National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 16th May 2019

TRA unveils AI tool to improve tea quality

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Tea Research Association (TRA) has introduced artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology aimed at improving quality.

More on the Topic:

• The technology has been developed through a collaboration between TRA and Agnext, a start-up which was incubated by IIT Kharagpur.
• The machine, called TRA Agnext QualiteaProfiler (QTP), developed through this technology would help determine the ‘fine leaf’ of a tea batch ‘without human intervention.’
• The objective is to improve accuracy and reduce time. Fine leaf count (FLC) determines the presence of the two (or three) leaves and a bud in a batch, which go towards enhancing quality.
• TRA is also planning to harness other frontline technologies based on AI, chat bots and sensor-based machinery while equipping the age-old industry against the ravages of climate change.

About Tea Plantation In India:

• India is the largest producer and consumer of black tea in the world. Tea is grown in 16 states in India. Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala account for about 95 per cent of total tea production.
• Tea is a tropical and sub-tropical plant and thrives well in hot and humid climate. There is a very close relation between climate, the yield and the quality of tea. The ideal temperature for its growth is 20°-30°C and temperatures above 35°C and below 10°C are harmful for theplants.
• It requires 150-300 cm annual rainfall which should be well distributed throughout the year.
• Tea bush grows well in well drained, deep, friable loams.
• Tea is a labour intensive crop and requires abundant supply of cheap and skilled labour, especially at the time of plucking the tea leaves. This is a tedious process which requires skilled manipulation of fingers for plucking two leaves and a bud at a time.
• For this purpose, women labourers are employed in large numbers. Currently, tea industry provides employment to one million workers.

Source: The Hindu

Fourfold Growth in Digital Transactions By 2021

Topic: Economy

In News: According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) payment system vision document for 2019-2021 India will attain four times growth in digital transaction in two years.

More on the Topic:

• Payment Systems Vision 2021, with its 36 specific action points and 12 specific outcomes, aims to achieve a ‘highly digital’ and ‘cash-lite’ society through the goal posts of competition, cost effectiveness, convenience and confidence (4Cs).
• The RBI expects accelerated growth in individual retail electronic payment systems, both in terms of number of transactions and increased availability.
• Payment systems like UPI and IMPS are likely to register average annualised growth of over 100%, and NEFT at 40%, over the vision period.
• The number of digital transactions is expected to increase more than four times from 2,069 crore in December 2018 to 8,707 crore in December 2021.
• A 35% growth has been targeted in use of digital modes of payment for purchase of goods and services through increase in debit card transactions at point-of-sale terminals during the vision period.
• Use of debit cards in PoS transactions is expected to be at least 44% of total debit card transactions.
• No specific target has been considered for reducing cash in circulation. While no specific target is considered for cash in circulation, the enhanced availability of PoS infrastructure is expected to reduced demand for cash and thus, over time, achieve reduction in Cash in Circulation (CIC) as a percentage of GDP.

Advantages of Cashless Economy:

• It is easier to track the black money and illegal transactions because if cash is used directly for doing transactions than it is not easy to track the transactions as the money does not come into the banking system. However in case of digital transactions it is easy to track the transaction as all records are there with the banks which result in more transparent transactions which in turn leads to fall in corruption in the economy of the country.
• Since all transactions will be done through organized channel that is through banks and financial institutions it results in increase in tax revenue for the government as all cash transactions which were done illegally come into banking system which in turn helps the government in tracking all transactions and levying tax on them which in turn can be used by the government for betterment of economy of the country.
• Another advantage of cashless economy is that an individual does not need to carry cash with him or her everywhere which in turn reduces the chances of theft from wallet, reduces inconvenience due to carrying cash, give freedom from problem of change when transaction is of odd amount, no risk of receiving counterfeit currency and so on.

Source: The Hindu

Christchurch Call to Action

Topic: International Relations

In News: India signed the ‘Christchurch Call to Action’. The agreement came in the backdrop of the attacks on mosques on March 15 and is aimed at stopping abuse of the Internet by extremists.

More on the topic:

• The dissemination of such content online has adverse impacts on the human rights of the victims, on our collective security and on people all over the world,” declared a statement issued by the 17 signatory countries.
• The meeting held in Paris was attended by representatives of online giants like Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook and Amazon.
• As part of collaborative actions, the companies would develop a shared understanding of the contexts in which terrorist and violent extremist content is published and to improve technology to detect and remove terrorist and violent extremist content more effectively and efficiently.

