Daily Current Affairs 19 March 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) APEDA signs MoU with SFAC

Agri Export Policy announced by the Government of India with “Farmers’ Centric Approach” suggests developing product-specific clusters in the country to help improving productivity and quality of the varieties of crops with special involvement of Farm Producer Organizations(FPOs).
FPOs are an institutional innovation to help smallholders to reduce the cost of production by procuring necessary inputs in bulk at wholesale rates, aggregation of produce and bulk transport reducing marketing cost, etc. and extend their reach to modern technology and distant markets. The policy also aims at addressing the obstacles faced by FPOs through an organization like Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) and State level organizations to expand the FPO network.
APEDA has been focusing on a collaborative approach to bring synergy with such organizations and has been engaged with them for mutually working together in the development of agriculture and allied sectors and its exports for bringing better value to the stakeholders.
APEDA has been in dialog with SFAC for linking of Farmer Producer organizations, farmers’ cooperatives to the export value chain through capacity building, production of the quality products as per the requirement of importing countries, creation of infrastructure, facilitating primary and secondary processing in the clusters and also by linking them to the exporters.

Areas of cooperation:

SFAC to share a list of all clusters in various states with APEDA for achieving scale and aggregation with export orientation. APEDA and SFAC jointly work together to link up the FPOs/FPCs with the exporters to achieve the goal and doubling the farmer's income as well.
To work towards capacity development, outreach programs, awareness programs and workshops of various stakeholders.
To work together to showcase to the Indian and Global Market, the products, technologies, processes, knowledge, and services by the FPO sector stakeholders through a variety of modes may be identified by them from time to time.
APEDA to facilitate certification of organic produce /areas by the FPCs assisted or identified by SFAC.
To take-up an Agri-Business Promotion Unit in the North East and to mentor and handhold the FPOs in North East.
It is expected that with the approach of joint collaboration with the organizations like SFAC, APEDA will be able to reach to a large farmer base for improving the production base of agri products quantitatively and qualitatively both for maintaining the consistency of supply and establish an image of the quality supplier in the International market leading to increase in export volume and value and indirectly contribute to doubling of farmers’ income.

APEDA:

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), is an authority established under an act of parliament and under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It has been mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the scheduled products viz. Fruits, Vegetables and their Products, Meat and Meat Products, Poultry and Poultry Products, Dairy Products, Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products, Honey, Jaggery and Sugar Products, Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds, Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Cereal and Cereal Products, Groundnuts, Peanuts and Walnuts, Pickles, Papads and Chutneys, Guar Gum, Floriculture and Floriculture Products, Herbal and Medicinal Plants. In addition to this, APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor the import of sugar.

Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC):

It is a pioneer in organizing small and marginal farmers as Farmers Interest Groups, Farmers Producers Organisation and Farmers Producers Company for endowing them with bargaining power and economies of scale. It provides a platform for increased accessibility and cheaper availability of agricultural inputs to small and marginal farmers and in establishing forward and backward linkages in supply chain management. This initiative has triggered the mobilization of farmers for aggregation across the country with the ultimate aim of the sustainable business model and augmented incomes. The Society has been entrusted with the task of implementation of the critically important Delhi Kisan Mandi and National Agriculture Market Scheme on e-platform to progressively free agricultural trade and offers price discovery to farmers. Currently there around 1000 FPOs/FPCs registered with SFAC.

Schemes of SFAC for FPOs' support is to the equity base of FPCs by providing matching equity grants and Credit Guarantee support for facilitating collateral-free lending to FPCs. The main objectives of the Equity Grant Fund are enhancing the viability and sustainability of FPCs, increasing creditworthiness, enhancing the shareholding of members to increase their ownership and participation in their FPC. The equity grant support to eligible FPCs is provided by the SFAC on a matching basis.

