Daily Prelims Notes 25 August 2021

August 25, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

25 August 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others have carried on their heads saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib flown in from Afghanistan.

Concept –

Saroop is a physical copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, also called Bir in Punjabi. Every Bir has 1,430 pages, which are referred to as Ang. The verses on every page remain the same.
The Sikhs consider the saroop of Guru Granth Sahib a living guru and treat it with utmost respect. They believe that all the 10 Gurus were the same spirit in different bodies, and the Guru Granth Sahib is their eternal physical and spiritual form.
It was the fifth Sikh master, Guru Arjan Dev, who compiled the first Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, and installed it at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Later, the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, added verses penned by the ninth master, his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, and compiled the Bir for the second and last time. It was in 1708 that Guru Gobind Singh declared the Guru Granth Sahib the living Guru of the Sikhs.
“Guru Granth Sahib is a compendium of hymns written by six Sikh gurus,15 saints, including BhagatKabir, BhagatRavidas, Sheikh Farid and BhagatNamdev, 11 Bhatts (balladeers) and four Sikhs. The verses are composed in 31 ragas.”
The installation and transportation of Guru Granth Sahib is governed by a strict code of conduct called rehatmaryada.
Under ideal circumstances, five baptised Sikhs are required to transfer the Guru Granth Sahib from one place to another. As a mark of respect, the Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib is carried on the head, and the person walks barefoot.
Whenever a devout sees the Bir of Guru Granth Sahib passing by, s/he removes her shoes and bows.
Gurdwaras have a separate resting place for the Saroop, called ‘SukhAsanSthan’ or ‘Sachkhand’ where the Guru rests at night. This takes place at the end of the day when the holy book is ceremoniously shut and rested. In the morning, the saroop is again installed in a ceremony called ‘prakash’.

Where are copies of the Guru Granth Sahib published?

There was a tradition among Punjabis, both Sikhs and Hindus, to copy the Guru Granth Sahib by hand and produce multiple copies. The Udasi and Nirmla sects also played a role in making handwritten copies of the Birs until the British introduced the printing press.
The British also published several small copies of the Guru Granth Sahib for their Sikh soldiers so that they could carry these with them in the battlefield.
Nowadays, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has the sole rights to publish the Birs of the Guru Granth Sahib, and this is done at Amritsar.

What is done with old Birs?

Old and worn Birs of the Guru Granth Sahib are brought to Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran district, where they are cremated. These days, only printed Birs are cremated as the SGPC and other Sikh bodies have been trying to protect the few handwritten Birs that remain.

2. Clinical Trials

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – India’s indigenously-developed mRNA vaccine has received regulatory nod for Phase II and III clinical trials.

Concept –

A clinical trial is a systematic study to generate data for discovering or verifying the clinical and pharmacological profile (including pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic) or adverse effects of a new drug on humans.
It is the only way of establishing the safety and efficacy of any drug before its introduction in the market for human use and is preceded by animal trials where the efficacy and side effects are observed in animals and an estimated drug dose is established.

Phases of Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are carried out in four phases. Clinical trials of drugs developed in India have to undergo all four phases of trials in India.
Phase I or clinical pharmacology trials or “first in man” study: This is the first time where the new drug is administered to a small number, a minimum of 2 healthy, informed volunteers for each dose under the close supervision of a doctor. The purpose is to determine whether the new compound is tolerated by the patient’s body and behaves in the predicted way.
Phase II or exploratory trials: During this phase, the medicine is administered to a group of approximately 10-12 informed patients in 3 to 4 centers to determine its effect and also to check for any unacceptable side effects.
Phase III or confirmatory trials: Purpose is to obtain sufficient evidence about the efficacy and safety of the drug in a larger number of patients, generally in comparison with a standard drug and/or a placebo as appropriate. In this phase, the group is between 1000-3000 subjects. If the results are favorable, the data is presented to the licensing authorities for a commercial license to market the drug for use by the patient population for the specified and approved indication.
Phase IV trials or post-marketing phase: Phase of surveillance after the medicine is made available to doctors, who start prescribing it. The effects are monitored on thousands of patients to help identify any unforeseen side effects.

Regulatory Mechanism in India

Clinical trials in India are governed by the acts:
- Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940,
- Medical Council of India Act, 1956 and
- Central Council for Indian Medicine Act, 1970.
Prerequisites of conducting a clinical trial in India are:
- Permission from the Drugs Controller General, India (DCGI)
- Approval from respective Ethics Committee where the study is planned
- Mandatory registration on the ICMR maintained website.

