Daily Current Affairs 15 June 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Nepal passes amendment on the new map

• The Lower House of Nepal’s Parliament has unanimously voted for the Second Constitution Amendment Bill, which guarantees legal status for the new political map of the country that includes part of Indian territory in Uttarakhand.

Background:

• The territorial dispute stems from the fact that Nepal claims the land to the east of river Kali, which forms the country’s western border.
• As per Kathmandu’s understanding, the river originates from Limpiyadhura in the higher Himalayas, giving it access to a triangular-shaped land defined by Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh and Kalapani. India opposes the notion and says the origin of the river is much further down, which reduces Nepal’s territorial demand.
• Nepal unveiled the new map after India inaugurated Darchula-Lipulekh link road Nepal had also earlier strongly protested when the updated Indian map published in November 2019, showing the region as part of Uttarakhand.
• Nepal claims right to the region and says India was allowed to station troops there in the 1950s and that India has refused to remove forces from the region ever since.

India’s reaction:

• Responding to the development, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated the current development as being violative of the current understanding between the two countries to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues.
• It also argued that the artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical facts or evidence and is not tenable.

Concerns:

• The current development will lead to further complicating the Indo-Nepal border negotiations as Foreign Secretaries or senior envoys have no right to negotiate on the provisions of Nepal’s Constitution.
• The diplomatic fallout of the territorial dispute is likely to be serious, which could lead to difficult days ahead for Nepal-India Relations as well as for the South Asian region.

Source: The Hindu

2)  India-China: the Line of Actual Control

• The ongoing military standoffs between India and China at multiple points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Details:

• The article discusses the various aspects of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which seems to be complicating the border disputes between the two Asian neighbors.
• Undemarcated borders:
• The alignment of the LAC has never been agreed upon, and it has neither been delineated nor demarcated.
• There is no official map in the public domain that depicts the LAC. The current understanding of the LAC reflects the territories that are, at present, under the control of each side, pending a resolution of the boundary dispute.
• The difference in claims:
• For the most part, in the western sector, the LAC broadly corresponds with the border as China sees it. However, India and China do not agree on the alignment of the LAC everywhere.
• Differences in perception, particularly in 13 spots in the western, middle and eastern sectors of the border, often lead to what is called “face-offs”, when patrols encounter each other in these grey zones that lie in between the different alignments. Some of these areas are Chumar, Demchok, and the north bank of the Pangong lake in the western sector, Barahoti in the middle sector, and Sumdorong Chu in the east.
• Failure of protocols and agreements:
• Both India and China have agreed to protocols in 2005 and 2013 that describe the rules of engagement to handle border stand-offs, but as the current stand-off at Pangong Tso reminds us, they haven’t always been followed.
• India and China signed the landmark Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement (BPTA) in 1993, the first legal agreement that recognized the LAC. However, this landmark agreement too did not precisely demarcate the LAC.
• Both the 1993 BPTA agreement and the subsequent agreement on confidence-building measures in 1996 acknowledged that both sides would ultimately clarify the LAC. That process has, however, stalled since 2002, when China walked away from exchanging maps in the western sector.
• Unintended consequences:
• The unqualified reference to the LAC created the unintended side effect of further incentivizing the forward creep to the line by the Chinese military, a consequence that both sides are currently dealing with at multiple points on the LAC.
• Chinese tactics:
• China has in several territorial disputes, intentionally left its claims ambiguous.
• The Chinese haven’t stuck to their previously agreed positions. China’s alignments of the LAC have kept changing.
• The border skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control seem to be indicative of the Chinese approach to use the border problem to pressurize India on other issues.

Way forward:

• Given the current circumstances, India should strategize an action plan aimed towards protecting its sovereign interests.
• Prepare militarily:
• India needs to be prepared, continue to build roads, and improve the infrastructure along the border, to keep itself ready to deal with any contingency.
• Shifting focus:
• To counter China India must look for options beyond LAC.
• The South China Sea/Indian Ocean Region maritime domain presents India with the best options where the regional geopolitical context is favorable.
• India should demonstrate that it is willing and capable of influencing the maritime balance in East Asia, where China faces off a combination of the United States, Vietnam, Australia, Indonesia, and sometimes Malaysia and the Philippines as well.
• China perceives a vulnerability in the Malacca strait given its marked dependence on the sea lanes of communication for its vast trade and energy imports.
• Going global:
• India should go global to defend against China. India’s counter to Chinese power in the Himalayas should be to assume a more global role of its own.
• In Asia and Africa, debt-traps induced by the BRI are gradually stoking discontent. If India focuses on leveraging its advantages as a development partner, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era, it can use its newfound influence as a bargaining chip against Chinese interests in these countries.
• Building alliances:
• India must build power-balancing alliances.
• Many countries are seeking leadership from other quarters to counter-balance Chinese influence. In Southeast Asia, countries are pushing back against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
• This provides an opportunity to build partnerships with such countries to balance China’s growing influence.
• India can give itself leverage against China by improving its bilateral relationships with other countries that are similarly worried about China’s growing influence — such as Australia, Vietnam, Japan, and even the U.K.
• Aligning with the United States:
• A closer alignment with the U.S. represents India’s opportunity to counter China, while efforts to foster regional partnerships and cultivate domestic military capabilities, although insufficient by themselves, could play a complementary role.
• Moving into a closer partnership with the US would allow India an opportunity to rebalance the Indo-Pacific region.
• Pressure points:
• India could choose to leverage the sensitivity of the Chinese to the one-China policy and other vulnerabilities like Tibet issue and Hongkong protests, to force a change in China’s attitude.
• This would allow India to signal to China that it has options and that China would be wise not to escalate these situations too far.

Conclusion:

• India cannot continue to remain in a “reactive mode” to Chinese provocations and it is time to take an active stand. Since India’s choices vis-à-vis China are circumscribed by the asymmetry in military power, resort must be sought in
• This would force China to reconsider its tactics and force it towards negotiations with India.

Source: The Hindu

3) Global transmission of chikungunya from India

• The study conducted by the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune on the geographic distribution and evolution of the chikungunya virus over the period from 2005-2018

Background:

• Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. The virus is transmitted by the bites of infected female mosquitoes. Most commonly, the mosquitoes involved are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two species which can also transmit other mosquito-borne viruses, including dengue.
• It causes fever and severe joint pain. There is no cure for the disease. Treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.
• The disease mostly occurs in Africa, Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

Details:

• The study notes India as an endemic reservoir for the chikungunya virus with persistent global transmissions from the country.
• Observations from the phylogeography study based on the genome sequences of the strains found in different countries over the period from 2005 to 2018, showed persistent global transmissions from India.
• The study claims the dispersal of the strains from India to neighboring as well as distant countries.

Concerns:

• There is a possibility of further diversification of the chikungunya virus as this is an RNA virus and continues to acquire mutations.

Way forward:

• Continuous surveillance is necessary to monitor the changes in the viral strains.
• Sustainable efforts towards vector control might help in reducing the transmission of the chikungunya virus.

Source: The Hindu

4) New drug for amoebiasis in the offing

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Entamoeba histolytica is the third-leading cause of morbidity and mortality due to parasitic disease in humans. It causes amoebiasis or amoebic dysentery, which is highly prevalent in developing countries. A team of researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has developed new drug molecules against the protozoa that causes amoebiasis.
• This protozoan is anaerobic or micro-aerophilic in nature such that it cannot survive high concentrations of oxygen. However, during infection, it faces a high surge of oxygen inside the human body. The organism synthesizes large amounts of cysteine to counter oxidative stress.
• This pathogen deploys cysteine as one of the essential molecules in its defense mechanism against high oxygen levels. Entamoeba expresses two crucial enzymes for synthesizing cysteine. Researchers from JNU has characterized and determined the molecular structures of both these crucial enzymes. “We have also successfully screened for potent inhibitors for one of the enzymes, O-acetyl L-serine sulfhydrylase (OASS). Some of these inhibitors can check the growth of this organism with high efficacy,” said Prof. Samudrala Gourinath, lead researcher, School of Life Sciences, JNU, while speaking with India Science Wire.
• “Cysteine biosynthesis is crucial for the survival of E. histolytica and may be similar protozoan parasites. These can be targeted by inhibiting their pathways, which we have successfully done. The identified molecules can be lead to the development of drug molecules” said Dr. Gourinath.
• The research team includes Sudhaker Dharavath, Ramachandran Vijayan, Khushboo Kumari, and Priya Tomar. The study has been published in the journal European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Source: PIB

5) Aarogyapath, a web-based solution for the healthcare supply chain that provides real-time availability of critical supplies launched

