Daily Current Affairs 6 January 2020

Current Affairs of Today are

1) Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM­JAY)

• The Centre’s ambitious healthcare insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM­JAY) under the National Health Authority (NHA) has noted that as per details provided by the States, more than 390 hospitals of the over 19,000 impaneled across nine States have been either served show-cause notices, suspended, or de­empanelled, for alleged fraud
• 171 hospitals have been de­empanelled and FIRs have been lodged against six hospitals in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. The quantum of penalties levied on the listed hospitals is more than ₹4.6 crore.
• A close watch is also maintained on wrongful enrolment of beneficiaries; 3,785 Village Level Entrepreneurs (positioned at Common Service Centres) / Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitras (positioned at PM­JAY impaneled hospitals) have been deactivated so far
• The official confirmed that
• The National Anti­Fraud Unit (NAFU) at the NHA has detected that the frauds, committed using e-cards based on algorithms, developed internally
• The cover provided under the PM­JAY health insurance scheme is ₹5 lakh per family
• Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab were among the States where frauds were detected at different stages of implementation of the PM­JAY.

2)  107th Indian Science Congress

• C.N.R. Rao The 2013 Bharat Ratna awardee was the chief guest at the Indian Science Congress held in Bengaluru and was speaking at the Children’s Science Congress Neither the quality nor quantity of publications that come out of India is adequate, not worried about the quantity [of Indian publications], but the quality is important. However, in India, we are doing well in neither the quantity nor the quality of science in what we should be doing
• Several studies of publication trends have shown that India’s share in the world research output hovers around 5%. But the rate of citations the number of times these articles are cited and used as a proxy for quality is much lower at 2­-3%. 

PM Narendra Modi Remarks

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the congress, lauded India for being in the “3rd position globally,” in terms of peer­reviewed science­ and engineering­-publications.
• It is also growing at a rate of about 10% as compared to the global average of 4%

Eco-friendly antibiotics

• Concerns surrounding antibiotic use, including environmental hazards and the appearance of multi­drug resistant bacteria, can be minimized by designing antibiotics that are specific to each species of pathogen, instead of using the broad-range antibiotics that are currently favored, Ada E. Yonath, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009, said
• She has started work on degradable antibiotics that are effective only for the target pathogen. This will reduce environmental hazards and combat the spread of resistance
• The increasing appearance of multi­drug resistant strains, together with the negligible number of new
• antibiotic drugs that are presently undergoing development, is a big problem. We may soon revert back to the pre­antibiotic era when simple pathogens could cause very severe infections. This may result in a 3.8% loss in the global economy by 2050. 
• The danger of antibiotics is the potential damage that they cause to the microbiome. Changes to the composition of the human microbiome can cause disease. Most antibiotics are made up of small, toxic, organic molecules that cannot be digested and are expelled into the environment
• They are so small that most purification facilities cannot catch them, so they penetrate irrigation systems and eventually come back to us

3) Pneumococcal vaccine

• The pneumococcal vaccine developed by the Pune­based Serum Institute of India has been pre­qualified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the third week of December 2019. The prequalification of the vaccine by WHO was based on the results of a phase­3 trial (the final phase of the human clinical trial) carried out in 2,250 children in The Gambia, a small West African country
• According to a November 2019 UNICEF report, pneumonia caused 1,27,000 deaths in India in 2018, the second-highest number of child mortality under the age of five in the world. In India, pneumonia, and diarrhea cause the most deaths in children under five years.
• The pneumococcal vaccine PNEUMOSIL is a conjugate vaccine to help produce a stronger immune response to a weak antigen. Serum Institute had optimized an efficient conjugate vaccine manufacturing processes for its meningitis A vaccine (MenAfriVac), which was used for manufacturing the pneumococcal vaccine. This helped the company reduce the manufacturing cost of the pneumococcal vaccine.
• The vaccine will cost only $2 per dose, which is 30% cheaper than the Gavi price

4) ISRO’s astronaut training hub 

• India’s world-­class facility for training astronauts will come up in three years at Challakere, a shrubby, arid oilseeds town on the Bengaluru­-Pune NH4 in Chitradurga district of Karnataka.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed a ₹ 2,700­ crore master plan to create a top infrastructure that will house its young Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC).
• ISRO Told “Everything connected with events and planning of the HSP [Human Spaceflight Programme] will shift to our campus at Challakere. We want to establish a self­contained facility there so that in the future, whatever training and activities we are now doing in Russia for the Gaganyaan crew can all be done by us here.” When ready, the 400­-acre ISRO land at Challakere will be the single­stop consolidating infrastructure and activities related to space travelers. 
• The country pays a hefty, unnamed sum to use such facilities abroad. The first set of four astronaut candidates for the first Gaganyaan mission of 2022 is to train in Russia. The amount sought for the HSFC is over and above the ₹10,000­crore approved budget of Gaganyaan. Pending its approval, the center may take 2­3 years at the earliest to be set up but would come up after the first Indian crewed flight.

