Daily Current Affairs 3 April 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) The center defines J&K domicile rules

The Union government has issued a notification defining “domiciles” in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir for protecting jobs in the Group D category and entry-level non-gazetted posts for the domiciles.

Background:

On August 5th, 2019, the Centre withdrew J&K’s special status under Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution and bifurcated it into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Before, Article 35 A of the Constitution of India had empowered the J&K Assembly to define a J&K resident, who alone were eligible to apply for jobs or own immovable property.

Details:

In the latest gazette notification, Section 3A of the J&K Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order 2020, under the J&K Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act, has been introduced to define domicile.
The order defines domicile as one “who has resided for 15 years in the UT of J&K or has studied for seven years and appeared in Class 10th/12th examination in an educational institution located in the UT of J&K or who is registered as a migrant by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants).’’
Children of Central Govt. officials, All India Services, PSUs, autonomous bodies of the Centre, Public Sector Banks, officials of statutory bodies, Central Universities, recognized research institutes of the Centre who have served in J&K for a total period of 10 years will be domiciled.
The domicile status applies to “children of such residents of J&K who reside outside J&K in connection with their employment or business or other professional or vocational reasons but their parents should fulfill any of the conditions provided”.
The Order says that the domiciles will be eligible for the purposes of appointment to any post carrying a pay scale of not more than Level 4.

The Level 4 post comprises positions such as gardeners, barbers, office peons, and watermen, and the highest rank in the category is that of a junior assistant.

Through the same order, the Centre has repealed the J&K Civil Services (Special Provisions) Act.
A senior government official said the reservation for domiciles would not apply to Group A and Group B posts, and like other UTs, recruitment would be done by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

This is according to the norms in other UTs and States.

The provisions of the Act authorize the Tehsildar as the competent authority for issuing the domicile certificate, as opposed to deputy commissioner or any officer specially notified by the state government by way of a gazette notification in the form of an SRO.
29 state laws have been repealed while 109 have been amended.

Changes in Public Safety Act:

The notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also made changes to the Public Safety Act (PSA).
A clause that prohibited J&K residents booked under the Act to be lodged in jails outside has been removed.
It changes the criteria for appointing the PSA advisory board on the recommendation of a search committee headed by the Chief Secretary instead of the Chief Justice of the J&K High Court.
It also bars sitting High Court judges to be made part of the board without the Chief Justice’s consultation.

The board has a crucial role to play in the release of details.

The order scraps a clause that dealt with the power to regulate the place and conditions of detention.

Price Monitoring & Resource Unit (PMRU)

Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory has become the 12th State where the Price Monitoring & Resource Unit (PMRU) has been set up by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

Where else has NPPA setup PMRUs?

Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Mizoram.

What is a Price Monitoring & Resource Unit (PMRU)?

It is a registered society and shall function under the direct control and supervision of the State Drug Controller of respective states. The unit shall be funded by NPPA for its recurring and non-recurring expenses.

Functions:

Help NPPA and State Drug Controller in ensuring the availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
Organize seminars, training programs, and other information, education and communication (IEC) activities in the areas of availability and affordability of medicines for all.
Collect samples of medicines, collect and analyze data and make reports concerning availability and over-pricing of medicines for taking action under the provisions of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO).

Source: The Hindu

2) Home Ministry wakes up to Tabligh event

As many as 360 foreigners were deported from Delhi in 2018-19 for reportedly indulging in missionary activities while they were here on a tourist visa, a senior Home Ministry official has said. Currently, foreigners who participated in a Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin have come under the Home Ministry scanner.

Issue:

According to a Home Ministry statement, some 2,100 foreigners visited India for Tabligh programs since January 1, 2020.
MHA had already issued guidelines that the foreigners should not indulge in missionary work on a tourist visa.
State Police would be examining categories of visas of all these foreign TJ [Tablighi Jamaat] workers and take further action in case of violation of visa conditions.
The Ministry is apparently set to blacklist the 824 foreign Tablighi members who came to India on a tourist visa and participated in religious congregations and meetings.
The Jamaat congregation, part of regular Tabligh activity, was attended by people from Nepal, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

Details:

Home Ministry is the nodal agency that gives permission to any foreigner to participate in any international event.
Any conference/event application is routed through an Indian mission abroad and without the Home Ministry’s permission, the event cannot happen and participants are not issued visas.
It is said that the religious gathering was organized in violation of an order issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Delhi Government by the Delhi Epidemic Diseases, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

What is Tablighi Jamaat?

Literally, it means a society for spreading the faith. It is a conservative Muslim organization.
It is a Sunni Islamic missionary movement. The aim is to reach out to ordinary Muslims and revive their faith, particularly in matters of ritual, dress, and personal behavior.
It has a significant base in various countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, the United States, Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

How did the movement begin?

Launched by prominent Islamic scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Khandhalaw in 1926 in Mewat (Haryana).
Its roots lie in the Deobandi version of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.
Maulana Ilyas trained several young men from Deoband and Saharanpur and sent them to Mewat, where the Tablighi Jamaat established a network of madrasas and Mosque.

The Tablighi Jamaat is based on six principles:

Kalimah, an article of faith in which the Tabligh accepts that there is no God but Allah and that Prophet Muhammad is his messenger.
Salaat, or prayer five times daily.
Ilm and dhikr, the knowledge and remembrance of Allah conducted in sessions in which the congregation listens to preaching by the imam, performs prayers, recites the Quran and reads the Hadith; the congregation also uses these sessions to dine together, thus fostering a sense of community and identity.
Ikram-i-Muslim, the treatment of fellow Muslims with honor.
Ikhlas-i-niyat, or sincerity of intention.
Dawat-o-tabligh, or proselytization.

Its scope:

It is estimated that the organization has somewhere between 70-80 million followers across the world, which makes it the biggest Muslim movement in the world. In fact, outside of the Hajj, it is believed that its annual meetings in countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India, bring together the largest congregations of Muslims.

What’s the criticism wrt it is functioning?

While the scope of the organization seems to be limited to spreading the Muslim faith, the group has at times been accused of having ties to radical outfits, who, as per some observers, could take advantage of its loose organizational structure. Besides, they also don’t publish the scope of their activities, their membership or source of their finances, though it is believed they do not rely on donations and are largely financed by their senior members.

Source: The Hindu

3) Punjab Village and Small Towns Act

This British-era law was recently invoked in Panchkula to curtail movement during the lockdown.
Deputy Commissioner of Panchkula has passed an order under section 3 of this Act and has declared that all able-bodied male inhabitants of the villages be liable to be on patrol duty both during the day and night.
The aim of the patrol in the present case is to keep a watch on people entering villages without a valid pass and to make sure villagers follow social distancing norms.

What is the law?

The law was first enacted in 1918 in erstwhile Punjab to make provisions for nightly patrol duty by inhabitants of small villages and towns in cases of emergency.

Implementation:

Under this Act, if the Deputy Commissioner of a district in Punjab or Haryana thinks that in a village, special measures need to be taken to secure public safety, he has the power to make an order requiring all “able-bodied adult male inhabitants” to patrol the village.
The period of the applicability of the order is up to the Deputy Commissioner and the maximum period is up to one year.
The Deputy Commissioner shall have the power to alter the number of persons required for patrol duty and the method of their selection, and shall inform the village panchayat of his decision.

Penalty and punishment:

Those who do not follow the provisions will be liable under sections 9 and 11 of the Act, which means they may have to pay a fine imposed by the village panchayat or a fine imposed by the deputy commissioner, not exceeding Rs 100.

Sources: Indian Express.

4) Ways And Means Advances

The Reserve Bank of India has raised the limit for short term credit that the government can borrow from the central bank.
The limits for this credit facility, known as ‘Ways and Means Advances’, has been raised sharply to Rs 1.2 lakh crore for the first half of 2020-21.

Significance of this move:

The increased limit comes at a time when government expenditure is expected to rise as it battles the fallout of a spreading Coronavirus. The availability of these funds will government some room to undertake short term expenditure over and above its long term market borrowings.

What are Ways and Means Advances?

They are temporary loan facilities provided by RBI to the government to enable it to meet temporary mismatches between revenue and expenditure.
The government makes an interest payment to the central bank when it borrows money.
The rate of interest is the same as the repo rate, while the tenure is three months.
The limits for WMA are mutually decided by the RBI and the Government of India.

Background:

The WMA scheme for the Central Government was introduced on April 1, 1997, after putting an end to the four-decade-old system of adhoc (temporary) Treasury Bills to finance the Central Government deficit.

What if the government needs extra money for extra time?

When the WMA limit is crossed the government takes recourse to overdrafts, which are not allowed beyond 10 consecutive working days.
The interest rate on overdrafts would be 2 percent more than the repo rate.

Types of WMA:

There are two types of Ways and Means Advances — normal and special.
Special WMA or Special Drawing Facility is provided against the collateral of the government securities he5ld by the state. After the state has exhausted the limit of SDF, it gets normal WMA. The interest rate for SDF is one percentage point less than the repo rate.
The number of loans under normal WMA is based on a three-year average of actual revenue and capital expenditure of the state.

Sources: The Hindu.

5) Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020

Recently, the government has promulgated the 'Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020'.

Key Points

The Ordinance brings into effect various tax compliance-related measures announced on March 24, 2020, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has extended the deadline for filing income tax, last dates for making investments in instruments such as National Savings Certificates, Public Provident Fund for claiming income tax benefits, etc.
The last date for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar has been extended by three months to June 30.
The Ordinance has also amended the provisions of the Income-tax Act to provide the same tax treatment to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) as available to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

The donation made to the PM-CARES Fund shall be eligible for a 100% deduction under section 80G of the I-T Act.
The government has set up the PM-CARES Fund to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PMNRF was instituted in 1948 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to assist displaced persons from Pakistan.

The fund is currently used primarily to tackle natural calamities like floods, cyclones, and earthquakes.
The fund is also used to help with medical treatment like kidney transplantation, cancer treatment, and acid attack.

Ordinance

The ordinance is a decree or law promulgated by a state or national government without the consent of the legislature.
Article 123 of the Constitution of India grants the President certain law-making powers to promulgate ordinances when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session.
The fundamental reason for bestowing the executive with the power to issue ordinance according to Pandit H N Kunzru (involved in framing the Indian Constitution), was “to deal with situations where an emergency in the country necessitated urgent action.”
There are three limitations to the ordinance making power of the executive. They are:

The President can only promulgate an Ordinance when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session.
The President cannot promulgate an ordinance unless he is satisfied that there are circumstances that require taking ‘immediate action’.
Ordinances must be approved by Parliament within six weeks of reassembling or they shall cease to operate. They will also cease to operate in case resolutions disapproving the ordinance are passed by both the Houses.

Source: Indian Express

6) Chinese Trawlers in the South China Sea

The Chinese fishing fleets have been seen raiding the rich waters of the South China Sea that are internationally recognized as exclusively Indonesia’s to fish.

The fishermen in the Natuna Islands (Indonesia) are worried.

Key Points

The Chinese steel trawlers scrape the bottom of the sea and destroy other marine life.
Chinese trawling also breaches the maritime borders.
Since China is its largest trading partner, it has been argued that the Indonesian government has not taken any steps to deal with the incursions by Chinese fishing boats.
China’s illegal fishing near the Natuna islands carries a global consequence, reminding regional governments of Beijing’s expanding claims to the South China Sea through which one-third of the world’s maritime trade flows.
China wants to claim resources such as oil, natural gas, and fish in the South China Sea.
The presence of Chinese fishers also helps to embody China’s maritime claims. The nine-dash line (rejected by an international tribunal) asserted by China violates the principle of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).

South China Sea

The South China Sea is an arm of the western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia.
It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo.
Bordering states & territories (clockwise from north): the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
It is connected by Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea.
It contains numerous shoals, reefs, atolls, and islands. The Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands, and the Scarborough Shoal are the most important.

Importance

This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. (Strait of Malacca)
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD), one-third of the global shipping passes through it, carrying trillions of trade which makes it a significant geopolitical water body.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippines, this sea has one-third of the entire world’s marine biodiversity and contains lucrative fisheries providing food security to the Southeast Asian nations.
The South China Sea is believed to have huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.

Source: The Hindu

7) Core Sector Growth at 5.5%

According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the eight-core sector industries recorded a growth of 5.5% in February 2020 which is highest in 11-months.

Key Points

This spike is because of growth in refinery products, electricity, fertilizer, cement, and coal production.
However, crude oil, natural gas, and steel recorded negative growth rates in February.
This was the fourth consecutive month when the index of eight core industries reported growth.
The outlook may not be very bright for March 2020, as the lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19 has disrupted the production process in the country and globally.

Core Sector Industries

The eight-core sector industries include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement, and electricity
The eight core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
The eight Core Industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.

Index of Industrial Production

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mineral mining, electricity, manufacturing, etc.
It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation six weeks after the reference month ends, i.e a lag of six weeks.
The Base Year of the Index of Eight Core Industries has been revised from the year 2004-05 to 2011-12 from April 2017.

Source: The Hindu

8) SunRISE mission

NASA has selected a new mission to study how the Sun generates and releases giant space weather storms – known as solar particle storms – into planetary space.
Overview of the mission- the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE):
It is an array of six CubeSats operating as one very large radio telescope.
NASA has awarded $62.6 million to design, build and launch SunRISE by no earlier than July 1, 2023.

Objectives of the mission:

To study how the Sun creates and releases giant solar particle storms.
To help scientists understand the workings of the Solar System.

How it works?

The mission design relies on six solar-powered CubeSats to simultaneously observe radio images of low-frequency emission from solar activity and share them via NASA’s Deep Space Network.

The constellation of CubeSats would fly within 6 miles of each other, above Earth’s atmosphere, which otherwise blocks the radio signals SunRISE will observe.
Together, the six CubeSats will create 3D maps to pinpoint where giant particle bursts originate on the Sun and how they evolve as they expand outward into space.
This, in turn, will help determine what initiates and accelerates these giant jets of radiation.
The six individual spacecraft will also work together to map, for the first time, the pattern of magnetic field lines reaching from the Sun out into interplanetary space.

Why study solar particle storms?

This information will help improve understanding of how our solar system works.
It can help protect astronauts traveling to the Moon and Mars by providing better information on how the Sun’s radiation affects the space environment they must travel through.

Background:

NASA had chosen two missions in August 2017 for its Mission of Opportunity program, a part of its Explorers Program, to conduct an 11-month concept study. The SunRise mission was one of the two missions.

Sources: NASA.

9) Countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) for banks

Reserve Bank has deferred the implementation of countercyclical capital buffers (CCyB) and extended the realization period for export proceeds.

Background:

The RBI had put in place the framework on counter-cyclical capital buffer (CCyB) on February 5, 2015, wherein it was advised that the CCyB would be activated as and when the circumstances warranted.

What Is a Countercyclical Capital Buffer (CCyB) in Banking?

The countercyclical capital buffer is intended to protect the banking sector against losses that could be caused by cyclical systemic risks increasing in the economy.

Countercyclical capital buffers require banks to hold capital at times when credit is growing rapidly so that the buffer can be reduced if the financial cycle turns down or the economic and financial environment becomes substantially worse.
Banks can use the capital buffers they have built up during the growth phase of the financial cycle to cover losses that may arise during periods of stress and to continue supplying credit to the real economy.

Background:

The rule was first introduced in Basel III as an extension of another buffer (called the capital conservation buffer). Basel III is a voluntary set of measures agreed upon by central banks all around the world. These measures were drafted by the Bank of International Settlements’ Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the financial crisis of 2007-09, to strengthen the regulation of banks and fight risks within the financial system.

Source: The Hindu

10) Quasi-subspecies of COVID-19

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a mixture of three quasi-subspecies of SARS-CoV-2 is in circulation in India.
However, scientists are yet to classify a SARS-Cov-2 variant as an Indian strain.

Key Points

These imported variants of SARs-CoV-2 showed no differences from how they behaved in the place of origin.

India’s COVID-19 cases were mainly from people with a travel history and their immediate contacts, which is to say that this virus was brought in from outside.

The government has also constituted a Science and Technology Empowered Committee to coordinate among science agencies, scientists, industries and regulatory bodies for COVID-19 response.
The Committee will work with the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Institute for Science (IISC) to take speedy decisions on research and development keeping given the critical need to increase the testing facilities for COVID-19 disease.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research.
It was founded in 1911 with the name of the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) and renamed as ICMR in 1949.
It is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Source: The Hindu

11) Geofencing app

The Centre is using powers under the Indian Telegraph Act to “fetch information” from telecom companies every 15 minutes to track COVID19 cases across the country.
The government has tested an application that triggers emails and SMS alerts to an authorized government agency if a person has jumped quarantine or escaped from isolation, based on the person’s mobile phone’s cell tower location. The “geofencing” is accurate by up to 300 m, a government communication said.
Kerala was one of the first States to use geofencing to track COVID-19 cases.
On March 29, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) shared a standard operating procedure
(SOP) with all telecom service providers regarding the application called COVID19 Quarantine Alert System (CQAS).
The system will collate phone data, including the device’s location, on a common secured platform and alert the local agencies in case of a violation by COVID19 patients under watch or in isolation.

Source: The Hindu

12) Union Agriculture Minister launches new features of the e-NAM platform

The Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched new features of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform to strengthen agriculture marketing by farmers which will reduce their need to physically come to wholesale mandis for selling their harvested produce, at a time when there is critical need to decongest mandis to effectively fight against COVID-19. These software modules are namely (i) Warehouse based trading module in e-NAM software to facilitate trade from warehouses based one-NWR (ii) FPO trading module in e-NAM whereby FPOs can trade their produce from their collection center without bringing the produce to APMC. Also, to facilitating inter-mandi and inter-state trade at this juncture, an enhanced version of the logistic module has been released whereby aggregators of transport logistic platforms have onboarded which helps users to avail trackable transport facilities for transporting their produce.
The e-NAM was launched on 14 April 2016 as a pan-India electronic trade portal linking APMCs across the States. Already 585 mandis in 16 States and 02 Union Territories have been integrated on the e-NAM portal.

Launch of “Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWRs) module in National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) software

Warehouse (Registered with WDRA) trading module with payment feature is launched today to enable small & marginal farmers to directly trade their stored produce from selected WDRA registered warehouses which are declared deemed market by the State.
Farmers will be able to place their produce in WDRA accredited warehouses.
Already States of Telangana (14 warehouses) & Andhra Pradesh (23 warehouses) declared designated warehouses in the State as a deemed market.

Benefits of eNWRs integration with e-NAM

The depositor can save Logistics expenses and will have better income.
Farmers can sell the products across the Nation to get better Price and at the same time can save themselves from the hassle of mandi.
Farmers will be able to place their produce in WDRA accredited warehouses to avail of the benefit of pledge loans if required.
Price stabilization by matching supply and demand through time and place utility.

FPO trading module

FPO trading module is launched today to enable FPOs to upload their produce from their premises/collection centers for bidding. They can upload the picture of the produce and quality parameters from their premises to help distant bidders to visualize the produce before bidding. FPOs have the option for delivery of products either from their premises or by bringing to mandi premises after successful bidding. This will not only decongest the mandis but also reduce the logistics cost for the FPOs.
The facility provided to FPO to upload assaying reports/photos of their produce from their premise to enable traders to visualize the produce before bidding.

Benefits

This will not only decongest the mandis but also reduce the hassle of FPOs to deal with mandis.
This will help FPOs by reducing transaction costs (Transportation) and enhancing their bargaining power.
Facilitates FPOs to avail online payment facility with ease of doing business.

Launch of Logistic Module

Presently, e-NAM provides a database of individual transporters to the traders. However, as a quantum response to a logistic needs by traders, provision has been made for linking large logistic aggregator platforms, which will provide choices to users. Traders would be able to use the link to navigate to the logistics provider’s website and select appropriate services. With these additions, more than 3,75,000 trucks from large logistic providers would be added for logistic purposes.

Benefits

This will help in seamless transportation of agri produce.
This will promote inter-State trade under e-NAM by providing online transport facilities for distant buyers.

Source: PIB

13) DRDO develops bio-suit with seam sealing glue to keep health professionals fighting COVID-19 safe

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a bio-suit to keep the medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19 safe from the deadly virus. Scientists at various DRDO laboratories have applied their technical know-how and expertise in the textile, coating, and nanotechnology to develop the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) having a specific type of fabric with coating.
The suit has been prepared with the help of the industry and subjected to rigorous testing for textile parameters as well as protection against synthetic blood. The protection against synthetic blood exceeds the criteria defined for body suits by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The DRDO is making all efforts to ensure that these suits are produced in large numbers and serve as a robust line of defense for the medics, paramedics and other personnel in the front line combating COVID-19.
The industry is geared up for the production of the suit in large quantities. M/s Kusumgarh Industries is producing the raw material, coating material, with the complete suite being manufactured with the help of another vendor. The current production capacity is 7,000 suits per day.
Another vendor is being brought in with the experience in garment technology and efforts are on to ramp up the capacity to 15,000 suits per day.
The bio-suit production in the country by DRDO industry partners and other industries are being hampered due to the non-availability of seam sealing tapes.
The DRDO has prepared a special sealant as an alternative to seam sealing tape based on the sealant used in submarine applications. Presently, bio suits prepared using this glue for seam sealing by an industry partner has cleared test at Southern India Textile Research Association (SITRA) Coimbatore. This can be a game-changer for the textile industry. The DRDO can mass produce this glue through the industry to support the seam sealing activity by suit manufacturers.
The DRDO has developed several products and technologies for defense against Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) agents. Defense Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) Gwalior, a laboratory of DRDO, has developed Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Permeable Suit Mk V. Fifty-three thousand suits have been supplied to Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
For first responders attending to radiological emergencies, a reusable suit has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) Delhi.
Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) Agra has developed various types of parachutes with fabrics similar to protective technical textiles.

Source: PIB

14) AarogyaSetu: A multi-dimensional bridge

The Government of India today launched a mobile app developed in a public-private partnership to bring the people of India together in a resolute fight against COVID-19.
The App, called ‘AarogyaSetu’ joins Digital India for the health and well-being of every Indian. It will enable people to assess themselves the risk for their catching the Corona Virus infection. It will calculate this based on their interaction with others, using cutting edge Bluetooth technology, algorithms, and artificial intelligence.
Once installed in a smartphone through an easy and user-friendly process, the app detects other devices with AarogyaSetu installed that come in the proximity of that phone. The app can then calculate the risk of infection based on sophisticated parameters if any of these contacts are tested positive.
The App will help the Government take necessary timely steps for assessing the risk of the spread of COVID-19 infection and ensuring isolation where required.
The App’s design ensures privacy-first. The personal data collected by the App is encrypted using state-of-the-art technology and stays secure on the phone until it is needed for facilitating medical intervention.
Available in 11 languages, the App is ready for pan-India use from day-1 and has highly scalable architecture.
This app is a unique example of the nation’s young talent coming together and pooling resources and efforts to respond to a global crisis. It is at once a bridge between public and private sectors, digital technology and health services delivery and the potential of young India with a disease-free and healthy future of the nation.

Source: PIB