Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 01 December 2022

::NATIONAL::

Carbon capture utilisation and storage policy framework

• Niti Aayog launches the carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) policy framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India.
• The report titled ‘Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India’ explores the importance of the technology as an emission reduction strategy to achieve deep decarbonization from the hard-to-abate sectors. 

About:

• Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), the technology for decarbonising carbon dioxide (CO2) from high polluting sectors such as steel, cement, oil, gas, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers, has a critical role to play for the country to cut about 750 mtpa of carbon capture by 2050.
• CCUS encompasses technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, followedby recycling the CO2 for utilization and determining safe and permanentstorage options. 

Need of CCUS

• India is the 3rd largest emitter of CO2 in the world.
• Help country to halve CO2 emissions by 2050 and to achieve net zero by2070.
• Convert captured CO2 to green urea, building materials etc., thus contributingto circular economy.
• Ensure sustainable development and growth in India, particularly forproduction of clean products and energy.

Policy recommendations:

• CCUS policy should be carbon credits or incentives based, to promote CCUSsector through tax and cash credits.
• Set up National Decarbonisation Fund for transition of Indian industry to alow carbon economy.

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In-camera proceedings

• Supreme Court has rejected a plea for in-camera hearing in a rape case.

About:

• In-camera proceedings are private, unlike open court proceedings.
• These are conducted as per court’s discretion in sensitive matters to ensure protection and privacy of parties involved.
• Proceedings are held through video conferencing or in closed chambers, and public and pressare excluded.
• These are conducted at family courts in cases of matrimonial disputes, including judicial separation, impotence etc.
• Also conducted during deposition of witnesses of terrorist activities as per court’s discretionto protect them and maintain national security.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

United Nations Development Programme 

• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping the people working in the waste segregation industry in India to move into formal economy, by helping them access government welfare programmes. 

About:

• As part of the initiative, it would distribute the ‘Jan Dhan’ account kits to waste segregation workers during her first visit to the country, on December 1.
• The opening of the ‘Jan Dhan’ accounts has been facilitated through the UNDP’s plastic waste management programme.
• The waste management promotes the collection, segregation, and recycling of all plastics to move towards a circular economy for the same.
• This is done at ’Swachhta Kendra’ or material recovery facilities.
• The plastic collected and processed so far has already crossed 1,38,000 metric tonnes.
• The programme also ensures the well-being and financial inclusion of the ‘SafaiSathis’ or waste-pickers, by linking them to the social protection schemes.
• According to the UN agency, a key objective of the programme is to help move the sector from informal to formal.
• This is done by linking them to social protection schemes like the ‘Jan Dhan’ accounts, Aadhar cards, ‘Ayushman Bharat’, pension schemes, and scholarships for children, among others.

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State of Global Water Resources 2021

• WMO has published its first State of Global Water Resources report in order to assess the effects of climate, environmental and societal change on the Earth’s water resources. 
• The aim of this annual stocktake is to support the monitoring and management of global freshwater resources in an era of growing demand and limited supplies.

Key findings of the report:

• With increased melting of glaciers, annual glacier run-offincreases at first, until a turning point, often called“peak water”, is reached, upon which run-off declines.
• 74% of all natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water related.
• 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per year. It is expected to reach 5 billion by 2050.
• Continued melting of glaciers shows a clear trend towards an acceleration of mass loss on multidecadal timescales.

Recommendations:

• Invest in filling the capacity gap in collecting data at the national level.
• Increase sharing of hydrological data at the international level.
• Development of end-to-end drought and flood early warning systems.
• Working together as a global hydrological community on developing annual State of Global Water Resources etc.

::Economy::

TRAI released recommendations on ‘Licensing Framework for Establishing and Operating

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on November 29, 2022, released recommendations on the ‘Licensing Framework for Establishing and Operating Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG).

About:

• SESG, also known as Gateway Hub, acts as a bridge betweenspace-based communication network and terrestrialcommunication network.
• It houses the equipment that convert Radio Frequency (RF) signalto an Internet Protocol (IP) signal for terrestrial connectivity.

Salient features of these recommendations are as follows:

• Separate Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG) License under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act. The SESG License will not form part of the Unified License (UL). The Service Area for the SESG License shall be at National Level.
• The SESG Licensee may establish, maintain, and work SESGs anywhere within the territory of India for all types of satellite systems for which the Government has given permission. 
• The SESG Licensee may provide satellite-based resources to any entity, which holds a license/ permission granted by DoT or the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIS) and is permitted to use satellite media for the provision of services under its license/ permission. 
• The SESG Licensee may establish SESGs in respect of one or more Government approved satellite systems
• The SESG license shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the effective date of the license with a provision of renewal for 10 years.

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::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

AIIMS server hack

• The servers of the AIIMS are hacked for the seventh day in a row after a ransomwareattack damaged hospitals’ online operation.

About:

• It is feared that data of 3-4 crore patients’ could have been compromised.
• FIR is initiated under Section 385 IPC for extortion and Section 66/66F of Information Technology (IT) Act for cyber terrorism.
• The hackers are suspected to be from China or North Korea.
• Ransomware is a type of malware (malicious software) which blocks access to the system or encrypts the data.

Ransomware cases in India

• According to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), India witnessed a 51% rise in ransomware incidents in first half of FY-2022.
• This was largely due to ransomwares like Djvu, Phobos, Hive etc.
• In terms of sectors, the IT industry was most affected, followed by manufacturing and finance.

Mechanism to deal such cyber-attacks:

• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)- for taking all measures to protect CII.
• CERT-In, for responding to computer security incidents.

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