• A CSIR National Healthcare Supply Chain Portal that aims to provide real-time availability of critical healthcare supplies https://www.aarogyapath.inhas been launched on June 12,2020. AarogyaPath would serve manufacturers, suppliers, and customers. During the present national health emergency arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein there is a severe disruption in the supply chain, the ability to produce and deliver the critical items may be compromised due to a variety of reasons. The information platform named AarogyaPath with a vision of “providing a path which leads one on a journey towards Aarogya (healthy life)” was developed to address these challenges.
• This integrated public platform that provides single-point availability of key healthcare goods can be helpful to customers in tackling a number of routinely experienced issues. These issues include dependence on limited suppliers, time-consuming processes to identify good quality products, limited access to suppliers who can supply standardized products at reasonable prices within desired timelines, lack of awareness about the latest product launches, etc.
• It also helps manufacturers and suppliers to reach a wide network of customers efficiently, overcoming gaps in connectivity between them and potential demand centers like nearby pathological laboratories, medical stores, hospitals, etc. It will also create opportunities for business expansion due to an expanded slate of buyers and visibility of new requirements for products. Over time, analytics from this platform is expected to generate early signals to manufacturers on overcapacity as well as on looming shortages. This would help to reduce wastage of resources due to inefficient forecasting and excess manufacturing, generate awareness about the demand for new technologies.
• CSIR expects AarogyaPath to become the national healthcare information platform of choice in the years to come, filling a critical gap in last-mile delivery of patient care within India through improved availability and affordability of healthcare supplies.

Source: PIB

6) Indian Naval LOs at Madagascar and Abu Dhabi

• India is planning to post Naval Liaison Officers (LOs) at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar and the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH) in Abu Dhabi for improved Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).
• This move comes after India joined the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as Observer in March 2020 along with Japan and the United Nations.

Key Points

• The move aims to improve linkages of the Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram with other IFCs and become the repository for all maritime data in the IOR.
• India is working closely with France, who is a pre-eminent member of IOC, to post a Naval LO at the RMIFC in Madagascar.
• The RMFIC functions under the aegis of the IOC and is designed to deepen maritime domain awareness by monitoring maritime activities and promoting information sharing and exchange.
• The Navy LO is expected to be posted at EMASOH by July and at the RMIFC by September or October 2020.
• India has a LO at the IFC in Singapore for over four years now.
• Indian Ocean Commission
• It is an intergovernmental body and regional forum created in 1984 to protect the interests of the western Indian Ocean islands.
• It consists of Madagascar, Comoros, La Réunion (French overseas territory), Mauritius, and Seychelles.
• IOC has five observers which are China, the European Union (EU), Malta, and International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), India, Japan, and the UN.
• OIF is a 54 french speaking nations collective.
• European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz
• France started EMASOH with the aim to monitor maritime activity and guarantee freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
• It is based on the French naval base in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
• It was declared operational by the French Ministry of Armed Forces in February 2020.
• India’s Other Initiatives:
• To strengthen the naval forces and surveillance, India has signed a series of white shipping agreements, Logistics Support Agreements (LSA), and maritime cooperation agreements with several countries, recently.
• For example, India Australia Virtual Summit announced a joint declaration on a shared vision for maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in which they agreed to deepen navy-to-navy cooperation and strengthen MDA in the Indo-Pacific region through enhanced exchange of information.
• In 2015, India unveiled its strategic vision for the Indian Ocean i.e. Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). It is increasing recognition of the increasing importance of maritime security, maritime commons, and cooperation.
• Through SAGAR, India seeks to deepen economic and security cooperation with its maritime neighbors and assist in building its maritime security capabilities.

Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region

• The Indian Navy set up the IFC-IOR in December 2018 within the premises of the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram to track maritime movements in the region.
• IMAC is located in Gurugram and is the main center of the Indian Navy for coastal surveillance and monitoring.
• IMAC is a joint initiative of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, and Bharat Electronics Ltd and functions under the National Security Adviser (NSA).
• IFC is the single point center linking all the coastal radar chains to generate a seamless real-time picture of the nearly 7,500 km coastline.
• France became the first country to deploy a LO at the IFC-IOR followed by the USA and several other countries including Australia, Japan, and the UK have announced their intention to post LOs.
• It coordinates with similar centers across the globe which include:
• Virtual Regional Maritime Traffic Centre (VRMTC)
• Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa (MSCHOA)
• Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery (ReCAAP)
• Information Fusion Centre-Singapore (IFC-SG)
• International Maritime Bureau-Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB-PRC)

Way Forward

• India’s engagement with the Western Indian Ocean will facilitate collective engagement with the islands there, which are becoming strategically significant.
• Given China’s growing presence in the region, India will be able to increase its naval presence and gain support for its maritime projects across the Indo-Pacific.
• India’s consultative, democratic, and equitable leadership can help achieve security and sustainable growth to all in the region.

