UPSC Essentials | Weekly news express with MCQs : Tobacco control, ISRO rocket debris, restriction on laptop imports, and more

WHO report on tobacco control

WHY IN NEWS?

— Bengaluru finds special mention in a World Health Organisation (WHO) report on tobacco control measures released Monday.

— Hundreds of enforcement drives, putting up ‘No Smoking’ signs, and creating awareness about the effects of smoking and second-hand smoke resulted in a 27 per cent reduction in smoking in public places in the city, the report said.

— Across the world, there are 300 million fewer smokers today, with the prevalence of smoking declining from 22.8 per cent in 2007 to 17 per cent in 2021.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Anonna Dutt Explains:

— Fifteen years ago, WHO had developed the MPOWER measures – monitor tobacco use and prevention policies; protect people from tobacco smoke; offer help to quit tobacco; warn about dangers of tobacco; enforce bans on tobacco advertising; and raise taxes on tobacco products. The report assesses the implementation of these measures.

What does the report say?

— In the 15 years since the MPOWER measures were first introduced, 5.6 billion people in the world – or 71 per cent of the entire population – remain protected by at least one of the measures. This has increased from just 5 per cent of the population in 2008.

— The number of countries implementing at least one MPOWER measure has increased from 44 countries in 2008 to 151 in 2022, according to the report. At least four countries – Brazil, Turkiye, Netherlands, and Mauritius – have implemented all the measures.

— “WHO urges all countries to put in place all of the MPOWER measures at best-practice level to fight the tobacco epidemic, which kills 8.7 million people globally, and push back against the tobacco and nicotine industries, who lobby against these public health measures,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO, Director for Health Promotion.

— With a focus on second-hand smoking, the report says that almost 40 per cent countries now have completely smoke-free indoor public spaces.

What is the bad news in the report?

— There are at least 44 countries in the world that still do not implement any MPOWER measure. There are 53 countries that do not completely ban smoking in healthcare facilities. And only half of the countries have smoke-free workplaces and restaurants.

— The director general of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also flagged the dangers of e-cigarettes. In the report, he said, “But progress so far is being undermined by the tobacco industry’s aggressive promotion of E-cigarettes as a safer alternative to cigarettes. Young people, including those who never previously smoked, are a particular target. In fact, E-cigarettes are harmful to both the people using them and those around them, especially when used indoors.”

Why is it important to curb second-hand smoke?

—  The report focuses on controlling second-hand smoking (being in the presence of someone who is smoking) by creating smoke-free public areas and also de-normalising the act of smoking in society.

—  Of the estimated 8.7 million tobacco-related deaths each year, 1.3 million are of non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke, the report says quoting the Global Burden of Disease 2019. Second-hand smoke has been linked to almost 400,000 deaths due to heart disease, over 250,000 deaths due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, over 150,000 deaths due to stroke and lower respiratory disease each, and over 100,000 deaths due to diabetes.

—  The report also adds that severe asthma, respiratory tract infections, and sudden infant death syndrome are more common among children exposed to second-hand smoke. Around 51,000 deaths in children and adolescents under the age of 20 years is linked to exposure to second-hand smoke.

How does India fare?

— When it comes to India, the report states that the country has the highest level of achievement when it comes to putting health warning labels on tobacco products and providing tobacco dependence treatment.

— With 85 per cent of cigarette packs carrying health warnings both on the front and back, India figures among the top 10 countries in terms of the size of health warnings. The cigarette packets in the country also carry a toll-free number for a quit-line.

— India has also banned the sale of e-cigarettes, and banned smoking in healthcare facilities and educational institutions. The report ranks the implementation of these bans an 8 out of 10 in healthcare facilities, 6 in schools, and 5 in universities.

What do experts say?

— One of the biggest steps in the works is implementing warnings on OTT platform content when actors are seen using tobacco products. “This would make India the first country in the world to do so. And it is needed. During the pandemic, there was a huge increase in the number of people subscribing to OTT platforms. This content is also readily available to children, which means the warnings have to reach them too,” said Binoy Mathew, an expert in tobacco regulation from the Voluntary Health Association of India.

