Broadcast Time for Election Campaign
Election
Commission of India (ECI) has increased the broadcast time allottedto
recognised political parties on Doordarshan and All India Radio to aid
campaigning for elections to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2020.
Highlights:
•
The base time of 90 minutes will be given to each national party and recognised
state party of Bihar uniformly on the regional kendras of Doordarshan network
and All India Radio network in Bihar. No party will be given more than 30
minutes in a single broadcast session. Any additional time beyond the basic 90
minutes will be given to a party based on its electoral performance in the last
Assembly election in 2015.
•
The period of broadcast will be between the last date of filing nominations and
two days before the date of polling in Bihar.
•
Prasar Bharati is India's largest public broadcasting agency. It is a statutory
autonomous body set up by the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990 and comprises the
Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, which were earlier media
units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
•
The parties will be required to submit transcripts and recordings in advance.
•
In addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will
organise a maximum of four panel discussions and/or debates on the
Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/ All India Radio.
•
Each eligible party can nominate one representative to such a programme. This
can act as an experimental step to reduce the expenditure on physical
campaigning.
Graded Response Action Plan.
India's
Apex Court-appointed pollution monitoring body has directed Delhi and neighbouring
States to implement air pollution control measures under “very poor” and
“severe” category air quality of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from
October 15, including a ban on the use of Diesel Generators, Except for
Emergency Activities.
GRAP:
•
GRAP is a plan that institutionalised measures to be taken when air quality
deteriorates.
•
It was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016, the plan was formulated after
several meetings that the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority
(EPCA) held with state government representatives and experts.
•
GRAP works only as an emergency measure. If air quality reaches the severe+
stage, GRAP talks about shutting down schools and implementing the odd-even
road-space rationing scheme.
• GRAP was notified in 2017 by the Centre and draws its authority from this notification.
Before the imposition of any measures, EPCA holds a meeting with representatives from all NCR states, and a call is taken on which actions has to be made applicable in which Town.
Implementation under different Air
Quality Index (AQI):
•
Severe+ or Emergency (PM 2.5 over 300 μg/cubic metre or PM10 over 500 μg/cu. m.
for 48+ hours)
✓ Stop entry of trucks
into Delhi (except essential commodities)
✓ Stop construction work
✓ Introduce odd/even
scheme for private vehicles and minimise exemptions
✓ Task Force to decide
any additional steps including shutting of schools
•
Severe (PM 2.5 over 250 μg/cu. m. or PM10 over 430 μg/cu. m.)
✓ Close brick kilns, hot
mix plants, stone crushers
✓ Maximise power
generation from natural gas to reduce generation from coal
✓ Encourage public
transport, with differential rates
✓ More frequent
mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water
•
Very Poor (PM2.5 121-250 μg/cu. m. or PM10 351-430 μg/cu. m.)
✓ Stop use of diesel
generator sets
✓ Enhance parking fee by
3-4 times
✓ Increase bus and Metro
services
✓ Apartment owners to
discourage burning fires in winter by providing electric heaters during winter
•
Moderate to poor (PM2.5 61-120 μg/cu. m. or PM10 101-350 μg/cu. m.)
✓ Heavy fines for
Garbage Burning
✓ Close/enforce
pollution control regulations in brick kilns and industries
✓ Mechanised sweeping on
roads with heavy traffic and water sprinkling
✓ Strictly enforce ban
on Firecrackers.
Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS)
Recently,
the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) is used for large value
transactions, will be made available round-the-clock from Dec.2020.
•
It enables real-time transfer of funds to a beneficiary’s account and is
primarily meant for large-value transactions.
•
Real time means the processing of instructions at the time they are received
and gross settlement implies that settlement of funds transfer instructions
occurs individually.
•
RTGS is available for customers from 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on all working days
of a week, except second and fourth Saturdays of every month.
•
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to make available the RTGS system
round the clock on all days from December 2020 in order to facilitate swift and
seamless payments in real-time for domestic businesses and institutions.
•
The National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system was made available on a
24x7x365 basis. From July 2019, RBI stopped levying charges on transactions
through NEFT and RTGS, with an aim to promote Digital Transactions in the
Country.
•
This will help in global integration of Indian financial markets and will
facilitate India’s efforts to develop international financial centres.
•
With this, India will be one of the very few countries globally with a 24x7x365
large value real time Payment System.
•
It is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers while NEFT is
generally used for fund transfers of up to Rs. 2 lakh.
The
minimum amount to be remitted through RTGS is Rs. 2,00,000 with no upper or
maximum ceiling.
•
There is no limit imposed by RBI for funds transfer through NEFT system.
However, banks may place amount limits based on their own risk perception with
the approval of its board. It is an electronic fund transfer system in which
the transactions received up to a particular time are processed in batches.
•
In RTGS, the transactions are processed continuously on a transaction by
transaction basis throughout the RTGS Business Hours.
