Connect to Current -Daily Current Capsules 11th January 2019

Social Issues Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018

Released by - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Relevance IN – Prelims(facts about the report) + Mains ( GS Paper II Social

justice )

What’s the NEWS

The 2018 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the fourth

of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010

United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.

It covers 142 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of

trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based

primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2014 and 2016.

As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in

persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad

range of indicators.

Know! about the important observations made in the report are

Human trafficking has taken a horrific dimension as armed groups and

terrorists are using it to spread fear and gain victims to offer as incentives

to recruit new fighters.

The report cites child soldiers, forced labour and sexual slavery as

examples.

There was a steady increase in the number of victims reported since

2010.

Improved methods of detecting, recording and reporting data on

trafficking or a real increase in the number of victims are cited as possible

reasons for the increase in the number of victims reported.

Regions of Asia and the Americas witnessed the largest increase in the

numbers of victims detected.

The large numbers of victims of trafficking detected outside their region

of origin are from East Asia, followed by sub-Saharan Africa. There

has been an increase in the number of convictions for trafficking in these

regions.

Trafficking for sexual exploitation was the most prevalent form in

European countries and in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East,

forced labour is the main factor driving the illicit trade in humans.

Women and girls formed the most trafficking victims worldwide. Almost

three-quarters of women and girls were trafficked for sexual exploitation,

and 35 per cent of them were trafficked for forced labour.

The report acknowledges that significant gaps in knowledge remain and

many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and some parts of East

Asia still lack sufficient capacity to record and share data on trafficking in

persons.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a UN office

established as Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by

combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program

(UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the

United Nations Office at Vienna.

It was established in the year 1997 and is headquartered at Vienna. The

United Nations Secretary-General appoints the agency’s Executive

Director.

UNODC was established to ensure a coordinated, comprehensive

response to the interrelated issues of illicit trafficking in and abuse of

drugs, crime prevention and criminal justice, international terrorism, and

political corruption.

Economy Tokenisation may aid safe digital transactions

Relevance IN – Prelims( benefits of token transaction) + Mains ( GS Paper II –

economic developments )

What’s the NEWS

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to allow card payment

providers to offer tokenisation services will ensure the safety of digital

transactions and reduce chances of fraud

Know! all about tokenisation

Tokenisation involves a process in which a unique token masks sensitive

card details like card and CVV number.

The token is used to perform card transactions in contactless mode at

Point Of Sale (POS) terminals, Quick Response (QR) code payments,

etc.

Tokenisation is the foundational aspect of taking payment security and

safety to the next level by devaluing data and replacing payment

credentials with tokens

According to a study by Zion Market research, global mobile payments

are expected to top $3.3 trillion by 2024, at a CAGR of 60% between

2018 and 2024. Tokenisation is expected to increase digital transactions

in India.

Know! about the working of token

The way the token will work is like this — the debit or credit card holder

will create a code for a particular amount, say ₹500, through an app in the

form of a number.

That number will have the amount that can be spent, the merchant type

where it can be spent as well as time within which the transaction needs

to be completed.

Then the number can be shared with the merchant who will enter it in the

mobile, to get the payment for the items sold.

There is no need to enter the card number, CVV, expiry date etc online, a

person can generate a token and make the payment.

MDES has been adopted in Asia Pacific region with more than 100 banks

for various token requestors such as Samsung, Google, Apple, Fitbit,

Garmin and several others.

Mastercard is working with all stakeholders in the Indian payments

ecosystem — banks, merchants, PSPs and acquirers — to make sure that

every card is token-ready, and can be used at a vast variety of outlets,

both online and in-store

National

World Hindi Day

Know! all about World Hindi Day

World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10 every year, marking the

anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was held in 1975 by

then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The first World Hindi Conference was inaugurated by the then prime

minister Indira Gandhi.

Since 1975, the World Hindi Conference has been organised in different

countries like India, Mauritius, United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago,

United States.

World Hindi Day was first observed on January 10, 2006. Since then, it is

celebrated on January 10 every year.

World Hindi Day vs National Hindi Diwas

World Hindi Day and National Hindi Diwas are completely different.

National Hindi Diwas is celebrated every year on September 14. On that

day in 1949, the constituent assembly adopted Hindi, written in

Devanagari script, as the official language of the Union.

While the focus of the World Hindi Day is to promote the language at the

global stage, the National Hindi Diwas, which is held across the country

at a national level, marks adaptation of Hindi, written in Devanagari

script as the official language.

Hindi is the fourth most spoken language of the world. Various

constitutional provisions like Article 120, Article 210, Article 343,

Article 344 and Articles from 348 to 351 are aimed at the promotion of

Hindi.

State Specific

Country's longest single lane steel cable bridge opened in Arunachal

What’s the NEWS

The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu inaugurated

India’s longest single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over Siang River

in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Know! about the important Facts about the Bridge

The bridge is 300-metre-long and is also known as byorung bridge.

