Daily Current Affairs 10 April 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs of Today Are

1) Operation SHIELD

The Delhi government will carry out ‘Operation SHIELD’ at 21 locations identified as containment zones in the Capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced
Operation SHIELD… S for sealing of the immediate area after geographical marking, H for home quarantine of all in the area, I for isolation and tracing of people who have been first and second contacts, E for essential supplies, which involves doorstep delivery of essential items to the people, L for local sanitization and disinfection of those areas, and D for doortodoor checking so that people having symptoms of COVID-19 are isolated and testing can\ be done after taking samples.

Source: The Hindu

2) Plasma Therapy

Kerala gets the nod for the trial of plasma therapy from Indian Council of Medical Research
Convalescent plasma therapy is not new and has been used by doctors to treat critically ill patients during earlier epidemics like H1N1, SARS, and Ebola

What is convalescent plasma?

Convalescent plasma therapy involves transfusing certain components from the blood of people who have had the COVID-19 virus and recovered into people who are very sick with the virus or people who are at high risk of getting the virus.

How does it work

As people fight the COVID-19 virus, they produce antibodies that attack the virus. Those antibodies, proteins that are secreted by immune cells known as B lymphocytes, are found in plasma, or the liquid part of blood that helps the blood to clot when needed and supports immunity.
Once a person has had the virus and recovered, that person has developed antibodies that will stay in their blood waiting to fight the same virus should it return. Those antibodies, when injected into another person with the disease, recognize the virus as something to attack.
In the case of the coronavirus, scientists say antibodies attack the spikes on the outside of the virus, blocking the virus from penetrating human cells.

Who would it help?

Researchers hope that convalescent plasma will be effective in treating people with the most severe symptoms of the virus. Additionally, it is hoped that it can keep those people who are not as sick from COVID-19 from getting any sicker
Convalescent plasma is also known as passive antibody therapy, meaning that while it can immediately provide a person with antibodies to fight a virus, those antibodies only last a short time in the recipient’s body.
Doctors hope the antibodies can fight back the virus until a person develops their own defenses.

Significance

COVID-19 is currently a big threat to global health. However, no specific antiviral agents are available for their treatment. In this work, we explore the feasibility of convalescent plasma (CP) transfusion to rescue severe patients. The results from 10 severe adult cases showed that one dose (200 mL) of CP was well tolerated and could significantly increase or maintain the neutralizing antibodies at a high level, leading to the disappearance of viremia in 7 d. Meanwhile, clinical symptoms and paraclinical criteria rapidly improved within 3 d. Radiological examination showed varying degrees of absorption of lung lesions within 7 d. These results indicate that CP can serve as a promising rescue option for severe COVID-19, while the randomized trial is warranted.

Source: The Hindu

3) JK Fighters

A newly floated outfit, the Resistance Front, has come under the scanner of enforcement agencies for its suspected links with the banned LashkareTaiba (LeT). Its five alleged terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara on April 5
The outfit is a front for the LeT. It has been launched to evade the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) scrutiny and avoid further sanctions. The FATF is to review Pakistan’s performance in acting against terror funding at its meeting in Beijing to be held from June 21 to 26, said an official of the Enforcement Directorate.

About FATF:

What is it?

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7. It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
Objectives: The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
Functions: The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities to protect the international financial system from misuse.

What are a blacklist and greylist?

FATF maintains two different lists of countries: those that have deficiencies in their AML/CTF regimes, but they commit to an action plan to address these loopholes and those that do not end up doing enough. The former is commonly known as a grey list and latter as a blacklist.
Once a country is blacklisted, FATF calls on other countries to apply enhanced due diligence and countermeasures, increasing the cost of doing business with the country and in some cases severing it all together. As of now, there are only two countries in the blacklist — Iran and North Korea — and seven on the grey list, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Yemen.

Source: The Hindu

4) Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI a syndrome of COVID-19).

