5G services launched
Bringing a new era in technology, Prime Minister launched the 5G telecom services in India on 1 October 2022. The technology seeks to provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency and highly reliable communications systems. 5G services are also expected to play a major role to achieve the economic goal of making India a $5-trillion economy by 2024-25.
Ways that 5G could change our life
- For consumers, 5G promises higher data speeds over 4G. At its peak, internet speeds on 5G could touch 10 Gbps, compared to the 100 Mbps peak of 4G.
- 5G technology offers latency as low as 1ms. For the unversed, latency is the time taken by the device to send packets of data and get a response; Shorter the latency, quicker the response.
- 5G technology will provide seamless coverage in remote areas across the country. It will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.
- 5G will also usher in the ear of technology advances in the country such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and more. These technologies will have end-to-end affect on multiple sectors – healthcare, agriculture, education, disaster management and others.
- 5G will enhance the fan experience at live music festivals and sports events like football matches. The low latency offered by 5G will offer immersive experience to sports lovers.
- 5G will also enable new services and products powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The advanced abilities offered by 5G networks will also drive new business models.
- The arrival of 5G will also transform the transport and mobility sector. Using 5G, a network of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging stations can be established to help maximise the cost-effectiveness of the EV ecosystem.
- 5G technology will give a boost to the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The all-new 5G services will connect a variety of IoT (Internet of Things) sensors and devices to automate the scheduling of various processes.
Flashback
- In 2017, the government had set up a high-level forum of representatives from the industry, academia, government, and regulators to evaluate and approve the roadmap for rolling out 5G.
- It was to prevent the lack of homogeneity in telecom networks, witnessed in services up to 4G.
Over 6,000 trees illegally cut for tiger safari project in Corbett Reserve, says FSI report
The much awaited tiger safari project of the Uttarakhand government is under scanner after a Forest Survey of India (FSI) report stated that over 6,000 trees were illegally cut in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) against the permission for 163 for the Pakhru Tiger Safari.
- The Forest Survey Institute was also tasked to scan the area in and around the Pakhru Tiger Safari for illegal felling and to analyse any area within the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve, which was seen to be exhibiting forest cover change
Forest Survey of India (FSI) is a Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change organisation that conducts forest surveys, studies, and research to periodically monitor the changing situation of land and forest resources and present the data for national planning, conservation, and sustainable management. It was founded in in June 1981 and is headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• PISFR’s main goal was to determine the availability of raw materials for the establishment of wood-based industries in various parts of the country.
• The National Commission on Agriculture (NCA) recommended the establishment of a National Forest Survey Organization in 1976 in order to conduct a regular, periodic, and comprehensive forest resources survey of the country, which led to the establishment of the FSI.
• In 1986, the Government of India redefined the mandate of FSI following a critical review of its activities in order to make it more relevant to the country’s rapidly changing needs and aspirations.
OBJECTIVES
- Prepare a biennial State of Forest Report that includes an assessment of the country’s current forest cover and a tracking of changes.
- To inventory forest and non-forest areas, as well as to create a database on forest tree resources.
- Using aerial photographs, create thematic maps at a scale of 1:50,000.
- Assist in the collection, compilation, storage, and dissemination of spatial databases on forest resources as a nodal agency.
- To provide forestry personnel with training in the application of technologies such as resource survey, remote sensing, GIS, and other related technologies.
- Strengthening FSI’s research and development infrastructure, as well as conducting research on applied forest survey techniques
- Aid State/UT Forest Departments (SFD) with forest resource surveying, mapping, and inventorying.
- On a project basis, conduct forestry-related special studies/consultancies and tailor-made training courses for SFDs and other organizations.
MAJOR ACTIVITIES
1. Assessment of Forest Cover
2. Forest area inventory.
3. Tree Inventory Outside of Forests (Rural & Urban).
4. Processing inventory data
5. Methodology Development.
6. Extension and training
7. Consultations and projects
India abstains on UNSC resolution condemning Russia’s ‘referenda’
India was among four countries that abstained on a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemning the so called referenda organised by Russia across four regions of Ukraine.
- The resolution condemns the referenda, calls on the international community not to recognise any alterations to Ukraine’s territory and calls for Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine
- The other abstaining countries at Friday’s voting were China,Brazil and Gabon.
How would this conflict impact India?
- The Russia-Ukraine crisis will drive up the cost of cooking gas, petrol, and other fuels for Indian households and businesses. Higher oil prices raise freight and transportation costs.
- Depending on how long global oil prices continue high, the tensions may call the RBI’s credibility in making inflation projections into question, as well as upset the government’s budget calculations, particularly the fiscal deficit.
