Prelim Bits 29-05-2022 & 30-05-2022 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Current Affairs

Caution on Aadhaar photocopies

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) in a press release issued notifications on sharing a photocopy of Aadhar card to avoid any misuses.

MeitY has advised the people not to
- share photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organisation because it can be misused.
- use a public computer to download electronic versions of the Aadhar. If done so, they have to delete all the downloaded copies of e-Aadhaar permanently from the computer.
Only those organisations with a ‘user licence’ from the UIDAI could use Aadhar for establishing a person’s identity.
Hotels and cinema halls weren’t authorised to collect photocopies of Aadhar.
Alternatively, a masked Aadhaar card can be used.
An Aadhaar number consists of 12 digits. A masked Aadhaar displays only the last 4 digits of the biometric ID replacing the first eight digits with characters like "xxxx-xxxx".
However the government has withdrew its notification claiming that it could be “misinterpreted”.
It said that UIDAI had only advised Aadhaar card holders to exercise “normal prudence” in using and sharing their Aadhaar numbers.
Government added that Aadhar details, without biometric information, couldn’t be used to impersonate a person.

Reference

The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus.
It is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.
The virus was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937. It was identified in birds in the Nile delta region in 1953.
Transmission - Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission.
It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.
It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
It can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child.
Symptoms - The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people.
In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever (West Nile Fever), headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
Severe infection can lead to encephalitis, meningitis, paralysis, and even death. Some effects to the central nervous system might be permanent.
Recovery from severe illness might take several weeks or months.

Reference

PM CARES for Children Scheme was launched on May 2021 to support children who have lost both the parents or legal guardian or surviving parent to COVID-19 Pandemic, during the period from 11th March 2020 to 28th February 2022.
The Scheme Aims to ensure Comprehensive Care and Protection through
- Boarding and Lodging
- Health Insurance cover of Rs 5 lakhs.
- Education (Admission in schools)
- Scholarships (Rs 20,000 for all school going children)
- Educational loans for higher education.
- Financial Support till they attain the Age of 23 Years.
- Financial support of Rs. 10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age for self-sufficient existence
A passbook of PM CARES for Children, and Health card under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana will be handed over to the children during the programme.
A portal was launched to register the children under the scheme. The portal is a single window system which facilitates approval process and all other assistance for children.

Reference

The contract for building four Survey Vessel Large (SVL) ships was inked between Ministry of Defence and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata on October, 2018.
The SVL ships will replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships.
It has the capability to carry four Survey Motor Boats and an integral helicopter.
It has new generation hydrographic equipment to collect oceanographic and geophysical data.
The primary role of the ships would be to undertake full scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys of Ports and navigational channels.
The ships would also be deployed for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data for defence as well as civil applications. In their secondary role, the ships are capable of providing limited defence, besides serving as Hospital ships during emergencies.
The Indian Navy launched 'Sandhayak', the first of the four large survey vessels on December 2021.
The second Vessels ‘Nirdeshak’ is launched now. It is built by GRSE in collaboration with L&T shipbuilding.
The ship has taken its name from erstwhile Nirdeshak which was also an Indian Naval Survey ship and was decommissioned after 32 years of glorious service in December 2014.

Reference

The Antarctic Peninsula host a great diversity of bacteria. Some of them constitute a potential source of ancestral genes that confer resistance to antibiotics.
Pseudomonas bacteria, one of the predominant bacteria groups in the Antarctic Peninsula, are not pathogenic but can be a source of resistance genes.
The gene gives them natural antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance.
It has the potential to spread out of the Polar Regions.
These are not stopped by common disinfectants such as copper, chlorine or quaternary ammonium.
Their ability to resist extreme conditions are contained in mobile DNA fragments. Such fragments can easily be transferred to other bacteria.
Melting of ice due to climate change could have an impact on the occurrence of infectious diseases.

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