— He said India already has a comprehensive law on tobacco control, but some amendments are needed in the 20-year-old legislation. “There is a need to ban the loose sale of cigarettes. Many people, especially college students, buy one or two cigarettes instead of the whole pack that might cost Rs350-400. This means they are not exposed to the health warning and quit-line at all.”

(Source: WHO report on tobacco control: Key findings, how India fares by Anonna Dutt)

Point to ponder: Smoking is a choice. It doesn’t need government intervention. Do you agree?

1. MCQ:

MPOWER measure is related to:

(a) Alcohol

(b) Tobacco

(c) Both a and b

(d) Neither a nor b

The study: ‘Global climate-change trends detected in indicators of ocean ecology’

WHY IN NEWS?

— According to the study,the colour of the Earth’s oceans has significantly altered over the past two decades, most likely due to human-induced climate change, according to a new study. Over 56 per cent of the oceans, more than the total land area on the planet, has experienced the shift in colour.

— The study, ‘Global climate-change trends detected in indicators of ocean ecology’, was published earlier in July in the journal Nature.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Alind Chauhan Explains:

— Although the change in colour of the oceans doesn’t impact marine life directly, it indicates that marine ecosystems are in a state of flux and they could completely go out of balance in the future, severely affecting ocean life and humans dependent on them.

— BB Cael, lead author of the study, told The Indian Express that changes in these ecosystems could impact how productive they are, “which could, in turn, affect how much carbon the ocean stores and how much food supply there is for fisheries.”

What makes the oceans colourful in the first place?

— In most regions across the world, the oceans appear blue or navy blue for a reason. This happens due to “the absorption and scattering of light,” according to a report by NASA. When the sunlight falls on deep and clear water, colours with longer wavelengths, such as red, yellow and green, are absorbed by the water molecules but blue and violet, which have a much shorter wavelength, are reflected back.

— “When sunlight hits the ocean, some of the light is reflected back directly but most of it penetrates the ocean surface and interacts with the water molecules that it encounters. The red, orange, yellow, and green wavelengths of light are absorbed so that the remaining light we see is composed of the shorter wavelength blues and violets,” the report explained.

— But when the water isn’t deep or clean, an ocean can appear to be of a different colour. For instance, along Argentina’s coastline, where major rivers merge into the Atlantic Ocean, the ocean exudes a brown tint because of dead leaves and sediments spewing from the rivers. In other parts of the world, the oceans appear green, which happens due to the existence of phytoplankton on the upper surface of the water.

— Phytoplankton are microscopic marine algae that contain the green-coloured pigment chlorophyll. The pigment helps them absorb sunlight, which they use to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into sugars. Moreover, chlorophyll absorbs the red and blue portions of the light spectrum — or photosynthesis — and reflects green light.

— “So, the ocean over regions with high concentrations of phytoplankton will appear as certain shades, from blue-green to green, depending upon the type and density of the phytoplankton population there,” the report added.

Why is the colour of the oceans changing?

— The study says one of the most affected areas is the Tropical ocean regions, near the equator, where the water is turning from blue to green. But this doesn’t mean that the rest of the affected areas are also turning greener.

“The colour changes are complex and different in different locations. In general, we see an increase in the amount of green light coming off the ocean, but in some places, we see more change in some green wavelengths than others, in some places we see increases or decreases in different red or blue wavelengths,” Cael said. The researcher added that although the study couldn’t determine “what” exact changes are happening in the oceans, it could point out “why” the changes are probably happening.

— The findings suggest that a shift in colour is happening in those regions where the oceans are getting more stratified. Ocean stratification is the natural separation of an ocean’s water into horizontal layers by density, with warmer, lighter, less salty, and nutrient-poor water layering on top of heavier, colder, saltier, nutrient-rich water. Usually, ocean ecosystems, currents, wind, and tides mix these layers, creating smoothed temperature and salinity transitions between them.

