Current Affair 1:

What is tokenisation and why has RBI issued new guidelines?

 

Tokenisation

Tokenization is the process of turning sensitive data into non-sensitive data called "tokens" that can be used in a database or internal system without bringing it into scope. Tokenization can be used to secure sensitive data by replacing the original data with an unrelated value of the same length and format. The tokens are then sent to an organization’s internal systems for use, and the original data is stored in a secure token vault.

The purpose of tokenization is to swap out sensitive data—typically payment card or bank account numbers—with a randomized number in the same format but with no intrinsic value of its own. This differs from encryption, where a number is mathematically changed, but its original pattern is still stored within the new code—known as format-preserving encryption.

Tokenization is the process of removing sensitive data from your business systems by replacing it with an undecipherable token and storing the original data in a secure cloud data vault. Encrypted numbers can be decrypted with the appropriate key. Tokens, however, cannot be reversed, because there is no mathematical relationship between the token and its original number.

Token will be unique for a combination of card, token requestor (i.e., the entity which accepts request from the customer for tokenisation of a card and passes it on to the card network to issue a corresponding token) and device (referred hereafter as “identified device”).

Earlier when we used to make payments through cards (debit/credit) from a PoS machine or any merchant website (amazon/flipkart) then these merchants used to store our card information for further processing of data. But now with tokenization allowed by RBI, when we will submit our card details on the merchant website then a token will be generated by the card networks (VISA/MASTERCARD) and it will be sent to our mobile and this token then we will enter on the merchant website and the merchant website will not be allowed to store our exact card details.

Card Issuers (Banks), Card Networks (Mastercard/Visa) can now offer tokenization services and they will be called Token Service Providers (TSPs). Tokenisation of card data shall be done with explicit customer consent.

RBI has extended the deadline to implement tokenization to 30th June 2022.

Current Affair 2:

Good Governance Index

 

Read the introduction first, why we need this index.

Sectors of Good Governance Index

 

The GGI 2020-21 categorises States and UTs into four categories, i.e., (i) Other States – Group A; (ii) Other States – Group B; (iii) North-East and Hill States; and (iv) Union Territories.

Individually they won’t ask ranking of states. So, remember little bit.

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa top the composite rank score covering 10 sectors.

GGI 2021 says that in the North-East and Hill States category, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir have registered an overall increase of 10.4% and 3.7% respectively over GGI 2019.

GGI 2021 says that in the Union Territories category, Delhi tops the composite rank registering a 14 percent increase over the GGI 2019 indicators.

The GGI 2021 says that 20 States have improved their composite GGI scores over the GGI 2019 index scores.

In addition to the existing quantitative Indicators, additional process and input-based indicators are made part of GGI 20202-21 framework. The aim of including additional dimensions is to make GGI a more wholistic tool of measuring governance.

Current Affair 3:

Biomanufacturing revolution

 

Biomanufacturing is a type of manufacturing that utilizes biological systems (e.g., living microorganisms, resting cells, plants, animals, tissues, enzymes, or in vitro synthetic (enzymatic) systems) to produce commercially important value-added biomolecules for use in the agricultural, food, energy, material, and pharmaceutical industries. Its products may also be isolated from natural sources, such as blood, cultures of microbes, animal cells, or plant cells grown in specialized equipment or dedicated cultivation environments. The cells/tissues or enzymes used may be natural or modified by genetic engineering, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and protein engineering

 

Our collective ability to engineer biology together with the deployment of automation, AI and data-analytics in production processes, has advanced in leaps and bounds over the last two decades, spurring a biomanufacturing revolution.

This wave of innovation, together with an ongoing fall in costs, is opening the way to sustainable, scalable and innovative biomanufacturing solutions across value chains, enabling organizations across a diverse set of value chains. According to a recent study by Mckinsey, the economic benefits could be worth up to $4 trillion per year over the next 10-20 years.

Beyond its intrinsic economic, performance and environmental advantages, biomanufacturing is also one of the most promising areas of developing technology when it comes to solving major global crises such as microplastic pollution and pandemic prevention and preparedness. Over the next two decades, it is anticipated that biomanufacturing will unlock major advances in areas such as:

Bioremediation: microbes and enzymes are being developed that can metabolize wastewater contaminants and transform them into useful bioproducts.

Biosecurity: Localized biomanufacturing capabilities across developed and developing nations will enable rapid and effective responses to emerging pandemics.

Bio innovation: The development of existing and novel ingredients and materials are enhancing value chains while offering alternatives to petrochemically derived alternatives.

Many individual and joint efforts are already being directed towards these solutions; however, there are still obstacles to fully realizing the full potential of the biomanufacturing revolution

Currently there is a need to accelerate the feedback loop between biological design and product application to ensure commercial success. In order to power the diversity of applications emerging from this field over the next 20 years, significant effort is needed to grow and develop the future bio workforce.

So how can we accelerate the biomanufacturing revolution? We suggest focusing on three main areas:

1. Workforce

We need to significantly expand the biomanufacturing workforce in order to realize the full potential of the bioeconomy and to enable local, distributed manufacturing.

2. Scale

Increasing access to scale in both the development and deployment of biomanufacturing solutions is needed to accelerate growth of the bioeconomy.

3. Policy

Policy must keep up with the pace of innovation in order to facilitate impactful solutions while mitigating any potential risks. Furthermore, early regulatory missteps can delay the progress of the biomanufacturing revolution and constrain innovation, especially in more forward-looking applications. 

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