Voter and Aadhar ID linkage issue

• The Election Commission’s (EC) campaign to promote the linkage of Voter ID and Aadhaar began recently.
•  As per the government, linkage of Aadhaar with voter IDs will assist in ensuring that only one Voter ID is issued per citizen of India.
• Form 6B provides the format in which Aadhaar information may be submitted to the electoral registration officer.
• However, the option to submit other listed documents is exercisable only if the voter is “not able to furnish their Aadhaar number”.
•  This made Aadhaar linkage to Voter ID as a mandatory option.
• Civil society has highlighted that linking of the two databases could lead to the linkage of demographic information with voter information.
• It lead to violation of the right to privacy and surveillance measures by the state.

Judgments related to Aadhar & Voting Rights

• In Lal Babu Hussein Case (1995), the SC had held that the Right to vote cannot be disallowed by insisting only on four proofs of identity.
• Voters can rely on any other proof of identity and obtain the right to vote.
• In Puttaswamy Judgment, the SC held that a person would not be denied of benefits in case Aadhaar based authentication could not take place. 
• Also, the Puttaswamy judgment, held that the use of biometric based authentication and verification, did not lead to the creation of a “surveillance state”. 
• Moreover, Aadhaar is only a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship.

The following applications are launched by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Pharma Jan Samadhan

• It is part of Digital India initiative, which aims at empowering the citizen through a transparent, accountable and responsive governance system.
• It provides the consumer with an effective and time bound grievance redressal system to effectively deal with complaints related to pricing, shortage and non-availability of medicines.

Pharma Sahi Daam

• It is an online search tool for checking prices of Scheduled/Non-Scheduled medicines instantly at the time of purchasing medicines and for searching medicine substitutes.

Integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System

• IPDMS 2.0 is an integrated, responsive, cloud-based application developed by NPPA with technical support from Centre for Advance Computing (C-DAC).
• It is envisaged to optimise synergies in operations in order to promote the government’s thrust on ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
• It would provide a single window for submissions of various forms as mandated under Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013.

Nuclear Matrix

• The nuclear matrix is a three-dimensional filamentous protein network.
• It is found in the nucleoplasm, which provides a structural framework for organizing cell division and chromatin, while facilitating transcription and replication.
• Every cell that makes up an organism contains a copy of its genome.
• This genome is packaged in special ways with the help of a structure known as the nuclear matrix.
• The nuclear matrix gives an organisation and architecture to the nucleus. 
• Analogous to the building, the nuclear matrix creates the architecture in which the genome is packaged.
• The genome is in the nucleus, embedded and protected by the jelly-like nuclear matrix.
• This is a dynamic material providing access for the regulation of different genes in different cells.
• Studying the nuclear matrix is, therefore, very important to get a better picture of how precisely development progresses every time a new individual is born.

Malwares in mobile banking

Anubis

• It is a mobile banking Trojan that targets Android users since 2017.
• Its worldwide campaigns have hit users in Russia, Turkey, India, China, Colombia, France, Germany, the U.S., Denmark, and Vietnam.
• The perpetrators infect the device through legitimate-looking and high-ranking malicious apps on Google Play, smishing (phishing messages sent through SMS).

Roaming Mantis

• It is another prolific malware targeting mobile banking users.
• The group attacks Android devices and spreads the malicious code by hijacking domain name systems (DNS) through smishing exploits.
• The group targets users by sending smishing texts with a short description and a URL landing page.
• If a user clicks on the link and opens the landing page, they are redirected to a phishing page.
• For iOS users, the landing page mimics Apple’s official website; while Android devices download another malware.
• And once the individual inputs their login credentials and proceed to the two-factor authentication, the attacker gets to know the user’s device and login details.

Social Auditor

• The CA Institute’s central council has approved the formation of a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) to oversee the functioning of social auditors under the SEBI-notified framework for social stock exchanges.
• The SRO is proposed to be named as “Institute of Social Auditors of India” and will be set up as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act 2013, under the aegis of ICAI.
• The new class of auditors viz the social auditors will be an important pillar of social stock exchange since they will help install the confidence in the sector.
• To pursue the role of a social auditor, an individual must qualify a certification program to be conducted by the National Institute of Securities Market (NISM) and hold a valid certificate.
• ICAI is closely working with NISM in developing the course curriculum and the study material for the social auditor’s certification program.