Daily PIB 31st October 2023

• Section 295A of the IPC: The object of Section 295-A is to punish deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.This section only punishes an aggravated form of insult to religion when it is perpetrated with the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of a class.The accused must insult or attempt to insult the religion or religious beliefs of any class of citizens of India. The said insult must be made with a deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of the said class of citizens. The said insult must be by words, either spoken or written, by signs, by visible representation, or otherwise.  

Section 295A IPC is a cognisable,non-bailable, and non-compoundable offence, and police can register an FIR anywhere in the country at the instance of purportedly aggrieved complainants.  

• District Central Co-operative Banks (DCCBs):A DCCB is a rural cooperative bank operating at the district level in various parts of India. It is established to provide banking to the rural hinterland for the agricultural sector, with the branches primarily established in rural and semi-urban areas.DCCB provides finance to all the co-operative societies in the district, conducts activities, and provides banking services according to the provisions of the co-operative act and banking act.They act as a link between the primary credit co-operative society and the State Co-operative Bank.At the district level, DCCB works as a banker of state government. Educational institutions, Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat, cooperative societies, etc have accounts in this bank.All the financial transactions of co-operative sector are conducted through DCCB.DCCBs have three sources of funds:  

Their own share capital and reserves,Deposits from the public and Loans from the state co-operative banksThe main functions of the DCCBs are To meet the credit requirements of member-societies,To perform banking business,To act as a balancing centre for the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) by diverting the surplus funds of some societies to those which face shortages of funds,To undertake non-credit activities. 

• SIM-Swap Scam: All banking applications are linked to phone numbers, which help in generating OTPs (to authenticate transactions) or receiving important bank-related messages. 

In the SIM swap scam, fraudsters first take personal details such as phone numbers, bank account details, and addresses with the help of phishing or vishing.After receiving the personal information, fraudsters visit the mobile operator’s retail outlet, posing as the victim with forged ID proof, and report a fake theft of the victim’s SIM card and/or mobile phone. 

By doing this, they attain a duplicate SIM.Notably, scamsters can get a duplicate SIM even when the original is working, as they reported a theft of the original SIM card.Unlike other scams, where scamsters trick people into giving OTPs and private information on a phone call, the SIM swap scam doesn’t require direct communication with the victims.However, fraudsters do give missed calls to their victims so that the latter leave their phones and ignore the lost network connectivity.When the SIM is swapped, the accused gains control of the entire SIM. All calls and messages go through their SIM only. Once in control of the SIM card, they are able to obtain passwords and OTPs that allow them to access their targets’ bank accounts.