{"id":54451,"date":"2020-01-29T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54451"},"modified":"2020-02-26T17:47:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T12:17:00","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-january-29th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-january-29th-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 January 29th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/newsite\/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=197705\">10 more\nwetlands from India get the Ramsar site tag<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> &nbsp;Ramsar\nhas declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international\nimportance. With this, the\nnumbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ramsar Sites<\/strong>:\nIt is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the\nRamsar Convention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The\nnew Indian Ramsar sites include<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nandur Madhameshwar bird\nsanctuary-<strong> Maharashtra<\/strong><\/li><li>Beas conservation reserve, Keshopur-Miani\ncommunity reserve and Nangal wildlife sanctuary- <strong>Punjab<\/strong><\/li><li>Nawabganj bird sanctuary,\nParvati Arga bird sanctuary, Saman bird sanctuary, Sarsai Nawar Lake, Samaspur\nbird sanctuary and Sandi bird sanctuary- <strong>Uttar\nPradesh<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\nInformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ramsar Convention on Wetland (1971):<\/strong> It is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for\nnational action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use\nof wetlands and their resources<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Montreux Record<\/strong>: It is a register of wetland sites on the List of Ramsar wetlands\nof international importance. It shows such sites where there has been or likely\nto be adverse ecological changes due to anthropogenic activities. Indian sites\nin the Montreux Record are Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), Loktak Lake\n(Manipur).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wetland Restoration in India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017: <\/strong>It prohibits conversion for\nnon-wetland uses, setting up or expansion of industries in wetland areas and\ndisposal of construction and demolition waste within the wetlands.<\/li><li><strong>National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA): <\/strong>Launched in 2015 by merging of the\nNational Lake Conservation Plan and the National Wetlands Conservation\nProgramme. It aims at holistic conservation and restoration of lakes and\nwetlands.<\/li><li><strong>Wetland health cards<\/strong>: In 2019, government identified 130 wetlands in the country to be\nrestored in the next five years. Each wetland will be issued a health card,\nwhich will denote its health.<\/li><li><strong>Wetland Mitras: <\/strong>Selected individuals for taking care of the 130 identified wetlands\nacross India.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/sc-allows-centre-to-bring-african-cheetah-to-suitable-wildlife-habitat-in-india\/article30673294.ece\">SC allows centre to introduce African cheetah\nto suitable habitat in India<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The Supreme Court has allowed the introduction of African Cheetah from\nNamibia&nbsp;in India. The Court also set up a three-member committee to guide National\nTiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on cheetah reintroduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cheetah:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>IUCN Status<\/strong>: Vulnerable<\/li><li><strong>Geographic range<\/strong>: North, Southern and East Africa,\nand a few localities in Iran<\/li><li><strong>Cheetah in India<\/strong>: Extinct in India since 1947<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Background:<\/strong> The Supreme Court had earlier stayed African\nCheetah reintroduction in Pradesh&#8217;s Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>National Tiger Conservation Authority\n(NTCA):<\/strong> Established\nin 2005, NTCA is a statutory body under MoEFCC which oversees management of\nProject Tiger and Tiger Reserves in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kuno- Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Location:<\/strong> Sheopur and Morena districts of\nMadhya Pradesh<\/li><li>Status of the wildlife sanctuary changed to Kuno National Park in 2018.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/law-tweak-may-make-it-easier-for-single-women-to-abort-too\/articleshow\/73713932.cms\">Law tweak may make it easier for single women\nto abort too<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The Union Cabinet is likely to\napprove changes in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act<br>\n<strong>Facts:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It provides the legal framework for making Comprehensive Abortion care\n(CAC) services available in India. <\/li><li>The Act allows women to abort foetuses up to 20-weeks-old.<\/li><li>The law recognises \u201cfailure of contraceptive\u201d and \u201cunplanned pregnancy\u201d\nas legal reasons for abortion only in case of \u201cmarried\u201d women.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Between 12 and 20 weeks the grounds for abortion are limited to:<\/li><li>Where continuance of pregnancy\nwould cause risk to the life\/physical or mental health of the pregnant woman <\/li><li>Where there exists a substantial\nrisk that if the child is born it would suffer from physical or mental\nabnormalities <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/what-is-spitzer-space-telescope-6240065\/\">Explained: What is NASA\u2019s Spitzer Space\nTelescope?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Spitzer Space Telescope<strong>\n<\/strong>will conclude its\nmission on 30<sup>th<\/sup> January 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Spitzer Space Telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launched in 2003, it is a space-borne observatory and is part of NASA\u2019s\n\u201cGreat Observatories\u201d.