FinCEN and FIU-IND

Why in News

Recently, over 2100 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

• The FinCEN files identify at least USD 2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions.

Key Points

• FinCEN:
  
  • It was set up in 1990.
  • It serves as the leading global regulator in the battle against money laundering.
  • It collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
• Suspicious Activity Report:
  
  • SAR is a document filed by banks and financial institutions to report suspicious activity to the USA FinCEN.
  • These are meant to red flag, within 30 days of the transaction’s occurrence: criminal funds or any form of dirty money; insider trading; potential money laundering; terror financing; any transaction that raises suspicion.
  • These are used to detect crime but cannot be used as direct evidence to prove legal cases.
    
    • There are details of banking transactions that give a clear indication of round-tripping, money laundering or dealings with shell-like entities.
  • FinCEN shares SARs with law-enforcement authorities including FBI, US Immigration and Customs.
• Significance:
  
  • The FinCEN Files highlight the dangers correspondent banking pose.
    
    • The term correspondent bank refers to a financial institution that provides services to another one—usually in another country.
    • It acts as an intermediary or agent, facilitating wire transfers, conducting business transactions, accepting deposits, and gathering documents on behalf of another bank.
  • For India:
    
    • Individuals and companies being probed by Indian agencies in different cases are part of the SAR flagged to FinCEN.
    • Like, transactions of Indian entities named in scams such as the 2G scam, the Agusta-westland scandal, etc. cases have all been listed with the FinCEN.

Note:

• Round tripping refers to money that leaves the country through various channels and makes its way back into the country often as foreign investment. This mostly involves black money and is allegedly often used for stock price manipulation.
• Money laundering is concealing or disguising the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources. It is frequently a component of other, much more serious, crimes such as drug trafficking, robbery or extortion.
• Shell companies are typically corporate entities which do not have any active business operations or significant assets in their possession. The government views them with suspicion as some of them could be used for money laundering, tax evasion and other illegal activities.

Indian Scenario

• The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) performs the same functions as FinCEN in the USA.
  
  • Under the Finance Ministry, this was set up in 2004 as the nodal agency for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
• The agency is authorised to obtain:
  
  • Cash transaction reports (CTRs)
  • Suspicious transaction reports (STRs)
  • Cross border wire transfer reports
• These reports are obtained from private and public sector banks every month.
• This happens under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
• Mandatory: It is mandatory for banks in India to furnish a monthly CTR to the FIU on:
  • All transactions over Rs. 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency or a series of integrally connected transactions that add up to more than Rs. 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency.
• Process: The STRs and CTRs are analysed by FIU.
  
  • Suspicious or doubtful transactions are shared with agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Tax Authority for the purpose of launching probes to check possible instances of money laundering, tax evasion and terror financing.
• FIU’s 2017-2018 annual report reveals that it had received a record number of 14 lakh STRs following demonetization which was three times the number of STRs filed in the previous year.

Way Forward

• SAR has in many cases of Indian entities and individuals, mentioned their financial history of alleged irregularities.
• The clear message for agencies in India is that their cases of financial fraud and corruption are being flagged by the FinCEN.
• There is a need to have regular information exchange between financial regulators to track and nullify the efforts for money laundering.

Source: IE

Labour Reforms

Why in News

Recently, the recent versions of three labour codes namely Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, Code on Social Security Bill, 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020 have been introduced in Lok Sabha.

Key Points

• Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020:
  
  • It has raised the threshold for the requirement of a standing order to over 300 workers which implies that industrial establishments with up to 300 workers will not be required to furnish a standing order.
    
    • Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 makes it obligatory for employers of an industrial establishment where 100 or more workers are employed to clearly define the conditions of employment and rules of conduct for workmen, by way of standing orders/services rules and to make them known to the workmen employed.
    • The new provision for standing order will be applicable for every industrial establishment wherein 300 or more than 300 workers are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months.
    • It was earlier suggested by the Standing Committee on Labour which also suggested that the threshold be increased accordingly in the Code itself and the words ‘as may be notified by the Appropriate Government’ be removed because reform of labour laws through the executive route is undesirable and should be avoided to the extent possible.
    • After becoming a law, orders will not be dependent on whims and fancies of executives of state governments.
    • Without the need of a standing order in increased industrial establishments due to the raised threshold, the process of hiring and firing workers will be more flexible and faster for employers which would result in increased employment.
  • It also introduces new conditions for carrying out a legal strike. The time period for arbitration proceedings has been included in the conditions for workers before going on a legal strike as against only the time for conciliation at present.
    
