Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 December 2021

::NATIONAL::

Background:

India is the 3rd largest dam-owning nation in the world after China and USA.
Currently in the absence of a central law, the safety regulations vary from state to state.
Water is under the state list, the Centre has brought the legislation under Article 246 of the Constitution related to inter-state rivers and river valleys.

Key features of the Bill:

The bill provides for adequate surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of all the large dams in the country so as to prevent dam failure related disasters.
The dam owners are required to provide resources for timely repair and maintenance of the dam structure.
It addresses dam safety on account of emerging climate change related challenges.
It also provides for stringent penalties in case of violations.

Recently, Centre stated that the Paika rebellion cannot be called the first War of Independence.

About:

At present, the Indian Mutiny of 1857 is called the first war of Independence against British Rule.
Paika rebellion was an armed rebellion that took place in Odisha against the British East IndiaCompany.
Paikas were the traditional landed militia of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha.
Paikas owned rent-free land that had been given to them for their military service to Kingdom of Khurda.
The advent of the British and establishment of colonial rule brought new land revenue settlements,which led to the Paikas losing their estates.
They were mobilized in 1817 under Bakshi Jagabandhu.

The report is published by The World Inequality Lab.
The World Inequality Lab aims to promote research on global inequality dynamics.
Its missions are the intension of the World Inequality Database, the production of analysis on global inequality dynamics, and the dissemination in the public debate.

Key findings:

Top 10% of the global population owns 76% of total household wealth and captured 52% of total income in 2021.
Bottom 50% of the global population owns just 2% of wealth and 8% of income.
Women make just a third of global labour incomes, which has seen very limited change since 1990.
A very moderate wealth tax for global billionaires can generate 1.6% of global income.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 18th India-ASEAN Summit at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, the current Chair of ASEAN.

Key highlights:

Highlighting the milestone of 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN Partnership, the leaders announced the Year 2022 as India-ASEAN Friendship Year.
Building upon the synergies between the ASEAN Outlook for the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), PM and ASEAN leaders welcomed the adoption of the India-ASEAN Joint Statement on cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
On COVID-19, the Prime Minister highlighted that India has contributed medical supplies worth USD 200,000 to ASEAN’s humanitarian initiative for Myanmar and USD 1 million for ASEAN’s Covid-19 Response Fund.
Prime Minister Modi announced India’s support for establishing the ASEAN Cultural Heritage List.
The discussions also covered regional and international issues of common interest and concern, including South China Sea and terrorism.
Both sides noted the importance of promoting a rules-based order in the region including through upholding adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS.
The leaders affirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, safety and security in the South China Sea, and ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight.

Neo-banks are online-only financial technology (fintech) companies that operate solely digitallyor via mobile app. Ex. Razorpay X, EpiFi etc.
They have disrupted the traditional banking system by leveraging technology and artificialintelligence (Al).
As a related concept, Challenger banks also leverage technology to streamline the bankingprocess.
However, they also maintain a brick and mortar physical presence.
They are different from traditional banks in the sense that their presence is much smaller.

Minister of State for Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is working on a project of FRT-based Biometric Boarding System as part of the first phase of Digi Yatra Implementation at four airports.
While the facial recognition technology (FRT) has not yet been introduced at any of the airports in India, the Minister said the AAI is working on a project of FRT-based Biometric Boarding System as part of the first phase of Digi Yatra Implementation at four airports, including Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata, and Vijayawada.

Facial recognition technology:

Facial recognition is a type of image identification technology.
These technologies rely on many of the processes and techniques associated with artificial intelligence (AI).
In particular, applications tend to use machine learning to classify subjects at speed and scale.