<\/li><li>It uses an ultra-sensitive infrared telescope to study asteroids, comets,\nplanets and distant galaxies.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Achievements:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>First telescope to detect light from an exoplanet<\/li><li>found a ring of Saturn in 2009<\/li><li>Made the first exoplanet weather map of temperature variations over the\nsurface of a gas exoplanet.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NASA\u2019s series of Great Observatories\nsatellites:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>They are four large, powerful space-based astronomical telescopes. <\/li><li>The telescopes other than Spitzer Space Telescope are Hubble Space\nTelescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/article\/pti-stories\/indian-environmental-economist-pavan-sukhdev-wins-tyler-prize-for-green-economy-work-120012801008_1.html\">Indian environmental economist Pavan Sukhdev\nwins 2020 Tyler Prize<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Indian environmental economist Pavan Sukhdev\nhas won the 2020 Tyler Prize for his work on bringing the economic consequences\nof environmental degradation and loss to the attention of corporate and\npolitical decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Tyler Prize for Environmental\nAchievement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Annual award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy.<\/li><li>Established in 1973 <\/li><li>Administered by the University of Southern California.<\/li><li>Regarded as the &#8220;Nobel Prize for the Environment&#8221;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/science\/oldest-material-on-earth-found-inside-meteorite-that-hit-australia\/article30562814.ece\">Oldest solid material on Earth discovered\ninside meteorite in Australia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Scientists have discovered the oldest solid material on Earth<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Oldest solid material is a presolar silicon carbide (SiC)<\/li><li>It has been found in a 7-billion-year-old stardust trapped inside\nMurchison meteorite that struck Australia in 1969.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Material older than the solar system are called <strong>presolar<\/strong>\nmaterials.<\/li><li>The sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago, and Earth formed about 4.54\nbillion years ago.<\/li><li><strong>Stardust:<\/strong> It refers to refractory dust\ngrains that condensed from cooling ejected gases from individual presolar\nstars. It then incorporated into the cloud from which the Solar System\ncondensed.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/indian-navy-launches-operation-vanilla-to-help-flood-hit-madagascar\/article30677388.ece\"><strong>Indian\nNavy launches &#8216;Operation Vanilla&#8217; to help cyclone-hit Madagascar<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Indian\nNavy has launched &#8216;Operation Vanilla&#8217; in support of flood-hit Madagascar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Operation\nVanilla:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Navy has sent the INS Airavat,\na large amphibious ship to provide assistance.<\/li><li>Further,this operation is also in\nline with Prime Minister&#8217;s vision of &#8216;Security and Growth for all in the\nRegion(SAGAR).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About INS\nAiravat:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>INS Airavat is the third\nShardul-class amphibious warfare vessel of the Indian Navy.It was built by\nGarden Reach Shipbuilders &amp; Engineers in Kolkata.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSAGAR:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Security and Growth for All in the\nRegion(SAGAR) is a term coined by the Prime Minister(PM) in 2015.<\/li><li>It is a maritime initiative which\ngives priority to Indian Ocean region for ensuring peace, stability and\nprosperity of India in Indian Ocean region.<\/li><li>The initiative aims at a) enhancing\ncapacities to safeguard land and maritime territories &amp; interests b)\ndeepening economic and security cooperation in the littoral and c) action to\ndeal with natural disasters and maritime threats like piracy,terrorism.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nMadagascar:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Madagascar is an island country in\nthe Indian Ocean approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa.It\nis the fourth largest island in the world.<\/li><li>Madagascar is also a member of\ninter-governmental organisation Indian Ocean Rim Association(IORA).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/india-planning-to-invite-australia-for-malabar-naval-exercise\/articleshow\/73715057.cms\"><strong>India\nplanning to invite Australia for Malabar naval exercise<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>India\nis considering to invite Australia to take part in its trilateral Malabar Naval\nexercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nMalabar exercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Exercise Malabar is an annual\nexercise between the navies of India, Japan, and the U.S. held alternately in\nthe Indian and Pacific Oceans.<\/li><li>The exercise began in 1992 as a bilateral\nexercise between India and the U.S.Then it got permanently expanded into a\ntrilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.<\/li><li>The exercise aims to endeavour to\nfurther strengthen India &#8211; Japan &#8211; US Naval cooperation and enhance\ninteroperability based on shared values and principles.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exercises\nbetween India and Japan:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>JIMEX- <\/strong>It is a\nbilateral maritime exercise between India and Japan naval forces.<\/li><li><strong>DHARMA GUARDIAN- <\/strong>It\nis an annual joint military exercise between Indian and Japan since 2018.<\/li><li><strong>MINEX\u2013 <\/strong>The\nexercise is an annual Mine Countermeasure Exercise between Indian and Japan\nnaval forces.<\/li><li><strong>Sahyog-Kaijin<\/strong>:It\nis a joint exercise between India and Japanese Coast Guards.