3. Havana Syndrome

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – US Vice-President Kamala Harris’s trip to Hanoi in Vietnam was delayed on Tuesday due to a possible case of the “Havana Syndrome”.

Concept –

Back in 2016, reports first emerged of US diplomats and other employees of the government falling ill in Havana, the capital of Cuba.
The patients said they heard strange sounds and experienced odd physical sensations in their hotel rooms or homes. They said they had symptoms of nausea, severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness, sleep problems and hearing loss. This mysterious illness came to be called the “Havana Syndrome”.
However, in December 2020, a report by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS)found “directed energy beams” as a “plausible” cause of the Havana Syndrome.

4. E-Shram Portal

Subject – Economy

Context – The government will launch the e-Shram portal, a database of unorganised sector workers.

Concept –

The government aims to register 38 crore unorganised workers, such as construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors and domestic workers, among others.
The workers will be issued an e-Shram card containing a 12 digit unique number, which, going ahead, will help in including them in social security schemes.
The registration of workers on the portal will be coordinated by the Labour Ministry, state governments, trade unions and CSCs.
A national toll free number — 14434 — will also be launched to assist and address the queries of workers seeking registration on the portal.
A worker can register on the portal using his/her Aadhaar card number and bank account details, apart from filling other necessary details like date of birth, home town, mobile number and social category.

5. BRICS

Subject – IR

Context – Modi, Putin discuss Afghanistan; India flags terror concern at BRICS.

Concept –

BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The BRICS Leaders’ Summit is convened annually.
BRICS does not exist in form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
Together, BRICS accounts for about 40% of the world’s population and about 30% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), making it a critical economic engine.
The acronym “BRICS” was initially formulated in 2001 by economist Jim O’Neill, of Goldman Sachs, in a report on growth prospects for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China – which together represented a significant share of the world’s production and population.
The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and focused on issues such as reform of the global financial architecture.
South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS. South Africa subsequently attended the Third BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, in March 2011.
During the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014) the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai.
Fortaleza Declaration stressed that the NDB will strengthen cooperation among BRICS and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development thus contributing to sustainable and balanced growth.
Considering the increasing instances of global financial crisis, BRICS nations signed BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) in 2014 as part of Fortaleza Declaration at Sixth BRICS summit.
- The BRICS CRA aims to provide short-term liquidity support to the members through currency swaps to help mitigating BOP crisis situation and further strengthen financial stability.
- The initial total committed resources of the CRA shall be one hundred billion dollars of the United States of America (USD 100 billion).

6. UNHRC

Subject – IR

Context – Modi, Putin discuss Afghanistan; India flags terror concern at UNHRC

Concept –

The UN Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.
The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006. It replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) serves as the Secretariat of the Human Rights Council.
OHCHR is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Members:

It is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
The UNGA takes into account the candidate States’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard.

The Council’s Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution. Seats are distributed as follows:

African States: 13 seats
Asia-Pacific States: 13 seats
Latin American and Caribbean States: 8 seats
Western European and other States: 7 seats
Eastern European States: 6 seats
Members of the Council serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

Procedures and Mechanisms:

Universal Periodic Review: UPR serves to assess the human rights situations in all United Nations Member States.
Advisory Committee: It serves as the Council’s “think tank” providing it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues.
Complaint Procedure: It allows individuals and organizations to bring human rights violations to the attention of the Council.
UN Special Procedures: These are made up of special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and working groups that monitor, examine, advise and publicly report on thematic issues or human rights situations in specific countries.

7. Light Pollution

Subject – Environment

Context – light pollution disorients ecosystems.

Concept –

Light pollution is an unwanted consequence of outdoor lighting and usually occurs due to excessive and inappropriate artificial light.
There are five overlapping components of light pollution: Urban sky glow, light trespass, glare, uplight and clutter.
- Urban sky glow refers to the brightening of the night sky over urban inhabited areas.
- The falling of light in an area where it is not intended or needed is called light trespass.
- Glare is the excessive brightness of light, causing visual discomfort and disability.
- An uplight is directed toward the open sky, causing a very strong, localised form of light pollution.
- Clutter refers to an excessive grouping of lights, commonly found in over-lit areas.
Poor placement of signage and streetlights, excessive and inappropriate use of light, high population density and a higher road density and traffic density contribute significantly to light pollution.
At times, certain environmental conditions such as smog, fog and high levels of suspended particles also increase the intensity of light pollution.

