PAN 2.0 project

Context: 

• PAN cards with QR code planned under PAN 2.0 project

News:

• The government has approved a project to revamp the existing system of issuing permanent account numbers under which PAN cards with QR Code feature will be given free of cost to taxpayers.

More info:

• The PAN 2.0 project aims to create a “common business identifier” for all digital systems of government agencies.
• The project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister.
• PAN is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric number issued by the Income Tax Department to Indian taxpayers.
• The present PAN with individuals and businesses will remain valid and there will be no need to change the number.
• PAN 2.0 Project enables technology-driven transformation of taxpayer registration services and is aimed at ease of access and speedy service delivery with improved quality.
• Single source of truth and data consistency; eco-friendly processes and cost optimisation; and security and optimisation of infrastructure for greater agility are the other benefits of the project.
• The PAN 2.0 Project resonates with the vision of the government enshrined in Digital India by enabling the use of PAN as common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies.
• For personal data protection, PAN data vault system will be mandatory for all entities using PAN data.
• Also, under the PAN 2.0, the grievance redressal system will be strengthened.
• OECD report on ‘Tax Administration 3.0: The Digital Transformation of Tax Administration’ highlights six key building blocks, the first of which is a digital identity for the secure and unique identification of taxpayers and citizens in an integrated manner.
• The PAN 2.0 project aligns well with the government’s vision for digital tax administration and is a welcome move.
• Currently, about 78 crore PANs have been issued, of which 98% are to individuals.
• PAN 2.0 Project is an e-Governance project for re-engineering the business processes of taxpayer registration services through technology-driven transformation of PAN/TAN services for enhanced digital experience of the taxpayers.
• This will be an upgrade of the current PAN/TAN 1.0 eco-system consolidating the core and non-core PAN/TAN activities as well as PAN validation service.
• As part of the project, new PAN cards with upgraded features, such as a QR code for increased security, will be issued at no additional cost.

Benefits:

• Applications and updates will be processed more quickly, limiting waiting time.
• A unified database promotes consistency and prevents errors in taxpayer information.
• Current PAN holders are eligible to upgrade their cards for free of charge.
• Paperwork is eliminated via digital procedures, which encourage sustainability.
• The platform protects critical taxpayer data using reliable technologies.

Cyclone Fengal

Context:

• At least four different monitoring systems have suggested that a mild cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall near Puducherry by the end of this week.

Introduction:

• A cyclonic circulation over the East Equatorial Indian Ocean and the Southeast Bay of Bengal has evolved into a low-pressure area, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting its intensification into a depression by November 25.
• This system is expected to develop into a deep depression, with varying models indicating the possibility of it strengthening into a cyclonic storm.
• The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, said the depression over southwest Bay of Bengal has now intensified into a deep depression, and that it may intensify further into a cyclonic storm.
• If the depression becomes a cyclone, it will be called ‘Fengal’.
• It would be coming in the wake of Dana.
• It was the third cyclonic storm and second severe cyclonic storm of the 2024 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.

Naming of cyclones:

• Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean are named by member countries of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) panel.
• This panel includes 13 nations: Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
• Each member contributes a list of potential names, which are used sequentially as cyclones form in the region.
• The system has been in place since 2004 to ensure easy public identification and efficient communication about storms.

Origin of the name ‘Fengal’:

• The name ‘Fengal’ was proposed by Saudi Arabia and is a word rooted in Arabic.
• It represents a blend of linguistic tradition and cultural identity, reflecting the regional diversity within the WMO/UNESCAP naming panel.
• Names like Fengal are chosen to be short, distinctive, and non-offensive in multiple languages, ensuring they resonate universally across affected areas.

Process and rotation for naming cyclones:

• The current list of cyclone names was devised in 2020, with each member state contributing 13 names.
• Names are used in rotation and are not reused once assigned to a cyclone.
• For example, following Fengal, the next cyclone will be named Shakhti, as suggested by Sri Lanka, while Thailand has contributed Montha as a future name in the queue.
• Cyclone Fengal is expected to intensify over the Bay of Bengal in the coming days, bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall, and potential coastal flooding.
• Regional meteorological departments are closely monitoring its trajectory and impact areas.
• Residents are advised to stay alert to updates from official sources as preparedness measures are crucial to minimizing the potential damage.

India’s 6 GHz spectrum

A band of 6 gigahertz spectrum is increasingly being delicensed by many countries for use in WiFi. Indian telcos have bitterly opposed a similar move here

Context:

• Why India’s 6Ghz spectrum dilemma is affecting PS5 Pro console launch in the country

News:

• Earlier in November, the PlayStation 5 Pro console was released in key markets around the world, but no announcement was made regarding India.
• On November 8, Sony said, “PS5 Pro will not be available in some countries (which presently includes India) where 6GHz wireless band used in IEEE 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) has not yet been allowed.”

Brief history on WiFi bands:

• In India and throughout the world, WiFi has mainly used two key bands of frequency: 2.4GHz and 5GHz.
• Home broadband users may recognise these frequencies as separate transmissions from the same router – 2.4GHz has limited data bandwidth, but can blanket a larger area with coverage.
• 5GHz is significantly faster, but covers a shorter distance.
• The frequencies for the spectrum used by these WiFi bands was de-licensed for indoor and outdoor use separately in India starting in 2002.
• This state of WiFi technology remained the same well into the introduction of WiFi 6 in 2020.
• That technology uses both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies simultaneously, with greater efficiency, resulting in better speeds.
• But in 2021, WiFi 6E was introduced, splitting the world into two regions: those who allowed the use of 6GHz spectrum, and those that didn’t.