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exercises\nbetween India and US:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Yudh Abhyas- <\/strong>It\nis a joint military exercise between India and the US.<\/li><li><strong>Tiger Triumph- <\/strong>It\nis a tri-service military exercise between India and the US.<\/li><li><strong>Vajra Prahar<\/strong>:It\nis a Special Forces joint military training exercise conducted alternately in\nIndia and the US since 2010.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exercise\nbetween India and Australia:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>AUSINDEX:<\/strong>It\nis a biennial bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Royal\nAustralian Navy(RAN).The first edition the exercise took place in 2015.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1600855\"><strong>Bhuvan\nPanchayat V 3.0 Web portal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union\nminister for Atomic Energy and Space has launched the Bhuvan Panchayat V 3.0\nweb portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nBhuvan Panchayat web portal:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Bhuvan is a satellite application\nlaunched by the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO).It allows users to\nexplore 2D and 3D representation of the earth.<\/li><li>Bhuvan Panchayat portal aims to\nprovide geo-spatial services to aid gram panchayat development planning process\nof the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.<\/li><li>Under the project, the ISRO will\ncollaborate with the Gram panchayat members to understand their data\nrequirements.It will also provide database visualisation and services for the\nbenefit of panchayat members.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/govt-releases-guidelines-to-monitor-check-illegal-sand-mining-6240249\/\"><strong>Govt\nreleases guidelines to monitor, check illegal sand mining<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Ministry\nof Environment, Forests and Climate Change has released the Enforcement and\nMonitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining 2020 to monitor and check illegal sand\nmining in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nGuidelines:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>These rules serves as a guideline\nfor collection of critical information for enforcement of the regulatory\nprovisions and for effective monitoring of Sustainable Sand Mining Rules 2016.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\nprovisions of the Guidelines:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>States to carry out river audits\nand should put detailed survey reports of all mining areas online and set up a\ndedicated task forces at district levels.<\/li><li>States to monitor the movement of\nsand at different levels such as at the time of sale and purchase at stockyards\nand during transportation.<\/li><li>Use of technology through remote\nsurveillance, drones to curb Illegal mining.<\/li><li>Online sales and purchase of sand\nand other riverbed materials to make the process transparent.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The transportation of Sand should\ntake place only in vehicles which are installed with GPS and have been\nregistered with the state government.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Drawbacks\nof the Guidelines:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The guidelines has put the entire\nonus on the states to enforce and monitor sustainable mining while completely\nrelieving itself from any kind of responsibilities.<\/li><li>There is no mechanism on who will\nenforce and monitor sustainable mining in bigger projects while states have\nbeen told to monitor for projects below 100 hectares.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-what-ails-with-the-credibility-of-indias-budget-numbers-6239577\/\"><strong>Fiscal\nmarksmanship<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nGovernment of India\u2019s decision in 2017 to advance the presentation of the Union\nBudget by February has led to India\u2019s fiscal marksmanship being questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nFiscal marksmanship:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Fiscal marksmanship essentially\nrefers to the accuracy of the government&#8217;s fiscal forecasts such as revenues,\nexpenditure among others.<\/li><li>In the Indian context,the term\ngained popularity after the then India\u2019s Chief Economic Advisor stressed on\nfiscal marksmanship in the Economic Survey for the year 2012-13.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof fiscal marksmanship:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The main purpose of publicly\ndisclosing the Budget in a democracy and seeking approval from the legislature\nis to make the policymaking and governance transparent and participatory.<\/li><li>However, if these fiscal forecasts\nturn out to be way off the mark repeatedly, it will undermine the credibility\nof the Budget numbers and reflects poor fiscal marksmanship.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/todays-paper\/tp-national\/tp-otherstates\/hp-shivers-under-numbing-cold\/article30661994.ece\"><strong>IMD has\nissued a yellow weather warning for Himachal Pradesh<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,the\nIndian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow weather warning for\nheavy rain and snowfall in Himachal Pradesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nColour- Coded Weather Warning:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The IMD issues colour-coded\nwarnings to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather conditions\nthat can cause disruption or damage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Different\nColour Codes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Green<\/strong>(No\nwarning): No advisory is issued in such cases.<\/li><li><strong>Yellow<\/strong>(Be\nupdated):It is issued to keep a watch on the weather situation as it may\ndeteriorate.Yellow is the least dangerous of the weather warnings.