Source: PIB

2) DAC paves way for procurement of 83 indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft for IAF

Consequent to the separation of duties between the Department of Defence (DoD) and Department of Military Affairs (DMA), the first meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh was held with the Acquisition Wing being the Secretariat of the DAC. This would lead to better coordination and faster processing of cases with the Acquisition wing being in the overall charge of the Capital acquisition process.
The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas indigenously-designed by Aircraft Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is going to be the backbone of Indian Air Force in future. While orders of 40 Tejas aircraft had been placed with HAL in initial configurations, DAC paved the way for procurement of 83 of the more advanced Mk1A version of the aircraft from HAL by finalizing the contractual and other issues. The proposal will now be placed for consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). This procurement will be a major boost to 'Make in India' as the aircraft is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with the participation of several local vendors apart from HAL.
The Defence Acquisition Council also accorded approval for the acquisition of indigenous Defence equipment for about Rs 1,300 crore. The proposals were for the procurement of Aerial Fuses and Twin-Dome Simulators for Hawk Mk32 aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
The DAC approved an amendment to the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 to enable review by a Costing Committee of bids submitted by Joint Ventures of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs)/Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)/DRDO from whom procurement of Defence items is undertaken on a nomination basis. This will bring about more transparency in costs and compress the timelines for negotiation of the contract.

Source: PIB

3) The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has trained more than 15,000 staff deployed at the air and land ports across the country on the protocols to be followed given the COVID-19 outbreak.
As part of the awareness and acclimatization drive, the personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force and the Bureau of Immigration posted at these ports have also been sensitized
Over 5,000 personnel of the NDRF, stationed in different states, have been kept on standby. The units are in regular contact with the State and District Disaster Management Authority officials. It is learned that the NDRF officials have also been provided with personal protection kits.
India is currently in the second stage of the virus outbreak. At the national level, Prime Minister Narendra Modiled National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been coordinating with the State and District authorities for implementing measures on a war footing to check the spread.
The National Crisis Management Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary, which is devising the strategy to deal with the outbreak, has held over halfadozen meetings. Concerns and suggestions of Chief Secretaries from the States are being taken into consideration for devising the action plan.
The NDMA's National Executive Committee (NEC), which ensures implementation of the policies on disaster management, has been constantly monitoring the situation.
The NEC is headed by the Union Home Secretary. It comprises Secretarylevel officials in all the key Ministries or Departments and the Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Union Health Secretary is coordinating the meetings with the stakeholders.
It is learned that the Textiles Ministry has been roped in to ensure the mass production of protective clothing. The government has also placed an order for about 1 million nasal swab pins from Germany. Taking into account a possible proliferation of the infection which impacts the respiratory system, the authorities are also preparing to make adequate arrangements for ventilators.
On the health front, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is monitoring the developments about testing labs. Apart from 72 ICMR labs, 49 others in government institutions will become functional this week. The ICMR, which is coordinating with the World Health Organisation, the Indian Medical Association, Council is also in touch with over 50 private accredited labs for facilitating freeofcost testing.

Source: The Hindu

4) Navy to get four more P¬8I aircraft from May

The Navy will start receiving four more P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft from Boeing from May 2020 and the process will be completed by January 2022.

Background:

In November 2019, the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by the Defence Minister, had approved the procurement of six additional P-8I aircraft.

Details:

These aircraft will also be in the same configuration as the earlier eight aircraft.
Plans are on to install encrypted communication systems on the earlier ones.
These systems are available to India following the conclusion of the foundational agreement Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) with the US.
COMCASA is a foundational military agreement that allows for the sharing of encrypted communications and equipment.

P-8I Aircraft:

P-8I is a long-range, multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the Indian Navy. It is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon operated by the US Navy.
The P-8I aircraft was designed to protect the vast coastline and territorial waters of India. It can conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (AsuW), intelligence, maritime patrol, and surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
The P-8I is equipped with some of the most modern U.S. ASW technology including a Telephonics APS-143 OceanEye aft radar system and a cutting-edge magnetic anomaly detector.
The aircraft is also armed with U.S. weapons systems including Harpoon Block-II missiles, MK-54 lightweight torpedoes, [and] rockets. The aircraft are all data-linked with Indian submarines to have the capability to pass on information about enemy vessels.

Source: The Hindu

5) ODF+ and ODF++ under Phase 2 of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development recently tabled its report on the performance of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) in Lok Sabha.

Key observations:

Even though work on three protocols under the next phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban-2) — ODF+, ODF++ and Water Plus — is to be completed by 2024, the ground situation was not matching with the assigned timeline. The progress has been slow.
Less than 30 percent of the cities have been certified as ODF+ so far. Out of 4,320 cities declared ODF, as low as 1,276 cities have been certified as ODF+.
The number of ODF++ cities — 411 — means that less than 10 percent of cities are certified as ODF++ so far.

