Daily Current Affairs: 02:03:2022
Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits
Why in news
- Turkey has recently announced its decision to implement the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits.
Significance
- The provision of the Montreux Convention helps to ban Russian war vessels from entering the Black Sea through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.
About the Montreux Convention 1936
- The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, often known simply as the Montreux Convention.
- It is an international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey.
- It has signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland and went into effect on 9 November 1936.
Four key elements in the Montreux Convention regulate which vessels may enter the Black Sea in wartime:
- Turkey can close the straits to warships of belligerent parties in wartime or when Turkey itself is a party to the war or threatened by aggression from another nation.
- Turkey can close the straits to merchant ships belonging to countries at war with Turkey.
- Any country with coastline on the Black Sea – Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia or Ukraine – must notify Turkey eight days in advance of its intention to send vessels of war through the straits.
- Other countries, the ones that don’t border the Black Sea, must give Turkey 15 days’ advance notice.
- Only Black Sea nations may send submarines through the straits, only with prior notice and only if the vessels are constructed or purchased outside the Black Sea.
- Only nine warships are allowed to pass through the straits at any one time, and there are limits on how big the ships can be, both individually and as a group.
- No group of ships may exceed 15,000 metric tons.
- Modern warships are heavy, with frigates around 3,000 metric tons and destroyers and cruisers around 10,000 metric tons.
Note:
- Turkey has used the convention's powers during World War II in which Turkey closed the straits to warships belonging to combatant nations which helped to prevent the Axis powers from sending their warships to attack the Soviet Union – and blocked the Soviet navy from participating in combat in the Mediterranean.
Source- Indian Express
PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan
Why in news
- Recently, the Prime Minister of India urged State governments as well as the private sector to adopt the Gati Shakti portal to plan infrastructure projects and develop special economic zones.
About Gati Shakti Master Plan
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced it on India’s 75th Independence Day.
- It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.
- Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, Agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive.
- It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO imagery developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
- It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO imagery developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
Source- The Hindu
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Why in news
- Recently, Ukraine filed an application instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
About International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
- It is also known as the World Court.
- It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
- The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
- Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
- Its official working languages are English and French.
Composition:
- It consists of a panel of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms.
- The Court may not include more than one national of the same State.
- Moreover, the Court as a whole must represent the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.
- These organs vote simultaneously but separately.
- To ensure a measure of continuity, one-third of the Court is elected every three years.
- Judges are eligible for re-election.
Role and Responsibilities:
- The Court settles legal disputes submitted to it by States, following international law.
- It also gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by authorised UN organs and specialized agencies. Judgments in disputes between States are binding.
- The Court decides disputes between countries, based on the voluntary participation of the States concerned.
- If a State agrees to participate in a proceeding, it is obligated to comply with the Court’s decision.
Source- Indian Express
The new motto of NCPCR
Why in news
- Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani has recently launched the “भविष्यो रक्षति रक्षित” a new motto of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on its 17th foundation day.
About The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
- It is a statutory body under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
- It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India
- It was set up in March 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, an Act of Parliament (December 2005).
Mandate
- The Commission's Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms align with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Note:
- The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source- AIR
Yilan crater
Why in news
- Recently a team of geologists have discovered a crater named "Yilan Crater", in the northwest of Yilan in Heilongjiang Province of China.
About the Yilan crater
- It is slightly larger than Xiuyan which spans about 1.85 kilometres, making it the largest crater on Earth under 100,000 years old.
- Carbon-14 dating of charcoal and organic lake sediments suggests the crater formed between 46,000 and 53,000 years ago.
Source- Science Tech Daily
Minimum Assured Return Scheme (MARS)
Why in news
- Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) have preparing to launch a guaranteed return scheme, Minimum Assured Return Scheme (MARS).
About Minimum Assured Return Scheme
- This will be the first scheme from the pension regulator that will offer a guaranteed return to investors.
What kind of returns will the scheme offer?
- The actual returns will depend on the market conditions.
- Any shortfall will be made good by the sponsor, and the surplus will be credited to the subscribers' accounts.
- The floating guarantee depends on the development of the 1-year interest rate until retirement.
- The current 1-year interest rate is assigned to each annual contribution made and is valid until retirement so that, at each point of time, there is a different minimum return.
About Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)
- It is a statutory authority.
- It regulated the National Pension Scheme, subscribed by employees of Govt. of India, State Governments and by employees of private institutions/organizations & unorganized sectors.
About National Pension Scheme (NPS)
- It is a social security initiative by the Central Government.
- This pension programme is open to employees from the public, private and even the unorganised sectors except those from the armed forces.
- It encourages people to invest in a pension account at regular intervals during their employment.
- After retirement, the subscribers can take out a certain percentage of the corpus.
- As an NPS account holder, one will receive the remaining amount as a monthly pension post-retirement.
Source: Indian Express
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister inaugurates ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme for students
Why in news
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has recently inaugurated the ‘ Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme.
About ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme
- The scheme aims to identify, train and offer career and academic guidance to talented students in government-run and State-aided educational institutions.
- It also aims to offer spoken English lessons to enable students to face interview panels successfully.
- The scheme will offer training capsules in coding and robotics to keep pace with technological advancements.
Source : The Hindu
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
Why in news
- Recently FIFA and UEFA decided to indefinitely suspend all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, from participation in all competitions run by the two football bodies.
About FIFA
- It is the highest global governing body of football (also known as soccer to distinguish it from American football), the world’s most popular game.
- FIFA is also the international governing body for futsal (a kind of mini football played indoors on a hard court between two teams of five players each) and beach soccer (five-a-side played on a beach).
- FIFA is responsible for organising and promoting football's major international tournaments, most importantly the football World Cup, which began in 1930, and the Women's World Cup which began in 1991.
FIFA organisation
- The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of FIFA, in which each of the 211 members of the organisation has a vote.
- The Congress ordinarily meets annually, and members of the Congress propose candidates for the host of the FIFA World Cup and the presidency of FIFA.
FIFA presidents
- Gianni Infantino, a Swiss-Italian football administrator, has been president of FIFA since 2016.
Source: Indian Express
Places in News: Kharkiv
Why in news
- Recently India’s evacuation exercise faces a challenge after the death of an Indian student during shelling in Kharkiv.
About Kharkiv
- It is also known as Kharkov and the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
- Kharkiv is located at the banks of the Kharkiv, Lopan, and Udy rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets watershed in the north-eastern region of Ukraine.
Source: Indian Express
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