Daily Current Affairs 16 April 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Public Distribution System

• Over 10 crore people have been excluded from the Public Distribution System because outdated 2011 census data is being used to calculate State­wise National Food Security Act (NFSA) coverage, according to economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera. 
• The disastrous impact of this gap is being seen in the middle of a crippling lockdown, as people who have lost their livelihoods depend on PDS for daily survival.
• Under the NFSA, the PDS is supposed to cover 75% of the population in rural areas and 50% of the population in urban areas, which works out to 67% of the total population, using the rural­urban population ratio in 2011. India’s population was about 121 crore in 2011 and so PDS covered approximately 80 crore people. 
• However, applying the 67% ratio to a projected population of 137 crores for 2020, PDS coverage today should be around 92 crores. Even taking into account growing urbanization, the shortfall would be around 10 crore people who have slipped through the cracks
• The biggest gaps are in Uttar Pradesh, where 2.8 crore people may have been left out, and Bihar, which would have had almost 1.8 crore people excluded from the NFSA. State­specific birth and death rates from 2016 were used to calculate the population growth rate and projected population estimates,
• When the NFSA came into effect in 2013, State­wise ratios were worked out for rural and urban areas, using National Sample Survey data, in such a manner that everyone below a given national “per­capita expenditure benchmark” is covered, meaning that PDS coverage should be higher in poorer States
• While the population data from the 2011 census was used to translate these ratios into absolute numbers, the Right to Food activists has long argued that the numbers should have been updated using projected population figures, allowing State governments to issue new ration cards over time. Instead, the Centre’s calculation of the actual number of people to be covered in each State has remained “frozen.”
• Many State governments are reluctant to issue new ration cards beyond the numbers that will be provided for by the Central quota, making it difficult to reduce exclusion errors in the PDS.
• For example, there are about seven lakh pending applications for ration cards in Jharkhand, because the State government stopped issuing new ration cards several years ago to avoid exceeding the numbers provided for by the Central government
• With the 2021 census process being delayed due to the COVID­-19 crisis, any proposed revision of PDS coverage using that data could now take several years. 

National Food Security Act, 2013

• The National Food Security Act, 2013 (also Right to Food Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion people. It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
• The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013) converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programs of the Government of India. It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements. The Midday Meal Scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
• Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System (or, PDS) are entitled to 5 kilograms (11 lb) per person per month of cereals at the following prices:
• Rice at ₹3 per kg
• Wheat at ₹2 per kg
• Coarse grains (millet) at ₹1 per kg.
• Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.
• The bill has been highly controversial. It was introduced into India's parliament on 22 December 2011, promulgated as a presidential ordinance on 5 July 2013 and enacted into law on 12 September 2013.

Salient features

• Coverage and entitlement under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): Up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population will be covered under TPDS, with uniform entitlement of 5 kg per person per month. However, since Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households constitute the poorest of the poor, and are presently entitled to 35 kg per household per month, the entitlement of existing AAY households will be protected at 35 kg per household per month. State-wise coverage: Corresponding to the all India coverage of 75% and 50% in the rural and urban areas, State-wise coverage will be determined by the Central Government. Planning Commission has determined the State-wise coverage by using the NSS Household Consumption Survey data for 2011-12.
• Subsidized prices under TPDS and their revision: Foodgrains under TPDS will be made available at subsidized prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains for three years from the date of commencement of the Act. Thereafter prices will be suitably linked to Minimum Support Price (MSP). In case, any State’s allocation under the Act is lower than their current allocation, it will be protected up to the level of average offtake under normal TPDS during the last three years, at prices to be determined by the Central Government. Existing prices for APL households i.e. Rs. 6.10 per kg for wheat and Rs 8.30 per kg for rice has been determined as issue prices for the additional allocation to protect the average offtake during the last three years.
• Identification of Households: Within the coverage under TPDS determined for each State, the work of identification of eligible households is to be done by States/UTs.
• Nutritional Support to women and children: Pregnant women and lactating mothers and children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years will be entitled to meals as per prescribed nutritional norms under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) schemes. Higher nutritional norms have been prescribed for malnourished children up to 6 years of age.
• Maternity Benefit: Pregnant women and lactating mothers will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000.
• Women Empowerment: Eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards.
• Grievance Redressal Mechanism: Grievance redressal mechanism at the District and State levels. States will have the flexibility to use the existing machinery or set up a separate mechanism.
• Cost of intra-State transportation & handling of foodgrains and FPS Dealers' margin: Central Government will provide assistance to States in meeting the expenditure incurred by them on transportation of foodgrains within the State, its handling and FPS dealers’ margin as per norms to be devised for this purpose.
• Transparency and Accountability: Provisions have been made for disclosure of records relating to PDS, social audits and setting up of Vigilance Committees to ensure transparency and accountability.
• Food Security Allowance: Provision for food security allowance to entitled beneficiaries in case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals.
• Penalty: Provision for a penalty on public servant or authority, to be imposed by the State Food Commission, in case of failure to comply with the relief recommended by the District Grievance Redressal Officer.

