Current Affairs 24th February 2019

Current Affairs 24th February 2019 - Important Points

• India suspended from Hosting Global Sporting Programmes by - IOC
• NCTA states that Cheetahs from Namibia to be kept at - Nauradehi Sanctuary
  Current Affairs 24th February 2019 - Details

India suspended from Hosting Global Sporting Programmes by - IOC

The International Olympic Committee- IOC has suspended all talks with India regarding hosting of global sporting programmes in the backdrop of disowning of visas to the 2 Pakistani Shooters. The Pakistani shooters were supposed to take part in the 25m rapid fire pistol programme in the ISSF World Cup.
Contents of the IOC statement
International Olympic Committee notes that the Indian government authorities have failed to approve
an entry visa for the Pakistani delegation to take part in the ISSF World Cup which was a qualification
competition for the Tokyo Olympic Games to be organised in 2020.
Keeping in view the interests of other 500 athletes from 61 nations participating in other programmes of ISSF World Cup, the International Olympic Committee has withdrawn the recognition of the 25m rapid fire pistol programme & not the whole World Cup.
Disowning of visa for Pakistani players is against the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter.
As a result, International Olympic Committee Executive Board has finalised to suspend all talks with
India regarding the potential requests for hosting future sports &Olympic-related programmes until clear written agreements are obtained from the Indian government to make sure the entry of all
participants in compliance with the rules of the Olympic Charter
The tensions due to Pulwama Terrorist Attack & the alleged role of Pakistan based groups behind and the attack has worsened the bilateral ties. This is having a spill-over effect on the arena of sports.
There are also demands for withdrawing the Indian team from the match against Pakistan in the
forthcoming Cricket World Cup event.

NCTA states that Cheetahs from Namibia to be kept at - Nauradehi Sanctuary

The  National Tiger Conservation Authority- NTCA  has informed in the Supreme Court that Spotted
Cheetahs being transferred from Namibia would be reserved at Nauradehi sanctuary in MP.
National Tiger Conservation Authority even stated that the International Union for Conservation of
Nature- IUCN has given NOC for the translocation & the decision to introduce again spotted cheetahs in India was supported by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
Cheetah Extinction from India
India’s last spotted cheetah had pass away in 1947. In 1952, the animal Cheetah was announced extinct
in the nation.
Cheetah Re-introduction Project

• The central government had formed an expert panel for reintroducing the cheetah in India. The panel suggested that the home of the fastest animal could be Kuno Palpur in MP, Velavadar National Park in Gujarat & Tal Chapar sanctuary in Rajasthan.
• National Tiger Conservation Authority, is a statutory body under Union Environment Ministry which had dedicated Rupees 50 crore to State for this project in the year 2011 and this Cheetah Re-introduction Project was conceived in the year 2012.
• Nonetheless, the activists knocked the door of the Supreme Court against the decision. Supreme Court agreed a panel to review the project and the panel directed against the reintroduction citing India does not have habitat & prey density to support cheetahs.
• The report even suspect government-run institutions of ‘incorrectly constricting’ information to get the endorsement of the supreme court to pursue the reintroduction of the Cheetah from Africa. As a result, the project had gone into dead storage.