GS 2
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- One-third of funding by AIIB has gone to India
The issue in news
Out of the $20 billion in loans issued by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), about $6 billion has gone to India.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank headquartered in Beijing, China.
- It was established with a mission to improve the economic and social outcomes in Asia.
- India is AIIB’s second-largest shareholder after China.
- The bank will complete 5 years in January 2021.
Details:
- India is one of the largest beneficiaries of AIIB financing for infrastructure projects.
- AIIB has supported around $5billion worth of projects in India. it is supporting unique projects, including: The Chennai Metro Corridors 4 and 5, Chennai Peripheral Ring Road.
- The Grand Anaicut scheme to modernise the canal system in the Cauvery delta region which is being prepared with the government of Tamil Nadu. It would help save almost 20% of water leakages.
- The Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit is being co-financed with the Asian Development Bank.
- Mahinda to discuss fishermen’s concerns with PM Modi
The issue in news
Sri Lankan Prime Minister has promised Sri Lanka’s northern fisher leaders that he would take up their concern over “trespassing Indian trawlers” with the Indian Prime Minister.
India Sri Lanka Fishermen Issue:
- The arrest of Indian fishermen on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar by Sri Lankan authorities has been a long-standing problem, with the Sri Lankan Navy firing on Indian fishing vessels.
- The catch on the Sri Lankan side is better both in terms of quality (high-value prawns) and quantity.
- The issue started because Indian fishermen use mechanised trawlers, which deprived the Sri Lankan fishermen (including Tamils) of their catch and damaged their fishing boats.
- The Sri Lankan government wants India to ban the use of mechanized trawlers in the Palk Strait region, and negotiations on this subject are undergoing.
- So far, no concrete agreement has been reached since India favours regulating these trawlers instead of banning them altogether.
Note:
- While the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 210 Indian fishermen in 2019, only 34 have been arrested in 2020.
- The number of trespassing bottom-trawlers has come down considerably, especially after Sri Lanka introduced tougher laws and stiff fines for foreign vessels.
- G7 backs extension of debt freeze
The issue in news
G7 finance ministers have backed an extension of a G20 bilateral debt relief initiative for the world’s poorest countries.
Group of Seven (G7):
- The G7 or the Group of 7 is a group of the seven most advanced economies as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- The seven countries are Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Italy.
- 5 members of the G-7 (United States, Germany, Italy, France, Japan) are members of the NATO Quint (The Quint is the informal decision-making body of NATO).
- Quad discusses Indo-Pacific infrastructure and 5G
The issue in news
Senior officials from the Foreign Ministries of “the Quad” group of countries (India, the U.S., Australia and Japan) met virtually as part of their periodic consultations on the Indo-Pacific region.
- The officials committed support to the concept of ASEAN-centrality in the Indo-Pacific and ASEAN’s leadership in the architecture of the region.
- In an effort to stop Chinese G5 giant Huawei from setting up shop networks in other countries, U.S. Secretary of State has been promoting “clean telcos” — a list of companies considered by the U.S. administration to be free from security risks and the risk of surveillance by the Chinese government.
- Officials discussed practical cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development.
- Ways to promote the use of trusted vendors, particularly for fifth generation (5G) networks were discussed.
Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
- MCI replaced by National Medical Commission
The issue in news
The Union Government has constituted the National Medical Commission (NMC). With this, the decades-old institution of the Medical Council of India (MCI) stands abolished.
Main points
Four autonomous boards are created along with NMC to help the commission in its day to day functioning. They are:
- UG Medical Education Board
- PG Medical Education Board
- Medical Assessment and Rating Board
- Ethics and Medical Registration Board
Key functions of NMC:
- Further streamlining regulations
- Rating of institutions
- HR assessment
- Focus on research
- Prepare guidelines for fee regulation by private medical colleges
- Developing standards for Community Health Providers to serve in primary healthcare with limited practicing licence
- Besides, they will also work on modalities of the common final year exam after MBBS (NEXT-National Exit Test) to serve for both registration and PG entrance
Significance:
- This historic reform will steer medical education towards a transparent, qualitative and accountable system.
- The basic change that has happened is that the Regulator is now selected on merits, as opposed to an elected Regulator.
- Men and women with impeccable integrity, professionalism, experience and stature have been placed at the helm to steer the medical education reforms further.
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