    • No person employed in any industrial establishment shall go on strike without a 60-day notice and during the pendency of proceedings before a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal and sixty days after the conclusion of such proceedings.
    • At present, a person employed in a public utility service cannot go on strike unless they give notice for a strike within six weeks before going on strike or within fourteen days of giving such notice, which the IR Code now proposes to apply for all the industrial establishments.
  • It has also proposed to set up a re-skilling fund for training of retrenched workers with contribution from the employer, of an amount equal to 15 days last drawn by the worker.
  • Concerns:
    
    • It will water down the labour rights for workers in small establishments having less than 300 workers and would enable companies to introduce arbitrary service conditions for workers.
    • It will give tremendous amounts of flexibility to the employers in terms of hiring and firing, dismissal for alleged misconduct and retrenchment for economic reasons will be completely possible for all the industrial establishments employing less than 300 workers which is complete demolition of employment security.
    • The new conditions for carrying out a legal strike elongate the legally permissible time frame before the workers can go on a legal strike, making a legal strike near impossible.
    • It has expanded to cover all industrial establishments for the required notice period and other conditions for a legal strike even though the Standing Committee on Labour had recommended against it beyond the public utility services like water, electricity, natural gas, telephone and other essential services, as is the case at present.
    • The mention of ‘other sources’ for funding the re-skilling fund is vague. The reskilling fund is arbitrarily framed as the Code has no idea from where the funds for the same will come apart from employers’ contributions.
    • These ambiguities are left to the rule-making processes and the bureaucrats and, further, there are unclarities over who will reskill the workers and how adequate the funding will be.
• Social Security Code Bill, 2020:
  
  • It proposes a National Social Security Board which shall recommend to the central government for formulating suitable schemes for different sections of unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers.
  • Also, aggregators employing gig workers will have to contribute 1-2% of their annual turnover for social security, with the total contribution not exceeding 5% of the amount payable by the aggregator to gig and platform workers.
• Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020:
  
  • It has defined inter-state migrant workers as the worker who has come on their own from one state and obtained employment in another state, earning up to Rs. 18,000 a month.
  • The proposed definition makes a distinction from the present definition of only contractual employment.
  • It has dropped the earlier provision for temporary accommodation for workers near the worksites and has proposed a journey allowance, a lump sum amount of fare to be paid by the employer for to and fro journey of the worker to their native place from the place of their employment.

Source: IE

Ethical Code for Electronic Media

Why in News

Recently, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to include its ethical code in the Programme Code of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.

• The ethical code is against airing malicious, biased and regressive content.
• NBA represents the collective voice of the news and current affairs broadcasters in India. It is an organisation funded entirely by its members.

Key Points

• Background:
  
  • A plea was made to stop the telecast of a programme 'Bindas Bol' on Sudarshan TV containing objectionable content against the Muslim entries into the civil services.
  • The SC held that the content was prima facie “plainly hurtful” to the community and asked the NBA to suggest measures to strengthen the self-regulatory mechanism to prevent or penalise airing of communal or derogatory content in the electronic media.
• Suggestions by NBA:
  
  • All news channels, whether they are NBA members or not, will have to follow the Programme Code containing the proposed amendments.
  • The News Broadcasters Services Authority (NBSA) should be granted recognition as an independent self-regulatory mechanism to receive and deal with complaints which would strengthen News Broadcasting Standards Regulations of NBSA.
    
    • NBSA is an independent body set up by the NBA. Its task is to consider and adjudicate upon complaints about broadcasts.
  • Submission to the NBSA regulatory mechanism should be made mandatory for granting/renewal of uplinking/downlinking permissions by the government.
  • The orders passed by the NBSA should be made binding and enforceable on the channels and the penalties should be made stringent.
• Challenges:
  
  • Indian laws present several complications when an attempt is made to distinguish permissible speech from hate speech.
    
    • There is no international legal definition of hate speech, and the characterisation of what is ‘hateful’ is controversial and disputed.
    • Generally, hate speech refers to utterances that incite violence, hatred, or discrimination against people on the basis of their collective identity, be it race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexuality.
    • It attacks two key tenets of a democratic republic: the guarantee of equal dignity to all and the public good of inclusiveness.
    • It is the speech which has reached a level of incitement and is beyond advocacy.
  • Section 153A and Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalise, respectively, speech that seeks to promote enmity between different groups and speech/acts that outrage/s religious feelings.
    
