Daily Current Affairs 10 March 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) GI tag for basmati rice

The State of Madhya Pradesh and the Madhya Shetra Basmati Growers Association have lost two separate cases filed by them in the Madras High Court in 2016 challenging the exclusion of 13 districts in the State from a map submitted by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) seeking Geographical Indication tag for basmati rice grown in the Indo Gangetic Plain.
Justices R. Subbiah and C. Saravanan dismissed both writ petitions on the primary ground of maintainability after stating that the Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) had already issued GI tag certificates to APEDA by accepting its claim that basmati rice was grown only in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Uttarakhand apart from 26 districts in Uttar Pradesh besides Jammu as well as Kathua
The judges pointed out that after the filing of the present petitions in 2016, challenging an order passed by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in Chennai, the GIR had passed an order on March 15, 2018, accepting APEDA’s application. Since two more writ petitions had been filed in 2018 challenging the grant of GI tag to APEDA and those cases were still pending, adjudication of present petitions had become merely academic
However, after the pronouncement of the verdict, the judges suspended the operation of their order for four weeks at the instance of the petitioners’ counsel who intended to take the judgment on appeal to the Supreme Court. The issue dates back to November 2008 when APEDA, a statutory body, filed an application before an Assistant Registrar of Geographical Indications in Chennai seeking GI tag for basmati rice.
In 2010, Madhya Pradesh opposed APEDA’s application on the ground that the application excluded 13 districts including Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Sheopur, Datia, Shivpuri and Guna.

About GI Tag

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which correspond to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from 15 September 2003. GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement as: "Indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin."
The GI tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorized users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name. Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004–2005. These are listed below.

Source: The Hindu

2) Contaminated sites in India

There are 128 sites in India contaminated by toxic and hazardous substances, according to a March update by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). West Bengal led the list with 27 sites followed by Odisha at 23. Including those, 324 sites may be contaminated, with 196 still awaiting an investigation and confirmation.
The Union Environment Ministry has been monitoring and has begun to commission cleanup jobs at sites known to be contaminated. Twenty sites in 6 States have seen agencies prepare detailed project reports, or a plan of action, to clean up sites. Such action follows orders by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
There are four such sites in Kerala (EloorEdayar), Odisha (Ganjam, Orichem) Tamil Nadu (Ranipet), Uttar Pradesh (Rania, IPL and Deva Road), West Bengal (Nibra village), Madhya Pradesh (Ratlam).
These incidents include oil contamination due to leakage of underground oil pipelines of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Tamil Nadu, pesticide and heavy metal contamination in creeks at Eloor, Kerala, chromium contamination at Rania, improperly disposed electronic waste lying on the banks of river Ramganga, Moradabad and mercury contamination of the soil at Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and Ganjam, Odisha.

Central Pollution Control Board

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It Co-ordinates the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards by providing technical assistance and guidance and also resolves disputes among them. It is the apex organization in the country in the field of pollution control, as a technical wing of MoEFC. The board is led by its Chairperson, who is generally a career civil servant from the Indian Administrative Service appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet of the Government of India. The current acting chairman is Shri Ravi Shanker Prasad and the Member Secretary is Dr. Prashant Gargava.
CPCB has its head office in New Delhi, with seven zonal offices and 5 laboratories. The board conducts environmental assessments and research. It is responsible for maintaining national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with zonal offices, tribal, and local governments. It has responsibilities to conduct monitoring of water and air quality,[8] and maintains monitoring data. The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. It advises the central government to prevent and control water and air pollution. It also advises the Governments of Union Territories on industrial and other sources of water and air pollution. CPCB along with its counterparts the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) are responsible for the implementation of legislation relating to prevention and control of environmental pollution.

Source: The Hindu

3) Commercial Cord Blood Banking

Recently there has been growing concern regarding the aggressively promoted concept of cord blood banking.

Key Points

Over the past decade, stem cell banking has been aggressively marketed even as its use is still in experimental stages.
The stem cell banking companies get access to data of to-be parents and start approaching their prospective customers much before the delivery and offer competitive packages.
Companies convince parents to bank the cells for several years promising future therapeutic use.
Enormous fees are charged from parents to preserve cells merely by emotional marketing.
However, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), there is no scientific basis for the preservation of cord blood for future self-use and this practice, therefore, raises ethical and social concerns.
The ICMR does not recommend commercial stem cell banking.
Private storage of the cord blood is advisable when there is an elder child in the family with a condition treatable with these cells and the mother is expecting the next baby.
In other situations, parents should be educated about the limitations of banking at this point in time.

Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood is the blood from the baby that is left in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth. Cord blood banking involves taking the umbilical cord blood, which is a rich source of stem cells, and preserving it for future use.
It contains special cells called hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.
Hematopoietic stem cells can mature into different types of blood cells in the body.
Globally, cord blood banking is recommended as a source of hematopoietic stem cell (derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood) transplantation for hematological cancers and disorders where its use is recommended.
For all other conditions, the use of cord blood as a source of stem cells is not yet established.

Stem Cells

Stem cells are special human cells that can develop into many different cell types, from muscle cells to brain cells.
Stem cells are divided into two main forms- Embryonic stem cells and Adult Stem Cells.
Embryonic stem cells come from unused embryos resulting from an in vitro fertilization procedure and that are donated to science.

These embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning that they can turn into more than one type of cell.

Adult Stem Cells: There are two types of adult stem cells.

One type comes from fully developed tissues, like the brain, skin, and bone marrow.

There are only small numbers of stem cells in these tissues, and they are more likely to generate only certain types of cells.
For example, a stem cell-derived from the liver will only generate liver cells.

The second type is induced pluripotent stem cells.

These are adult stem cells that have been manipulated in a laboratory to take on the pluripotent characteristics of embryonic stem cells.

Indian Council of Medical Research

ICMR is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research.
Its mandate is to conduct, coordinate and implement medical research for the benefit of the Society; translating medical innovations into products/processes and introducing them into the public health system.
it is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Source: The Hindu

4) National Conference on Women in Police and CAPFs

Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) organized the National Conference on Women in Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in New Delhi.
It was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Women And Child Development.

Key Points

The main objective of the National Conference was to discuss and deliberate on the following two themes:

Cyber Stalking and Bullying of Women: Steps for Protection
Challenges faced by CAPF Women in Operational Areas

Few important issues related to women in Police which were highlighted during the conference are:

Workplace harassment besides cybercrime.
Society should not look at working women with bias and hold the performance of men to be the only benchmark for success.
Training of members of the Child Welfare Committees (CWC).
The need to train more female forensic investigators and cybercrime experts.
BPR&D was also advised to make an SoP for “One Stop Centre for Women”.

To commemorate this event, a hand-out – “BPR&D Mirror – Gender Benders” was released, which stated the recent initiatives taken by BPR&D to promote Woman Safety.

Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)

The Government of India established the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), under the Ministry of Home Affairs in the 1970s.
It replaced the Police Research and Advisory Council (1966), with the primary objective of modernization of the police force.
In 1995 the Government of India decided to entrust issues relating to Correctional Administration Work to the BPR&D.

Thereby BPR&D has to ensure the implementation of prison reforms as well.

The Government of India further decided to create a National Police Mission under the administrative control of BPR&D to transform the police forces in the country.
Recently, BPR&D observed its 50th foundation day.

Child Welfare Committees (CWC)

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is constituted under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It is the sole authority to deal with matters concerning children in need of care and protection.
The Committee is constituted for each district or group of districts.

Source: PIB

5) Warli Adivasi Revolt

In 1945, it began in Zari village, Talasari taluka (Maharashtra).
Affected from the exploitation from the landlords and money-lenders, nearly 5,000 indentured tribals gathered and refused to work on landlords’ fields until they received 12 annas a day in wages.
Their resistance sowed the first seeds of rights-based movements among the region’s indigenous communities.
Women played an important role in the revolt and helped the men in all possible aspects.
The involvement of the women was supported by the Kisan Sabha leader, Godavari Parulekar, also known as Godutai (elder sister) by the Adivasis.
Women followed her and spoke at meetings about the oppression they faced and encouraged other women to join the struggle.

Warli Tribe

They are spread across Thane, Nashik, and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad district of Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
They are small-scale cultivators and cultivate rice, pulses, and vegetables. They also sell toddy, mahua, and fuelwood to their tribesmen and neighboring communities for a living.
Warli are nature worshippers.
Warli art stems from their belief system shaped by their centuries-old subsistence on forest land.
They did not have a written word until recent times and their art was a way of transmitting their belief systems from one generation to the next.
Their drawings revolve around community traditions, the tools they use and their association with nature.

Source: Indian Express

6) Kyasanur Forest Disease

There is a proposal to set up a research center on Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) in Sagar, Karnataka.
The State government has already allocated ₹15 crores for establishing the center, which will take up study and research on tackling KFD.