Background:

• After the New Zealand attacks at two mosques in Christchurch city that claimed 51 lives in March, Facebook claimed it removed 1.5 million videos of the attacks within the first 24 hours itself.
• It also said it blocked 1.2 million of them at upload, meaning they would not have been seen by users.
• These steps will address the abuse of technology to spread terrorist content.

Source: The Hindu

Arunachal Mineral Reserves

Topic: Economy

In News: Arunachal Pradesh has asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to explore the possibility of surveying and drilling for minerals along the India-China border.

More on the Topic:

• This follows reports of Beijing carrying out “massive” mining activities very close to the border in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
• According to information on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ website, Arunachal Pradesh shares 1,126 km of the 3,488 km India shares with China.
• The State government also sought the development of road for exploration and extraction of minerals along the international border.
• The GSI presented the status of mineral deposits in Arunachal Pradesh at the meeting. Data showed that the State has 35% of the total graphite reserves in India the highest in the country.
• The GSI’s 2013 report, however, showed Arunachal Pradesh sits on 43% of the country’s graphite resources followed by Jammu & Kashmir (37%), Jharkhand (6%), Tamil Nadu (5%), and Odisha (3%), But in terms of resources, Tamil Nadu led with 37% followed by Jharkhand with 30% and Odisha with 29%.

About Graphite:

• The only non-metal element that is a good conductor of electricity, graphite is known as a dry lubricant for its greasy feel.
• Graphite has many industrial uses, particularly for products that need very high heat.

Source:Livemint

Services Trade Restrictiveness Index

Topic: Important Reports in News

In News: TSTRI is released by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

More on the Topic:

• It was launched in 2014 and it ranks countries (both OECD and non-OECD) based on their services trade policies.
• The index is now available for 2018 for a total of 45 economies and 22 sectors.
• It has placed Indian service sector as highly restrictive in areas such as FDI.
• India has found problems with the current method under which index is being calculated.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development:

• OECD, an organisation dedicated to economic development, consists of 36 member countries.
• It includes not only most advanced countries but also emerging countries like Mexico, Chile and Turkey.European Commission also participates alongside Members in discussions on the OECD.
• It also works closely with non-member countries like China, India, Brazil and South Africa through “Enhanced Engagement” programmes.
• Though India is not a member country, it is part of the various committee setup under OECD.
• It administers and publishes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is a regular assessment of the attainment of 15-year-olds in three areas of knowledge thus measuring the performance of educational systems across countries.India is a signatory of this policy.

Source: The Hindu

Square Kilometre Array Telescope

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: The Square Kilometre Array’s (SKA) Science Data Processor (SDP) consortium has announced concluding its engineering design work a five year process to design one of two supercomputers that will be used for the internal project.

More on the Topic:

• SKA project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with eventually over a square kilometre (one million square metres) of collecting area.
• It will use 1000s of dishes and up to a million low-frequency antennas that will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky much faster than any system currently in existence.
• South Africa’s Karoo region and Western Australia’s Murchison Shire were chosen as co-hosting locations for this project.
• Karoo will host the core of the high and mid frequency dishes and Murchison will host the low-frequency antennas.
• MeerLITCH is the world’s first optical telescope linked to a radio telescope launched in South Africa.
• The device forms part of the SKA project and will be linked to MeerKAT, a radio telescope located 200km away.
• Scientists at Cambridge have finished designing the data processor of SKA’s telescopes.

Key Science Goals:

• From challenging Einstein’s seminal theory of relativity to the limits, looking at how the very first stars and galaxies formed just after the big bang, in a way never before observed in any detail, helping scientists understand the nature of a mysterious force known as dark energy, the discovery of which gained the Nobel Prize for physics, through to understanding the vast magnetic fields which permeate the cosmos, and, one of the greatest mysteries known to humankind…are we alone in the Universe, the SKA will truly be at the forefront of scientific research.
• Early science observations are expected to start in 2020 with a partial array.

SKA members:

• Organisations from 12 countries are members of the SKA Organisation – Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
• This global organisation is managed by the not-for-profit SKA Organisation, who have their headquarters at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Source: The Hindu