What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Landslide Atlas of India

Why in News?

Wayanad, currently reeling from the deadly July 30 landslide disaster, was among several places in Kerala identified by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2023 as being highly susceptible to landslides based on key socio-economic parameters.

In the Landslide Atlas of India, prepared by the National Remote Sensing Centre (a unit of ISRO) in February 2023, Wayanad ranked 13th among 147 districts across 17 States and two Union Territories. 

Meanwhile, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode ranked third, fifth, seventh, and tenth, respectively.

Landslide Atlas of India

• About
  • The Landslide Atlas of India, prepared by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO, details landslide occurrences and damage assessments in landslide-prone areas of India.
  • It covers 147 districts in 17 states and two Union Territories in the Himalayas and Western Ghats. 
  • The geospatial landslide inventory database includes approximately 80,000 landslides mapped from 1998 to 2022, categorized into three types: seasonal, event-based, and route-wise inventories.
    • The seasonal inventory documents landslides from the 2014 and 2017 rainy seasons.
    • The event-based inventory includes major events like the Kedarnath and Kerala disasters and the Sikkim earthquake. 
    • The route-wise inventory covers landslides along significant tourist and pilgrimage routes.
  • The mapping utilized high to very high-resolution satellite data, including IRS-1D, Resourcesat, Cartosat, Sentinel, Pleiades, and WorldView, as well as aerial images, with some landslides validated in the field. 
  • The data was used to rank districts based on their exposure to landslides, considering key socio-economic parameters.
• Key findings

• Uttarakhand, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh reported the highest number of landslides during 1998 – 2022.
  • Mizoram topped the list, recording 12,385 landslide events in the past 25 years, of which 8,926 were recorded in 2017 alone. 
  • Likewise, 2,071 events of the total 2,132 landslides reported in Nagaland during this period occurred during the 2017 monsoon season. 
  • Manipur, too, showed a similar trend, wherein 4,559 out of 5,494 landslide events were experienced during the rainy season of 2017. 
• Among all these states, an alarming situation is emerging from Uttarakhand and Kerala.
• Uttarakhand
  • Uttarakhand’s fragility was recently exposed during the land subsidence events reported from Joshimath since January. 
  • The state has experienced the second highest number (11,219) of landslides since 1998. 
  • Kerala 
  • Kerala has been consistently reporting massive landslides since it suffered the century’s worst floods in 2018.
  • The year-wise landslide events here are 2018 (5,191), 2019 (756), 2020 (9) and 2021 (29).
• Most Vulnerable District 
  • From the events and images obtained, the NRSC ranked Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand at the top of 147 vulnerable districts. 
  • It has the highest landslide density in the country, along with having the highest exposure to total population and number of houses.

Q.1. What is National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)?

The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) is a key unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), dedicated to satellite data acquisition, processing, and dissemination. It plays a crucial role in resource management, environmental monitoring, and disaster management through advanced remote sensing technology and geospatial data services across India.

Q.2. Where is Rudraprayag?

Rudraprayag is a town and district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is located in the northern part of the state, in the Garhwal Himalayas. The district is named after the town of Rudraprayag, which is situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers, and is known for its religious significance and natural beauty.

Source: Wayanad was among Kerala districts that ranked high on ISRO ‘Landslide Atlas’ | ISRO | Indian Express | The Week

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in the News?
• Authentication Process in Digital Payments
• What is Alternative Factor Authentication in Digital Transactions?
• News Summary

Why in the News?

• The RBI released a draft circular proposing an Alternative Factor Authentication for all transactions in a move to prioritize security of digital payments, according to its statement on July 31.

