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SM Current Affairs APRIL 2021 Set 05 Report and Indexes

SM Current Affairs APRIL 2021 Set 05 Report and Indexes

Diksha Sharma 15 MINUTES

REPORT & INDEXES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. JEFF BEZOS TOPPED FORBES LIST
2. STATE OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE REPORT
3. WORLD IN 2030: UNESCO
4. WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX
5. INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FRREDOM REPOR
6. 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL FIRMS

#JEFF BEZOS TOPPED THE FORBES LIST

• Forbes recently revealed its 35th annual list of the world's richest people. The billionaires list, which is one of the biggest ever, includes 2755 billionaires, 660 more than last year.

• Forbes billionaires list 2021 includes 493 new additions including production powerhouse Tyler Perry and Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

• Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos continued to top the list with a net worth of $177 billion, making him the world's richest person for the fourth year running.

Key Highlights

• Overall, around 724 Billionaires in the list belong to the United States, followed by China that includes Macao and Hong Kong with 698 Billionaires.

• Elon Musk, who had surpassed Bezos briefly during 2020 as Tesla stock surged, is ranked at the second position with a net worth of $151 billion.

• Bernard Arnault and his family is at the third place with a net worth of $150 billion.Arnault oversees the French fashion empire LVMH, which includes brands like Louis Vuitton and Sephora.

• The world's richest woman is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family, who is placed at no. 12 with a net worth of $73.6 billion. Bettencourt Meyers is the granddaughter of the founder of L'Oreal.

• The youngest billionaire on the list is 18-year-old Kevin David Lehmann, who with a net worth of $3.3 billion is placed 925th on the list. He owns 50% of Germany's leading drugstore chain, dm (drogeriemarkt).

• Former US President Donald Trump is placed at No. 1,299 in the Forbes list with $2.4 billion, down from No. 1,001 last year.

• Michael Bloomberg is placed at 20th position with a net worth of $59 billion, while Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is at no. 173 with a $12.5 billion net worth.

• Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and family is placed at no. 71 on the list with a net worth of $23.5 billion. Popular reality TV host Oprah Winfrey is placed at no. 1174 with a net worth of $2.7 billion.

• Kanye West is placed at no. 1,750 with a net worth of $1.8 billion, while his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Kim Kardashian is placed at no. 2,674 with a net worth of around $1 billion.

India's Richest Person

• The Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian in the Forbes list of richest billionaires with a net worth of $84.5 billion.

• Adani Group Chief, Gautam Adani is the second richest Indian on the Forbes list, while HCL founder Shiv Nadar is the third richest Indian on the list. The total numbers of Indian billionaires have risen to 140 this year, from 120 last year, as per Forbes.



Rank Name Net Worth Company Country
1 Jeff Bezos $177 Billion Amazon US
2 Elon Musk $151 Billion Space X, Tesla US
3 Bernard Arnault $150 Billion CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton France
4 Bill Gates $124 Billion Founder of Microsoft US
5 Mark Zuckerberg $97 Billion Facebook CEO US
6 Warren Buffett $96 Billion Berkshire Hathaway Founder US
7 Larry Ellison $93 Billion Oracle Founder US
8 Larry Page $91.5 Billion Google co-founder US
9 Sergey Brin $89 Billion Google co-founder US
10 Mukesh Ambani $84.5 Billion Reliance Group Chairman India

 

#STATE OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE REPORT BY WMO

Recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual State of the Global Climate for 2020.

 The report was released ahead of the Leaders Summit on Climate, hosted by the US.
 Extreme weather combined with Covid-19 was a double blow for millions of people in 2020. However, the pandemic-related economic slowdown failed to put a brake on climate change drivers and accelerating impacts.

