Daily Current Affairs 8 April 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) 5T plan to fight COVID-19

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a “5T plan” created by his government to contain COVID­-19 spread in Delhi. These five Ts are testing, tracing, treatment, teamwork and tracking­ monitoring. 
• The first T is testing, which when done on a mass scale enables the actual data of people affected by a novel coronavirus.
• Through rapid testing, the government will also be able to identify COVID­-19 hotspots and take necessary action
• The second T is tracing, which involves identifying and quarantining people who have come in contact with infected persons
• The third component is the treatment. The LNJP and GB Pant hospitals had been declared primary hospitals for COVID­19 treatment with 1,500 and 500 beds respectively. While the Rajiv Gandhi hospital has 450 beds, 2,450 beds are available in government hospitals and 450 beds at private ones.
• The fourth element of the five­point plan is teamwork and collective efforts are being made to fight the virus
• The fifth T is tracking and monitoring. To ensure that all these measures are in place and all the systems are functioning smoothly

Source: The Hindu

2) India lifts ban on the export of hydroxychloroquine

• India announced that it had rescinded its earlier ban on the export of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which is now being used in countries such as the U.S. as a possible line of treatment for COVID-­19
• In a notification on March 25, the government placed HCQ on a restricted items list, and then put a blanket ban on any export of the drug on April 4. The latest decision, which was taken at a high­level meeting on April 6, effectively overturns the previous notification
• The MEA announcement came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said that India could invite “retaliation” if it withheld supplies of HCQ, for which the U.S., Brazil and other countries have already placed advance orders.

Hydroxychloroquine

• Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and porphyria cutanea tarda. It is taken by mouth. It is also being studied as an experimental treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
• Common side effects include vomiting, headache, changes in vision, and muscle weakness Severe side effects may include allergic reactions. Although all risk cannot be excluded, it remains a treatment for rheumatic disease during pregnancy. Hydroxychloroquine is in the antimalarial and 4-aminoquinoline families of medication.
• Hydroxychloroquine was approved for medical use in the United States in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system. In 2017, it was the 128th-most-prescribed medication in the United States, with more than five million prescriptions

Source: The Hindu

3) World Health Day

• The World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other related organizations.
• In 1948, the WHO held the First World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7 April of each year, with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day. The World Health Day is held to mark WHO's founding and is seen as an opportunity by the organization to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year. The WHO organizes international, regional and local events on the Day related to a particular theme. World Health Day is acknowledged by various governments and non-governmental organizations with interests in public health issues, who also organize activities and highlight their support in media reports, such as the Global Health Council.
• World Health Day is one of eight official global health campaigns marked by WHO, along with World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World AIDS Day, World Blood Donor Day, and World Hepatitis Day.
• The theme for World Health Day is Support nurses and midwives.

Source: PIB

4) Swasth Ke Sipahi 

• Pharmacists, popularly known as "Swasth Ke Sipahi", of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendra, are delivering essential services and medicines at the doorstep of patients and elderly under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) of the Government of India. Working as part of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras (PMJAK), they are extending essential services by making available quality generic medicines at affordable prices to the common people of the country and the elderly persons at their doorstep to fight Corona pandemic. This is supporting the government's initiative of practicing social distancing.
• PMJAKs are being run by Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India(BPPI) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India to provide quality and affordable healthcare to anyone in need. Presently, more than 6300 PMJAKs are functioning across the nation, covering 726 districts of the country. 

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana

• The branded (Generic) medicines are sold at significantly higher prices than their unbranded generic equivalents, though they are identical in the therapeutic value. Given the widespread poverty across the country, making available reasonably priced quality generic medicines in the market would benefit everyone.
• Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses. PMBJP stores have been set up to provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs. It was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in November 2008 under the name Jan Aushadi Campaign. Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementation agency for PMBJP.

Vision, Mission, and Objective

• Vision
• To bring down the healthcare budget of every citizen of India through providing Quality generic Medicines at Affordable Prices.
• Mission
• Create awareness among the public regarding generic medicines.
• Create demand for generic medicines through medical practitioners.
• Create awareness through education and awareness programs that high prices need not be synonymous with high quality.
• Provide all the commonly used generic medicines covering all the therapeutic groups.
• Provide all the related health care products too under the scheme.
• Objective
• Making quality medicines available at affordable prices for all, particularly the poor and disadvantaged, through exclusive outlets "Jan Aushadhi Medical Store", to reduce out of pocket expenses in healthcare.

