Daily Current Affairs 5 March 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II

The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM (G)].
Phase – II of the SBM(G) will focus on sustaining the gains made under the program in the last five years in terms of toilet access and usage, ensuring that no one is left behind. It will ensure that effective solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) is instituted in every Gram Panchayat of the country.
The Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) component of Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus, ODF Plus, will be monitored based on output-outcome indicators for four key areas: plastic waste management, bio-degradable solid waste management (including animal waste management), greywater management and fecal sludge management. The SBM-G Phase II will continue to generate employment and provide impetus to the rural economy through the construction of household toilets and community toilets, as well as infrastructure for SLWM such as compost pits, soak pits, waste stabilization ponds, material recovery facilities, etc.
As part of the workshop and in the run-up to International Women’s Day on 8th March, the Union Minister released a study done by the UNICEF and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on the impact of the SBM(G) on rural women. The study - Impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) on the convenience, safety, and self-respect of women in rural India – surveyed 6,993 women across the 5 states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, in February 2020, and indicated that the increased access to household toilets has led to the improvement in the Suvidha, Suraksha, and Swabhimaan of women in rural India.

Key findings:

93% of women feel safer from assault by not going out in the open to defecate
91% of women save up to one hour of their day, earlier spent on walking to defecation sites
88% of women are proud to own a toilet

Source: PIB

2) National Interlinking of Rivers Authority (NIRA)

The Central government is working on the establishment of an exclusive body to implement projects for linking rivers- To be called the National Interlinking of Rivers Authority (NIRA).

Functions of NIRA:

It is expected to take up both inter-State and intra-State projects.
It will also make arrangements for generating funds, internally and externally.

About National River Linking Project (NRLP):

The NRLP formally is known as the National Perspective Plan envisages the transfer of water from water ‘surplus’ basins where there are flooding to water ‘deficit’ basins where there is drought/scarcity, through inter-basin water transfer projects.
Significance: It is designed to ease water shortages in western and southern India while mitigating the impacts of recurrent floods in the eastern parts of the Ganga basin.

ILR Projects in India:

As of now, six ILR projects — the Ken-Betwa, Damanganga- Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada, Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga, Mahanadi-Godavari, and Godavari-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) — have been under examination of the authorities.
About the peninsular rivers, the Centre has chosen to focus on the Godavari-Cauvery link than the earlier proposal to link the Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery rivers.

Issues and Concerns:

The interlinking of rivers is a very expensive proposal. It will adversely affect land, forests, biodiversity, rivers and the livelihood of millions of people.

Interlinking of rivers will lead to the destruction of forests, wetlands and local water bodies, which are major groundwater recharge mechanisms.
It causes a massive displacement of people. Huge burden on the government to deal with the issue of rehabilitation of displaced people.
Due to the interlinking of rivers, there will be a decrease in the amount of freshwater entering seas and this will cause a serious threat to marine life.

Source: The Hindu

3) United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights “intends to file” an Intervention Application as amicus curiae (third party) in the Supreme Court of India, seeking to intervene in Writ Petition in ‘Deb Mukharji & Ors vs Union of India & Ors’ case which relates to a challenge to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.

How can a UN body seek intervention in a case involving a domestic Indian law?

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the leading UN entity on human rights. It is mandated to, Inter alia protect and promote all human rights and to conduct necessary advocacy in that regard, established under the United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/141. It also has to promote adherence to international human rights law and, with this purpose in mind, to support domestic courts, with their constitutional or judicial function, in ensuring the implementation of international legal obligations. This is the basis for seeking intervention.

What exactly does the intervention application say? What are the issues raised wrt to CAA?

The CAA, it says, raises “important human rights issues, including its compatibility about the right to equality before the law and nondiscrimination on nationality grounds under India’s human rights obligations”.
It questions the reasonableness and objectivity of the criterion of extending the benefits of the CAA to Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan alone.
Muslim community is also affected: It points out that while the Indian government has suggested that persons of Muslim faith, regardless of denomination or ethnicity, are protected in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, recent reports by UN human rights treaty bodies, special procedures, and other mechanisms show that Ahmadi, Hazara and Shia Muslims in these countries warrant protection on the same basis as that provided in the preferential treatment proposed by the CAA.

