DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – Convention on the Financing of the United Nations: GS II – International Issues:
Context:
- In 2023, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
- Via its Anti-Corruption Working Group, the G20 also discusses anti-corruption initiatives around the world. Related subjects are also covered in the B20 and SAI20 talks within the G20 Social track.
- The UNCAC stands for the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
- On December 9, 2003, in Mexico, the UNCAC was signed, and on December 14, 2005, it came into effect.
- The Brazilian delegation to the Convention made suggestions that led to the establishment of the International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9.
- It is the first multilateral international anti-corruption treaty that has legal force.
The Convention addresses five primary topics:
- Asset Recovery, International Cooperation, Criminalization and Law Enforcement, Preventive Measures, Technical Assistance, and Information Exchange.
- The Convention addresses a wide range of corrupt practices, including trading in influence, bribery, misuse of authority, and various private sector corruption incidents.
- What is the G-20 Working Group on Anti-Corruption?
- The G-20 Summit in Toronto in June 2010 saw the creation of the G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG).
- It focuses on exchanging practical tactics to fight corruption. It also covers newly emerging issues, such as using modern technology to combat unethical behaviour.
- Both the G20 Presidency and a co-chair lead the ACWG.
Source The Hindu
2 – The Wisent: Bison of Europe: GS III – Environmental Conservation:
Context:
- The European wood bison, or wisent, is endangered, and conservation efforts have been hindered recently by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
- Once common throughout Europe, this magnificent animal was in danger of going extinct by 1927.
- The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 poses a serious threat to the wisent’s recovery and restoration, notwithstanding the country’s excellent conservation efforts.
What is the European Wood Bison, or Wisent?
About:
- The largest and heaviest terrestrial mammal in Europe is the wood bison, or Bison bonasus.
- Out of the three subspecies that Bison bonasus bonasus once comprised, only one is currently surviving; the other two have gone extinct.
- Habitat: Growing well in mixed woods, grasslands, and deciduous forests
- Notable for its function as an ecosystem engineer, the wisent is essential to the restoration of grassland ecosystems.
- Distribution: Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine
- Status of the IUCN Red List: Near Threatened
- Threats: Human hunting and swift environmental change were the primary causes of the European wisent’s extinction.
Source The Hindu
3 – Macaque monkey with bonnet: GS III – Environmental Conservation:
- The finding of 27 bonnet macaque monkey carcasses in a Karnataka village brings attention to the growing animosity between humans and monkeys caused by habitat degradation and shrinking wildlife areas.
- Monkey raids into human areas in search of food have resulted in disturbing incidents such as the possible poisoning of macaques in Guthigaru village.
- When natural food sources diminish, monkeys are drawn to agricultural areas that are encroaching on forest borders, especially fruit orchards and coconut plantations.
- Macaca radiata, also known as the bonnet macaque, is an Old World monkey species. Their cheeks are wrinkled, their hair is gathered in a mop in the middle of their heads, and they have big ears and gray-brown complexion.
- The whorls of hair on the top of the head of the bonnet macaque bear reference to a cap or bonnet, hence the name.
- The bonnet macaque is an indigenous commensal that coexists closely with humans. It is exclusively found in the Indian peninsula.
Source The Hindu
4 – Investing with Value: GS III – Indian Economy:
- Buying assets below their intrinsic value with the expectation of future appreciation is known as value investing. Ben Graham invented it, and Warren Buffet popularised it. It is based on the idea that an asset’s price will eventually equal its inherent value.
- It focuses on taking advantage of market volatility by buying during crises and selling during booms, and on the difference between an asset’s price and intrinsic value for profitable returns.
- For instance, if the market price of a company’s stock is just 60 rupees, but its intrinsic value is 100 rupees per share. A value investor jumps at the chance and purchases the cheap stock.
- as the price of the stock approaches its intrinsic value. After profiting from the stock’s original undervaluation, the value investor sells it.
- In contrast to the efficient market theory, value investors use discounted assets to leverage price differences between market and intrinsic value.
Source The Hindu
5 – India and ADB Sign $250 Million Contract for Development of Industrial Corridor: GS III – International Issues:
- A policy-based loan of USD 250 million was recently signed by the Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The loan would assist the development of industrial corridors to boost manufacturing competitiveness, fortify domestic supply networks, and establish connections with regional and global value chains.
- This would support the development of 11 industrial corridors and reinforce the policy frameworks for the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) of the Indian government.
- The goal of India’s most ambitious infrastructure plan, NICDP, is to create “Smart Cities” by integrating next-generation technology into infrastructure sectors and establishing new industrial cities.
- The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has administrative responsibility over the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), which is the implementing agency.
Source The Hindu