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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 12 July 2019

::NATIONAL::

Centre says automated facial recognition system will not amount to violation of privacy

The Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) will not violate privacy of citizens and is only being developed to help the law enforcement agencies to identify criminals, missing children and unidentified bodies in a scientific and speedy manner, a senior government official said on Thursday.
The AFRS, being implemented by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), is a component of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), a national database of crimes and criminals. An official said the database would be accessible only to law enforcement agencies.
The NCRB last week invited bids for the AFRS that would even “capture face images from CCTV feed and generate alerts if a blacklist match is found”, triggering privacy concerns.
At present, there are 7.71 lakh cases of missing persons in the CCTNS database that includes 98,000 children, the official said.
“This software will be used only in respect of such persons who figure on the CCTNS data base — accused persons, prisoners, missing persons, unidentified dead persons – and is not going to be used on any other database,” the official said.
The AFRS will add another information layer to investigation by allowing matching photograph of suspect or missing person with the database of CCTNS. “This is already done manually,” the official said.

Centre brings in stiffer penalties under POCSO act

The Cabinet has approved a new definition for child pornography in its amendments to the POCSO Act, which is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week.
The new definition reads, “Any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child which include photographs, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child and an image created, adapted or modified but appear to depict a child.”
Neither Section 67 of the IT Act nor Section 293 of the Indian Penal Code define child pornography. Its definition derived from what constitutes pornography, which is defined as “any material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interests or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave or corrupt the minds of those who are likely to see, read and hear the same.”
According to the spokesperson of the Women and Child Development Ministry, the amended law will also apply to pornographic content where adults or young adults pretend to be children.
The Cabinet has also enhanced the fine for possessing child porn but not deleting or reporting it to Rs. 5,000 from the earlier proposal of Rs. 1,000. If a person stores such content for distributing it further, except for when presenting it in court as evidence, he could face a punishment of upto three years.

::ECONOMY::

Centre’s decision to raise gold duty might reduce demand by 2.4%

The government’s decision to increase duties on gold could result in 2.4% decline in the global demand for the precious metal in 2019, while the long-term demand in the Indian market could fall by around 1% every year if the duty becomes permanent, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).
While presenting the Budget on July 5, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman proposed increasing the customs duty on gold and other precious metals from 10% to 12.5%.
Incidentally, the All-India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council had sought a reduction in import duty on gold, in its pre-budget recommendations submitted to the Finance Ministry.
Meanwhile, WGC is of the view that broad structural economic reforms that are being implemented in both India and China are likely to support long-term demand for gold. The global body also expects central bank gold demand, led by emerging markets, to remain positive in the near future.
“For the rest of the year, we believe that consumer demand may be soft and speculative activity could amplify price movements but, overall, it is likely that investment demand will remain robust and central banks will continue their net purchasing trend,” added the report.
According to WGC, over the next 6-12 months, financial market uncertainty and accommodative monetary policy are likely to support gold investment demand.

Centre prepares road plan to reduce accident casualties in Highways

Road Transport and Highways Minister NitinGadkarihas said that the government has prepared a 14 thousand crore rupees project to identify accident black spots and plug gaps on National Highways to reduce casualties.
In reply to a question in the LokSabha today, Mr Gadkari said, the Finance Ministry has given its in- principle approval to the project.
He said, it is a highly sensitive subject for Central government and for the last five years, the government is trying its level best to reduce road accidents but the success ratio is not satisfactory.
He appreciated the work being undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government to reduce road accidents. He said, due to efforts of the Tamil Nadu government, there has been a 15 per cent drop in accidents in the state while for the rest of the country , the reduction is just 1.5 per cent .

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India – EU talks on migration and mobility held

The 5th India-EU High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility was held in New Delhi yesterday.
External Affairs Ministry said in a release said the discussion was held in a highly friendly and constructive spirit.
It encompassed a wide range of issues of mutual interest in the context of migration and mobility along the India-EU corridor.
Both sides reaffirmed that migration and mobility are important dimensions of the strategic partnership between India and EU and exchanged views on further initiatives and steps aimed at realizing the full potential of further strengthening cooperation in this area.

Japanese crypto currency exchange faces huge loss

A Japanese cryptocurrency exchange has reported a hack causing the loss of 3.5 billion yen, or $32 million, worth of virtual money.
Tokyo-based Remixpoint, which runs the BITPoint exchange as well as travel, used car and energy businesses, apologised on Friday, saying the losses were confirmed starting Thursday.
The reason for the losses, which include bitcoins as well as Ethereum, Ripple and other kinds of cryptocurrencies, is under investigation.
About two-thirds of the losses affected customers while the rest of the missing assets belonged to Remixpoint, the company said in a statement. All transactions have been halted.
Japan has been relatively open to cryptocurrencies, which use a technology called blockchain, despite some high-profile heists.
It has set up a licensing system to oversee their use. Bitcoin has been a legal form of payment in Japan since April 2017.Remixpoint said the lost money was in what is called the “hot wallet.” Money in the “cold wallet,” which has tighter security, was safe.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 reaches Ryugu asteroid

Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe made a “perfect” touchdown on Thursday on a distant asteroid, collecting samples from beneath the surface in an unprecedented mission that could shed light on the origins of the solar system.
Confirmation of the landing came only after Hayabusa2 lifted back up from the asteroid and resumed communications with the control room. Research director Takashi Kubota told reporters that the touchdown operation was “more than perfect.” And Mr.Tsuda, with a grin, said he rated it “1000 points out of 100.”
Thursday’s touchdown was intended to collect pristine materials from beneath the surface of the asteroid that could provide insights into what the solar system was like at its birth, some 4.6 billion years ago.
To get at those crucial materials, in April an “impactor” was fired from Hayabusa2 towards Ryugu in a risky process that created a crater on the asteroid’s surface and stirred up material that had not previously been exposed to the atmosphere.
Hayabusa2’s first touchdown was in February, when it landed briefly on Ryugu and fired a bullet into the surface to puff up dust for collection, before blasting back to its holding position.

::SPORTS::

Indian weightlifters win gold at commonwealth

In Weightlifting, Youth Olympics gold medallist Jeremy Lalrinnunga smashed three records in a power-packed performance but failed to register a clean and jerk lift on day three at the Commonwealth Championships in Apia, Samoa today.
In a remarkable performance, the 16-year-old Jeremy, competing in the 67 kg category, obliterated the Youth World, Asian and Commonwealth records in the snatch category with a lift of 136 kgs.
Other Indian lifters continued impressive show by winning four golds, two silvers and a bronze.AchintaSheuli lifted a total of 305 kgs to win the senior and junior men's 73kg gold.