Reason

• HSP work is split across various centers such as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. The Institute of Aerospace Medicine of the Air Force has been roped in for their selection and basic and final training in Bengaluru.  Challakere will also host work related to crew and service modules of the spacecraft that carries the astronauts. Such full ­fledged facilities were needed as the HSP was not a one­time affair. “We are going to have a sustained HSP and will need a large number of facilities for training [future] astronauts.

The ISRO planned to add a quarantine facility at the second launch pad (SLP) in the Sriharikota spaceport. Dr. Sivan said it would ensure that astronauts who were about to enter the spacecraft before the launch stayed unexposed

5)  Saras Mk2 

The government needs to be the “launch customer” to make Saras Mk2 commercially viable, the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL), which has developed the first indigenous light transport aircraft, told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology. 

About Saras Mk2

The 19­seater aircraft, developed with a target cost of ₹50 crores, is at least 20­-25% lower in cost than other aircraft in a similar category.

• The NAL has been pitching Saras Mk­2 for the government’s UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) since it can operate in “ill-equipped”, “semi­prepared” and “unpaved airstrips”. The scheme, launched in October 2016, is aimed at linking areas that have no air connectivity
• the government should be the “launch customer”, and place an order for at least 50­ 60 aircraft, which can be used for VIP services or tackling emergencies in times of natural calamities
• The aircraft has been in the making for long. The first prototype flew in 2004. But without the initial push from the government, the manufacturing capacity required for commercial production could not be set up

6) Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

• The Agri Export Policy was announced last year to double the export and ensure the doubling of farmers’ income. To achieve this objective, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been adopting a focused approach for ensuring greater involvement of the State governments for effective implementation of the Agri Export Policy (AEP). Throughout the year APEDA held a series of meetings with the State Government officials and other stakeholders for the preparation of State Action Plan which included all essential components like production clusters, capacity building, infrastructure and logistics, and R & D and budget requirements for the implementation of AEP. Several rounds of discussions were held with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Food Processing Industries and other agencies under Line Ministries for seeking the inputs for formulating a strategy to increase exports and address the existing bottlenecks in the trade.
• The many States have nominated Nodal agency and Nodal officer. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Punjab, and Karnataka have finalized the State Action Plan and other States are at different stages of finalization of the action plan.
• State-level Monitoring Committees have been formed in many of the States. Cluster visits have been made by APEDA Nodal officers to the product clusters at Jalandhar (Potato), Jodhpur (Isabgol), Banaskantha (Dairy products), Sangli (Grapes), Solapur (Pomegranate), Nagpur (Orange), Chittoor (Mango), Theni (Banana), Salem (Poultry products), Indore (Onion) and Chikkaballapur (Rose onion). The roadmap for cluster development in the clusters notified under AEP was prepared to address the identified interventions during the cluster visits. As a result of cluster visits by APEDA, the cluster level committee has been constituted in the States viz. Potato in Punjab, Isabgol in Rajasthan, Pomegranate, Orange and Grapes in Maharashtra and Banana in Tamil Nadu.
• An MoU was signed with National Cooperative Development Corporation to include Co-operatives for their active role in AEP. A Farmer Connect Portal has also been set up by APEDA on its website for providing a platform for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to interact with exporters. Over 800 FPOs have been registered on the portal.

