1.World Gold Council (WGC)
Syllabus: GS2/ International Organisation
Context
- The World Gold Council (WGC) has raised its projection for India’s gold consumption in 2024 to 850 tonnes from 750 tonnes.
World Gold Council (WGC)
- WGC is an international trade association for the gold industry formed in 1987 by some of the world’s most forward-thinking mining companies.
- Governance: The World Gold Council is governed by the Board of Directors, composed of member company representatives (Chairperson or Chief Executive Officer) and the World Gold Council’s Chief Executive Officer.
- Members: The World Gold Council’s 32 Members.
- It is headquartered in London and has offices in India, China, Singapore, the UAE and the United States.
2.Payment Passkey Service
Syllabus: GS3/Economy
Context
- Recently, Mastercard chose India for the global launch of Payment Passkey Service, recognising its tech-savvy population and vibrant e-commerce landscape.
About the Passkeys
- These replace traditional passwords by leveraging biometric authentication methods—such as facial recognition, fingerprints, or swipe patterns—across all your devices.
- It combines the phone’s biometrics (like fingerprint or face unlock) with robust encryption.
- In October 2023, Google declared passkeys as its default login method worldwide.
- The state of Michigan implemented passkeys on its website, resulting in 1,300 fewer calls related to password resets in just one month.
How Do Passkeys Work?
- Key Creation: When one signs into an account, its device generates a pair of keys—one shared with the website and one private on your device.
- This dynamic duo ensures secure access without the hassle of passwords.
Why Passkeys?
- Password Fatigue: Multiple passwords, each requiring a unique combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Data Breaches: In 2023 alone, 353 million Americans were impacted by breaches. In the first half of 2024, over a billion people had their data stolen.
3.Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd
Syllabus: GS3/Economy
Context
- Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been granted the Navratna status by the Ministry of Finance.
About
- India’s central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) are classified into three major categories – Miniratna, Navratna and Maharatna CPSEs.
- The main aim of assigning the “ratna” statuses was to give operational freedom and decision-making power to the state-run entities.
Classification
- Miniratna Status: CPSEs are put in two sub-categories under the Miniratna status – Miniratna-I and Miniratna – II.
- Category-I status: CPSEs which reported profits in three consecutive years, have a pre-tax profit of ₹30 crore or more in at least one of the three years, and have a positive net worth are classified as a Miniratna-I PSU.
- Category-II status: PSUs with a profit for the last three successive years and have a positive net worth are classified as Miniratna-II companies.
- Navratna status: PSUs that have a Miniratna-I status and have obtained an “Excellent” or “Very Good” MoU rating in three out of the last five years and have a composite score of 60 or more in six selected performance indicators are eligible.
- Maharatna status: A PSU is eligible for being granted a “Maharatna” status, in case it meets the following criteria:
- Should have a “Navratna” status
- Should be listed on the Indian stock exchanges
- Should be compliant with minimum shareholding norms
- Average annual turnover of more than ₹25,000 crore and average annual net worth of over ₹15,000 crore in the last three years
- Average annual net profit of over ₹5,000 crore in the last three years along with significant global presence.
- BHEL, BPCL, Coal India, GAIL, HPCL, Indian Oil, NTPC, ONGC are some of the Maharatna PSUs.
4.Samudra Pratap
Syllabus: GS3/ Defence
Context
- The indigenously built pollution control vessel of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Samudra Pratap, was launched in Goa.
About
- The Ship has been built by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
- The vessel will help to check the oil spillage in the country’s sea coast. It contains specialized equipment for the containment, recovery, separation, and dispersal of pollutants.
- Samudra Pratap can recover oil at a rate of 300 tonnes per hour and has a storage capacity for 300 tonnes or 1,000 tonnes in inflatable barges.
| Indian Coast Guard (ICG)– ICG is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone.– Established in 1977 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India.– Parent Agency: Ministry of Defence– Headquarters: New Delhi– Head: Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG) Missions of Indian Coast Guard– Safety and protection of artificial islands, offshore terminals and other installations.– Protection and assistance to fishermen and mariners at sea.– Preservation and protection of marine ecology and environment including pollution control.– Assistance to the Department of Customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations. |
5.Project NAMAN
Syllabus :GS 3/Defense
In News
- Indian Army launched the first phase of Project NAMAN
About Project NAMAN
- Project NAMAN is designed to provide dedicated support and services to Defence Pensioners, Veterans, and their families.