Source: PIB

5) "Samadhan" a challenge to fight against COVID-19 and future challenges

• The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development and All India Council for Technical Education in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris launched a mega online challenge - SAMADHAN - to test the ability of students to innovate.
• The students participating in this challenge will search and develop such measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus epidemic and other such calamities. Apart from this, through this "Samadhan" challenge, work will be done to make citizens aware, to motivate them, to face any challenge, to prevent any crisis and to help people get a livelihood.
• Under the "Samadhan" challenge, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to a spirit of experimentation and discovery. The success of this program depends on how effective are the ideas of participating contestants with the ability to find solutions, technically and commercially, which in turn will help fight the epidemic like coronavirus.

Source: PIB

6) Restrictions on Court Hearings Lawful

• Recently, the Supreme Court held that all restrictions imposed on people from entering, attending or taking part in court hearings are lawful in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The court said these restrictions were in tune with the social distancing norms and best public health practices advocated to contain the COVID-19.

Key Points

• Duty vs Discretion: The apex court invoked its extraordinary Constitutional powers under Article 142 to step away from the convention of open court hearings. It further clarified that the use of this extraordinary power was not a matter of discretion but of duty.
• Convention vs Public Health: Although the open court system ensures transparency in the administration of justice, scaling down of conventional operations was done to avoid the congregation of a large number of people. The court made it clear that public health takes precedence over conventions.
• Cooperation and Participation: The court said every individual and institution is expected to cooperate in the implementation of measures designed to reduce the transmission of the virus.
• It also argued courts at all levels respond to the call of social distancing and ensure that court premises do not contribute to the spread of the virus.
• COVID-19 and Rule of Law: Access to justice is fundamental to preserve the rule of law in the democracy envisaged by the Constitution of India. In the absence of access to justice, people are unable to have their voices heard, exercise their rights, challenge discrimination or hold decision-makers accountable.
• The challenges occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19 have to be addressed while preserving the constitutional commitment to ensuring the delivery of and access to justice to those who seek it.

ICT and Delivery of Justice

• Guidelines: The Supreme Court also issued the following guidelines to streamline the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ineffective delivery of Justice:
• High Courts: The High Courts to decide the modalities for the use of videoconferencing technologies in their respective States.
• District Courts: District courts in each State would adopt the mode of videoconferencing prescribed by the respective High Courts.
• Helplines: Helplines to be set up to receive and rectify technical complaints.
• The courts should make available video conferencing facilities for litigants who do not have it or appoint an amicus curia (friend of the court).
• Mutual Consent of Parties: The court said in no case shall evidence be recorded without the mutual consent of both the parties by videoconferencing.
• Social Distancing: If it is necessary to record evidence in a courtroom, the presiding officer shall ensure the social distancing to be followed.

Article 142

• It provides discretionary power to the Supreme Court as it states that the Supreme Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.
• Constructive Application: In the early years of the evolution of Article 142, the general public and the lawyers both lauded the Supreme Court for its efforts to bring complete justice to various deprived sections of society or to protect the environment.
• In the Union Carbide case, relating to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Supreme Court placed itself above the laws made by the Parliament or the legislatures of the States by saying that, to do complete justice, it could even override the laws made by Parliament.
• However, in the Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India, the Supreme Court stated that Article 142 could not be used to supplant the existing law, but only to supplement the law.
• Cases of Judicial Overreach: In recent years, there have been several judgments of the Supreme Court wherein it has been foraying into areas that had long been forbidden to the judiciary because of the doctrine of ‘separation of powers’, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution. One such example is:
• The ban on the sale of alcohol along national and state highways: While the notification by the central government prohibited liquor stores along National Highways only, the Supreme Court put in place a ban on a distance of 500 meters by invoking Article 142.

Source: The Hindu

7) Animals and COVID-19

Owing to a recent news report on a Tiger being infected with COVID-19 in New York (Bronx Zoo), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued an advisory regarding the containing and management of COVID-19 in National Parks/Sanctuaries/Tiger Reserves.

• Also, a tiger in Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) has died due to respiratory illness. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is investigating whether the tiger should be tested for the novel coronavirus disease.
• However, swabs from the throat and nose to test for rhinotracheitis, a viral infection that afflicts cats and causes respiratory illness were collected.