<\/li><li><strong>Amber<\/strong>(Be\nprepared):It implies there is an increased likelihood of extremely bad\nweather.IMD advises people to be alerted.The government agencies should be\nprepared to manage situations arising out of severe weather conditions.<\/li><li><strong>Red<\/strong>(Take\naction):Red warning demands necessary actions to be taken by different\nagencies.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About India\nMeteorological Department (IMD)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India Meteorological Department\n(IMD) was established in 1875.It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences\nof the Government of India.<\/li><li>It is the principal agency\nresponsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and\nseismology.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/news\/india\/india-s-first-underwater-metro-nears-completion-to-start-soon-in-kolkata-11580172122342.html\"><strong>India&#8217;s\nfirst underwater metro nears completion&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>India\u2019s\nfirst underwater metro tunnel in Kolkata is expected to be completed by\nMarch,2022 after a delay of several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nUnderwater Metro Tunnel:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The East West Metro Tunnel is an\nunder construction underwater river tunnel in Kolkata, West Bengal.The tunnel\nwill be first underwater river tunnel in India.<\/li><li>The river tunnel is constructed\nunderneath Hooghly river which will connect the twin cities of Howrah and\nKolkata.It will carry 20% of the city&#8217;s population and will cross the river in\nless than a minute.<\/li><li>The tunnel will be used by East\nWest Metro Line for metro rail service and is being constructed by Kolkata\nMetro Rail Corporation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/climate-change\/natural-disasters-cost-232-bln-in-2019-69011\"><strong>Weather,\nClimate &amp; Catastrophe Insight: 2019 Annual Report<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Aon,\na leading global professional services firm has released its Weather, Climate\n&amp; Catastrophe Insight:2019 Annual Report.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nreport:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The report evaluates the impact of\nglobal natural disaster events to identify trends, manage volatility and\nenhance resilience.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways from the report:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Report on\nGlobal data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Global economy suffered a loss of $232\nbillion due to natural disasters in 2019 which is eighth-costliest in terms of\nweather-related disasters adjusting for inflation.<\/li><li>The total count of natural\ndisasters has increased to 409 in 2019 from 394 a year ago.<\/li><li>Typhoons in Japan and monsoon floods\nin China hit the hardest causing losses of $30 billion and $15 billion\nrespectively.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Report on\nIndia:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Cyclone Fani which affected Odisha\nin India and Bangladesh was the tenth-most costly natural disaster in the\nworld.<\/li><li>The June-October monsoon floods in\nIndia caused a loss of $10 billion to be the seventh- costliest.This also led\nto the death of 1,750 people, the most among all natural disasters last year.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/full-potential-of-saarc-not-utilised-due-to-single-country-rajnath\/article30672748.ece\"><strong>SAARC\u2019s\nfull potential not utilised due to a single country<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>India\u2019s\nDefence minister has said that the full potential of the South Asian\nAssociation for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) has not been utilised due to\nbehaviour of Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSAARC:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The South Asian Association for\nRegional Cooperation(SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC\nCharter in Dhaka in 1985.<\/li><li>It comprises of eight Member States\nnamely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and\nSri Lanka.<\/li><li>The Secretariat of SAARC is in\nKathmandu,Nepal.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SAARC\nSpecialized Bodies:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SAARC\nDevelopment Fund(SDF):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The fund was established in 2010,It\nis located in Thimphu,Bhutan.It is a comprehensive funding mechanism with the\nprovision of three Windows namely Social, Economic and Infrastructure.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>South Asian\nUniversity:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>South Asian University(SAU) is an\nInternational University sponsored by the Member States of SAARC.It was\nestablished in 2010 and is located at New Delhi,India.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>South Asian\nRegional Standards Organization(SARSO):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It was established in 2011 with its\nheadquarters at Dhaka,Bangladesh.It aims to harmonize standards and promote\ncooperation in the fields of metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment\nfor enhancing the capacity of the respective national institutions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SAARC\nArbitration Council:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It was established in 2007 with its\nheadquarters at Islamabad,Pakistan.It mandated to provide a legal\nframework\/forum to resolve cost-effective settlement of disputes via\narbitration within the region.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>10 more wetlands from India get the Ramsar site tag News: &nbsp;Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance. With this, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37&nbsp; Facts: Ramsar Sites: It is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-january-29th-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 January 29th, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":1700807106,"cached_date":1702885847},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}