Impact of light pollution on plants, animals and human beings

Plants are affected by three characteristics of light: Quantity, quality and duration.
- Quantity of light refers to the total concentration or intensity of the light.
- Light quality indicates the wavelength of the light and duration refers to the total period for which light is present.
light pollution affects plants by interfering with photoperiodism.
Many plant species (such as night-blooming cacti, for example, Queen of the Night Epiphyllum Oxypetalum) bloom only at night and depend on nocturnal pollinators for pollination. Increasing lighting can prevent flowering and pollination in such plants and hamper reproduction.
Similarly, animals are also affected by light pollution. Crepuscular (active only at dusk and dawn) and nocturnal (active only during the night) animals depend on the duration of day (light) length to start / stop their daily activities.
Artificial light at night is one of the prominent causes of global decline of insects.

8. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012

Subject – Governance

Context – Attorney General K KVenugopal urged the Supreme Court to reverse the Bombay High Court ruling which held that if there is “no direct physical contact, i.e. skin to skin”, no offence of sexual assault under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Concept –

It was enacted to protect the children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children.
It defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
It also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
The Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
It was amended in August 2019 to provide more stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for sexual crimes against children.
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to set up special courts in each district across the country that have over a 100 cases of child abuse and sexual assault pending trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

9. Brownfiled vs Greenfield projects

Subject – Economy

Context – The government unveiled a four-year National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) worth an estimated Rs 6 lakh crore. It aims to unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging the private sector, transferring to them revenue rights and not ownership in the projects, and using the funds so generated for infrastructure creation across the country.

Concept –

Greenfield and brownfield investments are two types of foreign direct investment.
With greenfield investing, a company will build its own, brand-new facilities from the ground up.
Brownfield investment happens when a company purchases or leases an existing

10. Anti-Google Law

Subject –Science and Tech

Context – South Korea is likely to bar Google and Apple from requiring software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases, the first such curbs on the tech companies by a major economy.

Concept –

Antitrust law, also referred to as Competition law, aims to protect trade and commerce from unfair restraints, monopolies and price-fixing.
It ensures that fair competition exists in an open-market economy.
The Competition Act, 2002 is India’s antitrust law. It repealed and replaced the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) on the recommendations of the Raghavan committee.
In 2019, Competition Commission of India had held Google guilty of misuse of its dominant position in the mobile Android market and said the company had imposed “unfair conditions” on device manufacturers to prevent them from using other operating systems.

11. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Subject – IR and Environment

Context – Climate crisis putting a billion children at ‘extremely high risk,’ warns new UN report.

Concept –

UNICEF is a special program of the United Nations (UN) devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.
History
UNICEF was created in 1946as International Children’s Emergency Fund (ICEF) by UN relief Rehabilitation Administration to help children affected by World War II.
UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations in 1953.
The name was shortened to United Nations Children Fund but it is still referred to as UNICEF.
It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.
It strives to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1965 for “promotion of brotherhood among the nations”.
Headquarters: New York City
It works in over 190 countries and territories with 7 regional offices.
UNICEF is governed by an Executive Board consisting of 36 members that are elected to terms of three years by the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.

Fridays for Future (FFF)

FFF is a dynamic global student movement pushing for immediate action on climate change through active campaigning and advocacy.
The movement was inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who sat in protest in front of the Swedish parliament for three weeks in 2018 to draw attention to the climate emergency.
Greta Thunberg was recently awarded the Right Livelihood Award-2019, also known as Sweden’s alternative Nobel Prize.
The FFF movement was chosen as Champion of the Earth award for inspiration and action because of its role in highlighting the devastating effects of climate change.

“The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis”

Report is released by UNICEF
First climate report to combine high-resolution geographic maps detailing global environmental and climate impacts with maps that show regions where children are vulnerable due to an array of stressors, including poverty and lack of access to education, health care or clean water.
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India are among four South Asian countries where children are at extremely high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis, with a ranking of 14th, 15th, 25th and 26th respectively.
The report introduces the new Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI), a composite index that ranks nations based on children’s exposure to climate shocks, providing the first comprehensive look at how exactly children are affected by the climate crisis, offering a road map for policymakers seeking to prioritise action based on those who are most at risk.
- Index has placed India among one of the 33 extremely high-risk countries where flooding and air pollution are repeated environmental shocks. Such shocks lead to the socio-economic adverse consequences for women and children.