The bridge will reduce the distance between Yingkiong and Tuting in

Arunachal Pradesh by almost 40 km.

It is expected to benefit 20,000 people on either banks of Siang river,

besides bolstering the defence preparedness.

The bridge across the Siang river at Yingkiong in Upper Siang district has

been named Byorung Bridge.

Byorung Bridge, built at a cost of ₹48.43-crore provided by the DONER

(Department for Development of North Eastern Region) Ministry, will

reduce the distance from Yinkiong to Tuting by almost 40 km

The bridge will also bolster defense preparedness and facilitate the army

in their operations.

Siang River

The Siang River is considered as lifeline of Arunachal Pradesh. The

Tsangpo river originates in the Angsi Glacier in the Himalayas.

The river enters India through Arunachal Pradesh where it is called by

name Siang. The river is also called as Dihang in the plain regions.

As the river flows through the plains it is joined by the rivers Dibang and

Lohit. Downstream of the confluence of Lohit, the river is called by name

Brahmaputra...

Index/Report

Relevance IN – Prelims ( facts about the index and highlights of it )

Democracy Index

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Democracy Index

which ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five broad categories.

The categories considered for the index are electoral process and

pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation,

democratic political culture and civil liberties. Political participation is

the most improved category in the index.

The index classifies each country either as a full democracy, flawed

democracy, hybrid regime or authoritarian.

Know! about the highlights of the Democracy Index

Only 4.5% of the world’s people live in a full democracy.

The overall global score remained stable in 2018 for the first time in three

years.

42 countries experienced a decline in their index score compared with 89

in 2017 and 48 countries have improved their score.

The Index notes that threats to democracy around the world have become

increasingly obvious.

Rankings of the Countries

Australia and New Zealand are the only “full democracies” in the entire

Asia-Pacific region

Eight countries Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Timor-Leste,

Ethiopia, North Korea, Laos, Nepal and Sri Lanka which have the word

“democratic in full titles were not fully democratic.

India was at the 41st place with a score of 7.23/10 and was placed in the

flawed democracies category.

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the UK-based company

the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that intends to measure the state

of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164

are UN member states.

The index was first produced in 2006, with updates for 2008, 2010 and

the following years since then.

The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories

measuring pluralism, civil liberties and political culture.

In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorises

countries as one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed

democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.

Know! about the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis

division of The Economist Group, which is a British multinational media

company headquartered in London.

It provides forecasting and advisory services through research and

analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic

forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.

It publishes a number of reports each year focussing on current issues

affecting specific countries, regions and industries.

The Henley Passport Index

The Henley Passport Index measures the access each country’s travel

document affords.

The Index is based on the data provided by the International Air

Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel

destinations.

Rankings in the Henley Passport Index are:

Japan retained its top spot as the world’s most travel-friendly passport

due to the document’s access to 190 jurisdictions.

South Korea and Singapore are at joint second position offering access to

189 jurisdictions.

China has jumped almost 20 places in just two years, from 85th in 2017

to 69th this year.

India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th this year.

The top 5 positions are held by Japan (190 countries), Singapore, South

Korea (189), France, Germany (188), Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden

(187), and Luxembourg, Spain (186)

The bottom 5 positions are held by Eritrea (38), Yemen (37), Pakistan

(33), Somalia, Syria (32)and Afghanistan, Iraq (30).

International Organisations The first India-Central Asia Dialogue

Relevance IN – Prelims( highlights of the dialogue) + Mains ( GS Paper II –

international relations)

What’s the NEWS

The first India-Central Asia Dialogue will be held in Samarkand,

Uzbekistan on January 12 and 13.

Know! all about the Dialogue

The Dialogue will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister (EAM)

Sushma Swaraj and the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz

Kamilov.

The Foreign Ministers of Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and

Kazakhstan will participate in the event.

The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan will participate in the dialogue as a

special invitee for the session dedicated to connectivity issues in the

region.

Objective of the dialogue

To enhance their cooperation in wide-ranging spheres including exploring

ways to substantially enhance India’s economic involvement in business

and development sector of Central Asia.

Developing viable connectivity options between India and Afghanistan

and Central Asia to further facilitate trade and economic activity in the

region.

Strengthen India’s engagement, including political, economic,

development partnership and cultural, with all the Central Asian countries

and take it to a new level.

Prelims Practise Question

Consider the following statement

1. The Henley Passport Index measures the access each country’s travel

document affords and it is based on the data provided by the

International Air Transport Authority (IATA)

2. The Chief Minister of Assam inaugurated India’s longest single-lane steel

cable suspension bridge over Siang River in Upper Siang district.

3. World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10 every year, marking the

anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was held in 1975 by

then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Find the correct statement from the option given below

a. 1 and 3

b. 2 and 3

c. 1,2 and 3

d. None

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