There was evidence of community transmission — or instances of COVID19 in patients who had no established contact with someone who had picked up the disease from abroad — from as early as March 22, suggests a research study in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, authored by several ICMR scientists, including its head Balram Bhargava
On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown for three weeks. The ICMR’s official position continues to be that there is no evidence for community transmission. With the caseload increasing on an average of 500 per day for nearly a week, the Health Ministry and the States have stepped up surveillance and testing at hotspots and announced indefinite extensions of the 21day lockdown.
The ICMR’s testing strategy has been to check those who showed symptoms of the disease — cough, fever and labored breathing — in those with international travel history, their contacts and healthworkers tending to those with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARIa syndrome of COVID-19).
To check whether there was a wider prevalence of COVID-19, it began to randomly test samples of hospitalized SARI patients from February 15, and from March 20, all patients who exhibited the syndrome
When the COVID testing strategy was expanded to include all SARI patients (from March 21), a total of 4,946 samples yielded 102 (2.1%) cases. The positivity increased from zero during the initial weeks to 2.6% in the 14th week,” the report notes. A total of 102 of these cases were from samples gleaned from March 22 to April 2. “Of the 102 COVID19 positive SARI patients, 40 (39.2%) did not report any history of contact or international trave
The 50-59 age group was most likely to test positive for the infection.
A majority of the SARI patients were tested from Gujarat (792), Tamil Nadu (577), Maharashtra (533) and Kerala (503). These are also the States with the highest prevalence overall of COVID cases. “Tracking the spread of COVID19 is critical to inform response activities, including testing, containment, and mitigation measures. The current SARI testing strategy will complement and strengthen the routine COVID19 surveillance activities

Source: The Hindu

5) Integrated Government Online training’ (iGOT)

The Government of India has launched a training module for the management of COVID-19 named ‘Integrated Govt. Online training’ (iGOT) portal on Ministry of HRD’s DIKSHA platform for the capacity building of frontline workers to handle the pandemic efficiently. Courses on iGOT have been launched for Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, Hygiene Workers, Technicians, Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANMs), State Government Officers, Civil Defence Officers, Various Police Organisations, National Cadet Corps(NCC), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Service Scheme, Indian Red Cross Society, Bharat Scouts and Guides and other volunteers at the stage.
MHRD’s ‘Digital Infrastructure Knowledge Sharing’ (DIKSHA) platform - an initiative for education & training has been leveraged by Government of India to launch iGOT portal to train all frontline healthcare and COVID Warriors of India to meet Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to care for those ‘who care for the nation’,
DIKSHA’s population-scale infrastructure was launched by the Vice President of India on Teacher’s Day in 2017 and is already being used by more than one crore teachers and students across the country in 30+ states & UTs for curriculum-based education and training. DIKSHA already has explanation, practice and assessment content linked to NCERT and state curriculum.
DIKSHA platform is well equipped to cater to unlimited demands of learning, any time, anywhere. Multiple states in the country besides NCERT & CBSE will be using it for online teacher training, conducting quizzes, doing learning activities to promote creative & critical thinking, as well as for ensuring continuity in curriculum-linked education for students in these times.
The uniqueness of the DIKSHA platform is its federated architecture which makes it possible for iGOT portal to leverage it and help train lakhs of 'Corona warriors' including government officials, frontline health workers & volunteers from organizations like NCC, NSS, NYKS, etc, to prepare them to fight against the pandemic. The portal will provide agencies like the Health Department and NCC with the ability to upload their content suited for its various users and users to take training using the mobile apps (Diksha app) and online.
MHRD is happy that the Department of Personnel & Training could leverage the DIKSHA platform for the iGOT portal, which will help equip our frontline warriors with capabilities to fight the Coronavirus Pandemic by getting just in time knowledge and skillsets to help tide over the present crisis.