— But because of climate change, stratification has increased, making it harder for water layers to mix with each other, which has severe consequences — oceans are able to absorb less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the oxygen absorbed isn’t able to mix properly with cooler ocean waters below, threatening the survival of marine life. Moreover, nutrients aren’t able to travel up to the surface of the oceans from below. This directly impacts phytoplankton, which thrives, as mentioned before, on the upper surface of the oceans.

—  “This decrease in the nutrient supply should favour smaller plankton, which tends to fare better in lower-nutrient conditions, which would result in changes in the composition of the plankton (a diverse collection of organisms found in water) community, which would have signatures in the colour,” Cael explained.

—  Changes in the composition of the plankton population have larger effects on the marine ecosystem. Plankton has two major types: phytoplankton, which are plants, and zooplankton, which are animals. Phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton, which are then eaten by other marine animals such as crabs, fish and sea stars, and therefore, plankton are critical in supporting marine and freshwater food webs. Any alteration in their population could throw off the whole marine ecosystem.

(Source: Climate change is altering the colour of the oceans: What a new study says by Alind Chauhan)

Point to ponder: What are marine heat waves, which have gripped parts of the world’s oceans this summer?

2. MCQ:

Consider the following lines:

It is the natural separation of an ocean’s water into horizontal layers by density, with warmer, lighter, less salty, and nutrient-poor water layering on top of heavier, colder, saltier, nutrient-rich water. Usually, ocean ecosystems, currents, wind, and tides mix these layers, creating smoothed temperature and salinity transitions between them.

The above lines refer to: 

(a)  Bioluminescence

(b) Pororoca

(c) Ocean stratification

(d) Brinicle

ISRO rocket debris and rules governing space junk

WHY IN NEWS?

— A large object found on the shores of western Australia a couple of weeks ago has been confirmed to be the debris of an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket, the Australian Space Agency said Monday. ISRO has agreed with the assessment, saying the debris could be from one of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rockets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Amitabh Sinha Explains:

Are such incidents normal?

— Junk from space objects falling to the earth are not unheard of. Most such incidents involve relatively small fragments from rockets that survive the friction of the atmosphere. These usually do not make big news. Also, most of the times, the space junk falls into oceans, thus posing little danger to human populations.

— But there have been a few highly publicised falls as well. In recent times, a large chunk of a 25-tonne Chinese rocket fell into the Indian Ocean in May 2021. The most famous such case remains that of the Skylab space station, a predecessor to the currently operational International Space Station, which disintegrated in 1979. Large chunks from this disintegration fell into the Indian Ocean, some of them falling on land in western Australia.

Isn’t it dangerous?

— The threat to life and property from falling space junk is not negligible. Even when falling into the oceans, which is more likely since 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is ocean, large objects can be a threat to marine life, and a source of pollution.

What happens if these objects cause damage?

— There are international regulations governing space debris, which include junk falling back on the earth. Most space-faring countries are signatories to the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects. This convention is one of the several international agreements that complement the Outer Space Treaty, the overarching framework guiding the behaviour of countries in space. The Liability Convention deals mainly with damage caused by space objects to other space assets, but it also applies to damage caused by falling objects on earth.

— The Convention makes the launching country “absolutely liable” to pay compensation for any damage caused by its space object on the earth or to a flight in air. The country where the junk falls can stake a claim for compensation if it has been damaged by the falling object.

— In the current case, if the PSLV junk had caused any damage in Australia, India could have been liable to pay compensation, even if the object fell into the ocean and was then swept to the shores. The amount of compensation is to be decided “in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity”.

— This provision of the Convention has resulted in compensation payment only once so far — when Canada sought damages from the then Soviet Union, for a satellite with radioactive substance that fell into an uninhabited region in its northern territory in 1978. The Soviet Union is reported to have paid 3 million Canadian dollars.

