Daily PT Capsule Apr 13

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Daily PT Capsule UPSC Civil Services
Daily PT Capsule UPSC Civil Services

Here is today’s digest of important newspaper articles!

India-US military to share facilities

India and the U.S. have agreed “in principle” on a logistics support agreement that would make it easier for both militaries to share each other’s facilities. Named as the The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), it was first proposed in 2004 and resisted by the UPA government for a decade.  The proposal was discussed during the three day visit of U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter.  The draft of the agreement is yet to be finalised.

A formal agreement, when inked, will access supplies, spare parts and services from each other’s land facilities, air bases and ports, which can then be reimbursed, according to the MoD source, who added that the signing of the LEMOA does not provide automatic access to the use of military bases.

The U.S. administration has been wanting India to sign three agreements called as ‘foundation agreements’ to deepen the already existing India-US military relationship. The three agreements are the Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA); the LSA; and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geospatial intelligence. India has provided logistics assistance to the US in the past on a case-by-case basis, which included providing refueling facilities to American aircraft during the Gulf War in 2001.

Analysts say signing the CISMOA would enable India to get encrypted communications equipment and systems allowing military commanders to communicate with aircraft and ships through a secure network. The BECA would provide India with topographical and aeronautical data and products, which will aid navigation and targeting.

Analysis

Whats are the issues with greater military cooperation? – An agreement on logistics would move India closer to the USA as a strategic partner. A gain for India could be that entering into such an agreement with the US will balance out the growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.

However some sections of the Indian military do not support the CISMOA and BECA. The agreements would provide the US with access to communications about Indian military operations.

Source: DefenceNews, TheHindu

 

Kerala HC says no to use of high decibel pyrotechnics

The Kerala High court ordered strict enforcement of the provisions in the Explosive Rules, banning the use of high-decibel crackers and display of fireworks between the hours of sunset and sunrise, at places of worship in the State.

At a special sitting, the Bench directed officers of the Central and State governments to ensure that explosives were used only in accordance with the Explosive Rules 2008 in the State. If there was any lack of supervisory control by the official concerned, it should be considered a dereliction of duty, the Bench said.

Analysis

Why the ban has been imposed? – The ban comes after the Puttingal Devi temple fireworks accident, which has claimed more than 100 lives.

What was the main reason behind the accident? – The investigation for the cause of fire is underway. It has been known that the temple committee was conducting fireworks show without proper permissions from the district authorities.

The use of potassium chlorate a banned explosive is also been seen as a cause for the fire.

How does potassium chlorate work? – Potassium chlorate has very powerful oxidising ability. When heated, it decomposes to produce oxygen.

The oxygen so produced fuels the flame of the lit firework, thereby increasing the temperature of the firework even further.

The extra heat generated excites the electrons in the colour-producing chemicals added in the firework mixture and thus produces beautiful colours. The oxidising property of potassium chlorate is also its biggest disadvantage when used in fireworks. It has an inherent property to become very reactive, especially when mixed with sulphur; the potassium chlorate-sulphur mixture becomes dangerously sensitive to friction and may spontaneously ignite.

Source: TheHindu

 

Bitcoin being used for ransom money

In a recent incident an IT company in Mysuru became the target of denial of a service attack recently, the attackers demanded Bitcoins in return for sharing the key to restore the company’s computer systems.

The attackers demanded of the company management to pay Bitcoins – virtual money through Bitcoin-dealing websites -in return for the key to restore their computer systems. The company paid the attackers in bitcoin. It is difficult to trace the identity of the attackers involved in the transaction.

Analysis

What is Bitcoin? – Bitcoin is a digital asset and a payment system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto, who published the invention in 2008 and released it as open-source software in 2009. The system is peer-to-peer; users can transact directly without an intermediary.

The system works without a central repository or single administrator, which has led the U.S. Treasury to categorize bitcoin as a decentralized virtual currency. Bitcoin is often called the first cryptocurrency, although prior systems existed. Bitcoin is more correctly described as the first decentralized digital currency. It is the largest of its kind in terms of total market value.

What are its benefits? – Bitcoins are created as a reward for payment processing work in which users offer their computing power to verify and record payments into a public ledger. This activity is called mining and miners are rewarded with transaction fees and newly created bitcoins. So the miners benefit from making bitcoins.

Bitcoin as a form of payment for products and services has grown,and merchants have an incentive to accept it because fees are lower than the 2–3% typically imposed by credit card processors.

What are the threats involved? – Users who bought into bitcoin early, kept on to their bitcoins as speculative investments.  Bitcoin then shifted away from hoarding to spending when Satoshi Dice, which is a bitcoin gambling game.  Bitcoin transactions grew with the game in command of 60% of all bitcoin transactions.

It is associated with sales of illegal goods, drugs, weapons, assassinations, Ponzi schemes, money laundering and other known illegal activities of the criminal underground.  And with this there was a negative impact in bitcoin value with it currently declining in value.

There have been recent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on some leading bitcoin exchanges.  With Mt.Gox a major bitcoin exchange in Japan was hit and resulted in $500M loss, and Flexcoin a Canadian bitcoin exchange took a loss of $600k.  Both had to shut down as a result.

Source: TheHindu, Wikipedia, AlbertsNewestTrends

Supreme Court paves the way for NEET admissions

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court recalled its order which had held the all-India common entrance test for medical admissions as “illegal” and “unconstitutional” on the ground that it interfered with the right of private, minority and linguistic institutions to admit students.

The Constitution Bench, headed by Justice Dave, said that the 2013 judgment requires a “reconsideration” and that the validity of the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) would be examined afresh. NEET is a common entrance test for admission to MBBS, BDS and post-graduate courses. It effectively takes away the right of medical colleges and institutions, including those run by religious and linguistic minorities, to make admissions on the basis of their own rules and procedures.

The Medical Council of India and the central government, which had challenged the 2013 order, can now conduct NEET. With this SC order, the Central Board for Secondary Education could issue notification for the NEET exam anytime, even for this academic year

Analysis

What is NEET? – National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)  is conducted for admission to MBBS, BDS and PG courses in all medical colleges. It was introduced to reform the system of admissions to medical colleges which is marred by high capitation fee and corruption.

What is the quota system for entrance? – Fifteen per cent of seats in all medical colleges, both private and government, are filled up under the all-India quota. In Tamil Nadu, where entrance examination was scrapped in 2005, 85 per cent of seats in government medical colleges and a certain percentage of seats in private colleges are filled under the government quota and admission for these seats are done based on the merit list prepared on the basis of Class XII marks.

The states like Tamil Nadu are protesting because according to them conducting the NEET for State government seats is against the State’s right, principal of social justice and reservation policies.

Source: TheIndianExpress

 

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