UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024
Kartavya Desk Staff
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024 covers important current affairs of the day, their backward linkages, their relevance for Prelims exam and MCQs on main articles
InstaLinks : Insta Links help you think beyond the current affairs issue and help you think multidimensionally to develop depth in your understanding of these issues. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background.
Table of Contents
GS Paper 2: (UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024)
• UN member states have adopted the Convention Against Cybercrime
UN member states have adopted the Convention Against Cybercrime
Content for Mains Enrichment (CME):
• Nagaland’s DRTPS Initiative
Nagaland’s DRTPS Initiative
• Grain ATM
Grain ATM
Facts for Prelims (FFP)
• Overnight index swap (OIS) market
Overnight index swap (OIS) market
• Nitrogen-use efficiency in Indian rice varieties
Nitrogen-use efficiency in Indian rice varieties
• Perseid meteor shower
Perseid meteor shower
• Dysbiosis
Dysbiosis
• Neelakurinji
Neelakurinji
• Megaquake advisory
Megaquake advisory
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024
#### GS Paper 2:
UN member states have adopted the Convention Against Cybercrime
Syllabus: Internal Security: Cybercrime
Source: UN News
Context: The UN member states have adopted the Convention Against Cybercrime after nearly three years of negotiations.
What is Cybercrime?
Cybercrime refers to criminal activities conducted via the Internet or involving computer systems. It includes:
• Hacking: Unauthorized access to computer systems or networks.
• Phishing: Fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information by pretending to be a trustworthy entity.
• Online Fraud: Scams or deceitful schemes to steal money or personal information.
• Malware: Software designed to harm or exploit computers and networks.
• Cyberstalking: Harassment or stalking conducted online.
Cybercrimes fall under State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
What is the Convention Against Cybercrime?
It is a treaty adopted by the United Nations to create a global legal framework for combating cybercrime. It aims to address various cybercrimes, including online fraud, scams, harassment, child sexual abuse imagery, and money laundering, by establishing common standards for investigation and prosecution across member states.
Key Points:
• Objective: To provide a unified approach to prevent and combat cybercrime internationally, ensuring cooperation among countries in investigating and prosecuting such crimes.
• Adoption: The convention was adopted by all UN member states after extensive negotiations. It reflects a global consensus on the need for a robust response to cybercrime.
• Ratification: The treaty will enter into force once ratified by at least 40 UN member states.
Key Provisions:
• Domestic Legislation: Requires states to criminalize unauthorized access to information and communications systems.
• Child Protection: Mandates that states criminalize the production, distribution, and sale of online child sexual content.
• Human Rights: Ensures that treaty implementation aligns with international human rights obligations.
• Data Collection: Allows states to collect or record data for convictions and compel service providers to provide incriminating information.
Key issues with the UN Cybercrime Treaty:
• Human Rights Concerns: Criticized for potentially enabling authoritarian regimes to suppress dissent and violate freedoms.
• Surveillance Risks: Lacks oversight on data access and sharing, raising global surveillance concerns.
• Implementation Challenges: Poor drafting may endanger security researchers and journalists, and allow secretive IT interventions.
• Lack of Oversight: No measures for judicial oversight or proper handling of electronic evidence.
India’s Position on the Convention:
• Data Transfer Clause: India opposed a clause promoting bilateral or multilateral data transfer arrangements, prioritizing data sovereignty. India supports transferring personal data with prior written authorization and safeguards.
• India supports transferring personal data with prior written authorization and safeguards.
• Points of Contact: India supports designating 24/7 points of contact for cybercrime investigations and cooperation.
Budapest Convention:
The Budapest Convention, established by the Council of Europe in 2001 and effective in 2004, is the only binding international treaty on cybercrime. It facilitates cross-border cybercrime investigations and serves as a model for national cybercrime laws and international cooperation. It also includes a protocol on xenophobia and racism online. While it highlights the limitations of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) for digital issues, India has chosen not to join the convention despite ongoing calls for its participation.
Countermeasures taken by India against cyber threats.
• For Critical information infrastructure (CII)- Creation of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre, the national nodal agency in respect of CII protection. It was envisaged to act as a 24×7 centre to battle cyber security threats in strategic areas such as air control, nuclear and space.
• Establishment of Defence Information Assurance and Research Agency for cyber security issues of the tri-services and Defence Ministry.
• For the Financial sector – CERT-Fin will work closely with all financial-sector regulators and stakeholders on issues of cyber security.
• Establishment of cyber security infrastructure
• CERT-in – The main function of CERT-In is to provide early security warning and effective incident response. It is also a national agency to collects, analyzes and disseminates information on cyber incidents and takes emergency measures for handling cyber-attacks.
• IT Act 2000 – This act provides a legal framework against cybercrimes related to “electronic commerce”.
• National Cyber Security Policy 2013 has been framed to create a secure cyber ecosystem, ensure compliance with global security systems and strengthen the regulatory framework.
Others
• I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center) was set up in 2016 to look into every kind of cybercrime.
• The Indian Common Criteria Certification Scheme (IC3S)is to evaluate and certify IT Security Products and Protection Profiles.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.
• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative was launched to spread awareness about cybercrime and build capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
Global Effort: Bletchley Declaration:
The Bletchley Declaration, named after the historic code-breaking site, signifies a global commitment to addressing AI’s ethical and security challenges, particularly generative AI. Signed at the AI Safety Summit (in 2023), it highlights the increasing global recognition of AI risks and involves major world powers like China, the EU, India, and the US.
Insta Links:
• Cybersecurity Challenges in India
Mains Link:
Keeping in view India’s internal security, analyse the impact of cross-border cyber-attacks. Also, discuss defensive measures against these sophisticated attacks. (UPSC 2021)
Prelims Link:
With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (UPSC 2020)
• Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
• Create meaningful short stories and songs
• Disease diagnosis
• Text-to-Speech Conversion
• Wireless transmission of electrical energy
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only (b) 1, 3 and 4 only (c) 2, 4 and 5 only (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Ans: B
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024 Content for Mains Enrichment (CME):
Nagaland’s DRTPS Initiative
Source: TOI
Context: Nagaland became the first state in India to adopt a Disaster Risk Transfer Parametric Insurance Solution (DRTPS) by signing an MoU with SBI General Insurance.
The insurance aims to protect critical infrastructure and reduce economic losses from extreme weather events over a three-year period (2024-2027).
Parametric insurance provides a predefined payout when specific events, like natural disasters, occur, ensuring quick financial support and enhancing the state’s resilience.
The significance of this initiative lies in its ability to enhance Nagaland’s financial resilience and safeguard livelihoods against the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Providing quick payouts after disasters helps ensure rapid recovery and reduces economic losses, setting a precedent for disaster risk management in India.
Grain ATM
Source: WFP
Context: The WFP and the Government of Odisha launched India’s first 24/7 ‘Grain ATM,’ called ‘Annapurti,’ in Bhubaneswar.
This initiative allows Public Distribution System beneficiaries to access food grains anytime under the National Food Security Act. The machine, which can dispense up to 50 kilograms of grain in five minutes after biometric authentication, reduces waiting times by 70% and can be powered by solar panels. This partnership aims to enhance food security across Odisha, providing consistent access to essential grains for all beneficiaries.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024 Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Overnight index swap (OIS) market
- •Source: BS*
Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reviewing the investment limit for foreign investors in the Overnight Index Swap (OIS) market.
• The OIS market allows investors to hedge against interest rate fluctuations, and its activity has increased since Indian bonds were included in JPMorgan’s emerging market debt index.
This shift is expected to enhance liquidity, improve price discovery, and reduce transaction costs in this segment.
Nitrogen-use efficiency in Indian rice varieties
- •Source: TH*
Context: A study has identified significant variations in nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) among popular Indian rice varieties.
• This finding could lead to the development of new rice varieties that require less nitrogen while maintaining high yields, potentially reducing costs associated with imported fertilizers and decreasing nitrogen-related pollution.
• Nitrogen-use efficiency refers to the crop yield relative to the amount of nitrogen (both natural and artificial) available to it.
• The study found that some rice varieties are five times more efficient in nitrogen use than others, although higher NUE doesn’t always correlate with the highest yields, which farmers typically prefer.
The researchers emphasize the need to shift focus from merely increasing crop yields, as done during the Green Revolution, to improving NUE to reduce fertilizer waste and environmental pollution.
Perseid meteor shower
- •Source: TH*
Context: The Perseid meteor shower, which began in July and will continue until late August.
• The shower, visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere, occurs when the Earth passes through debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
• The comet, which orbits the Sun every 133 years, poses no threat to Earth, as its debris mostly burns up in the atmosphere.
During the peak, over 60 meteors per hour may be visible, though local weather conditions could affect visibility.
The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle that are usually visible from mid-July to late August.
Dysbiosis
- •Source: TH*
Context: The overuse and misuse of antibiotics pose significant dangers, particularly to the microbiome, the complex community of microorganisms in the human body.
• While antibiotics are vital for treating infections, they also indiscriminately kill beneficial bacteria, leading to a disruption known as dysbiosis.
• Dysbiosis can have severe and long-lasting effects on health, contributing to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, weakened immune function, and metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes.
• It also affects various “gut-organ axes,” impacting the brain, liver, skin, and respiratory systems.
Misuse of these “miracle” drugs can turn them into poisons, disrupting the delicate balance of the microbiome and leading to a range of health problems.
Neelakurinji
- •Source: TH* Context: Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), a flowering shrub native to the Western Ghats, has been officially listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
• Known for its once-in-12-years mass blooming that attracts significant tourist attention, the species was only recently assessed by the IUCN.
• The shrub is endemic to high-altitude grasslands in southwest India, with blooming cycles that create striking purple-blue landscapes.
• Habitat loss due to tea and softwood plantations, urbanization, invasive species, and climate change have contributed to its vulnerability.
The assessment highlights that approximately 40% of Neelakurinji’s habitat has been lost, with the remaining areas under threat from various factors.
Megaquake advisory
- •Source: IE*
Context: Japan issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake recently.
• The advisory warns of a higher likelihood of strong shaking and large tsunamis along the Nankai Trough, a subduction zone where tectonic plates collide, potentially leading to a megaquake (magnitude 8+).
• While the advisory indicates an increased risk, it does not predict a specific earthquake.
• The Nankai Trough has historically produced large quakes every 100-150 years, and the next major quake has a 70% chance of occurring within 30 years.
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 13 August 2024 [PDF]
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