UNCITRAL (UN Commission on International Trade Law)
Increasing debates on implementing harmonised laws to deal with cross-border insolvency
- Subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly established in 1966
- Mandate – To further the unification of the law of international trade.
- Membership – Composed of 60 member States elected by the General Assembly.
- Term – 6 years
- India is a founding member of this organization
Barak Bhupan Wildlife Sanctuary
National Green Tribunal stayed construction of road inside Barak Bhuban Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Location – Assam
- Spread between Barak and Sonai Rivers
- Named after 2nd largest river in Northeast, Barak.
- Barak Valley also houses Borail Wildlife Sanctuary.
UAPA 1967
Supreme Court ruled that 14-day timeline for granting sanction for prosecution under UAPA, 1967 is mandatory and not discretionary.
- Provides for more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations and for dealing with terrorist activities.
- Prosecution of individuals accused of terrorism requires prior sanction from government via 2 steps
- An independent authority must review evidence gathered by investigators and make a recommendation to government within 7 working days.
- Government then has an additional 7 working days to decide whether to grant or deny sanction based on authority’s recommendation.
Futures and Options
SEBI study highlighted that 93% of individual F&O traders have incurred losses between 2022-24.
- Derivative instruments deriving its value/price from an underlying asset.
- Futures – Standardized contracts obligating the buyer/seller to purchase/deliver an underlying asset at a predetermined price on a specified future date.
- Options – Provide holders’ the right (not obligation) to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price within a set timeframe. 2 types of options –
- Call Option – Gives right to buy to the holder
- Put Option – Gives the right to sell.
Mini Moon
According to a new study, the Earth’s gravitational field will temporarily capture a small asteroid named 2024 PT5 which will behave as a ‘mini moon’.
- Asteroids that fail to escape Earth’s gravity and end up orbiting the planet for some time.
- Usually very small and hard to detect
- Only 4 mini-moons of Earth have ever been discovered, and none are still orbiting Earth.
- These events are relatively frequent, with similar occurrences happening every few decades.