Discovery of Lithium in J&K, a Gamechanger for India

Lithium, a soft and highly reactive metal, has become an increasingly important resource in modern times, particularly for the production of rechargeable batteries used in portable electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. Until recently, the primary sources of lithium have been located in countries such as Chile, Argentina, and Australia. However, a recent discovery in Jammu, India, has the potential to turn the country into a significant player in the global lithium market.

In early 2021, the Indian government's Department of Atomic Energy announced the discovery of a significant lithium deposit in the Mandi-Kulwara area of Jammu. The deposit is believed to be among the largest in the world, with an estimated reserve of around 1,600 tonnes of lithium, enough to meet India's entire annual demand for the metal.

The discovery was made by a team of scientists from the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, who had been exploring the area for minerals such as uranium and thorium. They found the lithium deposit in the form of spodumene, a hard-rock mineral that contains lithium and is commonly used as a raw material for the production of lithium carbonate, a key component in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.

The discovery of lithium in Jammu has the potential to transform India's economy by reducing its dependence on imported lithium, which accounts for almost 80% of the country's current demand. India's demand for lithium is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, driven by the country's ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles and increase the use of renewable energy.

The discovery has also caught the attention of international companies looking to secure a reliable source of lithium. A number of global players, including Tesla, have reportedly shown interest in partnering with Indian firms to develop the lithium reserves in Jammu.

However, there are also concerns about the environmental impact of extracting lithium from the deposit, particularly given the fragile ecosystem of the Jammu region. Mining and processing lithium can consume a lot of water and energy, and can release harmful chemicals into the environment if not properly managed.

Therefore, it will be crucial to develop sustainable and eco-friendly methods for mining and processing the lithium deposits in Jammu, which prioritize the protection of the environment and the well-being of local communities.

The discovery of lithium in Jammu is a significant development for India's economy and its transition to a more sustainable future. While the potential benefits of this discovery are enormous, it will be important to balance the economic potential of the discovery with the need to protect the environment and the well-being of local communities. If managed responsibly, the discovery of lithium in Jammu could be a major boost for India's economy and the global lithium market.

What does ‘X’ Sign at the end of a train mean?

There are many things so fascinating around us which we are unaware about or rather we should say we have not really paid any attention.
One of the example of it is certain symbols and signages inside and outside of the trains. Meanings of most of them might not be known to everyone. Whether you keep travelling frequently or not, you might have noticed the letter X or a cross mark on the backside of the last coach/bogie of the train. If you have not observed yet, you might want to have a look the next time you visit the railway station.

For those who have already observed a mark like that and have wondered why it remains behind the last box of the train, here is the explaination. Most commonly the X mark is painted with a bright yellow or white colour on the last bogie behind the passenger trains running in India.

Also, if you notice closely, you will also find the letters LV written along with the cross mark. The term LV depicts Last Vehicle. It is also a small board sign highlighted with black on yellow colour and is usually attached to the rear side of the vehicle. A red light is available right below the letter X and it is a vital element to focus.

There is an important reason for its presence and that too at the last bogie of the train. The X mark on the last bogie of a train is highlighted with the objective to save an accident. It helps to ascertain that the one with the mark is the last box of that train. This sign also helps the staff to indicate that if the box with the X sign is not a trail behind a train, then it is in an emergency. A coach has a chance to get in an accident, if it is separated from the train.

Thus by viewing the ‘X’ sign, the railway guard in charge gets assurance that the train has passed in totality, as it is meant to be and there are no coaches which may have separated at the previous station or mid-way. In this case the guard will display green signal. At night, when it is dark and the sign is not very prominent, the red light under the scope of the mark helps to determine the last coach.

In case if there is no ‘X’ sign on the last coach of the passing train, it indicates an ‘Emergency Situation’ for railway officials. They take instant action to locate the separated/left out coaches and thereby ensure the safety of the passengers within.

Cash transactions which may get you Income Tax Notice

Income tax department has laid down clear instructions regarding transaction limits which are allowed in cash. If you knowingly/unknowingly don't follow these instructions, we may land into trouble and there can be serious consequences. Below are some of the types of transactions which you should be careful about, while performing them.

1. Taking or Accepting Certain loans/deposits

No person is permitted to accept Rs. 20,000 or more in cash 

1. for any loan or deposit or 
2. any amount in relation to transfer of immovable property (even if transfer does not take place)

If any cash received from a person for any such purpose is still outstanding to be repaid, than the overall limit of Rs. 20,000/- will aply to the outstanding amount plus any subsequent receipt in cash.

