Darfur Crisis | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Posted 08 May 2024

8 min read

Darfur Crisis

  • UN has said that people have been eating ‘grass and peanut shells’ in Darfur due to hunger crisis in Sudan.
  • Since April 2023, civil war in Sudan has ensued with clashes between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

About Darfur:

  • Darfur is a region of western Sudan, bordering Libya, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
  • The latest surge in violence comes as the RSF encircles North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher
  • It has halted aid convoys coming from Chad’s Tine border crossing – a humanitarian corridor that passes through El Fasher.
  • Tags :
  • Sudan
  • Darfur
  • Hunger crisis

Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

  • BRO celebrated its 65th Raising Day

About BRO

  • Apex Ministry: Ministry of Defence
  • Establishment: Founded in 1960 to build and maintain roads in India's border regions and its initial project was Project Tusker (renamed as Vartak) in the east.
  • Functions 
    • Beyond borders, BRO has expanded road infrastructure in various Indian states including Bihar, Maharashtra, and others, and in friendly neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. 
    • Supports the Indian Army by maintaining roads in forward zones during national emergencies and the outbreak of hostilities.
    • Rehabilitating airfields for the Indian Air Force. 
  • Tags :
  • BRO
  • road infrastructure

Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)

  • RBI has eased FEMA norms to facilitate foreign investment in derivatives.
    • Derivative is a financial instrument which derives its value/price from the underlying assets. 

About FEMA

  • FEMA was enacted as a successor to Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) of 1973.
  • Aim: Facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange markets in India.
    • Two categories of foreign exchange transactions in: capital account and current account transactions.
  • Liberalized Remittances Scheme allows residents to remit for any permissible current or capital account transactions.
  • Tags :
  • FEMA
  • Derivatives

Provisioning

  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released draft guidelines regarding provisioning for lenders who undertake project finance.
    • As per RBI guidelines, lenders shall maintain 5% provisions on exposures to projects under implementation at various stages.

About Provisioning

  • Banks in India have to set aside funds for a percentage of their assets. 
    • This means that the bank sets aside a prescribed amount of money from their profit to compensate for probable loss.
  • Tags :
  • RBI
  • Provisioning

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR)

  • Maharashtra plans to relocate tigers to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district.

About STR: 

  • Located in the Sahyadri Ranges of Western Ghats in Maharashtra.
  • Spread over Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Ratnagiri districts in western Maharashtra.
  • Reserve was notified in 2010 amalgamating Koyana Sanctuary and Chandoli National Park.
  • Habitat: Composed of woodlands, grasslands, and plateaus(Sadaa).
  • Flora: Subtropical Hill Forests, Semi-evergreen Forests, Deciduous Forests. 
  • Fauna: Tiger, Atlas Moth, Moon Moth, and other endangered Butterflies, Blue finned Mahasheer fish, also supports Hornbills.