Significance of this intervention:

The issue of nondiscrimination on nationality grounds falls outside the scope of this intervention, but this in no way implies that there are not human rights concerns in this respect.

Way ahead:

India has a history of openness and has exhibited to persons seeking to find a safer, more dignified life within its borders. But, the CAA’s stated purpose is the protection of some persons from persecution on religious grounds, simplifying procedures and requirements and facilitating the granting of citizenship to such persons, including migrants in an irregular situation, as well as refugees, from certain neighboring countries. This selective application of law goes against the very basic right which guarantees equality. In this background, it is necessary to revisit the law, say experts.
In this regard, some central principles of international human rights law can be considered. These include:

Enjoyment of human rights by all migrants and the rights of all migrants (non-citizens) to equality before the law.
The principle of non-refoulment, which prohibits the forcible return of refugees and asylum seekers to a country where they are likely to be persecuted.
All migrants “regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, nationality and/or immigration status enjoy human rights and are entitled to protection”.
International human rights law “requires the granting of citizenship under the law to conform to the right of all persons to equality before the law and to be free from prohibited discrimination”.

Source: Indian Express

4) Cabinet approves Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 to amend the Companies Act, 2013.
The Bill would remove criminality under the Act in case of defaults which can be determined objectively and which, otherwise, lack the element of fraud or do not involve larger public interest. This would also lead to further de-clogging of the criminal justice system in the country. The Bill would also further ease of living for law-abiding corporates.
Earlier, the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 amended certain provisions of the Act to remove difficulties faced in the implementation of various provisions of the Act.

Source: PIB

5) The Economic Impact of Coronavirus

The Coronavirus outbreak is hurting the various sectors of the economy.

Impact on Indian Economy

GDP Growth Rate

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has slashed India’s growth forecast for 2020-21 by 110 basis points (bps) to 5.1%, warning that the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on business confidence, financial markets and the travel sector, including disruption to supply chains, could shave 50 bps off global growth in 2020.

Pharmaceuticals: Given the pharmaceutical industry’s deep linkages to China, the supply chain of raw materials of drugs has taken a hit.

The production facilities in Himachal Pradesh — largest pharma hub of Asia — have warned of suspension.
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), also called bulk drugs, are significant ingredients in the manufacture of drugs. The Hubei province of China, the epicenter of the coronavirus, is the hub of the API manufacturing industry.
India is heavily import-dependent for APIs from China. India’s API imports stand at around $3.5 billion per year, and around 70%, or $2.5 billion, come from China.

Automobile Industry

China is one of the leading suppliers of auto components in India, accounting for 27% of the total imports.
The coronavirus is expected to have an impact on the Indian automotive industry and therefore also on the automobile component and forging industries, which had already reduced their production rate due to the market conditions and on account of the impending change over to BS-VI emission norms from BS-IV from April 2020.

Stock Market

On 28th February, the Indian stock market registered one of its worst crashes in a single day. Indian indices fell over 3.5%, marking the second biggest fall in Sensex history.
The Sensex plunged 1,448.37 points to close at 38,297.29, while the Nifty tanked 3.711% or 431.55 points to settle a little above the 11,200 marks.
The Sensex's worst fall in history was on 24th August 2015, when the indices fell 1,624 points on the back of a slump in the Chinese markets and rising crude oil prices.

Currency

The month of March is typically good for the Indian currency as remittances, from both overseas citizens and companies, tend to boost the exchange rate.
In the past decade, the rupee has appreciated seven times against the dollar in March. But March 2020 could be hard on the exchange rate and the rupee’s sharp drop to 73.25 per dollar on 3rd March 2020 is evidence of this. One of the reasons is an increase in the number of reported cases of coronavirus in India.

