03 August 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – New START Treaty: GS II – International Relations

• A deal on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive armaments, known as the New START Treaty, was signed by the Russian Federation and the United States of America.
• It becomes effective on February 5, 2011.
• It is a replacement for the START framework, which placed a cap on the number of warheads and strategic delivery vehicles on each side in 1991 (after the conclusion of the Cold War).
• By limiting each side to 700 strategic launchers and 1,550 operable warheads, it carries on the bipartisan process of verifiably lowering the strategic nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia.
• It expires in February 2021 unless it is extended for a further five years.

Source The Indian Express

2 – Waqf Board: GS II – Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies 

About:

• Donations of cash or other resources are made in the name of God for religious or charitable purposes.
• Legally defined, the permanent dedication of any movable or immovable property by a person professing Islam for any purpose recognized by Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable

How do Waqf Boards get created?

• If a property has been consistently used for charitable or religious reasons for a long period, it may become a waqf; alternatively, a waqf may be formed through a deed or other legal document.
• Mosques, cemeteries, schools, and shelter homes are frequently supported with the money.
• The person who formed the waqf could not reclaim the assets because it would be a continuous entity.
• A non-Muslim may also establish a waqf, but they must do it in a manner that both proclaims Islam and has Islamic objectives in mind.

How does the Waqf Board operate?

• It is controlled by the Waqf Act of 1995.
• In order to establish a list of all properties classified as waqf, a survey commissioner is required under the Act to make local enquiries, consult witnesses, and request public records.
• The waqf’s operations are supervised by a mutawali who also serves as a manager. It is equivalent to a trust established in accordance with the Indian Trusts Act of 1882, despite the fact that trusts may be established for reasons beyond from philanthropic and religious ones. A trust can also be dissolved by the board, unlike a waqf.
• It has the legal right to purchase, keep, and transfer any type of property.
• The board is permitted to file lawsuits and be sued in court due to its designation as a legal entity or juristic person.

Composition:

• Each state has a Waqf Board, which is made up of a chairperson, one or two state government nominees, Muslim legislators and parliamentarians, Muslim state bar council members, recognised Islamic scholars, and mutawalis of waqfs with an annual income of Rs. 1 lakh and above.

Other Details:

• The Waqf Board must obtain approval before transferring any immovable property owned by a waqf by way of a sale, gift, mortgage, exchange, or lease, as per the law, and manage the waqf’s assets. The sanction will not be given, nevertheless, unless at least two-thirds of the Waqf Board members vote in favour of the transaction.

Source The Hindu

3 – Pingali Venkaiyya: Prelims Specific Topic

Who was he?

• He was born in Andhra Pradesh on August 2, 1876.
• He also goes by the name “Jhanda Venkaiah.”
• An independence fighter who also created the Indian National Tricolor was Pingali Venkayya. He designed the national flag that is flown today.

The development of the National Flag of India:

• In every Congress session between 1918 and 1921, Venkayya brought up the topic of having a personal flag. He was a lecturer at the Andhra National College in Machilipatnam at the time.
• In Vijayawada, he ran into the Mahatma once more, and he showed him his book with the many flag designs. Gandhi then requested Venkayya to create a new national flag at the national congress conference in 1921 after acknowledging the need for one.
• At first, Venkayya used the colors saffron and green, but then added a white third color and a spinning wheel to the design. (LALA HANS RAJ SONDHI Suggested Adding a Spinning Wheel to Demonstrate Independent Indians Who Can Spin Their Own Clothes From Local Fibres.)
• The Indian National Congress formally approved the flag in 1931.

Source The Indian Express

4 – Financial Inclusion Index: Prelims Specific Topic

About:

• In conjunction with the government and the relevant sectoral regulators, the index was conceptualized as a comprehensive index that included information on the banking, investments, insurance, postal, and pension sectors.
• Every year in July, it will be released.
• It was built without using a “base year,” and as a result, it represents all of the stakeholders’ cumulative efforts over time to promote financial inclusion.

Aim:

• to measure the level of financial inclusion in the entire nation.

Parameters:

• In a single number ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 denotes total financial exclusion and 100 denotes full financial inclusion, it captures data on numerous facets of financial inclusion.
• It consists of three major parameters—Access (35 percent), Usage (45 percent), and Quality (20 percent)—each of which is composed of many dimensions and is calculated using a variety of indicators.
• All 97 indicators are responsive to the index in terms of service accessibility, usability, and quality.

Relevance of the Index:

• Information on the level of financial inclusion is provided, and financial services are measured for use in internal policy making.
• It can be applied straight away as a composite measure in development indicators.
• Fulfill the G20 Indicators: This makes it possible to meet the criteria for the G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators.
• The G20 indicators evaluate the status of digital financial services and financial inclusion on a national and international level.
• Researcher Support: It also makes it easier for academics to look into the effects of financial inclusion and other macroeconomic factors. 

Source The Hindu