12. Hair follicle drug test

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Hair follicle test confirms drug use by Ragini, Sanjjanaa: Police

Concept –

A hair follicle drug test, also known as a hair drug test, screens for illicit drug use and the misuse of prescription medication.
During this test, a small amount of hair is removed from your head using scissors.
The sample is then analyzed for signs of drug use during the 90 days preceding the test.
While a urine drug screen can detect if you’ve used drugs in the last few days, a hair follicle drug test can detect drug use in the past 90 days.

13. MGNREGA

Subject – Governance

Context – T.N. launches ₹100 cr. urban employment scheme. Like MGNREGS, it offers a livelihood for urban poor.

Concept –

MGNREGA is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world.
The primary objective of the scheme is to guarantee 100 days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
Legal Right to Work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the act aims at addressing the causes of chronic poverty through a rights-based framework.
At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
Demand-Driven Scheme: The most important part of MGNREGA’s design is its legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days of demanding it, failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
Decentralised planning: There is an emphasis on strengthening the process of decentralisation by giving a significant role in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in planning and implementing these works.
The act mandates Gram sabhas to recommend the works that are to be undertaken and at least 50% of the works must be executed by them.

Bhuvan Portal

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)and MapmyIndia have partnered to come up with an indigenious geospatial portal known as ‘Bhuvan’.
It is a type of web portal used to find and access geographic information (geospatial information) and associated geographic services (display, editing, analysis, etc.) via the Internet.
MapmyIndia’s database will be connected with ISRO’s high-end satellite catalogue and earth observation data, which it generates through a constellation of its satellites.

14. Mekedatu Project

Subject – Geography

Context – Tamil Nadu has been opposing the Mekedatu project and unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government not to accord permission to Karnataka to construct the reservoir.

Concept –

The Mekedatu multi-purpose project involves building a balancing reservoir across the Cauvery River near Kanakapura in Ramanagaram district.
It envisages supplying drinking water to Bengaluru and Ramanagaram districts, besides generation of power.
The project was conceived in 2013 and in 2017, the Karnataka state cabinet decided to implement it.
The project, however, ran into a controversy after Tamil Nadu opposed it on the grounds that the project violates the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award.

The Cauvery River

The Cauvery River (Kaveri) is designated as the ‘Dakshina Ganga’ or ‘the Ganga of the South’.
The Cauvery River rises at an elevation of 1,341 m at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range near Cherangala village of Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka.
The total length of the river from origin to an outfall is 800 km.
It flows in a southeasterly direction for 705 km through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls.
Left Bank: the Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha, and the Arkavati.
Right Bank: Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amaravati joins from the right.
At Hogennekkal Falls, it takes a Southerly direction and enters the Mettur Reservoir.
A tributary called Bhavani joins Cauvery on the Right bank about 45 Kms below Mettur Reservoir. Thereafter it enters the plains of Tamil Nadu.
Two more tributaries Noyil and Amaravathi join on the right bankand here the river widens with a sandy bed and flows as ‘Akhanda Cauvery
Many projects were completed in this basin which
- Included Krishnarajasagar in Karnataka, Mettur dam and Cauvery delta system in Tamil Nadu. LowerBhavani, Hemavati, Harangi, Kabini are important projects completed duing the plan period.

15. Creamy Layer

Subject – Polity

Context – The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that economic criterion should not be the sole basis to identify sections of backward communities as ‘creamy layer’.

Concept –

Based on the recommendation of the Second Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commission), the government in August, 1990 had notified 27% reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in vacancies in civil posts and services that are to be filled on direct recruitment.
After this was challenged, the Supreme Court in November, 1992 (Indira Sawhney case)upheld 27% reservation for OBCs, subject to exclusion of the creamy layer.
While there is a 27% quota for OBCs in government jobs and higher educational institutions, those falling within the “creamy layer”(various categories based on income and parents’ rank) cannot get the benefits of this quota.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that economic criterion should not be the sole basis to identify sections of backward communities as ‘creamy layer’.
Social advancement, higher employment in government services, etc played an equal role in deciding whether a person belonged to the creamy layer and could be denied quota benefits.
The court had illustrated that ‘creamy layer’ would include “persons from backward classes who occupied posts in higher services like IAS, IPS and All India Services had reached a higher level of social advancement and economic status, and therefore, were not entitled to be treated as backward”.