Source: The Hindu

2) Environment Impact Assessment(EIA) 

• To address unprecedented situation arising from the global outbreak of Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19), and to ramp up availability or production of various drugs, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 27th March 2020, has made an amendment to EIA Notification 2006.  All projects or activities in respect of bulk drugs and intermediates, manufactured for addressing various ailments, have been re-categorized from the existing Category ‘A’ to the ‘B2’ category.
• Projects falling under Category B2 are exempted from the requirement of collection of Baseline data, EIA Studies, and public consultation. The re-categorization of such proposals has been done to facilitate the decentralization of appraisal to State Level to fast track the process. This step of the Govt is to help in increasing the availability of important medicines/ drugs in the country within a short period. This amendment applies to all proposals received up to 30th September 2020. The states have also been issued advisories to expeditiously process such proposals.
• Further, to ensure expeditious disposal of the proposals within a given timeline, Ministry has also advised states to use information technology e.g. video conference, because, given the prevailing situation on the ground, appraisal of proposals may not be possible through physical meetings.
• Within about two weeks, more than 100 proposals have been received under this category, which is at different levels of decision making by the concerned regulatory authorities in the states.

Source: PIB

3) 117 mn children face measles risk

The United Nations has warned that around 117 million children worldwide risk contracting measles because dozens of countries are curtailing their vaccination programs as they battle COVID-19.

Details:

• Currently, 24 countries, including several already dealing with large measles outbreaks, have suspended widespread vaccinations, the World Health Organisation and the UN’s children’s fund UNICEF said.
• While vaccination has drastically reduced global measles deaths — a 73% drop between 2000-2018 worldwide — measles is still common in many developing countries, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia.

Measles:

• Measles is a highly contagious viral disease and is a cause of death among young children globally.
• Measles is also known as rubeola or red measles.
• It is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by a virus that causes rashes all over the body.
• Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons.

Prevention and control:

• Routine measles vaccination for children combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with low routine coverage is key public health strategies to reduce global measles deaths.
• Under the Global Vaccine Action Plan, measles and rubella are targeted for elimination in five WHO Regions by 2020. WHO is the lead technical agency responsible for the coordination of immunization and surveillance activities supporting all countries to achieve this goal.

Source: The Hindu

4) ‘Yamuna cleaner due to lockdown’

According to an analysis report of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the quality of water in the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna has increased due to a complete reduction in industrial pollutants in the river during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Details:

• The report states that, due to the complete reduction of industrial pollutants in the river, the self-purification capacity of the river has improved considerably.
• It was also highlighted that an increased discharge of water from Haryana to Delhi has also aided the process.
• The report shows that the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels at two points along the river is above 5 mg/L, which is the recommended level of DO for bathing in a river.
• The quality of water increases with the increase in the DO levels.
• Also, the Biochemical Oxygen Demand, another parameter which is used to measure the quality of water, is better at multiple points, according to the report.
• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific period.
• The more organic matter there is (e.g., in sewage and polluted bodies of water), the greater the BOD.
• Greater the BOD, the lower the amount of dissolved oxygen available for higher animals such as fishes. The BOD is, therefore, a reliable gauge of the organic pollution of a body of water.

River Yamuna:

• The Yamuna River is the largest tributary of the River Ganga.
• River Yamuna originates from Yamunotri Glacier on the southwestern slopes of Banderpooch peak, in the Lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand.
• It cuts across the Nag Tibba, the Mussoorie and the Shiwalik ranges.
• The river merges with the Ganga at Triveni Sangam or Prayag at Allahabad.
• It creates the highly fertile alluvial, Yamuna-Ganges Doab region between itself and the Ganges in the Indo-Gangetic plain.