The exceptions to this provision include the following:

Sums of this nature accepted from:

• Government
• any banking company, post office savings bank or co-operative bank
• any corporation established by a central state or provincial act
• any Government company as defined in clause (45) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• such other institution, association or body or class of institutions, associations or bodies which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.
• from a person having agriculture income, and neither of them is chargeable to income tax.

Consequences of violation: Penalty of an amount equal to the amount taken in cash will be levied.

2. Repayment of Certain Loans or Deposits

Any branch of a banking company or a cooperative society, firm or other person is not allowed to repay any loan or deposit in cash if

1. The amount of the loan or deposit or specified advance* together with the interest, if any, is Rs. 20,000/- or more, or
2. The aggregate amount of loans or deposits or specified advance held by such person, either in his own name or jointly with other person on the date of such repayment together with the interest, if any, is Rs.20,000/- or more.
3. w.e.f 2019-20. TDS @ 2% to be deducted on cash withdrawals of Rs. 1 Crore in a year from bank account for business purpose.

to any person who has made

• the loan or deposit or 
• paid the specified advance*.

This provision does not apply to-

Repayment of any loan or deposit or specified sum* taken or accepted from-

1. Government;
2. any banking company, post office savings bank or co-operative bank; 
3. any corporation established by a central, state or provincial Act;
4. any Government company as defined in clause (45) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013;
5. such other institution, association or body or class of institutions, associations or bodies which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. (Refer Sec.269T)

Consequences of violation: Penalty for an amount equal to the amount of such loan or deposit repaid will be levied.

3. Other Cash Transaction

No person is allowed to receive in cash an amount of Rs. 2,00,000 or more-

(a) in aggregate from a person in a day; or

(b) in respect of a single transaction; or

(c) in respect of transactions relating to one event or occasion from a person,

This provision does not apply to-

(i) any receipt by-

    (a) Government;

    (b) any banking company, post office savings bank or co-operative bank;

(ii) transactions of the nature referred to in section 269SS;

(iii) such other persons or class of persons or receipts, which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.(Refer Section 269ST)

 (d) w.e.f 2019-20, Digital payments (Mode of electronic payments) is permissible in addition to account payee cheque, account payee bank draft or electronic clearing system through a bank account. Persons having business income and turnover/receipt exceeding 50 crores in a financial year are mandatorily required to accept payment through prescribed electronic mode only. In case of failure to do so, it would attract a penalty of Rs.5000/- for every day during which such failure continues.

Consequences of violation of this provision: penalty u/s. 271DA is levied for a sum equal to the amount of such receipt.

4. Disallowance of expenses incurred in cash

In case a person incurs any expenditure for his business or profession, in respect of which payment or aggregate of payments made in cash in a day exceeds Rs.10,000/-, 100% of such payment will be disallowed while computing his taxable income from business/profession. (Refer Section 40A(3)). However some exceptions are provided (See Rule 6DD of the Income Tax Rules)

5. Deemed income of subsequent year in which payment is made

In case an allowance has been made in respect of any liability incurred by a person for any expenditure, and then during any subsequent year the person makes payment in respect thereof in cash, the payment is chargeable to income tax as income of the subsequent year if the payment or aggregate of payments made to a person in a day exceeds Rs.10,000/-.

In case of payment is being made for plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, then limit is Rs.35,000/-, instead of Rs.10,000/-.

6. Dis-allowance in respect of Fixed assets i.e. Capital Expenditure

In case a person incurs any expenditure for acquisition of any asset in respect which a payment or aggregate of payments made to a person in cash in a day exceeds Rs.10,000/-, such expenditure is not included for the purposes of determination of actual cost of such asset. This means that no depreciation benefit will be available on such capital expenditure incurred in cash.

7. Cash Donations

Donation made in cash to a registered trust or political party, if exceeds Rs.2000, are not allowable as deduction u/s 80G.

8. Premium on Health Insurance

Any payment made in cash on account of premium on health insurance facilities is not allowable as deduction u/s 80D of IT Act.

This ’Revolutionary’ spray will eliminate corona, will go in the nose and kill 99.99 percent virus

In the war against Coronavirus, Vaccine is currently working as a very powerful weapon. In the war against Covid 19, governments of various nations are putting everything at stake. In this depressing situation, a new weapon to fight Covid is in News which has raised hopes of the world.

Vancouver-based SaNOtize Research & Development Corp. (SaNOtize) has received interim approval in Israel and Canada to manufacture its Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) that could help prevent COVID-19 disease. The company is claiming that by putting this spray in the nose, there is a huge reduction in virus. Also, with the help of this spray, the treatment time of the patient can also be reduced. Apart from this, the condition of the patient experiencing severe symptoms can also be better.  