Key Points

• Spread of Infection from humans to animals
• The Bronx Zoo case suggests that a zoo employee spread the virus to the tiger.
• The virus came from an animal source and mutated; humans have since been infecting humans. Thus, it is theoretically possible for the virus to mutate again to survive in certain species after being transmitted by humans.
• Advisory by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• It has asked all Chief Wildlife Wardens (CWLWs) of all States/UTs to take immediate preventive measures to stop the transmission and spread of the virus from humans to animals and vice versa, in National Parks/Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves.
• The CWLW is the statutory authority under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 who heads the Wildlife Wing of a State Forest Department and exercises complete administrative control over Protected Areas (PAs) within a state.
• Guidelines issued by the NTCA and CZA
• Both the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the NTCA have issued guidelines that require zoos to be on the “highest alert” and monitor animals on closed-circuit cameras 24/7 for “abnormal behavior and symptoms.”
• The CZA has also directed zookeepers to approach sick animals wearing personal protective equipment and isolate and quarantine them.

Central Zoo Authority

• The CZA is a statutory body whose main objective is to enforce minimum standards and norms for the upkeep and health care of animals in Indian zoos. It was established in 1992.
• Zoos are regulated as per the provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and are guided by the National Zoo Policy, 1998.

National Tiger Conservation Authority

• NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• It was established in December 2005 following the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force.
• It was constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it.

Pench Tiger Reserve

• Pench Tiger Reserve, Seoni (Madhya Pradesh) is one of the major Protected Areas of Satpura-Maikal ranges of the Central Highlands. It was included in the Project Tiger in 1992-93.
• It is among the sites notified as Important Bird Areas of India.
• The IBA is a program of Birdlife International which aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for the conservation of the world’s birds and associated diversity.
• It has a contiguous forest cover with Kanha Tiger Reserve and Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra).
• The area of the Pench Tiger Reserve and the surrounding area is the real story area of Rudyard Kipling's famous "The Jungle Book".
• The forests found in Pench Tiger Reserve are divided into three parts: southern tropical wet-dry forest, southern tropical dry deciduous teak forest, and southern tropical dry deciduous mixed forest.
• The major Carnivores are Tiger, leopard, wild cat, wild dog, hyena, jackal, fox, wolf, weasel, among the vegetarian species, Gaur, Nilgai, Sambar, Chital, Chasinga, Chinkara, Wild Pig, etc. are prominent.
• There are a lot of migratory birds seen in the cold season. Among the migratory birds, Ruddy shelduck, Pintail, Whistling Teal, and Vegtel, etc are prominent.

Source: The Hindu

8) Fall in IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index

The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index (i.e Service Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)) was at 49.3 in March, down from February’s 85-month high of 57.5.

Key Points

• The Index is compiled by IHS Markit for more than 40 economies worldwide. IHS Markit is a global leader in information, analytics, and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide.
• The fall implies contraction in India’s services sector activity during March basically due to COVID-19.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced demand, particularly in overseas markets. Nationwide store closures and prohibition to leave the house weighed heavily on the services economy.
• In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.
• The Composite PMI Output Index that maps both the manufacturing and services sector also fell to 50.6 in March, down 7 points from February’s 57.6.
• This signals a sharp slowdown in private sector output growth and brought an abrupt end to the recent strong upward-moving expansion trend.

Purchasing Managers' Index

• PMI is an index of the prevailing direction of economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors.
• It consists of a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions, as viewed by purchasing managers, are expanding, staying the same, or contracting.
• The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current and future business conditions to company decision-makers, analysts, and investors.
• It is different from the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which also gauges the level of activity in the economy.

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.
• The Base Year of the Index of Eight Core Industries has been revised from the year 2004-05 to 2011-12 from April 2017.
• 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.

Difference between PMI and IIP

• IIP covers the broader industrial sector compared to PMI.
• Index of Industrial Production (IIP) measures growth in the industrial sector.
• IIP shows the change in production volume in major industrial sub-sectors like manufacturing, mining, and electricity.
• Similarly, the IIP also gives use based (capital goods, consumer goods, etc) trends in industrial production.
• PMI is more dynamic compared to a standard industrial production index.
• The PMI senses dynamic trends because of the variable it uses for the construction of the index compared to volume-based production indicators like the IIP.
• For example, new orders under PMI show growth-oriented positive trends and not just the volume of past products that can be traced in an ordinary Index of Industrial Production.