    • Both of these are vaguely worded and are frequently invoked to suppress speech.
    • They militate against the permissible grounds for limiting free speech enumerated in Article 19(2) of the Constitution, and, in particular, the restrictions allowed on considerations of public order and morality.
  • Just like the substantive hate speech provisions in the IPC, the Programme Code is also much too vague and is also not applied uniformly.
• Solutions:
  
  • There is a need to infuse clarity in legislation by identifying the distinction between merely offensive speech and hate speech, and by making clearer still those categories of exceptional cases where the Constitution permits prior restraint.
    
    • Speech that merely causes offence and is no more than disparaging or unpleasant, should continue to remain shielded.
    • However, the speech that treats communities with disparate concern, by creating in them a sense of dread, a sense of exclusion from civic life, should go unprotected.
  • Limitation in cases involving the issue of speech should be restricted to those categories of minorities who are vulnerable and a merely offensive statement should not qualify as hate speech.
  • The SC should not be afraid of delineating the ambiguities and has to handle the exercise delicately. A working definition of hate speech will have to be discovered by interpreting laws in conjunction with the constitutional right to free speech.

Way Forward

• When it becomes evident that the basic objective of a broadcast is to evoke hatred and to vilify a vulnerable minority the law must find a way to foil the harm. A lot depends on how the Court strikes this balance because hate speech, once uttered, not only leaves little room for restitution but can also ramify to serve all manners of undemocratic ends.

Source: TH

No Confidence Resolution against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman

Why in News

Rajya Sabha members of 12 opposition parties moved a no-confidence resolution against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman over the passage of two controversial farm Bills by the voice vote.

Voice Vote

• It involves the speaker putting a question to the house and then asking the house to put forward its opinion in the forms of ayes (yes) or noes.
• Based on a rough measure of which side was louder, the speaker decides if the motion was passed or fell through.
• The advantage of a voice vote is that it is quick.
• The apparent disadvantage is that it is inaccurate, given that the speaker decides what the opinion of the house is based on which side is louder.

Key Points

• Resolution:
  
  • The Deputy Chairman has violated all the canons of law, procedure, parliamentary procedures, practices and fair play. The Deputy Chairman did not allow points of order to be raised and did not allow large numbers of members of Rajya Sabha, from diverse political parties, to even speak against farm bills.
  • This no confidence resolution is for the removal of the Deputy Chairman. It is not the same as the No Confidence Motion specified in Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and conduct of Lok Sabha, which can lead to the resignation of the Council of Ministers. Article 75 of the Constitution specifies that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of People.
  • Some Precedents: Earlier resolutions moved against the first Lok Sabha Speaker G V Mavalankar in 1951, Speaker Sardar Hukam Singh in 1966, and Speaker Balram Jakhar in 1987.
    
    • All of these resolutions were negated by the House.
• Options with the Government:
  
  • Suspension of Opposition MPs : In a counter move, the government is likely to seek the suspension of Opposition MPs who were involved in the unruly scenes witnessed in the House.
    
    • The government can invoke Rule 256, which deals with the suspension of a member.
    • The final decision of suspension rests with the Chairman.
  • Privilege Motion: The ruling party can also move a privilege motion against some of the Opposition MPs.
    
    • A privilege motion is invoked when there is a breach of parliamentary privileges by a member.

Relevant Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business

• Rule 256, Suspension of member: This is decided by the presiding officer of the house on the grounds like a member disregarding the authority of the Chair or abusing the rules of the Council.
• Rule 258 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha makes a provision to enable a member to raise a point of order. It provides as follows:
  
  • Any member may at any time submit a point of order for the decision of the Chairman.
  • The Chairman’s decision shall be final in this regard.
• Point of order:
  
  • A point of order is an objection to the pending matter or proceeding is in violation of a written and unwritten rule of the House.

• Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
  
  • The Deputy Chairman is elected by the Rajya Sabha itself from amongst its members. The post of the Deputy Chairman is not subordinate to the Chairman.
  • In the Role of the Chairman:
    
    • The Deputy Chairman performs the duties of the Chairman’s office when it is vacant or when the Vice-President acts as President or discharges the functions of the President.
    • He also acts as the Chairman when the Chairman is absent from the sitting of the House.
      
      • In both cases, he has all the powers of the Chairman.
  • Like the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, while presiding over the House, cannot vote in the first instance; he can only exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie.
  • Removal: According to the Article 90 of the Constitution, the Deputy Chairman vacates his office in any of the following three cases:
    
    • If he ceases to be a member of the Rajya Sabha;
    • If he resigns by writing to the Chairman; and
    • If he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha. Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.

