Government Agencies to Monitor Computers
- Union Home Ministry has recently issued a notification allowing 10 government agencies to monitor and decrypt any information stored in any computer on grounds of internal security.
- It is in accordance with the power conferred upon the government under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
- The agencies will now be able to snoop on exchange of information and material between individuals and banned or militant groups.
- Each case of interception, monitoring, decryption is to be approved by the Union home secretary and reviewed every 2 months by the cabinet secretary.
- The central agencies being given power under the notification are,
- Intelligence Bureau,
- Narcotics Control Bureau,
- Enforcement Directorate,
- Central Board of Direct Taxes,
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
- Central Bureau of Investigation,
- National Investigation Agency,
- Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW),
- Directorate of Signal Intelligence (for service areas of Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Assam only) and
- The Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
Pokkali Paddy
- Pokkali paddy variety is a saltwater-tolerant paddy grown in the coastal fields of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala.
- It is endemic to Kerala and was given Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
- It grows to a height of up to 2 m and it survived the recent devastating floods in farmlands across the State.
- The single-season paddy is raised in saltwater fields between June and November followed by a season of fish-farming.
- After the harvest, the paddy stubble in the fields acts as food and shelter for shrimp and small fish.
- Fish excreta and scales, along with the decomposed stubble, provide excellent natural manure for another season of Pokkali.
- The cultivation is labour intensive and this farming tradition is under threat due to lack of labour.
States’ Startup Ranking
- The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced results of the first ever States’ Start-up Ranking 2018 recently.
- The key objective of the exercise was to encourage States/UT to take proactive steps towards strengthening the Start-up ecosystems in their states.
- The States have been identified under different categories - Start-up policy leaders, incubation hubs, seeding innovation, scaling innovation, regulatory change champions, procurement leaders, communication champions, North-Eastern leader, and hill state leader.
- Based on these categories, the States have been recognised as the Best Performer, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders, Emerging States and Beginners.
- Gujarat has been identified as the best performer.
- Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and Rajasthan have been identified as the top performers.
- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana have been identified as leaders.
Windfarm in Norway
- Norway is planning to build megawatt Storheia wind park in Northwest coast.
- It is part of Europe’s largest onshore wind power project.
- United Nations calls to suspend the project because the area is used fore reindeer grazing, a traditional activity of the Sami people.
- The sight and sound of the turbines in the park during winter months, could frighten the animals.
Source: PIB, The Hindu