Source: The Hindu

9) India in Containment Phase

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has now stepped out of the local transmission phase and moved into the “large outbreaks amenable to containment phase”.

• The Ministry has brought out a 'containment document' for large outbreaks to stop the chain of transmission and reduce morbidity and deaths.

Key Points

• India would be following a strategic approach for possible scenarios - travel-related cases reported in India, local transmission of COVID-19, large outbreaks amenable to containment, widespread community transmission of COVID-19 disease and India becoming endemic for COVID-19.
• According to the document, a large outbreak can be defined as a localized increase in the incidence of coronavirus cases occurring within a defined geographic area.
• This can happen within a village, town or even a big city.
• The document states containment for large outbreaks calls for near-absolute interruption of movement of people to and from a relatively large defined area where there is a single large outbreak or multiple foci of local transmission of COVID-19.
• The cluster containment strategy is a part of the document. It would "include geographic quarantine, social distancing measures, enhanced active surveillance, testing all suspected cases, isolation of cases, quarantine of contacts and risk communication to create awareness among the public on preventive public health measures".
• Geographic quarantine shall apply to such areas reporting large outbreaks and/or multiple clusters of COVID-19 spread over multiple blocks of one or more districts that are contiguous.
• The containment operation shall be deemed to be over 28 days from the discharge of the last confirmed case (following negative tests as per discharge policy) from the designated health facility.
• Factors that will determine the success of containment strategy
• Several variables determine the success of the containment operations through geographic quarantine which includes the number and size of the cluster or clusters and also how efficiently the virus is transmitting in the Indian population, taking into account environmental factors especially temperature and humidity.
• The factors also include public health response in terms of active case finding, testing of large numbers of cases, immediate isolation of suspect and confirmed cases and quarantine of contacts along with the geographical characteristics of the area.

Source: The Hindu

10) Measures for Smooth Disbursal of Funds Under PMGKY

Recently, the Ministry of Finance has tweaked the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) norms to make all inoperative bank accounts functional.

• This is to ensure that cash transfers by the government under the COVID-19 relief package (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) scheme) reach beneficiaries.

Key Points

• As a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) scheme, the government has decided to transfer ₹500 per month for three months to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society whose livelihood has been impacted due to the nationwide lockdown.
• The PML norms have been tweaked to ensure that beneficiaries can withdraw the money transferred to them by the government without any problems or requirements of additional documentation.
• The Rules have been amended in respect of
• The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts.
• Basic savings account and small accounts.
• Those accounts which have become inoperative due to various reasons including Non-completion of Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements or updation.
• Accounts that may have become dysfunctional due to non-operation in the account for the last two years have also been made functional.
• The Finance Ministry had also requested the Ministry of Home Affairs for adequate security personnel at bank branches and with the business correspondents
• This is to maintain law and order, and social distancing, given the higher customer footfall expected for cash withdrawals after the transfers are made.

Money laundering

• It is the concealing or disguising the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources.

Round Tripping of Funds

• Round tripping refers to money that leaves the country through various channels and makes its way back into the country often as foreign investment.
• This mostly involves black money and is allegedly often used for stock price manipulation.

Prevention of Money-Laundering Act

• Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 deals with money laundering and has three main objectives :
• To prevent and control money laundering.
• To provide for confiscation and seizure of property obtained from laundered money.
• To deal with any other issue connected with money-laundering in India.
• Under the PMLA Act, the Enforcement Directorate is empowered to conduct a Money Laundering investigation.
• PMLA (Amendment) Act, 2012
• Adds the concept of ‘reporting entity’ which includes a banking company, financial institution, intermediary, etc.
• It prescribes the obligation of banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries for
• Verification and maintenance of records of the identity of all its clients and also of all transactions.
• Furnishing information of such transactions in a prescribed form to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).
• It empowers the Director of FIU-IND to impose fine on banking company, financial institution or intermediary if they or any of its officers fail to comply with the provisions of the Act as indicated above.
• PMLA, 2002 levied a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, but the amendment act has removed this upper limit.
• It has provided for provisional attachment and confiscation of property of any person involved in such activities.

Financial Intelligence Unit-India

• FIU-IND is a central, national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions to enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs.
• It was set up in 2004.
• It is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.

Source: The Hindu