Source IE

Role of Parliamentary Committees

Why in News

Recently, the Government passed two agriculture Bills in Rajya Sabha. However, the Opposition protested against the fact that neither Bill had been scrutinised by a Parliamentary Committee.

Key Points

• Parliamentary Committee:
  
  • Parliament scrutinises legislative proposals (Bills) in two ways:
    
    • The first way is by discussing it on the floor of the two Houses. This is a legislative requirement; all Bills have to be taken up for debate.
    • The second way is by referring a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.
  • A Parliamentary Committee means a committee that:
    
    • Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
    • Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman.
    • Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman.
    • Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha.
• Purpose of Parliamentary Committees:
  
  • Since Parliament meets only for 70 to 80 days in a year, there is not enough time to discuss every Bill in detail on the floor of the House. Plus debate in the house is mostly political and does not go into the technical details of a legislative proposal.
  • Therefore, it takes care of the legislative infirmity of debate on the floor of the House. However, referring Bills to parliamentary committees is not mandatory.
• Types of Parliamentary Committees:
  
  • India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.
  • However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
    
    • The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
      
      • Standing Committees can be classified into the following six categories:
        
        • Financial Committees
        • Departmental Standing Committees
        • Committees to Enquire
        • Committees to Scrutinise and Control
        • Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
        • House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
    • While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
      
      • They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.
• Procedure:
  
  • There are three broad paths by which a Bill can reach a Parliamentary Committee.
    
    • The minister introducing the Bill recommends to the House that his Bill be examined by a Select Committee (Committee of one House i.e either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) of the House or a Joint Committee of both Houses.
    • The presiding officer of the House can also send a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.
    • A Bill passed by one House can be sent by the other House to its Select Committee.
  • The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations. The Committee can also suggest its own version of the Bill.

Source: IE

International Day of Peace

Why in News

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21^st September.

• Theme for 2020 : Shaping Peace Together.

Key Points

• The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
• Background: The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.
  
  • In 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
• Other: The United Nations (UN) will celebrate its 75^th anniversary on 24^th October 2020.
• Challenges to Global Peace:
  
  • Global Unrests: Over 25 countries are facing deadly wars today. According to the World Population Review, 8 countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Turkey, Somalia, Iraq, Mexico and Libya suffered at least 1,000 deaths each (mainly civilians) through militarised attacks and battles in 2019.
  • Refugee Crisis: According to the UN Refugee Agency, 79.5 million were displaced at the end of 2019, due to armed conflicts, persecution and other reasons.
  • Role of Global Powers: The USA, Russia and China are required to uphold peace and international harmony being the permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, on the contrary, they have been found to fuel instability in order to achieve geopolitical hegemony. Examples:
    • The tragedy in Yemen, which the UN has declared as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, is the outcome of indiscriminate attacks by the U.S.-backed coalition of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose geopolitical goal is to counterbalance Iran.
    • Libya’s descent into chaos is the product of the active involvement of mercenaries and weapons pumped in by Russia and the USA-allied Gulf Arab monarchies to push back Turkey’s influence.
    • China’s hegemonic expansionism against its neighbours and its ‘new Cold War’ with the U.S. have significantly raised risks of military clashes in Asia.
  • Domestic Suppressions: Domestic surveillance and repression with the use of technology is being used by countries to suppress dissenting voices.
  • New Power Tussle: The conflict and competition between the powerful countries, like the USA-China New Cold War is also going on, risking global peace.
  • Pandemic Challenge: Covid-19 has posed a new concern that may directly and indirectly affect the global peace through lack of access to resources, health and education, displacement etc.

International Day of Non-Violence

• The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2^nd October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
• It was established by the UNGA in 2007 to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness".

Way Forward

• On the International Day of Peace, the unjust structure which privileges great powers and permits their ghastly machinations should be diagnosed and challenged. Intellectuals, social movements and responsible states should prioritise struggling for an equitable world order.

Source: TH

Universal Eligibility for World Bank Loan

Why in News

Recently, the World Bank has clarified that the USD 1 billion loan that it has provided to India in May 2020 to deal with Covid-19 comes with a condition of universal eligibility in procurements.

Key Points

• Clarification:
  
  • The World Bank would have the right to review the procurement documents, inspect all accounts, records and other files relating to the project. Compliance to these conditions has been made mandatory for the funding.
  • Following the clarification the Indian Government has also asked all its production units and other major establishments to remove preferential references in tenders and ensure that contractors explicitly agreed to comply with the relevant provisions of the World Bank’s guidelines.
• Impact:
  
  • This would mean that all preferential market access policies, shall not be applicable on purchases made while implementing the national project.
    