Global Scenario

Global Growth: The world's economy could grow at its slowest rate since 2009 this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD has forecast growth of just 2.4% in 2020, down from 2.9% in November 2019
Fall in Customer Demand: Some people are choosing to avoid activities that might expose them to the risk of infection, such as going out shopping. Restaurants, car dealerships, and shops have all reported a fall in customer demand.
Travel Industry: The number of cases diagnosed is increasing around the world every day. Thus, many countries have introduced travel restrictions to try to contain the virus's spread, impacting the travel industry massively.
Beneficiaries

Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, for example, has seen a boost in sales for its Dettol and Lysol products. The disinfectant is seen as providing protection against the spread of the disease, although its effectiveness has not yet been scientifically proven.
The price of gold - which is often considered a "safe haven" in times of uncertainty - has also increased. Its spot price hit a seven-year high of $1,682.35 per ounce in February 2020.

Global Response

The COVID-19 outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO on 30th January 2020.
According to recommendations by the World Health Organization, the diagnosis of COVID-19 must be confirmed by the Real-Time- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCRT-PCR) or gene sequencing for respiratory or blood specimens, as the key indicator for hospitalization.
15 million dollars has been released from the UN’s Central Emergency Fund to help fund global efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, particularly vulnerable countries with weak health care systems.
Vaccines are being developed.

Indian Response

The Indian government arranged for the evacuation of 366 Indian citizens from Wuhan in a special Air India flight on 31st January 2020. The passengers were placed under quarantine for 14 days.

The second batch of passengers, including seven Maldivan citizens evacuated by the government, arrived from Wuhan on 1st February 2020. The repatriated passengers were also monitored.

The government has already introduced travel restrictions and suspended visas from affected countries.
A detailed containment plan has been shared with the states. States have been asked to identify possible isolation areas in hospitals that can accommodate larger numbers.
The Indian health minister advised people to approach the government helpline numbers regarding the doubts related to symptoms of the deadly disease. The situation is being monitored at the highest level.
PCR Test: If the PCR test is positive, the sample is sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, which is the only government laboratory currently doing genome sequencing, for final confirmation.

National Institute of Virology

The National Institute of Virology is one of the major Institutes of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
It was established at Pune, Maharashtra State in 1952 as Virus Research Centre (VRC) under the auspices of the ICMR and the Rockefeller Foundation (RF), USA.

Way Forward

It is critical to mount a coordinated and coherent response. This not only means the involvement of both public and private sectors but also allopathic and non-allopathic medical systems, different departments such as police, fire, transportation, tourism, food supplies, and other sectors.

Source: Finacial Express

6) Naval Exercise - MILAN 2020

The Indian Navy has postponed its multi-nation mega naval exercise ‘MILAN’ due to the continuing spread of the coronavirus.
MILAN (11th edition) was scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam from 18th - 28th March 2020.

Exercise MILAN

It is a biennial, multilateral naval exercise that started in 1995.
The Navy has held 10 editions of the Milan exercise, with the theme of “synergy across the seas” to enhance professional interactions between friendly foreign navies and learn best practices from each other, since 1995.
It was conducted at the Andaman and Nicobar Command until 2018.
It is held under the aegis of Eastern Naval Command.
Over 40 countries were expected to participate in the exercise in 2020.

Source: The Hindu

7) Sukhna Lake

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declared Sukhna lake (Chandigarh) as a living entity recently.

The court invoked its parens patriae jurisdiction to declare the lake as a legal entity for its survival, preservation, and conservation having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.
All the citizens of Union Territory, Chandigarh, are hereby declared as loco parentis (in the place of a parent) to save the lake from extinction.
Sukhna Lake is a rain-fed lake, located within Chandigarh and its catchment area falls both in Punjab and Haryana.
The lake was constructed in 1958 and is spread over 3 sq km.
An area of 2 km to 2.75 km around the lake has been declared as an eco-sensitive zone by the Chandigarh Administration.
All activities in this area fall under provisions of the Environment Protection Act.
The court has completely banned new construction in the catchment areas falling in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Union Territory Chandigarh as well as in the Sukhna Wetland and Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary.
Earlier, Uttarakhand High Court declared the rivers Yamuna and Ganga as legal or juridical persons, enjoying all the rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.
The HC bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed in 2014 and gave a landmark judgment stating that the Ganga and the Yamuna must be treated as living entities.