Source: The Hindu

7) Indian Digital Payment System Outside India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is exploring the possibility of expanding its payment system abroad, following the requests from several countries.

Key Points

• Requests for Payment System:
• The RBI has received requests from abroad for implementing its payment systems like Cheque Truncation System (CTS), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and messaging solutions.
• Reason:
• The availability of low cost innovative digital payment products in India has led to many countries expressing their interest in the Indian payment system.
• Availability of Payment System Outside India:
• Currently, there are no RBI authorized payment system operators providing payment services outside India.
• However, there is cross-country cooperation with Bhutan with respect to CTS, National Automated Clearing House (NACH), and NEFT. NEFT is also available for one-way transfers from India to Nepal.
• Scope of Payment System Outside India:
• According to RBI, there is scope for enhancing global outreach of its payment systems, including remittances, through active participation and co-operation in international and regional fora by collaborating and contributing to standard setting.
• Efforts have been made to increase and widen the scope, coverage, and usage of RuPay card schemes and UPI to enhance their brand value internationally.
• Issues Involved:
• Overdependence on the foreign funds (through digital payments) may lead to possible liquidity risk issues in India.
• Different time zones may pose a risk in digital payments.
• Digital Payments and India:
• India’s growing use of retail digital payments indicates a shift in the relationship with cash.
• According to the RBI, digital payments in the country have witnessed a growth of 61% and 19% in terms of volume and value, respectively.
• The value of digital payments to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has also increased from 660% in 2014-15 to 862% in 2018-19.
• The Point of sale (PoS) terminals grew at a high pace of 35%, contrastingly the deployment of ATMs has grown at a low pace (4%).

Unified Payments Interface

• It is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)- round-the-clock funds transfer service to make cashless payments faster, easier, and smoother.
• UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched UPI with 21 member banks in 2016.

National Electronic Funds Transfer

• National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a nation-wide payment system facilitating one-to-one funds transfer. Under this Scheme, individuals, firms and corporates can electronically transfer funds from any bank branch to any individual, firm or corporate having an account with any other bank branch in the country participating in the Scheme.
• There is no limit – either minimum or maximum – on the number of funds that could be transferred using NEFT.
• However, the maximum amount per transaction is limited to ₹ 50,000/- for cash-based remittances within India and also for remittances to Nepal under the Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme.

RuPay Card Scheme

• RuPay is the first-of-its-kind domestic Debit and Credit Card payment network of India.
• The name, derived from the words ‘Rupee and ‘Payment’, emphasizes that it is India’s very own initiative for Debit and Credit Card payments.
• The card can also be used for transactions in Singapore, Bhutan, UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

Cheque Truncation System

• Cheque Truncation System (CTS) is an online image-based cheque clearing system undertaken by the RBI for faster clearing of cheques. It eliminates the associated cost of movement of physical cheques.

National Automated Clearing House

• National Automated Clearing House (NACH) is a service offered by NPCI to banks which aims at facilitating interbank high volume, low-value debit/credit transactions, which are repetitive and electronic in nature.

Source: Indian Express

8) Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

• The Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) has announced a photography competition on medicinal and aromatic plants to convey the message of conservation of these medicinal plants.
• The theme of the competition is ‘Know your Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs)’.

Key Points

• Established: Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, popularly known as CIMAP, was established originally as Central Indian Medicinal Plants Organisation (CIMPO) in 1959. It was rechristened as the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) in 1978.
• Objectives: It is a frontier plant research laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It focuses on high-quality research in biological and chemical sciences and extending technologies and services to the farmers and entrepreneurs of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs).
• Headquarters: Lucknow, U.P.
• CIMAP, Lucknow houses the National Gene Bank of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, in addition to seed gene bank, tissue, and DNA bank.
• Research Centres: Bangalore (Karnataka), Hyderabad (Telangana), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Purara (Uttarakhand).
• CIPAM is presently accredited by International Centre for Science and High Technology- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (ICS-UNIDO) and Indian-Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as a focal point for research and training on Medicinal Plants among participating member countries.

International Centre for Science and High Technology

• ICS was established in 1988 and operates under the legal framework of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It focuses on the transfer of know-how and technology from industrialized to developing countries.
• The Centre focuses its activities on four core scientific programs:
• Rational drug design and development
• Next-generation biofuels and bio-based chemicals
• Geothermal energy
• Nanotechnologies
• Headquarters: Trieste, Italy.

Source: PIB