National Automated Fingerprint Identification System Established at 1022 Locations, Says Home Ministry

National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS):

• It is a pan-India searchable databaseof crime and criminal-related fingerprints.
• It is managed by the Central Fingerprint Bureau at the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), based in New Delhi.
• It functions as a central information repository by consolidating fingerprint data from all states and Union Territories.
• It enables law enforcement agencies to upload, trace, and retrieve data from the database in real time on a 24×7 basis.
• With the help of this it is possible to locate a person of interest in a matter of minutes and connect that individual’s name to any active warrants, warnings, or information about related criminal conduct stored in other police information reference systems.
• Working of NAFIS:
  • It assigns a unique 10-digit National Fingerprint Number for each criminal, based on biometrics.
  • The unique ID will be used for a lifetime of an offender. Different crimes registered under different FIRs will be logged as incidents belonging to the same National Fingerprint Number.
  • The first two digits of the ID will be the state code of the state where the criminal is registered, followed by a sequence number.
  • The state partition will have IDs belonging to a state

Hatti community announces protest on December 16 to press for implementation of ST status law

Hatti community:

• The Hattis are a close-knit community who take their name from their traditional occupation of selling home-grown crops, vegetables, meat, and wool at small-town markets known as**‘haats’.**
• Hatti men traditionally don a distinctive white headgear on ceremonial occasions.
• The Hatti homeland straddles the Himachal-Uttarakhand border in the basin of the Giri and Tons rivers, both tributaries of the Yamuna.
• The Tons marks the border between the two states, and the Hattis living in the Trans-Giri area in today’s Himachal Pradesh and Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand were once part of the royal estate of Sirmaur. Jaunsar Bawar was conquered by the British in 1814.
• The two Hatti clans, in Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar, have similar traditions, and inter-marriages are common.
• They are governed by a traditional council called ‘khumbli’ which decides community matters.
• According to the 2011 census, members of the community numbered 2.5 lakh but at present population of the Hattis are estimated at around 3 lakhs.

Global Initiative launched to accelerate Climate Action in Oil and Gas Sector

Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter:

• It is a dedicated initiative for the oil and gas sector.
• It aims to induce substantial impact in addressing climate challenges.
• Currently, 50 companies, collectively responsible for over 40 percent of global oil production, have committed to the OGDC.
• National Oil Companies have shown historic participation, constituting over 60 percent of the total signatories, marking a noteworthy shift towards decarbonization within this sector.
• It is integral to the Global Decarbonization Accelerator (GDA).

Global Decarbonization Accelerator:

• It was introduced at the World Climate Action Summit.
• The GDA focuses on three primary pillars:
  • Scaling the energy system of the future.
  • Decarbonizing the present energy system.
  • addressing methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases.
• This strategic plan aims for a comprehensive and simultaneous transformation of both energy demand and supply.

Indonesia''s Ibu volcano erupts

Ibu Volcano

• It is a stratovolcano located in the province of Maluku, East Indonesia.
• It is one of the most isolated and least accessible volcanoes in Indonesia.
• It stands as high as 1,377 metres above sea level.

Stratovolcano

• The stratovolcano is a tall, steep, and cone-shaped type of volcano.
• Unlike flat-shield volcanoes, they have higher peaks. At their peak, stratovolcanoes usually have a small crater. The crater may be filled with water or ice, or it may contain a volcanic dome during a period of relative inactivity.
• Stratovolcanoes comprise the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth''s volcanoes, and most are characterised by eruptions of andesite and dacite, lavas that are cooler and more viscous than basalt.
• These more viscous lavas allow gas pressures to build up to high levels. Therefore, these volcanoes often suffer explosive eruptions.
• They are usually half lava and half pyroclastic material, and the layering of these products gives them their other common name of composite volcanoes.

Research Symposium at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence – GPAI 2023

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence:

• It is a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.
• It was launched in June 2020.
• Membership in GPAI is open to all countries, including emerging and developing countries.
• Member countries: At present it has 28 member countries including the European Union.
• India is one of the founding members of GPAI.
• Secretariat: Its secretariat is hosted at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris.
• Structure
  • It has a Council and a Steering Committee.
  • It has two Centres of Expertise: One in Montreal and another in Paris.
  • These Centres of Expertise will facilitate GPAI’s four working groups and their research and practical projects, across various sectors and disciplines.
• The working groups will initially focus on four themes:
  • Responsible AI
  • Data Governance
  • the Future of Work
  • Innovation and Commercialization

IPC issues alert for painkiller mefenamic acid

The adverse drug reaction found during preliminary analysis was eosinophilia and systemic symptoms called DRESS syndrome

DRESS Syndrome:

• It is a type of drug allergy that can occur as a reaction to a large variety of medications.
• It is sometimes referred to as DIHS (Drug Induced Hypersensitivity Syndrome).
• This syndrome causes a diverse array of clinical symptoms, anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks after initiating the offending drug.
• Symptoms:
  • Patients typically present with a rash, fever, and eosinophilia but can have a variety of symptoms including liver, lung, or kidney involvement.
  • Also have a visceral involvement(hepatitis, pneumonitis, myocarditis, pericarditis, nephritis, and colitis) which is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in this syndrome.
• Treatment:
  • The most important step to treat DRESS Syndrome is to stop the medication involved in the reaction, and sometimes, no further treatment is needed.
  • It is largely supportive and symptomatic; corticosteroids are often used and sometimes immunosuppressants like cyclosporine.

Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission:

• It is an autonomous Institution of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, of India.
• It is created to set standards of drugsin the country.
• Functions:
  • Its basic function is to update regularly the standards of drugs commonly required for treatment of diseases prevailing in this region.
  • It publishes official documents for improving Quality of Medicines by way of adding new and updating existing monographs in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
  • It further promotes rational use of generic medicines by publishing National Formulary of India.
  • It prescribes standards for identity, purity and strength of drugs essentially required from the health-care perspective of human beings and animals.
  • It also provides IP Reference Substances (IPRS) which act as a fingerprint for identification of an article under test and its purity as prescribed in IP.

Dharmendra urges Naveen to implement PM-USHA in state

Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA)

• It was launched in 2013 as a centrally sponsored programme to improve access, equity, and quality in higher education through the planned development of higher education at the state level.
• It aims to work with 300-plus state universities and their affiliated colleges.
• Objectives:
  • creating new academic institutions,
  • expanding and upgrading the existing ones,
  • developing institutions that are self-reliant in terms of quality education, professionally managed, and characterised by a greater inclination towards research.
• Funding:
  • It aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.
  • The central funding is based on norms and is outcome-dependent.
  • Funds flow from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories before reaching the identified institutions.
  • Funding to states would be made on the basis of the critical appraisal of State Higher Education Plans, which would enlist each state’s strategy to address issues of equity, access, and excellence in higher education.
• PM-USHA places greater emphasis on the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning processes in order to produce employable and competitive graduates, postgraduates and PhDs.
• The programme focuses on state higher educational institutions and draws upon the best practices from colleges and universities across the nation.

Meat, alcohol prohibited around Pashupatinath Temple for a week on occasion of Bala Chaturdashi festival

Pashupatinath Temple

• It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Pashupati, a form of Shiva.
• Location: It is located on the bank of the Bagmati River on the eastern outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal.
• In 1979, the temple was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Features:
  • The temple complex includes 518 temples, buildings, and structures.
  • The main temple is designed in the Nepalese pagoda style, with a tiered roof and plinth.
  • It is a two-tiered structure with a gold-plated roof.
  • The temple has two interior rooms where the Pashupatinath idol is placed.
  • It is a cubic structure with four main doors, all covered with silver sheets.
  • One of the most astonishing decorations of the temple is the huge golden statue of Nandi, Shiva’s bull.

Pagoda

• A Pagoda is a tower like, multistorey, solid or hollow structure made of stone, brick, or wood, usually associated with a Buddhist temple complex, common in China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia.
• The pagoda structure derives from that of the stupa, a hemispherical, domed, commemorative monument first constructed in ancient India.
• Pagodas are constructed around a central staircase and can have many forms.
• A pagoda has three sections: a base, a body, and a top, which often takes the form of a miniature pagoda.

Madhya Pradesh: 10,000-year-old rock painting found in Satpura Tiger Reserve

During the counting of wild animals in the Satpura Tiger Reserve, the forest officials discovered a rock painting dating back 10,000 years.

Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR):

• Location:
  • It is located in the Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh.
  • It is located in the Satpura ranges of the Central Indian Landscape.
  • It lies south of the river Narmada.
• Satpura, basically meaning "Seven Folds", forms a watershed between the Narmada and Tapti Rivers and is triangular in shape.
• It is part of the Deccan bio-geographic zone of India.
• It is part of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve.
• STR is part of one of the largest tiger habitats in the world, extending over 10,000 sq. km along with the forest areas of Betul, Harda, Khandwa, and Melghat forest divisions.
• Corridor: It has corridor connectivity with Pench National Park.
• The habitat is also an important testimony to human evolution, as it houses more than 50 rock shelters that are almost 1500 to 10,000 years old.
• Geological formations include the Deccan trap series, Gondwanas, and Metamorphic rocks.
• Flora:
  • This reserve is largely made up of mixed forests with a sizable proportion of Sal and Teak.
  • These mixed forests consist of tree species like jamun, baheda, palash, mahua, saja, bija, tendu, arjun, semal, salai, kusum, achar, etc.
  • Twenty-six species of the Himalayan region and 42 species of the Nilgiri area are found. Hence, STR is also known as the northern extremity of the Western Ghats.
• Fauna: Tigers, leopards, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, chousingha, Indian gaur, blue bull, and jungle cats, along with co-predators, birds, reptiles, and fish, are also found.

Odisha invokes ESMA to ban strikes by Health Department staff

Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA)

• It is an act of the Indian Parliament enacted in 1968 to assure the supply of certain services that, if impeded, would harm people’s daily lives.
• It is enforced to prohibit striking employees from refusing to work in certain essential services. Employees cannot cite bandhs or a curfew as an excuse not to report to work.
• Which services fall under this category?
  • Services relating to public conservation, sanitation, water supply, hospitals, or national defence are essential.
  • Any establishment involved in producing, delivering, or distributing petroleum, coal, electricity, steel, or fertiliser also gets classified as providing essential services. Aside from that, any banking-related service may be subject to ESMA.
  • This statute also applies to communication and transportation services and any government initiative relating to the acquisition and distribution of food grains.
• State governments, acting alone or collaborating with other state governments, can enforce their respective acts in specified territories.
• Each state has its own ESMA, with provisions that differ slightly from the federal statute.
• As a result, if the nature of the strike disturbs only one or more states, the states can initiate it.
• The Act also allows states to choose the essential services on which to enforce ESMA.
• In a nationwide interruption, particularly involving railways, the central government may activate the ESMA.
• What actions can be taken against the employees?
  • Persons who commence the strike as well as those who instigate it are liable to disciplinary action, which may include dismissal.
  • As the strike becomes illegal after ESMA is invoked, legal action can also be taken against these employees.
  • Any police officer is empowered to arrest the striking person without a warrant.
  • Persons participating in or instigating the strike are punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.