- It centers around the SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha) digital pension system, aiming to streamline pension processes.
- Partnership and Implementation: The project involves a tripartite MoU between the Indian Army’s Directorate of Indian Army Veterans, Common Service Centre (CSC) e-Governance India Limited, and HDFC Bank Limited.
- Phase One Expansion: 14 CSCs established in key locations: New Delhi, Jalandhar, Leh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Bengdubi, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Secunderabad, Saugor, Guntur, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore.
- Plan to expand to approximately 200 centres nationwide in the next 2-3 years.
- Impact and Benefits: Project NAMAN enhances welfare for veterans and their families, provides commonly required e-Governance services, and creates entrepreneurial opportunities for Veterans and Next of Kin (NOK) , empowering them to contribute to their communities.
6. Vulture
Syllabus: GS3/ Environment
Context
- The World Wide Fund for Nature-India has launched Vulture Count 2024.
About
- It is a nationwide citizen-science initiative designed to monitor and conserve the country’s rapidly declining vulture populations
- The launch of the initiative coincides with International Vulture Awareness Day on September 7, 2024.
Vulture
- Vultures are one of the 22 species of large carrion-eating birds that live
mostly in the tropics and subtropics.
- India is home to nine species of Vulture namely the Oriental white-backed, Long-billed, Slender-billed, Himalayan, Red-headed, Egyptian, Bearded, Cinereous and the Eurasian Griffon.
Importance of Vultures
- They serve as nature’s clean-up crew by feeding on the infected carcass which kills the Pathogens and breaks the chain of infections.
- Vultures are critically important to the Parsi community as it leaves its dead bodies atop the Towers of Silence to be consumed by vultures.
Major Threats
- Use of toxic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Diclofenac, Lack of Nesting Trees, Electrocution by power lines, Food Dearth and Contaminated Food, Pesticide poisoning etc. threaten vultures across the country.
- According to BirdLife International, the vulture population declined from over 40,000 in 2003 to 18,645 in 2015.
- India has lost 99 percent of the population of the three species — Oriental White-Backed Vulture, Long-billed Vulture and Slender-billed Vulture.
Conservation Status
- Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Bearded, Long-billed, Slender-billed, Oriental white-backed.
- Rest are protected under ‘Schedule IV’.
- IUCN Red List;
- Critically Endangered: Oriental White-backed Vulture, Long-billed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture and Red-headed Vulture.
- Endangered: Egyptian Vulture.
- Least Concerned: Eurasian Griffon.
- Near Threatened: Himalayan, Bearded and Cinereous.
7. Metal-organic Frameworks
Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology
Context
- Researchers of Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), have developed electrochemical and optical biosensors based on nano polymers multifunctional Metal-organic framework (MOF) and 2-dimensional (2D) materials.
About
- The researchers have utilized MOFs, 2D nanomaterials (e.g., MoS2, MXenes) and their composites.
- Properties: Both MOFs and 2D classes of materials are known for their large surface area, functionality, and optoelectronic properties.
- They also have a wide range of synthesis methods and can be developed into disposable electrodes, optical kits, fiber optic sensors, colorimetric strips, etc.
- The application of MOFs, 2D materials and their composites allows greater sensitivity over many of the existing methods for the electrochemical and optical sensing of analytes.
- Application: Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and 2-dimensional (2D) materials, can be used for rapid and convenient detection of several health, food quality, and environmental parameters.
- They can pave the way for low-cost point of care devices for quick detection and screening of diseases such as anaemia, cancer and so on.
- Some of these sensors can be deployed as gas and heavy metal detection tools to monitor the environmental quality.