 

In the UK trial, SaNOtize conducted a randomized test of its nasal spray on 79 individuals with confirmed COVID-19 infection, the majority of whom were infected with the UK variant. The trial result showed that early treatment of the COVID-19 virus significantly reduces SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in patients. The spray did not cause any adverse effects in participants. Early trials were also conducted in Canada on 7,000 people, who self-administered this spray. The trial result did not trigger any adverse effect in participants and showed spray to be safe and effective.

If reports are to be believed, this spray kills 99.99 percent of the virus. It also prevents the virus from spreading. Lab tests in the United States and Britain show that SaNOtize's spray kills the bug in the upper respiratory tract. It then stops it from growing and going to the lungs. UK trial of the nasal spray showed to have reduced the SARS-CoV-2 viral loads by more than 95% in infected participants within 24 hours.  

If we look at the figures, it shows that the virus has decreased by up to 95 percent. At the same time, viral load fell by more than 99 percent in 72 hours. Dr Stephen Winchester, the principal investigator of the trial in Britain, says, "I hope that this will prove to be a big victory in the global war against the pandemic." It appears to be a revolutionary product. Efforts are on to make a similar medicine in India.

How does this spray work?

The spray blocks viruses from passing through the nasal cavity just like sanitizers work on other parts of the body, such as hands. The spray creates a chemical barrier with Nitric Oxide (NO) and kills viruses before thy could pass via nasal passages. The spray also prevents viruses from replicating within the nasal cavity. Te trial results have shown that it could significantly reduce the transmission rate from infected person to non-infected person.  

India is also developing a Nasal Spray for Covid

Bharat Biotech, the same company that manufactures Covaxin, is preparing a drug called Coroflu. This medicine will be used as a spray instead of a syringe. After the introduction of this drug, the treatment of patients suffering from Corona virus will become easier. Because it will take less time and the process will also be easier. With the help of spray, both the patient and the health worker will get ease.

Know how a mistake in logo increased the price of Apple iPhone 3 times

Apple, the world’s most profitable company, has one of the most valuable products, the iPhone, which accounts for 60 percent of Apple’s yearly revenue. The iPhone and its entire ecosystem have experienced a lot of success in many countries across the globe with iPhone sales growing from a million dollars in 2007 to a staggering 231 million in 2015. 

Apple's logo is its identity. The Apple company is also famous for its premium quality and look. But what if Apple's logo itself looks wrong? You will probably set it aside by calling it a defective piece. You will be shocked to know that an iPhone with such a defected logo has become so famous in the market that its price has increased 3 times and it has been sold for nearly 2 lakh rupees. 

Logo was misplaced 

The Apple company takes great care in the manufacture of its iPhone and in all these years, the company has not made any changes in the logo on the back panel of its phone. But a mistake made in millions turned out to be extremely beneficial for Apple. The iPhone seen in the photo here is the same defective phone from Apple, whose logo has been misplaced. This model is iPhone 11 Pro and you can see that its logo is not exactly in the center but in a little side.

A misprint iPhone 11 Pro that sold for 2700$. This misprint is extremely rare- I’d say 1 in 100 million or possibly even rarer. pic.twitter.com/68F7giZAbm

— Internal Archive (@ArchiveInternal) April 9, 2021

These logos made on the iPhone are placed in the middle of the panel, but due to a flaw in the construction of this phone, the logo didn't get placed in the middle, but shifted towards side. This type of mistake related to printing is very rare, which is rarely seen in an Apple product. Not only is it on the side, this Apple logo is also slightly tilted upwards. This mistake made the Apple phone unique and the phone's price was close to 2700 US $ i.e. Rs 2,00,000. The actual price of this phone was close to 999 $ i.e. Rs 75,000. 

Specifications

Talking about the Apple iPhone 11 Pro, which came in the market two years ago, the Apple A13 bionic chipset is installed in this phone. This smartphone comes with 4 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. The smartphone has a 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina display. There is a triple camera setup in the rear of the phone, which also has a 12 MP Ultraviolet lens with wide sensor and telephoto lens. A 12MP selfie camera has been provided on the front panel of the phone for selfie and video calling. The phone has a 3,046 mAh battery, which comes with 18W fast charging support.

Caution! - This application can auto-reply to Whatsapp messages

Background

As the mobile threat landscape is evolving day by day, Cyber criminals are always seeking to develop new techniques to evolve and successfully distribute malware. They have and are continuously coming up with new ways of luring people into their traps. Researchers have found a new and innovative malicious threat on the Google Play app store which spreads itself via mobile users with the help of  WhatsApp conversations and can also send further malicious content via automated replies to incoming WhatsApp messages.

