Today's Headlines

Today's Headlines - 26 November 2022

India wins vice presidency of IEC

GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

India has won the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) vice presidency and Strategic Management Board (SMB) chair for 2023-25, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said on 25 November 2022.

 

More about IEC

  1. IEC is an international standard setting body that publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
  2. SMB is an apex governance body of IEC responsible for technical policy matters.
  3. India secured over 90% of the votes cast by full members of the IEC during its general meeting held recently in San Francisco, US. Vimal Mahendru will be the IEC Vice President representing India.
  4. By securing over 90% of the votes cast by full members of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) during its General Meeting held in San Francisco, USA.
  5. India’s representative, a member of the Indian National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and various technical committees of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS-India), was elected.
  6. The representation of BIS (India) in policy and governance bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC ensures that Indian viewpoints on the important strategic and policy matters are put forth and it also provides opportunities to align the national standardization priorities with International best practices.

Flashback

  1. BIS is continually expanding its international footprints by working on the growth mantra provided by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumers Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal.
  2. Currently, BIS (India) is represented in various policy and governance bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC such as ISO Council, ISO Technical Management Board (TMB), IEC SMB, IEC Market Strategy Board (MSB), IEC Business Advisory Committee (BAC), etc.

 

Supreme Court launches online RTI portal 

GS-2 (E-governance and Judiciary)

The Supreme Court launched an online portal that will help citizens file and access applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in matters related to the court. Various Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had been filed before the Supreme Court seeking an online RTI portal for the Court.

 

About online RTI portal:

  1. It has been initiated to make it convenient for people to access information about the Supreme Court. So far, RTI applications at the Supreme Court had to be filed only via post.
  2. The online portal is likely to streamline responses of the Supreme Court under the Right to Information Act.
  3. The process of filing an RTI in the Supreme Court is the same as how one normally files the application.
  4. This web portal can be used only by Indian citizens to file RTI applications, first appeals and to make payment for fees, and copying charges, under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act).

How does the online portal work?

  1. The applicant can pay the prescribed fee through internet banking, credit/debit card of Master/Visa or UPI. The fee per RTI application is ₹10.
  2. Any applicant who is Below Poverty Line (BPL) is exempted to pay the application fee under the RTI Rules, 2012. The applicant must attach and upload a copy of the BPL certificate issued by the government.
  3. If in case the applicant has made a payment and does not receive the registration number, then the applicant should wait for 24-48 hours for the number to be generated. The guidelines on the website mention that an applicant must not retry or make an additional attempt to make the payment again.
  4. By law, RTIs must be replied to within 30 days. In fact, in life and death cases, RTIs must be responded to within 48 hours.

 

El Niño, La Niña Changed Weather Patterns

GS Paper - 3 (Environment and Ecology)

A new study projects that climate change will significantly impact El Niño-La Niña weather patterns approximately by 2030 — a decade before what was earlier predicted, and around four decades earlier than the suggested timeline without separating the two regimes. This is predicted to result in further global climate disruptions.

El Nino and La Nina

  1. El Niño and La Niña are atmospheric patterns that influence warming and cooling of sea surface temperatures in the Central and Equatorial Pacific.
  2. The two opposing patterns occur in an irregular cycle called the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.

Impact of El Nino

  1. The phenomena of upwelling is reduced under El Niño (where nutrient-rich waters rise towards the surface) this in turn reduces phytoplankton. Thus, fish that eat phytoplankton are affected.
  2. Warm waters also carry tropical species towards colder areas, disrupting multiple ecosystems.
  3. El Niño also causes dry, warm winters in the Northern U.S. and Canada and increases the risk of flooding in the U.S. gulf coast and south-eastern U.S.
  4. It also brings drought to Indonesia and Australia.

Impact of La Niña

  1. It is good for Indian Monsoon Conditions. It leads to drier conditions in the Southern U.S., and heavy rainfall in Canada.
  2. La Niña has also been associated with heavy floods in Australia.

Effect of El Nino and La Nina on India’s monsoons

  1. In IndiaEl Niño causes weak rainfall and more heat, while La Niña intensifies rainfall across South Asia.
  2. At present, India is witnessing an extended ‘triple dip’ La Niña like the rest of the world.

 

Various technologies used in on-going FIFA

GS-3 (Technology)

With sports like Football picking up the pacetechnology has become a part of the sport. Various technological advancements work to decide important reviews in football matches, from offside calls to foul tackles. Technology is one of the most crucial aspects of refereeing big matches.

VAR: Video Assistant Referee

  1. It is the equivalent of the third-umpire in cricket. The VAR is not present on the pitch like the main referee and the linesmen, but instead sits in a room where the VAR has access to multiple camera feeds and advanced software.
  2. It allows the VAR to replay key moments where an on-the-spot decision could be difficult to deliver. The multiple camera angles are used with software to slow down footage and take a call.
  3. The use of VAR has resulted in more fouls and off sides being detected in-game than ever. In the currently on-going 2022 World Cup, VAR was a huge part of big teams losing games in the group stage, including Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia and German vs. Japan.

Goal-line Technology:

  1. This technology determines if the ball actually went inside the goal. As per football’s rules, the football must completely go inside the goal line between the two poles, at any height below the crossbar.
  2. Before the technology was in use, goals like the following would often not be given, as referees could not determine if the ball had completely crossed the line during fast plays.
  3. This technology, which has been in implementation for years now, is super useful, in both international tournaments like the world cup as well as league games.

Semi-Automated Offside technology:

  1. VAR is neat when it comes to detecting off sides in Football; however, a lot of time is wasted during every VAR review, which also happens to be a big mood-killer in the middle of games as everyone feels the loss in momentum. Both football in general and the fans needed something that could do the job faster.
  2. Semi-Automated Offside Technology, which is powered by a new ‘limb-tracking’ approach. This involves sensor on the ball and dedicated cameras in the stadiums that use data to determine if a player was offside.
  3. This data is sent to the control rooms 500 times every second, altering them every time a player is caught offside.
  4. When a player is caught offside, an animated graphic is shown to the fans that helps depict how close or not the offside call was. The tech is aimed to reduce the time needed to point out off sides in less than 25 seconds.
  5. The semi-automatic offside technology has been in trial for some time and is being used for the first time during the on-going Qatar World Cup for the first time.