TNPSC Current Affairs April 03, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs April 03, 2020 (03/04/2020)

Topic: Current socio-economic Issues

What is geofencing?

The centre has tested an application that triggers e-mails and SMS alerts to an authorised government agency if a person has jumped quarantine or escaped from isolation, based on the person’s mobile phone’s cell tower location. The “geo-fencing” is accurate by up to 300 m.

Background:

The States have been asked to seek the approval of their Home Secretaries under the provisions of Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, for the specified mobile phone numbers to request the DoT to provide information by email or SMS in case of violation of “geo-fencing”.

What is geofencing?

It is a location-based service in which an app or other software uses GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi or cellular data to trigger a pre-programmed action when a mobile device or RFID tag enters or exits a virtual boundary set up around a geographical location, known as a geofence.

Depending on how a geofence is configured it can prompt mobile push notifications, trigger text messages or alerts, send targeted advertisements on social media, allow tracking on vehicle fleets, disable certain technology or deliver location-based marketing data.

How geofencing works?

To make use of geofencing, an administrator or developer must first establish a virtual boundary around a specified location in GPS- or RFID-enabled software.

This virtual geofence will then trigger a response when an authorized device enters or exits that area, as specified by the administrator or developer.

Other applications of geofence:

Social networking, Marketing, Audience engagement, Smart appliances, Human Resource management, Telematics, Security.

Topic: International Diary of Events

How COVID-19 outbreak slipped through China’s system?

Nearly, 1 million are infected by COVID 19 across the world today. Though, the spread initially started in the month of December last year, until January 19, authorities in Wuhan maintained there was no proof of human-to-human transmission.

Studies suggest while China’s January 23 lockdown of 50 million people averted an additional 7,00,000 cases outside Wuhan, interventions one week and three weeks earlier may have brought down the number by 66% and 95%, respectively.

What led to the disaster?

Communication gap: Every province, city and even district in China has its own Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but these are subordinate to the health commission at every level so they do not directly report to the national level.

Encroachment on freedom of speech: Doctors were told that they could not speak about what was happening in Wuhan. This downplayed the severity of the situation.

Spread of infection: By the time the Wuhan province came under lockdown, as many as 5 million people had left.

Learning:

China finally came out in public on January 10 explaining the severing the situation. Only it was too late for the world. If they had acted earlier, say by January 7, it may have been an entirely different equation. The most important lesson is there has to be more transparency and an open environment for sharing and discussion.

Topic: Public Awareness and General Administration

Operation Sanjeevani

An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130J transport aircraft recently delivered 6.2 tonne of essential medicines and hospital consumables to Maldives under Operation Sanjeevani.

Among other things, these medicines include influenza vaccines, anti-viral drugs such as lopinavir and ritonavir — which have been used to treat patients with COVID-19 in other countries.

Topic: General Administration, Latest Diary of Events

Exercise NCC Yogdan

National Cadet Corps (NCC) has offered a helping hand to civilian authorities in the country’s fight against COVID-19 by extending the services of cadets under ‘Exercise NCC Yogdan’.

What is National Cadet Corps?

It is a youth development movement. It came into existence under the National Cadet Corps Act XXXI of 1948.

It is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.

Topic: Latest Diary of Events

Project Prana

The students and scientists of IISc-Bengaluru have developed indigenous ventilators under “Project Prana”. The ventilator was made using pressure sensor that widely finds its application in automobile industry. The ventilator mixes oxygen with compressed air.

Recently Indian Naval Dockyard supplied its MOM (Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold) ventilators to Andhra Pradesh Government. The MOM ventilator is portable and is capable of serving 6 patients at a time.

Topic: Latest inventions on Science and Technology

A New Low-Cost Temperature Gun developed by Indian Navy

The Mumbai Naval Dockyard has designed a low-cost IR based temperature sensor. The sensor is to be used to check the personnel entering at the gates of the yard.

Key facts:

The instrument was manufactured at less than Rs 1000. The manufacturing cost is fraction of the instruments used in the market. The accuracy of the temperature gun is 0.2 degree Celsius. The temperature gun has a LED display and an infrared sensor.