(Source: ISRO rocket debris on Australian shore –  rules governing space junk by Amitabh Sinha)

Point to ponder: World Economic Forum released guidelines for tackling growing space debris problem. What are the key takeaways?

3. MCQ:

Consider the following statements:

1. Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects makes the launching country “absolutely liable” to pay compensation for any damage caused by its space object on the earth or to a flight in air.

2. Compensation is to be decided “in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity”. 

3. This provision of the Convention has resulted in compensation payment only once so far — when US sought damages from the then Soviet Union in the cold war era.

Which of the statement(s) above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

How UIDAI is using AI to tackle payment frauds?

WHY IN NEWS?

— Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad told Parliament on Monday (July 31) that to prevent AePS frauds by the use of spoofed fingerprints during Aadhaar authentication, the UIDAI has rolled out an in-house Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning technology-based Finger Minutiae Record – Finger Image Record (FMR-FIR) modality which is able to check the liveness of a fingerprint to detect the use of cloned fingerprint during the authentication process.

— In May this year, Airtel Payments Bank collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to roll out a facial recognition-based authentication measure for such transactions. The technology has been developed in-house by the UIDAI.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Soumyarendra Barik Explains:

— As more frauds related to the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) come to the fore, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has turned to artificial intelligence-based systems in a bid to limit the cases — this includes developing technologies around fingerprinting and facial recognition.

How does the Aadhaar fingerprint technology work?

— The technology was rolled out in February this year and uses a combination of both finger minutiae and finger image to check the liveness of the fingerprint captured. The measure was implemented after instances of people creating fake fingerprints using silicone to syphon off money from unsuspecting individuals’ bank accounts were reported. The problem gets compounded on account of the fact that a large part of the AePS user base is in rural areas.

— In effect, the AI-based technology is able to identify whether the fingerprint is from a real, or ‘live’ finger, or a cloned one.

JUST FYI: Payment frauds on the rise

— According to the Home Ministry, in the financial year 2020-21, 2.62 lakhs financial crimes, such as money laundering, bribery, corruption and different kinds of frauds, were reported. The number jumped to 6.94 lakhs in 2022, a report, released by the Standing Committee on Finance — headed by BJP MP Jayant Sinha — said.

— Citing data it received from the supervised entities of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the committee noted that payment-related frauds are on the rise in India – In FY21, the volume of such frauds was a little over 700,000, which by FY23, increased to close to 20 million.

— However, due to limited awareness about cyber frauds, a significant number of people do not report them to authorities, the committee said. According to the information submitted to it by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), in the year 2022, out of 6,94,424 complaints related to financial frauds only in 2.6 per cent of cases an FIR was registered.

— The details shared by Karad with Parliament revealed that between November 2021 and March 2023, more than 2,000 complaints related to AePS were received by the offices of the RBI’s ombudsman.

Can technology alone solve the fraud problem?

— Deploying technological measures to curtail financial frauds has its own limits, though. For instance, they have failed to thwart a number of frauds related to AePS, in which a business correspondent, a key member in the payment supply chain, is the culprit.

— A business correspondent (BC) is an informal bank agent equipped with a biometric Point-of-Sale (PoS) machine, which works like a micro ATM. If someone needs Rs 500, they have to give their bank details to the BC along with their Aadhaar-based biometric details and the BC will give them the Rs 500. However, officials aware of the matter said often, BCs misrepresent the amount they have paid an individual and input a higher amount in their system. Unsuspecting individuals, especially in rural areas, do not always have the wherewithal to ask for a receipt that the BC is supposed to generate after each transaction.

— There have also been instances of fingerprint cloning, which AI-based technologies — at least in theory — are better equipped to deal with.

— Last December, The Indian Express reported that the Crime Branch wing of Haryana Police had raised a red flag on the AePS system, saying that cyber criminals are conducting financial frauds by syphoning off people’s vital data from the system and cloning the fingerprints available on documents on the government website. At the time, the cyber cell under the Crime Branch was investigating over 400 complaints pertaining to cyber frauds that are related to AePS.