World Food Programme.
The
2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the UN agency World Food Programme
(WFP). It was given for its efforts to combat hunger, contribution to bettering
conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and acting as a driving force
to prevent the use of hunger as a Weapon of war and Conflict.
World Food Programme:
•
World Food Programme was established in 1961.
•
It is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
•
WFP is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed jointly by the UN
Secretary-General and the Director- General of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations.
•
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency combating hunger.
•
In 2019, it assisted 97 million people – the largest number since 2012 – in 88
countries. It delivered about 4.4 million tonnes of food, purchased $1.7
billion worth of food from 91 countries, and $762 million worth of Goods and
Services from 156 Countries.
What is WFP’s Role in India?
•
The WFP has been working in India since 1963.
•
Apart from focusing on reforms in the Targeted Public Distribution System, it
provides policy inputs, advocacy and technical assistance for improving access
to food.
•
The WFP has proposed some unique initiatives like Automatic Grain Dispensing
Machine (Annapurti) and Mobile Storage Units for the effective implementation
of TPDS.
•
Annapurti allows beneficiaries to withdraw their food grain quota accurately
and at a time of their choice.
•
It can dispense two commodities at a speed of 25 kg per 1.3 minutes. It has a
storage capacity of 200 kg to 500 kg.
Indigenously developed Rudram-1 was test fired.
Recently,
the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully
flight tested indigenously developed Anti-Radiation Missile (Rudram-1).
About Anti-Radiation Missiles:
•
These are designed to detect, track and neutralise the adversary’s radar,
communication assets and other radio frequency sources, which are generally
part of their air defence systems.
•
A computerised mechanism that uses changes in the object’s own position —
coupled with GPS, which is satellite-based.
•
'Passive homing head' for Guidance: A system that can detect, classify and
engage targets (radio frequency sources in this case) over a wide band of
frequencies as programmed.
About Rudram-1:
•
It is an air-to-surface missile, designed and developed by the DRDO. The DRDO
conducted a successful test of the New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile
(NGRAM) also called the Rudram-1 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore
(Odisha).
•
It is the first indigenous anti-radiation missile of the country. Once the
missile locks on the target, it is capable of striking accurately even if the
radiation source switches off in between.
•
It is integrated with SU-30 MkI aircraft, has a capability of varying ranges
based on the launch conditions.
•
It can be adapted for launch from other fighter jets too. It can be launched
from altitudes of 500 m to 15 km and speeds of 0.6 to 2 mach.
•
It has been developed for the Indian Air Force - IAF’s requirement to enhance
its
Suppression
of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) capability.
•
In modern-day warfare is more and more network-centric, which means it
comprises elaborate detection, surveillance and communication systems that are
integrated with the weapons systems.
• This is yet another test of indigenously developed weapons systems in addition to the recent tests of Shaurya missile or Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which is an unmanned scramjet vehicle, or the test of flight test of a Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) system.
Focus
on mains:
Diffie-Hellman key exchange.
In
recent weeks, television news channels have shared leaked WhatsApp chats of
film actors in their coverage of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s passing away.
This has led to questions about whether communication over platforms such as
WhatsApp is secure or not.
•
It prompted Facebook-owned WhatsApp to come out with a statement on its use of
end-to-end encryption to secure User Messages.
Does WhatsApp have Access to Chats?
•
WhatsApp has installed an end-to-end encryption system, which ensures only you
and the person you’re communicating with can read what’s sent, and nobody in
between, not even
WhatsApp
Governments across the world see end-to-end encryption as a huge issue when it
comes to law enforcement.
•
While WhatsApp says it responds to requests from law enforcement agencies
“based on applicable law and policy,” it is not clear what kind of data it
would have to share.
•
News reports have mentioned that these could be in the nature of metadata such
as mobile number, IP address, location, and so on.
How is WhatsApp Designed to Ensure
such Secure Communication?
•
WhatsApp uses the encryption protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems, a
project known best for its Signal app, which also uses the same open-source
framework to ensure privacy.
What
is the Technology behind this?
•
The technology that forms the basis for this is called the ‘Diffie-Hellman key
exchange’.
Hellman
saw the futility of the old ways of sharing a key securely (say, by “sending
the key in advance over some secure channel such as private courier or
registered mail”) in the emerging digital world.
•
They proposed a way for secure communication via a method of a shared secret
key, and that too when the communication is over a not-so-secure channel.• One
way to understand the broad concept, used by many experts, is by way of
colours. In the world of imagination, a shared secret colour is the shared
secret key between two communicators, who we will call A and B. (There are many
versions of this example on the Internet.)
•
A and B need to communicate without anyone eavesdropping. They first agree on a
public colour (say, yellow). The two communicators then choose their own
private colour, which is not to be shared with anyone.
