Narco trade via Darknet, Bitcoin reported in India for 1st time

[email protected] (CD Network)
July 17, 2016

New Delhi, Jul 17: Drug trafficking in India is on a new 'high' with anti-narcotics agencies having detected the crime being perpetrated through the cryptic 'darknet' and the clandestine and unregulated currency Bitcoin.

NarcoThe Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), chief law enforcement and intelligence agency responsible for fighting drug trafficking and abuse of illegal substances, has interdicted two such syndicates operating in the country.

"For the first time, we have detected drug traffickers using the darknet and Bitcoin for running the illegal drug racket in India. I can tell you that our investigations have shown that some of these operatives are based in the country. We are probing them," NCB Director General R R Bhatnagar said.

While 'darknet' is a clandestine internet network which can only be accessed with specific software, configurations and authorisation and is difficult to track by the usual communications protocols and ports, Bitcoin is referred to as a cryptocurrency that allows consumers to make electronic transactions by skipping the legal banking channels.

The NCB boss said the two syndicates interdicted by them were prima facie seen indulging in trafficking of party drugs.

The usage of such ultra-secret measures over the internet in drug crimes is worrying but we are enhancing our capabilities to effectively and timely detect these instances, he said.

Bhatnagar, while talking about the drug trafficking scenario in the country, said the cross-border availability of heroin has decreased.

"Our estimate is that due to effective clampdown by the agencies tasked to check the drugs menace, there has been a 30 per cent decline in trafficking in Punjab," the DG said.

At a review meeting of the agency recently, Bhatnagar had informed the Union Home Ministry that drug addicts in Punjab were gradually getting attracted to medicine-based concoctions following the clampdown on peddling of traditional narcotic drugs.

The official data for 2015 show that Punjab accounted for the maximum seizures of opium and heroin nationwide.

The latest trends suggest that synthetic drugs are now replacing the natural and semi-synthetic products that have been abused for several decades.

A report prepared by NCB said, "Despite strict controls and monitoring put in place for certain pharmaceutical products, there is evidence indicating their diversion for abuse."

He said it was worrying the law enforcement agencies which were taking steps to check such drug abuse.

Bhatnagar said the NCB, in coordination with state police and border guarding forces like BSF and SSB, has seized over 2 lakh bottles of codeine-based (a sleep-inducing and analgesic drug derived from morphine) syrup, like the popular brand Phensedyl, from the eastern parts of the country in the first six months of this year.

The NCB report said in 2015, 1,687 kg of opium, 1,416 kg of heroin, 94,403 kg of ganja, 3,349 kg of hashish, 113 kg of cocaine, 827 kg of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine among others were seized by various agencies across the country.

"Illicit opium poppy cultivation spread over 5,000 acres was destroyed all over the country. This is about 60 per cent more than the comparative figures of the last few years," the DG said.

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News Network
February 21,2020

London, Feb 21: Scientists have discovered a new species of land snail, and have named it Craspedotropis Greta Thunberg in honour of the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg for her efforts to raise awareness about climate change.

According to the study, published in the Biodiversity Data Journal, the newly discovered species belongs to the so-called caenogastropods -- a group of land snails known to be sensitive to drought, temperature extremes, and forest degradation.

The scientists, including evolutionary ecologist Menno Schilthuizen from Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, said the snails were found very close to the research field station at Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre in Brunei.

They added that the snails were discovered at the foot of a steep hill-slope, next to a river bank, foraging at night on the green leaves of understorey plants.

The effort aided by amateur scientist J.P. Lim, who found the first individual of the snail said, "Naming this snail after Greta Thunberg is our way of acknowledging that her generation will be responsible for fixing problems that they did not create."

"And it's a promise that people from all generations will join her to help," Lim said.

The researchers said they approached Thunberg who said that she would be "delighted" to have this species named after her.

The study work including, fieldwork, morphological study, and classification of identified specimen was carried out in a field centre with basic equipment and no internet access, the scientists said.

According to the study, the work was done by untrained ‘citizen scientists’ guided by experts, on a 10-day taxon expedition.

"While we are aware that this way of working has its limitations in terms of the quality of the output (for example, we were unable to perform dissections or to do extensive literature searches), the benefits include rapid species discovery and on-site processing of materials," the researchers wrote in the study.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

New Delhi, Mar 10: Crisis-hit Yes Bank on Tuesday said that it has enabled inward IMPS and NEFT services.

The move allows people to send money from other bank accounts to their Yes Bank account through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) mode.

In a tweet, the bank also said that Yes Bank customers can pay their credit card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts.

"Inward IMPS/NEFT services have now been enabled. You can make payments towards YES BANK Credit Card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts. Thank you for your co-operation. @RBIA @FinMinIndia," said tweet.

Last week Yes Bank was placed under moratorium and a withdrawal cap of Rs 50,000 was imposed till April 3.

The administrator of Yes Bank, Prashant Kumar and Rajnish Kumar, the Chairman of the State Bank of India are hopeful that moratorium would be lifted within a week.

As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) draft reconstruction scheme for the crisis-hit private lender, the SBI will take up 49 per cent in the bank by investing Rs 2,450 crore.

The new board of directors will stand constituted from the appointed date. It will comprise a CEO and MD, non-executive chairman and non-executive directors. The SBI will have nominee directors appointed on the board of the reconstructed bank.

The RBI may appoint additional directors to the board, who shall continue in office for one year, or until an alternate board is constituted by Yes Bank.

The SBI will not reduce its holding below 26 per cent before completion of three years from the date of infusion of the capital.

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Agencies
June 28,2020

The US space agency has thrown open a challenge to win over Rs 26 lakh, calling the global community to send novel design concepts for compact toilets that can operate in both microgravity and lunar gravity.

NASA is preparing for return to the Moon and innumerable activities to equip, shelter, and otherwise support future astronauts are underway.

The astronauts will be eating and drinking, and subsequently urinating and defecating in microgravity and lunar gravity.

NASA said that while astronauts are in the cabin and out of their spacesuits, they will need a toilet that has all the same capabilities as ones here on Earth.

The public designs for space toilet may be adapted for use in the Artemis lunar landers that take humans back to the Moon.

"Although space toilets already exist and are in use (at the International Space Station, for example), they are designed for microgravity only," the US space agency said in a statement.

NASA's Human Landing System Programme is looking for a next-generation device that is smaller, more efficient, and capable of working in both microgravity and lunar gravity.

The new NASA challenge includes a Technical category and Junior category and the last date to send designs is August 17.

NASA's Artemis Moon mission will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024.

The Artemis programme is part of America's broader Moon to Mars exploration approach, in which astronauts will explore the Moon and experience gained there to enable humanity's next giant leap, sending humans to Mars.

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