Daily Current Affairs :  06-12-2020

Table of Contents :

1. Great Barrier Reef
2. Ministry of Civilisation Released Draft of the National Unmanned Aircraft System(UAS) Traffic Management Policy 
3. Chinese Researchers claim to have Achieved Quantum Supremacy 
4. Reserve Bank of India(RBI) allows Regional Rural Banks(RRBs)To Access LAF, MSF windows 
5. 5.Passage Exercise (PASSEX)-2020
6. Diem
7. Plant Based Vaccine(PBV)
8. The cancer genomics Atlas program(TGCA)
9. Export Control Law of China
10. Oman, India's Friendship Association

1.Great Barrier Reef

• According to a report by the international union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Australia's Great Barrier Reef status was lowered to critical and deteriorating as climate change warms up the waters in which it lies.
• Coral-bleaching in 2016, 2017 and 2020 has further damaged its health and affected its animal, bird and marine population.
• It is the world's most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem situated on Australia's northeastern coast It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: The Hindu

2.Ministry of Civilisation Released Draft of the National Unmanned Aircraft System(UAS) Traffic Management Policy 

• It aims to develop an air traffic management (ATM) system for civilian drones or UAS.
• As newer technology evolves, drones will soon need to fly alongside manned aircraft and maintaining acceptable levels of aviation safety in such scenarios would be the primary consideration for active integration of manned and unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace.
• Earlier in June 2020, the government had also issued the Draft Unmanned Aircraft SystemRules,2020.
• UAS Traffic Management (UTM) ecosystem is envisioned to be a software-based interface between drones, remote pilots, regulatory systems, and Air Traffic Control systems to share flight information and real-time situational awareness.
• It applies to drones flying 1,000feet above ground level in uncontrolled airspaces.
• The online DigitalSky platform will be a core part of the UTM Ecosystem - an Onlne management platform for drones set up by the government and the primary authority for drone flight approvals.
• A drone is an aerial device that can navigate without a human onboard or beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
• InIndia,drones are used for research,entertainment purposes etc.

Source: The Hindu

3. Chinese Researchers claim to have Achieved Quantum Supremacy 

• Researchers have built a quantum computer prototype that is able to perform certain computations nearly 100 trillion times faster than the world's most advanced supercomputer.
• With this, China becomes the first country to develop the technology.
• last year, Google had built a computer named Sycamore, that could perform computation in 200 seconds that would take the fastest supercomputers about 10,000 years, hence reaching quantum supremacy.

Quantum computing

• A quantum computer harnesses quantum mechanics to deliver huge leaps forward in processing power.
•  Rather than storing information using bits represented by O's or 1s' as conventional computers do, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, to encode information as O's, l's, or both at the same time.
• They function according to two key principles of quantum physics: superposition and entanglement.
• Superposition means that each qubit can represent both 1 and 0 at the same time.
• Entanglement means that qubits in a superposition can be correlated with each other; i.e., the state of one (whether it is a 1 or an O) can depend on the state of another.

Source: The Hindu

4.Reserve Bank of India(RBI) allows Regional Rural Banks(RRBs)To Access LAF, MSF windows 

• RBI allowed RRBs to access the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), marginal standing facility (MSF), and call or notice money market.
• At present, RRBs are not permitted to access the liquidity windows of the RBI as well as the call or notice market.
• This step is aimed at facilitating better liquidity management for these lenders and expand their participation in the money market.
• LAF is used in monetary policy which enables banks to borrow money through repurchase agreements (repo) against the collateral of Government securities including State Government securities or banks to lend to the RBI using reverse repo contracts.
• MSF is a very short-term borrowing scheme for scheduled commercial banks.
• MSF had been introduced by RBI to reduce volatility in the overnight lending rates in the inter-bank market and to enable a smooth monetary transmission in the financial system.
•  MSF .rate is generally higher than the Repo rate.
• Call/notice money market forms an important segment of the  Indian money market.
• Under the call money market, funds are transacted on an overnight basis and under the notice money market, funds are transacted for the period between 2 days and 14days.

Source: The Hindu

5.Passage Exercise (PASSEX)-2020

• Joint naval exercises held between the Indian and Russian navies in the Eastern IndianOcean Region (IOR).
• Joint exercise Indra 2020 was held between the two countries in the north Indian Ocean in September.

Source: The Hindu

6.Diem

• It is Facebook·backed cryptocurrency that was rebranded from the earlier name Libra.
• It will be multiple coins with each backed by a different currency that can be traded in place of it.
• Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that uses cryptography for security and anticounterfeiting measures.
• The control of each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology called a blockchain.
•  some of the well-known currencies are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum {ETH), Ripple (XRP), etc.

Source: The Hindu

7.Plant Based Vaccine(PBV)

• It is emerging as an affordable and efficient alternative for vaccination against diseases.
• PBV is a kind of recombinant vaccine that Introduces antigens against particular pathogens into the selected plant.
• Rather than replicating a virus, it aims to engineer a virus-like protein (VLP) in living plants.
• When administered, a VIP mimics a virus and is recognized by the immune system, thus eliciting a protective response.
• A vaccine generally contains a dead or weakened version of the same microbe of disease.

Source: The Hindu

8.The cancer genomics Atlas program(TGCA)

• TCGA is a cancer genomics program of the US-India which began in 2006 bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines and multiple institutions.
• Over the years, TCGA generated over 2.5 petabytes of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data.
• These data led to improvements in the ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer.
• On similar lines, the establishment of an 'Indian Cancer Genomics Atlas (ICGA}' has been initiated by a consortium of key stakeholders In India led by CSIR.

Source: The Hindu

9.Export Control Law of China

• It will regulate the export of sensitive materials and te<hnologies from China to overseas.
• Law stipulates export controls over items of both civilian and military use, military and •goods, technologies, and services" that are related to national security, including data related to them.
•  It allows China to retaliate against the U.S., which blocked Chinese firms Huawei, TikTok on grounds of national security.
• ECL also extends Chinese jurisdiction even beyond the national territory, by providing penalties and obligations binding on importers, end-users.

Source: The Hindu

10.Oman, India's Friendship Association

• Oman, India's oldest strategic partner in West Asia, has announced directives to establish Oman-India Friendship Association. This would be the first such initiative in West Asia.
• The aim of the association to provide a platform that promotes friendship, understanding, and matters of
• mutual interest between Oman and Indian business and social communities in the Sultanate.

Source: The Hindu

Jai Hind!

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