What is ODF+, ODF++?

ODF+ and ODF++ were launched in August 2018 to further scale up and sustain the work undertaken by the cities after achieving the ODF status under Phase I of the Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban (SBM-Urban).
Eligibility: Cities that had been certified ODF at least once, based on the ODF protocols, are eligible to declare themselves as SBM-ODF+ & SBM-ODF++

What is water plus?

Announced in August 2019, Water Plus aims to sustain toilets by treating and reuse of water. It contributes to the government’s focus on water conversation and reuse under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and is in alignment with United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal No 6 on clean water and sanitation.

Background:

Under Phase 1 of the Swachh Bharat Mission (U), 99 percent of the cities became ODF, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had claimed in December 2019.

What next?

States have an important role in ensuring progress under these programs.
MoHUA needed to move faster about the coverage of the three protocols to adhere to the timeline of 2024.
Additional funds will be required to sustain the ODF status and ensure complete fecal sludge management.

Source: Down To Earth

6) IHBT scientists develop new sanitizer

Demand for products such as sanitizer is increasing amidst reports of preventive measures against coronavirus and many counterfeit materials being sold in the market. Given this, a new hand-sanitizer has been developed by the scientists of CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) based in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director of IHBT stated that “The natural flavors, active tea constituents, and alcohol content in this hand-sanitizer have been used as per the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the special things is that chemicals like parabens, triclosan, synthetic fragrance, and phthalates have not been used in this product. ”
The technology has been transferred to Palampur based company M/s A.B. Scientific Solutions for the commercial production of this newly developed hand-sanitizer. An agreement has been signed between CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) and the company.
The company, which has a strong nationwide marketing network of its own, will be establishing a facility in Palampur for the commercial production of hand-sanitizer. The company will also market these hand-sanitizers and other disinfectants in all major cities across the country.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar says that due to the sudden increase in demand for sanitizer in the market, its arbitrary prices are being charged. Given the current increase in demand for the right product, this hand sanitizer has been developed at an appropriate time.

Source: PIB

7) RBI releases new guidelines for payment aggregators

Capital requirements for payment aggregators have been reduced to Rs 15 crore at the time of application for the license.
This needs to be increased to Rs 25 crore within three years of operations.
Existing non-bank entities offering payment aggregation (PA) services shall apply for authorization on or before June 30, 2021.
Pure-play payment gateway companies would be separated as an entity and would be identified as technology service providers for banks and non-banks.
PAs have also been asked to adhere to strict security guidelines, adhere to all KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) rules.
The guidelines have also mandated that PAs need to check their merchant customers are not involved in the selling of prohibited or fake items.
The central bank has also asked PAs to set up designated nodal offices to deal with customer grievance.
The RBI has prohibited PAs from allowing online transactions to be done with ATM pin as the second factor of authentication, which few payment gateway companies were offering as a service.

Who are payment aggregators?

These are players who integrate with e-commerce companies and connect them with banks. They receive payments on behalf of these companies and transfer the money to their accounts.

Background:

Entities like Billdesk, CCAvenue, Firstdata, Razorpay, Cashfree, Paytm Payment Gateway, and others are offering payment services to e-commerce companies. Given the largescale adoption of digital payments and the emergence of so many players, the RBI expressed interest in regulating the space.

Source: The Hindu

8) Anti-HIV Drugs for COVID-19

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued revised guidelines on the ‘Clinical Management of COVID-19’.

COVID-19 patients may present with mild, moderate, or severe illness and the early recognition of suspected patients allows for timely initiation of infection, prevention, and control.
The Ministry has recommended the use of drug combinations Lopinavir and Ritonavir (sold under the brand name Kaletra) depending upon the severity of the condition of a person having coronavirus infection, on a case-to-case basis.

Key Points

Lopinavir-Ritonavir is recommended for high-risk groups of patients aged above 60 who are suffering from diabetes mellitus, renal failure, chronic lung disease and are immuno-compromised.
Lopinavir-Ritonavir is used widely for controlling Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection.

However, the use of Lopinavir-Ritonavir is also associated with significant adverse events which many times have led to discontinuation of therapy.

