(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 06 April 2022

::NATIONAL::

Facial recognition System (FRS) is part of the Digi Yatra initiative of the government for providing passengers seamless and hassle-free experience at airports.

About:

It is to be implemented in a phased manner. The first phase is planned at Kolkata, Varanasi, Pune, Vijayawada, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad Airports by March 2023. Preliminary testing of the Digi Yatra Biometric boarding system with registration for the ‘Day of Travel’ at these airports has been completed.
The requirement of security is dynamic in nature. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in the country, in consultation with other concerned agencies and stakeholders, reviews the security arrangements at airports from time to time and upgrade the same as per requirement.

Facial recognition System:

FRS is a way of identifying or confirming an individual's identity using their face. It can be used to identify people in photos, videos, or in real-time.
Computer algorithms map unique facial-landmarks such as shape of cheekbones, contours of lips etc. and convert these into a numerical code— termed a faceprint.
For verification or identification, system compares faceprint generated with a large existing database of faceprints.

Application:

Automated processing at checkpoints like Entry Point, Security check etc.
Would facilitate crime investigation and provide information for easier and faster analysis.
Identification of criminals, missing children/persons, unidentified dead bodies etc.

Surat has become the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road built as part of a joint-venture project by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Union Ministry of Steel.

About:

The six-lane public road is a kilometre-long stretch in Hazira industries, which also houses the AM/NS plant.
The construction began around a year ago by converting mounds of steel waste into steel slag aggregate. The sixth and final lane of the road, with a three-lane to-and-fro carriageway on either side, was completed in early March. The road is now being used by heavy-duty vehicles of multinationals located in the industrial estate on the outskirts of Surat.
According to CRRI principal scientist Satish Pandey, the construction cost of the processed steel slag road is 30 per cent cheaper than roads built from natural aggregates.
The slag is generated from a steel furnace burning at around 1,500-1,600 degree centigrade in the form of molten flux material as an impurity.

The molten material is poured into the slag pits for cooling as per the customized procedure and further processed to develop stable steel slag aggregates.

Average annual global greenhouse gas emissions hit their highest levels in human history in the last decade (2010-19), said UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its report.

About:

Though the rate of emission growth had slowed in the last decade, limiting warming to around 1.5 degree C requires global GHG emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43% by 2030.
The IPCC's latest report warns if global greenhouse gas emissions don't peak by 2025 and reduce by 43% in the subsequent five years, the world will have to face warming of around 3 degree C by 2100.
The findings of the report, prepared by 278 authors from 65 countries including India, are also a clear reflection of inadequate efforts on the ground to cut emissions.
Giving an insight into how world can limit warming to 1.5 degree C, it emphasised on going for deep emission cuts by shunning coal use and phasing out fossil fuel infrastructure.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
It was created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Key highlights:

The Fifth WHO air quality database – the largest of its kind – covers over 6000 cities/human settlements, mostly cities, in 117 countries, and indicates where air pollution levels and the related health risks are higher.
2022 update shows that almost the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits.
The new air quality database introduces, for the first time, ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a common urban pollutant and precursor of particulate matter and ozone.
It also includes measurements of particulate matter with diameters equal or smaller than 10 pm (PM10) or 2.5 pm (PM2.5).
The database is updated regularly every 2-3 years since 2011.

Parliament passed a bill to revamp the functioning of the institutes of chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries.

About:

The bill amends the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.
It changes the disciplinary mechanism under the three Acts and specifies timelines for disciplinary proceedings. It also provides more external representation on the Board of Discipline and Disciplinary Committee.
The Bill creates a Coordination Committee headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Committee will have representation from the three Institutes formed under the Acts.

Satellite internet operators are turning to Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS), a type of fixed service satellites (FSS) that offer significantly higher data bandwidth over the previous generation FSS satellites provided by Telcos.

Key highlights:

Bandwidth refers to maximum amount of data transmitted over an internet connection in a given amount of time.
FSS are used in television broadcasting and telephone communication, and depend on dish-style antennas.
FSS are typically deployed at a geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO) of 35,786km above Earth's surface.