on the need for a real Jan Andolan (Mass Movement) around the river Ganga to revive not only its main stream but also the other order of streams, catchments, aquifers that provide base-flows to the river.

About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

• The aim of this mission is to take measures for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the river Ganga
• It is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860. It acts as an implementation wing of National Ganga Council (set in 2016; which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)).
• It operates under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Establishment of NMCG: August 12, 2011.

Why In News

• The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has organised the 2022 Mobile World Congress (MWC), which took place in Barcelona, Spain from 28 February to 3 March.
• The MWC-22 focused on increasing the global connectivity of the 5G network and economic recovery.
• Global Mobile Economy Report expects 5G connections globally to reach 1 billion in 2022 by 5G adoption. Increase in the 5G network connection will increase the global GDP by 5% up to $5 trillion in 2025.

About Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA):

• The GSM Association is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More than 750 mobile operators are full GSMA members and a further 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem are associate members.
• Established in 1995
• Headquarters – London, United Kingdom

Why in News

• Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has partnered with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) to help preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage of India, as part of an initiative which aims to transform the travel landscape in the post pandemic world.
• IHCL & UNESCO Partnership is the Industry’s first collaboration to work towards preserving India’s intangible cultural heritage.
• IHCL and UNESCO will offer experiential tours for travellers at various IHCL hotels and enable them to experience better the living heritage of India.
• 1^st phase: Visits to local communities practicing art forms like Patachitra – a traditional scroll painting technique in West Bengal, Ganga Aarti – the prayer ceremony at Dasashwamedh Ghat at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Kalbelia performances, Blue Pottery making, Bagru Hand Block printing, and the Terracota art of Molela.
• The visitors will alo experience the tribal life of the Bishnoi village in Rajasthan, or Mysuru Dasara and Janpadaloka in Karnataka.

Other information

UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List 2021: All Inclusions From India

• Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
• The tradition of Vedic chanting
• Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
• Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas, India
• Chhau dance
• Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
• Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
• Durga Puja in Kolkata
• Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India
• Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur
• Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India
• Nawrouz
• Yoga
• Kumbh Mela

Why in news?

• The Europa Clipper which is formerly known as the Europa Multiple Flyby Mission is an interplanetary mission being developed by NASA and also includes an orbiter.
• The spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch in October 2024, is being designed to study the moon Europa through a series of flybys while in Jupiter’s orbit.
• Follow-up studies to those conducted by the Galileo spacecraft during its eight-year orbit around Jupiter will be done by the Europa Clipper. Galileo had revealed the existence of a subsurface ocean beneath Europa’s ice crust.
• This project started as a joint mission between the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and will be developed with a scientific payload of nine instruments supplied by APL, JPL, the University of Texas at Austin, Southwest Research Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, and Arizona State University.

Launch of Europa Clipper Spacecraft

• During a 21-day launch window in October 2024, this mission will be launched on a Falcon Heavy. Gravity assists from Mars will be received by this spacecraft in February 2025, in December 2026 from Earth before arriving at Europa in April 2030.

Objectives of this spacecraft

• The objective of this mission is to explore Europa, aid in selecting a landing site for the future Europa Lander, and investigate its habitability. The focus of this investigation is to learn about the three basic requirements for life: liquid water, energy, and chemistry.
• Basically, it will study the ocean and the ice shell and characterize nature and confirm the existence of water within or beneath the ice, as well as process the surface-ice-ocean exchange. The chemistry and distribution of key compounds along with the links to ocean composition will also be studied. The geological characteristics as well as surface feature formation, including sites of current or recent activity, will also be looked into.