Source: The Hindu

5) Survey of India maps add heft to Aarogya Setu app

To complement the Aarogya Setu App (a government-endorsed application that helps trace the contacts of those who may have been infected by COVID-19), the Survey of India (country’s apex map maker) has made public a trove of maps.

Benefits:

• This could improve the geospatial data.
• It could help develop maps that could be customized to a variety of ‘COVID-related applications’ such as healthcare facilities, infection clusters, and disaster management.
• The platform is initially expected to strengthen the public health delivery system of the State and Central governments and subsequently provide the necessary geospatial information support to citizens and agencies dealing with the challenges related to health, socio-economic distress, and livelihood challenges.

Aarogya Setu App:

• The mobile application has been customized to collect COVID-19 specific geospatial datasets through community engagement to augment the response activities by the government to the pandemic.
• It also helps the government trace contacts of those infected to execute quarantining.
• Critics say that Aarogya Setu and applications like Sahyog that link to it could infringe privacy as there wasn’t clarity on how data would be shared between the two applications.
• However, the government has said that data would be collected only for managing the pandemic.

Source: The Hindu

6) IMD announces that it expects monsoon rainfall to be normal this year

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) today announced that it expects monsoon rainfall to be normal this year. "Southwest monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be normal (96-104%)," the IMD said in its first stage Long Range Forecast (LRF) for monsoons.

Summary of the Forecast for the 2020 Southwest Monsoon Rainfall

Existing & New Dates of Normal Monsoon Withdrawal

• Southwest monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be normal (96-104%).
• Quantitatively, the monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall is likely to be 100% of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of ± 5%.  The LPA of the season rainfall over the country as a whole for the period 1961-2010 is 88 cm.
• Neutral El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are prevailing over the Pacific Ocean and Neutral Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are prevailing over the Indian Ocean.  Some climate model forecasts indicate these conditions are likely to persist during the ensuing monsoon season.  However, a few other global climate models indicate the possibility of the development of weak La Nina conditions over the Pacific Ocean during the second half of the season.
• As sea surface temperature (SST) conditions over the Pacific and Indian Oceans are known to have a strong influence on Indian monsoon, IMD is carefully monitoring the evolution of sea surface conditions over the Pacific and the Indian oceans.
• IMD will issue the updated forecasts in the last week of May/ first week of June2020 as a part of the second stage forecast. Along with the updated forecast, separate forecasts for the monthly (July and August) rainfall over the country as a whole and seasonal (June-September) rainfall over the four broad geographical regions of India will also be issued.

Background

• India Meteorological Department (IMD) issues operational forecast for the southwest monsoon season (June to September) rainfall for the country as a whole in two stages. The first stage forecast is issued in April and the second stage forecast is issued in May/June. These forecasts are prepared using the state-of-the-art Statistical Ensemble Forecasting System (SEFS) that is critically reviewed and improved regularly through in-house research activities.  Since 2012, IMD is also using the dynamical global climate forecasting system (CFS) model developed under the Monsoon Mission to generate experimental forecasts. For this purpose, the latest version of the Monsoon Mission CFS (MMCFS) model was implemented in January 2017 at the Office of Climate Research and Services, IMD, Pune.

Source: PIB

7) Study to identify biomarkers to predict progression from non-severe to severe COVD 19 cases can help interventions

• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), will support the exploration of metabolomics alteration in COVID-19 infected patients conducted by IIT Bombay in collaboration with some hospitals in Mumbai.
• The study will identify potential biomarker candidates to predict progression from non-severe to severe COVID-19 conditions. Search for potential diagnostic candidates will involve metabolite profiling of different patient groups with various complications. Metabolites are small biomolecules, capable of regulating various pathways in all the living-organisms.
• The study will include COVID-19 confirmed patients with mild and typical respiratory tract symptoms as non-severe group and patients with respiratory distress or multi-organ failure as severe groups. Patients with flu symptoms and RT-PCR negative will serve as controls. The comparison of metabolomics between these groups in terms of severity with the help of the patient’s plasma and swab samples will be a novel approach to understand the progression of infection and also assess changes in the metabolite profile of the host. By identifying potential markers to distinguish the patients based on severity, the study can help find novel targets for therapy.
• Several research groups are working globally on COVID-19 problem, and most of these studies have been restricted to cell-line based investigation. However, detailed metabolome or proteome investigation of COVID-19+ patient clinical samples needs to be done to provide novel cues of COVID-19 severity.
• Investigation of different patient groups having mild to severe symptoms will provide early cues to identify an asymptomatic group of patients and understanding infection mechanism and the difference between severe cases of COVID-19 from non-severe ones in terms of biological pathways. This might be helpful for future therapeutic interventions.