Global Temperature:

 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, despite a cooling La Niña event.
 The global average temperature was about 1.2° Celsius above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level. The other two warmest years are 2016 and 2019.
 The six years since 2015 have been the warmest on record. 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record.
 Greenhouse Gases:Emission of major greenhouse gases increased in 2019 and 2020. It will be higher in 2021.Concentrations of the major greenhouse gases in the air continued to increase in 2019 and 2020.
 Globally, averaged mole fractions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have already exceeded 410 parts per million (ppm), and if the CO2 concentration follows the same pattern as in previous years, it could reach or exceed 414 ppm in 2021.
 Mole fraction represents the number of molecules of a particular component in a mixture divided by the total number of moles in the given mixture. It's a way of expressing the concentration of a solution.
 Oceans: In 2019, the oceans had the highest heat content on record. In 2020, it has broken this record further. Over 80% of the ocean area experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2020.
 A marine heatwave is defined when seawater temperatures exceed a seasonally-varying threshold for at least 5 consecutive days.
 The percentage of the ocean that experienced “strong” marine heat waves (45%) was greater than that which experienced “moderate” marine heat waves (28%).

Sea-level Rise:

 Since record-taking started in 1993 using the satellite altimeter, sea-level has been rising. It is due to the La Niña induced cooling.
 Sea level has recently been rising at a higher rate partly due to the increased melting of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

The Arctic and the Antarctica:

 In 2020, the Arctic sea-ice extent came down to second lowest on record.
 The 2020 minimum extent was 3.74 million square kilometre, marking only the second time (after 2012) on record that it shrank to less than 4 million sq km.
 In a large region of the Siberian Arctic, temperatures in 2020 were more than 3°C above average. A record temperature of 38°C was noted in the town of Verkhoyansk, Russia.
 The Antarctic sea-ice extent remained close to the long-term average.
 However, the Antarctic ice sheet has exhibited a strong mass loss trend since the late 1990s.
 This trend accelerated around 2005, and currently, Antarctica loses approximately 175 to 225 Gigaton per year, due to the increasing flow rates of major glaciers in West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Extreme Weather Events in India:

 India experienced one of its wettest monsoons since 1994, with a seasonal surplus of 9% that led to severe floods and landslides.
 Cyclone Amphan, which hit Kolkata in May 2020, has been named as the costliest tropical cyclone for the North Indian Ocean region that brought about an estimated loss of USD 14 billion.

Climatic Impact:

 Extreme Weather Situations: Along with the pandemic, people across the world struggled to survive as they faced extreme weather in the form of storms, cyclones, heavy rainfall and record heat.
 Response and recovery to people hit by cyclones, storms and similar extreme weather was constrained throughout the pandemic in 2020.
 Human Mobility Issues: Mobility restrictions and economic downturns owing to Covid-19 slowed down delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable and displaced populations, who live in dense settlements.
 The pandemic added further dimension to human mobility concerns, highlighting the need for an integrated approach to understanding and addressing climate risk and impact on vulnerable populations.

 

#WORLD IN 2030: REPORT BY UNESCO

The World in 2030: Public Survey Report was recently published by UNESCO. The report was published by the organization based on the survey held between May 2020 and September 2020. The survey collected responses from more than 15,000 people from all over the world.

Key Findings of the Report

 According to the report, Climate Change, Violence and Conflict, Loss of Biodiversity and discrimination and inequality, water and housing, lack of food are the four biggest challenges to peaceful societies of 2030.

 According to the participants, education is the only crucial solution to many difficulties to be faced in 2030. However, the North Americans (US, Canada) believe in science and not in education.

 Apart from education, the only other solution is international cooperation.

Challenges related to it:

 The top challenges to be faced in 2030 according to the report are as follows:

• Violence and Conflict
• Discrimination and Inequality
• Disinformation and Freedom of Expression
• Climate Change and Loss of Biodiversity
• Lack of food, water and housing
• Health and Disease
• Lack of Decent work and opportunities
• Political Participation and Democratic Principles
• Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies
• Traditions and Culture at risk

 Climate change and biodiversity loss were the top concern in the Asia and Pacific region. The Asia Pacific respondents of the survey highlighted natural disaster risk, localised impacts and importance of culture as the other major challenges. The top solutions to address the concerns in Asia Pacific are as follows:

• Effective Health education
• Sharing of research and scientific knowledge
• Effective international cooperation
• Ensuring a health relationship with nature
• Ensuring access to reliable and accurate information

 The top challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa, Arab states, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean was also Climate change and biodiversity.

 

#WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX

India has ranked 142nd yet again out of 180 nations in the recently unveiled World Press Freedom Index.

 The index is published each year by the international journalism not-for-profit body, Reporters without Borders (RSF).