Source: PIB

6) Chitra Acrylosorb Secretion Solidification System

Scientists at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India has designed and developed a highly efficient superabsorbent material for liquid respiratory and other body fluid solidification and disinfection for the safe management of infected respiratory secretions.
AcryloSorb can absorb liquids at least 20 times more than its dry weight and also contains a decontaminant for in situ disinfection. Containers filled with this material will immobilize the contaminated fluid by solidifying it (gel-like), thus avoiding spillage and will also disinfect it. The canister containing the solidified waste canister can then be decomposed as all other biomedical waste by incineration. This technology reduces the risk for the hospital staff, the need for personnel for disinfecting and cleaning the bottles and canisters for reusing them and makes the disposal safer and easier.
In the developed system, suction canisters, disposable spit bags have been designed with "AcryloSorb" technology. They are lined inside with the AcryloSorb material. The AcryloSorb suction canisters will collect the liquid respiratory secretions from ICU patients or those with copious secretions treated in the wards. The container will be spill-proof and can be sealed after use, making it safe and fit for disposal through the usual incineration system for biomedical wastes. Sealable and disposable AcryloSorb spit bags are provided for solidifying the sputum and saliva of ambulant patients with respiratory infections, which can then be incinerated.
Disposal of infected secretions from patients poses a great challenge to every hospital. This is particularly so in the case of secretions of patients with highly contagious diseases such as COVID-19. The collection and disposal of such wastes put the nursing and cleaning staff at high risk.
Generally, in the ICU, the secretions are sucked by a suction machine into bottles or canisters, which have to be emptied when full, subjected to a decontamination process in a sluice room and discarded through the waste fluid disposal systems. Apart from the re-contamination risk during the handling involved in these processes, there is a need for well-equipped sluice rooms with disinfection facilities, which can be an issue in less well-equipped hospitals or makeshift isolation wards during epidemics. The superabsorbent material can be effective in the safe management of infected respiratory secretions.

Source: PIB

7) Monetary Policy Report (MPR)

The consumer price index (CPI)based inflation, which had stayed elevated in the last few months, is expected to soften during the financial year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its monetary policy report (MPR).
CPI inflation is tentatively projected to ease from 4.8% in Q1 of 202021 to 4.4% in Q2, 2.7% in Q3 and 2.4% in Q4, with the caveat that in the prevailing high uncertainty, aggregate demand may weaken further than currently anticipated and ease core inflation further, while supply bottlenecks could exacerbate pressures more than expected
Given the lockdown, the compilation of the CPI for March and the following few months by the National Statistical Office could also become challenging. For 2021-22, assuming a normal monsoon and no major exogenous or policy shocks, structural model estimates indicate that inflation could move in a range of 3.6-3.8%
The RBI had reduced the repo rate by 75 basis points (bps) to 4.4% in the monetary policy review while the cash reserve ratio was reduced by 100 bps to 3%. The central bank, however, refrained from making any predictions on growth.
The sharp reduction in international crude oil prices, if sustained, could improve the country’s terms of trade, but the gain from this channel is not expected to offset the drag from the shutdown and loss of external demand
On-exchange rates, the central bank said renewed bouts of global financial market volatility caused by the uncertainty of the macroeconomic impact of the COVID-19, as in February-March 2020, could exert pressure on the Indian rupee.
Should the rupee depreciate by 5% from the baseline, inflation could edge up by around 20 bps while GDP growth could be higher by about 15 bps through increased net exports,
In contrast, should COVID19 normalize quickly, strong capital flows could revive. An appreciation of the rupee by 5% could moderate inflation by around 20 bps and GDP growth by around 15 bps visavis the baseline

Source: The Hindu

8) SC Orders on COVID-19

Recently, the Supreme Court of India has passed an order asking people to behave responsibly with the medical teams fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The order has also made the testing for Coronavirus free in all hospitals.

Key Highlights of Order

Responsible Behaviour Towards Medical Teams

The order comes in the backdrop of several petitions highlighting the need to provide sufficient protective gear to the medical professionals. A few of them also highlighted the violence against the doctors.
The SC has called COVID-19 a ‘National Calamity’ and termed doctors and health workers as ‘Corona Warriors’.
All citizens of the country have been urged to act responsibly and be helpful to the government and medical staff who are trying to contain and combat the pandemic.
Medical teams will be provided protection while visiting the screening sites or places where new positive people are found or quarantined.
The police have been ordered to take action against people who obstruct and commit any offense against doctors, medical staff and other medical officials performing their duty.
The government has been directed to explore alternatives, including enabling and augmenting domestic production of protective clothing and gear for medical professionals.

This includes alternative modes of production of such clothing (masks, suits, caps, gloves, etc.) and permitting movement of raw material.
The government may also restrict the export of such materials to augment inventory and domestic stock.

It is the responsibility of the Centre and the States to ensure the availability of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to doctors, nurses, ward boys, and other medical and paramedical professionals.

Free Testing for COVID-19

The order comes in response to a petition asking for the implementation of free testing by private labs.

An earlier SC notice also challenged the legality of the advisory price cap of ₹4,500 in private labs and hospitals saying that it may not be within the reach of a large population of the country.