Source: PIB

8) Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launches All India Agri Transport Call Centre

• The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched the All India Agri Transport Call Centre at a function in Krishi Bhavan to facilitate the inter-state movement of perishables in the current situation of lockdown due to the COVID-19 threat. The Call Centre numbers are 18001804200 and 14488. These numbers can be called from any mobile or landline phone any time of the day or night.
• The 24x7 service All India Agri Transport Call Centre is an initiative of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Government of India for coordination between States for inter-state movement of perishables - Vegetables & Fruits, Agri Inputs like seeds, pesticides, and fertilizer, etc.
• Truck drivers and helpers, traders, retailers, transporters farmers, manufacturers or any other stakeholder who is facing problems in inter-state movement of agricultural, horticultural or any other perishable commodities besides seeds and fertilizers may seek help by calling at the Call Centre. Call Center Executives will forward the vehicle & consignment details along with the help needed, to State Government officials for resolution of issues.
• Operated by the IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL) from their offices in Faridabad, Haryana, the Call Centre lines will initially be manned by 10 customer executives round the clock in 3 shifts of 8 hours each. The Call Centre service may be escalated to the full capacity of 20 seats based on requirements. The Call Centre Executives will also maintain records and verify the disposal of the problem as the case may be.

Source: PIB

9) ASEAN Summit

• Vietnam chaired the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit held online. The discussions pertained to the impact of COVID-19 on southeast Asia.
• Leaders from China, Japan, and South Korea joined the summit.

Key Points

• ASEAN leaders have warned of the crippling economic cost of COVID-19 and called for trade routes to reopen to protect jobs and food supplies, as well as the stockpiling of medical equipment.
• The COVID-19 has ruined the region's tourism and export-reliant economies.
• Vietnam has urged Southeast Asian leaders to set up an emergency fund to tackle the coronavirus.
• Existing Fears on the impact of COVID-19 on the Region:
• Limited testing in Indonesia has resulted in the lower number of cases -- and under 400 deaths -- for a country of 260 million.
• Health systems from Myanmar to Laos are widely believed to be missing the true scale of infections.
• A recent surge in cases in Singapore has raised fears the pandemic could rebound in places that had batted back the initial outbreak.
• The Thai economy, the second-largest in ASEAN, is expected to shrink by 5.3% in 2020 -- a 22-year low -- with millions left jobless.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

• ASEAN is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation.
• It was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
• Ten members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• Chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
• ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $2.8 trillion.
• The group has played a central role in Asian economic integration, signing six free-trade agreements with other regional economies and helping spearhead negotiations for what could be the world’s largest free trade pact.

Source: The Hindu

10) ICMR Advises ‘Pool Testing’ of COVID-19

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has advised the feasibility of using pooled samples for molecular testing of COVID-19 citing the rise of cases in India.
• The advisory also stated that it is important to increase the number of tests being done in laboratories in India.

Pool Testing

• A pooled testing algorithm involves the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) screening of a specimen pool comprising multiple individual patient specimens, followed by individual testing (pool de-convolution) ONLY IF a pool screens positive.
• As all individual samples in a negative pool are regarded as negative, it results in substantial cost savings when a large proportion of pools tests negative.
• This method is effective in two ways. First, it increases the capacity of testing and second, it saves a lot of resources — time, cost and manpower.

Advisory

• Maximum Number of Samples: Pooling of more than 5 samples is not recommended to avoid the effect of dilution leading to false negatives.
• Pooling & Positivity Rates: The ICMR has suggested three different approaches based on the percentage of positive cases. These are:
• The pooling of samples should be done only in areas with a low prevalence of COVID-19 (initially using a proxy of low positivity of <2% from the existing data).
• In areas with the positivity of 2-5%, sample pooling for PCR screening may be considered only in community survey or surveillance among asymptomatic individuals, strictly excluding pooling samples of individuals with known contact with confirmed cases, Health Care Workers (in direct contact with the care of COVID-19 patients). Sample from such individuals should be directly tested without pooling.
• The pooling of samples is not recommended in areas or populations with positivity rates of >5% for COVID-19.

Source: The Hindu