GK Express of 21/02/2026
🚆 GK Express 2.0
Discipline • Clarity • Competitive Preparation
TODAY’S FOCUS →
INTERNAL SECURITY AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
🧠 Thought of the Day
“A nation's true defense lies in the unity of its people and the resilience of its institutions.”
📰 Current Affairs
- I4C Cyber Initiative: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has stepped up the '1930' national helpline and launched awareness drives to combat the rising wave of "Digital Arrests" and AI-driven deepfake financial frauds.
- India as a Observer in Board of Peace: India has reinforced its traditional stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict by participating as an ‘observer’ in the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington D.C., while maintaining its commitment to a Two-State solution.
- Foundational Day of NCST: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs observed the 23rd Foundation Day of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), highlighting NCST’s constitutional mandate and objectives to protect and promote the rights of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
📘 Concept of the Day
Subject: Internal Security
Concept: Stages of Money Laundering
Money laundering is the process of hiding the illegal origin of "dirty" money (from corruption, terror, or drugs) to make it appear legitimate. It legally falls under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act). It involves three crucial stages:
- 1. Placement: The initial entry of illicit funds into the legitimate financial system (e.g., breaking large amounts of cash into smaller, less suspicious bank deposits, known as "smurfing").
- 2. Layering: Moving the money through a complex series of financial transactions (international wire transfers, shell companies) to obscure the audit trail and sever the link to the original crime.
- 3. Integration: The "cleaned" money is reintroduced into the economy. It appears completely legal and is often used to purchase real estate, luxury assets, or invest in legitimate businesses.
🤔 Think About This
Tap a question to reveal the answer
1. "Drones (UAVs) have emerged as a prominent asymmetric threat to India's border security." Discuss the challenges and mitigation strategies.
Answer:
Challenges: Drones are small, fly at low altitudes, and easily evade traditional radar systems. They are increasingly used across the LoC and International Border (especially in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir) by hostile elements for dropping arms, narcotics, and counterfeit currency without human risk.
Mitigation Strategies:
1. Anti-Drone Systems: Deployment of technology that includes jamming (disrupting the signal) and spoofing (taking control of the drone).
2. Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs): Using laser-based systems to physically destroy rogue drones.
3. Surveillance: Upgrading the CIBMS framework with acoustic sensors and thermal imagers to detect low-flying objects early.
Challenges: Drones are small, fly at low altitudes, and easily evade traditional radar systems. They are increasingly used across the LoC and International Border (especially in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir) by hostile elements for dropping arms, narcotics, and counterfeit currency without human risk.
Mitigation Strategies:
1. Anti-Drone Systems: Deployment of technology that includes jamming (disrupting the signal) and spoofing (taking control of the drone).
2. Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs): Using laser-based systems to physically destroy rogue drones.
3. Surveillance: Upgrading the CIBMS framework with acoustic sensors and thermal imagers to detect low-flying objects early.
2. What is the 'Sponge City' concept? How can it help mitigate Urban Flooding in India?
Answer:
Sponge City: It is a modern urban design paradigm where cities are designed to passively absorb, clean, and utilize rainfall naturally, rather than rapidly routing it away through concrete drains.
Mitigation of Urban Flooding:
1. Permeable Surfaces: Replacing concrete with permeable pavements and green roofs allows water to seep into the ground, reducing surface runoff.
2. Wetland Restoration: Reviving choked city lakes and rain gardens acts as natural reservoirs to hold excess water during intense downpours.
3. Groundwater Recharge: Absorbed water replenishes the water table instead of overflowing the drainage networks, solving both flooding and urban drought.
Sponge City: It is a modern urban design paradigm where cities are designed to passively absorb, clean, and utilize rainfall naturally, rather than rapidly routing it away through concrete drains.
Mitigation of Urban Flooding:
1. Permeable Surfaces: Replacing concrete with permeable pavements and green roofs allows water to seep into the ground, reducing surface runoff.
2. Wetland Restoration: Reviving choked city lakes and rain gardens acts as natural reservoirs to hold excess water during intense downpours.
3. Groundwater Recharge: Absorbed water replenishes the water table instead of overflowing the drainage networks, solving both flooding and urban drought.
📝 Let’s Write an Exam (PYQs)
Q.1 (UPSC 2018) What is the meaning of Narco - Terrorism?
A. Acts committed by individuals or groups within their own nation against their own people or government.
B. Terrorist acts encouraged, supported, or funded by a government against another state or to suppress its own population.
C. Violence and intimidation employed by drug traffickers to influence or disrupt government operations.
D. Violence motivated by a belief that an otherworldly power has sanctioned the actions, often aiming to propagate a specific faith-based agenda.
Correct Answer: C
Explanation:Violence and intimidation employed by drug traffickers to influence or disrupt government operations.
Narcoterrorism involves drug traffickers using violence and intimidation to influence government policy, hinder anti-drug laws, and secure trafficking routes. This hybrid threat merges criminal enterprise with terrorist tactics to destabilize regions.
Explanation:Violence and intimidation employed by drug traffickers to influence or disrupt government operations.
Narcoterrorism involves drug traffickers using violence and intimidation to influence government policy, hinder anti-drug laws, and secure trafficking routes. This hybrid threat merges criminal enterprise with terrorist tactics to destabilize regions.
Q.2 (UPSC 2022) Consider the following statements:
1. The 'Financial Action Task Force' (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established by the G7.
2. FATF's mandate is strictly limited to combating money laundering only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Statement 1 is correct; FATF was established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. Statement 2 is incorrect because, after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, FATF's mandate was expanded to officially include efforts to combat terrorist financing.
Explanation: Statement 1 is correct; FATF was established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. Statement 2 is incorrect because, after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, FATF's mandate was expanded to officially include efforts to combat terrorist financing.
✍️ Answer These Questions
1. In India, which three-digit toll-free number is designated as the National Cyber Crime Reporting Helpline?
2. What does 'RAW' stand for in the context of India's external intelligence agency?
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