Environment Protection Act, 1986

It empowers the government of India to lay down standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources whatsoever, provided that different standards for emission or discharge may be laid down under this clause from different sources having regard to the quality or composition of the emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from such sources.

Source: The Hindu

8) Benefits of Free Trade Agreements

The Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed by India provide tariff concessions thereby giving opportunities for exports of products including those related to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Some of the SME products on which tariff concessions have been provided by trading partners such as Japan, South Korea, and some ASEAN countries fall into the category of readymade garments, leather goods, processed foods and engineering products like auto components. The specific export promotion schemes for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) include those for participation in international exhibitions and fairs, training programs on the packaging for exports, Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme for MSME exporters and National Award for quality products. Some of the other measures taken by the Government which would promote trade and benefit exports from SMEs are specific schemes under the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 such as Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post-shipment rupee export credit, Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS), double weightage for export entitlement to SMEs for grant of one-star export house, electronic filing and issuance for specified FTP Schemes, online platform for preferential certificates of origin, etc. While a logistics division has been created in the Department of Commerce to coordinate integrated development of the logistics sector to promote trade, some of the new schemes and policies that have been launched to facilitate trade are Agriculture Export Policy, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) and Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA).

Source: PIB

9) New test with quantum coins & computers for quantum sensing

Researchers from Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institution under the Department of Science & Technology, have devised a new test for fairness of quantum coin or ‘qubit’ (the basic unit of information in a quantum computer) using entanglement theory.
This is a significant contribution to quantum state discrimination, an essential aspect of quantum information science which is expected to influence quantum sensing. The new test uses entanglement to test the fairness of the quantum coin.
Entanglement is a special type of correlation that exists in the quantum world with no classical counterpart. The researchers from RRI made use of this quantum resource to arrive at a test for fairness of a quantum coin (a qubit). Their strategy, which makes use of entanglement, enables better discrimination between quantum states. Such an advantage is valuable in quantum sensors.
The work is appearing in Pramana, the Journal Of Physics and a related paper has appeared in the International Journal of Quantum Information.
This work is a significant contribution to the domain of quantum state discrimination, which is an essential aspect of quantum information science. It brings out the crucial role of entanglement in improving our ability to discriminate quantum states. In this work, the researchers concretely implemented the theoretical idea of the simulation facility of the IBM quantum computer. They also carried out experiments on the IBM quantum computer which have brought out the shortcomings of the experimental hardware and their work is expected to pave the way towards improving the experimental devices (by reducing gate errors and noise due to decoherence) used in the IBM quantum computer facility.
By repeated trials, one can determine the fairness of a classical coin with confidence which grows with the number of trials. A quantum coin can be in a superposition of heads and tails. Given a string of qubits representing a series of trials, one can measure them individually and determine the state with a certain confidence. The team has shown that there is an improved strategy that measures the qubits after entangling them, which leads to greater confidence.
This strategy is demonstrated in the simulation facility of IBM quantum computers. Exploration of the issue of the graininess of the quantum measurement process stemming from the inherent limitation of the resolution of a detector naturally led to the question of state estimation and discrimination of quantum states. The team pursued this question and arrived at the interesting result of how entanglement can be used as a valuable resource for state discrimination in the quantum domain.
In their exploration, the researchers used a variety of tools: analytical techniques, numerics, and computer simulation and experiments on the IBM quantum computing facility. All these tools were used collectively to arrive at an understanding of the role of entanglement in quantum state discrimination.
The domain of Quantum Information and Quantum Computing Technology is a growing area of research that is expected to influence Data Processing, which in turn, plays a central role in our lives in this Information Age. For instance, bank transactions, online shopping and so on crucially depend on the efficiency of information transfer. Thus the recent work on quantum state discrimination is expected to be valuable in people’s lives in the current era.
The figure represents the geometry of the qubit state space, based on theoretical analysis. The ellipse on the right shows a black ellipse inside a white ellipse with a blue boundary. The white region represents the quantum advantage one gets from making use of entanglement as a resource.

