BIHAR

• State to get spl centre to check cyber crime

 

• Faced with growing cases of cyber crime, such as financial frauds and circulation of communal and pornographic contents, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) is mulling to set up an apex coordination centre and has also asked the states to establish a similar mechanism.

 

• The MHA has released Rs 83 crore, including Rs 2.3 crore for Bihar, for setting up state-level cyber forensic and training centres for police officials.

 

• The apex centre — Indian cyber crime coordination centre (I4C) — would be set up in Delhi. It would coordinate with various state governments, union territories and closely monitor the cyber space as well as social media with emphasis on vernacular content.

 

• The state governments have been asked to set up a cyber forensic and training centre at the headquarters-level and also district cyber crime cells (DCCC) for creating a surveillance network.

 

• The ministry has already created a new wing – cyber and information security division to deal with the new-age challenge.

 

• The move comes in view of the fact that there has been phenomenal increase in the use of computers, smart phones and internet in an age of digital existence.

 

• Around 2,200 persons, including judges, public prosecutors and station house officers, will take training from master trainers to tackle cases of cyber crime.

 

• Seven officials, including two DSPS, an inspector and four sub inspectors, have already been trained in Bhopal as master trainers.

 

• In 2012, several police stations had sought technical assistance from the economic offences unit in about 50 cases related to credit card fraud, pornography and online banking fraud.

 

• In 2017, police stations across the state sought assistance in more than 600 cases, including content on social networking sites, posting of pornographic material, hacking of e-mails and explicit material by creating fake Facebook accounts.

INTERNATIONAL

 

·        NASA’s unmanned aircraft ‘Ikhana’ will make search and rescue operations efficient

 

• NASA for the first time successfully flown its large remote-piloted Ikhana aircraft in the public airspace without a safety chase aeroplanes, the US space agency.
• It is a modified General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ Predator B unmanned aircraft system being used by NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, for a variety of environmental science and aeronautical research roles

 

·                India refuses to endorse BRI

 

• India was the only country not to endorse a high-profile Chinese project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) — the only discordant note in the 17-page joint document released at the end of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Qingdao.

 

• All remaining seven members of the SCO bloc supported the project that is a part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

 

• Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India supports connectivity projects that are inclusive, transparent and respect territorial sovereignty. India has long maintained that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — a key part of the BRI initiative that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — violates its territorial integrity.

 

• The prime minister also floated an overarching concept of security that the SCO could follow, calling it SECURE: S for security for citizens, E for economic development, C for connectivity in the region, U for unity, R for respect of sovereignty, E for environment protection.

 

NATIONAL

 

·        Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan meets Ambassadors from OPEC countries to India

 

• Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhanmet the Ambassadors from OPEC countries and expressed concern about rising crude oil prices and its negative impact on consumers across the world, particularly in India.
• At a meeting in New Delhi, Mr Padhan emphasized that global crude prices have gone beyond the threshold which can be sustained by the world. He highlighted that market fundamentals do not support such high prices.
• He urged the OPEC Ambassadors to convey the message to their Governments regarding the need to move to responsible pricing. He also urged them to move to transparent and flexible markets for both oil and gas.
• India has a strong engagement with the OPEC countries and top 8 suppliers of crude oil to India are OPEC Member countries.
• The block accounted for about 83 per cent of country’s total crude oil imports, during the last financial year. Mr Pradhan is scheduled to visit Vienna next week to participate in the 7th OPEC International Seminar to further discuss these key issues.

 

·        Inflation Rises To 14-Month High Of 4.43% In May

 

 

• Inflation based on wholesale prices shot up to a 14-month high of 4.43% in May on increasing prices of petrol and diesel as well as vegetables.
• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)based inflation stood at 3.18%in April and 2.26% in May 2017.
• According to government data released, inflation in food articles was at 1.60% in May 2018, as against 0.87% in the preceding month. Inflation in vegetables climbed to 2.51% in May, while in the previous month it was (-)0.89%.
• Inflation in ‘fuel and power’ basket rose sharply to 11.22% in May from 7.85% in April as prices of domestic fuel increased in line with rising global crude oil rates.

 

·        Gujarat tops Niti Aayog’s composite water management index; while Jharkhand ranked lowest

 

• Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari released Niti Aayog’s composite water management indexreport in New Delhi.

 

• Gujarat topped the list while Jharkhand was adjudged as the worst performer. Gujarat is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

 

• In the northeastern and Himalayan states, Tripura has been adjudged as the top state in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam.

 

• Niti Aayog has ranked the states through first of its kind index on the composite water management, comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects.

 

• The report predicted that by 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.

 

·        Twenty States Sign MoU For Implementing Ayushman Bharat – NHP Mission

 

• Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare exchanged the MoU with the State Health Ministers of 20 States marking their commitment towards the launch of the Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM).
• Anupriya Patel, Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare and Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog were also present at the function.
• A web portal for initiating the empanelment of hospitals under the mission was also launched.