12 Aug 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. World Elephant Day
2. National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS)
3. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

1. World Elephant Day

Syllabus: GS-3, Conservation

Prelims: World Elephant Day, Asian Elephants

Mains: Conservation measures for Asian Elephants, Man-Animal Conflicts

Context:

World Elephant Day observed on 12 August every year.

World Elephant Day:

• World Elephant Day was co-founded in 2012 by Canadian Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand.
• The day aims to raise awareness about the threats facing elephants, including habitat loss, poaching, and human-elephant conflict.
• It is a rallying call for people to support organizations that are working to stop the illegal poaching and trade of elephant ivory and other wildlife products, protect wild elephant habitats, and provide sanctuaries and alternative habitats for domestic elephants to live freely.
• The day provides a platform for organizations, governments, and individuals to come together, share knowledge, and engage in initiatives aimed at protecting elephants and their habitats.
• World Elephant Day 2023 theme – “Ending the Illegal Wildlife Trade”.

Read more on Asian Elephants in the linked article.

2. National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS)

Syllabus: GS-2, Governance; GS-3, Security

Prelims: National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS)

Context:

National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) wins the gold award under the Excellence in Government Process Reengineering for Digital Transformation Category-1 of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

About NAFIS:

• NAFIS is a database and matching system for fingerprints and palm prints that aids in automating fingerprint matching and assisting with criminal investigations. 
• It is a centralised database of fingerprints developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• Every person who has been arrested has a unique identity that matches the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems database (CCTN). As they are linked at the backend, it will give every person arrested in the CCTNS the essential unique identifier.
• The NAFIS enables law enforcement to upload and look for fingerprint data at an arrest point or from evidence collected at a crime scene in almost “real-time “. 
• As a result, it is possible to locate a person of interest in a matter of minutes and connect that individual’s name to any active warrants, warnings, or information about related criminal conduct stored in other police information reference systems. 
• With its extensive reach, it has transformed policing and investigation, connecting police stations to even the most remote regions. 
• Madhya Pradesh became the first state in the nation to use NAFIS to identify a deceased individual.
• NAFIS was launched in 2022.

History of Fingerprinting in India:

• Sir William James Herschel pioneered fingerprinting in India in 1858.
• In the beginning, it was employed more for administrative than for criminal purposes by British colonial officials. 
• In order to prevent fraud and forgeries and to make sure that the right person was signing mortgage bonds, property transfer deeds, and government pensions, William Herschel, the head administrator of the Hooghly district of Bengal, began using fingerprinting in the late-middle 1800s.
• The first claim about the distinctiveness of each person’s fingerprints was made by Johann Mayer, a German anatomist in 1788.
• This was confirmed by Scottish physician Henry Faulds through extensive research.
• Around the same time, Herschel started using fingerprinting as a form of identification in Bengal.
• The Bengal Police were able to develop fingerprint records that replaced the use of anthropometric measurements by 1897, four years before a similar decision was made in England.
• The first ever Finger Print Bureau in the world was established at Writer’s Building at Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the year 1897.
• In 1925, the government recognised the contributions of two Indian sub-inspectors of the Bengal Police Aziz-ul-Haq and H C Bose to the system of primary classification and the system for indexing names in court conviction registers and awarded them with the titles of Khan Bahadur and Rai Bahadur, respectively.

3. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

Syllabus: GS III, Economy; Issues relating to growth, development and employment.

Prelims: About National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

Context:

Union Minister launched Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).

Details:

• The move aims at bolstering the participation of both industries and young individuals in apprenticeship training on a nationwide scale.
• An amount of approximately Rs 15 crores was disbursed to one lakh apprentices by the Minister at the occasion.

Know more about the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) in PIB dated July 2, 2022.

Read the previous PIB articles here.