Key Points

It is caused by the Kyasanur Forest disease Virus (KFDV), a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.
It was first identified in 1957 in a sick monkey from the Kyasanur Forest in Karnataka. Since then, between 400-500 human cases per year have been reported.
KFD is endemic to the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also referred to as monkey fever by locals.
Rodents, shrews, and monkeys are common hosts for KFDV after being bitten by infected Hard ticks (Haemaphysalis Spinigera). KFDV can cause epizootics (outbreak of the disease in animals) with high fatality in primates.
Transmission: To humans, it may occur after a tick bite or contact with an infected animal (a sick or recently dead monkey).
Signs and Symptoms: After an incubation period of 3-8 days, symptoms like chills, fever, headache, severe muscle pain, vomiting, gastrointestinal symptoms, and bleeding may occur. Patients may experience abnormally low blood pressure, and low platelet, red blood cell, and white blood cell count.
Diagnosis: It can be diagnosed in the early stage of illness by molecular detection by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or virus isolation from the blood. Later, serologic testing using enzyme-linked immunosorbent serologic assay (ELISA) can be performed.
Treatment and Prevention: There is no specific treatment for KFD although a vaccine is available.

Source: The Hindu

7) India-U.S. Defence cooperation.

The India-U.S. Military Cooperation Group (MCG) dialogue is a forum to review the progress of defense cooperation between India’s Integrated Defence Staff and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) at the strategic and operational levels.

The Integrated Defence Staff was responsible for coordination among the armed forces before the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff.

As part of the agreement reached at the 2+2 Dialogue of December 2019, with the intent to further military liaison relationships, India has already posted a liaison officer at the U.S. Navy Central Command in Bahrain and a U.S. liaison officer has joined the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region at Gurugram.

Details:

The India-U.S. Military Cooperation Group (MCG) dialogue scheduled to be held in the U.S., has been canceled given the COVID-19 outbreak.

As part of improving defense cooperation and interoperability between India and the U.S., India is considering a U.S. request for posting liaison officers at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) and the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). This was to be discussed at the dialogue.
The MCG dialogue was to follow up on the U.S. President’s India visit and fast-track the decisions, including that on 24 MH-60R multi-role helicopters.

Source: The Hindu

8) Missing at birth: on sex-selective abortion and infanticide

Introduction

Sex-selective abortion is the practice of ending a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant.
It is a problem in India where there is a cultural preference for sons, coupled with political and economic influences.
Instances of sex discrimination committed via abortion and infanticide have resulted in millions of “missing” girls in some societies.

Context

There was a case of infanticide in Tamil Nadu’s Usilampatti, which is historically notorious for its crude methods of killing female babies.
In this region, there is an inhuman practice of feeding female infants with toxic milk.

What are the causes of sex-selective abortions in India?

Son Preference – Throughout much of India, sons are often valued to carry on the family name and receive the inheritance.
According to traditional Hindu customs, important religious rituals, such as the lighting of the funeral pyre, must be performed by a son to assure that parents have a good afterlife.
Sons also provide parents with the assurance that they will be cared for—physically, emotionally, and financially—in sickness and old age.
Daughters, on the other hand, are often seen as a burden and a net financial loss.
Although illegal, the practice of dowry is still common in India, and couples will often spend a substantial amount of their savings on their daughter’s dowry.
Moreover, marriage in India is typically patrilocal.
Upon marriage, women become part of their husband’s family and lineage and typically care for their husband’s parents in old age, leaving sonless couples with little support from their children in old age.

Initiatives are taken by the Government

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC-PNDT) was enacted and amended to arm the state to wage a war against this practice.
It is an Act of the Parliament enacted to stop female feticides and arrest the declining sex ratio in India.
The main purpose of enacting the Act is to ban the use of sex-selection techniques after conception and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortions.
The Centre’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The campaign is aimed at preventing gender-biased sex selection and ensuring the survival & protection of the girl child. Read more on the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign at the linked article.
Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, effectively employed the Cradle Baby Scheme to counter infanticide, along with effective awareness campaigns.

Some possible solutions for ending India’s sex-selective abortion crisis

Effective Enforcement of Laws Banning Sex-Selective Abortion – To reduce the number of sex-selective abortions in India, the central, state, and union territory governments must ensure full and effective implementation of the PC-PNDT Act, including promptly holding medical practitioners that violate the law accountable.
The government must ensure that all ultrasound clinics are registered, and that accurate, up-to-date records are kept.
Promote the Equal Dignity and Status of Women – Studies have shown that men and women with gender-equitable attitudes and husbands who display low relationship control are significantly less likely to express a strong preference for sons.
Promoting the equal dignity and status of women will reduce son preference and thus reduce the motivation for couples to engage in sex selection practices.
Public and non-governmental stakeholders seeking to combat sex-selective abortions must promote the dignity of girls through public awareness messaging.
Such messaging should not only reinforce cultural-based reasons why Indian couples desire daughters, but should also seek to advocate for the equal status of girls and their equal potential to contribute to their families.