(Source: How UIDAI is using AI to tackle payment frauds by Soumyarendra Barik )

Point to ponder: How to use technology to track crime?

4. MCQ:

In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents?

(1) Service providers

(2) Data centres

(3) Body corporate

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

The new restriction on Personal Computers/laptop imports

WHY IN NEWS?

— India has restricted imports of personal computers, laptops, palmtops, automatic data processing machines, microcomputers/processors and large/mainframe computers with immediate effect. In a notification issued Thursday (August 3), the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said imports of computers and other items under the seven categories of HSN code 8471 have been restricted, but the restriction will not be applicable to imports under the baggage rules.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Aanchal Magazine , Soumyarendra Barik Explain:

— With an aim to promote domestic manufacturing of these products and curtail the majority share of imports of these items from China, the imports of laptops and personal computers have been restricted.

What does the notification for the restriction on imports state?

— Import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, and ‘ultra small form factor’ computers and servers falling under HSN 8741 will be ‘restricted’ and their import would be allowed against a valid licence for restricted imports, the notification said.

— Also, exemption from import licencing requirements has been given for import of one laptop, tablet, all-in-one personal computer or ultra small form factor computer, including those purchased from e-commerce portals through post or courier. Imports will attract payment of duty as applicable, it said.

— The government has also exempted laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, and ultra small form factor computers from import licencing requirements if they are essential part of capital goods.

— For the purpose of R&D (research and development), testing, benchmarking and evaluation repair and re-export, and product development purposes, the government has given exemption from import licence for imports up to 20 items per consignment. The condition, however, would be that these imports will be allowed only for use for the stated purposes and not for sale. “Further, after the intended purpose, the products would either be destroyed beyond use or re-exported,” the notifications said.

— It also said that the licence for restricted imports shall not be required for the repair and return of re-import of goods repaired abroad, as per the Foreign Trade Policy.

Why have the restrictions been imposed?

— The move is being seen as a direct boost to the Centre’s recently renewed production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. A senior government official said that the measure is to push companies to manufacture locally in India, as the country looks to strengthen its domestic production prowess in the electronics sector.

— The scheme was revised in May with an outlay of Rs 17,000 crore, more than doubling the budget for the scheme that was first cleared in 2021. The push is aimed at makers of laptops, servers and personal computers among others – since a majority of the imports in these segments are from China.

— India has seen an increase in imports of electronic goods and laptops/computers in the last few years. During April-June this year, the import of electronic goods increased to $6.96 billion from $4.73 billion in the year-ago period, with a share of 4-7 per cent in overall imports.

— Of the seven categories restricted for imports by India, the majority share of imports is from China.

— The highest share of imports is in the category of personal computers including laptops, and palmtops, under which imports from China stood at $558.36 million in April-May this year as against $618.26 million in the year-ago period.

— China accounts for roughly 70-80 per cent of the share of India’s imports of personal computers, laptops.

— On an annual basis, India’s imports of personal computers, and laptops from China had dropped 23.1 per cent in 2022-23 to $4.10 billion in 2022-23 from $5.34 billion in 2021-22. However, in the previous two financial years, 2021-22 and 2020-21, there was a sharp surge in imports of personal computers, laptops in 2021-22 and 2020-21 from China, with a year-on-year increase of 51.5 per cent to $5.34 billion in 2021-22 and 44.7 per cent to $3.52 billion in 2020-21.

(Source: The new restriction on Personal Computers/laptop imports: Why the move, and its potential impact by  Aanchal Magazine , Soumyarendra Barik)

Point to ponder: By strengthening practical cooperation in various fields, India and China can bring a stronger impetus to the recovery and growth of the world economy. Do you agree?

5. MCQ:

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Organization is an attached office of the:

(a) Ministry of Finance

(b) Ministry of Commerce and Industry

(c) Ministry of External Affairs

(d) Ministry of Corporate Affairs

ANSWERS TO MCQs: 1 (b), 2 (c), 3 (a), 4 (d), 5 (b)

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