News in Shorts- 3rd July 2024

Coking Coal

• India’s Steel Ministry is looking to diversify its sourcing of coking coal, with Russia and Mongolia identified as key new markets 

Coking Coal:

• About: Coking coal, also known as metallurgical coal, is essential for producing high-quality coke.
• Role: This substance is a crucial fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process of primary steelmaking. 
• Characteristics: Coking coal is characterised by low ash, moisture, sulfur, and phosphorus content. 
  • It can be classified as a type of bituminous coal based on its chemical composition.
• Reason for Imports: India, the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, also leads as the largest importer of coking coal, a critical raw material for steel production. The domestic demand stands at 57 million tonnes (mt), with the majority fulfilled through imports.
• By products from coke production: Tar, benzole, ammonia sulphate, and sulphur.

Cyclone Freddy

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has stated that cyclone Freddy, which struck southeast Africa in early 2023, is the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded.

Cyclone Freddy:

• Origins: It started near the northern coast of Australia in 2022.
• Longevity: Cyclone Freddy made history by lasting as the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record, maintaining its strength for an unprecedented 36 days.
• Energy Accumulation:Freddy gathered an extraordinary amount of energy, akin to an entire North Atlantic hurricane season, fueled by warm sea surface temperatures in the southern Indian Ocean.
• Impacts: The cyclone caused extensive internal displacement, affecting around 1.4 million people across six African countries. 
  • Malawi recorded the highest displacement, impacting 659,000 people, and reported significant loss of life, with 12,000 deaths or missing individuals.

Nirman Portal 

• Recently, Union Minister for Coal and Mines,launched the “Noble Initiative for Rewarding Mains Aspirants of National Civil Services Examination” (NIRMAN) portal

NIRMAN Portal:

• Aim: To support meritorious youth from CIL’s operating districts who have qualified for the Preliminary round of the UPSC examination (Civil Services & Forest Service) in 2024.
• Eligibility: The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh) to eligible candidates.
  • To qualify, candidates must have an annual family income of less than 8 lakhs and belong to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, female, or third gender categories, and must be permanent residents of any of the 39 operational districts of CIL.
• Objective: The portal ensures full transparency and seamless screening of applications, fulfilling the dream of Digital India envisioned by Prime Minister 

eSankhyiki Portal

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has launched an e-Sankhyiki portal.

eSankhyiki Portal:

• About: It offers real-time information for planners, policymakers, researchers, and the general public.
• Objective: To establish a comprehensive system for managing and sharing official statistics, facilitating easier dissemination across the country.
• Feature: It is a user-centered data portal that enables the use and reuse of information, fostering impact through value addition and analysis by its users.
• Modules: It comprises two modules:
  • Data Catalogue Module: This module consolidates the Ministry’s major data assets in one accessible location.
    • Features: Users can search within datasets, including tables, and download data of interest to enhance its value and reusability.
    • Data Products: It encompasses seven data products: National Accounts Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, Annual Survey of Industries, Periodic Labour Force Survey, Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, and Multiple Indicator Survey.
    • Current Content: The Data Catalogue section already contains over 2,291 datasets, each accompanied by specific metadata and visualizations for user convenience.
  • Macro Indicators Module: This module provides time series data of essential macro indicators, equipped with filtering and visualization features for user-friendly access.
    • Users can customize datasets, create visualizations, and share them via APIs, enhancing data reusability.
    • The initial phase of the module includes four key MoSPI products: National Accounts Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, and Annual Survey of Industries, covering the past decade. The portal currently houses over 1.7 million records.

SCO Summit

• The 2024 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, being held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 3-4.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization:

• About: Established in 2001, it is an intergovernmental alliance founded by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The alliance focuses on political, economic, and security cooperation, with its first summit held in Shanghai, China.
• Aim: The SCO aims to enhance collaboration and solidarity across sectors including trade, investment, energy, transportation, and security.
• Objectives: The primary goals of the SCO are:
  • Enhancing relations among member states.
  • Fostering cooperation in political, economic, trade, scientific-technical, cultural, educational, energy, transportation, tourism, and environmental areas.
  • Safeguarding regional peace, security, and stability.
  • Promoting a democratic and equitable international political and economic order.
• Members: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan.
• Observers: Observers consist of Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia.
• Dialogue Partners:  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Global India AI Summit