    • The preferential market access policies includes Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Policy, certain benefits to start-ups.
  • it will be a setback to the Make in India and Atmanirbhar initiative.
• Background:
  
  • The World Bank has announced a loan in May 2020 to prevent, detect and respond to the threat of coronavirus and strengthen national health systems.
  • It is pivoted towards migrants, unorganised workers, informal sector, and creating an integration of the existing infrastructure of safety nets like the Public distribution system, Jan Dhan, Aadhar & Mobile (JAM trinity).
  • This loan will be funded and operated in two phases:
    
    • First Phase: An immediate allocation of USD 750 million for fiscal year 2020.
      
      • It will be implemented countrywide through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to benefit vulnerable groups, particularly migrants and informal workers.
    • Second phase: A USD 250 million second tranche that will be made available for fiscal year 2021.
      
      • It would deepen the social protection package, whereby additional cash and in-kind benefits based on local needs will be extended through state governments and portable social protection delivery systems.

World Bank Group

• With 189 member countries, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership which consists of five development institutions.
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) provides loans, credits, and grants.
• International Development Association (IDA) provides low- or no-interest loans to low-income countries.
• The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides investment, advice, and asset management to companies and governments.
• The Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA) insures lenders and investors against political risk such as war.
• The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) settles investment-disputes between investors and countries.
  
  • India is not a member of ICSID.

Source: TH

Chendamangalam Saree: Kerala

Why in News

The Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) initiative is supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected weavers.

Key Points

• Kerala Kasavu Sarees: The term kasavu refers to the zari (gold thread) used in the border of the Kerala saree. The identity of the saree comes from the geographical cluster they are associated with.
• Geographical Clusters: The Indian government has identified three clusters in Kerala - Balaramapuram, Chendamangalam and Kuthampully - that have been given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• Chendamangalam Saree:
  
  • Features:
    
    • It is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs side by side with the sari’s selvedge.
    • It has extra-weft chuttikara and stripes and checks of varying width.
  • History:
    
    • It is widely believed that weaving in Chedamangalam was introduced by the Paliam family.
    • Called the Paliath Achans, the family was hereditary to the prime minister post to the Maharaja of Cochin, having been associated with Chendamangalam from the 16^th century onwards.
• Other GI Tagged Products from Kerala: Kasaragod Sarees, Pokkali Rice, Nilambur Teak, Wayanad Robusta Coffee, Tirur Betel Leaf, etc.

Geographical Indication

• GI is an indication used to identify goods having special characteristics originating from a definite geographical territory.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
  
  • The Act is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and TradeMarks- who is the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
  • The Geographical Indications Registry is located at Chennai.
• The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years. It can be renewed from time to time for a further period of 10 years each.
• It is also a part of the World Trade Organisation’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Source: TH

Kakatiya Dynasty

Why in News

A temple constructed by emperor Ganapati Deva, a mighty ruler of Kakatiya dynasty, in Dharanikota (Andhra Pradesh) has been converted into an abode of local goddess Balusulamma (Goddess Durga).

• The presiding deity at this 13^th-century temple was Kakati Devi, the tutelary deity of Kakatiya rulers.
• Due to ravages of time and for no upkeep, the presiding deity got damaged. The villagers of Dharanikota, who had no knowledge about the past of the temple, installed Balusulamma idol and started worshipping.

Key Points

• Kakatiyas is an Andhra dynasty that flourished in the 12^th century CE. The Kakatiya dynasty ruled from Warangal (Telangana) from CE 1083-1323.
• They were known for the construction of a network of tanks for irrigation and drinking water and thereby gave a big boost to the overall development of the region.
  
  • Telangana has launched a massive rejuvenation movement in the form of “Mission Kakatiya” which involves the restoration of irrigation tanks and lakes/minor irrigation sources built by the Kakatiya dynasty.
• There are hundreds of Hindu temples built under the patronage of Kakatiya kings like Ganapati Deva, Rudrama Devi and Prataparudra of Kakatiya dynasty. E.g.
  
  • Thousand Pillar Temple or Rudreshwara Swamy Temple, Telangana. It is a star-shaped, triple shrine (Trikutalayam) dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Surya.
  • Ramappa Temple, Warangal, Telangana.
• Golconda Fort in Hyderabad (Telangana) was also constructed by the Kakatiya rulers.
  
  • Later, it became the capital of the Qutb Shahi kings, who ruled from CE 1518-1687.

Source: TH