1.273 million Indians out of poverty in 10 years
News: The 2020 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index(MPI) has been released.
Facts:
- Released by: The index has been released by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative(OPHI) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.
- Aim: To provide a comprehensive picture of global trends in multidimensional poverty.
- Title of the report: Charting pathways out of multidimensional poverty: Achieving the SDGs.
- Parameters: The index identifies how people are being left behind across three key dimensions: health, education and standard of living, comprising 10 indicators.
- Note: A person is multidimensional poor if she/he is deprived in one third or more (means 33% or more) of the weighted indicators (out of the ten indicators).
Key Takeaways:
- Multidimensional Poverty: Around 1.3 billion people are still living in multidimensional poverty.Half of multidimensionally poor people are children under age 18.
- Region: About 84 % of multidimensionally poor people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
India Specific Data:
- During 2005-06 and 2015-16, India was successful in lifting around 273 million people out of multidimensional poverty.
2.BlackRock malware steals password, credit card details from 337 Android apps
News: A new Android malware named BlackRock has been discovered that steals data such as password and credit card details from apps such as Gmail, Amazon, Netflix, Uber and more.
Facts:
- Blackrock: It is a Trojan malware that is based on the source code of the Xeres malware, itself derived from malware called LokiBot.
- How does it work? It uses a method called ‘overlays’ to trick users into filling in their log-in details and card details to start using a legitimate app.These overlays are fake windows that pop up when a user is trying to log into an app.
Additional Facts:
- Trojan horse: It is a malware that disguises itself as a normal file or program to trick users into downloading and installing malware.
- Malware (malicious software):It refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server or computer network.
3.What is plea bargaining and how does it work?
News: Many members of the Tablighi Jamaat belonging to different countries have obtained release from court cases in recent days by means of plea bargaining.
Facts:
- Plea Bargaining: It refers to a person charged with a criminal offence negotiating with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence.
- Origin: Plea bargaining was introduced in 2006 as part of a set of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code(CrPC) as Chapter XXI-A, containing Sections 265A to 265L.
- Who can initiate plea bargaining: The plea bargaining process in India can be initiated only by the accused and the accused will have to apply to the court for invoking the benefit of bargaining.
- Cases where Plea Bargaining is allowed:
- Someone who has been chargesheeted for an offence that does not attract the death sentence, life sentence or a prison term above seven years.
- The offence does not have an impact on the socio-economic condition of the country.
- The offence is not committed against a woman or a child below the age of 14.
4.Mobile app KURMA helps save turtles in India
News: Union Environment Minister has hailed the KURMA mobile application as a unique tool for tracking and reporting Indian turtles.
Facts:
- KURMA App: It is aimed at turtle conservation by providing users a database to identify a species but also provides the location of the nearest rescue centre for turtles across the country.
- Developed by: The application has been developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network(ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.
Additional Facts:
- Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN): It is a citizen science initiative launched to provide a platform for the exchange of information on turtles and to provide assistance to enforcement agencies / forest departments.
- Turtle Survival Alliance(TSA): It was formed in 2001 as an International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and tortoises.
5.United Arab Emirates launches mission to Mars
News: The United Arab Emirates has launched its Emirates Mars mission from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center.
Facts:
- HOPE Spacecraft or Emirates Mars Mission: It is a Mars mission launched by the United Arab Emirates.It is also the first interplanetary mission for the Arab World.
- Aim:
- To search for the connection between current martian weather and the ancient climate of Mars.
- To study the loss mechanisms of Mars’ atmosphere to space by tracking the behavior and escape of hydrogen and oxygen and
- Create a global picture of how the martian atmosphere varies throughout the day and year.
6.Explained: Why community transmission no longer matters at this stage
News: The Government of India insists that COVID-19 has still not reached a stage of community transmission in spite of more than 1.1 million people having been infected with the novel coronavirus in India.
Facts:
Stages of Transmission:
- Stage 1- Imported Transmission: It is when cases are imported from affected countries without any local origin and only those who have travelled abroad test positive for respiratory illness.The disease does not spread locally at this stage.
- Stage 2- Local Transmission: It is the stage when local transmission happens and its source is known and can be located.At this stage, people testing positive have come in contact with a patient who has travelled outside the country.
- Stage 3- Community Transmission: It is the stage where infection has become so widespread in a community that it gets difficult to determine who is passing on the infection to whom.
- Stage 4- Epidemic: It is the stage where there is a widespread outbreak of the infection leading it to become an epidemic within the population and difficult to contain.