Conclusion

It is time for the government to ramp up awareness building exercises, and this time use technology to monitor every single pregnant woman right down to taluk levels until at least one year after birth.
While punitive aspects might offer a measure of deterrence, true change can only be brought about by a change in attitude.
The weapon that the government needs to use now is one that will be powerful enough to eliminate the perversion of son preference from people’s minds.

Source: The Hindu

9) Nari Shakti Puraskar

To acknowledge Women’s achievements, the Government of India confers Nari Shakti Puraskars on eminent women and institutions in recognition of their service towards the cause of women empowerment.

Key facts:

Initiated in the year 1999.
The awards are given away by the President of India every year on 8 March, International Women’s Day.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development announces these national-level awards for eminent women, organizations, and institutions.
The Nari Shakti Puraskar carries a cash award of Rs.1 Lakh and a certificate for individuals and institutions.

Eligibility Criteria:

Open to individuals, groups, and institutions for outstanding work towards the empowerment of women.
Individual applicants must be at least 25 years of age.
Institutions must have at least 5 years of relevant experience.

Institutional categories:

Each of the six institutional categories is named after an eminent woman in Indian history.
Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award for Best Private Sector organization/ Public sector undertaking in promoting the well-being and welfare of women, named after Ahilyabai Holkar, the 18th-century ruler of the Malwa kingdom.
Kannagi Devi Award for Best State which has appreciably improved Child Sex Ratio (CSR), named after Kannagi, the central character of the Tamil epic Silapathikaram.
Mata Jijabai Award for Best Urban Local body for providing services and facilities to women, named after Mata Jijabai, mother of Shivaji, who founded the Maratha Empire in the 17th century.
Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award for Best Civil Society organization (CSO) doing outstanding work for the welfare and well-being of women, named after Rani Gaidinliu, a 20th-century Naga spiritual and political leader
Rani Lakshmi Bai Award for Best Institution for Research & Development in the field of women empowerment, named after Lakshmibai, one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and erstwhile queen of Jhansi.
Rani Rudramma Devi Awards for two District Panchayats and two Gram Panchayats, named after Rudrama Devi, a 13th-century ruler of Deccan Plateau.

Source: PIB

10) Gender Social Norms Index

The first Gender Social Norms Index was recently released by the UN Development Program (UNDP).

About the index:

This index measures how social beliefs obstruct gender equality in areas like politics, work, and education, and contains data from 75 countries, covering over 80 percent of the world’s population.
The index found new clues to the invisible barriers women face in achieving equality – potentially forging a path forward to breaking through the so-called “glass ceiling”.

Key findings:

Despite decades of progress closing the equality gap between men and women, close to 90 percent of men and women hold some sort of bias against women.
Almost half of those polled feel that men are superior political leaders.
More than 40 percent believe they make better business executives and are more entitled to jobs when the economy is lagging.
Moreover, 28 percent think it is justified for a man to beat his wife.
The analysis also highlighted a bias shift in some 30 countries, revealing that while some show improvements, attitudes in others appear to have worsened in recent years – signaling that progress cannot be taken for granted.

Why enormous “power gaps” continue between men and women in economies, political systems, and corporations?

Despite tangible progress in closing gender inequalities in developmental areas, such as education and health as well as in removing legal barriers to political and economic participation, there exist power gaps.
This is because while men and women vote at similar rates, only 24 percent of parliamentary seats worldwide are held by women and there are only 10 female heads of government out of 193 Member States.
Furthermore, women are paid less than men working the same jobs and are much less likely to be in senior positions.

Way ahead:

We have come a long way in recent decades to ensure that women have the same access to life’s basic needs as men. But, “gender gaps are still all too obvious in other areas, particularly those that challenge power relations and are most influential in actually achieving true equality”.
Therefore, world leaders to accelerate action to meet global targets on gender equality.
Governments and institutions should utilize new policies to change these discriminatory beliefs and practices through education, and by raising awareness and changing incentives.

Facts for Prelims:

2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25), the most visionary agenda on women’s empowerment to date.
Few important women’s rights demonstrations: “#MeToo, #NiUnaMenos, #TimesUp. #UnVioladorEnTuCamino.

Source: PIB