There is no current evidence from randomized controlled trials to recommend any specific treatment for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

No specific antivirals are recommended for the treatment of those suffering from respiratory ailment due to a lack of adequate evidence from medical literature.

The use of this drug combination is suggested by an expert committee comprising doctors from the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Source: The Hindu

9) Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram

Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed the Rajya Sabha about the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) while discussing the health and well-being of adolescents in the country.

Key Points

Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in 2014.
It intends to ensure the holistic development of the adolescent population.
The RKSK program defines an adolescent as a person within 10-19 years of age, in urban and rural areas, includes both girls and boys, married and unmarried, poor and affluent, whether they are in school or out of school.
The program also focuses on reaching out to all adolescents including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ).
To guide the implementation of this program, MoHFW in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has developed a National Adolescent Health Strategy.
The six thematic areas of RKSK, as well as that of the strategy, are nutrition, sexual reproductive health, substance misuse, non - communicable diseases, mental health and injuries, and violence.
The program envisages a paradigm shift from the clinic-based services to the promotion and prevention and reaching adolescents in their own environment, such as in schools, families, and communities.
The prime elements of the program are:

Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) across various levels of public health institutions in all the States.
Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme for school-going adolescent boys and girls and out of school adolescent girls across the country.
Peer Educator Programme in select 200 districts, based on Composite Health Index and identified as High Priority Districts (HPDs).
The Menstrual Hygiene Scheme provides funds to the States/UTs for the procurement of sanitary napkins for Adolescent Girls (aged 10-19 years).

Source: PIB

10) Joint Air Exercise with Myanmar

A Table Top Exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) was conducted at Prayagraj on the theme of HADR. The objectives of the exercise include planning of HADR operation in a given scenario, learn best practices, executing missions during HADR disasters, understand Search and Rescue Mission procedures, etc.
The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Headquarters Central Air Command, IAF. 20 member team of IAF participated in the exercise.
The expenditure incurred on the exercise was met almost entirely from the operational budget of the Services. The Air Forces of both countries were able to achieve the objectives of the laid down procedure.
The countries with which IAF have conducted exercises during the last three years and the current year include Singapore, USA, UAE, Thailand, Bangladesh, Oman, Israel, Russia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malaysia, France, UK, and Myanmar.
India and Myanmar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation on 29th July 2019 in New Delhi for the furtherance of India-Myanmar cooperation in the field of Defence.

Source: PIB

11) Nanocomposite Coatings

A group of scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D center of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) has developed a process for size-selective deposition of nanocomposite coatings.

Key Points

Nanocomposite coatings are formed by mixing two or more dissimilar materials at the nanoscale to improve the physical, chemical and physicochemical properties of the new materials.
The scientists have found that nickel tungsten-based coatings with infusion of particular sized Silicon Carbide (SiC) submicron particles using pulsed electroplating can provide an excellent combination of wear and corrosion resistance.

Need for Nanocomposite Coatings:

Aerospace, defense, automobile, space devices need to reduce friction, wear, and tear to enhance the life of components.
Lubricating these dynamic systems add to the cost, complexity, and weight of these systems.
The coating could help in reducing the friction of such devices.

Advantages of the Process

The nanocomposite coating demonstrated excellent tribological behavior (science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion, which includes principles of friction, lubrication, and wear) compared to other wear-resistant coatings.
The coatings withstood 1000 hours of salt spray (corrosion) without degradation when compared to conventional wear-resistant coatings.
The process is highly economical without environmental constraints.

Electroplating

Electroplating or electrodeposition is a process that employs an electrical signal provided by an external power source to reduce cations of a desired metal in solution and produce a metallic coating.
It involves the metal parts to be immersed in an electrolyte bath solution.
In this case, it is typically prepared by dissolving crystals of Nickel (Ni) and Tungsten (W) salts in a mix of distilled water and other additives.
A Direct Current (DC) is passed through the solution, and the resulting reaction leaves a deposit of Ni-W alloy on the piece being plated.

Size-Selective Electrodeposition:

For size-selective electrodeposition, Pulse Current (PC) electrodeposition – intermittent application of current is used in place of conventional Direct Current (DC) deposition.