The order states that the tests relating to COVID-19, whether done in approved government or private laboratories, shall be free of cost.
The government has been asked to issue the necessary directions immediately.
These tests must be carried out only in the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited laboratories or any agencies approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) or the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Recently, the government has also decided to provide free testing and treatment to the existing beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme or the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

Source: The Hindu

9) WHO Funding and Advisories

The President of the United States has threatened to freeze US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) for not taking necessary steps to combat COVID-19.

Key Points

The President of the United States has raised allegations that the WHO has praised China for its transparency on the virus even though there has been a reason to believe that more people died of Covid19 than the country’s official tally.
The United States is currently the WHO’s biggest contributor, making up 14.67% of total funding by providing $553.1 million.
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. It was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
There are four kinds of contributions that make up funding for the WHO.

Assessed contributions: These are the dues countries pay to be a member of the Organization. The amount each Member State must pay is calculated relative to the country’s wealth and population.
Specified voluntary contributions: They come from Member States (in addition to their assessed contribution) or from other partners.
Core voluntary contributions: They allow less well-funded activities to benefit from a better flow of resources and ease implementation bottlenecks that arise when immediate financing is lacking.
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) contributions: They were started in 2011 to improve and strengthen the sharing of influenza viruses with human pandemic potential, and to increase the access of developing countries to vaccines and other pandemic related supplies.

In recent years, assessed contributions to the WHO has declined and now account for less than one-fourth of its funding. These funds are important for the WHO because they provide a level of predictability and minimize dependence on a narrow donor base.

India and the WHO

WHO has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and various state governments on preparedness and response measures for COVID-19, including

Surveillance and contact tracing.
Laboratory and research protocols.
Risk communications.
Hospital preparedness.
Training on infection prevention
Control and cluster containment plan.

However, on March 26,2020 addressing the virtual G-20 summit to deal with COVID-19, the Prime Minister of India underscored the need to strengthen and reform intergovernmental organizations like WHO.
The government of India has also been seen sidestepping the periodic advisories from the WHO in key aspects of COVID-19 management.
It has leaned on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the experience of several state governments — from Kerala and Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Instances where India varied with WHO advisory

Travel restrictions to China:

On January 30, 2020, WHO did not recommend travel restrictions to China despite the WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee raising a global alert on the need for containment, surveillance, detection, isolation, and even contact tracing.
But, India’s first advisory on avoiding non-essential travel to China dated January 25,2020, was already in place.

Indiscriminate Testing:

On March 16, 2020, WHO’s key message was “test test test”(indiscriminate testing).
But on March 22, ICMR said that there would be no indiscriminate testing and only isolation.
Hours later, India went into lockdown, starting with 75 districts and then, from midnight of March 24, the whole country.
The decision was based on a paper by ICMR that quarantine is a more effective way of containing the virus than even airport screening.

Treatment :

WHO’s clinical care guidelines clearly say that there is no current evidence to recommend any specific anti-COVID-19 treatment for patients.
India, nevertheless, first included two of its undertrial antivirals — lopinavir and ritonavir — in its clinical care guidelines for patients of the novel coronavirus disease.
It then revised the management guidelines to replace the antivirals with a combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin.
It has, however, recently announced its decision to be a part of a global drug trial anchored by the WHO.

Source: Indian Express

10) Talks for Dollar Swap Agreement

India is working with the United States to secure a dollar (currency) swap line that would help in providing additional comfort in an event of any abrupt outflow of funds.

India already has a currency swap facility with other central banks like Japan, UAE, etc.

Key Points

As concerns on the economic effects of COVID-19 hit investor sentiment, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been large sellers of Indian equity and debt markets in March and April so far. This has led to an outflow of funds from the country.
To stabilize the rupee which recently fell below the 76 levels against the dollar, India liquidated (converted into cash) its forex assets.

Forex reserves/assets (also called foreign exchange assets) are assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies. These may include foreign currencies, bonds, treasury bills, and other government securities. These are held to ensure that a central bank has enough funds if its national currency weakens/ devalues rapidly.

India’s foreign currency assets had declined by around $7.50 billion in two weeks to $ 439.66 billion as of March 27.

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, 63.7 percent of India’s foreign currency assets — or $256.17 billion — is invested in overseas securities, mainly in the US treasury.

