Author: ForumIAS

Pacific garbage patch is far larger than feared: study What has happened? The vast dump of plastic waste swirling in the Pacific ocean is now bigger than France, Germany and Spain combined — far larger than previously feared — and is growing rapidly, a study published on Thursday warned 80,000 tonnes of trash float as… Continue reading Pacific garbage patch is far larger than feared: study

One app, 1,000 services: mKeralam What has happened? Kerala, which last year became the first State to declare Internet a basic human right, has notched up another first by launching mKeralam, an app that will serve as a single window for accessing thousands of government services. Background The two-day #FUTURE conclave, Kerala’s first-ever Global Digital… Continue reading One app, 1,000 services: mKeralam

Dubious journals abound: study What has happened? A systematic study of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) approved list of journals has confirmed what scientists have long suspected. The white list contains a huge number of dubious or predatory journals which publish substandard papers for a small fee with very little peer-reviewing, if at all. Methodolgy… Continue reading Dubious journals abound: study

Cockroach DNA reveals mighty little secrets Context Genome sequencing may throw light on the insect’s ability to heal itself in the most harshest of environments American Cockroach The American cockroach is the largest common house cockroach, about the length of a AA battery. Also called the water bug, it can live for a week without… Continue reading Cockroach DNA reveals mighty little secrets

Indigenous technology tested on BrahMos What has happened? The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was on Thursday successfully test-fired with an indigenous seeker for the first time. So far the seeker, a critical technology in missiles, came from Russia. Seeker’, a critical technology, used to come from Russia The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired… Continue reading Indigenous technology tested on BrahMos

Not equipped to detect deep Maoist mines: Home Ministry What has happened? The Home Ministry has told a parliamentary panel that forces were “unable to detect deep planted mines” with the technology presently available in the areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Background The Committee of Estimates headed by senior BJP leader MurliManohar Joshi… Continue reading Not equipped to detect deep Maoist mines: Home Ministry

EU leaders to push for privacy protection What has happened? European Union leaders will on Thursday press tech giants to protect personal data in the wake of the scandal over information harvested from Facebook, draft summit conclusions said. Move comes amid the Facebook row The Brussels summit is tackling the row over the misuse of… Continue reading EU leaders to push for privacy protection

CA, Facebook &you Context The recent Facebook controversy is a wake-up call to press ahead with a robust data protection law Issues highlighted Involvement of Elections and politics Need of a policy: Regardless of whether what Facebook and CA did was legal or not, something is broken in a policy environment in which the data… Continue reading CA, Facebook &you

Protecting our data What has happened? After the Cambridge Analytica crisis exploded, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned Facebook against the misuse of Indians’ data and any attempt to influence the electoral processes of this country. Dangers abound Creating Psychological Profiles: Data mined from Indian users of social media may be used for purposes… Continue reading Protecting our data