About the World Press Freedom Index:

 It has been published every year since 2002 by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders.
 Based in Paris, RSF is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).
 OIF is a 54 french speaking nations collective.
 The Index ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However it is not an indicator on the quality of journalism.
 The parameters include pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.

Global Scenario:

 Journalism, the main vaccine against disinformation, is completely or partly blocked in 73% of the 180 countries.
 Only 12 of the Index’s 180 countries (7%) can claim to offer a favourable environment for journalism.
 Covid-19 pandemic has been used to perfection by nations to control the spread of information. The Report has raised concern about the larger Asia-Pacific region as several nations in an attempt to curb freedom of press have in place draconian laws on ‘sedition,’ ‘state secrets’ and ‘national security’.
 Norway has topped yet again for the fifth year in the row, followed by Finland and Denmark.
 Eritrea is at the bottom meanwhile China is ranked 177, and is only above North Korea at 179 and Turkmenistan at 178.

India’s Performance Analysis:

 India was ranked 142 in the year 2020 as well, thus showing no improvement in the environment it provides to its journalists.
 India has fared poorly amongst its neighbours with Nepal at 106, Sri Lanka at 127 and Bhutan at 65. Pakistan is a close follower at 145th spot.
 India is among the countries classified “bad” for journalism and is termed as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their jobs properly.
 The report has blamed an environment of intimidation created by the nationalist government for any critical journalist often brandishing them as anti state or anti national.
 The situation is worrying in Kashmir, where incidents of harassment of reporters by police and paramilitaries have surfaced.
 Reasons Behind India’s Poor Performance:
 Journalists are exposed to every kind of attack, including police violence against reporters, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.
 The journalists have often been subjected to coordinated hate campaigns on social networks. Such campaigns are particularly violent when the targets are women.

Freedom of Press

 The Constitution, the supreme law of the land, guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.

 Freedom of press is not expressly protected by Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution, which states - "All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression".

 In 1950, the Supreme Court in RomeshThappar v. State of Madras observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.

 However, Freedom of press is also not absolute. It faces certain restrictions under Article 19(2), which are as follows-

 Matters related to interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.


#INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT 2021

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended for the second year in the row to put India on a list (‘Countries of Particular Concern’ or CPCs) for the worst violations of religious freedoms in 2020.

 Earlier, the US State Department, in its 2020 Human Rights Report, pointed out several Human Rights Issues in India.

About the USCIRF:

 USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan US federal government commission, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. It is an advisory body to the US Congress.
 USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report assesses religious freedom violations and progress during calendar year 2020 in 26 countries and makes independent recommendations for US policy. It is Headquartered at Washington DC.

About the Report:

 The Report’s primary focus is on two groups of countries:
 “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” is a designation by the US Secretary of State of a nation engaged in severe violations of religious freedom under IRFA (International Religious Freedom Act of 1998).
 A “Special Watch List” country is one that is deemed not to meet all of the CPC criteria but engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom.
 The Report also includes USCIRF’s recommendations of violent nonstate actors for designation by the US State Department as “entities of particular concern,” or EPCs, under IRFA.

Latest Recommendations of USCIRF:

 For the CPC List: Recommendations for the CPC list are Russia, Syria and Vietnam and India.

 Countries already on the CPCs list and recommended by USCIRF for re-designation are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

 For A Special Watch List: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey and Uzbekistan are recommended for a ‘Special Watch List’, along with Cuba and Nicaragua, both of which were already on the list for 2019.

 For EPCs: Recommends seven non-state actors for redesignation as “entities of particular concern” (EPCs)—al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Jamaat Nasr al-Islam walMuslimin (JNIM), and the Taliban.
India’s Case