7) Uncertain tax administration in India wary private investors 

Uncertainty in tax administration is one of the key threats to private investments in the country, the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association said in a presentation made a Parliamentary panel on Finance

The presentation lists major threats to private investors in the country

• The first is “increased frictional costs on capital mobility, including dividend distribution tax, buy­back tax and so on, which diminishes returns prospects,” the association noted. A similar demand was recently made by the Association of National Exchanges Members of India. 
• The second point raised by the association is “uncertainty in tax administration”. The association told the members that there are multiple tax regimes within a single structure. 
• The group also pointed out that there is a “perception of India being unfriendly to foreign investors.” While the government is busy patting its back for better “ease of doing business” rating, there is an “increasing risk perception about doing business in India”
• Finally, the association said that a slow down in growth has reduced opportunities. As per the latest data, the GDP growth is down to 4.5%, a 26­quarter low

Finally, the association said that a slow down in growth has reduced opportunities. As per the latest data, the GDP growth is down to 4.5%, a 26­-quarter low

8) Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP)

• Launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on January 5th, 2015, the Government of India’s zero-subsidy Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), marked its fifth anniversary
• SLNP is the world’s largest streetlight replacement program and UJALA is the world’s largest domestic lighting project. Both have been spearheaded and implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
• Under the SLNP program, over 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed to date, enabling an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 1,161 MW and an estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 4.80 million tCO2 annually. LED streetlights have been installed in various states across the country, helping generate approximately 13,000 jobs to support GoI's Make in India initiative.
• Through the UJALA initiative, over 36.13 crores of LED bulbs have been distributed across India. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 46.92 billion kWh per year, avoided peak demand of 9,394 MW, and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 38 million t CO2 annually.
• With the concerted efforts towards building a robust ecosystem for LED in India, these programs have bagged global awards like the prestigious South Asia Procurement Innovation Award (SAPIA) 2017 and for the innovative use of IT and the business results achieved in Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), it won 2019 CIO 100 award. The highly successful UJALA and SLNP have also bagged the Global Solid State Lighting (SSL) award of excellence for the transformational contribution to the LED sector.
• UJALA project brought the market transformation in the energy efficiency sector. Prices of LED bulbs being distributed under the UJALA program have fallen to one-tenth of their rates in 2015 from INR. 310 to INR 38 in 2018. The switch from inefficient incandescent bulbs to LEDs is helping families reduce their electricity bills while also enabling them to access better brightness in homes. The money saved adds to a household’s disposable income and lifetime savings, thus improving their quality of life, generating prosperity in local communities, and expanding energy access to all. With the average household electricity bills down by 15 percent, the annual energy saving is equivalent to a week’s average earning. The sale of LED bulbs in the Indian market increased from 0.1 percent of the lighting market in 2014 to 15 percent within a year, with a projected increase to 60 percent by 2020. The domestic LED market has also grown significantly beyond the UJALA program, with the industry selling over 1.15 billion LEDs, far exceeding the UJALA program’s target of 700 million LED unit sales.
• Apart from this, the Government of India initiated the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (GSA) in 2018, which was aimed at the promotion of social harmony by apprising rural communities of various government welfare schemes and initiatives. As a part of GSA, 21,058 Indian villages with a significantly large number of poor households were able to buy LED bulbs for a special price under the UJALA program. The LED bulbs equipped homes with energy-efficient, cost-effective lighting, and higher lumen output than conventional incandescent bulbs.
• Simultaneously, the LED Street Lighting National Programme has enabled citizens to increase productivity at night and made roads safer for pedestrians and motorists due to enhanced brightness and reduced dark spots. The power utilities of states where the installation of LEDs has been implemented save up to 50 percent in electricity bills while ensuring 95 percent of streetlight uptime. As these lights are automated, they switch on and off at sunrise and sunset thereby reducing wastage. Utilities can also remotely track and rectify any faults with support of CCMS. In the last five years, the LED streetlights installed have illuminated 3,00,000 km of roads in India, enabling public safety and energy-efficient lighting.
• The functioning of Gram Panchayats (GP) has a direct impact on the everyday life of millions of rural people. Hence, the role of GP is critical for overall inclusive development and for deepening democracy through participatory governance. The estimated number of streetlights in GPs of India is 3.08 crores, by retrofitting these 3.08 crores conventional streetlights to LED streetlights can enable energy savings of approx. 3420 Million kWh & CO2 emission reduction of approx. 29 lakh tons. To date, under Street Lighting National Programme, approx. 23 lakhs LED streetlights have already been retrofitted in the Gram Panchayats in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• By March 2020, SLNP aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional streetlights in India with smart LEDs. This ambitious goal will make a tremendous difference, enabling peak demand reduction of about 1500 MW, annual energy savings of 9 billion kWh, and reduction in 6.2 Million tons of CO2 per year.  EESL has an ambitious plan in this portfolio for the next 4-5 years where it intends to bring investment to the tune of INR 8,000 crores by 2024 by covering entire rural India. It is expected that more than 30 million LED streetlights would be retrofitted/installed by EESL.