Authentication Process in Digital Payments

• Authentication in the context of digital payments is the process of verifying the identity of a user or the validity of a transaction to ensure security and prevent fraud.
• This process ensures that the person initiating the payment is authorized to do so and that the transaction is legitimate.
• Basic Types of Authentication Methods for Digital Payments:
  • Password-Based Authentication: Users enter a unique password to confirm their identity.
  • PIN-Based Authentication: Users enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to authorize transactions.
  • Biometric Authentication: Utilizes unique biological characteristics such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans.
  • Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Combines two different methods of authentication, typically something the user knows (password) and something the user has (mobile device).
  • Usage: Enhances security for online transactions and account access.
  • One-Time Password (OTP): A temporary password generated for a single transaction or session, sent to the user's registered mobile number or email.
  • Token-Based Authentication: Uses a hardware or software token to generate a unique code that the user must enter to authenticate.
  • Smart Card Authentication: Involves the use of a smart card containing embedded integrated circuits to authenticate the user.
  • QR Code Authentication: Users scan a QR code with their mobile device to authenticate and authorize payments.

What is Alternative Factor Authentication in Digital Transactions?

• Alternative Factor Authentication (AFA) refers to using unconventional or additional methods beyond the traditional authentication factors to verify the identity of a user in digital transactions.
• This approach enhances security by incorporating multiple layers of verification, making it more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access.
• Types of AFA:
  • Behavioural Biometrics: Analyses patterns in user behaviour, such as typing speed, mouse movements, and navigation habits.
  • Device-Based Authentication: Uses information about the device being used, such as its IP address, geolocation, and device ID.
  • Risk-Based Authentication: Assesses the risk level of a transaction based on factors like transaction amount, location, and user behaviour.
  • Contextual Authentication: Considers the context of the transaction, such as time of day, previous transaction history, and user preferences.
  • Push Notification Authentication: Sends a push notification to a user’s registered mobile device for transaction approval.
  • Voice Recognition: Uses the user’s unique voice patterns for authentication.
  • Email/SMS Verification Codes: Sends a verification code to the user’s registered email or phone number.
  • Geolocation Verification: Uses the user’s geographic location as an authentication factor.
• Benefits of AFA:
  • Enhanced Security: By incorporating multiple and varied authentication factors, AFA significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access and fraud.
  • Flexibility: Provides users with various authentication options, improving the user experience.
  • Fraud Detection: Helps in detecting fraudulent activities by analysing unusual patterns and behaviours.

News Summary

• On July 31, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a draft circular proposing Alternative Factor Authentication (AFA) for all digital transactions, emphasizing enhanced security for digital payments.
• The draft outlines principles for authenticating digital payments, mandating an additional robust factor of authentication that must be dynamically generated and used only once.
• The type of authentication factor will depend on various parameters, including the customer's risk profile and the transaction value.
• The RBI also requires compulsory customer consent for introducing a new authentication factor, along with the option for customers to withdraw consent and deregister.
• Exemptions from this proposal include contactless card transactions below ₹5000, insurance premiums, credit card payments above ₹1,00,000, and other categories up to ₹15,000.

Stakeholders are invited to submit comments and feedback until September 15.

Q1. What is NPCI?

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organization set up with the guidance & support of RBI & IBA for all retail payments in India.

Q2. When was UPI launched?

Unified Payments Interface, commonly referred to as UPI, is an Indian instant payment system as well as protocol developed by the National Payments Corporation of India in 2016. The interface facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions.

Source: RBI proposes regulation for safer digital payments | ET

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is Hamas?
• Key takeaways from assassination of Hamas chief

Why in News?

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran early on July 31. The 62-year-old leader, who had been managing Hamas’s political operations from exile in Qatar, reportedly died in what Hamas described as an Israeli “strike” on his residence. 

The Israeli military has not commented on the incident so far.

What is Hamas?