While India is expected to comfortably tide over any challenge posed by continued outflows of funds from the markets, given the adequacy of foreign exchange reserves, a swap line with the US Fed provides additional comfort to the forex markets.

Dollar Swap

Dollar swap is a kind of currency swap. The word swap means exchange.
A currency swap between the two countries is an agreement to exchange currencies with predetermined terms and conditions.
In a dollar swap arrangement, the US Federal Reserve will provide dollars to a foreign central bank. At the same time, the foreign central bank provides the equivalent amount of funds in its currency to the Fed, based on the market exchange rate at the time of the transaction.
The parties agree to swap back these quantities of their two currencies at a specified date in the future, which is the next day or as far ahead as three months, using the same exchange rate as in the first transaction.
These swap operations carry no exchange rate or other market risks as transaction terms are set in advance.
Central banks and Governments engage in currency swaps with foreign counterparts to meet short term foreign exchange liquidity requirements or to ensure adequate foreign currency to avoid Balance of Payments (BOP) crisis till longer arrangements can be made.

Source: Indian Express

11) Wildlife Panel Holds Virtual Conference

Recently, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) had its first-ever video-conferencing meet. In the meet, the NBWL cleared infrastructure projects in 11 States.

Key Points

According to experts associated with the conference, most of the projects were given “in-principal approval”.

In a virtual conference, it is difficult to scrutinize maps that show the location of the proposed projects.
It is because only the formal minutes of the meeting would reveal the conditions which projects would have to adhere to.

Projects that encroach into forests or protected reserves require NBWL approval as part of the government’s environmental clearance process.

Environment Clearance (EC) Process

An Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report is prepared to get Environment Clearance (EC) for a project.
A process of ‘Public Hearing’ is conducted before the issue of ‘Consent to Establish (NOC)’ by state regulators. Concerns of people living in the proposed project area are heard.
An application form with EIA report, details of the public hearing and NOC is submitted for environmental clearance with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) if the project falls under A category or the state government if the project falls under B category.
The documents submitted for the A and B category are then analyzed by an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Union Environment Ministry or the concerned State Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs) respectively.
The recommendations of the Committee gets processed in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for final approval or rejection.

National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)

National Board for Wildlife is a statutory Board constituted officially in 2003 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister and is responsible for the promotion of conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
The board is ‘advisory’ in nature and can only advise the Government on policymaking for the conservation of wildlife.
It is an important body because it serves as an apex body for the review of all wildlife-related matters and for the approval of projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
The standing committee of NBWL is chaired by the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change.

The standing committee approves all the projects falling within protected wildlife areas or within 10 km of them.

Source: The Hindu

12) Safety of Women During Lockdown

Recently, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development had a video-conference with personnel associated with the Ministry. The purpose was to consider measures to protect women in distress during the lockdown.

Nearly 1,000 people joined the video conference live, including the staff members of
One-Stop Centres.
Shelter homes for women in distress ( such as Swadhar Greh, Ujajwala homes).
Working Women Hostels.

Key Points

Reasons Behind Holding the Conference

The rise in Crimes Against Women: The National Commission of Women has recorded

A more than two-fold rise in domestic violence and sexual assaults and
A three-fold increase in cases of police apathy in the first week of lockdown since March 24, 2020.

Call Taken by Various Organisations: The gender rights activists and the United Nations (UN) have called for the need to boost helplines, psycho-social support, and online counseling to support women in distress.

Instructions by the Ministry: Officials of the ministry were asked to ensure that One Stop Centre is linked with local medical teams, police, NIMHANS, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to ensure that their services are not impacted due to restrictions on movement.

NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences), Bangalore is a multidisciplinary institute for patient care and academic pursuit in the field of mental health and neurosciences.

Suggestions

To equip counselors across the country to deal with the unique problems faced by women.
Use of digital governance to ensure the safety of women which must be replicated at the State-level and with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) so that there is no deficit of either information or help.
Urged NGOs to try to ensure that every individual calls at least 10 women every day so that “women know that they are not alone”

One-Stop Centre

The one-stop center is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD). It is a subscheme of the National Mission for Empowerment of Women.
One-Stop Centres have been established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces.
Funding: The scheme is funded through the Nirbhaya Fund and the central government provides 100% financial assistance to the state governments /Union Territories administrations.
Auditing: Audit is done as per Comptroller & Auditor General of India norms and social audit is also undertaken by civil society groups.
Services Provided by the One-Stop Centres

Emergency response and rescue services.
Medical assistance.
Assistance to women in lodging the FIR.
Psychosocial support and counseling.
Legal aid and counseling.
Shelter
Video conferencing facility.

