Statue of Unity enters 8 Wonders of SCO list
Context : The 182-meter tall Statue of Unity in Gujarat enters Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list. The announcement was made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced on 13 January. SCO aims to promote tourism among member nations.
Statue of Unity :
The Statue of Unity stands the tallest statue in the world. It is a monumental tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who is independent India’s first home minister and deputy prime minister. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Statue of Unity or Sardar Patel’s statue on the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary. He was fondly known as the Iron Man of India.
It stands in the mid of the Narmada River, on the islet of Sadhu Bet. Sardar Patel is credited for unifying all of the 562 princely states in pre-independence India to form what is today the Republic of India. The statue is made up of 1,900 tonnes of bronze, 1,850 tonnes of bronze cladding, 70,000 metric tonnes of cement and 24,500 metric tonnes of steel.
Centre eases CRZ rules for ‘Blue Flag’ beaches
Context : Centre eases CRZ rules for ‘Blue Flag’ beaches.
This is to help States construct infrastructure and enable them to receive ‘Blue Flag’ certification.
Need :
The Blue Flag certification requires beaches to create certain infrastructure — portable toilet blocks, grey water treatment plants, a solar power plant, seating facilities, CCTV surveillance and the like. However, India’s CRZ laws don’t allow the construction of such infrastructure on beaches and islands.
Blue flag programme :
The Blue Flag Programme for beaches and marinas is run by the international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation FEE (the Foundation for Environmental Education).
It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001, when South Africa joined.
Definition :
The ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an ‘eco-tourism model’ and marks out beaches as providing tourists and beachgoers clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities/amenities, a safe and healthy environment, and sustainable development of the area.
Key facts :
- Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and southeastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.
- Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.
Criteria:
There are nearly 33 criteria that must be met to qualify for a Blue Flag certification, such as the water meeting certain quality standards, having waste disposal facilities, being disabled- friendly, have first aid equipment, and no access to pets in the main areas of the beach. Some criteria are voluntary and some compulsory.
Beaches identified in India :
- 13 pilot beaches have been identified for the certification.
- These include Ghoghala Beach (Diu), Shivrajpur beach (Gujarat), Bhogave (Maharashtra), Padubidri and Kasarkod (Karnagaka), Kappad beach (Kerala) etc.
- Chandrabhaga beachof Odisha’s Konark coast was the first to complete the tag certification process will be the first in Asia to get the Blue Flag certification.
Sources: the Hindu.
Juice jacking
Context : SBI has publicly issued a warning of ‘Juice Jacking’ through its twitter handle.
The bank has advised its customers and general public to “think twice before plugging-in their phone at (pubic) charging stations, as hackers can maliciously infect their smartphone with a malware.”
What is Juice Jacking :
It is an attack carried out by hackers through a USB charging cable.
How it works :
When a user plugs in the charging cable in his mobile’s charging port, and connects it to any of the rigged charging stations installed at public spaces such as airports, train stations, hotels, cafes etc – it gives a back-door entry to hackers into the compromised device.
The charging port which is also used for data transfer over the USB, is pointed as the main cause of concern over here.
Threats :
Installing malware, cleaning user data, asking ransom in exchange for access to personal data on the phone, personal and financial account hijacking are just some of the many nefarious things that a hacker can do with this unrestricted access.
Steps to Mitigate the Risks
In order to guard your phone against Juice Jacking, take these precautionary measures:
- Avoid using public charging stations. These are soft targets for hackers as they are often kept unguarded and without any surveillance.
- Always use your own AC charging adapter and cable for charging the device. And be sure to plug it into the AC wall socket, and not the USB socket on the wall.
- Stay guarded against a stranger’s device and laptop. Do not connect with an unknown person’s laptop or PC for charging your electronic devices and vice-versa.
- For emergency situations, buy and carry a certified power bank with enough capacity to take care of your device’s emergency power backup needs.
- Try to use a cable that can be used only as a charging cable and not a data cable.
- Frequent travelers should use a USB blocker.
Sources: the Hindu.
Aviation Ministry announces to register drones by 31 January
Context : The Aviation Ministry announced a scheme that providing a window up to 31 January for voluntary registration of all drones and their operators. Those who fail to register will face action under the Indian Penal Code and the Aircraft Act.
Reason :
The move comes after the top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack. Also, the Ministry has noticed the presence of drones that do not comply with civil aviation requirements (CAR).
Scheme :
- Individuals who possess drones should complete the process of online registration by 31 January 2020.
- This will facilitate the identification of civil drones and drone operators
- It is a one-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of such drones and drone operators
- Co-chair of a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) committee on drones, Ankit Mehta reported that the number of illegal drones in India is likely to be between 50,000 and 60,000.
China operationalised the world’s largest radio telescope, FAST
Context : China operationalized the world’s largest radio telescope in southwest China’s Guiyang city, the capital of Guizhou province. The FAST telescope is was launched after three years of trial operation.
FAST telescope :
- The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) telescope is with a diameter of half-a-kilometer. It is dubbed as China Sky Eye.
- The device is expected to make major scientific discoveries.
- FAST is 2.5 times as sensitive as the second-largest telescope in the world.
- It is capable of receiving a maximum of 38 gigabytes (GB) of information per second.
- The receiving area of the telescope is around 30 football fields.
- The cost of the telescope is around the US $170 million.
- The telescope includes a 5 km radius as the core zone, 5 km to 10 km radius as the intermediate zone and a peripheral zone that covers 10 km to 30 km in radius.
Manual scavengers : Maharashtra, Gujarat lag behind in compensation for sewer deaths
Central Monitoring Committee reviews implementation of manual scavenging prohibition law
Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 :
- The act seeks to reinforce this ban by prohibiting manual scavenging in all forms and ensures the rehabilitation of manual scavengers to be identified through a mandatory survey.
- Prohibits the construction or maintenance of insanitary toilets.
- Prohibits the engagement or employment of anyone as a manual scavenger violations could result in a years’ imprisonment or a fine of INR 50,000 or both.
- Prohibits a person from being engaged or employed for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank.
- Offences under the Act are cognizable and non-bailable.
- Calls for a survey of manual scavengers in urban and rural areas within a time-bound framework.
National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) :
The National Commision for Safai Karamchari was established in the year 1993 as per the provisions of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993, for a period of three years i.e. up to 31st March, 1997.
- As per Section 1 (4) of the Act, it was to cease to exist after 31st March 1997, however, validity of the Act was extended up to March, 2002, and then up to February, 2004 vide Amendment Acts passed in 1997 and 2001 respectively.
- The Act ceased to have effect from March 2004. After that the tenure of the NCSK has been extended as a non-statutory body from time to time (total of eight times) The tenure of the present Commission is up to March 2022.
- The Commission is a Non-Statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.