• About
  • Hamas is the largest Palestinian militant Islamist group and one of the two major political parties in the region. 
  • Currently, it governs more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 
  • The organisation, however, is also known for its armed resistance against Israel (more on this later).
  • Hamas as a whole, or in some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
• Background
  • The group was founded in the late 1980s, after the beginning of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  • Hamas is essentially the internal metamorphosis of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood.
• Reasons for its creation
  • The main reason for Hamas’ creation was a deep sense of failure that had been set within the Palestinian national movement by the late 1980s.
  • This primarily happened after the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) — involved in the armed struggle against Israel from the mid-1960s to ‘liberate Palestine’ — made two massive concessions.
    • The PLO recognized Israel and its right to exist — thereby, relinquishing its goal of liberating Palestine. 
    • Two, it also dropped the armed struggle as a strategy, for the sake of a negotiated settlement.
  • Hamas gained prominence after it opposed the Oslo Peace Accords signed in the early 1990s between Israel and the PLO.
• India’s stand on Hamas
  • So far, India has not declared Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
    • New Delhi neither recognizes Hamas nor describes it as a terrorist group but pursues a delicate balance between its support for the Palestinian cause and opposition to terrorism.
  • After the 7 October attack, PM Modi expressed deep shock and solidarity with Israel. However, he did not mention Hamas or Palestine.
  • Since then, India has spoken of the need for a two-state solution to the wider Israel-Palestine conflict.

Key takeaways from assassination of Hamas chief 

• Ismail Haniyeh, the Qatar-based public face of Hamas, killed in Iran
  • Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in what might mark a defining moment in the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
    • Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, where he had gone to attend the inauguration of the newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
    • Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is also in Tehran at the moment for Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
  • As a result, Iran has vowed to avenge the killing.
  • This also signals that Hamas leaders are not safe in Iran and in Iran’s protection.
    • In April this year, Iran and Israel had exchanged a round of missile and drone attacks at each other. 
    • Temperatures had cooled since then, but this assassination has the potential to trigger further hostilities.
• Wider conflict in the Middle East
  • The killing, hours after an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, heightens fears of wider conflict in the Middle East.
    • Hezbollah had confirmed that its commander Fuad Shukr was killed in that strike.
• For Israel - a success
  • On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israeli civilians and military personnel, and took about 250 hostages. 
  • Since then, the Israeli military has pounded Gaza with air strikes and ground operations, with the stated aim of going after Hamas leaders.
  • From the Israeli point of view, this is a major victory in its mission to neutralise Hamas — a stated objective behind launching the Operation Swords of Iron. 
  • Haniyeh is the most highly placed Hamas figure to have been killed so far.
• For Hamas - a provocation
  • From Hamas’ perspective, however, this is a major provocation since Haniyeh was the head of its political bureau, based in Qatar. 
  • He was the public face of Hamas, and was negotiating the terms of the hostages deal and the ceasefire.
    • Yahya Sinwar is the military leader who was responsible for the October 7 attacks.
• Pressure on Newly elected President of Iran
  • Within Iran and Hamas, there will now be calls for avenging Haniyeh’s death.
  • These are certain to put pressure on the newly-elected moderate President Prezeshkian.
  • The president’s election campaign focussed on beginning negotiations with the West, primarily for economic reasons given how damaging Western sanctions have been for Iran. He would have hoped to restart dialogue with Europe, to begin with.
  • But, with Haniyeh’s assassination, Pezeshkian will be under pressure from the IRGC and the hardliners in the Iranian establishment to respond in kind.
• West Asia a tinderbox
  • For the region as a whole, the assassination is not good news, especially if Iran and Hamas escalate. Such an escalation will impact all of West Asia.
  • Qatar, Turkey, and the Yemeni Houthis have already condemned the assassination, and the top regional players like Saudi Arabia, UAE are watching the events closely.
• India to carefully frame its response
  • India is cautious about responding to the situation involving Hamas leaders due to the complexity of a targeted assassination on foreign soil. 
  • New Delhi's primary concern is maintaining peace and stability in the region, which hosts about nine million Indian expatriates and supplies almost two-thirds of India's crude oil.

Q.1. What is Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)?

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is a political and paramilitary organization founded in 1964, representing the Palestinian people. It aims to establish an independent Palestinian state and has been involved in diplomatic efforts, negotiations, and armed resistance.

Q.2. What is What is two-state solution to the wider Israel-Palestine conflict?

The two-state solution proposes creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with both states coexisting peacefully. This approach aims to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict by addressing key issues such as borders, security, and the status of Jerusalem, with the goal of achieving lasting peace and mutual recognition.

Source: Hamas chief assassinated: Why this will rattle the region and worry Delhi | Economic Times | Financial Express | BBC