 Areas of Concern Highlighted:Passage of the Religiously Discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA): CAA fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from South Asian countries meeting certain other criteria.
 Delhi Riots: The report mentions the attack that took place on religious minorities during Delhi riots by the religious majority population in February 2020.
 National Register of Citizens (NRC): The consequences of exclusion – as exemplified by a large detention camp being built in Assam – are potentially devastating.
 Anti-Conversion Laws: Despite India’s constitutional protections for religious freedom, approximately one-third of India’s 28 states limit or prohibit religious conversion to protect the dominant religion from perceived threats from religious minorities.
 Disinformation and Incitement of Violence: Government officials and nonstate actors continued to use social media and other forms of communication to harass and spread hatred and disinformation against minority communities, including Muslims, Christians, and Dalits.
 The fervor around cow slaughter continues to take root in policy, in December, the state of Karnataka revised an earlier bill to impose fines and imprisonment for the transport, sale, and purchase of cattle for slaughter.
 Religious Freedom in Jammu and Kashmir: In Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, restrictions on freedom of movement and assembly negatively impacted religious freedom, including the observance of religious holy days and the ability to attend prayers.
 The shutdown of the internet for nearly 18 months—the longest-ever shutdown in any democracy—and other restrictions on communications caused significant disruption and limited religious freedom.
 Closing Space for Civil Society: Government officials used the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other statutes to detain advocates, media, and academics, including religious minorities.
 In September 2020, the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) was amended to place further restrictions on NGOs, including reducing the amount of foreign funds that could be used for administrative expenses and requiring that accounts be held in a government-designated bank.

Recommendations of USCIRF:

 It has recommended the US administration to impose targeted sanctions on Indian individuals and entities for ‘severe violations of religious freedom’.
 Condemn ongoing religious freedom violations and support religious organizations and human rights groups being targeted for their advocacy of religious freedom.
 The US administration should promote inter-faith dialogue and the rights of all communities at bilateral and multilateral forums “such as the ministerial of the Quadrilateral (the Quad).
 The US Congress should raise issues in the US-India bilateral space, such as by hosting hearings, writing letters and constituting Congressional delegations.

Freedom of Religion in India

 Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India.

 Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion).

 Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs).

 Article 27 (Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion).

 Article 28 (Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions).

 Further, Article 29 and 30 of the Constitutiondeal with the protection of interest of minorities.


#RELIANCE JIO & BYJU’S IN 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL FIRMS

• Two Indian firms, Reliance's Jio Platforms and e-learning startup Byju's have been featured in Time Magazine's 2021 list of 100 most influential companies.

• The Time magazine mentioned on its website that the companies shaping the future are at the heart of the first-ever TIME 100 Most Influential Companies.

Key Highlights

• The magazine had solicited nominations from across sectors including entertainment, healthcare, education, transportation, technology. The companies were then evaluated based on key factors including:

-Impact
-Innovation
-Relevance
-Ambition
-Leadership

• The result was a diverse array of 100 institutions, from the tech startup engineering companies that are coming with smart ways to recycle to cryptocurrency firm to the pharma titans creating the vaccines of tomorrow.

• Time Magazine listed Jio Platforms under the Innovators category alongside Netflix, TikTok, Zoom, Adidas, Ikea and Moderna. BYJU’S earned a place in the esteemed list for expanding e-learning across India, said the magazine.

About Reliance Jio

• Reliance Jio platform has built India’s largest 4G network by charging some of the lowest data rates in the world, less than Rs 5 a month for 1 GB.

• The platform has invited the highest number of FDI's in the past year when across the world FDI was low due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jio has over 410 million subscribers.

• Jio Platforms is also working with Facebook to develop a WhatsApp-based e-commerce platformand Google to rollout out low-cost 5G smartphones.

About BYJU’s

• Byju’s was founded as an educational technology company by Byju Raveendran and DivyaGokulnath in 2011. It has now become one of the world's most valuable education technology company. It saw a sharp rise in popularity in 2020 as the demand for e-learning rose in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Time Magazine said in a statement that Byju’s founder went on a spending spree, fuelled by funding from investors like Tencent and BlackRock as users of his company’s signature app nearly doubled to 80 million during the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The company has been credited for creating a foothold in markets outside India including in the UK, the US, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil.

• Its explosive growth has turned it into one of India’s most lucrative startups and has increased the company’s expected value to $15 billion, up from $5.5 billion in July 2019.

Note: The 'TIME100 Most Influential Companies' is a new list and an expansion of the TIME100 franchise. The list will be officially presented on April 30, 2021 at a virtual event that will feature some of the world's renowned CEOs and artists such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, Actor-performer Usher and Founder of Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon.