Daily Current Affairs 17 April 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Salazar’s pit viper

Trimeresurus Salazar

A new species of green pit viper found in Arunachal Pradesh has a Harry Potter link.
The scientific name Trimeresurus Salazar has been inspired by Salazar Slytherin, cofounder of J.K. Rowling’s fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The new species is the fifth variety of reptiles to have been discovered in the State in a little more than a year, beginning with the crying keelback followed by the impressive tortoise, so named because of the striking pattern on its back. The other two species are the Arunachal pit viper, India’s fifth brown pit viper but with a reddish tinge, and a natricid burrowing snake similar to the shieldtail snake found in the Western Ghats.
According to the researchers, Salazar’s pit viper belongs to the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède comprising “charismatic venomous serpents with morphologically as well as ecologically diverse species”. At least 48 species are known to be distributed across east and southeast Asia, of which at least 15 occur in India.
Of the species recorded from India, seven had been found in the northeast before the Salazar’s pit viper, collected from the Pakke Tiger Reserve in PakkeKessang district, was identified as a separate species.\

Source: The Hindu

2) CeNS develops portable sensor to ease heavy metal detection in water

Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) has developed a compact solid-state sensor to detect the heavy metal ions in water. It is a portable device that can help onsite detection in remote areas.
Heavy metal ions such as lead, mercury, and cadmium pose severe potential threats to living beings as they can easily be accumulated in the body and cannot be detoxified by any chemical or biological processes. The health hazards associated with heavy metal ions in water demands the development of efficient and portable sensors for rapid onsite detection of these ions. There is an urge to develop visual sensors, which can effectively detect heavy metal ions rapidly (within seconds) under ambient conditions.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Pralay K. Santra at Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences have developed a compact solid-state sensor to detect the heavy metal ions, e.g., lead ions (Pb2+) down to 0.4 parts per billion (ppb) for efficient onsite detection. The sensor film was prepared by forming a composite between manganese doped zinc sulfide quantum dots and reduced graphene oxide on a glass substrate. These particular quantum dots are water-soluble and have high photoluminescence (~ 30 %) quantum yield, making them suitable for luminescence-based sensing. These quantum dots can be excited with handheld UV light of 254 nm, thus making it a portable device even to remote areas. If a drop of water containing heavy metal ions such as mercury, lead, cadmium, etc. are added to the composite film, the emission of the film quenches within seconds.
This study demonstrates the easy detection of heavy metal ions in water; however, the team is developing strategies to improve the selectivity of the detection.

Source: PIB

3) National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has said that around 11,077 undertrials have been released from prisons nationwide as part of the mission to decongest jails following the COVID-19 pandemic.
NALSA has also been providing assistance to prisoners who were eligible to be released on parole or interim bail under the relaxed norms, through its panel lawyers.

About NALSA:

NALSA has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide free legal services to weaker sections of society.
The aim is to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reasons of economic or other disabilities.
‘Nyaya Deep’ is the official newsletter of NALSA.

Composition:

As per section 3(2) of the Legal Service Authorities Act, the Chief Justice of India shall be the Patron-in-Chief.
The second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court of India is the Executive-Chairman.

Important functions performed by NALSA:

Organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
Identify specific categories of the marginalized and excluded groups and formulates various schemes for the implementation of preventive and strategic legal service programs.
Provide free legal aid in civil and criminal matters for the poor and marginalized people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer in any court or tribunal.

State and district legal services authorities:

In every State, State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to give free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State. The State Legal Services Authority is headed by Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the respective High Court who is the Patron-in-Chief of the State Legal Services Authority.
In every District, District Legal Services Authority has been constituted to implement Legal Services Programmes in the District. The District Legal Services Authority is situated in the District Courts Complex in every District and chaired by the District Judge of the respective district.

Need- Constitutional basis:

Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen because of economic or other disability.
Articles 14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before the law and a legal system that promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all. Legal aid strives to ensure that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and spirit and equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society.

Source: The Hindu

4) How pandemics have changed the world

Pandemics have had great influence in shaping human society and politics throughout history. From the Justinian Plague of the sixth century to the Spanish flu of the last century, pandemics have triggered the collapse of empires, weakened pre-eminent institutions, created social upheavals and brought down wars.

Which are the deadliest pandemics and how have they influenced the course of human history?

Justinian Plague

One of the deadliest pandemics in recorded history broke out in the sixth century in Egypt and spread fast to Constantinople, which was the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
The plague was named after the then Byzantine Emperor Justinian.
The outbreak, which spread from Constantinople to both the West and the East, had killed up to 25 to 100 million people.
The plague hit Constantinople when the Byzantine Empire was at the pinnacle of its power under Justinian’s reign. The Empire had conquered much of the historically Roman Mediterranean coast, including Italy, Rome and North Africa.
The plague would come back in different waves, finally disappearing in AD 750, after weakening the empire substantially.
As the Byzantine Army failed to recruit new soldiers and ensure military supplies to battlegrounds in the wake of the spread of the illness, their provinces came under attack. By the time the plague disappeared, the Empire had lost territories in Europe to the Germanic-speaking Franks and Egypt and Syria to the Arabs.

Black Death

The Black Death, or pestilence, that hit Europe and Asia in the 14th century was the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history.
It killed some 75 to 200 million people.
The plague arrived in Europe in 1347, where up to 50% of the population died of the disease.
In the words of Stanford historian Walter Scheidel, pandemics are one of the “four horsemen” that have flattened inequality. The other three are wars, revolutions and state failures.
Black Death led to improved wages for serfs and agricultural laborers. The land became more abundant relative to labor [after the death of millions of working people].
In parts of Europe, wages tripled as labor demand rose.
The most significant impact of the Black Death was perhaps the weakening of the Catholic Church.
The Church was as helpless as any other institution as the plague spread like wildfire across the continent, and this shook the people’s faith in the Church and the clergy. While the Church would continue to remain as a powerful institution, it would never regain the power and influence it had enjoyed before the outbreak of the plague.
The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century would further weaken the Church.

Spanish Flu

The Spanish Flu, which broke out during the last phase of the First World War, was the deadliest pandemic of the last century that killed up to 50 million people.
One of the major impacts of the outbreak was the result of the war.
Though the flu hit both sides, the Germans and Austrians were affected so badly that the outbreak derailed their offensives.
German General Erich Ludendorff in his memoir wrote that the flu was one of the reasons for Germany’s defeat.
Germany launched its Spring Offensive on the western front in March 1918. By June and July, the disease had weakened the German units. The Armistice, signed on November 11, 1918, ended the War. But the flu continued to ravage parts of the world for many more months.

COVID-19

Despite it being too early to say how COVID-19 would change the world, the outbreak has seen countries, both democratic and dictatorial, imposing drastic restrictions on people’s movements.
The western world lies exposed to the attack of the virus.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. has shot up to the levels not seen since the end of the Second World War.
Governments across the world, including the U.S. administration, are beefing up spending to stimulate an economy that shows signs of depression.
Radical changes, good and bad, are already unfolding.

Source: The Hindu

5) National Conference on Kharif crops 2020

On the back of a normal monsoon forecast, the Agriculture Ministry is targeting a record foodgrain production of 298.3 million tonnes for 2020-21, higher than the 291.95 million tonnes estimated for 2019-20.
both rice and wheat production targets are minimally higher than the previous year. However, the focus is on driving the growth in pulses, coarse cereals, and oilseeds
Due to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agriculture Ministry’s annual meeting to review the ongoing rabi or winter season harvest and layout prospects for the coming Kharif or summer cropping season is being held via video conferencing
India Meteorological Department issued its first forecast for the monsoon, predicting normal rainfall, with a chance of above-normal rain in August and September.
The main Kharif season crop is rice, and the Agriculture Ministry is targeting a harvest of 102.6 million tonnes, slightly higher than the last Kharif season harvest of 101.95 million tonnes. However, it has lowered its rice production target for the next rabi season to 14.9 million tonnes. This means that the total rice production target for 202021 is 117.5 million tonnes, barely higher than the previous year's target of 117.47 million tonnes
Wheat production is also expected to remain steady, with a 2020-21 target of 106.5 million tonnes, in comparison to the previous year’s estimate of 106.21 million tonnes
The Agriculture Ministry hopes to ramp up production of coarse cereals this year but admits that the challenge is how to create demand for Nutri-cereals or millets. It is targeting a harvest of 48.7 million tonnes in comparison to the previous season’s 45.24 million tonnes.
About pulses, the target is 25.3 million tonnes compared to the previous season's estimates of 23 million tonnes, with the entire increase projected to come from the Kharif season.
Oilseeds are a major priority, especially due to the disruption in edible oil imports caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The targeted harvest is 36.64 million tonnes, in comparison to the last season's estimates of 34.19 million tonnes. One challenge could be a shortfall in supply of soybean seeds to the tune of 3.2 lakh quintals, due to unseasonal rains at the time of harvesting the seed crop.
The Ministry has also created an action plan for oil palm plantation, given the disruptions in imports. It hopes to cover 31,500 hectares with about 45 lakh seedlings this year, with the bulk of the plantation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Source: The Hindu

6) Colour coding to help manage COVID-19 pandemic

The government has decided to divide all districts across the country into hotspots, non-hotspots and green zones.
The health and family welfare ministry has identified 170 hotspot districts, 207 non-hotspot districts reporting cases and 359 green zone districts not reporting any cases across the country.
These numbers will increase or decrease based on fresh cases of novel coronavirus infection.

Why this classification was necessary? What are its implications?

This will help in managing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as partial opening up of economic activities during the extended period of the nationwide lockdown. This would help in the management of hotspots and the spread of the pandemic.

How are the districts divided?

The health ministry used two criteria to classify the districts as hotspots — the absolute number of cases and the speed of growth in cases.
The technical definition followed to classify the districts is any district reporting more than six cases would be classified as hotspot districts or red zone.
Any hotspot district with more than 15 cases would be treated as a district witnessing outbreak.

Which districts are under the red zone?

Delhi and NCR, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Thane, Yavatmal, Sangli, Buldhana, Ahmednagar, and Latur in Maharashtra, and Chennai, Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Erode, Dindigul, Karur, Madurai, Namakkal, Ranipet, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Theni in Tamil Nadu.

Demarcation of epicenter and containment zones:

A house with positive cases or a cluster with positive cases is marked as the epicenter of the containment zone. A radius of 0.5 km is taken and the area around it is cordoned off with only essential services available.
Also, a buffer zone is marked where people with severe and acute respiratory illnesses (SARI) are checked and monitored.
Containment zones are created to map the local transmission of the disease and prevent the contagion from spreading.

Source: The Hindu

7) ‘Disinfectant tunnels can cause harm’

The use of a disinfectant tunnel, in which sodium hypochlorite is sprayed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, may give a false sense of security and cause harmful side effects, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has said.

Details:

The tunnels are being set up at crowded places like malls, markets, and offices and it was initially believed that the tunnel would work as a mass disinfectant.
It is found that the use of these tunnels may give a false sense of security and may have adverse health effects as sodium hypochlorite has a lot of harmful effects on the human body.
It has been advised that the use of disinfection tunnels not be recommended as a prevention measure.

Sodium Hypochlorite:

Sodium hypochlorite is most often encountered as a pale greenish-yellow dilute solution commonly known as liquid bleach or simply bleach, a household chemical widely used as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent.
It is used for a variety of cleaning and disinfecting purposes.
The concentration of the chemical in the solution varies according to the purpose it is meant for.
A normal household bleach usually is a 2-10% sodium hypochlorite solution.
At a much lower 0.25-0.5%, this chemical is used to treat skin wounds like cuts or scrapes. An even weaker solution (0.05%) is sometimes used as a hand wash.
It releases chlorine, which is a disinfectant. Large quantities of chlorine can be harmful.

Concerns:

A 0.5% solution of hypochlorite, which is known as Dakin solution, is used for disinfecting areas contaminated with bodily fluids, including large blood spills.
However, higher concentrations of sodium hypochlorite (5%) exposure may cause nasal and ocular irritation, sore throat and coughing.
Exposure to stronger concentration (10-15%) of hypochlorite can cause serious damage to multiple organs, including burning pain, redness, swelling and blisters, damage to the respiratory tract as well as the esophagus, serious eye damage, stomach ache, a burning sensation, diarrhea, and vomiting.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), too, disinfectants will work on surfaces, but not on the human body, and can also harm people.

Source: The Hindu

8) International Energy Agency (IEA)

IEA has made some observations about the impact of global lockdown on oil demands across the world.

Key observations:

The price of crude has already fallen about 60% since the start of the year due to a pricing war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and then the economic devastation wrought by the virus outbreak.
Now, global demand for oil will fall this year by the most ever due to the economic lockdowns enforced around the world to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
An estimated drop in demand of 9.3 million barrels a day this year is equivalent to a decade’s worth of growth.

Impact and implications of these changes:

While cheaper energy can be helpful for consumers and energy-hungry businesses, it is below the cost of production.
That is eating away at the state finances of oil-producing countries, many of whom are relatively poor economies, and pushing companies to bankruptcy.
With broad limits on travel and business, many consumers are unable to take advantage of the low prices anyway.
The recent deal by OPEC and other countries to reduce global output by some 9.7 million barrels a day will help stabilize the situation somewhat.
On top of those cuts, countries like China, India, South Korea, and the United States will look to buy more oil to store away in strategic reserves.

About IEA:

Established in 1974 as per the framework of the OECD, IEA is an autonomous intergovernmental organization. MISSION – To ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its member countries and beyond. Its mission is guided by four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide Headquarters (Secretariat): Paris, France.

Roles and functions:

Established in the wake of the 1973-1974 oil crisis, to help its members respond to major oil supply disruptions, a role it continues to fulfill today. IEA’s mandate has expanded over time to include tracking and analyzing global key energy trends, promoting sound energy policy, and fostering multinational energy technology cooperation.

Composition and eligibility:

It has 30 members at present. IEA family also includes eight association countries. A candidate country must be a member country of the OECD. But all OECD members are not IEA members. To become a member a candidate country must demonstrate that it has:

Crude oil and/or product reserves equivalent to 90 days of the previous year’s net imports, to which the government has immediate access (even if it does not own them directly) and could be used to address disruptions to global oil supply.
A demand restraint program to reduce national oil consumption by up to 10%.
Legislation and organization to operate the Co-ordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM) on a national basis.
Legislation and measures to ensure that all oil companies under its jurisdiction report information upon request.
Measures in place to ensure the capability of contributing its share of an IEA collective action.

Reports:

Global Energy & CO2 Status Report.
World Energy Outlook.
World Energy Statistics.
World Energy Balances.
Energy Technology Perspectives.

Source: The Hindu

9) US Halts its WHO Funding

The United States (US) has decided to cut off US payments to the World Health Organisation (WHO) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key Points

Reasons: The US has accused the WHO of failing to curb the early spread of the coronavirus.
It has been claimed by the US that the outbreak could have been contained at its source and lives could have been saved if the United Nations (UN) health agency (i.e. WHO) has done a better job.
The US has criticized the WHO for being China-centric and has alleged that earlier WHO had criticized the US’s ban on travel from and to China.
This comes when the global caseload approaches 2 million, including over 1 lakh deaths. The US has seen the most cases (over 6 lakh) and deaths (over 26,000) despite being the highest contributor (almost 15%) to the WHO.
However, the US has made it clear that it would continue to engage with the WHO in pursuit of meaningful reforms.
Other Criticisms: Most countries closed down air travel at the first stage but the WHO took a stand against travel and trade restrictions on China.
The International Health Regulations Emergency Committee urged countries to be prepared but did not recommend any travel or trade restriction.
According to the National Centre for Disease Control, WHO officials rejected Indian concerns saying that there was no human to human transmission.
Impact: For the WHO, the loss of about 15% of its total funding is bound to have an impact on the world over.
However, unless other countries do the same as the US, the move may not severely hamper WHO operations.
Criticism of US Stand: The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has held that WHO is absolutely critical in the global fight to combat Covid-19 and this is not the time to end support and reduce resources for the operations.
India’s Stand: India has reacted cautiously to this announcement, avoiding an official response and maintaining the country’s focus now is containment and management of the outbreak.

Source of WHO’s Funds

It is funded by countries, philanthropic organizations, other UN organizations, etc.
Voluntary donations from member states contribute 35.41%, assessed contributions are 15.66%, philanthropic organizations account for 9.33%, UN organizations contribute about 8.1% and the rest comes from myriad sources.
The US contributes almost 15% of the WHO’s total funding and almost 31% of the member states’ donations, the largest chunk in both cases.
India contributes 1% of member states’ donations.
Countries decide how much they pay and may also choose not to.