Which is this malicious app?

Name of this malicious app is ’FlixOnline’. It was found to be available on Google Play store. 

This app is a fake service that claims to allow users to view Netflix content from all around the world on their mobiles. However, instead of allowing the mobile users to view Netflix content, the application is actually designed to monitor the user’s WhatsApp notifications and to send automatic replies to the user’s incoming messages using content that it receives from a remote command and control server.

Lures people into downloading the application

This malware sends following response to its victims, luring them with the offer of a free Netflix service:

“2 Months of Netflix Premium Free at no cost For REASON OF QUARANTINE (CORONA VIRUS)* Get 2 Months of Netflix Premium Free anywhere in the world for 60 days. Get it now HERE https://bit[.]ly/3bD***w.”

Takes permission from user

Once people fall into this trap and install the application from Play Store, the malware starts a service that requests ‘Overlay’, ‘Battery Optimization Ignore’, and ‘Notification’ permissions. In greed of watching free Netflix, users allow these permissions easily. The purpose behind obtaining these permissions is:

• Overlay allows a malicious application to create new windows on top of other applications. This is usually requested by malware to create a fake “Login” screen for other apps, with the aim of stealing victim’s credentials.
• Ignore Battery Optimizations stops the malware from being shut down by the device’s battery optimization routine, even after it is idle for an extended period.
• The most prominent permission is the Notification access, more specifically, the Notification Listener service. Once enabled, this permission provides the malware with access to all notifications related to messages sent to the device, and the ability to automatically perform designated actions such as “dismiss” and “reply” to messages received on the device.

 

Can harm users in many ways

Once user has installed this application and allowed the requested permissions, it could perform a wide range of malicious activities:

• Spread this malware further via malicious links

• Steal data from user's WhatsApp account

• Spread fake or malicious messages to user's WhatsApp contacts and groups (for example, work-related groups)

• Extort users by blackmailing/threatening to send sensitive WhatsApp data or conversations to all of their contacts

What can you do?
If you use FlixOnline or any other similar app, uninstall the application immediately and check if the app has already done some damage by checking your WhatsApp chats. Users can also reset their phones by first backing up all personal data for the best results. A reset should remove any malicious code or files still in your system.
In the future, remember to never fall for such fake apps. Any app that tries to provide you unofficial content for free could be trying to download malicious code on to your device. If an app or service online is too good to be true, it probably is.

Change your important Aadhaar details online

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by residents of India, based on their biometric and demographic data. Aadhaar is issued by UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of India. Aadhaar card is one of the most important documents that can be used for many useful purpose. 

In the situation of Covid-19 pandemic, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced that people can now make changes in their Aadhaar details from the comfort of their home. They can do it online, without having to go to any Aadhaar Kendra.

Although, for some facilities, mentioned by UIDAI, you will have to go to Aadhaar Center and get the changes done. 

UIDAI has tweeted:

 

 

#MeraAadhaarMeriPehchaan
अब आप घर बैठे UIDAI की वेबसाइट पर अपना नाम, पता, जन्मतिथि व लिंग अपडेट करा सकते हैं, https://t.co/II1O6P5IHq पर क्लिक करें और घर बैठे आधार अपडेट कराएँ। #Aadhaar pic.twitter.com/GhuLbLGAG3

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) December 22, 2020

Details which can be updated online

You can update your Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Address and Language Online. Meanwhile, for other updates like Head of Family/Guardian details or Biometric update, resident will be required to visit Aadhaar Seva Kendra or Enrolment/Update Centre. 

Registered mobile number mandatory

To request for changes in these Aadhar details online, your registered mobile number is mandatory. An OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number to confirm the changes.

You can verify email address and mobile number that was declared during enrolment or latest successful processed update request, whichever is later. You can follow the steps mentioned below to verify email id/mobile number through UIDAI website.

Steps to verify email id/mobile number through UIDAI website

1. Go to the UIDAI website (https://uidai.gov.in/)
2. Go to My Aadhaar > Aadhaar Services > Verify Email/Mobile Number
3. You will have to fill in required details such as your Aadhaar number, email address/mobile number and a security code. 
4. If you want to verify your email address, type in your 12-digit Aadhaar number, email address and the security code. 
5. You will instantly get an email on your email id bearing an OTP. 
6. Now type the OTP and verify it. 
7. If your details match with that of UIDAI, you will get a message that saying, "Congratulations! The Email ID matches with our records!". 
8. Similarly, if you want to verify your mobile number, follow the same procedure. This time, instead of email address, type your mobile number and generate the OTP.