• Union Minister for Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has recently inaugurated the Global India AI Summit 2024

Global IndiaAI Summit 2024:

• Objectives:
  • Foster Collaboration: The summit brings together global AI experts from diverse fields including science, industry, civil society, governments, international organizations, and academia.
  • iKnowledge Exchange: Facilitate the sharing of insights on critical AI issues and challenges.
  • Promote Ethical AI: Emphasize the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies.
  • India’s Role: India will host member countries and experts from the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) to advance safe, secure, and trustworthy AI practices.
  • IndiaAI Pillars and Focus Areas: The IndiaAI Mission aims to establish a robust AI ecosystem in India with a focus on seven key pillars:
  • IndiaAI Compute Capacity: Establishing a scalable AI computing ecosystem with over 10,000 GPUs through public-private partnerships. An AI marketplace will offer AI as a service and pre-trained models, serving as a central hub for essential AI resources.
  • IndiaAI Innovation Centre: Dedicated to developing and deploying indigenous large multimodal models (LMMs) and domain-specific foundational models, tailored to meet the diverse needs of India’s industries.
  • IndiaAI Datasets Platform: Streamlining access to high-quality non-personal datasets for AI innovation. A unified data platform will provide seamless access for Indian startups and researchers, facilitating the development of robust AI models.

Snowblind malware

• A newly discovered banking malware named ‘Snowblind’ is targeting Android users in an attempt to steal banking credentials.

Snowblind malware:

• About: It’s a new Android malware leveraging a built-in Android security feature to bypass anti-tamper measures and steal banking credentials.
• Method of Operation: This malware utilizes a built-in security feature to circumvent anti-tampering protections in apps that manage sensitive data. 
  • It repackages an app to evade detection of accessibility features, which can then be used to extract sensitive information such as login credentials and gain remote access to the app.
• Exploited Feature: It takes advantage of a feature known as ‘seccomp’, short for ‘secure computing’, which is integrated into the Linux kernel and the Android operating system.
  • This feature is designed to detect signs of tampering in applications.
• Process: The security firm found that Snowblind injects code that loads before seccomp initializes anti-tampering measures.
  • This allows the malware to circumvent security mechanisms and use accessibility services to remotely view the victim’s screen.
• Disabling: Snowblind can disable biometric and two-factor authentication, which are commonly used security features in banking apps to prevent unauthorized access. Similar to typical Android malware, Snowblind infects users who install apps from untrusted sources.

Araku Coffee

• Recently, the Prime Minister highlighted the distinctive flavor and significance of Araku Coffee from Andhra Pradesh during a recent episode of the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio program.

Araku Coffee:

• About: Araku Coffee is cultivated in the Araku Valley within the Alluri SitaRam Raju district of Andhra Pradesh, nestled in the Eastern Ghats. Known for its unique flavor profile, this coffee exhibits hints of chocolate, caramel, and a delicate fruity acidity.
• Cultivation: It is cultivated in a diverse agroforestry system, primarily employing organic farming methods. Grown by tribal farmers and cooperatives, Araku Coffee promotes sustainable livelihoods and community empowerment.
• Recognitions: Araku Coffee has garnered international accolades, such as winning “Best Robusta” at the Café de Colombia Competition. It was also awarded a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag in 2019, recognizing its distinctive qualities.
• Other Indian Coffees: Among other Indian coffees, those that have received GI Tags include Coorg Arabica, Wayanad Robusta, Chikmagalur Arabica, Bababudangiri Arabica from Karnataka, and Monsooned Malabar Robusta from Kerala.

JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE MAITREE

• The Indian Army contingent has departed to participate in the India-Thailand joint military Exercise MAITREE.

Exercise MAITREE:

• About: The 13th edition of the India-Thailand joint military Exercise MAITREE is scheduled to take place from 1st to 15th July 2024 at Fort Vachiraprakan in Tak Province, Thailand. 
  • The previous edition of this exercise was held in September 2019 at Umroi, Meghalaya.
• Representation: The Indian Army contingent, consisting of 76 personnel, primarily comprises a Battalion of the LADAKH SCOUTS, along with personnel from other arms and services.
• Objective: To strengthen military cooperation between India and Thailand, the Exercise aims to enhance joint capabilities in conducting Counter Insurgency/Terrorist Operations in both jungle and urban environments, in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.