6GHz spectrum and WiFi:

• By 2021, several regulatory authorities around the world, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K., and the U.S. began delicensing a third band of spectrum for WiFi.
• The WiFi 6E standard was introduced that year, allowing the creation of routers that broadcast on this frequency, bringing up theoretical maximum speeds to 9.6Gbps.
• This relied on the band of spectrum between 5,925MHz and 7,125MHz, known as 6GHz spectrum.
• But in several countries, that is not yet the case.
• India and China have not allowed the use of 6GHz spectrum for WiFi yet.
• While the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) generally tries to keep wireless frequencies for telecom, WiFi, satellite and other use cases uniform around the world, several countries have not yet agreed on a standard division of the 6GHz band.

6GHz band in India:

• The 6GHz band is currently with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for satellite use cases.
• However, satellite communications over 6GHz are unlikely to interfere meaningfully with WiFi-like use cases; at any rate, at the World Radiocommunications Conference last year, India and some other countries were able to get an extension till 2027 on what to do with some or all of the spectrum.
• Around the world, and certainly in India, telecom operators have expressed intense interest in getting 6GHz spectrum for 5G and 6G, a demand that India may be poised to entertain.
• Tech companies, such as those represented by the Broadband India Forum – Google, Meta, Amazon, and others – have argued for a US-like allocation for this spectrum to WiFi.
• Both camps seem to be pushing for the entire 6GHz band to be used for either telecom or WiFi.
• The government may follow the lead of countries like Australia, which have delicensed half the spectrum, while considering what to do with the other half.

What comes next and when will PS5 Pro be available in India?

• While the 6GHz debate is complex in its own right, it is not entirely clear that the consumer electronics’ interests are significantly impacted by India’s decision.
• Apple and Samsung phones sell in India with the exact same support for 6GHz WiFi, for instance, but the WiFi feature is programmed to avoid connecting to 6GHz spectrum.
• Presumably, Sony could do the same, by making consoles sold in India incompatible with this band of spectrum until regulatory clarity emerges.
• If and when Sony decides that this is worth the work, or if they decide to invest in manufacturing a separate variant of the PS5 with older WiFi hardware, it will release in India.
• At any rate, WiFi 7 as a technology does not need 6GHz to work in India.
• Advances in WiFi technology are based not (just) on newer bands of wireless spectrum, but in greater efficiency and using these bands simultaneously.
• Even without the 6GHz spectrum, WiFi 7 routers can be sold in India that make the maximum wireless speed faster than any home broadband plans that are even sold here in the first place.
• Department of Telecommunications said that if “a router or device’s operating frequency is restricted to … delicensed bands; they are permitted to be used in the country.”

UPSC Pre PYQ (2011):

What is the difference between Blue-tooth and Wi-Fi devices?

2. Bluetooth uses 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, whereas Wi-Fi can use 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequency band.
3. Bluetooth is used for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) only, whereas Wi-Fi is used for wireless wide area networks (WWAN) only.
4. When information is transmitted between two devices using Bluetooth technology, the devices have to be in the line of sight of each other, but when Wi-Fi technology is used the devices need not be in the line of sight of each other.
5. The statements (a) and (b) given above are correct in this context.

Ans: option a)

Buddhist site at Sannati

Context:

• Stressing on the importance of the sculpture of Asoka that was found during the ASI excavations in Kanaganahalli, research scholar Harshakumar Kugwe said that it was the only sculpture of Asoka which has his name etched on it.

More info:

• Nearly 70 years have passed after the ancient Buddhist site at Kanaganahalli, near Sannati, was discovered.
• Adholoka Maha Chaitya (the Great Stupa of the Netherworlds), as described in the inscriptions, and a sculpture of Asoka, the only surviving image of the Mauryan emperor, were found during the excavations carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Buddha statues facing north and south were mounted, in Kanaganahalli, near Sanniti in Chittapur taluk in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka.
• Brahmagiri rock edict established Emperor Asoka’s strong connection with Sannati.
• Many historians say that Emperor Asoka visited Sannati on many occasions and stayed there for a considerable period.
• The first stage of construction of the Maha Stupa in Sannati was carried out by Asoka himself.
• It is also believed that Asoka kept Buddhist relics in this ancient stupa, which was later developed by Hinayana Buddhists with additional construction in the first century after the Asokan era.
• Later, Mahayana Buddhists added 10 more Buddhist sculptures to the stupa.
• Thus, the Great Stupa of Kanaganahalli was built in three phases.
• It was the only sculpture of Asoka which has his name etched on it.
• A sculpture panel of Asoka has been retrieved during the excavations in Kanaganahalli.
• It has Asoka’s name as Raya Asoko etched on it, leaving no confusion over the identity of the man in the sculpture.
• A sculpture with the image of Asoka was also found in a Sanchi stupa.
• However, it doesn’t have the name of Asoka inscribed on it.
• It is because of this unique historical importance that Sannati has the potential to attract tourists from across the world.