16. Vidya Pravesh Module

Subject – Governance

Context – 12-week play-based teaching module for Class 1 students.

Concept –

Central government has issued a 12 week play based module as a transition aid to help students ease into physical classes for the first time.
This preparatory module should be used for all Class 1 students across the country even after the pandemic, according to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) professors who prepared the ‘Vidya Pravesh’ module.
The ‘Vidya Pravesh’ module is meant to bridge the gaps for these students.
The module lays out detailed plans, using activities, games, art integration and storytelling tools to achieve three developmental goals. For children to maintain good health and wellbeing, it includes a focus on physical and motor development, socioemotional development, nutrition, safety, hygiene and sanitation. The other two goals aim to build the foundations for literacy and numeracy.

17. Nidhi companies

Subject – Economy

Context – The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has warned people against parking savings in Nidhi companies, after it found that none of the firms that had applied so far to be recognised under relevant rules was compliant with the norms.

Concept –

Under Nidhi Rules, 2014, Nidhi is a company which has been incorporated as a Nidhi with the object of cultivating the habit of thrift and saving amongst its members, receiving deposits from, and lending to, its members only, for their mutual benefit.
It is a company registered under the Companies Act, 2013.
It works on the principle of mutual benefits that are regulated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Nidhi Company is a class of Non-Banking Financial Company(NBFC) and Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has powers to issue directives for them related to their deposit acceptance activities.
However, since these Nidhis deal with their shareholder-members only, RBI has exempted them from the core provisions of the RBI Act and other directions applicable to NBFCs.
The companies doing Nidhi business, viz. borrowing from members and lending to members only, are known under different names such as Nidhi, Permanent Fund, Benefit Funds, Mutual Benefit Funds and Mutual Benefit Company.
Nidhis are more popular in South India and are highly localized single office institutions. They are mutual benefit societies because their dealings are restricted only to the members; and membership is limited to individuals. The principal source of funds is the contribution from the members. The loans are given to the members at relatively reasonable rates for purposes such as house construction or repairs and are generally secured.
However, in recognition of the fact that these Nidhis deal with their shareholder-members only, RBI has exempted the notified Nidhis from the core provisions of the RBI Act and other directions applicable to NBFCs.

18. Fatah-1

Subject – Defence

Context – Pakistan tests indigenous rocket system

Concept –

Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test launched a indigenously developed guided multilaunch rocket system, Fatah1.
The weapon system will give Pakistan Army the capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory.
The Army said the rocket was capable of delivering conventional warheads.

19. Automated Facial Recognition System

Subject – Defence

Concept –

AFRS will be a mobile and web application hosted in NCRB’s (which manages data for police) data centre in Delhi but used by all police stations in the country.
AFRS works by comparing the new image of an unidentified person often taken from CCTV footage with the existing database ( AFRS maintains a database with photos and videos of peoples faces) to find a match and identify the person.
The artificial intelligence technology used for pattern-finding and matching is called “neural networks”.
National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) has released a request proposal for an Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) to be used by police officers across the country.
Automated Facial Recognition System can play a very vital role in crime prevention and criminal identification and verification (identifying criminals, missing people, and unidentified dead bodies) by facilitating easy recording, analysis, retrieval and sharing of information between different organizations.

20. Arctic Council

Subject – IR

Concept –

The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
The Arctic Council works as a consensus-based body to deal with issues such as the change in biodiversity, melting sea ice, plastic pollution and black carbon.

The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental body set up in 1996 by the Ottawa declaration to promote cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States together with the indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants.
The Council has the eight circumpolar countries as member states and is mandated to protect the Arctic environment and promote the economies and social and cultural well-being of the indigenous people whose organizations are permanent participants in the council.
Arctic Council Secretariat: The standing Arctic Council Secretariat formally became operational in 2013 in Tromsø, Norway.
The Council has members, ad hoc observer countries and “permanent participants“
Members of the Arctic Council: Ottawa Declaration declares Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States of America as a member of the Arctic Council.
- Denmarks represents Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Permanent participants: In 1998, the number of Permanent Participants doubled to make up the present six, as,the Aleut International Association (AIA), and then, in 2000, the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC) and the Gwich’in Council International (GGI) were appointed Permanent Participants.
Observer status: It is open to non-Arctic states, along with inter-governmental, inter-parliamentary, global, regional and non-governmental organizations that the Council determines can contribute to its work. It is approved by the Council at the Ministerial Meetings that occur once every two years