Spending of WHO’s Funds

The WHO is involved in various programs.
In 2018-19, 19.36% (about $1 bn) was spent on polio eradication, 8.77% on increasing access to essential health and nutrition services, 7% on vaccine-preventable diseases and about 4.36% on prevention and control of outbreaks.
The American continent received $62.2 mn for WHO projects. That is where most WHO funding comes from and the least of it goes.
The African countries received $1.6 bn for WHO projects and South East Asian countries (including India) received $375 mn.
India is a member state of the WHO Southeast Asia Region.

Spending Priorities of WHO

The annual program of work is passed by the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly.
It is held annually in Geneva.
It is attended by delegates from all member states and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
Functions: To determine WHO policies, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed program budget.
The decision on which country gets how much depends on the situation in the countries.
The WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work (2019-23) lays down: “Unequal development in different countries in the promotion of health and control of diseases, especially communicable diseases, is a common danger.”

WHO’s Involvement in India

India became a party to the WHO Constitution on 12th January 1948 and the first session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia was held on 4th-5th October 1948, in India.
The WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) 2019-2023 has been developed jointly by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the WHO India country office.
The CCS’s strategic priorities are to accelerate progress on Universal Health Coverage, promote health and wellness by addressing determinants of health, better protect the population against health emergencies and enhance India’s global leadership in health.
On the ground, WHO has been a key partner in the immunization program (Mission Indradhanush), tackling Tuberculosis (TB) and neglected diseases such as leprosy and kala-azar and nutrition programs across states.

WHO and India During Covid-19

WHO has been working closely with the MoHFW 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 and control and cluster containment plan.
However, India has largely built its own strategy covering its reluctance to test, the early travel restrictions to and from China and the lockdown.
India imposed a lockdown when cases were just 341 (on 22nd March 2020).
India showed resistance to mass testing which is akin to the US’s strategy.
India has also taken a call on the universal use of masks when the WHO maintained that masks protect others rather than the wearer and need not be mandatory.

Source: Indian Express

10) Rupee Slips Due to Covid-19

The rupee slipped 17 paise against the dollar on 15th April 2020, amid heightened uncertainty over the economy as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread.

Key Points

The rupee closed at a record low of 76.44 against the dollar on 15th April 2020. The rupee was 76.27 against the dollar on the previous day.
However, the dollar index was trading 0.3% higher at 99.19. The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX) is an index (or measure) of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies.
It can be noted that the rupee has weakened about 7% against the dollar in 2020 and has hit a record intraday low of 76.55.

This implies that the rupee has become less valuable concerning the dollar, implying depreciation of the rupee.

According to some experts, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not intervened strongly in the market to stop rupee depreciation.

They expect the RBI to intervene once the rupee breaches the 77 to a dollar.

In its macroeconomic review, RBI had said if the rupee depreciates 5% from the baseline (i.e. Rs 75 per dollar), inflation could rise by 20 basis points (bps) while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth could be higher by about 15 bps via increased net exports.

Currency Depreciation

Currency depreciation is a fall in the value of a currency in a floating exchange rate system.

In a floating exchange rate system, market forces (based on demand and supply of a currency) determine the value of a currency.

Rupee depreciation means that rupee has become less valuable concerning the dollar.

It means that the rupee is now weaker than it used to be earlier.
For example, $1 used to equal to Rs.70, now $1 is equal to Rs. 76, implying that the rupee has depreciated relative to the dollar i.e. it takes more rupees to purchase a dollar.

Some of the factors that influence the value of a currency:

Inflation
Interest rates
Trade deficit
Macroeconomic policies
Equity market.

Currency depreciation increases a country’s export activity as its products and services become cheaper to buy.
The Reserve Bank of India intervenes in the currency market to support the rupee as a weak domestic unit can increase a country’s import bill.
There are a variety of methods by which RBI intervenes:

It can intervene directly in the currency market by buying and selling dollars.

If the RBI wishes to increase the rupee value, then it can sell dollars and when it needs to bring down rupee value, it can buy dollars.

The central bank can also influence the value of rupee by the way of monetary policy.

RBI can adjust the repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends to banks) and the liquidity ratio (the portion of money banks are required to invest in government bonds) to control rupee.

Source: The Hindu