•
Say A chooses red and B, blue. They then individually mix their private colour
with the public colour and send the mixture to each other. Note that the
eavesdroppers can figureout the public colour and the mixtures. But there is
one more step. B’s mixture (some sort of green) at A’s end is added with A’s
private colour (red), and A’s mixture (some sort of orange) at B’s end is added
with B’s private colour (blue). They both arrive at the same secret colour
after the final step. There is now a shared secret colour key.
•
The message that also needs to be understood is that while it is easy to add
colours, it is difficult to figure out the original colours that contributed to
a mixture. In the math world, that is called a one-way function. Imagine the
difficulty in figuring out a key from complex mathematical computations. The
Diffie-Hellman paper said: “A third party eavesdropping on this exchange must
find it computationally infeasible to compute the key from the information
overheard.”
Can’t those who have Access to the
Server read Messages?
•
End-to-end encryption removes this vulnerability. WhatsApp also says it does
not store Messages on its Servers once they are Delivered.
•
Once the server received a message intended for another user, it would decrypt
and again encrypt it before sending it securely to the receiver. But this meant
that there was a chance of security being Compromised at the Level of the
Server.
Can
Leaks Still Happen?
•
End-to-end encryption cannot prevent leaks from happening if a third party has
access to a device which contains these Messages.
•
Encryption also does not help in cases wherein the sender or the receiver of a
message shares it with others, a member of a group shares it with others, or
messages are stored in a different format on a different application or
platform open to others.
Are there Other Vulnerabilities?
•
Bugs that lead others to control a user’s phone are an example of such
vulnerabilities. For instance, last year, WhatsApp revealed that surveillance
technology developed by Israel’s
NSO
Group had been used to spy on about 1,400 people across the world, including
civil rights Activists and Journalists in India.
India, Japan Finalise Text of Pact for AI, 5G.
India
and Japan recently welcomed the finalisation of the text of a cyber security
agreement that will promote cooperation in key areas such as 5G network and
Artificial Intelligence.
About the News:
•
The announcement on the agreement followed the 13th India-Japan Foreign
Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue between External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and
his Japanese counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu in Tokyo.
•
It, however, did not clarify what role each country would play under this
agreement.
•
The announcement is expected to draw the attention of the stakeholders in the
Indian 5G sector as it gets ready to open up for international operators and
especially since there is lack of clarity on possible participation of Chinese
technology majors in the 5G arena.
•
Mr. Jaishankar also met his Australian counterpart Marise Payne. This was the
second meeting between him and his Japanese and Australian counterparts a day
after they participated in the “Quad” ministerial dialogue along with U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
What is Quad Grouping?
•
The quadrilateral security dialogue includes Japan, India, United States and
Australia.
•
All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and
common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.
•
The idea was first mooted by Japanese Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007.
However,
the idea couldn’t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it.
Significance of the Grouping:
•
Quad is an opportunity for like-minded countries to share notes and collaborate
on projects of mutual interest.
•
Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific. Each is involved in
development and economic projects as well as in promoting maritime domain
awareness and maritime security.
•
It is one of the many avenues for interaction among India, Australia, Japan and
the US and should not be seen in an Exclusive Context.
•
There is a general understanding that the Quad would not take on a military
dimension against any country. The strategic community in China, nevertheless,
had branded it an emerging “Asian NATO”.
•
Notably, Japanese Former PM Shinzo Abe’s “Confluence of Two Seas” address to
the Indian Parliament gave a fresh impetus to the Quad concept. This recognised
the Economic rise of India.
Issues Related to Quad:
•
Undefined Vision: Despite the potential for cooperation, the Quad remains a mechanism
without a defined Strategic Mission.
•
Maritime Dominated: The entire focus on the Indo-Pacific makes the Quad a
maritime, rather than a land-based grouping, raising questions whether the
cooperation extends to the Asia-Pacific and Eurasian Regions.
•
India’s Aversion of Alliance System: The fact that India is the only member
that is averse to a treaty alliance system has slowed down the progress of
building a stronger Quadrilateral Engagement.
Way Forward:
•
Need for Clear Vision: The Quad nations need to better explain the Indo-Pacific
Vision in an overarching framework with the objective of advancing everyone’s
economic and security interests.
•
This will reassure the littoral States that the Quad will be a factor for
regional benefit, and a far cry from Chinese allegations that it is some sort
of a military alliance.
•
The forthcoming Ministerial meetings can be an opportunity to define the idea
and chart a Future Path.
• Expanding Quad: India has many other partners in the Indo-Pacific; therefore India should pitch for countries like Indonesia, Singapore to be invited to join in the future.
•
Need for a Maritime Doctrine: India should develop a comprehensive vision on
the Indo-Pacific which would ideate on the current and future maritime
challenges, consolidate its military and non-military tools, and engage its
strategic partners.
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