Working Women Hostels scheme

The Working Women Hostels scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
It aims to ensure safe accommodation for women working away from their place of residence.
Provisions :

To provide safety for working women, a provision has been made to keep security guards and to install CCTV Cameras in Working Women Hostels.
To provide quality of stay for working women, provision has been made to provide safe and affordable accommodation with clean and well-ventilated daycare centers for the children of inmates, medical first-aid and providing washing machines and geysers/solar water heating systems.

Swadhar

A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances was launched by the Department of Women and Child Development in 2001-02. The scheme through the provisions of shelter, food, clothing, counseling, training, clinical and legal aid aims to rehabilitate women in difficult circumstances.

Ujjawala Home

A comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

Source: The Hindu

13) Armyworm Attack

The Directorate of Agriculture has reported an armyworm attack on the standing crops in the northeastern Dhemaji district of Assam.

The pest attack has added to the sorrows of the already worried farmers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Points

The armyworm caterpillar is the larval stage of several species of moths.
It has a huge appetite and can feed on more than 80 species of plants according to the entomologists.

Entomology is a branch of zoology which involves the scientific study of insects.

Challenges:

The weather is a factor because there are no pre-monsoon rains in Assam yet and the temperature is very high now. The armyworm can cause more damage in the absence of rain.
Another major issue is reaching out to farmers. All the roads and gaps have been blocked due to the fear of contracting coronavirus.

Other Concerns:

Officials are afraid of the winter crop cycle getting affected if the lockdown continues beyond 14th April 2020.

April-May is the time when paddy farmers in Assam clear weeds and manure the fields for transplanting the seedlings of the winter crop from the nursery. The process takes 35-40 days.

According to the farm experts, if the cycle is pushed back by more than a month it could impact yield because the sowing and maintenance phase of the crops would be very close to the flood timings of Assam.

Armyworm

Its scientific name is Spodoptera frugiperda and also commonly referred to as Fall Armyworm (FAW).
It is a dangerous transboundary insect with a high potential to spread rapidly due to its natural distribution capacity and opportunities presented by international trade.
FAW represents a real threat to food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers by spreading across all of sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East, and Asia.
Control and Elimination:

Farmers need significant support to manage FAW sustainably in their cropping systems through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) activities.
FAW cannot be eliminated.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has launched a Global Action for FAW Control as a response to the international threat posed by the armyworms.

Source: The Hindu

14) Syrian Air Force Behind Chemical Attacks

Recently, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has said that the Syrian air force carried out three chemical attacks on a village in Syria's western Hama region in 2017.

Key Points

The OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) was established by OPCW in 2018 to identify the perpetrators of illegal attacks.

It concluded that the Syrian air force helicopter dropped bombs containing poisonous chlorine and sarin nerve gas

The Syrian government has denied using chemical weapons.

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

It is an international organization established by the Chemical Weapons Convention, 1997 to implement and enforce the terms of the non-proliferation treaty, which prohibits the use, stockpiling or transfer of chemical weapons by signatory states.
The OPCW is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention.

This includes a commitment to grant inspectors full access to chemical weapons sites.

The OPCW also performs testing of sites and victims of suspected chemical weapons attacks.
By the 2001 Relationship Agreement between the OPCW and the United Nations, the OPCW reports on its inspections and other activities to the UN through the office of the Secretary-General.
The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. Its headquarters are located in The Hague, Netherlands.

Chlorine gas

Chlorine is a choking agent. Its greenish-yellow clouds of gas cause shortness of breath, wheezing, respiratory failure, irritation in the eyes, vomiting, and sometimes death.

Sarin gas

Sarin is a chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent.

They are similar to certain kinds of insecticides (insect killers) called organophosphates in terms of how they work and what kind of harmful effects they cause.

It was originally developed in 1938 in Germany as a pesticide.
Sarin is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid that has no odor in its pure form. However, sarin can evaporate into a vapor (gas) and spread into the environment. It is also known as GB.

Source: Indian Express