Source: PIB

12) Greenco Rating System

GreenCo Rating, developed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has been acknowledged in India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) document, submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015,
As a proactive voluntary action of the Indian industry / private sector towards combating climate change.
Assessment and rating of major Workshops and Production Units of Indian Railways as Green Industrial Units started with ‘GreenCo’ certification in 2016-17. It helps the industrial units in identifying and implementing various possible measures in terms of energy conservation, material conservation, recycling, utilization of renewable energy, Green House Gases (GHG) reduction, water conservation, solid and liquid waste management, green cover, etc. Increasing focus in these areas helps Railways in resource conservation and reduction in the intensity of environmental impact.
This system is beneficial for the environment as the GreenCo rating assesses the units on their environmental performance and thus aligns them to national priorities towards environment such as energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy, waste management, etc.

Source: PIB

13) Starch-based Materials to Stop Blood Loss

Recently, scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) have developed a starch-based ‘hemostat’ material that concentrates the natural clotting factors in blood by physically absorbing excess fluid.
Hemostat materials absorb excess fluid by concentrating the natural clotting factors in the blood that are critical for stopping the blood flow.

Key Points

The product is made by microparticles known as 'calcium-modified carboxymethyl-starch'.
When the microparticles combine, they create an adherent gel that can remain on the wound until slowly dissipating as healing proceeds.
These microparticles are prepared by modifying some of the chemical hydroxyl groups on starch to carboxymethyl groups while also incorporating the beneficial calcium ions, which encourages the aggregation of red blood cells and platelets and their activation to generate the fibrin protein network that forms a stable blood clot.
This modification increases the ability of the molecules to interact with water. This is the basis of its impressive ability to absorb fluid from the blood and hence concentrate the clotting factors.
The product has increased absorption capacity and adhesion, it is inexpensive, non-toxic, biocompatible as well as biodegradable.
Presently, no single hemostatic agent exists that can work in all situations and current hemostat materials are very expensive and available mostly in developed countries.

Blood Clotting

Clotting is a necessary process that can prevent too much loss of blood when there is a cut or injury.
A blood clot is a clump of blood that has changed from a liquid to a gel-like or semisolid state.
Blood clots are healthy and lifesaving when they stop bleeding. But unnecessary clotting causes serious medical problems which include a heart attack, stroke, etc.
E.g If a clot formed inside one of the veins breaks free and travels through veins to heart and lungs, it can get stuck and prevent blood flow.
An injury or a trauma stimulates the platelets (also called thrombocytes) in the blood to release certain factors that activate the mechanism of clotting.
Calcium ions, Fibrinogens, a protein, and Vitamin K are also needed for clotting.

Starch

Starch is a carbohydrate extracted from agricultural raw materials.
The starch molecule consists of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds.
It is the most important carbohydrate in the human diet.
Because it is renewable and biodegradable it is also a perfect raw material as a substitute for fossil-fuel components in numerous chemical applications such as plastics, detergents, glues, etc.

Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST)

INST is an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India under the Society Registration Act, 1960.

Source: PIB

14) National Guidelines on Infant and Young Child Feeding

The National Guidelines on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) were released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2004.

These are in line with the adoption of the Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding by the 55th World Health Assembly in May 2002 and adoption of the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply, and Distribution) Amendment Act, 2003 by the Parliament of India.
The National Nutrition Policy adopted by the Government of India under the aegis of the Department of Women and Child Development in 1993 laid due emphasis on nutrition and health education of mothers on infant and child feeding.
According to the guidelines, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development, and health.
Thereafter to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.

Objectives:

To advocate the cause of infant and young child nutrition and its improvement through optimal feeding practices nationwide.
To disseminate widely the correct norms of breastfeeding and complementary feeding throughout the nation in regional languages.
To help plan efforts for raising awareness and increasing commitment of the concerned sectors of the government, national organizations and professional groups for achieving optimal feeding practices for infants and young children.

Steps were taken by the Government of India to ensure Infant and Young Child Feeding:

Promotion of breastfeeding practices under Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA).
Observation of the Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) for the provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and child care.
Counseling to pregnant and lactating mothers under the Anganwadi Services Scheme.
Schemes such as Revised Mother and Child Protection Card, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), POSHAN Abhiyaan, etc.

Source: PIB