Payment Passkey Service
Why in news: Mastercard, a global leader in payment technology, announced the global launch of its new Payment Passkey Service.
🔐 About Payment Passkey Service
- Biometric Authentication: The Payment Passkey Service utilizes device-based biometric methods, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, for secure authentication.
- Non-OTP Solution: It offers customers a secure alternative to traditional OTP-based transaction management, streamlining the payment process.
⚙️ Working Mechanism
- Encryption Algorithms: Passkeys use advanced algorithms to encrypt data, enabling fast and secure identity verification.
- Key Pair Generation: Upon the first sign-in, the device generates two keys—a public key shared with the website for validation and a private key stored on the device to unlock the passkey and access the account.
- Cross-Device Functionality: Passkeys can operate across devices with the same operating system, allowing seamless access whether logging in from a phone, laptop, or tablet.
💡 Advantages
- Enhanced Security: By replacing traditional passwords and OTPs, the Mastercard Payment Passkey Service makes transactions faster and more secure, reducing the risk of fraud and scams.
- Seamless Payments: Payment passkeys provide a more secure and user-friendly method for cardholders to authenticate themselves during e-commerce transactions, enhancing the overall payment experience.
Methane
Why in News: In May, the European Union enacted a new regulation requiring fossil fuel companies to regularly measure, report, and reduce their methane emissions.
🔍 About Methane
- Primary Component: Methane is the main component of natural gas and is responsible for about one-third of the global warming we are experiencing today.
🧪 Characteristics
- Physical Properties: Methane is a colorless, odorless, and flammable gas that is insoluble in water. It is also known as marsh gas or methyl hydride.
- Ignition and Behavior: Methane is easily ignitable, with vapors lighter than air. Under prolonged exposure to fire or intense heat, its containers may rupture violently and propel like a rocket.
- Greenhouse Gas Impact: Methane is a powerful yet short-lived greenhouse gas, with a lifespan of about a decade. Its Global Warming Potential (GWP) is approximately 80 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2) over 20 years after being released into the atmosphere.
🌍 Sources of Methane
- Natural Sources: Methane sometimes originates from non-human sources such as wetlands. These environments contain permafrost—frozen ground rich in carbon from ancient plants and animals.
- Impact of Global Warming: As global temperatures rise, wetland permafrost thaws, releasing trapped carbon in the form of CO2 and methane, contributing to further warming.
- Human Contributions: Around 60% of methane emissions in the atmosphere come from human activities, making it a significant anthropogenic contributor to climate change.
Bonda Tribe
Why in News: Recently, a 19-year-old student successfully passed the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), making them the first member of the Bonda tribal community to achieve this milestone.
🌿 About the Bonda Tribe
- Location: The Bonda tribe is exclusively found in the Malkangiri district of Odisha, with the majority residing in the Khairaput block.
- Heritage: Recognized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), the Bondas are one of the oldest tribes in India, known for their rich cultural heritage.
- Names and Identity: The Bonda people are also known by various names, including Bondo, Bondas, Bonda Paraja, and Bhonda.
- Ethnicity and Language: The Bondas belong to the Austro-Asiatic racial group and speak Remo, a dialect of the Austro-Asiatic language family.
🏞️ Cultural Division
- Lower Bondas: Reside in the Malkangiri district, near the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with distinct cultural practices.
- Upper Bondas: Live in the remote, hilly terrain of Malkangiri district, maintaining their unique cultural identity.
👗 Traditional Attire
- Dressing Style: Bonda women are semi-clad and adorn themselves with various rings and pieces of jewelry, reflecting their traditional customs.
🌾 Occupation
- Primary Activities: The Bondas are primarily engaged in farming. They also hunt, gather forest products, and perform labor to sustain their livelihood.
Whale shark
Why in News: International Whale Shark Day is celebrated annually on August 30 worldwide.
🌊 About Whale Shark
- Largest Fish: The whale shark holds the title of the largest fish in the world and is the largest known fish species to have ever existed on Earth.
- Unique Feeding: It is one of only three shark species that feed by filtering water, a rare adaptation in the shark family.
🌍 Distribution
- Global Presence: Whale sharks are found in all temperate and tropical oceans worldwide, with the exception of the Mediterranean Sea.
🦈 Appearance
- Camouflage: Whale sharks have a distinctive appearance, with a dark gray back and lighter underside, adorned with light spots and stripes on their dark areas, aiding in camouflage as they swim.
- Mouth Position: Unlike most sharks, the whale shark’s mouth is located at the front of its head (terminal) rather than underneath the rostrum (subterminal).
- Filter Feeding: As filter feeders, whale sharks cannot bite or chew. They can process over 6,000 liters of water per hour through their gills, using specialized flaps called velums to prevent the backflow of water and the loss of food.
🍽️ Food Habits
- Plankton Diet: Whale sharks primarily feed on plankton, traveling vast distances to find enough food to support their massive size and to reproduce.
- Varied Diet: In addition to plankton, they consume small and large fish, as well as mollusks, including sardines, anchovies, mackerels, squid, and even small tuna and albacore.
🛡️ Conservation Status
- IUCN Status: Classified as Endangered by the IUCN.
- Legal Protection: Listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 in India.
⚠️ Threats
- Challenges: Whale sharks face significant threats from bycatch, accidental capture in fishing nets, illegal hunting, and habitat degradation.
- Population Decline: A global study has shown a 50% decline in the world’s whale shark population over the past 75 years.