FATF may evaluate India's mechanism to deal with financial crimes

New Delhi, April 11

The FATF, the global body against money laundering and terror-financing, is likely to carry out an evaluation of India’s established mechanism to deal with such financial crimes later this year.

The mutual evaluation of country-specific anti-money laundering and terror-financing mechanism by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a routine ongoing process and is being conducted on all member- countries of the global body on a rotational basis.

The routine process of evaluation of India’s established mechanism against financial crimes by the FATF is likely to be carried out later this year, a government official privy to the matter said. The Centre has written to Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to nominate an IGP-rank officer each while Gujarat has been asked to nominate a DIG-rank officer to prepare the ground work for the proposed evaluation.

The officers nominated by the states will be required to undergo training, participate in interviews, aid the FATF during on-site visits and demonstrate the effectiveness of India’s fight against terror. Officers from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will also be part of the Indian team. PTI

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BJP candidate tests Covid positive

Kolkata: BJP candidate for the Matigara- Naxalbari Assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district Anandamay Barman has tested positive for Covid-19. Barman (38) has gone into home isolation.

“He will take another test on Monday and if he tests negative, then only will be allowed to campaign,” an official at the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office here said. The Matigara-Naxalbari constituency goes to the polls in the fifth phase on April 17. PTI

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No supply, 900 vax sites in Odisha shut

Bhubaneswar, April 11

On Sunday when ‘Tika Utsav’, a special inoculation drive against coronavirus was launched across the country, at least 900 session sites in Odisha remained shut owing to shortage of vaccines, triggering a blame game between the ruling BJD and the BJP.

Director of Family Welfare Bijay Panigrahi said, while vaccination was underway in only 579 out of over 1,400 centres in the state, the inoculation programme may have to be stopped at several places on Monday, if fresh vaccine stock did not arrive.

While state Labour Minister Sushant Singh accused the Centre of discriminating against Odisha in the distribution of the vaccines, BJP MLA Mukesh Mahaling said, eastern India, including the coastal state, was on the priority list of the Union Government.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, during a video-conference with the PM on April 8 had sought at least 10 days stock of vaccines for the smooth conduct of the vaccination drive. PTI

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Sharad Pawar to undergo gall bladder surgery

Mumbai, April 11

NCP chief Sharad Pawar was on Sunday admitted to a hospital here for the gall bladder surgery scheduled for Monday, party leader Nawab Malik said. “Sharad Pawar was advised to rest for seven days after he underwent a medical procedure (last month). It was then decided that the surgery for the removal of his gall bladder will be performed after 15 days. Accordingly, Pawar was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital on Sunday,” he said.

Pawar, 80, had undergone an emergency endoscopy for the removal of a stone from his bile duct at the hospital on March 30. PTI

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Naravane: Enhance budget for UN peacekeepers

BLURB: On B’desh visit, delivers keynote address at ‘Army Chiefs Conclave’

Dhaka, April 11

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane on Sunday urged the United Nations to enhance the budget for its peacekeeping missions and emphasised the need to provide appropriate logistics and improved technological support for the blue helmet missions in view of the emerging challenges.

Gen Naravane, who is here on a five-day official tour, delivered a keynote address on “Changing Nature of Global Conflicts: Role of UN Peacekeepers” during the “Army Chiefs Conclave” hosted by his Bangladeshi counterpart General Aziz Ahmed.

Gen Naravane laid emphasis on enhanced budget for UN peacekeeping activities, Bangladesh defence ministry’s Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) directorate quoted him as saying at the conclave. Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was the chief guest at the event.

The Bangladesh Army hosted the conclave coinciding with the celebrations of the birth centenary of the ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of its independence.

The Indian Army chief interacted with senior officers of the participating nations and military observers from the other nations. PTI

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ANCHOR

Over 2,000 years on, Sanskrit remains popular in China

Beijing, April 11

Sanskrit studies are flourishing in China, over 2,000 years after the ancient Indian language was brought to this country along with Buddhism, making a profound impact on Chinese monarchs and scholars over the centuries.

Wang Bangwei, a well-known Chinese scholar in Sanskrit and Director of Sino-Indian Buddhist Studies, Institute of Oriental and Indian Studies, Peking University, said Sanskrit, which was the root of Indian culture, continued to remain popular in China, contrary to its modest progress in modern India.

He said Peking University was one of the oldest in China and this year marked the completion of 100 years of Sanskrit teaching at the leading varsity. Wang credited 4th Century AD Indian scholar Kumarajiva for spreading Sanskrit in China.

Kumarajiva was instrumental in translating Buddhist sutras into Chinese language during his stay in China over 2,000 years ago, earning the royal title of “National Teacher of China”. He was the first among numerous scholars who laid a firm foundation for civilisational links between the two countries.

Kumarajiva, hailing from a Kashmiri Brahmin family from the then Kucha Kingdom, spent about 23 years in China in the 4th century AD, both as a prisoner and as a revered scholar.

“Sanskrit, its associated culture and its development was kept alive by numerous Chinese scholars, like Fa Xian and Xuan Zang and others, who visited India,” Wang said, launching Sanskrit learning application “Little Guru” of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, (ICCR) at the Indian Embassy here on Friday, along with Indian Ambassador Vikram Misri.

YE. Shaoyong, Associate Prof of Sanskrit, Peking University, said Sanskrit studies in China were booming. His department now had 10 scholars specialising in the language while 200 others studied it as a subject the subject for their graduate programme. PTI