- The rise in crude oil prices will boost India’s oil import bills, and gold imports may rise again, putting pressure on the rupee.
- India’s petroleum product imports from Russia are only a fraction of its total oil import bill and are hence replaceable.
- Alternative sources of fertilizer and sunflower oil, on the other hand, may not be as easy.
- Exports to Russia account for less than 1% of overall Indian exports, but pharmaceutical and tea exports, as well as shipments to CIS countries, could face challenges. Increases in freight rates could also make overall exports less competitive.
India Specific Way Forward
Geopolitical Dimension:
- As a result of Russia’s actions, India has to brace itself for some immediate challenges.
- It will have to balance between pressure from one strategic partner to condemn the violation of international law and pressure from another to understand its legitimate concerns.
- India effectively managed these pressures during the 2014 Crimea annexation crisis, and it will do so again.
Economic Dimension:
- On the fiscal side, the government, which has been conservative in its revenue assumptions in the Budget, has to preemptively cut domestic fuel taxes to nip the inflationary expectations, stoke faltering consumption levels, and sustain India’s fragile post-Covid-19 recovery through this global churn.
A Balanced Strategy:
- India-Russia ties have ensured that Delhi has not been completely excluded from the conversation on Afghanistan and Central Asia, while also providing some leverage with the US.
- At the same time, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom are all important partners, and India’s relationships with each of them, and with the Western world in general, go far beyond the sum of their parts.
- Delhi must maintain a constant dialogue with all sides and engage with all of its partners while keeping in mind that there is no justification for violating any country’s territorial sovereignty.
- India must also make it clear to coercive countries that their “with us or against us” formulations are hardly constructive.
- The best course of action is for all parties to take a step back and focus on preventing all-out war, rather than dividing the world and returning it to the Cold War days.
Black cocaine seized by the NCB
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a Bolivian woman from Mumbai airport for allegedly carrying black cocaine. Based on her interrogation, the NCB also arrested a Nigerian national from Goa, who was to receive the contraband.
What is Black Cocaine?
- “Black cocaine”, a rare drug, is a mixture of regular cocaine and other chemicals of administrated quantity.
- In a bid to ensure that sniffer dogs used at airports do not detect cocaine, it is being used by drug peddlers coming to India from South American countries. It neutralises the smell of cocaine so that it can pass through checkpoints easily.
- Black cocaine is a mixture of regular cocaine base with various substances to camouflage typical appearance (e.g. charcoal), to interfere with colour-based drug tests (cobalt salts form deep red complexes in solution), to make the mixture undetectable by drug-sniffing dogs as activated carbon may sufficiently absorb trace odours.
- The pure cocaine base is then recovered from the mixture by extraction using common organic solvents such as methylene chloride or acetone.
- A second process is required to convert the cocaine base into powdered cocaine hydrochloride.
What has been the major source of cocaine in India?
- South American countries where coca plants grow are major suppliers of cocaine to India.
- Generally, Mumbai is one of the landing points from where it is then sent to other parts of the country, especially to metro cities and Goa.
- Amongst narcotics, Cocaine is one of the most expensive ones and is primarily used by the upper classes of society.
CoF Tokenisation norm started
From 1 October 2022, the Reserve Bank of India’s card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation norms have kicked in, which aims at improved safety and security of card transactions. Now, for any purchases done online or through mobile apps, merchants, payment aggregators and payment gateways will not be able to save crucial customer credit and debit card details such as three-digit CVV and expiry date.
What is tokenisation?
- Tokenisation refers to the replacement of actual card details with a unique alternate code called the ‘token’, which shall be unique for a combination of card, token requester, (i.e. the entity which accepts requests from the customer for tokenisation of a card and passes it on to the card network to issue a corresponding token) and the device.
- In September 2021, the RBI prohibited merchants from storing customer card details on their servers with effect from 1 January 2022, and mandated the adoption of card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation as an alternative.
- Tokenisation can be performed only by the authorised card network and recovery of original Primary Account Number (PAN) should be feasible for the authorised card network only.
- Adequate safeguards have to be put in place to ensure that PAN cannot be found out from the token and vice versa, by anyone except the card network. RBI has emphasised that the integrity of the token generation process has to be ensured at all times.
How will tokenisation work
- A debit or credit card holder can get the card tokenised by initiating a request on the app provided by the token requester.
- The token requester will forward the request to the card network which, with the consent of the card issuer, will issue a token corresponding to the combination of the card, the token requester, and the device.
- In case of an online transaction, instead of card details, a unique token will be stored on the server.
