SHADOWPAD
On March 3, Maharashtra Power Minister announced that a State Cyber Cell probe had found 14 Trojan horses in the servers of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company. These malwares had the potential to disrupt power distribution in the State.
About:
- The announcement came in the wake of a report from Recorded Future, a U.S.-based cybersecurity firm, stating that a group linked to the Chinese government, which it called ‘Red Echo’, had targeted 10 vital nodes in India’s power distribution system and two seaports.
- Recorded Future found a large number of IP addresses linked to critical Indian systems communicating for months with AXIOMATICASYMPTOTE servers connected to Red Echo.
- AXIOMATICASYMPTOTE servers act as command-and-control centres for a malware known as ShadowPad.
UR
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, spiritual leader of most of the world’s Shia Muslims, told Pope Francis in a historic meeting in Iraq that the country’s Christians should live in “peace”.
About:
- The meeting, on the second day of the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, marked a landmark moment in modern religious history and a milestone in the Pope’s efforts to deepen interfaith dialogue.
- Pope Francis later addressed the rich spectrum of Iraq’s religious communities at Ur, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, a central figure in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, where he made an impassioned plea for “unity” after conflict.
- Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in south Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. The city is located on the south bank of the Euphrates River.
GAHIRMATHA MARINE SANCTUARY
A three-member panel constituted by the Orissa High Court made a field trip to the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary here and assessed the measures taken for the conservation of endangered olive ridley sea turtles.
About:
- The action followed a February 4 report on an online environment magazine which said 800 olive ridley turtles have died since January due to negligence of the States Forest and Fisheries department.
- The olive ridley turtles turn up in millions for mass nesting along the Odisha coast every year.
- Gahirmatha beach off Bay of Bengal coast in Kendrapara district, Odisha is acclaimed as the world’s largest nesting ground of these turtles.
OVERSEAS CITIZENS OF INDIA (OCI)
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reiterated through a gazette notification that OCI cardholders can lay claim to “only NRI (Non Resident Indian) quota seats” in educational institutions based on all-India entrance tests such as NEET, JEE (Mains), JEE (Advanced) or other such all-India professional tests.
About:
- The notification also said that OCIs are not entitled to undertake any “missionary, mountaineering, journalism and tabligh activities” without prior permission of the Government of India.
- OCI citizens are of Indian origin but they are foreign passport holders and are not citizens of India. India does not allow dual citizenship but provides certain benefits under Section 7B(I) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 to the OCIs.
- The fresh notification replaces three previous notifications which did not specify the special permission required for “missionary, Tabligh, mountaineering or journalistic activities” and were merely part of the November 2019 guidelines.
N S LAKSHMINARAYANA BHATTA
Noted Kannada poet, critic and translator N S Lakshminarayana Bhatta died at the age of 84.
About:
- Popularly known as ‘NSL’ in Kannada literary world, Bhatta has been a household name through his bhavageete (lyrical poems) and is known for his contribution to modern Kannada poetry, critical works and translations.
- He had translated about 50 of William Shakespeare’s sonnets, the poetry of T S Elliot in Kannada.
- He served as Professor at Bengaluru university.
- A recipient of the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi award and Kannada Rajyotsava Award among others, his popular work include “Thaye ninna Padilla.”
- His effort related to popularizing the works of the Shishunala Sharif led to a renaissance in the Kannada Bhavageetha movement, earning Dr. Bhatta the moniker of "Sharif Bhatta".
TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY DESK, CYBERABAD
In what is claimed to be the first-of-its-kind gender inclusive community policing initiative in the country, the Cyberabad police inaugurated a ‘Transgender Community Desk’ at Gachibowli Police Station in Rangareddy district, Telangana.
About:
- The desk will be managed by a police liaison officer and a transgender person who is designated as community coordinator.
- It will be the focal point for all grievance redressal among the transgender community in the Cyberabad Commissionerate. The desk will provide support to file cases in offences related to violence or discrimination against any transgender person
- Among other services, the desk will also provide counselling, legal aid, life skills, soft skills training, job placements, and referral linkages to welfare schemes in partnership with the Department of Women and Child Welfare, and District Legal Services Authority.
NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA (NSD)
The government is actively considering giving the Institute of National Importance tag to the National School of Drama (NSD), as well as re-developing its campus in Delhi, NSD Society chairman and actor Paresh Rawal said.
About:
- The former BJP MP was appointed to the post in September 2020
- He said that the status of Institute of National Importance would strengthen NSD, allowing it to award degrees, start new courses and set up new centres.
- The NSD, which has four regional centres in Varanasi, Bengaluru, Agartala and Gangtok, had received a request from Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor for setting up a centre in J&K.
ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES (EVMs)
The use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in some booths of the Paravur Assembly constituency in Ernakulam, Kerala is etched in the electoral history as they were introduced in the constituency in the 1982 polling, a first in the country.
About:
- The EVMs were introduced in 50 polling stations in the election in which the late A.C. Jose of the Congress and the late N. Sivan Pillai of the Communist Party of India were locked in a tight contest. The Congress candidate was defeated by a razor-thin margin of 123.
- Jose challenged the election of Sivan Pillai in the Kerala High Court, arguing that the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 did not empower the Election Commission to use EVMs. The High Court refused his plea.
- But on an appeal by Jose, the Supreme Court in 1984 ordered a re-poll in the 50 polling stations using conventional ballot papers. Jose won the seat.
- In 1992, Parliament inserted Section 61A in the Act and rules validating the use of the EVM and paving way for their use in elections.
- The EC started using EVMs widely since 1998. The new generation of EVMs has Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), which prints a small slip of paper that carries the name, symbol and the serial number of the candidate.
- The plea for abolishing EVMs has been repeatedly rejected by the top court. The top court has issued directives for using VVPAT to ensure accuracy and fairness in the EVM practice in 2013.
DRAFT COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PLAN (CZMP)
The draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) prepared by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai has met with criticism in Goa from locals, environmentalists and political parties.
About:
- The CRZ notification 2011 by Union Ministry of Environment declared that the coastal stretches and territorial waters of India, excluding Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).
- This restricted the setting up and expansion of any industry, operations or processes and manufacture or handling or storage or disposal of hazardous substances there.
- The respective state governments and UTs were then directed to prepare Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP) by identifying and classifying the CRZ areas.
INDIA SCIENCE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (ISRF)
Forty scholars from six countries have been awarded with the opportunity to carry out their research in Indian Institutes and Universities using state of the art facilities in these places.
About:
- These scholars have been selected based on research proposal, experience, academic merit and publication record and recommended for the award of India Science and Research Fellowship (ISRF) 2021.
- As a part of India’s initiatives to engage with neighbouring countries to develop S&T partnerships, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India has launched ISRF Programme for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand researchers to work in Indian Universities and Research Institutions.
- It has been implemented since 2015.
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