Source: PIB

10) Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP)

Janaushadhi week is being celebrated across the country from 1st March to 7th March 2020.

About PMBJP:

‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. Of India, to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses through special kendra’s known as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra.
Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementing agency of PMBJP. BPPI (Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India) has been established under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India, with the support of all the CPSUs.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME:

Ensure access to quality medicines.
Extend coverage of quality generic medicines to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on medicines and thereby redefine the unit cost of treatment per person.
Create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity so that quality is not synonymous with only a high price.
A public program involving Government, PSUs, Private Sector, NGO, Societies, Co-operative Bodies, and other Institutions.
Create demand for generic medicines by improving access to better healthcare through low treatment costs and easy availability wherever needed in all therapeutic categories.

What is a generic medicine?

There is no definition of generic or branded medicines under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made thereunder. However, generic medicines are generally those which contain the same amount of same active ingredient(s) in the same dosage form and are intended to be administered by the same route of administration as that of branded medicine.
The price of an unbranded generic version of a medicine is generally lower than the price of a corresponding branded medicine because, in the case of the generic version, the pharmaceutical company does not have to spend money on the promotion of its brand.

How are they regulated in India?

Drugs manufactured in the country, irrespective of whether they are generic or branded, are required to comply with the same standards as prescribed in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made thereunder for their quality.

Source: PIB

11) Govt. imposes curbs on drug exports

India has restricted the export of common medicines such as paracetamol and 25 other pharmaceutical ingredients and drugs made from them, as it looked to prevent shortages amid concerns of the COVID-19 outbreak turning into a pandemic.

Drugs whose exports are restricted:

Besides over-the-counter painkiller and fever reducer paracetamol, drugs restricted for exports included common antibiotics metronidazole, those used to treat bacterial and other infections, as well as vitamin B1 and B12 ingredients.

Background:

In February, the Department of Pharmaceuticals asked the DGFT to issue orders restricting the export of 12 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and formulations in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

What’s the concern now?

Although India is a source of about 20% of the world’s generic drug supply, pharmaceutical companies in the country are dependent on China for two-thirds of the chemical components needed to make them. The outbreak of COVID-19 has shut factories in China and impacted supplies, leading to fears of a shortage.

Implications:

This restriction has not gone down well with the exporters. For exporters, it is going to be a problem and will have an impact on reputation too.

What are APIs?

API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) means the active ingredient which is contained in the medicine. For example, an active ingredient to relieve pain is included in a painkiller. This is called API. A small amount of the active ingredient has an effect, so only a tiny part of the active ingredient is contained in the medicine.

Components of Medications:

All drugs are made up of two core components: the API, which is the central ingredient, and the excipient, the substances other than the drug that helps deliver the medication to your system. Excipients are chemically inactive substances, such as lactose or mineral oil in the pill.

Source: The Hindu

12) Ink to Curb Fake Printing of Passports and Counterfeiting of Currency Notes

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory has developed a bi-luminescent security ink that glows in red and green colors when illuminated by two different excitation sources.
The ink was given to Bank Note Press (BNP), Dewas, a unit of Security Printing Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL), New Delhi.
The formulation can be used to check the authenticity of passports, Government documents, tamper-evident labels, identity cards, etc.

Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited

SPMCIL is a wholly-owned Miniratna company of Government of India, incorporated on 13th January 2006.
The Ministry of Finance exercises its administrative control over SPMCIL through the Board of Directors.
SPMCIL is engaged in the manufacture/ production of Currency and Bank Notes, Security Paper, Non-Judicial Stamp Papers, Postal Stamps & Stationery, Travel Documents viz. Passport and Visa, Security certificates, Cheques, Bonds, Warrant, Special Certificates with security features, Security Inks, Circulation & Commemorative Coins, Medallions, Refining of Gold & Silver, and Assay of Precious Metals.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

CSIR was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body.
It is known for its cutting edge R&D knowledgebase in diverse S&T areas.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been ranked first in the Nature Ranking Index-2020.
The Nature Index provides a close to the real-time proxy of high-quality research output and collaboration at the institutional, national and regional levels.

Source: PIB